After speaking with Lady Tongjia, Yunyi went to the side hall to check on Consort Min, Lady Zhangjia.
Previously, Lady Zhangjia was only a Noble Lady. When she was seriously ill, Emperor Kangxi remembered her years of service and the fact that she had given birth to one son and two daughters, so he ordered her to be promoted in rank, and that's how she became Consort Min.
When she visited Zhangjia, she was overjoyed to see Yunyi. She held Yunyi's hand and talked to her for a long time. She also inquired about Zhangjia Gege in the mansion. Only after learning that she was now raising the Second Princess did she feel relieved.
Then, Lady Zhangjia brought up another matter: her son, the Thirteenth Prince Yinxiang, was also sixteen years old this year.
Next year will be another year for the imperial concubine selection, so Kangxi should arrange a primary wife for Yinxiang and bestow a marriage upon him.
Lady Zhangjia didn't know any noble ladies, and her own rank was low, so she wanted Yunyi to help her see if there was a suitable girl for Yinxiang.
Yunyi vaguely remembered that Yinxiang's primary consort was Lady Zhaojia. The couple were very loving, and most of his children were born to Lady Zhaojia, which was rare in the Qing Dynasty.
Most of the princes in the Qing Dynasty only favored their secondary wives or princesses, and it was rare for them to have a deep and loving relationship with their primary wives and have children with their primary wives.
This is also the tragedy of the princes' wives. They are not loved by their husbands, and most of them have no children to bring them joy. They also have to manage the affairs of the entire mansion, watch helplessly as their husbands are affectionate with their concubines, and yet they still have to be magnanimous and tolerant, and not be jealous.
Now that she knows who the thirteenth brother's future wife is, and that the two of them are deeply in love, Yunyi will not make any changes and will let things take their natural course.
As Yunyi finished her chat with Consort Min, Consort Zhong finished her casual conversation with her sister.
After the two of them returned to the main hall, they had a final chat with Lady Tongjia before it was time for their audience.
Yunyi beckoned Honghui over, said goodbye to Granny Ma, and then led Zhongshi to pay their respects before heading outside.
Things are different now than before. They live outside the palace, so they have to leave earlier, otherwise they'll be late getting back.
The carriage continued its journey, swaying and rocking, just as it had come, towards the Prince Yong's residence.
Inside the carriage, Yunyi was with Honghui, and Wanzhou was also there to serve them, while Zhong was alone in the carriage behind.
Honghui nestled in his mother's arms, muttering to himself about what they had just discussed at Chengqian Palace, clearly still somewhat reluctant to part.
"Mother, when can I see Grandma again? She's all alone in the palace, with no one to keep her company. Unlike us in the manor, we have Father, Mother, Honghui, and my younger brother, so many people with us."
Listening to her son's innocent words, Yunyi patted him gently, feeling very gratified.
“Our Honghui is such a filial and good child. He is so young and already knows how to care for his mother. Don’t worry, there is still Granny Zhou, Consort Min and others in the palace. With them by your side, your mother will not be lonely.”
Yunyi is thinking that Honghui is four years old this year and will soon be five. She wonders if Emperor Kangxi will allow the eldest sons of each of his sons to enter the palace to study.
There have been such cases before, but it's unclear when it will start.
If Emperor Kangxi really said that, then some things need to be prepared. Not to mention anything else, the people serving Honghui will need to be replaced.
And then there's Consort De. If Honghui were to enter the palace to study, I wonder if her, as his maternal grandmother, would make things difficult for him.
In recent years, Consort De has grown increasingly disgusted with herself, and has also become increasingly disliked by her two sons. Moreover, her personality has become more and more eccentric, and it's hard to guarantee that she won't make things difficult for her own grandson.
Although Tongjia was there, perhaps it was her motherly nature at work, but Yunyi couldn't control her worries.
She was afraid that Consort De might really do something, that Lady Tongjia might make a mistake and fail to protect Honghui, and that Honghui was too sensible and would bear the burden alone without saying a word.
Therefore, Yunyi hoped that Kangxi would not issue this decree and would allow Honghui to study in the mansion. With Yinzhen as his strict father, there was no need to worry about Honghui's education.
As expected, what you fear most has come to pass. Yunyi prayed in her heart, but the decree was still issued.
Emperor Kangxi ordered that each prince send his eldest son or legitimate son who is five years of age or older to the palace to study.
Among these people were the eldest son of Yinzhi, the eldest son of the Crown Prince, the eldest son of Yinzhi, and his own eldest son Honghui, all of whom were selected to study in the palace.
Now Yunyi and Yinzhen will both be busy. Yunyi is busy selecting servants, and some of the people who used to serve Honghui also need to be retrained to prevent them from being impolite.
Meanwhile, Yinzhen was busy choosing a companion for his son's studies. Previously, when his son was studying in his own residence, Yinzhen was afraid of spoiling him, so he did not plan to choose a companion. Who knew that his father would suddenly issue an edict, catching him off guard.
The palace rules are strict, and these companions and beads are essential items for the princes and grandsons of the emperor; they cannot be missing.
After much deliberation, Yinzhen finally chose two men: Duobu, the son of a military officer under his command in the Bordered White Banner, and Hengrui, the nephew of his wife's family.
As a member of the Ulanara clan, Yunyi came from a very good family when she married Yinzhen; otherwise, she would not have been chosen by the Tongjia clan and Emperor Kangxi to be the fourth prince's wife.
However, after the death of Ulanara's father, Feiyangu, the Nara family began to decline.
Yunyi's mother, Langjia, was Feiyanggu's second wife. She had a legitimate eldest son born to his first wife. As Yunyi's younger son born to the second wife, he did not have a high status in the family.
In addition, he himself was not a capable person, so he only held the rank of a fifth-grade official and had little real power.
Yunyi didn't want to change her brother, firstly because it was too early, and secondly because her brother was truly hopeless.
However, Yunyi later discovered that her brother's son, who was also her nephew, was quite intelligent, so she asked her family to teach him well, so that they could rely on him to support the Ulanara family in the future.
Yinzhen knew his wife's family well and knew that this young man was quite clever. Considering that he was about the same age as his son and was related to his wife, he chose him as a study companion, also with the intention of promoting his wife's family.
The day to enter the palace arrived quickly. Honghui packed his things and followed the servants into the palace, beginning his ancient version of a boarding life.
This departure meant that Honghui could only leave the palace to reunite with his parents once every ten days, which meant that Yunyi could only see her son once every ten days.
If you look closely, this is stricter than modern times, at least in modern times you can have two days off every seven days. But compared to Yinzhen's time, it's much better. Yinzhen was a poor guy who only had five days off a year.
Thinking about this, Yunyi could only sigh this time, realizing how truly outrageous the rules of the Qing Dynasty were…
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