Chapter 136 Each Person
There are quite a few people crowding the main hall of Ning Shou Palace now. In addition to the two mistresses, the Empress Dowager and Su Ma La Gu, there are also eleven concubines, including the Noble Consort, the four Consorts Hui Rong Yi De, the Consort of Chu Xiu Palace, the Consort of Xian Fu Palace, and the four Concubines An Jing Duan Xi. All of them are concubines in Kangxi's harem who are registered and have a rank of Concubine or above.
Apart from these eleven, other concubines whose rank was below the rank of Pin or who had not held an investiture ceremony were not qualified to attend the family reunion banquet at Ning Shou Palace, even if they had given birth to princes or princesses.
Every year, new people join the palace, and in recent years, Consort Zhangjia has been particularly favored.
In the 25th and 26th years of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, she gave birth to the thirteenth prince and the thirteenth princess, making her the most prominent woman in the palace, overshadowing many of the older concubines. Yet, even so, Lady Zhangjia remained a concubine without official rank, only enjoying the privileges of a Noble Lady.
Unfortunately, Emperor Kangxi was rather stingy with the ranks of concubines in the harem. Many concubines remained in the position of concubines for over twenty years after entering the palace. Apart from bestowing titles upon the concubines, Kangxi rarely promoted any concubine individually. If they missed the opportunity, no matter how favored they were, they would not be promoted.
Emperor Kangxi's harem had new concubines every year, and he was somewhat fickle, preferring to favor the newly arrived ones.
However, Emperor Kangxi was still quite sentimental and treated his old friends well. Those concubines with more seniority, even if they were still only concubines of lower rank, had long been promoted to the rank of Noble Lady. There was no "only the laughter of the new concubines, but no crying of the old ones".
The eleven concubines in the main hall of Ning Shou Palace were all veterans of the palace. The most recent to enter the palace, Consort Chuxiu and Consort Niohuru, had both entered in the nineteenth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, and had already been in the palace for ten years.
Apart from Consort Niohuru and Consorts Huirong and Yide, who had a relatively strong presence in the palace, the other six were all relatively unknown, practically invisible in the palace, receiving little favor and having long since lost the emperor's affections, their limelight stolen by newcomers.
Consort Hesheli of Chuxiu Palace was the half-sister of Empress Yuan. This identity made her highly valued when she first entered the palace, but later she lost favor and the Crown Prince refused to get close to her, and she gradually faded into obscurity.
Consort Borjigit of Xianfu Palace was the daughter of Prince Darhan of Khorchin and Ta, and the niece of the late Emperor's Consort Dao, making her Emperor Kangxi's cousin. She was also the younger sister of the Empress Dowager and Consort Shuhui. She entered the palace in the sixteenth year of Kangxi's reign but remained out of favor for many years.
Although she was not favored, Consort Xianfu had the Empress Dowager's care in the past, and now she was looked after by the Empress Dowager and Consort Shuhui. She could also talk about being cousins with Emperor Kangxi. Although she was inconspicuous in the palace and had been in hiding for more than ten years, she was open-minded and optimistic, lived a carefree life, and looked full of energy.
Consort An, née Li, was a member of the Han Chinese Plain Blue Banner and the daughter of General Gang Atai; Consort Jing, née Wang, was also from the Han Chinese Banner and the daughter of Military Commander Hua Shan; Consort Duan, née Dong, was a member of the Plain Yellow Banner and the daughter of Assistant Minister Dong Daqi; Consort Xi, née Hesheli, was the daughter of Laishan and was not from the same branch as Empress Yuan, only sharing the same surname.
Consorts An, Jing, Duan, and Xi all entered the palace very early, and were promoted to the rank of Consort during the first major conferment of titles upon the harem in the sixteenth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign. At that time, the order of the seven Consorts was Consort An, Consort Jing, Consort Duan, Consort Rong, Consort Hui, Consort Yi, and Consort Xi. Except for Consort Xi, who was ranked last, Consort An, Consort Jing, and Consort Duan were ranked among the top three of the seven Consorts.
However, of the four women, only Consort Duan gave birth to the second princess in the tenth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign; the other three did not. Consort Duan's second princess also died young, passing away before she could be formally granted the title of princess.
Perhaps for this reason, Consorts Anjing and Duanxi gradually lost favor.
During the second major conferment of titles upon the imperial harem in the twentieth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, three of the concubines, Hui Rongyi, and others, who had been granted the title of concubine along with the four other concubines, An Jingduanxi, and the Consort De, who was granted the title of concubine separately in the eighteenth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, were all promoted to the rank of one of the four consorts. However, the four of them did not receive a promotion and remained as concubines.
Nowadays, Consorts Anjing and Duanxi are increasingly neglected in the palace. Apart from paying their respects to the Empress Dowager and having the privilege of showing their faces on important occasions such as grand palace banquets and family reunion dinners, they are always invisible and have little presence.
Only on special occasions each year, when families reunite and everyone gathers, does Yin'e actually see these people and realize with a start that there are still such people in the palace. While the four concubines, Anjing and Duanxi, are at least still concubines, the number of concubines who are silently forgotten in the palace is countless.
Besides these principal consorts, Emperor Kangxi's children also gathered in the main hall of the Ning Shou Palace.
Apart from the Crown Prince and the First Prince, the other princes who went to the Hall of Preserving Harmony to attend the grand banquet came to the Palace of Tranquil Longevity together after the banquet. At this time, they met up with the Thirteenth Prince and the Fourteenth Prince, who were too young to attend the grand banquet.
Besides the Ninth Princess, who was raised under the Empress Dowager's care, the other princesses who were also raised in Qixiang Palace came to Ningshou Palace under the guidance of Princess Chunxi and the Third Princess.
Apart from the fourteenth princess, who was born last February and was the youngest and still unable to walk and was being held in her wet nurse's arms, the other little princesses, all wearing brightly colored and festive cloaks, gathered together excitedly chattering, making the already lively palace even noisier.
Princess Chunxi was the eldest daughter of Prince Gong, Changning. She was adopted into the palace shortly after her birth and became Emperor Kangxi's adopted daughter.
She is twenty years old this year (by Chinese reckoning) and has just been ranked as the eldest princess, bestowed the title of Princess Chunxi of the First Rank. The decree of investiture has already been drafted by Emperor Kangxi and the news has already spread in the palace. She just needs to wait for the decree of betrothal to be issued together.
Princess Chunxi's marriage has been arranged. Not long ago, she was betrothed to Bandi of the Borjigit clan, a Taiji of the Khorchin Mongols. Soon she will marry into the Khorchin and go to Mongolia to "pacify the Mongols." This is the inescapable fate of most princesses and noblewomen.
The Third Princess was born to Consort Rong. She is eighteen years old this year, which is not yet the age for marriage, so she has not been ranked in the order of birth or given the title of princess.
Manchu women were all highly respected, especially princesses and daughters of the imperial family. They were not in a hurry to marry and it was common for them to remain in their chambers until they were eighteen or nineteen. Princess Chunxi's marriage to a Mongol was for the purpose of Manchu-Mongol alliance, but she was also betrothed at the age of twenty (by the traditional Chinese age reckoning).
Although the Third Princess was the third daughter of the Emperor, the eldest and second daughters of the Emperor both died young, so she was effectively Emperor Kangxi's eldest daughter and always held considerable prestige in his eyes. After Consort Rong's favor gradually waned, the Third Princess, who was quite popular with the Emperor, became the greatest support for Consort Rong and her son, the Third Prince.
Emperor Kangxi was still in the Hall of Preserving Harmony and had not yet arrived, nor had the Crown Prince and the First Prince, who were accompanying him, come to the Palace of Tranquil Longevity.
Yin'e thought maliciously: the more important the person, the later they appear. Kangxi probably wants to arrive at the last minute to enter the Ning Shou Palace, so as to show his status and prestige, and put on a show there.
The dome of the main hall of Ning Shou Palace is very high, which makes the interior space appear very large and spacious.
However, no matter how large the palace is, it is inevitable that it will be a bit crowded when so many concubines, princes and princesses, along with their attendants, maids, and eunuchs, are crammed into the same room.
In addition, everyone wasn't just standing there motionless and silent. They had all just come from a grand banquet at the Hall of Preserving Harmony and were exchanging pleasantries with each other according to their relationship with the other. This made the scene in the hall even more chaotic.
Seeing the chaotic scene of everyone crammed together in the hall, Consort Niohuru sighed inwardly, knowing she had no choice but to step forward and take charge. After Empress Xiaoyi's passing, Consort Niohuru held the highest rank in the palace, and there were some matters she couldn't simply shirk her responsibilities for.
The Ning Shou Palace was renovated starting in the 25th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign and took three years to complete. The final product was no less impressive than the Cining Palace.
On either side of the main hall of the Palace of Tranquil Longevity, there are accompanying side rooms and warm pavilions, which were originally used to separate people. There were so many people attending the family reunion banquet that even the largest round table in the palace couldn't accommodate everyone, so they were originally divided into several groups according to their status and seated at different tables.
It was only after the grand banquet that everyone rushed from the Hall of Preserving Harmony to the Palace of Tranquil Longevity. In addition, this was the first time that the New Year was celebrated in the Palace of Tranquil Longevity, which caused chaos and resulted in everyone being crowded in one room and not knowing what to do.
After the Imperial Concubine stepped forward to take charge, everyone in the hall was settled down and led by palace servants to their seats.
The Empress Dowager sat on the left of the two most honored seats in the main hall, while the right seat was left empty to await the arrival of Emperor Kangxi. In the Qing Dynasty, the left was considered superior to the right, but the family reunion banquet was not a formal occasion. It was just a private family celebration of the New Year, so filial piety took precedence and the Empress Dowager sat in the honored seat.
Below the Empress Dowager's seat was a smaller chair, upon which sat Su Ma La Gu. She was Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang's maid and also Emperor Kangxi's tutor. Emperor Kangxi always respected Su Ma La Gu, inviting her to the annual family reunion banquets, demonstrating his gratitude and affection for her.
The Empress Dowager keeps the Ninth Princess by her side, but the one holding her hand and standing beside her today is not the Ninth Princess, but Princess Chunxi, who is about to be married off to the Khorchin tribe.
Princess Chunxi, with the Empress Dowager holding her hand, reminisced about the magnificent and vast Mongolian grasslands. She lowered her head slightly, her beautiful and bright face flushed with two faint blushes. Her lips curved slightly, her smile was dignified and generous. Even when her marriage was discussed in public and she was mentioned as marrying far away to Mongolia, she remained calm and composed, neither shy nor afraid.
Below the high platform where the most honored person sat, there were two rows of seats arranged in order. The Imperial Concubine rightfully occupied the first seat on the lower left, with Consort Hui sitting opposite her, and then the seats were arranged in order of rank.
Consort Xi, who was seated at the very end, sat alone in the last row. Because the main hall was spacious, she did not sit near the door, but she was very far from the most honored seat and could barely hear what the Empress Dowager at the head of the table was saying.
The younger princes and princesses stayed with their birth mothers/adoptive mothers. For example, the thirteenth prince, who was raised in Consort De's palace, stood obediently by Consort De's side because his birth mother was not there. On the other hand, the fourteenth prince, who had just turned two, was not very patient with Consort De and was eager to slip away to play with his other brothers.
Consort De was temporarily preoccupied with the Fourteenth Prince, holding the Ninth Princess in her arms. The mother and daughter, who rarely had the chance to interact, were whispering intimately, cherishing this brief moment together.
Apart from the youngest princes, the thirteenth and fourteenth, even the older princes, the eleventh and tenth, who were somewhat capable of taking care of themselves, slipped away to the side room on the left to find a place to sit. They didn't like joining in the lively conversation of their elders—everyone was mainly there to keep the Empress Dowager company, but the princes really couldn't get a word in edgewise on the current topic.
On the princess's side, because Princess Chunxi was about to marry into the Khorchin, it sparked a conversation with the Empress Dowager. The old lady held Princess Chunxi's hand and kept talking about the grasslands and the Manchu-Mongol marriage alliance. The Third Princess then led her sisters to the warm pavilion on the right.
The Third Princess wasn't afraid that her older, more worldly-wise younger sisters would be embarrassed to hear this; it was simply that nurturing children was not a happy thing to begin with.
Since the younger sisters are not yet of marriageable age, there is no need to let them know what they will face in the future, at least not during the New Year's reunion.
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