The next day, the first day of the fifth lunar month
An imperial edict was issued from the Qianqing Palace and reached Wang Jia's residence outside the palace.
By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Wang Jiayirou, daughter of Wang Huashan, Commander of the Bordered Red Banner Guard, is of noble birth, virtuous and kind, possessing both talent and virtue, gentle and respectful. By the benevolent decree of the Empress Dowager, she is hereby appointed as a concubine and granted residence in the East Side Hall of Yonghe Palace. She shall enter the palace on the nineteenth day of the fifth month. This is the imperial decree.
Wang Huashan, kneeling respectfully on the ground, looked utterly astonished.
"Lord Wang, please receive the imperial decree?" Li Dequan, who was in charge of reading the imperial decree and serving in front of the emperor, glanced at Madam Wang kneeling beside Wang Huashan out of the corner of his eye and reminded her in a deep voice.
Wang Huashan realized what was happening and respectfully said, "This servant accepts the decree and thanks Your Majesty for your great favor. Long live the Emperor! Long live the Empress Dowager!"
Li Dequan handed the imperial edict to Wang Huashan.
Wang Huashan rose with a fawning expression and approached Li Dequan in a friendly manner. Behind Wang Huashan, Borjigit and Wang Jiayirou suppressed their excitement and tried to straighten their backs.
Wang Huashan's concubines, illegitimate children, and other women lowered their heads slightly, their faces full of envy.
"Eunuch Li, why did His Majesty suddenly summon my daughter to the palace?"
A thin layer of sweat appeared on Wang Huashan's back. He asked Li Dequan in a low voice, but in his heart he was thinking about what would happen to the marriage between the eldest daughter and the Tong family if the eldest daughter was summoned to the palace.
The Tong family is the Emperor's maternal family; they are his cousins.
He had already made arrangements with Lord Tong Guowei and was just waiting for Lord Tong Guowei to send someone to his home to propose marriage. Now, at the last minute, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager issued an imperial edict summoning their daughter to the palace.
Where could he find another legitimate daughter to arrange a marriage with Longkodo in such a short time?
The concubine's daughter in the family, Lord Tong Guowei and Longkodo might not even look at her.
Li Dequan glanced at Wang Huashan and said coldly, "Lord Wang, remember that your marriage to your wife was bestowed by the Empress Dowager's decree. Your wife is the Empress Dowager's elder sister, and Consort Wang Jia is naturally the Empress Dowager's niece."
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager has heard that you, my lord, have been quite cold towards your wife and Consort Wang Jia. Is it possible that a concubine is the one in charge of your household? If you, my lord, do not wish to lose your life, you may continue in this manner."
Upon hearing this, Wang Huashan looked guilty.
Li Dequan glanced at Wang Huashan with disdain, "Lord Wang, I still have duties to attend to at the palace, so I won't delay any longer!"
"Respectfully seeing off the eunuch."
Wang Huashan bowed and scraped as he saw Li Dequan off. He then turned around and looked at his favored concubine, as well as his third son, Wang Gui, and his third daughter-in-law, Xu Muershi, with a grim expression.
The following afternoon
Xu Lejin received a letter from outside the palace, delivered to the palace by her mother, Xie.
After quickly reading the letter in her hand, Xu Lejin slammed her hand on the table and said coldly, "Good, good, good, that's wonderful. I'm kind-hearted, so I kept my disobedient half-sisters in the house so they could marry off to other men as wives in a grand manner. I never expected they would cause me such a big mess."
"Even though she is not favored in the Wang family, she is still related to the Empress Dowager and the Grand Empress Dowager by blood. How can we let them scheme against her?"
Lianzhi and Ruhua exchanged a glance, their faces full of confusion.
Xu Lejin then spoke up, "Xu Qingxi is my half-sister. She benefited from my influence and left the palace to get married. She married the third son of Wang Huashan, the military commander, through proper channels. However, she instigated her husband and mother-in-law to scheme against Wang Huashan's legal wife and legitimate daughter."
"Lianzhi, prepare pen and ink."
Lianzhi looked surprised and quickly prepared pen, ink and paper for Xu Lejin.
Xu Lejin quickly wrote a letter and had it sent out of the palace immediately to her mother, Lady Xie.
At the same time, Xu Lejin also wrote a letter and sent it to her father, Xu Lu, who was herding horses in the Mulan Hunting Ground in Shengjing.
One hour later
Xu Lejin, dressed in simple palace attire and without makeup, went to Cining Palace to apologize to the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager.
The elderly Empress Dowager, sitting upright in the main seat, exchanged a glance with the Empress Dowager beside her and said in a deep voice, "What does Consort Yu mean? Wang Huashan wants to marry Yirou to Tongjia Longkodo. It was your seventh half-sister and her husband Wang Gui who instigated this."
"Reporting to the Empress Dowager, my mother sent a letter to the palace, and it was indeed this she told me. After learning of this, my mother immediately sent someone to Lord Wang's residence to bring my seventh sister home."
Xu Lejin replied respectfully, and at the same time, she held up the letter that Xie had sent to her in the palace and presented it to the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager nodded, gesturing for Su Ma La Gu to take the letter from Xu Le Jin's hand.
After a short while, the Empress Dowager finished reading the letter presented by Xu Lejin. Her expression darkened, and she looked at Xu Lejin with her cloudy eyes. "Does Consort Yu know why the Emperor summoned Wang Jia to the palace as a concubine?"
Xu Lejin's heart skipped a beat.
With a look of fear and trepidation, and her head bowed, Xu Lejin said, "Your Majesty, I was unaware."
The Empress Dowager sneered and, supported by Su Ma La Gu, stood up, looking at Xu Le Jin with icy eyes. She said, "Wang Hua Shan wanted to marry Yi Rou to Long Ke Duo. His wife went to the palace to ask the Empress Dowager for help. The Empress Dowager begged me, and that's how Yi Rou entered the palace and became the Emperor's concubine."
"Consort Yu, I have always thought that although you came from a humble background, you were blessed with good fortune. You gave birth to Bao Shou, Wu Xi Ha, and Wu Na Xi for the Emperor, and now you are pregnant with another child. You are a blessed person."
With a sigh, a hint of pity flashed in the Empress Dowager's eyes, and she said, "I thought it was one thing that your father and brothers were hopeless, but I didn't expect your sister to cause such a mess."
Xu Lejin, heavily pregnant, lay prostrate on the ground, not daring to utter a sound.
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