Brother
In the courtyard where the eldest prince lived, he held a book in his hands and read it with great interest. He was unusually calm and composed when the palace servants reported that Emperor Kangxi had bestowed a marriage between Lady Guarjia and his primary consort.
For him, it didn't matter who he married; after all, he had devoted himself to poetry and books all these years and had no one he loved.
At this moment, a young eunuch bowed and quickly walked in, respectfully reporting to the eldest prince, "Your Highness, the Second Princess, the Fourth Princess, the Ninth Princess, and the Eleventh Princess have arrived."
"Um."
Yin Zhi responded calmly, "Please invite my second sister and fourth sister in!"
A moment later, the Second Princess, the Fourth Princess, and others sat facing Yinzhi. The younger Ninth Princess and Eleventh Princess were still young and ignorant, while the older Second Princess, Fourth Princess, and...
The second princess sighed deeply and said softly, "The Guarjia clan has always produced beauties. Guarjia Shi is a year younger than my eldest brother, and she had a reputation for beauty that spread throughout the capital from an early age."
"Franna congratulates you, big brother..."
Yinzhi raised his eyes and glanced at the Second Princess, his brows furrowing slightly.
"When choosing a wife, one should choose a virtuous one; when choosing a concubine, one should choose a beautiful one. Whether Guarjia Shi is beautiful or not has little to do with her becoming my primary consort. When the Emperor bestows a marriage, he has always valued family background and social standing."
"Second sister, Father Emperor has betrothed you to the Balin tribe. I am sorry for this."
Upon hearing this, the second princess smiled faintly.
“Brother, you’re too kind. It is an unparalleled honor and a great favor for me to marry into the Balin tribe and become the granddaughter-in-law of my great-aunt Shuhui. I am so grateful to you, brother.”
"It's an old custom for princesses to be sent to serve in the Mongol tribes. Although my elder sister is the Emperor's adopted daughter, she may have married into the Khorchin tribe. As for me, I'm marrying into the Bairin tribe, whose power in Mongolia is second only to the Khorchin."
After a pause, the second princess lowered her voice and said softly, "It would be best if I could marry into the Balin tribe and be of help to my elder brother."
"Not only me, but also my fourth, ninth, and eleventh sisters, who are all born of the same mother as our eldest brother, will become his help in the future."
"Second sister,"
Yinzhi exclaimed in surprise, staring at the Second Princess in disbelief.
After his birth mother's death, he asked himself honestly, and realized he only wanted to be a carefree prince, indulging in poetry and literature, without any desire for power or influence, much less vying for the supreme position.
The second princess frowned slightly, quickly glanced outside, lowered her voice, and said in a deep voice, "Eldest brother, you are Father Emperor's eldest son. Father Emperor has no legitimate sons."
"Many things cannot be avoided simply by not fighting for them."
Yin Zhi stared blankly, lost in thought.
A quarter of an hour later, the second princess, the fourth princess, and the other sisters left, leaving Yinzhi alone to ponder what to do next.
next door
The residence of the Second Prince, Yinti.
"Father Emperor has actually betrothed Lady Guarjia to my eldest brother as his primary consort. The Guarjia clan has always been known for its beauties; the Lady Jing in the palace is aloof and stunningly beautiful."
With a cold snort, the Second Prince said in a chilling voice, "My elder brother is sickly; what virtue or ability does he possess to marry Lady Guarjia Shi as his primary consort? I, I am brave and mighty, yet I will be the one to marry..."
The words "a vulgar Mongolian woman as a wife" were on the tip of his tongue, but Yinti swallowed them back down.
Yinti was reluctant to marry a noble Mongolian woman as his primary consort, but he knew that the imperial decree could not be disobeyed. The imperial edict proclaimed to the world that unless his Mongolian primary consort died young, he had no choice but to marry her.
Whether she's ugly or beautiful, he must marry her, and he must marry her happily.
The more Yinti thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt. He was seething with anger and wanted to vent his frustration on two young and beautiful palace maids, but he was also worried about his mother, Consort Hui...
He knew his mother meant well, and he also felt that there should be no illegitimate children before the birth of legitimate sons and daughters.
but,
Time passed day by day, and before we knew it, it was early June.
On this day, Consort Que arrived at Xu Lejin's palace in a rage, accompanied by her palace servants. She sat opposite Xu Lejin with a gloomy face, frowning and remaining silent.
"What has made my sister so angry?"
Xu Lejin gave a wink to the maids around her, and a moment later only Xu Lejin, Consort Que, and their personal maids remained in the main hall.
Xu Lejin looked at Consort Que and asked softly.
Consort Que was furious and spoke coldly, "Consort Yu, there's more to my aunt's death than meets the eye. Only today did I learn that before her death, she suffered torture at the hands of Empress Hesheli. Father..."
“Father knew that Hesheli was torturing his aunt, but he did nothing about it. He even said that his aunt should suffer in my place, saying that it was all because I had disobeyed them and refused to arrange for a woman from the Tongjia clan to serve the Emperor.”
With glistening tears on her face, Consort Que's voice choked with sobs.
"Sister Consort Yu, I... I did indeed use some means to arrange for Tongjia Feixu, Tongjia Qianrou, and Tongjia Rongyin to marry eunuchs as 'couples,' but..."
Upon hearing this, Xu Lejin's expression froze.
She knew that the three Tongjia princesses had been given to eunuchs as "couples" and that it was not a matter of mutual consent. Now, she heard Consort Que admit to it with her own ears.
She was shocked, but along with the shock came a sense of acceptance.
After all, a man must be ruthless to stand firm in the harem. Consort Que was doing this for herself.
If a person doesn't look out for themselves, they'll be punished by heaven and earth.
After pondering for a moment, Xu Lejin shook her head helplessly.
“Sister, this is a family matter between you and the Tong family, and I am not really in a position to interfere. As for how to handle it and what to do next, I have already made up my mind. From the moment the Tong family sent someone to the palace, and from the moment your aunt passed away in the Tong family, I have already made my decision.”
Consort Que was taken aback upon hearing this.
After a long silence, Consort Que murmured softly, "Yes, the decision was already made."
Consort Que left Yikun Palace in a daze and returned to Chengqian Palace in the Eastern Six Palaces.
Ru Hua lowered her voice and said softly, "Your Majesty, Consort Que is truly pitiful. She was neglected by Lord Tong Guowei since childhood, entered the palace to serve the Emperor, but could not bear children, and raised the Twenty-Second Princess. Now..."
"Lord Tong Guowei is truly heartless, showing no regard for the bond between father and daughter."
Xu Lejin smiled and said casually, "Tong Guowei does not only have Consort Que as his daughter. Consort Que's birth was an accident. For Tong Guowei, he may always have been bothered by the fact that Consort Que's birth mother was a foot-washing maid."
"Tong Guowei regarded Consort Que as a disgrace, so how could there be any father-daughter affection between them?"
Ruhua lowered her brows and remained silent.
After a long silence, Xu Lejin said slowly, "Consort Que, in the end, is also a pitiful person. She entered the palace but had no control over her own destiny. If she can completely sever ties with the Tong family this time, although she has no maternal clan to support her,..."
"Consort Que is unable to bear children and is raising the Twenty-Second Princess. Now that she is a Consort, as long as she doesn't make any mistakes, her position will be secure. However, if her maternal family continues to hold her back..."
"It's better to not have it!"
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