April 17
On the day of Princess Chunxi's wedding, just after dawn, Xu Lejin was awakened from her sleep by Ruhua and Nongying. She bathed, changed clothes, and put on her makeup, donning the court dress symbolizing her status as an Imperial Noble Consort.
Around 7:00 AM, the high-ranking concubines of the imperial harem gathered in the courtyard where Princess Chunxi resided.
Consort Que, Consort Hui, and others had arrived at Princess Chunxi's courtyard early on, and knelt respectfully to greet Empress Xu Lejin, saying, "Your humble servants and concubines pay their respects to Your Majesty the Imperial Noble Consort."
"No need for such formalities."
With a gentle smile, Xu Lejin said softly, "Today is the auspicious day of Princess Chunxi's wedding. Princess Chunxi is the bride, and she is marrying a first-class Taiji of the Khorchin tribe."
As Xu Lejin spoke, Consort Que, Consort Hui, and others would occasionally chime in with a word or two, and half an hour quickly passed.
A palace maid helped Princess Chunxi, dressed in a bright red wedding gown and phoenix coronet, to walk out gracefully. Princess Chunxi had bright and beautiful features, and the bright red wedding gown accentuated her stunning appearance.
Kneeling down, Princess Chunxi respectfully said, "Your subject greets the Imperial Noble Consort and all the other consorts."
"Princess, please rise. There is no need for such formalities. Today is your joyous day. The Empress and my sisters from the harem have come to see you off. We hope that after you marry into the Khorchin, you will continue to maintain the friendly relations between the Qing Dynasty and the Khorchin."
Xu Lejin looked at Princess Chunxi and spoke with a smile.
Princess Chunxi paused for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Yes, Your Highness, I will follow your teachings."
"Um,"
Xu Lejin responded with a nod, but said nothing more.
Although she is now an Imperial Noble Consort, with a rank equivalent to that of a secondary empress, Princess Chunxi was raised under the care of Empress Xiaozhao and was considered half a legitimate daughter. Therefore, Princess Chunxi did not lower herself to address Xu Lejin as "Empress Mother" along with the other princes born out of wedlock, such as the First Prince and the Second Prince.
Xu Lejin didn't seem to care about this.
Consort Hui covered her mouth and smiled, "Time flies so fast. In the blink of an eye, Princess Chunxi has lived in the palace for over ten years. I still remember when Princess Chunxi first entered the palace, you were just a child."
"Now that Princess Chunxi is about to get married, I think that if Empress Xiaozhao were still alive, she would be very happy to see Princess Chunxi get married."
Upon hearing this, Xu Lejin turned her head and gave Consort Hui a meaningful look.
Princess Chunxi paused slightly, then pursed her lips and remained silent.
Logically, Princess Chunxi was Emperor Kangxi's adopted daughter, and her biological parents were Prince Gong and his concubine. Today, as Princess Chunxi is getting married, Prince Gong and his concubines are to enter the palace.
but,
The second and third princesses of Prince Gong's Mansion are also getting married today, and they are going to Khorchin together with Princess Chunxi, marrying different men from Khorchin.
Prince Gong and his wife were too busy at the Prince's residence to spare any time to come to the palace.
Princess Chunxi was already old enough to remember things when she was adopted by Emperor Kangxi. Consort Hui's words today were deliberately intended to upset Princess Chunxi at her wedding.
Xu Lejin exchanged a glance with Consort Que without showing any emotion, and understood Consort Hui's meaning.
Consort Hui's future daughter-in-law, the betrothed of the Second Prince Yinti, is the daughter of Prince Darhan. Princess Chunxi's husband is Prince Manzhu Xili, the grandson of Prince Heshuo Darhan Baturu.
Prince Darhan and Prince Baturu were outwardly friendly but inwardly at odds.
After a quiet period of time, just as Xu Lejin was about to speak to ease the atmosphere, the master of ceremonies suddenly announced, "The auspicious time has arrived!"
Swallowing the words that were about to come out, Xu Lejin gestured to the palace maids and nannies to cover Princess Chunxi's head with a red veil and send her off to her wedding. The concubines of the harem followed behind Xu Lejin and escorted Princess Chunxi all the way to the palace gate.
Emperor Kangxi personally escorted Princess Chunxi to her wedding at the palace gate.
After completing the formalities, Xu Lejin and the others returned to Yikun Palace in the afternoon.
Consort Que, looking languid, propped her cheek on her hand and said, "Today is Princess Chunxi's wedding. I have witnessed ten miles of red bridal procession, with Prince Yu and Prince Chun serving as the wedding envoys. It is a magnificent sight."
After a pause, Consort Que spoke next.
"When Princess Chunxi got married, Consort Hui said something that actually made sense. If Princess Chunxi hadn't been adopted by Empress Xiaozhao, her highest status after marrying into Mongolia would only be that of a Heshuo Junzhu (a high-ranking princess)."
"Princess Chunxi has been in the palace for more than ten years. Now, as a princess of the first rank, she is marrying into the Khorchin. She will surely be connected to the lineage of Prince Darhan Baturu of Khorchin and be loved and respected by her husband."
Xu Lejin nodded slightly and said, "That is indeed the case."
"Today, the second and third princesses of Prince Gong's Mansion are also getting married. The Emperor has graciously allowed the second and third princesses of Prince Gong's Mansion to be registered under the name of Princess Borjigit and to marry into the Khorchin with the status of a Heshuo Princess."
"Consort Ning, I remember that the consort of the Second Princess of Prince Gong's Mansion is your younger brother?"
Consort Ning stood up and said respectfully, "Your Highness, it is indeed my younger brother, who shares the same father but not the same mother. I wrote to him a few days ago, asking him to love and respect Princess Heshuo."
"Um,"
Xu Lejin responded softly.
Half an hour later
Consort Que and the others rose to take their leave and left Yikun Palace.
Consort Hui stopped outside the gates of Yikun Palace and spoke in a deep voice, "After Princess Chunxi's marriage, the next one will be Princess Rongxian. Princess Rongxian will marry into the Balin tribe and will be the granddaughter-in-law of Grand Princess Shuhui."
"Although the Emperor only bestowed upon her the title of Princess Heshuo, with the elder Princess Shuhui as her mentor, Princess Rongxian will surely have a smooth life after marrying into the Balin tribe and will have a very deep relationship with her husband."
Consort Que and others, "..."
Everyone turned to look at Consort Hui, wondering what she meant by those words.
Princess Chunxi has just gotten married, and Consort Hui has mentioned Princess Rongxian, who is about to marry into the Balin tribe. What does this mean?
When Consort Hui was young, she did indeed compete for the emperor's favor with the late Consort Rong. However, Consort Hui was not as fertile as Consort Rong.
However, Consort Hui has been dead for many years, so why does she keep emphasizing Princess Rongxian, the daughter of Consort Rong?
Outside Yikun Palace, Consort Hui's words reached Xu Lejin's ears.
Xu Lejin was taken aback for a moment, but after thinking about it, she understood what Consort Hui meant.
Consort Rong, of the Ma Jia clan, had one son and four daughters. The eldest son was the eldest prince. Princess Rongxian was betrothed to Urgun of the Bairin tribe, the fourth princess was betrothed to the Niohuru family, and the ninth princess was betrothed to a Beile of the Khoshut tribe. They built a princess residence and lived in the capital.
There is also a daughter, the eleventh princess, who has not yet been betrothed.
Consort Hui's intention was probably to let the First Prince and Princess Rongxian see the glorious wedding of Princess Chunxi, who married into the Khorchin tribe, and thus encourage them to request that the Eleventh Princess also marry into Mongolia for a political alliance.
Xu Lejin beckoned Liu Ying to come forward, lowered her voice, and whispered a few words in Liu Ying's ear. Liu Ying's expression changed, and she bowed and withdrew.
As Ru Hua watched Liu Ying's retreating figure, she pondered for a moment and then whispered, "Your Majesty, why did you analyze the pros and cons for the First Prince and Princess Rongxian?"
With a calm and collected expression, Xu Lejin glanced at Ruhua and parted her lips slightly.
"My actions have their own reasons."
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