The Empress Dowager issued an imperial edict to send Tongjia Xianyu out of the palace. Although Emperor Kangxi bestowed upon her the brocade of Fuguang and intervened, the matter still caused a great uproar in the capital.
Among them, the most affected was Tong Jiaxianyu's lifelong marriage.
Three days later, Xu Lejin had just returned to the west side hall of Yikun Palace when Zhishu carefully handed her a letter. The letter was written by Xie, a member of Xu Muer's family outside the palace. In the letter, Xie recounted the rumors circulating outside the palace about Tongjia Xianyu in the past few days.
With a slight upturn of her lips, Xu Lejin murmured softly, "The Emperor's bestowal of the 'Floating Light Brocade' upon Princess Tongjia may have been an act of appeasement, but in the eyes of the Tong family, it was not so."
"Previously, there were many noble families in the Manchu and Mongol Eight Banners who wanted to marry the Second Princess Tongjia for their eligible sons. Now that the Emperor has bestowed upon the Second Princess Tongjia the 'Floating Light Brocade' from Suzhou, the Tong family has deliberately used it, and the Manchu and Mongol noble families have all given up the idea of marrying the Second Princess Tongjia."
Yingchun and Zhishu exchanged a quick glance, then lowered their heads and remained silent.
Xu Lejin, with her slender, white fingers forming a delicate, orchid-like gesture, continued calmly, "The Emperor is the Son of Heaven. Who in the world would dare to be so audacious as to snatch a woman from his heart?"
"Interesting, interesting, it's getting more and more interesting."
Outside the palace, not only Xu Lejin knew about the Tong family's schemes, but also Emperor Kangxi, the Empress Dowager, Consort Zhao, and even any concubines in the harem with connections. They all felt a tightness in their chests.
September 29
On the second day after Prince Gong's arrival at the Prince Gong's residence, his two secondary consorts, Lady Borjigit and Lady Xumur, accompanied Prince Gong and his wife to the palace to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager, and Consort Zhao, Lady Niohuru, who was now in charge of the palace.
Consort Zhao, with a gentle expression, sat regally in the main seat.
"Consort Xu, I reckon that the wife of Prince Gong and his two concubines will come to pay their respects to me in a little while. Consort Xu of Prince Gong's residence is your elder sister, Consort Xu. I have been thinking that Consort Xu has not seen her family for a long time and misses them very much."
"Consort Xu, please stay here a little longer and meet with Consort Xu to ease your longing."
After speaking, Consort Zhao tilted her chin slightly, giving a condescending look.
Xu Lejin paused for a moment, then respectfully replied, "Yes."
Consort Nara and Consort Majia looked at each other and pondered for a moment. Consort Nara covered her mouth and said with a coquettish smile, "Your Majesty is so caring towards Sister Xu."
“Your Majesty, I remember that Consort Xu gave birth to the sixth prince, the eighth princess, and the ninth princess for His Majesty. Just over a month ago, when the sixth prince, the eighth princess, and the ninth princess were one month old, Consort Xu reunited with her family.”
Consort Zhao's expression turned slightly annoyed, and she gave a wink to Consort Ma Jia beside her.
Although Consort Ma was extremely unwilling, she had to accept that she was pregnant and only a concubine, and that she had to rely on Consort Zhao to maintain her position in the palace.
After some thought, Consort Ma Jia smiled and said, "Are you jealous of Sister Xu, Sister Na La? Sister Xu is very fortunate to have given birth to three imperial heirs in one go, which is the first in the harem. It is only natural that the Emperor and the Empress would favor her."
“Years ago, when Nara’s cousin married Prince Gong as his primary wife, she entered the palace to pay her respects to the late Empress on the second day of her wedding. The late Empress was kind and benevolent, and she allowed Nara to stay so that she could reconnect with Prince Gong’s primary wife and rekindle their sisterly bond.”
Consort Nara's face stiffened.
With a quick glance around her eyes, Consort Nara covered her mouth and smiled as she spoke, "Sister Ma Jia is absolutely right. Prince Gong's current second wife is Sister Ma Jia's cousin. She entered Prince Gong's residence after the death of Consort Nara's primary wife."
"When Ma Jia's second wife first entered the palace to pay her respects, Ma Jia's sister also received the favor of the late Empress and reminisced with Ma Jia's second wife in a side hall."
Consort Nara and Consort Majia chatted amongst themselves, completely unaware that Consort Zhao, seated above, had a face so gloomy it seemed as if water could drip from it.
Xu Lejin quietly looked up and glanced at Consort Zhao.
After quickly thinking for a moment, Xu Lejin smiled and said, "Sister Ma Jia and Sister Na La are right. Both the late Empress and Consort Zhao were kind, benevolent, virtuous and gentle."
"The late Empress and Consort Zhao knew that we were serving the Emperor in the palace, separated from our families, and could only see our relatives a few times a year. They tried to find ways to let us see our relatives to ease our longing."
After Xu Lejin finished speaking, she lowered her head and looked at her toes.
Consorts Ma Jia and Na La belatedly realized they had said the wrong thing. They shouldn't have repeatedly mentioned the deceased Empress in front of Consort Zhao, Niohuru, who currently holds the highest rank in the harem and is the designated successor.
Consort Zhao glared at Consort Ma Jia, secretly cursing her for being more trouble than she was worth.
Lady Majia was an old hand in the palace. Everyone knew that she had competed with Empress Hesheli for the empress's position back then. Empress Hesheli had been superior to her both in life and after death, which was bad enough. But this fool Lady Majia, who was clearly dependent on her, ended up...
They kept poking at her lungs.
Relying on the fact that she had given birth to the imperial heir and was pregnant with the dragon's child, Lady Ma Jia became increasingly arrogant and disregarded everyone else. It seems that Lady Ma Jia's pregnancy cannot continue.
One hour later.
Xu Lejin and her second sister, Xu Chaojin, left Chuxiu Palace hand in hand and walked along the long street.
Choosing her words carefully, Xu Lejin lowered her voice and whispered, "Second Sister, yesterday was your wedding day with Prince Gong. Prince Gong last night..."
"Reporting to Consort Xu, the Prince stayed in his sister Borjigit's room last night."
Xu Chaojin replied with a calm expression and a slight smile.
After a pause, Xu Chaojin changed the subject and continued, "Although the prince stayed in his sister Borjigit's room last night, he went to my room first, lifted his veil, and we drank the nuptial wine together."
After speaking, Xu Chaojin showed a shy expression.
Xu Lejin nodded, stopped and looked in the direction of Cining Palace. After pondering for a long time, she spoke softly. "The Borjigit Consort is of Mongol origin, backed by the Khorchin tribe, and has the Empress Dowager as her support. It is normal for Prince Gong to pay more attention to her."
"Second sister, now that we are both members of the royal family, I might as well speak frankly with you. In the palace and the royal residence, it is not acceptable to not compete, not to fight, and not to show off. We must compete, but we cannot compete for short-term gains. If we are to compete, we must compete for long-term benefits."
“I think the Princess Consort of Prince Gong is not easy to get along with. The Consort of Borjigit is from Mongolia, she is heroic and has a very outgoing personality. Second Sister could try to befriend the Consort of Borjigit.”
Xu Lejin sighed, her voice barely audible.
"Second Sister is now in her early twenties, the prime of her life for bearing children. The most urgent matter is to give birth to an heir for Prince Gong as soon as possible. In Prince Gong's household, besides the eldest son born to the Fujin (Prince Gong's wife), there is..."
Upon hearing this, Xu Chaojin took over the conversation and said with a smile, "Your Highness now has two sons and two daughters. The eldest son was born to the Fujin, and I, Shushu Jueluo, gave birth to your second son three days ago."
"My concubines, Jin and Chen, have given birth to the eldest and second daughters of the Prince, respectively. In addition, my concubine Jin is now seven months pregnant, and we do not know whether the child in her womb is a boy or a girl."
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