"My ninth brother came to see me today. I heard that his wife came to see you today too."
"The two of them are arguing again. What do you think Ninth Brother means by this? They should keep to themselves. Why did Ninth Brother suddenly decide to let Ninth Sister-in-law manage his household?"
Yinzhen chuckled lightly: "He's regretting it and wants to live a good life with Ninth Brother's wife."
Le Shu scoffed, "It's not that easy. Their relationship was terrible back then. He hurt Ninth Sister-in-law badly. Why should she forgive him just because he regrets it? And his methods are so clumsy."
I regret it now. Letting her manage the household is utterly illogical.
Ability is ability, and character is character. Le Shu admires Lao Jiu's abilities, but she really doesn't think much of his character, especially his attitude towards women.
Yinzhen had no interest in meddling in other people's marital relationships, so he only said a few words and then stopped.
This is also one of the couple's greatest joys.
The people behind the scenes are all doing it in private; it will never be spread or recorded.
Le Shu will ensure that the Ninth Prince will not bully the Ninth Princess. As for their final fate, she will not interfere. Relationships are something only the person experiencing them truly knows. If outsiders interfere, it's easy to make them look bad to everyone. She will just be a listener.
——
Emperor Kangxi died in the fifteenth year of Emperor Yongzheng's reign, living a few years longer than historically recorded.
After the funeral, Yinzhen was depressed for two days, but he recovered.
Empress Dowager Wuya went from being the Retired Empress to the Empress Dowager, and then she started causing trouble.
She was not happy living in Changchun Garden and planned to return to the palace to live in Cining Palace.
Since Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang passed away, Cining Palace has been uninhabited and inevitably fell into disrepair. Logically speaking, it would have been fine for her to move in, but she had many demands and requested the Imperial Household Department to carry out a large-scale renovation of Cining Palace.
How can I put this?
If she had a good relationship with Yinzhen and his mother, then the repair would have been fine, but their relationship was just so-so!
Yinzhen and Leshu were not short of money, but Shou Kang Palace was also very nice and they could move in directly. They were not too happy about spending money to renovate Cining Palace.
At Shou Kang Palace, Yue Shu came over to pay her respects to Lady Wuya.
"Greetings to the Empress Dowager, may the Empress Dowager enjoy boundless blessings and peace."
"You're here, please have a seat!"
Uya knew she couldn't control her according to the rules, so she didn't bother to torment her any further and simply made her sit down.
"How is the renovation of Cining Palace progressing?"
Le Shu looked troubled: "Back then, Father Emperor kept Cining Palace untouched for many years in gratitude for Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang's merits. I never expected that Mother Empress would come back and want to live in Cining Palace. It needs to be renovated, and it will probably be a major undertaking. It probably won't be finished in a short time. The Imperial Household Department and the Ministry of Works will be busy."
The Qing Dynasty is currently in dire need of manpower. While it is possible to undertake a major renovation of the Cining Palace, it is largely unnecessary.
The concubines in Emperor Kangxi's harem who had children lived with their children in the prince's mansion, the prince's mansion, or the princess's mansion as long as the children were still alive. Those who did not have children mostly lived in Changchun Garden and were unwilling to return.
There weren't many places left for the imperial concubines to live in the palace, but Changchun Garden was spacious and comfortable.
It can be said that only Lady Wuya lives in Shou Kang Palace now.
Yinzhen was frugal and really didn't want to build the Cining Palace at this critical juncture.
Didn't you see that his Yuanmingyuan Garden wasn't even completely finished yet? He couldn't even wait. His heartless mother, Lady Uya, only made him angry.
Uya: "Are you too busy, or do you lack filial piety and are unwilling to repair it for me?"
Le Shu feigned fear, saying, "How could Your Majesty speak of your daughter-in-law and the Emperor like that? Heaven and earth bear witness to our filial piety towards Your Majesty!"
Uya snorted coldly: "Then why not build the Cining Palace? I am the Empress Dowager, the Emperor's mother. I can't even live in the Cining Palace if I want to. What kind of logic is that?"
Le Shu: "Your Majesty, I've explained. The Imperial Household Department and the Ministry of Works are both very busy. If you don't believe me, you can call the people from the Imperial Household Department here for questioning. I wouldn't dare to lie to Your Majesty."
The Imperial Household Department and the Ministry of Works will only speak with one voice now. As for the Empress Dowager, she is biased towards her youngest son. If they side with the Empress Dowager, wouldn't that be going against the Emperor?
They can distinguish right from wrong, and what is more important than what is not.
Uya was being unreasonable and argumentative, while Le Shu was playing coy. When they returned to Yongshou Palace from Shou Kang Palace, Le Shu's expression remained calm.
"Thank you for your trouble with Mother Empress. You don't need to go tomorrow."
Le Shu looked up at him: "What do you mean? No, what did you do?"
“If the Empress Dowager likes to live in the palace, then let her live there. The Yuanmingyuan Garden has been renovated quite a bit, so let’s go live there. As for the Cining Palace, let the Fourteenth Prince renovate it. To make it easier for the Empress Dowager to communicate with the Fourteenth Prince, the Empress Dowager will stay in the palace for the time being.”
It's best not to go to the Old Summer Palace.
"Fourteenth brother? I'm afraid he can't do it!"
Kangxi abdicated early, so the Fourteenth Prince didn't have much room to maneuver in the court. His abilities lay in horsemanship, archery, and martial arts. These were all small things, involving many aspects, and one could easily fall into a trap if not careful, requiring a great deal of experience.
"It would be better if it didn't work out," Yinzhen replied with a smile.
Le Shu smiled as well: "Your Majesty is wise."
She didn't want to serve a fault-finding mother-in-law; she'd had enough of being mistreated once.
Yinzhen couldn't bear to see her suffer, so he came to Yongshou Palace early and told her how to resolve the situation.
The two were incredibly efficient. The fourteenth prince of Xunjun's mansion, which had been idle for a long time, received an imperial decree to repair the Cining Palace for his mother.
At Shou Kang Palace, Lady Wuya received the news and thought of her youngest son, whom she hadn't seen for a long time.
"What is the fourth brother trying to do?"
"Your Majesty, the Emperor is your own son. You don't need to confront him directly."
The old woman truly felt that she didn't need to do this. Although the Emperor wasn't exactly filial, Uya had everything the Empress Dowager should have. The Emperor was the Emperor, not just a simple son, and he couldn't possibly do everything according to the Empress Dowager's wishes.
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