In Chengqian Palace, the four consorts all looked displeased after hearing Consort Tong's words. Who would willingly hand over the palace affairs they had already taken on, especially to someone who was about the same age as their daughter-in-law? It made them look incompetent!
Consort Hui, being the oldest, had the most unpleasant expression: "Your Highness, why did His Majesty decide to entrust palace affairs to Consort Shu? Did Consort Shu say something? I don't believe His Majesty would so casually hand over palace affairs to a concubine who is only ten years old."
Anning is not even twenty yet, so young, what makes her so special!
Back when she first got involved in palace affairs, she was almost thirty years old. It wasn't easy for her to get to where she is today. Why should An Ning so easily get the palace affairs that they worked so hard for?
Consort Tong's face darkened: "Consort Hui, this is the Emperor's decision. How can you make up stories about the Emperor? As for why, my sisters might as well think about what has happened recently and what you have done."
The four concubines were all taken aback, and then they all thought of one thing: Concubine Lin had died suddenly.
But then again, it seemed unlikely. They were involved in Consort Lin's sudden death, but the law does not punish the masses, and they were not the masterminds.
Consort Yi said coldly, "Your Highness must be joking. Nothing major has happened recently, and I haven't done anything."
Regardless of the circumstances, Consort Yi refused to admit it.
The other three, like Consort Yi, all expressed their opinions, which infuriated Consort Tong.
"Right and wrong are in people's hearts. Regardless of whether you have done it or not, the key is what the Emperor thinks. My sisters, you should quickly prepare the palace affairs that need to be handed over. Tomorrow, I will send someone from the palace to collect them. My sisters must know that the Emperor's orders cannot be disobeyed."
Silence, still silence. Finally, Consort De spoke first: "Since it is His Majesty's will, I will naturally obey. I will go back to prepare and will not disturb Your Majesty any longer."
After saying this, Consort De took her leave.
The other three also knew that things had come to this point, and they couldn't simply refuse to give it to Consort De. Since Consort De was sensible, they had even less reason to be sensible.
However, he thought to himself that palace affairs could be given out, but whether Anning could handle them was another matter entirely.
They were destined for immense wealth, but even if they were born, they might not be able to hold onto it forever. If the Emperor found out that Anning was not capable enough, the affairs of the palace would naturally return to their hands. Having figured this out, the three of them took their leave.
After they left, Consort Tong breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn't help feeling a little schadenfreude: "Consort Shu is lucky, with the Emperor's favor. I just don't know if she can stay lucky forever. The four consorts are trying to trip her up. Let's see if she can handle it."
The old woman smiled and said, "There are gains and losses. Your Highness should just sit back and watch them fight it out."
Consort Tong nodded: "Yes, I have no children, so I'll just treat it as a show."
The harem here was too peaceful; now it's finally starting to get a bit lively.
The next day, the four consorts handed over a portion of their palace affairs to Consort Tong. Consort Tong summoned Anning to Chengqian Palace and gave her those palace affairs. Anning returned to Changchun Palace with several boxes of account books.
Back in her study, Anning had someone place Yinyi in a cradle and have Granny Wulan watch over him while she began to look at the account books.
As An Ning had expected, the palace affairs sent by the four concubines were mostly trivial, low-paying, and error-prone tasks.
She readily accepted the four concubines' difficult demands and then began to deal with the traps and problems within them.
For a long time afterward, Anning was constantly busy. Yinyi was well-behaved and didn't cause much trouble. When Anning was handling palace affairs, he would stay by her side without crying or making a fuss. The palace staff in Changchun Palace said that this child had come to repay a debt of gratitude, and it was rare to see such a well-behaved child.
It was three months later when Consort Anning took control of this part of the palace affairs.
The four concubines were causing trouble, but nothing major happened. With Kangxi keeping things under control, they dared not make any big fuss, fearing that if Kangxi found out, they might lose all the remaining palace affairs, which would be a great loss.
However, small things keep happening, causing trouble, trivialities, and difficulties in handling.
With the help of Granny Wulan, and given that the original owner was already quite adept at managing a household, plus her considerable modern experience, she managed to handle all the troublesome issues.
Seeing this, the four concubines knew that the situation was settled. Anning's abilities were far greater than they had imagined; even at their age, they could not have been so thorough.
This time, they lost.
Anning has now secured this portion of the palace affairs.
Because there weren't many palace affairs, Anning didn't need to spend too much time dealing with them, and she spent most of her time enriching herself.
When Yinyi was six months old, Anning took the initiative to ask to see Jue Luo Shi.
After entering the palace, Anning did not see Lady Jue Luo very often. In order to avoid being accused of colluding with outsiders, the concubines were very careful about how often they met with their maternal relatives.
Jue Luo came once after Anning gave birth; this is the second time, and it was Anning who took the initiative to see her.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects..."
Before Jue Luo could finish her greeting, An Ning quickly stepped forward to stop her: "Mother, there's no need for such formalities, please get up."
Jue Luo clan: "Ritual must not be abandoned."
As they were talking, Anning led Jue Luo into the study and told all the palace servants to leave, leaving Bai Guo to guard the door.
Looking at Anning's appearance, Jueluo Shi was very pleased: "It seems that Your Majesty has recovered very well after giving birth to the Sixteenth Prince, so I can rest assured."
An Ning's face softened as she thought of her son: "Yin Yi is a child who loves his mother. He didn't make much trouble when I was pregnant with him, and now he's even more well-behaved. When I'm handling palace affairs, I put him in the cradle, and he doesn't cry or fuss. If something happens, he'll just hum a little."
Lady Jue Luo thought her daughter was very lucky: "That's good. Your Majesty is blessed. But there's something I don't quite understand. Why did the Emperor suddenly put you in charge of a part of the palace affairs? Isn't that too conspicuous?"
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