Chapter Seventeen
Seeing Consort Jia and Consort Chun enter Yanxi Palace, and hearing that they wanted to see Xinyue, Consort Ling was very annoyed. Consort Ling knew very well that Consort Jia and Consort Chun were there to cause trouble, and although extremely displeased, she still greeted them with a smile. The two consorts didn't stand on ceremony and directly stated their purpose: they had heard that Xinyue had beaten Keshan, and they wanted to know what had happened so they could report back to the Emperor.
Consort Ling's heart skipped a beat when she heard what the two said. The Emperor knew! It turned out that the Emperor hadn't come to inquire because he didn't know. Now that he knew, he immediately sent the two Consorts in charge of the inner palace to find out. What should she do? Consort Ling wondered if she should use Xinyue's illness as an excuse, but before she could speak, Xinyue rushed out.
"Your Majesty, do you think Keshan is injured? How badly? Where is he hurt?" Princess Xinyue, trembling and frantic, lunged at Consort Jia, terrifying her. Just as Consort Ling was about to feign unconsciousness to escape this predicament, both Consort Jia and Consort Chun fainted… Consort Ling was immediately stunned, standing there dumbfounded, when she heard the eunuchs announcing—"The Emperor has arrived! The Empress has arrived!"
The Emperor and Empress entered the courtyard to find it in complete chaos. Two imperial concubines were slumped over by palace maids, Princess Xinyue stood blankly a short distance away, and Consort Ling was even smiling. Qianlong immediately frowned, while the Empress, suppressing a smile, snapped, "What's wrong with the two imperial concubines? Have you summoned the imperial physician? Why haven't you carried your mistresses inside?"
The servants acted on orders, running out to fetch the imperial physician and carrying people into the room, without consulting Consort Ling. Consort Ling was secretly furious, thinking that this was Kunning Palace where they could lord it over everyone.
"Tell me, what's going on here?" Qianlong glared at Consort Ling. Had he spoiled her too much before, making her arrogant? Or was his mother right? Consort Ling was someone who couldn't be brought to the table.
"Your Majesty, I..." Consort Ling immediately put on a wronged expression, but it was too late for Consort Ling's grievances; her smile was already imprinted in the Emperor's mind.
"Your Majesty! You really have the audacity to call yourself that!" Qianlong thought of Consort Yun, who always referred to herself as a servant in front of him, despite being from the Irgen Gioro clan of the Bordered Blue Banner. What was Consort Ling? She hadn't even been raised to the highest banner, yet she dared to call herself "Your Majesty"? She was merely a servant's servant; how dare she be so arrogant!
Upon hearing the Emperor's tone, Consort Ling immediately knelt down, "This servant knows her crime! This servant failed to properly educate the Princess, please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
"Empress, I can see that Consort Ling doesn't respect you masters at all. You should teach her a lesson." Qianlong looked at Consort Ling coldly, thinking, "I can spoil you, but I can also turn my back on you."
"Yes!" the Empress replied sternly. The Emperor had entrusted this matter to her, and now it wasn't her who was in charge of managing the harem; Consort Jia and Consort Chun would be happy to take over.
Under the watchful eyes of the Emperor and Empress, Consort Jia and Consort Chun slowly regained consciousness. They had clearly chosen their moment to faint. When they heard the Emperor arrive, they almost couldn't keep up their act. They were also delighted to hear the Emperor reprimanding Consort Ling in the courtyard.
"How are you feeling, sisters?" The Empress noticed that the two had opened their eyes and guessed that they were faking it. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly. The Empress had learned Consort Ling's trick of feigning illness all over the harem. "How are you feeling? Is there anything that is still not quite right? The imperial physician just came and said that you two sisters have suffered some kind of shock."
At this moment, Consort Jia and Consort Chun were of one mind. "I'm sorry to have worried you, sister. I'm fine, but this princess is so rude! Sister, this is me. If..." Consort Jia stopped mid-sentence after meeting the Emperor's eyes, leaving the words unsaid. She didn't believe the Emperor wouldn't understand what she meant.
Emperor Qianlong, giving Consort Jia face, automatically assumed what she didn't say. If the Empress, who was pregnant, were here and provoked... "Consort Ling, didn't you promise me that you would show me a princess with proper manners? Why is she still like this?"
"This servant knows his crime!" Consort Ling had just stood up when she knelt down again.
The Empress, Consort Jia, and Consort Chun all tacitly remained silent. Since gaining the Emperor's favor, Consort Ling had never been reprimanded by him, while those of higher rank often suffered undeserved calamities.
"New Moon!" The Emperor turned to look at the orphaned daughter of Prince Duan. If it weren't for the sake of a good reputation, he would have dragged her out and beheaded long ago. The Emperor frowned as he turned his head. "Consort Ling, I thought you came from Empress Xiaoxian's side and were well-mannered. How come you don't even know how to observe mourning?"
Consort Ling looked at Xinyue's clothes and her heart skipped a beat; she had really forgotten.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty! Your Majesty, Your Majesty! Princess Hejing has fainted!" A strange atmosphere filled Yanxi Palace. A palace maid rushed in and knelt down to tell the story of what had happened in Cining Palace.
"What happened! Explain yourself!" Upon hearing that He Jing had fainted, the Emperor's heart immediately tightened.
"Just now, Princess Hejing was talking with the Empress Dowager when Princess Hewan happened to come to the palace to pay her respects. The Empress Dowager casually asked Princess Hewan how she was doing in Mongolia, but Princess Hewan remained silent. After the Empress Dowager dismissed everyone, I don't know what she asked, but I heard her order the imperial physician to be summoned, and Granny Gui asked me to invite Her Majesty the Empress. I only found out that Her Majesty the Empress was there when I went to Kunning Palace."
~~~~
He Jing's fainting spell saved Consort Ling, and everyone hurriedly arrived at Cining Palace. The imperial physician was taking He Jing's pulse, while He Wan sat beside the Empress Dowager, wiping away tears. The Empress was shocked when she noticed He Wan. She had seen He Wan on her wedding day; He Wan was a plump and charming young woman then, how could she have become like this now? The Empress didn't dare to ask too many questions at this moment, but simply stood beside the Emperor and looked at the imperial physician taking He Jing's pulse. The Fourth Princess, the Fifth Princess, and Lan Xin sat on the other side of the Empress Dowager, while Qing'er stood behind the Empress Dowager, all of them also paying attention to the imperial physician. However, Qing'er secretly winked at Consort Ling, who had come along, a gesture that Qing'er thought no one would notice, but it was all seen by the Emperor as he turned to look at the Empress Dowager.
"Your Majesty has been frightened." Emperor Qianlong was quite puzzled by the exchange of glances between Qing'er and Consort Ling, but he didn't think about it too much.
"I'm alright!" The Empress Dowager patted Hewan's hand. She wouldn't let any of those wicked servants get away with it. Then she looked at the Fourth and Fifth Princesses. Having spent these days with them, the Empress Dowager quite liked the two twin sisters. Thinking that they might encounter servants who bullied their masters after marriage, the Empress Dowager felt a pang of heartache. She had also heard about Consort Yun. Consort Yun had only seen the two children once since entering the palace, and that was under the pretext of entering the palace. One could imagine how she had treated the two children before. Seeing that the two children seemed completely indifferent, and recalling what Granny Gui had said about the children's reaction after seeing Consort Yun, the Empress Dowager felt heartbroken! If she hadn't hurt the two children's feelings, how could they not side with their own mother but with the Empress? Hearing Granny Gui say that after the Emperor left with Consort Yun, Wu'er called out "Empress Mother" again and again in the Empress's arms, the Empress Dowager felt a pang of sorrow.
"Your Majesty, Princess Hejing is pregnant. Although she is not yet a month along, I can confirm that she is indeed pregnant." After taking her pulse, the imperial physician knelt down to announce the good news.
Emperor Qianlong was overjoyed. Looking at the Empress's belly, and then at his daughter's belly, all the anger in his heart was released.
The group of people who came with the Emperor immediately congratulated him and said a few auspicious words before leaving. Although they were curious about how He Jing had fainted, they knew that this was not something they should ask.
~~~
"Emperor!" The Empress Dowager's anger did not lessen at all because Hejing was pregnant; on the contrary, she felt even more sorry for Hewan.
"But who upset the Empress Dowager?" The Emperor, having composed himself, immediately asked cautiously, sensing the Empress Dowager's displeasure from her tone.
"Please sit down! I have something to ask the Empress."
The Empress was somewhat confused; how had she been brought up again? "Your daughter-in-law listens to Your Majesty's reprimand."
"Does Your Majesty know that a princess is required to have a matron as part of her dowry?"
"My wife knows!"
Emperor Qianlong understood. Having a dowry maid was an ancestral rule, known not only to the Empress but to almost everyone in the palace. Why was his mother suddenly asking about this?
"Does the dowry maid listen to the master, or does the master listen to the dowry maid?"
“Naturally, the dowry maid will obey her master.”
"Which master should we listen to? The master in the palace, or the master in the princess's residence?"
"Of course, we will listen to the master of the princess's residence."
"But I've heard that the dowry maids are supposed to obey the masters of the palace!"
The Empress was stunned. She hadn't had a daughter married yet. When Hejing and Hewan married, it was during Empress Xiaoxian's reign; she had only witnessed it briefly and knew nothing of what had happened. Qianlong was also puzzled, looking at Hejing and then at Hewan. Had something been done to deceive the Empress? Looking at Hewan's expression, Qianlong knew clearly that Empress Xiaoxian had arranged Hejing and Hewan's weddings. He could understand the Empress's confusion and gave the Empress Dowager an inquiring look.
"Fourth son, let me tell you what happened between Father Emperor and Mother Emperor!" The Empress Dowager saw the Empress's puzzled expression and knew in her heart that this matter had nothing to do with the Empress, but she was naturally upset and wanted to find someone to vent her anger on.
"Father, Mother, you must teach He Wan's maids a lesson. They bully He Wan, not only preventing her from choosing a husband, but also withholding her things."
The Empress gasped. "Hewan, is what Si'er said true?"
He Wan silently shed tears.
Emperor Qianlong understood without even asking.
"Father, Mother, Sister Hewan just had the imperial physician examine her pulse. The physician said it was due to qi and blood stagnation in her chest. I've read some medical books before, and this illness can be serious or minor. If the stagnation isn't resolved, it can be fatal." That's how Lin Daiyu died.
Emperor Qianlong gasped. So this was the root cause of the Qing Dynasty's short-lived princesses! The ancestral rules were well-intentioned, meant to prevent princesses from being mistreated in their husbands' families, but they had unexpectedly become a tool for servants to bully their masters. The ancestral rules could not be abolished, but the princesses of the Qing Dynasty could not be allowed to be bullied by servants.
The Empress is starting to worry. Her fourth and fifth daughters will be getting married in two years. What if they are also bullied by those servants then...?
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