Chapter Thirty-Nine
Consort Ling's pregnancy didn't elicit a huge reaction in the palace, but it wasn't insignificant either. Because of the Yuanmingyuan incident, Consort Chun had always harbored resentment towards Consort Ling. Now that Consort Ling was both reinstated as a consort and pregnant, Consort Chun felt even more resentful. A mere servant girl, enjoying the Emperor's favor, was actually accused by the Emperor of offending her. Consort Chun couldn't swallow this insult. However, Consort Ling was too cautious, and Consort Chun couldn't find any fault with her.
Inside Chonghua Palace, Consort Yi looked at Qing'er—no…it should be Hu Shi. She had miscalculated. Consort Yi thought that given the Empress Dowager's favor towards Qing'er, she would be granted the status of a secondary consort, but she hadn't expected her to be merely a concubine, and even then, she would only be carried into Jingyang Palace in a small sedan chair. Consort Yi was still unsure of the Empress Dowager's feelings towards Hu Shi, and she couldn't afford to be cold towards her.
Consort Yi's initial intention was to scheme against Qing'er's powerful connections. Her feelings were complex when she accepted Yongqi, the emperor's favored son. This was a prince someone else had raised for over a decade; whether they were truly close was another matter. She would inevitably have to work hard for this prince in the future. In the past, she could simply drift through life in the palace, but with this prince, she was embroiled in the "struggle." Regardless of her own intentions, others would perceive her as competing. Therefore, she was determined to fight for him.
Having decided to "compete," Consort Yi called Yongqi to her side and asked him earnestly, "Yongqi, from now on I will be your mother. I have no special abilities, a humble background, and no powerful connections to rely on. If you have that intention, I will do my best to help you."
Yongqi looked at Consort Yi. He wasn't sure how much of what Consort Yi said was true, but Yongqi knew that from now on, he and Consort Yi were bound together, sharing both glory and ruin.
Consort Yi was in no hurry to get an answer from Yongqi. They didn't trust each other yet, and her words were a test.
Yongqi answered faster than Consort Yi had expected, he thought.
Consort Yi's lips curled up. She knew she would gain a great advantage in the harem, and besides, who wouldn't want to climb the ranks! Who wouldn't want to sit on the Empress's throne, even if... Consort Yi's lips curled up even more. "Yongqi, although you are currently favored by the Emperor, you don't have your own people in front of you, which won't do. You need to find a way to have your own people among those in front of you. Keep your personal tutors for now; their status is lower, but it will prevent you from standing out too much."
Yongqi nodded; he understood the saying, "The nail that sticks out gets hammered down." "What does Mother want Yongqi to do?"
Consort Yi was pleased with Yongqi's address of "Mother," and smiled as she looked at him. "There is a good choice in the harem." Consort Yi did not directly reveal who the candidate was, but simply looked at Yongqi.
"Is Mother referring to the princess who serves by the side of Grandmother?"
Consort Yi nodded, "It is indeed her. She is the descendant of a loyal minister. If she were to become your concubine..."
Yongqi had never thought about what would happen between him and Qing'er. He had heard that Qing'er was a talented woman, but he had always regarded her as family. Now... "Mother, do you have any ideas?"
"What happened to Qing'er before will probably make the Empress Dowager keep her by her side for a few more years. You also have a year of mourning. During this time, you can just let Qing'er have feelings for you."
No matter how Consort Yi calculated, she never imagined that the Emperor intended to betroth Qing'er to Fu Heng's eldest son, Fu Ling'an. By the time Consort Yi realized this, they were already on their way south. Along the way, Consort Yi spent a lot of time cultivating a relationship with Qing'er, talking about Yongqi. Seeing Qing'er's blushing face, Consort Yi thought things were looking promising. However, that night, when she was serving the Emperor, she casually mentioned Qing'er's marriage to him while discussing placing a concubine in Yongqi's room. The Emperor, however, said he had already spoken to Fu Heng and would betroth Qing'er to Fu Ling'an next year. Consort Yi was unsettled. When the Fifth Prince arrived with an urgent letter, Consort Yi made a wrong decision, allowing the Fifth Prince to take Qing'er.
Consort Yi thought that given the Empress Dowager's high regard for Qing'er, she would surely grant her the title of secondary consort, but unexpectedly... Consort Yi gritted her teeth; that rule-abiding Empress actually... Thinking of this, Consort Yi glared fiercely at Madam Hu. Without status, what use was she? She had to find Yongqi a secondary consort with status.
Madam Hu looked at Consort Yi cautiously. What had she done wrong? Why was this happening?
~~~
Sitting beside the Empress Dowager, the Empress bestowed some gifts upon Consort Ling in light of her pregnancy. The Empress Dowager was very pleased with the Empress's generosity and inquired about the preparations for the Fifth Princess's wedding, as well as some New Year's preparations, before allowing the Empress to kneel and take her leave.
The Empress truly didn't mind that Consort Ling was pregnant. She had two princes by her side, and now she was pregnant with another one, the Fourth Princess and the Fifth Princess. Lan Xin's marriage would only strengthen the power of the princes by her side.
Seeing that the Empress seemed unaffected, Fourth Princess left the main hall with peace of mind. The trees in the courtyard had already lost their green leaves; it was already early December. How quickly the years had passed! Fourth Princess thought about the past few years in the palace, feeling like she was in a dream. Next June, Ziwei would be getting married, and she wouldn't have the chance to say those sweet words to the Prince anymore.
Before the New Year, the Fourth Princess heard some shocking news: the Emperor had bestowed upon Xinyue the title of Princess Gushan and betrothed her to Prince Shuo.
When the news came, Fifth Princess was embroidering wedding items, Fourth Princess was playing with Yongqi and the other children, and Lanxin led the palace maids into the warm pavilion. "Fourth Sister, Fifth Sister, Lan'er just heard something big."
"Tell me about it." In the twelfth lunar month, the studies in the Imperial Study had stopped, and since something interesting had happened, the Fourth Princess immediately asked.
"Just now when I went out, Lan'er met Consort Ling. Fourth Sister, guess what Consort Ling asked Lan'er?"
"This... how could I possibly guess? Just tell me already." Fourth Princess had no idea what Consort Ling was going to say, which only fueled Lan'er's curiosity even more.
"Consort Ling asked Lan'er how Fifth Sister's dowry preparations were going, and said that she wanted to learn from the Empress Dowager. Lan'er asked curiously what she wanted to learn, and Consort Ling said that Xinyue was getting married and would be marrying into the Prince Shuo's mansion as his primary wife. Lan'er congratulated Consort Ling, thinking that Xinyue was marrying the Prince Shuo's son, but who would have thought that she was marrying the Prince Shuo himself."
After hearing Lan Xin's words, both the Fourth and Fifth Princesses looked surprised. Xin Yue had married way too well! But… Prince Shuo was already so old; wasn't it a bit…? The Fifth Princess pursed her lips; she didn't have a good impression of Xin Yue. The Fourth Princess was speechless. Had Qianlong lost his temper again?
Lan Xin continued talking about Xin Yue being named a Gushan Gege. The Fourth Princess curled her lips, thinking, "Is Consort Ling going to follow the Empress's example just to get married as a Gushan Gege?" The Fifth Princess's expression changed. What did Consort Ling mean? Did Consort Ling think that Gushan Gege and Gulun Gege were on the same level? The Fourth Princess didn't notice the change in the Fifth Princess's expression, but Lan Xin saw it clearly and immediately shut her mouth.
Fifth Princess gritted her teeth and added another person to her list of targets for revenge—Consort Ling.
The news of Xinyue's marriage went largely unnoticed in the palace, except for Consort Ling, who was actively preparing. The Fifth Princess gritted her teeth in anger whenever she saw Consort Ling, plotting her revenge. The Fourth Princess looked at Consort Ling as if she were a fool; Prince Shuo was a prince of a different surname, and the Emperor was certainly wary of him. Marrying Xinyue was likely a way to appease not Prince Shuo, but Keshan. For Prince Shuo, Xinyue's status was a warning. Consort Ling's ostentatious display was probably met with silent ridicule from those who saw through her.
Princess Gushan's marriage was uneventful; once the appointed day was set, she could marry into Prince Shuo's household. Although she was marrying out of the palace, Princess Gushan's status was enough to make the officials ridicule Prince Shuo. Prince Shuo thought he was taking advantage of a young woman, but little did he know... his days of being cuckolded were yet to come!
On the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, the Emperor wrote a couplet as a gift to Prince Shuo to celebrate his wedding. Prince Shuo happily pasted it on his front door. He thought to himself that although Princess Gushan's status was lower, she was valued by the royal family, which changed his own status in the court. Xinyue was raised under Consort Ling's name and could be considered the Emperor's daughter, so wasn't he a relative of the royal family? Thinking this, Prince Shuo laughed, and the wrinkles on his face stretched into a smile. However, Prince Shuo didn't think too much about it; if he thought that way, his status as an old man would be even more awkward.
Xinyue's marriage was like a weight lifted from the royal family's shoulders. However, the Emperor did not allow Xinyue to enter the palace for her homecoming visit. Because of her age, Keshan had not yet been granted a separate residence, and Xinyue, the new bride, was unaware of the concept of a homecoming visit. Although Prince Shuo was somewhat puzzled by the Emperor's refusal to summon Xinyue to the palace, he considered that Xinyue was a descendant of Prince Duan and had been raised under Consort Ling's name. However, she was not Consort Ling's daughter, so he decided to skip the homecoming visit altogether.
Although the Emperor did not summon Xinyue to the palace, he did bestow some gifts upon her, so Prince Shuo did not expect that Xinyue would be disliked by the royal family.
~~~
During the first month of the lunar year, the Emperor was busy with many matters. The Fifth Princess began to smile insincerely at Consort Ling, already devising a plan for revenge. The Fifth Princess prepared several lanterns, sending one to each palace, making sure the one sent to Yanxi Palace appeared identical to the ones sent to the others. Next, the Fifth Princess waited for Consort Ling to lose face in front of the Emperor on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month; whether she accepted the lantern or not, she would have something to say.
When Consort Ling received the lantern sent by the Fifth Princess, she was somewhat surprised. Her first thought was of a conspiracy. Dongxue had told her that the Fifth Princess had sent one to each palace, and they were all the same. The more Consort Ling looked at the lantern, the more she felt something was wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong. So she decided to leave it for now, figuring she could deal with it later, since there were still some days until the fifteenth of the month.
Fifth Princess didn't give Consort Ling a chance to speak later. During one of the Emperor's dinners at Yongshou Palace, Fifth Princess proudly mentioned that she had made several lanterns to give to the various concubines, and that her father should reward them with something. The Emperor nodded in agreement and immediately asked Fifth Princess what she wanted. Fifth Princess thought for a while, secretly pleased, but outwardly thoughtful, she said, "Father, how about we have the concubines carry the lanterns Heya gave us at the family banquet?"
The emperor laughed heartily and repeatedly said "good."
After seeing the Emperor off, the Fourth Princess dragged the Fifth Princess into the room. "What kind of wicked scheme are you plotting?"
"Sister, just watch the show when it happens. That Consort Ling actually dared to compare me to a mere Princess Gushan. How can I swallow this insult? Don't worry, sister, I know what I'm doing."
The Fourth Princess looked at the Fifth Princess and finally sighed, "You'd better be careful, Consort Ling is not someone to be trifled with."
"She's not someone to mess with, but does that mean this old lady is someone to mess with?"
Author's Note: Looking into the distance, I'm taking the train tomorrow, so the chances of updating are very slim...
First of all, Happy Chinese New Year! I've prepared a wireless network card, but I'm not sure if there will be a signal in the countryside!
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