Xia had been favored for many years, and she felt very resentful about losing favor during these times.
Now, he has truly fallen from grace, and it's commonplace for everyone in the harem to fawn over the powerful and bully the weak. Even His Majesty has uttered words like, "I've fallen so low that I can no longer serve the emperor."
That means there's no hope left.
Do I need to elaborate on how she will be treated in different parts of the harem?
When she first entered the palace, she was a Lady Xia, a fifth-rank official.
Back then, she didn't come from a high-ranking family, yet she still managed to obtain the rank of fifth grade, thanks to the Emperor's favor. Naturally, her treatment in various places wouldn't be bad either; she would probably be eager to be served.
But now, she was once a talented woman, a fifth-rank official, but His Majesty has decreed that she can no longer serve the emperor and has been stripped of her title.
That's a neglected area, who cares?
Just take it slow and bear it.
“I thought she was someone who was unfazed by favor or disgrace, but I was really wrong,” said Consort Jia.
"If we're talking about being unfazed by favor or disgrace, Consort Mei is far better than her," Yan Nangui said.
Yan Nangui had previously admired Xia Cairen's maturity; it's not easy to be that mature.
But after Consort Mei entered the palace, comparisons were made.
"Tsk, I suddenly understand why she fell out of favor. Consort Mei later gained favor, and she fell out of favor. It seems that feigned obedience, sensibility, and modesty are different from genuine sensibility, modesty, and avoiding trouble," Yan Nangui said with a smile.
“That’s true. Consort Mei is good in every way, except that she’s a bit too lenient with her subordinates,” said Consort Jia.
“It’s understandable. She was born out of wedlock, and life was difficult for her at home. As soon as she came in, she sent away the people her stepmother gave her. Her relationship with the family must be extremely bad. Her stepmother didn’t like her, so naturally she wouldn’t teach her how to manage the household. It’s also possible that she didn’t know how, given her cold and aloof nature,” Yan Nangui said.
As she spoke, Consort Jia stayed there for the entire morning.
Although the Empress has been released, she no longer needs to pay her respects every day.
You just need to go and pay your respects on the first and fifteenth of the lunar month.
So Consort Jia Zhao would come here to sit occasionally, but not all the time; she was quite sensible.
After she left, Jiang Xiang said, "Now, many of the people around Consort Xia have been dismissed. The Second Princess's status has also suddenly become less important than before."
"Her high position was partly due to the Second Princess, but it was mostly due to the favors His Majesty had shown her when he was younger. Now all of that is gone, and only the Second Princess remains, even a low-ranking concubine. Look at Consort Song, she's been a concubine for several years now, since she had a child."
“Your Majesty is right. Once the new concubine enters the palace, she will have to compete with her, and I’m afraid the new concubine will be able to trample on her,” Jiangxiang said.
Yan Nangui smiled, not particularly concerned.
As a newcomer, I'm afraid she won't be able to escape from Consort Jin.
And there will be some turbulent days ahead.
On the morning of February 27th, before dawn, Lu Baolin in Liushuang Pavilion began his activities.
The group rushed over, and the midwives were already attending to her; it looked like she was about to give birth.
Sure enough, the baby was born by mid-morning.
The nanny came out to announce the good news: "Congratulations, Your Majesty, it's a prince! Mother and child are safe and sound."
The Empress laughed and said, "Good, good, there will be rewards for everyone."
Everyone congratulated the Empress.
His Majesty did not come in person, but after a while, he sent a message: "The Eighth Prince will be registered under the name of Consort Xiangxian and raised by her. Consort Lu will be promoted to the rank of Xiaoyi."
Consort Xiang was naturally delighted after expressing her gratitude, but as for Consort Lu, well, that's a story in itself.
Being promoted is a stroke of luck.
The Empress congratulated Consort Xiang, but felt a deep bitterness in her heart.
The Empress certainly didn't want to accept her fate and naturally wanted to return to the way things were before, but since His Majesty wasn't coming, there was nothing she could do.
There are things I wouldn't dare to do.
Now all we can do is envy them, since the Second Prince never came back after he moved away.
His Majesty must also forbid him from getting close to him.
Now, Consort Xiangxian has a son. It's not like when she raised the Second Prince; she wasn't just raising him.
The Eighth Prince is now considered to belong to Consort Xiangxian.
After bestowing gifts according to custom and sending congratulatory gifts to Consort Xiangxian, Yan Nangui began preparing the summer rewards for the palace.
There are rules in place; just add or subtract from the list provided by the Imperial Household Department.
After finishing these preparations, Jiangxiang came in and said, "Your Majesty, His Majesty has gone to Wanchun Palace."
The Eighth Prince was taken to Wanchun Palace as soon as he was born, and all his servants went with him.
Since Lu Xiaoyi had done such a thing before, His Majesty naturally couldn't be bothered to visit her; he would just look after the children.
"Wanchun Palace is quite lively these days; I've seen many concubines go there," Chanyi snorted.
"With such a high position and great power, and the presence of a prince, one is naturally of high status. It's normal for others to want to go there," Yan Nangui said.
Chanyi thought to herself that when the Empress gave birth to a princess, many people came to congratulate her, but it was never as lively as it is now.
But things changed after the Empress became a Noble Consort.
“You don’t need to overthink it. How many people can raise someone else’s son well? What good will it do her if she still hopes that the Eighth Prince will become the Crown Prince? Doesn’t he miss his own mother?” Yan Nangui said.
"Yes, this servant is just a little angry. If Your Highness doesn't care, then this servant won't care either," Chanyi said.
"No need to worry about it. The young ladies will be entering the palace tomorrow, so we might as well keep an eye on this," Yan Nangui said.
Chanyi nodded, thinking to herself that she should pay close attention.
The next morning, the young women from all over gathered at the palace gate and entered the palace through a side gate.
The oldest of these young ladies-in-waiting was seventeen or eighteen, and the youngest was only thirteen or fourteen.
They are all good-looking, and some come from good families.
Each of them came in with a belly full of ambitions.
Both Funingxuan and Qinglangxuan were prepared, but later it was felt that it was not enough, so Kangning Palace was also vacated. This time there was enough room for more than a hundred young ladies to live in.
These more than one hundred people will have to go through three rounds. To be precise, four rounds.
The first round is the examination before entering the palace; only those without obvious disabilities or diseases can enter.
There was no humiliating examination like in the Qing Dynasty later on. In other words, not being a virgin wouldn't prevent you from entering the palace.
However, once you enter the palace, there is a procedure where the imperial physician examines your pulse. This is to at least confirm that you are not sick and have never been pregnant.
Of course, whether His Majesty cares that you are not a virgin is a matter for later; he might just send you to the Cold Palace.
No special talents are required; it's a selection of imperial concubines, not singers and dancers.
But they'll ask if you've been to school, if you can read or write, and they'll also let the higher-ups see what you look like, whether you're pleasing to the eye or something.
Finally, His Majesty will bestow marriages upon a large number of children from the families of imperial relatives or court officials.
Of those who remained, the emperor selected a few, and the rest could go back to get married.
Anyway, anyone who has been chosen by the emperor will marry into a high-class family and their value will increase significantly.
The first inspection was conducted by senior palace maids to assess the girls' posture, manners, and temperament. This time, quite a few would be eliminated.
Actually, having more than a hundred people in a talent show is not many. During the reign of the late emperor, there was once a talent show with six or seven hundred people.
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