Chapter 15 Discussing Positions
That night, Yixiu carried a food box and walked slowly into the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Although the palaces for the concubines have not yet been decided, the Emperor has already designated the Hall of Mental Cultivation as his own sleeping quarters.
The emperor should have resided in the Qianqing Palace, but out of filial piety, he dared not live there on his own while observing mourning for his father. Therefore, he chose the Yangxin Palace next door as his sleeping quarters. Empress Yixiu was not stupid either, so naturally she could not live in the Kunning Palace. She only chose the Jingren Palace as her sleeping quarters.
Yixiu, holding the list she had prepared, walked quietly to the emperor's side, who was resting with his eyes closed.
Yinzhen was not truly asleep. As the person approached, he seemed to sense something and opened his eyes to look at the newcomer, instantly exuding the aura of an emperor.
Yi Xiu smiled gently – “Your Majesty, judging by the days, it is time to bring all my sisters into the palace. I have roughly drafted a list, but the details will need Your Majesty’s approval.”
Yinzhen sat up, flicked the emerald green jade beads in his hand, took the list, and examined it carefully under the lamplight.
Consort Li – Rank of Imperial Concubine – Residing in the main hall of Changchun Palace; Consort Nian – Rank of Imperial Concubine – Residing in the main hall of Yikun Palace; Consort Qi – Rank of Imperial Concubine – Residing in the main hall of Yonghe Palace; Consort Lü – Rank of Imperial Concubine – Residing in the main hall of Chuxiu Palace; Consort Feng – Rank of Concubine – Residing in the main hall of Xianfu Palace; Consort Cao – Rank of Noble Lady – Residing in the side hall of Yikun Palace; Consort Fei – Rank of Noble Lady – Residing in the side hall of Taiji Hall; Consort Xu – Rank of Attendant – Residing in the side hall of Suiyu Pavilion.
Yinzhen looked down with a furrowed brow. The constantly swaying bright yellow tassels revealed his somewhat irritable mood. Although there weren't many people in his backyard, they were still quite a headache at the moment.
He leaned over and picked up the vermilion imperial brush from the table, and gently traced a line on Qi Gege's name—"Yonghe Palace... She is frail and afraid of noise. People coming and going should not disturb her. Let's move her to Yanqing Palace, where it is quiet."
Yixiu nodded slightly without saying anything. She would naturally agree to such a small matter as changing palaces. However, whether it was for recuperation and peace or for the sake of his beloved Nian Shilan, the Emperor himself probably knew the answer.
Following down, the imperial brush gently touched the ground, leaving a vermilion mark before Lü Yingfeng's name—"Ying'er has rendered meritorious service in producing offspring, and her family background is also quite distinguished, so she should be given a better title."
This left Yixiu with no choice but to pay attention. Her eyes flickered, and she carefully said, "Yes, Hongzhao, Hongjin, and Yuxue are very lovely. I like them very much too. However, Sister Lü is currently pregnant. Perhaps we should postpone the bestowal of a title until the child is born. Otherwise... I'm afraid it will be difficult to grant her a title."
She thought she could dissuade the Emperor, but to her surprise, Yinzhen waved his hand dismissively, saying, "Ying'er is not someone who cares about empty titles, so the Empress can rest assured. After being made a Consort, she will soon have three children. Chuxiu Palace is a bit too small and inconvenient."
Yixiu's smile was somewhat forced. "Then... how about Yonghe Palace? It's spacious and quiet, suitable for living."
Yinzhen shook his head and said to himself, "She loves excitement and laughter, so a quiet palace would probably be too boring... Yongshou Palace is nice, it's big and beautiful."
Yixiu almost couldn't hold back her smile. She took a deep breath, clenched her fist, and tried to stop him, but Yinzhen directly ordered Su Peisheng, "Have someone clean up Yongshou Palace. If anything is missing, just get it. Do it quickly."
Watching Su Peisheng walk away after receiving his orders, Yi Xiu silently swallowed the words she hadn't uttered, feeling inexplicably choked up.
So the emperor didn't say anything more and looked down.
When he saw the words "benefactor" following Fei Yunyan, his index finger twitched. He pondered for a moment but did not make any further changes.
He did indeed like Ms. Fei's appearance, and he also liked her silly cuteness.
But now, in terms of appearance, Lü Yingfeng is no less beautiful than Fei Yunyan. They both have the same straightforward personality, but Ying'er is even more frank and adorable.
Talking with Fei Yunyan for a long time is quite a hassle.
"Suiyu Pavilion?"
Looking at the palace written after Xu Gege's name, Yinzhen thought for a moment, but couldn't recall such a place.
Yixiu nodded, a peaceful smile on her face, and explained, "It's where the late Emperor listened to operas. It's elegant and refined. I thought that Sister Xu liked to sing operas, and there just happens to be a stage there. It's far away so it won't disturb anyone."
You should know that when they were in the Prince's mansion, the princess who lived next to Princess Xu often complained to Yixiu that she was making noise all day long and it kept her from getting any sleep.
Yinzhen closed the list, pulled Yixiu's hand and stuffed the list back into her hands, unconsciously rubbing his temples—"The Empress is usually very thorough in her work, so let's proceed as planned. I will draft the titles later and then go and announce the decree."
Under the emperor's rare, tender gaze, Yixiu walked out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Thinking about Lü Yingfeng still made her feel a little suffocated, but then she thought of Hongzhao bringing Hongjin to her room every day, calling her "Mother" over and over again, and the anger that had been building up in her chest inexplicably dissipated.
Well, she's a Han Chinese bannerman anyway. If Lü Yingfeng continues to be like this, I can tolerate her.
Although there were some changes today, Yixiu was generally satisfied. Putting aside everything else, the fact that Qi Gege was also made a concubine was enough to make Nian Shilan feel bad.
After all, they've been rivals for many years, so guessing each other's thoughts is as easy as taking candy from a baby.
——
The winter wind was blowing coldly. Considering that there were three pregnant women, they did not make everyone kneel for long. Nian Shilan and Li Jingyan stood with their hands at their sides, one on the left and one on the right, followed by the princesses from their respective rooms.
"Consort Li, a secondary consort, was granted the title of Consort Qi and resided in the main hall of Changchun Palace. Consort Nian, a secondary consort, was granted the title of Consort Hua and resided in the main hall of Yikun Palace. Consort Qi, a concubine, was granted the title of Consort Duan and resided in Yanqing Palace. Consort Lü, a concubine, was granted the title of Consort Xin and resided in the main hall of Yongshou Palace. Consort Feng, a concubine, was granted the title of Consort Jing and resided in the main hall of Xianfu Palace. Consort Cao, a concubine, was granted the title of Noble Lady and resided in a side hall of Yikun Palace. Consort Fei, a concubine, was granted the title of Noble Lady Li and resided in a side hall of Taiji Palace. Consort Xu, a concubine, was granted the title of Consort Fang and resided in a side hall of Suiyu Pavilion."
After the eunuch finished reading the names of the concubines, he quickly stepped aside to avoid the concubines' bows. Having worked in the palace for many years, he keenly sensed that the elegantly dressed Consort Hua at the front was emanating a chilling aura. He hurriedly and respectfully said, "His Majesty said that the concubines should all prepare themselves, as a carriage will come to pick them up first thing tomorrow morning."
Although there were four imperial concubines present, they all subtly showed that Consort Hua was the most respected. There was nothing they could do; the Emperor's will was clear, and everyone could only bow their heads. So they were all waiting for her to speak, but Nian Shilan seemed to hold back for a long time, her chest heaving twice before she finally managed to utter, "Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty and Empress."
Without waiting for anyone to agree, he tossed his cloak and turned to leave.
Seeing this, Songzhi followed closely behind her mistress, walking quickly along the way. She kept glancing at her mistress's expression and carefully advised, "Your Majesty, please don't be angry. The Emperor still values you the most."
"Of course I know," her stubborn voice came, her tone filled with anger—"Li Jingyan and Lü Yingfeng both have children. Although they are not worthy of the rank of Consort, I won't say much. But that bitch Qi Yuebin, what right does she have! It's all that old woman Empress's deliberate attempt to disgust me!"
After saying that, she paused, and Songzhi also came to a sudden stop.
"Didn't His Majesty tell us to clean up properly? Go and send someone to keep an eye on her. Don't let her bring any medicine, and don't let her bring anything from the Prince's residence over!"
"Yes." Seeing that the Empress was angry, Songzhi carefully replied.
The empresses and concubines in the harem will depart tomorrow, but the princes and princesses in the mansion have already moved in with their father, the Emperor.
Zhao You knew about Lü Yingfeng's rank even before she did, and he and Hong Jin chuckled to themselves for a long time. They were currently happily supervising the construction at Yongshou Palace.
"Pry open the floorboards here, and the trees over there seem to be blocking the way. Let's dig them up and take a look."
Hongzhao sat in a rocking chair in the outer courtyard, looking after Hongjin while directing the palace servants with his hands on his hips.
In ancient times, having a high social status was advantageous. Hongzhao was willing to guarantee that most people present felt they were blindly directing the palace servants to dig, which would only slow down the progress. However, they still had to let him do as he pleased, making a couple of shovelfuls here and burying a handful of soil there.
Only Hongzhao himself knew that what he feared was that, like when Zhen Huan first entered the palace, something inappropriate was buried in the courtyard.
Thinking about it this way... it's only a matter of time before Consort Fang miscarries.
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