Some thoughts should be cut off immediately, otherwise she will continue to hold onto expectations.
Hongli did not shy away from the matter and stated his attitude frankly, "Empress Mother, you should be able to see that I am following your arrangements to select concubines for the palace only in accordance with ancestral rules, and I am not really interested in those women."
As you wished, they have now entered the palace. As for whether or not they will be favored, that is entirely up to my will, and I beg Your Majesty not to interfere.
It's as if she enjoys meddling in other people's business; it's all because he's disobedient.
"If you had more children, I wouldn't want to interfere. But you've been on the throne for three years now, and you've been staying in Jingren Palace ever since. Yet Lady Su hasn't conceived in three years. There's been no happy event in the palace. How can I not be anxious?"
Hongli could not empathize with the Empress Dowager's so-called anxiety. "Your Majesty, I have both a son and a daughter. Yushan already has three children. It's not that she can't have more children, it's just that she hasn't conceived recently. What else is there for Your Majesty to be dissatisfied with?"
"Three sons and one daughter—that would be fine for an ordinary family, but you are the emperor! How can you have only four children? I didn't say you couldn't dote on Su Yushan, but you should at least have more children with your other concubines! Does she not allow you to be intimate with other women?"
Sensing that his mother was trying to cause trouble for Su Yushan again, Hongli took the initiative to take responsibility, saying, "Yushan has never said such a thing. It is I who do not want to be close to others."
The more Hongli protected her, the more the Empress Dowager objected, and she earnestly advised him:
“When you were a prince, you did whatever you wanted, and I could ignore you. Now that you have ascended the throne, you should consider the country and its people in every word and deed. You can no longer dote on Su Yushan so much, otherwise the court officials will complain.”
Here comes another lecture. Hongli is thoroughly annoyed. "Your duty is to govern the country. As for personal matters, they have no right to interfere! I already have a legitimate son. Your Majesty, please stop bringing up ancestral rules. No matter how many times you say it, it's useless. I will not listen!"
One legitimate son isn't enough. "What about a legitimate daughter? Right now you only have one princess, and she's born out of wedlock. What will you do if the Mongols want to arrange a marriage alliance with her?"
"Your Majesty, I have my own plans, so please don't worry." Seeing that the Empress Dowager was about to nag again, Hongli retorted:
"Your subject is already busy with government affairs and is tired enough. I came here to pay my respects to you, hoping to be peaceful and calm my mind. But you still want to lecture me. How dare I come here again in the future?"
As Empress Dowager, you should be enjoying your retirement in peace and have fewer worries. If you find it boring, you are welcome to go and worship Buddha, or go to the opera stage at Shufangzhai. There is no need to teach those young ladies to perform in the Imperial Garden, which is an insult to your status!
The last sentence was so obviously suggestive that the Empress Dowager's eyes flashed with panic, but she quickly regained her composure. "I don't understand what the Emperor means by these words."
"Some things, if said too bluntly, will only hurt our relationship. In short, please don't bring up the matter of offspring again. If you continue to advise me to favor other women, then I will no longer come to Cining Palace to pay my respects, so as not to disturb your peace!"
He actually used this to threaten her! The Empress Dowager wanted to reprimand him further, but Hongli had already taken his leave and turned to leave. The Empress Dowager was so angry that she clutched her chest, shook her head, and sighed, listing all of Hongli's faults.
Granny Mei could only advise the Empress Dowager to calm down, "The Emperor is probably worried about state affairs and is in a bad mood, which is why he spoke out of turn. Your Majesty, please don't take it to heart."
After taking a couple of sips of tea, the Empress Dowager calmed down slightly and pondered, "How could Hongli know that it was my idea to do this in the Imperial Garden? Could it be that Lady Bai said something to him?"
"The Bai family probably doesn't have the guts; it was likely the Emperor who guessed it himself," Granny Mei speculated.
"It seems that the Emperor is rebellious. The more you ask him to do something, the less willing he is. He refuses to favor the women you have arranged for him. So why not let things take their course and first grant those young ladies official titles and ranks? Then they can move around in the palace and will have the opportunity to see the Emperor again sooner or later. Perhaps then we can make things work out."
The Empress Dowager has no other choice but to do this.
So the Empress Dowager first bestowed the title of Noble Lady upon the two Manchu women, and the title of Attendant upon the two Han women.
The day after the imperial decree was issued, they went to Cining Palace to express their gratitude.
On the tenth day of the third month, as usual, all the concubines went to Jingren Palace to pay their respects to Consort Chun.
In the past, only four people came here. Apart from Lan Rong, who loved to cause trouble, the other three were relatively easy to get along with. Now that there are four more, Su Yushan feels annoyed by the large number of people. She can't even tell who is who, and can only silently remember them by their appearance and voices.
Governor Henian's daughter, Lady Irgen Gioro, was granted the title of Xiu Guiren; the Minister of Rites' daughter, Lady Suochuoluo, was granted the title of Shen Guiren; Lady Bai was granted the title of Bai Changzai; and Lady Zhang was granted the title of Yu Changzai.
They chatted back and forth, and Su Yushan smiled and responded, but her head was buzzing and she felt like it was about to explode.
She can't even handle eight women, what about the future? With a selection of concubines every three years, the number of women in her harem will only increase, and eventually this house will be too small to accommodate everyone.
After exchanging perfunctory pleasantries for a quarter of an hour, everyone dispersed.
On the way back, Lan Rong was in a great mood, her face beaming. She felt that the flowers around her, warmed by the sun, smelled especially sweet.
"Su Yushan doesn't look too good today! She's probably jealous of those young and beautiful women and is afraid the Emperor will change his mind!"
Qiu Cha chuckled softly, "In the future, there will be more and more women younger than Consort Chun. With so many beauties, this servant is dazzled! How can our Emperor not be tempted?"
Lan Rong chuckled, "It's only a matter of time. What cat doesn't steal fish? Let's just wait and see Su Yushan get rejected!"
Su Yushan really didn't have the habit of being jealous of others. In her opinion, there were plenty of beautiful women in the world, and she was definitely not the most beautiful one. She just needed to be herself and there was no need to be jealous of anyone.
What troubled her was that so many people came to Jingren Palace. If they came every five days, she really couldn't handle it. So she privately discussed with Hongli whether the rules could be changed.
Gently massaging her soft knuckles, Hongli asked with a smile, "How would you like to change it?"
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