"Your Majesty, why get upset over this..." Yanruo was somewhat helpless. In her opinion, there were too many things about Lady Nian that were worthy of criticism, but it was just a prince's name, so what?
What Ulanara feared was not that. No matter what Lady Nian or the Imperial Noble Consort were, they could not surpass her as Empress. What she feared was... the next dynasty.
If the Nian family were to produce another emperor, would she, as the Empress Dowager, still have a place to stand?
"Your Majesty, didn't we say that the Emperor still needs the Nian family right now? We should ask Your Majesty to avoid the Imperial Noble Consort's sharp edge for the time being?" Yanruo advised.
Ulanara sighed, "Nian Gengyao's merits don't lie in this moment. If he wins this battle..."
Imperial Noble Consort, how is the Empress supposed to conduct herself?
Ulanara sighed again, forcing herself not to think about it, but not long after, another thing happened that made her composure completely impossible to maintain.
“Secretly establishing an heir…” Empress Ulanara seemed to be both crying and laughing, “Who is he paving the way for…”
Anyone who lived through the Kangxi era understands that the crown prince was a sitting duck, watched not only by his own brothers but by everyone in the court and the country.
Yinzhen, however, proposed a unique system of secretly designating an heir. Unlike the previous system of publicly announcing the successor, the secret system involved the emperor writing the edict of succession in advance, in duplicate. One copy was carried by him, and the other was placed in a box. Then, the emperor would summon the princes and ministers, announce that the crown prince had been chosen, and place the edict behind the "Zhengda Guangming" plaque in the Qianqing Palace. After the emperor's death, the princes and ministers would open both copies of the edict together, confirm their accuracy, and then proclaim them to the world, thus enthroning the new emperor.
What was written in that box, and who the emperor truly favored, remains unknown. But this very fact only fuels the suspicion.
Ulanara twisted the handkerchief in her hand into a pretzel shape, gritted her teeth, and looked at her no longer young self in the bronze mirror.
It's too late. The Emperor has already proposed this idea and clearly has a chosen candidate for Crown Prince. Even if she were to have another son, it wouldn't be in time.
Who could it be?
Was it the eldest son Hongshi, the late emperor's favorite Hongli, or Lady Nian's Fuhui?
Ulanara pondered the matter, finding it difficult to decide. But no matter how she considered it, Hongshi at least had the advantage of being the eldest son, and he had not yet been separated from the emperor's household. With this advantage already, if he could also be considered the legitimate heir, neither Hongli nor Fuhui could compare.
But the Li family...
After thinking it over, Ulanara suddenly remembered something and quickly asked Yanruo, "Does the Third Prince only have two princesses by his side now?"
"Yes." Yanru didn't know why Ulanara was asking this, but Ulanara gritted her teeth and said, "Send a message to ask Mother if there are any girls of marriageable age with the Third Prince in the family."
Yanruo was taken aback and was about to say something when Ulanara slammed her hand on the table: "Hurry up and go! Find some good-looking and delicate women, hurry up!"
Helpless, Yanruo could only follow the instructions to deliver the message. Ulanara looked at herself in the bronze mirror for a moment and then smiled.
She had heard some of what Hongshi had done in the past six months.
A prince who could go to brothels in the dark alleys during the late emperor's mourning period was destined to be unable to escape the allure of lust. But that's alright, such a person is easy to manage.
It would also be good to have family members keep an eye on Hongshi and advise him to avoid doing anything outrageous.
Ulanara was lost in a jumble of thoughts when, over there, Yinzhen was sitting next to Qian Shengyan, chatting with her about Hongli's amusing anecdotes.
"Your Majesty, please stop! Hongli is only twelve years old, how could he understand such things!" Qian Shengyan wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes, unable to believe that her son would do something so foolish!
What do you mean he jumped out of the window because he was scared by the palace maid lying on the bed without even wearing his outer robe? Hahaha, Hongli is so composed, he would never do that!
"I have already ordered that palace maid to be taken to the Ministry of Justice. She's quite audacious, trying to seduce the prince." Yinzhen sneered, and seeing that Qian Shengyan only found the matter amusing, he felt somewhat helpless.
She's already had three children, yet she still acts like a child herself, not even bothering to ask a single question about the background of the palace maid.
The thought that Hongshi would resort to such despicable means darkened Yinzhen's eyes even more. But then he heard Qian Shengyan say, "Speaking of which, it was my fault for not managing things properly, and the palace maids took advantage of this loophole. Here's what we'll do: in the Southern Three Palaces, apart from the servants of the Fujin and Gege in Hongshi's courtyard, no more palace maids will be kept in the rest of the palace."
Yinzhen was taken aback, unsure whether Qian Shengyan's actions were intentional or unintentional. However, if the same thing happened again after this rectification, the root cause would definitely be with Hongshi.
However... it turned out to be a lucky accident.
Seeing that Yinzhen's expression gradually softened, Qian Shengyan picked up her teacup and took a sip without making a sound.
Hmph, she already knew about this. Hongli came to tell her a long time ago, and he himself found out exactly where the palace maid came from. He even said that she didn't need to worry about it and that he would find a chance to return her.
Qian Shengyan had no idea that Hongli had jumped out of the window in fright. Haha, the boy hadn't even told her yet; he was probably too embarrassed.
The troubles of adolescence~
Qian Shengyan took another bite of pastry, and listening to the laughter of Foerguochun in the side hall, she couldn't help but smile as well.
"Isn't Foerguochun ten years old already?" Yinzhen heard this too, and he was slightly displeased. "Why is he still laughing like that?"
Upon hearing this, Qian Shengyan immediately composed herself and said calmly, "Folguochun is the Emperor's princess. She can laugh and think however she wants. Does she need to restrain herself?"
“That’s true.” Yinzhen thought for a moment and then smiled. “In a few years, we’ll bestow upon her the title of Princess Gulun and build her a princess’s mansion. She can do whatever she wants.”
"Then I thank Your Majesty on behalf of Folgochun." Qian Shengyan said this, but did not get up. Instead, she fought for some rights for her daughter. "I have heard that although the princesses in the capital are pampered in their boudoirs, they are not completely ignorant of the world. I was thinking that Folgochun is getting older. Could Your Majesty grant her a team of guards? That way, if she wants to go out of the palace to visit friends in the future, I can feel at ease."
“That’s easy. I’ll talk to Tulichen later.” Yinzhen didn’t take it seriously. “Hongli’s guards are skilled. You can talk to Fuerguochun and tell her that if she really wants to leave the palace, she should ask her fourth brother to take her with her.”
"Alright." Qian Shengyan smiled again and offered a piece of pastry to Yinzhen's lips. "Your Majesty..."
"Your Majesty! Something has happened to the Third Prince!" Su Peisheng suddenly rushed in, stumbling and crawling. "The Third Prince was carried back covered in blood. They say he was beaten by someone and his life is now unknown, Your Majesty!"
"What?" Yinzhen was shocked and stood up abruptly. "Where is Hongshi?"
"The Empress has already gone to Consort Qi's place..." Su Peisheng said as he followed Yinzhen's hurried steps.
After hesitating for a moment, Qian Shengyan finally couldn't resist her curiosity and followed.
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