"What's wrong?" Yinzhen asked impatiently, glancing at the desk, then remembered Qian Shengyan's memorial.
Although written in vernacular Chinese, the content was very detailed and the introduction to the new ministries was also very thorough. At least for Yinzhen, it was much more meaningful than the empty memorials submitted by officials.
He then said, "Please invite the Imperial Noble Consort over. Why hasn't the memorial you promised yesterday been delivered yet?"
After he finished speaking, the two eunuchs kneeling on the ground trembled even more violently. Yinzhen impatiently threw down his vermilion brush, a sign of his growing impatience. Su Peisheng probably knew this too, and although terrified, he still replied, "The Imperial Noble Consort... the Imperial Noble Consort passed away in the eleventh month of the third year of Yongzheng's reign..."
Yinzhen: ? ? ?
He abruptly stood up, roaring, "What nonsense are you spouting, you dog of a servant? How dare you curse the Imperial Noble Consort like that? Don't you want that thing around your neck anymore!"
Su Peisheng looked at Yinzhen with even greater fear: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, may you... summon the Master Miaozheng?"
"Who?" Yinzhen frowned.
Seeing his reaction, Su Peisheng became even more frightened: "His Majesty, the Emperor himself appointed the fourth-rank official, Lord Lou Jinyuan, the supervisor of Longhu Mountain and abbot of Qin'an Hall..."
Yinzhen was taken aback. He did recognize this person; he was the Taoist priest who had given him the Jiji Pill. However, because Yanyan had strongly refused, he had not taken it and had not seen the man since.
"What kind of Miaozheng Zhenren is this? Nonsense!" Yinzhen scolded, then looked at Su Peisheng, "Why are you acting so strangely today? Why don't you go and summon the Imperial Noble Consort?"
"Your Majesty..." Su Peisheng was about to cry, "Imperial Noble Consort, but... there is no Imperial Noble Consort in the palace now..."
Only then did Yinzhen belatedly realize that something was wrong.
Only after inquiring did he learn that the so-called "Imperial Noble Consort" mentioned by Su Peisheng was actually Lady Nian, who died in the third year of Yongzheng's reign, and that the birth mother of the Fourth Prince Hongli was still Consort Xi.
Yinzhen frowned even more. He pondered for a moment, picked up the memorial on the table and quickly flipped through it. He felt that the events in the memorial basically matched his memory, but what about the harem?
He then asked, "Who lives in Yongshou Palace now?"
"Your Majesty, the front hall of Yongshou Palace is empty, and the rear hall is occupied by two newly arrived concubines this year..." Su Peisheng said tremblingly.
Yinzhen became even angrier upon hearing this: "Bring me the roster of the harem!"
Then, he remembered something else: "How many princes do I have? What about princesses?"
Su Peisheng answered tremblingly, but Yinzhen frowned even more and asked a few more questions about Consort Xi.
The beginning was not wrong. At the imperial palace in the suburbs of Beijing, he had a one-night stand with a palace maid after drinking. Later, he learned that she had given birth to a child. After verifying the facts, he brought her and the prince to the prince's residence. However, although the woman was beautiful, she was dull and dazed. She would only be afraid and hide when she saw him, so he did not like to see her. As the birth mother of the prince, she was only a princess until she entered the palace.
After entering the palace, she was ranked as a concubine after Consort Qi, and they rarely saw each other for many years afterward. Nowadays, the two rarely meet except at palace banquets.
However, when he was in the Prince's residence, his favorite woman in the inner quarters was Lady Nian. According to Su Peisheng, Lady Nian was lively and enthusiastic, and well-versed in Han culture. She got along very well with him.
Yinzhen frowned in thought. He hadn't figured out what was wrong yet. Just as he was about to get up, his fingers touched the dragon head on the armrest, and suddenly, as if he had touched some kind of mechanism, a headache struck him. Yinzhen hissed and fell back onto the dragon throne.
A moment later, he looked up suddenly, only to find a new memory in his mind.
That memory was basically no different from that of the previous dynasty, but it was completely different from that of the harem.
The Qian Shengyan here is not the woman he knew, whose every anger and tantrum was a sight to behold, but rather, as Su Peisheng said, a wooden-like Qian.
At first, Yinzhen was very fond of Qian Shi because of her beauty, but he gradually became bored with her. At this time, Nian Shi entered the mansion, and the lively and bright girl just filled the void in Yinzhen's affection.
However, Lady Nian's family background was too complicated. Nian Gengyao was as arrogant, unruly, and disrespectful as ever. Although "Yinzhen" doted on her, he was also wary of her. In eleven years, she gave birth to three sons and one daughter, but none of them survived.
Although Hongshi did not commit any immoral acts of having affairs with the empresses and concubines, he still argued incessantly with "Yinzhen" for the sake of the eighth prince. After "Yinzhen" imprisoned the eighth prince, he tried to help him escape from prison, but was also driven out of the palace by "Yinzhen," stripped of his yellow sash, and given to the eighth prince as his son.
The Hongli here is different from the son he favored. Although this Hongli also loved reading and learning from a young age, without proper guidance from his parents, he had no other hobbies besides reading. He was also dull and taciturn. Apart from being good at studying, he had no other merits at this time. However, Yinzhen had a keen eye and could roughly see from Yinzhen's memories that this son had an undisguised wolfish ambition.
At this time, Empress Ulanara was still firmly in her position, especially after the death of Consort Nian. She became even more powerful, practically ruling the harem with unparalleled influence. Therefore, in the imperial concubine selection of the fifth year of Yongzheng's reign, besides choosing wives for his sons, "Yinzhen" also brought two concubines and one noble lady into his own harem. Furthermore, during the three years of mourning, Yinzhen favored almost all the women sent to the harem by the dowager concubines and princes. Currently, there is a row of houses behind the Hall of Mental Cultivation where several young concubines live.
Even with new concubines, "Yinzhen" did not like to visit the harem.
With the Empress Dowager absent and the Empress not favored by him, "Yinzhen" spent his time reviewing memorials, meeting various Taoist priests, and even trying his hand at alchemy and tasting elixirs. He was not particularly concerned about raising his sons, and had not yet considered the titles of Hongli and Hongzhou, while the successor was still under consideration.
Upon reading this memory, Yinzhen frowned. He could sense that even though this "Yinzhen" now had more than twice as many concubines as him, "Yinzhen" was not happy, and in fact, "Yinzhen" was very lonely.
"Yinzhen" consumed the so-called elixir of immortality not only in his hope of truly living ten thousand years, but also to seek the pleasure and satisfaction that came with it. Apart from that, only political affairs made him feel alive.
Through "Yinzhen's" memories, Yinzhen also saw things outside the court.
Rumors about the current succession being illegitimate have been rampant, including the legend of him killing his father and forcing his mother to abdicate, as well as assessments of his lust, cruelty, ruthlessness, and so on.
These things almost made Yinzhen laugh.
Is this really him?
No way, this can't be him, it's just a dream.
As Yinzhen was thinking this, his feet involuntarily turned to Jingren Palace—the palace where Consort Xi, née Qian, lived.
When the Emperor arrived, Consort Xi naturally bowed to greet him. Almost subconsciously, Yinzhen reached out to help the woman in front of him, but Consort Xi was startled after he touched her, her eyes darting around and avoiding his gaze.
At this moment, Yinzhen finally realized that no matter how similar the woman in front of him was, she was not her.
Without Qian Shengyan, his harem and his court might be in the same state as they are today.
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