Just before the Golden Banquet Festival, the palace carried out several reforms in silence, but these were all observed by those with ulterior motives.
The Imperial Medical Academy has allocated a new area for training, but the trainees are palace maids and eunuchs, or respectable women, which is quite strange.
The martial arts training ground of the guardhouse also had many new faces, but judging from his fair complexion, beardless appearance, and high-pitched voice, he was clearly not an ordinary man.
These changes are all minor, few people notice them, and few people think about them. However, the Imperial Study in the palace reopened, and the Sixth Prince Hongshan and the Seventh Prince Yi's son Hongxiao, along with their companions and Haha Zhuzi, officially began their studies. The person in charge was Zhang Yuanying, the current emperor's tutor.
The personal instruction from the Imperial Tutor seemed to carry a different meaning. In addition, Hongshan was already six years old and was about to be vaccinated against smallpox. If he could survive this ordeal, he would be considered to have made a name for himself.
Does the Emperor feel that the Fourth and Fifth Princes are too old and want to start grooming younger ones as successors...?
Then, recalling the scene at the Mulan Hunting Grounds where the Sixth Prince rode his horse and defeated a group of Mongolian children, it seems that the current emperor is cultivating the Sixth Prince to be both scholarly and martial...
The gossip eventually reached Qian Shengyan's ears, leaving her completely bewildered—was Hongli, who was not even twenty years old, really that old?
No, that's not the issue. The main problem is that Hongshan is still struggling to even write his own name. On his first day of class, he angered Zhang Shi so much that he went to the Emperor to ask to resign. How could he possibly be a candidate for Crown Prince?
“People outside are like that, always jumping to conclusions,” Guo said calmly. She sat below Qian Shengyan and had been in charge of official business for a long time. Now she looked quite imposing, very different from the little girl who used to follow Qian Shengyan around.
She smiled and put down her teacup, then looked at Qian Shengyan: "I saw the Fourth Prince's little princess a few days ago. She is truly lovely and will grow up to be a beauty."
"What can you tell from a baby that's only a month old?" Qian Shengyan said, both amused and exasperated.
"Your Highness is beautiful, the Fourth Prince is handsome, and the Fourth Princess Consort is also a beauty, so how could our little princess not be pretty?" Guo said with a smile.
Qian Shengyan glared at her, and Guo Shi laughed: "It's been a long time since I've seen Your Highness. It's really comforting to be glared at like that by Your Highness."
Qian Shengyan couldn't help but laugh: "...Where did you learn such a glib tongue!"
"Oh dear, I'm late!" Geng's voice preceded her arrival. She lifted the curtain and came in, first exclaiming "Oh!" before walking over and patting Guo's shoulder. "Not bad, in just half a year, the Palace Administration Office has changed a lot."
"It really does resemble a government office now." Madam Geng covered her mouth and chuckled, then turned back to look. "Where's my table?"
The three of them each had a desk in the same hall, but since the other two had gone to Mulan, only Guo came to "work" every day. Now, Geng sat back down in her own place, looking around, still finding it novel and interesting.
"You're finally back. It's so much more comfortable at home." Madam Geng leaned back in her armchair and smiled at Madam Guo. "How have you been these past six months, Sister Guo? When I came in just now, I saw that the Deputy Director was very busy."
Before Guo could reply, Geng smiled and said, "I think Sister Guo is very well taken care of. She is fair and tender, and looks much younger than me who is always on the go."
Guo gave a forced smile: "Your Majesty, I am actually several years younger than Consort Yu."
Geng: ...
Lady Geng: "Your Highness, look at her!"
Qian Shengyan also smiled: "If I remember correctly, Consort Yu is a few years older than me."
Geng: ...
Madam Geng gritted her teeth: "Your Majesty, next year when you go out, you should take Sister Guo with you! Let her get more sun exposure, or she'll look old!"
Guo said slowly and deliberately, "Alright, how about Your Highness Yu gives me another imperial edict, and I will help Your Highness manage the Fifth Prince."
"That's fine." Madam Geng waved her hand generously. "That little brat doesn't listen to anyone, but he's not familiar with you, so he might feel embarrassed not to listen!"
Guo: ...
Qian Shengyan almost burst out laughing, and the palace maids serving her also lowered their heads and pursed their lips to suppress their laughter.
However, Madam Geng changed the subject, saying, "Your Highness, now that you have returned to the palace, shouldn't you resume the morning greetings?"
"There's no rush. Winter is coming soon, and it's too cold in the mornings. Let's talk about it after the New Year." Qian Shengyan didn't want to see people every morning like she was going to work.
Lady Geng, however, thought differently: "Before, when we were outside, the sisters weren't all together, so it was fine that we didn't pay our respects. Now that we're back in the palace, we should pick up the proper etiquette." As she spoke, she winked, "Besides, there's a new concubine that none of us have met yet. Shouldn't the Imperial Noble Consort help introduce her?"
"A newcomer?" Guo was unaware of this and looked at Qian Shengyan with some concern.
Before Qian Shengyan could say anything, Madam Geng continued, "She is a Mongolian noblewoman, but she is in poor health and has been ill ever since she arrived at the Yuanmingyuan. However, she seems to have gotten out of bed recently and should come to pay her respects to Your Majesty."
"Sister," Guo reminded her, "there aren't just the three of us in this room; there are also palace servants serving us."
Madam Geng waved her hand: "They are all our personal maids, no one will say anything to outsiders, right?"
The palace maids all curtsied and said yes. Guo said helplessly, "Sister is really... It seems that during the past six months, the Imperial Noble Consort has really spoiled Sister Geng too much, which is why Sister Geng is like this."
"Hehe." Madam Geng chuckled, then put her hands on her hips and said, "Tomorrow morning, we'll all go and pay our respects to the Imperial Noble Consort!"
"Okay," Guo replied with a smile.
Qian Shengyan: ...
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
