After calming herself down, Aruhan stepped into the Jiuzhou Qingyan Palace. Qian Shengyan, who had already received the news, sighed and said, "Let her wait in the side hall."
After waiting for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Qian Shengyan finally came out. When Aruhan saw her, she stood up and bowed, but the feigned respect on her face was not as sincere as before: "Greetings, Imperial Noble Consort."
"Sit down." Qian Shengyan sat at the head of the table and said before she could speak, "The Emperor promoted you because you are respectful and proper. You must not disappoint the Emperor."
"Yes, Your Highness, I will remember your teachings." Aruhan lowered her eyes, concealing the ambition in them.
"Alright, if there's nothing else, you can go back and rest." Qian Shengyan served tea to see her off. Aruhan paused, opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but seeing that Qian Shengyan didn't even look at her, she hesitated for a moment before biting her lip and reluctantly curtsied and took her leave.
After Qian Shengyan finished her tea, Lvliu came in and said with a smile, "This servant saw that Consort Ru stood at the door for a long time before leaving."
“But I saw that Consort Ru came from the east,” Qingxue added.
Qian Shengyan knew that Consort Ru was currently living in the Geng family's courtyard. Wuling Spring Scenery was in the northwest direction, so she probably came from the east and went to see the Emperor first.
However, the Emperor is very busy today, and he may not have seen her at all—no, he probably didn't see her at all, otherwise he wouldn't have been so well-behaved when Aruhan came over just now.
Qian Shengyan lightly tapped the armrest with her fingers; she roughly guessed Aruhan's purpose.
The rank of Consort is the highest in the palace. Lady Geng keeps a close watch on her, so Consort Ru probably wants to remind the Emperor that it's time to move her to a different place.
Without Lady Geng's supervision, Aruhan can cause trouble. She should see Qiqige again, and prepare some scheming plans; if she's lucky, she might even be able to get the Emperor to come over…
Then what?
Qian Shengyan was reluctant to think about it too much, but she couldn't help but want to see how Yinzhen would react.
It's true that humans have a gambler's mentality; even when they know it's wrong, they can't help but want to try.
"Your Highness?" Qingxue called again, and Qian Shengyan finally reacted, turning to look at her. "Your Highness said yesterday that you were going to see the Sixth Prince studying today. Are you still going?"
"Hmm, let's go take a look." Qian Shengyan got up, wondering if Hongshan would still be able to settle down and continue studying properly after moving to the Yuanmingyuan.
Being confined in the palace wasn't very fun, but the Yuanmingyuan was different. You could go boating and ride horses, and if the children got restless, she could remind them.
Upon arriving at the study deep within the cave, Qian Shengyan heard a clear reading voice even before she approached. She couldn't help but chuckle softly, but didn't go any further. After standing there listening for a while, she heard Hongshan answering a question.
"Our brother answered very well!" Green Willow could tell too. Although she didn't quite understand classical Chinese, Hongshan's answer sounded very confident, so it must have been good.
Qian Shengyan nodded slightly, listened to their class for a while with a smile, and then left without disturbing them further.
As they passed the Hall of Diligent Governance, they heard the sound of porcelain shattering from afar. The group paused, and Qian Shengyan coughed lightly, "Let's go see Foerguochun."
"yes!"
We quickly took a detour, passing through the small path on the east side to the Wutong Courtyard, where we saw the three princesses sunbathing and making knots outside.
"Mother!" Folgochun stood up happily and bowed, and He Hui and Duanrou also stood up: "Your Highness, Imperial Noble Consort."
"Did I disturb you?" Qian Shengyan asked with a smile.
The three shook their heads. Folgochun pulled her to sit down and continued working on the knotting cloth at hand.
The group chatted casually for a while. Qian Shengyan listened for a while and realized that it was all girls' talk. Moreover, she figured it would be even more inappropriate for them to talk about anything else while she was sitting there. So she smiled and got up, saying, "I still have some things to do in the palace, so I'll head back first."
"Is Mother leaving already?" Ferguchun looked at her with bright eyes and said coquettishly, "Mother, please stay a little longer."
Qian Shengyan patted her head but did not agree. She just smiled and said, "I'm adding some dishes for you today, but don't knit for too long. It'll hurt your eyes."
Folgour obediently agreed.
The marriage of He Hui and Duan Rou was bestowed last year. Although the wedding date is next year, the Empress will be in charge of the children's three-year mourning period, so the wedding date can only be postponed. Fortunately, He Hui and Duan Rou are not too old, so waiting is a good thing.
As for Ferguchun and Erong'an, it was an open secret that Yinzhen had originally planned to bestow a marriage upon them at the end of last year, but due to the Empress's funeral, it could only be postponed again.
It's a good thing, actually. Qian Shengyan was worried that they would get married too early and become pregnant too soon, which would be a waste of their young age and damage their health.
Back at the Qingyan Palace in Kyushu, just as I sat down, a palace servant rushed in to report that Consort Yu and Consort Ru had started fighting.
Qian Shengyan: ? ? ? ?
Qingxue was shocked: "This... Consort Yu is not usually one to fight, how could they have started fighting?"
"This is utterly ridiculous!" Qian Shengyan said angrily. She was tired after walking around, so she summoned a sedan chair and quickly arrived at Wuling Spring Scenery.
Upon arrival, they discovered that it was not Consort Yu who had taken action, but rather Consort Yu's head maid, Zishan.
Aruhan personally joined the fray, engaging in a lively fight with a palace maid. Geng stood aside, trembling with anger. A palace maid lay on the ground nearby, with bloodstains all around, and no one knew what had happened.
There was another eunuch, I don't know which side he was protecting, standing there blocking others from getting close.
Qian Shengyan: ...
She approached Madam Geng: "What's wrong?"
"...Your Highness, Imperial Noble Consort." Madam Geng's voice trembled with anger, "Consort Ru is simply... inexplicable!"
"Your Highness, our Lady has suffered a great injustice today," said Zi Die, who was standing next to Lady Geng, angrily. "Our Lady was just staying in the palace when Consort Ru suddenly came in and started making a scene, saying that Your Highness had imprisoned her and that she was now a Lady of the Palace and wanted to move out."
Madam Geng also said angrily, "I haven't even said two words yet, and she's already throwing a tantrum. Xiao Han tried to pull her away, but she was kicked to the ground and her head was even broken! If Zi Shan hadn't stopped her, she would have hit me!"
What kind of mess is this?!
Qian Shengyan felt a headache coming on: "What are you all standing there for! Pull them apart!" After saying that, she scolded, "What kind of behavior is this!"
"Your Highness, you must stand up for our Lady! Since Consort Ru entered the palace, hasn't it been our Lady who has diligently taught her? Today, she is promoted, and she turns her back on our Lady. How can anyone be so unreasonable!" Zishan shouted.
Qian Shengyan couldn't help but find it amusing. This Zishan was indeed trained by Geng Shi; she was truly quick-witted.
Aruhan was not to be outdone. She shrieked, "You lowly servant! You lowly servant! What nonsense! I came to pay my respects to Consort Yu, and before I could even exchange two words, that lowly servant dared to attack me! Even though my rank is lower than Consort Yu's, I have been promoted to the rank of Consort today, and I am now a principal consort! Yet these servants look down on me like dogs. Is this how the Qing Dynasty's harem treats me, a princess?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
