Yi Hua received an invitation to a banquet hosted by the Crown Princess at Yuqing Palace. She was talking to Chen Mama when she said, "It's neither a festival nor a holiday, why is the Crown Prince's Palace holding such a grand banquet for all the officials?"
The palace servant who delivered the invitation was beaming, saying that not only members of the royal family but also the wives and daughters of important court officials had been invited, clearly indicating that the event was going to be a grand affair.
"Even the four concubines in the palace have never held such a grand banquet before. It must be a joyous occasion," Chen Mama pondered.
Yi Hua counted on her fingers: "If it were the Crown Prince's wedding, then the men should be invited. The fact that only women are invited suggests either a matchmaking event or..."
In the Qing Dynasty, a selection system was implemented, where women were born with the status of imperial concubines and could not marry freely until they were selected. Of course, there were also childhood sweethearts who fell in love freely, but those who made arrangements beforehand were bound to be rejected.
"The Crown Princess's good news, could it be that she is finally pregnant?" Yi Hua guessed. "That doesn't make sense. The Crown Princess has been trying to conceive for many years, and I have heard about it. If she finally has good news, what would she do if she didn't take good care of herself during her pregnancy?"
Granny Chen fanned Yihua: "Why is the Princess Consort thinking so much? Let's just follow the rules and go in and out with the other princes' wives. There's nothing wrong with that."
The next day, Yinzhen took Honghui to Yonghe Palace first, while Yihua took the eldest princess to Yuqing Palace for a banquet.
When Consort De saw Honghui arrive, she quickly had Granny Lü serve him fruit and pastries, and took his hand to carefully inquire about his diet throughout the day, appearing both kind and considerate.
Honghui liked Mam very much. He sipped his milk tea and answered her questions word by word, and would occasionally say a few witty remarks to make Consort De happy.
As Yinzhen listened from the side, he felt more and more that something was wrong. Where did this child learn such flattering words? Could it be that one of the servants around him was not sincere and was starting to bewitch his master?
As he pondered, Yinzhen began to scrutinize the eunuchs who followed Honghui. They all had meek and obedient expressions, making it impossible to discern their loyalty or treachery. So he decided to investigate them one by one.
Honghui's performance had progressed to reciting poetry for Consort De. Yinzhen touched his nose. This was the first time he had been completely ignored by the Empress in Yonghe Palace, yet he wasn't upset. This feeling was quite novel.
The reason why Consort De liked Honghui so much was probably not only because he was favored by Emperor Kangxi, but also because Honghui was her eldest son, and she loved him because of him.
Thinking of this, Yinzhen, unusually, said a few kind words to Consort De: "I heard from the Fujin that Your Highness has been indulging in cold things lately. Is your health alright?"
"It's nothing serious, just an old ailment. I've taken the medicine and it's fine now." Consort De was in a good mood, and her tone was much gentler when she spoke to Yinzhen.
"Your Majesty, please tell me what medicinal herbs you wish to find, and I will search for them outside the palace for you."
"I'm doing quite well with the medicine prescribed by the imperial physician. You should do your job well and not make things difficult for yourself." Consort De choked up a little as she said this, clearly showing her true feelings.
Yinzhen was also somewhat moved and was about to say something.
Consort De continued, "Your household still has too few offspring. Honghui can't fight alone; he needs his brothers to help him."
"Li is a woman who is fertile. When your wife came last time, what did you think about the matter of the concubine that I mentioned?"
Seeing that Consort De had returned to her usual haughty demeanor, Yinzhen felt as if everything that had just happened was a figment of his imagination, and his heart slowly grew cold again: "Your Majesty's considerations are valid, but I am only a Beile, and I have not yet made any contributions, yet I want a concubine. I am afraid that Father Emperor will beat me out. Let's discuss this matter another day."
"Your Majesty, Father is waiting for Honghui in the Hall of Mental Cultivation. I will take him there." Before Consort De could speak again, Yinzhen pulled Honghui and walked out without looking back.
Granny Green advised, "Your Highness doesn't like hearing these things. I just saw him deeply moved, but when you mentioned Consort Li, he became unhappy again."
Consort De was also indignant: "I'm just worried because he's so old and still has so few children. How many sons does the Emperor have at his age?! He's not worried at all, and he doesn't even think about what will happen to Honghui... the Prince's mansion!"
Granny Green was startled. She whispered, "Your Majesty, you..."
"Honghui's two accidents have left me terrified," Consort De voiced her concerns. "When has there ever been an accident in the palace? It's always man-made. These uncles, unable to win the Emperor's favor, have turned on a child not even six years old. Their intentions are despicable!"
"If it were just the schemes of women in the harem, I would still be confident in protecting Honghui, but it seems I was too naive," Consort De said worriedly. "I'm just afraid I'll wake up one morning to find out that something has happened to Honghui again!"
"Don't worry, the Prince is here," Granny Green reassured her. "Wouldn't it be better if you said these things to the Prince?"
Consort De smiled bitterly; how could she possibly say it?
The adoptions of those children in earlier years have already turned them into beings who are neither mothers nor children.
******
When Yihua arrived at Yuqing Palace, Consort Dong'e of Prince Cheng was talking animatedly.
It turns out that recently, Emperor Kangxi was pleased with Prince Cheng's merit in writing the book and rewarded him with a garden. Now, Prince Cheng's mansion is undergoing a major construction project to renovate the garden.
The garden of Dong Eshi was filled with rare treasures and exotic artifacts. Listening to the flattering and celebratory words of the housekeeper, her vanity was greatly satisfied.
She spotted Yihua walking in and leaned forward, saying, "Fourth sister-in-law, you certainly know how to avoid trouble."
"What do you mean by that, Third Sister-in-law?" Yi Hua was pulled by Dong E Shi to an open space where she could see everything without any blind spots and was not afraid of being overheard.
Dong Eshi pinched Yi Hua's cheek: "You're still pretending with me. Why aren't you providing any new designs for our shop?"
Yi Hua stepped back slightly: "Third sister-in-law, what you're saying is strange. That's your dowry shop, not mine. Besides, look at my belly, how can I have the energy to think about these things? All I do every day is eat and sleep."
Lady Dong'e looked at Yihua's belly with some envy: "You seem to be constantly favored."
Lady Dong'e lowered her voice and leaned closer: "How does my sister plan to thank me?"
Yi Hua raised her eyebrows, signaling Dong E Shi to continue.
“These days, people from Prince Yu’s mansion have been loitering outside my shop. What a coincidence that the Tong family’s daughter had the good fortune to bump into Princess Yu that day.”
Yi Hua clasped her hands together and said, "Perhaps even Heaven couldn't bear to see it anymore."
Dong Eshi chuckled: "I don't care. I'll help you deal with Prince Yu's mansion. You owe me a favor, and you'll have to repay it in the future."
Yi Hua shrugged indifferently: "Say what you want."
Seeing that things were going well, Lady Dong'e didn't press the matter further and changed the subject: "Do you know why our dear second sister-in-law is hosting this banquet?"
Before Yihua could speak, Dong'e said to herself, "On the surface, she said she found several rare and precious peonies, but actually she wanted to announce that she was three months pregnant."
Seeing that Yi Hua's expression was calm and she showed no shock, Dong E rolled her eyes: "You're becoming more and more like your master, so boring!"
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