Chapter 147 The Princess Enters the Palace Time passed slowly, carrying with it sorrow and heat...
Time passed slowly, and the summer, filled with sorrow and heat, finally came to an end. Just as August arrived, Yinreng issued an edict summoning the princesses of various families who had been previously conferred titles to the palace. These princesses were supposed to enter the palace last year, but due to the sudden passing of the Empress Dowager and the need for mourning in the palace, their arrival was delayed. They should have entered the palace this spring after their investiture ceremonies, but the Empress's passing further delayed their arrival. Now, however, there was no longer any way to postpone it; they had no choice but to bid farewell to their parents and enter the palace.
The princesses who entered were girls from various princely families who were about to come of age. There were four princesses of the third, fifth, seventh, and ninth princes, all bestowed with titles. As for why the other princes didn't come, the fourth prince, Prince Yong, only had one daughter he raised, who married while Emperor Kangxi was still alive; her husband was a member of the fourth prince's wife's family. As for the tenth prince and the other princes, their daughters were still young. But perhaps when they grow up, the palace will have several more princesses.
Of course, we'll leave those future matters aside for now; the important thing right now is that the princesses have entered the palace. The eldest among them is Princess Hehui from the Third Master's family. Because she is older than the others, she stands at the front and bows to her. Cheng Qianyue has someone help them up, offers them seats, and says gently to them, "From now on, this will be your home. If you feel uncomfortable with anything, just tell your mother."
The other three glanced at He Hui, then followed He Hui in rising formally and bowing: "Daughter understands, daughter thanks Mother for your kindness."
Cheng Qianyue: Sigh!
After He Hui and the others left, Cheng Qianyue called Wu Linzhu and Mo Yaqi over and said to them, "He Hui and the others have just entered the palace, and they must be having some trouble adjusting at first. Could you two go and check on them for me more often?"
Wulinzhu knew that Hehui and the others would be sent to serve Mongolia in the future, and nodded heavily, saying, "Don't worry, Mother Cheng, we will." Moyaqi chimed in, "We'll go tomorrow."
The next day, after having breakfast, Wulinzhu and Moyaqi prepared to go to Ganxi Fifth Institute. Cheng Qianyue took out cloaks and draped them over each of them, saying softly, "It's getting cooler. Although the sun is shining outside, the wind will inevitably make you catch a cold." She tied a bow on each of them, patted their shoulders, and said, "Alright, go ahead. Just think of it as going to visit friends. If you find anything amiss, don't make a fuss. Come back secretly and tell your mother."
Ulinzhu smiled gently at her, and then the two of them, one big and one small, walked out hand in hand.
Cheng Qianyue watched the two figures disappear into the distance with great satisfaction. Even more gratifying was the sight of the eldest princess visibly relaxed. Although she still wasn't as lively as Moyaqi, she had made significant progress, even gaining a little weight compared to when she first moved in. Ah, all the effort Cheng Qianyue had put into feeding her was truly worthwhile.
For the next two weeks, Wulinzhu and Moyaqi often went to the back to visit He Hui and the others, and sometimes the sisters would have lunch together. Cheng Qianyue had this idea in mind: firstly, to give Wulinzhu something to do, and secondly, to let He Hui and the others relax by talking and chatting with people of similar age.
So far, the progress is quite encouraging. The main reason is Wulinzhu; this child is incredibly perceptive. In just a few days, she told Cheng Qianyue several things, such as how the nanny around He Hui seemed to be quite strict with He Hui, and how He Hui didn't like her. Another example is that He Ning mentioned the goldfish she kept at home. She also mentioned some of He Duan and He Shu's usual hobbies, such as their favorite snacks and dishes.
Upon learning this, Cheng Qianyue quickly found an excuse to transfer He Hui's maidservant and replaced her with a more obedient one. As for He Ning, she didn't want to interfere, fearing that if she bestowed goldfish upon her, He Ning might feel that someone was watching her. So Cheng Qianyue had Wu Linzhu take He Ning to stroll in the Imperial Garden, mentioning the fish-keeping incident briefly when they passed the Thousand Carp Pond near the Floating Jade Pavilion. Afterwards, He Ning indeed had someone select a few goldfish to take home and raise. The matter concerning He Duan and He Shu was even easier; it was just about food, nothing serious in the palace. She simply instructed the head of the princes' kitchen to ask the princesses daily what snacks and dishes they wanted to eat.
“You’re a good child, you know how to care for others.” Cheng Qianyue said, holding Wu Linzhu’s hand. “But there’s one thing: don’t just think about others and forget to care for yourself. Nothing is more important than yourself, otherwise you’ll become a little fool.”
Ulinzhu couldn't help but chuckle at her teasing words. She quickly covered her mouth with her handkerchief, but replied, "Mother Cheng, I understand."
Cheng Qianyue patted her hand, thinking that it was good that she understood.
After that, the sisters' relationship grew even stronger. They spent their days chatting and laughing, doing embroidery or playing games, like pitch-pot one day and grass-fighting the next. Seeing that the princesses were gradually getting used to life in the Forbidden City, Cheng Qianyue busied herself finding nannies to teach them. But before that, she had Wulinzhu and Moyaqi assess their abilities. This assessment revealed a startling truth: not only were the princesses unfamiliar with riding and archery, but they also didn't speak Mongolian!
Moyaqi said with a long face, "I asked my sisters, and they don't know much Mongolian, but they can speak some Manchu. As for horseback riding and archery, they know even less."
Cheng Qianyue frowned. She realized she had overestimated the princesses' education. Her next thought was how to teach them in the future. However, she needed to carefully consider the procedures before proceeding. As she thought this, she looked up and saw that Moyaqi still looked regretful and annoyed. She asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Your face is all wrinkled up like a persimmon."
Moya asked curiously, "Mother, I said something wrong when I was chatting with my sisters."
Um?
It turns out that today, Moyaqi and her sister Wulinzhu went to play with Hehui and Ning. The sisters were playing a game of throwing stones together. While they were playing, Wulinzhu asked them what books they had read. Hehui and the others started talking all at once about things like "female precepts" and "female admonitions."
Moyaqi followed up with, "Besides this, what else have you learned, sisters?" But the answers were nothing more than playing the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Moyaqi was taken aback: "Don't you learn Manchu and Mongolian at home?" As soon as she finished speaking, everyone's face turned pale. Obviously, they had all thought about the future mission to Mongolia and lost interest in playing afterward.
Moyaqi realized she had said the wrong thing and quickly apologized, but the good atmosphere could not be restored.
When Cheng Qianyue found out, she sighed and scolded Moya, saying, "You, you, you get so easily carried away when you're happy. If you could learn even a fraction of your older sister's maturity and composure, I would be laughing in my dreams."
Moya looked at her pitifully and said, "Mother, I know I was wrong." She hadn't meant it, and now she was filled with remorse, thinking she would apologize again tomorrow or the day after.
Wulinzhu tried to smooth things over, saying, "Mother Cheng, my little sister is just a bit blunt. But I can tell that Hehui and the others don't really care about this kind of thing." She paused and continued talking about what happened back then. Since Moyaqi had already said so much in front of everyone, Wulinzhu didn't beat around the bush and directly brought it up, saying that the palace would soon be finding tutors for them, so she wanted to ask about their background in advance.
After realizing what was happening, He Hui and the others gave a very straightforward answer. At home, they mainly learned Mandarin. Although they had also learned Manchu, it was limited to simple daily conversations. As for Mongolian, well, they had basically never learned it, let alone things like horseback riding and archery.
"Yes, I understand." Cheng Qianyue said, "Mother, think about who should be found to teach them. You can also attend classes with them. It's never a bad thing to learn more."
Ulinzhu and Moyaqi both nodded in agreement.
Cheng Qianyue began to consider what kind of lessons to teach the princesses, and Mongolian language instruction was a must first be arranged.
Sigh, this alone shows the difference between princes and princesses. Princes received trilingual education when they studied abroad, mainly Manchu and Chinese, but they also had to learn Mongolian. But princesses were different; they usually learned royal etiquette, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and as for language, they were lucky if they could learn a few phrases of Manchu.
Cheng Qianyue felt this wouldn't do. Although she couldn't change the fate of Princess Fumeng, she wanted to do her best to teach them how to survive there, and language was of paramount importance.
Although the princes-in-law certainly speak Chinese, and the princess will have her own residence and a large dowry, the entire princess's residence can't possibly be entirely composed of Chinese speakers, and the local residents certainly won't speak Chinese fluently. Oh, so you're a princess, relying entirely on your princes-in-law and those around you for everything—that creates a lot of complications. What if one or two of them take advantage of the distance from the emperor to deceive you? You'll be completely kept in the dark, and you won't even be able to see through them, with absolutely no way to stop them.
Therefore, to learn Mongolian, one must not only learn it but also learn it well, at least to be able to communicate smoothly with the local natives.
Cheng Qianyue picked up her pen and tentatively decided on this course, then pondered in her mind who would be their teachers. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't actually that difficult; many people in the palace came from Mongolia, such as the dowry members of the late emperor's concubines and the bondservants who entered the palace from the Mongol banners.
Speaking of this, Cheng Qianyue's first thought was of Granny Shu, who had once taken care of the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager came from the Khorchin tribe, and Granny Shu, being her dowry maid, naturally spoke Mongolian. However, Granny Shu was quite old, and after the Empress Dowager's passing, she had left the palace to enjoy her retirement, so it wasn't appropriate to trouble her to return. Cheng Qianyue thought it best to have someone ask Granny Shu if she had any suitable candidates to recommend.
After settling these matters for the time being, Cheng Qianyue then considered having the princesses learn horseback riding and archery. Even if they didn't become proficient, at least they would improve their physical health. Mongolia and Beijing are hundreds of miles apart, and how could they manage without good health when they married there or returned to the capital to visit their families? Moreover, good health and abundant energy are essential for any endeavor.
Cheng Qianyue could make the decisions regarding cultural education, but she couldn't decide on martial arts alone. Firstly, horseback riding and archery required experienced instructors, and she didn't know anyone there who could influence the selection. Secondly, there was the issue of where the princesses practiced martial arts; she couldn't very well have them practice at the archery pavilion alongside the princes and grandsons, as it was too crowded and conspicuous. After much deliberation, Cheng Qianyue was still unsure and considered drafting a memorial to consult the Yangxin Hall.
She thought that since it concerned the pacification of the Mongols, Yinreng would definitely take it to heart.
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