Chapter 160 Prince's Wedding After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Cheng Qianyue became busy again...
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Cheng Qianyue became busy again because several imperial concubines were leaving the palace, and she had to personally see them off. A few days later, several joyous events occurred in the palace. First, Yinreng chose wives for his two sons, Hongxi and Hongjin, and arranged their marriages. Second, the eldest princess, Wulinzhu, also had her wedding date set.
Let's talk about the marriages of the two princes first. Yinreng chose noble ladies for them.
Hongxi's chosen wife was a girl from the Niohuru clan, and not just any Niohuru, but a member of the Niohuru clan of the lineage of Eidu, a famous general who helped found the Qing Dynasty. She was the granddaughter of the son of Ebilun, a regent minister of the late emperor. In fact, this primary wife could even address the Tenth Prince as his maternal uncle, because his mother was the late emperor's Consort Wenxi, and her grandfather, Yide, was Consort Wenxi's younger brother.
The First Consort's grandfather, Yide, was originally not much of a figure in this lineage. At that time, the most powerful official in the Niohuru family was Aling'a, who inherited both the title and served as the Grand Minister of the Imperial Guard. Unfortunately, this man had greatly admired the Eighth Prince during the late emperor's reign. Now, Aling'a had lost both his position and his title. So where did the title go? It went to Yide, the First Consort's grandfather.
Cheng Qianyue wondered if Yinreng's move was an attempt to divide and win over the Niohuru family.
Having discussed the First Consort, let's now talk about Hongjin's Consort.
The Second Prince's wife came from a very prestigious family; she was from the Hesheli clan, the maternal family of Yinreng. Over the years, Yinreng had poured out his guilt and sorrow towards his deceased mother and his deceased maternal great-uncle, Songgotu, on the other members of the Hesheli clan. After ascending the throne, although he couldn't exonerate Songgotu—after all, Songgotu was a criminal whom the late emperor had firmly declared guilty, and he couldn't disobey his father's orders—he did promote many male members of the Hesheli family within a few years. Choosing a Hesheli woman as the Prince's wife for Hongjin was, in a way, Yinreng bringing glory to his maternal family.
In short, the wives of the two princes came from exceptionally good backgrounds.
The weddings of the two princes are set for the same day in May of next year, while the eldest princess's wedding is set for June of next year. It's rare for the Forbidden City to have three such joyous events, and the atmosphere of celebration is palpable.
Cheng Qianyue was a little speechless, because the two princes' wives wouldn't be able to enter the family until next year, but Yinreng had already assigned them two concubines.
Cheng Qianyue: ......
She couldn't control the other two princes, but she thought that if Hongyan were to marry a princess, she would definitely discuss it with Yinreng first, so that it wouldn't be like this time where a concubine was betrothed to Hongyan. Although it was unrealistic for Hongyan to only have one princess, she still hoped that Hongyan and his princess could get together first. After all, people always have a deep impression of their first time.
However, this wasn't the only frustrating thing. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the palace was filled with various important occasions: the Golden Banquet Festival, the Winter Solstice, and most importantly, the Lunar New Year. On such occasions, wouldn't the families of the First and Second Princes' wives all have to come to the palace for banquets? In previous years, they would have certainly come to Yongshou Palace, but now their position was inconvenient. Because their families were related to the princes by marriage, it would be more appropriate for them to attend the banquets in the palace of the princes' mothers, based on their closer ties.
Then Cheng Qianyue found it difficult to handle because Li Jiashi was "sick".
Li Jia had previously reported being ill and hadn't shown her face at all during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Cheng Qianyue thought she was afraid and wanted to hide, or that she wanted to feign illness to appear weak. However, at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, Yinreng mentioned her, saying in public that she was indeed quite ill and that he instructed her to stay in Xianfu Palace to recuperate before the end of the year and not to go out.
Cheng Qianyue immediately felt that Li Jia deserved it: "Serves you right for messing around. Now look what happened. The Emperor has spoken out that you are sick and told you to take good care of yourself and not to come out. Isn't this a disguised form of confinement?"
But now, Cheng Qianyue had a headache. The First Consort's grandmother and mother would definitely come to the palace for a banquet before the New Year, and she didn't know how to arrange things. The Second Consort's family was easier to deal with; they would certainly come to Yongshou Palace to pay their respects first, but Cheng Qianyue wouldn't keep them for long. After a few words, she would have someone invite them to Consort Jing, Lin Jia's, Qixiang Palace. But wasn't Consort Li Jia currently "recuperating"? She couldn't very well ask the First Consort's family to go to Xianfu Palace and delay Consort Li Jia's "recuperation."
Cheng Qianyue immediately realized this was a difficult problem, but no matter how difficult it was, the reception still had to be held. After thinking it over, she finally said, "On the big day before the New Year, let's put the Niohuru family's seat in Yongshou Palace, at the very front, opposite the Fucha family."
Not long after the New Year celebrations, the weddings of the princes and the eldest princess were put on the agenda, and the palace was bustling with activity. Then Cheng Qianyue found herself in a difficult situation again. The culprit was still Li Jia Shi. Before the New Year, Yinreng had confined her to her quarters, but now that it was the New Year, she could come out and roam freely.
Logically, a prince's mother should also help with the wedding arrangements. However, Cheng Qianyue didn't want to give Li Jia the courtesy she deserved. It was obvious that even if Cheng Qianyue disregarded past grievances and asked Li Jia to help with the wedding, Li Jia wouldn't appreciate it. So why should she deliberately invite trouble upon herself?
Cheng Qianyue sighed inwardly and said, "Please ask Consort Jing to come over." A short while later, Lin Jia arrived. Cheng Qianyue stood up, helped her to a seat, and said with a smile, "I congratulated you before the New Year, sister, and now I offer my congratulations again."
Upon hearing this, Lin Jia couldn't help but smile sincerely.
Looking at Lin Jia's appearance, Cheng Qianyue couldn't help but sigh inwardly. She used to particularly dislike describing people as honest. Because she felt that only when a person had no other merits would the word "honest" be used to praise them. But looking at Lin Jia, she couldn't think of any other adjective for the moment, and the word "honest" just popped into her mind.
It must be said that Consort Lin truly deserved the title bestowed upon her by Yinreng: Consort Jing, Consort Jing, she was incredibly peaceful. She didn't meddle in anything and just lived her life quietly in Qixiang Palace.
Cheng Qianyue thought to herself, perhaps this is Lin Jia's way of surviving. She smiled and exchanged a few pleasantries with Lin Jia, then slowly steered the conversation toward the prince's wedding.
Lin Jia had suspected something before coming to Yongshou Palace, thinking that the Imperial Concubine would allow her to interfere in Hongjin's marriage. Upon hearing the Imperial Concubine mention the wedding, she said, "I will follow the Imperial Concubine's arrangements."
Cheng Qianyue shook her head and said, "Although I am also Hongjin's mother, I am not his biological mother after all. When a prince gets married, his mother has to help with the arrangements. Does Sister Lin not want to see Prince Hongjin marry his wife in a grand and glorious manner?"
Lin Jia smiled and said, "Since you put it that way, I won't refuse."
Cheng Qianyue nodded and said, "Then please take care of the arrangements for the prince's residence, sister."
Lin Jia rose and bowed, saying, "Yes, thank you for your grace, Noble Consort."
Cheng Qianyue reached out and pulled her up, then changed the subject, saying, "Also, I'd like to ask you to keep an eye on the First Prince's situation. As you know, Consort Ke was ill last year, and we don't know how she is this year. Organizing the wedding is no easy task, and I don't dare entrust it to her."
Lin Jia paused for a moment, then hesitated before saying, "This..."
Cheng Qianyue quickly said, "There's another reason. I thought that the eldest prince and the second prince have been good to each other since they were little. If Sister Lin helps, Consort Ke will feel at ease. Besides, after the princes' weddings, the eldest princess will also be getting married. I really can't handle it all."
Lin Jia's words were reasonable and well-founded, and she could not refuse for a moment. In the end, she could only nod and say, "In that case, I am willing to share the burden for the Noble Consort."
Lin Jia left Yongshou Palace and slowly walked towards Qixiang Palace, pondering as she went. Was it because the Consort disliked Li Jia and didn't want her to have any power in the palace, that she entrusted the matter of Prince Hongxi to her? That didn't make sense. If the Consort truly wanted to punish Li Jia and embarrass her, she could have easily arranged Prince Hongxi's marriage herself.
Lin Jia was a little confused about what the Imperial Concubine meant. However, she wasn't the type to overthink things. Hongxi and Hongjin were getting married on the same day, so whether she handled one or both, it wouldn't matter. Besides, Hongjin and Hongxi were indeed close; they had grown up together, and she had always told Hongjin to put Hongxi first. Therefore, handling Hongxi's affairs would both fulfill the Imperial Concubine's expectations and also help Hongjin gain favor.
Upon returning, Lady Lin intended to send someone to inquire with the Imperial Household Department about who was in charge of the Princes' quarters. However, before her people could even make the inquiries, the entire Imperial Household Department arrived at Qixiang Palace to pay their respects. Lady Lin understood that the Noble Consort had likely informed them, hence the methodical inquiry into the Imperial Household Department's preparations.
It was a prince's wedding, so there were many things to prepare, such as red silk hanging outside, double happiness characters pasted inside, bright red wedding quilts, and mandarin duck bed curtains... Lin Jia had already thought of all these items. Now that everyone below was asking for instructions, she went over them and gave them instructions on what to pay attention to.
The process went smoothly after that, but unexpectedly, a minor mishap occurred in the middle.
That day, Lady Linjia was writing the betrothal list. Although the Imperial Household Department had already prepared the betrothal gifts for the Second Prince's wife and the Hesheli family, she thought she would add some outstanding items from her own storeroom as a token of her mother's affection for her new daughter-in-law. As she was writing, her personal maid, Songye, entered from outside, her face looking rather grim.
Lin Jia stopped what she was doing and asked, "What's wrong? Did someone upset you, the eldest aunt who serves in Qixiang Palace?"
Songye was slightly annoyed by her master's words. She had reached the age to leave the palace, but she had not done so because her brother and mother had long since passed away, and she only had a greedy younger brother at home. Therefore, she gave up the idea of leaving the palace and devoted herself to serving her master. Now, people outside all call her Aunt.
Song Ye said, "Just now, someone from Consort Ke's side went to the First Prince's place and said that the various decorations in the courtyard were not good and asked them to be redone." As she spoke, she felt indignant. Their mistress treated the two princes equally, but after all the effort she put into handling these matters, she didn't get any credit and was being nitpicked by Consort Ke.
“If Consort Ke is dissatisfied, she can ask the Noble Consort to let her handle the eldest prince’s marriage.” Songye said in a low voice, “Why make things difficult for you?”
Lin Jia frowned and looked at her, saying, "You are not allowed to speak ill of your master."
Song Ye stopped talking and after a while said, "Then what do you suggest we do?" Are they supposed to just do whatever Consort Ke says? Consort Ke is a consort, and so is their mistress. Moreover, their mistress is in charge of affairs under the orders of the Noble Consort. Why should they listen to Consort Ke's orders?
Lin Jia said, "Listen to Consort Ke, tell the Imperial Household Department to replace the things on the First Prince's side. Go and give the order."
Songye pursed her lips, thinking that their mistress was too soft-hearted, and finally said, "Yes, this servant understands, this servant will go and tell the people in the Imperial Household Department right away."
After Songye left, Lin Jia held her pen for a long time without moving it. She thought to herself that Li Jia had looked down on her for a long time, and this time she was probably using her to vent her dissatisfaction.
well.
That's just how Li Jiashi is—ambitious and competitive. But she didn't care what Li Jiashi thought of her, as long as Hongxi knew he appreciated her kindness.
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