Speaking of concubines in the palace hosting small banquets, this kind of thing was very popular in the past, but this "in the past" refers to more than 20 years ago, or even 30 years ago. At that time, there was no Concubine Yun, and Emperor Tianwu was still a normal emperor. He had 3,000 beauties in the harem. Even if he couldn't treat everyone equally, he could take care of most people. As a result, the concubines competed for favor very seriously, and the palace fighting was in full swing. Those favored concubines would occasionally organize a small party or something, in their own palaces, small gardens, or on the other side of the stage, and invite some prominent officials' wives and daughters in the capital to come to the palace, receive some gifts, listen to their flattery, and then show up in front of those harem women who were not as favored as them, which was particularly face-saving.
The ladies outside were also happy to participate in such activities. Although they had to bring some gifts, any prominent family would not be short of those good things. On the contrary, the opportunity to enter the palace was not easy to get, and the opportunity to come into contact with the favorite concubines was even harder to get. Therefore, they all tried their best to come, so that every time a concubine held a small palace banquet, it would end up being very lively.
Due to her personality, Concubine Li had few friends outside the palace. Her family, the Liu family, also didn't pay much attention to Concubine Li, who was also a legitimate daughter, because of the presence of Concubine Yuan. After all, in many ways, the Eighth Prince was better than the Sixth Prince, so the Liu family valued Concubine Yuan the most, not Concubine Li, the second daughter. As a result, Concubine Li didn't get any help from her mother's family, and she didn't have a good relationship with her own sister in the palace. In addition, she herself was somewhat withdrawn and introverted. Therefore, even though she envied those sisters who could call friends to attend the palace banquet, she didn't have the courage and strength to do so.
Of course, this is also related to the favor of Emperor Tianwu. Emperor Tianwu treated her just normally. She was not among the favored ones, so naturally her life was relatively dull.
Now several decades have passed. She has experienced the great rise when the Sixth Prince was born, and the great fall after the Winter Siege. Now she has been reinstated as a concubine. Concubine Li feels that she can no longer live as depressed as before. Her status and demeanor must be worthy of this magnificent Changning Palace.
Zhu Kongshan left the palace with the hope that Concubine Li would hold a palace banquet. She was not in a hurry to report the palace affairs to the Eighth Prince, but spent the afternoon to visit the people who were deeply persecuted by fake drugs, and sent the compensation silver from Prince Sheng's Mansion to them one by one, and also brought a lot of gifts. She was always cunning in giving gifts, especially knowing how to cater to the preferences of the people. Most of the gifts she gave to these poor people were related to daily necessities, including not only food supplements such as chickens, ducks, fish and meat, but also daily utensils such as pots, pans and bowls to many families.
The people were all soft-hearted. Although they hated the Eighth Prince to death at first, and even took a cabbage stick to smash the door of his mansion, but now seeing the attitude of the Sheng Palace and the compensation, coupled with Zhu Kongshan's eloquence, the people who originally hated the Eighth Prince quickly made a 180-degree reversal. And Zhu Kongshan was also very smart. She knew that what she was doing now could only be regarded as a remedy, and it was also very abrupt, and could not compare to Feng Yuheng's popularity accumulated over the years. Therefore, she did not praise the Eighth Prince and criticize him. She just sincerely helped the Eighth Prince to atone for his sins, and did not say a bad word about Feng Yuheng. People would naturally have a good impression of such people and would naturally be willing to accept them. Therefore, Zhu Kongshan's plan to help the Eighth Prince gain fame reaped further victory.
That night, when the Eighth Prince returned home, Zhu Kongshan told him about his meeting with Concubine Li in the palace today. When talking about the small palace banquet, the Eighth Prince was very supportive. He told Zhu Kongshan: "Contact your sisters and wives who participated in the porridge distribution, and ask them to come to the palace to support Concubine Li and boost her popularity. Otherwise, if you expect her to gather people by herself, I'm afraid not many people will come, and the scene will be awkward. Moreover, you have to let her see the situation clearly and let her understand that even if she climbs to that high position, it is useless to fight alone. She must find someone to rely on, and this support, except for her mother's family, no one is more suitable. If she is smart, she can persuade her son to come to her on his own. If she is stupid, then even if she sits in that position, she will only be a decoration and a laughing stock."
Zhu Kongshan understood this truth, and just said to the Eighth Prince: "As for the eldest aunt, my cousin has to persuade her more. Even if it is a joke that the second aunt is in a high position, her status is there after all. I am afraid that the eldest aunt will feel uncomfortable."
Xuan Tianmo nodded, but he felt a little bitter in his heart. His mother was easily irritated by this matter, so he should comfort her more.
Feng Yuheng had naturally heard about Concubine Li's affairs. Xuan Tianming had even mentioned it to her. For the sake of the Sixth Prince, the Prince Yu's Mansion couldn't fail to express its gratitude. She asked Huang Quan, "What do you think we should give as a gift?"
Huang Quan didn't like Concubine Li very much, and said with a face full of resentment: "In my opinion, nothing is given. Young lady knows what Concubine Li is planning. She has such thoughts, so we should stay away from her. I really don't understand, do all the concubines in this palace have delusions? Noblewoman Yuan fantasizes that her son can become the emperor, which is a little bit reliable. After all, they are all sons of the emperor, and everyone is equal. But Concubine Li, young lady, you and His Highness the Ninth Prince are married, what are she thinking? Is there any mother who would do this? If the Ninth Prince hears about this, who knows what kind of storm it will cause, and His Highness the Sixth Prince might even be implicated."
Feng Yuheng felt that Huang Quan was right. She almost guessed what Concubine Li was thinking, and she was unhappy. She thought about it and said, "I'll write a letter to the Sixth Prince, and let him communicate with Concubine Li. But we still have to send gifts, not to Concubine Li, but to the Sixth Prince. After all, he has done me a favor, and he is now guarding my fiefdom in Ji'an County. It is not reasonable for us to sit idly by and do nothing about Concubine Li's matter."
Huang Quan also sighed. When he thought of the Sixth Prince, his annoyance towards Concubine Li was alleviated. He just felt sorry for the Sixth Prince. How could such a good man have such a mother?
"Just give some silver notes." Feng Yuheng said, "Sixth brother is honest, not as rich as other princes. Concubine Li has not received support from her mother's family in the palace for these years, nor has she received too much subsidy from the Sixth Prince. She can't count on the Emperor and the Empress, so I think her life is not rich. Now that she has resumed her position as a concubine, there will always be some expenses for welcoming and seeing off guests. The gifts given by concubines in the palace are just some jewelry and headwear. They are nice to wear, but not expensive. So we don't have to bother thinking about gifts, just give silver directly."
As they were talking, a maid came to report to Feng Yuheng, "Princess, someone came from Baicao Hall and said that the fourth young master Yao wants you to go over immediately for an urgent matter."
The fourth son of Yao was Yao An, who now took over Wang Lin's management of Baicaotang in the capital. Now that he suddenly asked Feng Yuheng to come over, and immediately, it meant that Baicaotang must have something going on, and it was urgent.
She didn't delay and hurried out of the house and got on the carriage. Huang Quan asked, "Will the Eighth Prince's men come to cause trouble again?"
She shook her head. "Probably not. He's seeking a good reputation right now. He's also been very careful to avoid any conflict with me recently. He probably won't take the initiative to pick a fight at a time like this."
But if it wasn't this matter, what else could Yao An not handle, why did he have to ask her to be there? Feng Yuheng was also puzzled.
The carriage hurried along, and when it finally arrived in front of Baicaotang, it saw that the door was already full of people, some coming to see the doctor and get medicine, and some coming to watch the fun. The shop assistant wanted to close the door to prevent people from looking in, but someone inside stepped forward to stop them. A woman's voice was heard saying loudly: "If you have the guts, don't close the door. Let the people have a fair hearing and see how this matter should be resolved!"
She frowned. This was Feng Fendai's voice. What was wrong with that girl? She was a little angry and lifted the curtain to get out of the car. Huang Quan hurriedly followed behind her and also muttered in a low voice: "The people in the Feng family are really troublesome."
When the common people saw Feng Yuheng coming, they took the initiative to make way for her to enter Baicao Hall. They vaguely heard a commoner saying, "What child does the fourth young lady of the Feng family want to take away? It is said that it is her younger brother who has been imprisoned in Baicao Hall."
She understood it in her heart, but she didn't understand why Feng Fendai was still thinking about the child.
As soon as I stepped into the gate of Baicao Hall, I heard Feng Fendai's voice, which was always a little bit sarcastic, rise again, saying, "My dear brother, of course he wants to live with me. You Baicao Hall has no blood relationship with him. Why are you detaining him? Even if I report this to the authorities, I am in the right!" After that, she snorted again, "I know what you are planning. Yes, Feng Yuheng is both a princess and a princess. The capital is her world. Jingzhao Yin will not speak on my side, so it's useless to report to the authorities. But I want to ask you if you have a conscience? Do you have brothers and sisters? Do you have children? If your relatives are raised in other people's homes and you can't take them back, what's the difference between this and trafficking in children?"
When Feng Yuheng heard this, she felt that Feng Fendai was becoming more and more like Shen Shi back then. She had not learned any of Han Shi's gentleness and charm, but she had learned Shen Shi's sarcastic and unreasonableness to the fullest. How could she look like a thirteen-year-old girl, pinching her waist and fighting?
She shook her head, took two steps further inside, and then said, "Do you think we are willing to raise a child for you? It costs a lot of food, drink, and clothes, and you have to hire a maid to take care of it. It's good for you to take the child home. It's better for the child to be with his own sister than with an outsider. But I'm wondering, you wanted to strangle him to death at the beginning, why did you change your mind today and want to recognize that brother?"
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