At the beginning of the banquet, the young ladies gathered in the garden of Changchun Garden. Consort Tong specially arranged for them to showcase their talents. Today, the young ladies heard that the imperial concubines and the primary wives of the imperial family had all come, so they quickly adjusted themselves to be in their best condition, hoping to leave a good impression on these mistresses.
Before the annual imperial concubine selection, the wives would first choose the eligible young women, then speak with Consort Tong, preparing to reject those women.
Emperor Kangxi would also select some young women in advance to be married to the princes' wives. Consort Tong removed the families of those young women from the Hundred Flowers Banquet, and the families of those young women understood that they could not include anything red in the things they needed to prepare.
"Your Majesty, the candidates for next year's imperial concubine selection are all of very high quality, and many of them are legitimate daughters of prominent families from the Eight Banners," Consort Rong said directly.
Qingyan sat behind Consort Tong, a slight smile playing on her lips, perhaps about to find someone for Yinzhi again.
"Who have you taken a fancy to?!" Consort Tong's lips curled up slightly. "Tell me first, lest someone else pick you up later!"
"Your Majesty, are you joking with me? The Third Prince's courtyard lacks someone who can keep him in check." Consort Rong was also helpless with Yin Zhi. When it came to women, Yin Zhi was a complete scoundrel.
Consort Tong smiled. With only Qingyan by his side, Yinzhen was quite relaxed as the mother-in-law. So, while the other concubines were preparing to balance their sons' harems, Consort Tong lived a carefree life with Qingyan, getting along like a mother and daughter, which became a well-known story in the palace.
"Your Highness, should we send someone to the Fourth Prince's wife? Is she pregnant? How will she serve the Fourth Prince?!" Consort Rong, slightly jealous of Qingyan, chose to directly annoy her.
Consort Tong glanced coldly at Consort Rong: "The Fourth Prince came over and mentioned to His Majesty that he's determined to provide Qingyan with a relaxed environment to recuperate. The three ladies of the Jue Luo clan almost caused problems with the imperial heirs, alas..."
Consort Tong directly revealed what she wanted to say: if anyone chose a candidate from the Jue Luo clan in order to get involved with Consort Tong, the Fourth Prince, and Ulanara, they would ultimately end up with nothing.
“Your Highness…the Fourth Prince’s residence only has his primary wife. Isn’t that a bit unreasonable?!” Consort Rong said directly.
As Consort Rong interrogated Consort Tong, the women listened intently. The Fourth Prince and his wife had an excellent relationship, and the other women had no chance to interact with Yinzhen and the others.
"Back then, before His Majesty bestowed the marriage upon the Fourth Prince and Xiao Guai, Master Yuan Yi specifically said that these two children were a match made in heaven. If someone were to interfere, the offspring of the direct line would be in trouble. His Majesty values the legitimate sons of the princes; whether there are illegitimate sons or not is not so important," Consort Tong said coldly.
Before she could finish speaking, Consort Rong was speechless. Yinzhi and the Third Prince's wife had an affair, and now they hadn't even had a legitimate daughter yet.
"Don't send too many female relatives to the third son's family. Too many illegitimate sons or daughters will also affect the birth of the legitimate heir," Consort Tong pointed out directly.
The officials' wives all fell silent. Consort Tong's attitude towards Consort Rong was not good. Several families had made arrangements with Consort Rong to send the young ladies to the Third Prince's harem.
Qingyan sat upright to one side. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that the Third Princess Consort's hands were clenched into fists, and she felt very sad. Qingyan was able to receive the protection of Consort Tong, but she herself had to obey Consort Rong's wishes and let the young ladies in with a smile. All of this made her heartbroken.
"I also think Your Majesty is right. This year, the eldest son's residence will not be accepting any more young ladies. Let the young couple stay in the military camp. Who knows, they might bring me a grandson when they come back next time." Consort Hui covered her mouth and laughed.
After Yinti and his family went to the military port, Consort Hui thought a lot. In order to get news of her son, she often went to Consort Tong's palace to chat. The two got along much better, and Consort Tong would often comfort Consort Hui.
“Sister Huifei, you are so carefree. Prince Zhi is the eldest among the princes, and he only has one legitimate daughter. Isn’t this a bit too much?” Consort Rong deliberately picked on Consort Hui’s sore spot.
“Sister Rongfei, Yinti also prefers offspring from the direct line.” Rongfei smiled, pursing her lips.
Qingyan glanced at Consort Tong in surprise. The latter took a sip of tea, and Consort Hui was already standing with Consort Tong.
"Fourth Prince Consort, I'm just giving you a suggestion. If you can't serve the Fourth Prince and if you neglect his health, you won't be able to bear the blame." Seeing that she couldn't reason with Consort Tong, Consort Rong turned her attention to Consort Tong.
Qingyan turned to look at the Third Princess Consort before focusing her gaze on Consort Rong. Consort Rong's eyes flashed with calculation, which infuriated Qingyan.
“Mother Rong, I can’t help it either. Fourth Master said he doesn’t like the inner courtyard to be too messy. He said it would be enough if he had a son named Yiken. As for the rest of the children, we’ll leave it to fate. If we have one, that’s great, if not, then so be it. Third Sister-in-law hasn’t given birth to a legitimate son yet, so it’s understandable that Mother Rong is anxious,” Qingyan said in a soft, sweet voice.
The officials' wives all thought Qingyan's voice was very pleasant and her appearance was even better. Even the blockhead Fourth Prince was completely devoted to her.
“Sister-in-law, you’ve gone too far. Your mother is your elder, and she’s only saying a few words for your own good. I’m your sister-in-law, how can you be so rude?” the Third Princess scolded.
Qingyan's face turned cold as he stared intently at Consort Rong.
“My mother is Consort Tong. If the Third Prince’s wife hasn’t learned the rules well, we can have Grandmother send a nanny to teach her again. The children of high-ranking concubines cannot be taught by low-ranking concubines. You see, my mother never teaches the Crown Princess.” Qingyan glanced at the Crown Princess and directly changed the subject.
The Crown Princess nodded in satisfaction and said, "Fourth sister-in-law is absolutely right. The Crown Prince also said that the Noble Consort is doing a very good job. Apart from knowing about the supply situation of Yuqing Palace, she doesn't care about anything else."
The two primary wives joined forces to confront the third primary wife, and the officials' wives discovered that even the primary wives of the princes were divided into factions.
Consort Tong smiled, thinking that Xiao Guai was quite eloquent. She knew that if the Third Prince's wife kept provoking her, she would definitely snap back.
"Consort Rong, you must properly instruct the Third Prince's wife so that she doesn't embarrass herself in public. Fortunately, everyone here is an acquaintance; otherwise, if word got out, the Third Prince's wife would be branded as someone who doesn't know the rules, and Consort Rong, your reputation would also be damaged," Tong Gui said with a smile.
The Third Princess looked up at Consort Tong's smile and felt a chill run through her body, devoid of any warmth.
"Little darling, you also need to reflect on yourself. No matter what, Consort Rong is still a palace concubine. Even if your father and the fourth prince dote on you, you can't be so ignorant. Do you still think you're a child, always running to the Hall of Mental Cultivation with your father?" Consort Tong's words reminded everyone that Qingyan was Fei Yanggu's beloved daughter. She had accompanied him to the Hall of Mental Cultivation since she was a child and had grown up by Kangxi's side.
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