Inside the main hall, Consort Tong specially instructed Consort Hui and Consort Yi to arrive early, as the Crown Princess's failure to pay her respects would damage her reputation.
Qingyan and the others knew that none of them would sympathize with the Crown Princess. In the palace, the Crown Princess was the only one who could rival Consort Tong.
If Consort Tong is not in the palace, the Crown Princess will take over the handling of palace affairs, unlike the Crown Prince, who needs to give everything to Emperor Kangxi.
"Greetings to Your Majesty." As was customary, the Crown Princess was the last of the princes' primary wives to enter. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her sisters-in-law and members of the imperial family sitting in the hall, and she knew that the concubines had joined forces to set a trap for her.
She calmly paid her respects to Consort Tong, and although she felt somewhat aggrieved, she still did so as expected.
"Get up and kowtow. You've arrived early today!" Consort Yi said to the Crown Princess.
"Your Highness, on the second day of the second lunar month, the dragon raises its head. We should prepare some activities in the courtyard to make the concubines happy," the Crown Princess said meaningfully.
Qingyan glanced at Consort Tong's face out of the corner of her eye. As soon as the Crown Princess spoke, Consort Tong and the others looked extremely ugly.
"Do you think we're meddling in other people's business?" Consort Yi asked her coldly.
"No, that's not how it works, Mother Yi. You just need to take care of Fifth Prince and Ninth Prince. If you really want to manage palace affairs, it's up to you, Mother Yi!" the Crown Princess replied.
The sisters-in-law were secretly surprised as they listened to the Crown Princess's words. The Crown Princess had always been very good at putting on a show, but today, she was acting very strangely.
The Crown Prince's behavior became increasingly arrogant, and the other princes knew perfectly well that if he ascended the throne, he would surely eliminate them all.
"Enough!" Consort Tong slammed her hand on the armrest. "Crown Princess, Consort Yi is your elder. Don't you have any manners?"
"Hehe, elders, you should act like elders. In ordinary families, which legitimate son or daughter would bow to a concubine? You are all legitimate daughters, don't you even understand this basic etiquette?" The Crown Princess's words were too hurtful, and Consort Tong felt that someone had said it on purpose.
Qingyan was quite taken aback. The Crown Princess had actually broken ties with the palace concubines. What had happened during this time?
"Your Highness, please speak properly to your mother!" Fifth Prince's wife quickly rebuked Consort Yi for her reddened eyes.
"Speak properly! You all care about your own sons and wouldn't put random people in their harems. Why are there so many miscellaneous women in the Crown Prince's harem?" The Crown Princess was furious; she was truly on the verge of collapse.
Inside Yuqing Palace, many female relatives were crammed in by the imperial concubines. These were all women vying for the Crown Princess's favor. In addition, the Crown Prince did not refuse anyone in order to gain more power.
The Crown Princess was struck on the nerves by the Crown Prince's actions and even had her family find out who had sent in the women.
Shi Bingwen was even more impressive; he was secretly plotting how to maximize the family's interests.
"Is that so? I think your father did the most hateful thing, causing trouble for his own daughter!" Consort Hui, upon hearing the Crown Princess's complaints, betrayed Shi Bingwen's actions.
Qingyan was quite surprised to hear this. Shi Bingwen should have forgotten how the Crown Princess struggled in Yuqing Palace long ago.
"No...it's impossible!" The Crown Princess's eyes widened, and she quickly shook her head.
Shi Bingwen would never lay a hand on me, he definitely wouldn't!
"Who's talking nonsense? A third of those women were planted by Shi Bingwen. If they weren't sent to you, where else would they be sent?" Consort Tong questioned.
After saying this, the Crown Princess was devastated and felt extremely sad.
She never expected that her father would do such a thing. When her mother came in, she said that Consort Tong and the other concubines had taken action directly. How could it have been her own father?
The Crown Princess's expression grew increasingly grim, but Consort Tong paid no attention and looked at her as she spoke.
"Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you," Consort Tong said coldly.
"Your Highness, are you telling the truth?" The Crown Princess suddenly stood up, knelt on the ground, and looked up at Consort Tong.
The Crown Princess's eyes were red, and her heart felt as if it had fallen into an ice cave. She realized that she had been completely misled. Her mother's words were actually helping to absolve her father of responsibility.
"Alright, I'll forgive you for now." Consort Tong generously forgave the Crown Princess.
The officials' wives present all said that Consort Tong was very magnanimous, while the Crown Princess was inferior.
Qingyan sat down to the side and overheard everyone talking about Consort Tong. He secretly admired Consort Tong's methods; in just a few words, she had completely reversed the situation.
"Alright, it's the Dragon Raises Its Head on the Second Day of the Second Lunar Month. Everyone has finally relaxed, so there's no need to worry about these trivial matters." Consort Tong glanced at Consort Hui and Consort Yi, instructing them to cooperate and liven up the atmosphere.
Many of the primary consorts of the imperial clan had been with Consort Tong and others for many years, so they naturally understood that Consort Tong simply did not want the matter to escalate.
In two months, the general election will take place, and when Kangxi and Qiu Mi return, they will definitely arrange marriages.
"Your Highness, the selected concubines have all arrived in the capital. Should we wait until after the autumn harvest before arranging marriages?" Princess Consort Yu asked, looking at Consort Tong.
This year, the wife of Prince Yu hopes to find a concubine for Shanbao. She is very concerned about the selection process. Fuquan has said that Shanbao can only be chosen after the royal selection.
"Is she Shanbao's concubine? His Majesty is already keeping an eye on her. After Qiu Mi returns to the capital, the marriage can be arranged. At that time, he will definitely find a suitable match for my sister-in-law!" Consort Tong nodded and said.
Upon hearing this, Qingyan felt secretly relieved. Yin had pleaded with Kangxi and Consort Tong in advance, and in the end, they would not assign anyone else to Yin.
"That's absolutely right, Second Sister-in-law, you've found another perfect daughter-in-law. My son is still young. When he reaches the right age, I'll ask the Imperial Concubine to find me a suitable daughter-in-law, and then I'll be completely satisfied!" said the Princess Consort of Prince Chun happily.
For several years in a row, Prince Chun's residence had not had a child. Longxi and his wife had become disheartened. When the Minsheng Pharmacy was still under Qingyan's management, they went to see a doctor. Unexpectedly, after a year of recuperation, as the doctor said, they had a legitimate son.
On the day the prince was born, Longxi was overjoyed, as it made up for his regret. Kangxi was even happier and bestowed many gifts upon him.
"You're so good with words. Why didn't you bring the young prince with you today?" Consort Tong asked with a smile to Consort Longxi.
“Follow Longxi to the front. The little prince is already so old. If he continues to mingle with the women, Longxi will definitely be angry,” Longxi’s wife quickly said.
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