While inviting Lady Li, Consort Tong spoke at length about the importance of the primary consort. The Crown Princess, Lady Dong'e, and the Fifth Prince's wife were all upset. The prince favored the primary consort, so how could they possibly protest?
The princes were quite arrogant, and even if the woman they favored was ruthless, they would refuse to admit it.
“Mother, we are not as good as my eldest sister-in-law and fourth sister-in-law, but we have also tried our best. The master always runs towards the concubines, and we cannot show any appreciation.” Dong Eshi kept turning all her attention toward Qingyan.
Consort Tong gave a cold smile; it was clear that Lady Dong'e wanted to direct all the precautions at Qingyan.
"Third Sister-in-law's words are completely unreasonable!" Qingyan wiped her mouth and went out to retort. "Third Sister-in-law is a notoriously strict wife. The concubines are very obedient in front of her. How could there be any disloyal servants?"
Among the imperial concubines, many people talked about the practices of the Third Consort, and some even imitated them.
"Fourth sister-in-law, third sister-in-law is right." The Crown Princess finally found an outlet for her frustration.
Qingyan ignored her. She had promised Yin that she would stand by Consort Tong's side this time and would not speak ill of others casually.
She single-handedly dealt with the Crown Princess and Consort Dong'e, and Consort Tong, seeing how easily she handled the situation, paid no attention to her.
Consort Tong would not participate in verbal sparring, but if their attacks extended to the third generation, Emperor Kangxi would absolutely not tolerate it.
“Mother, I think the Crown Princess is the role model for all daughters-in-law. She always puts her husband’s opinion first and never refuses his orders,” Qingyan said directly.
Consort Tong chuckled inwardly. Xiao Guai was clearly implying that the Crown Princess was too incompetent, unable to even resist the concubine.
The struggle between the principal wife and the concubines had been going on for a long time, and Yuqing Palace and Yinqi's harem were the most severely affected areas.
"The same goes for the Fifth Prince's wife and Yinqi's harem. You need to help restrain the concubines and also ensure they give birth to legitimate sons." Consort Tong inquired indirectly and found that the temporarily favored concubine was well-behaved and never caused trouble for the Fifth Prince's wife.
The previous one was single-mindedly trying to seize power from the Fifth Prince's wife, but Yinqi pretended not to see it.
"Yes." Ever since the Fifth Prince's wife entered Yinqi's inner courtyard, she has been very well-behaved, like a ghost with no presence.
If it weren't for holidays or festivals when Yinqi needed his fifth wife to come and make a scene, she probably wouldn't have even stepped out of her own courtyard.
"My dear mother, Third Master only enjoys the company of women; those women won't cause any major trouble." Dong Eshi was frightened.
When the Crown Prince entered the pleasure boat, Emperor Kangxi became furious, which was clearly a warning to Yinzhi.
Among the princes, Yinzhi was the first to enter the pleasure boat. After all, the officials had always understood Yinzhi's preferences, and the women selected for the pleasure boat were all well-behaved.
They come from humble backgrounds, so they're unlikely to cause any trouble.
The Crown Prince openly indulged in debauchery in front of his ministers, and Emperor Kangxi witnessed it, which was clearly a blow to the imperial family's reputation.
It would be a miracle if Emperor Kangxi were in a good mood.
The Crown Princess was devastated. Even Lady Dong'e distanced herself from the matter, clearing the Third Prince's name.
In fact, the rumors of Yuqing Palace favoring concubines over his wife had been circulating in secret for a long time. The Crown Princess had never admitted it and had been supporting the Crown Prince in public. This time, however, the Crown Princess was truly heartbroken.
"My dear mother, I know I was wrong. This matter is far too serious. I am willing to be punished alongside the Crown Prince." The Crown Princess understood that if her words got out, her reputation as a virtuous woman would certainly be tarnished.
She directly stated that they would be punished together. On the surface, this resolved the issue of Li Jia's power grab and also provided her with the responsibility of a primary consort, which clearly meant she would benefit from it.
"Fine, if that's what you think, I won't say any more. Let's wait for His Majesty's decree." Consort Tong smiled coldly. Kangxi's judgment was not good either. The Crown Princess was obviously a woman who knew how to put on a show. She had been able to control Yuqing Palace behind the scenes for many years, while outwardly showing deference to Li Jia.
This completely ruined Li Jia's reputation, while the Crown Princess's reputation for virtue grew even stronger.
"Yes!" The Crown Princess immediately kowtowed to express her gratitude.
Li Jia walked in from outside. Qing Yan glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and had to admit that Li Jia was an absolute beauty. She was about the same age as the Crown Princess. The two of them were kneeling together, and the Crown Princess seemed to be much older than Li Jia.
"This servant greets Your Highness, the Noble Consort!" Seeing that the Crown Princess's face was not good, Li Jia thought that the Crown Prince's affairs were all blamed on the Crown Princess.
Consort Tong had only met Lady Li twice, but she sensed that this woman was no ordinary person. Every time something happened, the Crown Princess would step in front of her and shield Lady Li from a lot of blame.
"Li Jia, do you know your crime!" Consort Tong was absolutely blunt. Inside the palace, she had heard a lot about Li Jia, who had completely bewildered the Crown Prince and even corrupted Hongxi's character.
Li Jia was startled and quickly lowered herself to a humble position.
"This servant knows her mistake!" Li Jia thought it best to admit her mistake first, since Consort Tong disliked Hongxi and believed that Hongxi had hurt Yiken'e.
She had finally managed to turn the tide with the Crown Prince, making Hongxi the victim, and she was determined not to let Yikene turn the tables again.
"You admit your mistake? I think you're just going through the motions. His Majesty has spent so much effort teaching Hongxi, and yet, after only a year back by your side, he disregards blood ties and lays his hands on the infant Yiken'e. Is this your code of conduct? This time, the Crown Prince even indulged in debauchery in broad daylight. I suspect you started it all." Consort Tong spoke with extreme bluntness. "I didn't want to interfere in the affairs of Yuqing Palace, after all, it's the Crown Prince's harem, and it's inappropriate for me to intervene. Today, His Majesty had someone reprimand me for not properly managing the harem. Do you think you've betrayed my trust by doing this?"
With a single sentence, Consort Tong shifted all the blame to Emperor Kangxi, claiming that she was only forced to get involved.
The Crown Princess's expression darkened further, and even Emperor Kangxi noticed.
"This servant knows she was wrong, Your Highness. This servant will not do it again. When I return, I will definitely restrain Hongxi properly and will not anger His Majesty." In her panic, Li Jia blurted out what was on her mind.
Consort Tong laughed angrily, "You won't make a mistake. I think you don't understand palace rules anymore. You've been in the palace for many years, yet you still dare to disobey your superiors. Li Jia, do you want to taste the punishment of palace rules? Hongxi is a young prince. How can a mere concubine like you teach him? Where do you place the Crown Princess?"
Li Jia felt a sense of foreboding. In Yuqing Palace, the Crown Princess had always been a nobody, and over time, she had forgotten that the Crown Princess even existed in Yuqing Palace.
"This servant knows her mistake. The Crown Princess has been busy with palace affairs and has no time to attend to Hongxi's upbringing, so the Crown Prince instructed this servant to discipline him." Li Jia directly implied that the Crown Princess valued power and was not genuinely trying to control the inner court of Yuqing Palace.
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