After Consort Dun killed the palace maid, although the Emperor soon restored her to her rank, at every palace banquet, Consort Rong always sat below the Empress, followed by Consort Dun. Although Consort Rong was not promoted to Imperial Noble Consort, her influence as a secondary Empress had already surpassed that of Consort Dun. Dressed in pale yellow clothes, Yunwan sat on Consort Rong's lap watching the song and dance, occasionally exchanging a few childish words with the Tenth Princess beside the Emperor. Her innocent appearance evoked affection in everyone.
Consort Dun noticed that one of Yunwan's two hair buns was adorned with a pearl, so she waved for someone to return to the palace to fetch her own pearl. After a round of wine, she took the brocade box from a palace maid and opened it herself. Inside, a pearl, about an inch in diameter, lay flat in a groove lined with bright yellow brocade. Sunlight shone down, reflecting a dazzling light.
Consort Dun called Yunwan away from Consort Rong's side and looked at her, her fair skin appearing even more translucent against her pale yellow clothes. She smiled and said, "Yunwan is only eight years old, yet she already has the appearance of Lady Fucha. I thought a single pearl didn't do justice to her stunning beauty, so I took one of my own to match hers. It's a great favor from the Emperor!" As she spoke, she ordered the palace maids to put the pearl on Yunwan's other hair bun.
Upon seeing this, Yan Ning immediately called for Yun Wan to express her gratitude at her own table. Yun Wan, who had lived in the palace since childhood, was not timid. After curtsying her thanks, she returned to Consort Rong's side.
Although Consort Dun spoke these words while looking at Yunwan, they were meant for the Emperor's ears. The Emperor readily accepted, stroking his beard and praising, "Consort Dun's generosity is truly Yunwan's good fortune! When the next pearl is presented as tribute, I will allow you to choose first!"
As Consort Dun curtsied in gratitude, she glanced at Consort Rong. Consort Rong had given Yunwan a pearl three months earlier, and now that Consort Dun was being so generous, the Western-style mirror she had prepared was no longer suitable as a gift. Feiyun, having also learned of her mistress's intentions, quickly ordered a Western-style music box to be brought. When handing the Western-style mirror and music box to Yunwan, Consort Rong removed the jade pendant from her neck and tied it to her lapel.
She looked at the Emperor as if she had received his approval, "This was originally bestowed upon me by the Empress Dowager, but now that I am old and frail, I am no longer worthy of its jade-like beauty. I have no children, but I have taken a liking to the Empress Fucha's grandniece, so I have dared to claim this kinship!"
Consort Rong's move perfectly pleased the Emperor. The Fucha family possessed all sorts of material possessions, and his reward was merely a token of his favor. Consort Rong, by using the Empress Dowager's name to bring Yunwan into the royal family, thus understanding the Emperor's desires. He was overjoyed, exclaiming, "Empress Fucha's grandniece is no different from my own granddaughter!"
Heshen was adept at reading people and knew that the Emperor wanted to use the bestowal of honors upon Yunwan to legitimize Fukang'an. He left the banquet, knelt before Yunwan, and said, "This servant greets Princess Yunwan! Happy birthday, Princess Yunwan!"
The Emperor smiled but remained silent, continuing to drink. The other ministers, though surprised, saw that the Emperor did not rebuke Heshen's ramblings, and immediately rose and knelt to pay their respects to Yunwan. Thus, without an imperial edict or decree, Yunwan became a young concubine in the palace.
Yan Ning was uneasy about her daughter's birthday banquet, especially after Consort Rong bestowed a jade pendant upon Yun Wan. She was even disoriented about when it would end and when she would return home. Steward Luo busied himself decorating the mansion to celebrate Yun Wan becoming a princess, and Yan Ning absentmindedly agreed. The old lady had someone stop Steward Luo from setting up the decorations and summoned Yan Ning to the Peony Hall, scolding her, "Without the Emperor's decree, do you intend to harm the entire Fucha Manor by falsely claiming an imperial edict?"
Yan Ning was stunned and blamed herself for her negligence. Her respect for the old lady grew even more. If it weren't for the old lady's guidance, the Fucha family would have been ruined by her long ago.
Yunwan's birthday falls in late summer or early autumn. If the summer days are longer and the autumn days come earlier, it's hard to tell whether her birthday is spent in the cold or the heat. Just like Yunwan's fickle nature, it always annoys Yan Ning.
Fukang'an continued his long absence from his residence. After suppressing the cult rebellion in Gansu, he didn't even return to the capital before Yongyan and Yongxing jointly petitioned for his transfer to Shaanxi and Gansu as Governor-General. To the Emperor, Agui was not only a military hero but also a trusted and reliable veteran minister. Although the Emperor was old, he was not senile. Agui enjoyed his trust and rarely handled affairs in the capital. River works and water conservancy projects in various regions were always coveted by high-ranking officials, and the Emperor dispatched Agui to handle them all. Whenever a thorny problem arose, the Emperor's first choice was always Agui.
With no powerful military officials in the court, the civil officials became increasingly arrogant. Heshen held multiple positions, even taking over the duties of the Minister of Revenue previously held by Fukang'an.
Wu Chun's death made Yongxing wary, and he dared not associate with the people of Wanxiang Pavilion any longer. He entrusted all the affairs of the pavilion to Li Shiyao. Li Shiyao secretly collected evidence of Fu Chang'an and Heshen's corruption and abuse of power, hoping to use it to bring down Yongyan's faction.
In the capital, spring, summer, autumn and winter are still distinct, but beneath this distinction lies a hidden storm brewing in various 'mysteries' as the emperor grows older.
No matter how fierce the storm, it all remained outside the high walls of the Fucha mansion. Although Yan Ning could not be a wife, she lived a peaceful life raising her children. Every night, as she awaited Fukang'an's return, she would see the jade pendant around Yunwan's neck, and her heart would fill with unease. Longing and worry for her family far away, and an unbearable attachment to her husband and children, all weighed heavily on her heart. Under such anxieties, Yan Ning's health grew weaker and weaker.
The Tenth Princess and Fengshen Yinde have been betrothed. Heshen is using the pretext of repairing the Princess's Mansion to carry out a major renovation of the Heshen Mansion. Yan Ning is also hoping that if the third courtyard of the Heshen Mansion is completed and the original state of the Prince Gong Mansion is found, the mystery of her time travel may be solved.
One day, after returning from the official school at Xian'an Palace, Delin's hands were swollen and painful, making it impossible for him to even hold chopsticks. Yan Ning asked him what had happened, but he only made excuses, saying that he had fallen and injured himself.
Yan Ning understood De Lin's temperament; if he didn't want to talk about it, she wouldn't be able to get the answer. Even if De Lin didn't speak, someone else would. After having dinner at Jian Gong Zhai, De Lin returned to his Zhi Qin Xuan to study. Yan Ning summoned his personal attendant, Chen Zhao, and quickly learned the reason from him.
The current Grand Secretary of the Manchu Hanlin Academy is Heshen, who jointly manages the academy with Ji Huang, the Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy. The teachers at the Xian'an Palace Academy are all graduates of the Hanlin Academy. Only the most outstanding Manchu bannermen can enter the academy; even members of the imperial clan without talent cannot gain admission. Therefore, it is common for Hanlin Academy teachers to punish Manchu bannermen students. Yan Ning couldn't say anything when Delin was punished by his teacher, but since Heshen was involved, the matter was far from simple.
Yan Ning thought that she and Heshen had not seen each other properly for six or seven years. Every time she heard about Heshen and Fu Chang'an from Peng Ruo, she worried about their greed. Playing with fire will eventually lead to self-destruction.
For several days in a row, Delin returned home dejected. Yan Ning inquired with Peng again about the day Heshen went to the official school at Xian'an Palace, and on that day, she went to the school with Delin early in the morning. Delin looked at Yan Ning gratefully. Although he was still young at the time, he had heard about her and Heshen's affair from the old nanny in the mansion when he grew up. Now that Yan Ning was willing to meet with Heshen for his sake, the teacher would no longer make things difficult for him.
The official school of Xian'an Palace was located inside Xihua Gate. Yan Ning did not want to go in, so she watched De Lin enter the palace gate and then sat alone in the carriage waiting for He Shen.
Liu Quanli, standing beside Heshen's sedan chair, spotted the carriage from the Fucha residence in the distance and immediately informed Heshen. Heshen knew that Yan Ning had come to find him because of Delin's punishment of the teacher at the school. He ordered the sedan chair bearers to stop and walked alone to the carriage where Yan Ning was sitting.
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