Chapter 94 Consort Yu's Curiosity
This news came as a surprise to Qiu Heng.
In the Great Xia imperial harem, beauties were low-ranking concubines, and such outings were not their privilege.
Of course, there are always exceptions, such as the emperor's favor.
Is Qiu Meiren in the emperor's favor?
Qiu Heng considered this possibility and asked Ling Yun, "Which other empresses accompanied the emperor on this journey?"
Ling Yun understood the meaning behind Qiu Heng's question and replied, "Noble Consort, Virtuous Consort, and Consort Wu."
With three imperial concubines and one Zhaoyi, Qiu Meiren being one of the five concubines accompanying the emperor was indeed quite eye-catching.
"Thank you for informing me, Brother Ling."
Ling Yun gently instructed, "Tell me if anything happens."
Whether a low-ranking concubine's sudden rise to favor is a blessing or a curse is hard to say, and as a member of the royal family, Ling Yun knew all too well. He was afraid that such a change would affect Qiu Heng, so he gave her a reminder.
Qiu Heng thought she would see her elder sister soon, but the journey was interrupted by several stops. Qiu Meiren did not summon her, whether she was unaware that she had come with the Kang Prince's Mansion or for some other reason.
Upon arriving at the Dingbei Hunting Grounds and settling into the imperial palace, the noble ladies from various households led their daughters to pay their respects to the empress and concubines.
Unlike the imperial palace, the temporary palace had to accommodate accompanying officials and nobles, so the living space was inevitably cramped.
The five concubines lived in the same palace, which made it convenient for the ladies of the court to visit them.
Qiu Heng followed Princess Kang into the hall and saw two beautiful women sitting on the left and right sides of the throne.
The woman sitting on the left is Consort Shu, the mother of the Fifth Prince.
The one sitting on the right is obviously Consort De. According to the book, Consort De had four daughters. Her eldest daughter died young. At this time, her second and third daughters had already married. Her youngest daughter, Princess Jingwan, was only ten years old and far from reaching the age of marriage.
Qiu Heng glanced at Consort De without making a sound.
Amidst the turmoil in the southeast, when Xi Jiang took advantage of the situation and demanded that the princess of Da Xia marry into a foreign land, Princess Jing Wan had not yet reached marriageable age. Princess Rong Ning, the daughter of Prince Fu, was then granted the title of princess and sent to marry into the foreign land.
She had met Princess Jingwan before; the Princess Jingwan she had met was already middle-aged.
Things aren't going well.
Below the two consorts, on one side sat Consort Qiu, and on the other side should be Consort Wu.
Wu Zhaoyi was also a distinctive beauty, with slightly upturned eyes that gave her a charming and flirtatious air. She was about the same age as Qiu Meiren.
Qiu Meiren sat with her eyes lowered, not glancing in Qiu Heng's direction.
The four women, led by Consort Shu, exchanged pleasantries with the ladies of high rank who came to pay their respects.
"It's been a while since I've seen Rong Ning. She seems to have grown taller." Consort Shu smiled as she looked at the young girl standing next to Princess Fu.
Princess Fu glanced at her daughter helplessly: "She's only grown taller; I think it's all because of playing Cuju (ancient Chinese football)."
Princess Rongning showed no fear in such a setting, and retorted with a smile: "What does this have to do with Cuju? It's clearly just like my mother."
"You're still being sarcastic in front of the ladies!" Princess Fu scolded playfully, but couldn't hide her affection for her daughter.
Consort Shu then struck up a conversation with Princess Kang: "Last year, when Princess Kang didn't come, I said it felt a bit deserted."
Princess Consort Kang hurriedly said, "Thank you for your concern, Consort Shu. Last year, Yun'er was still recuperating in the south, and Jia Yi, who usually prefers to stay at home, was also worried about going out."
"Indeed, it's good that they've all come this year." Consort Shu's gaze fell on Qiu Heng, revealing a look of surprise. "I think the one next to the Princess Consort looks like Miss Qiu the Sixth?"
When Qiu Heng was called upon, she curtsied and said, "Qiu Liu greets Your Majesty."
Immediately, many eyes turned to him.
Among the noble ladies present, some had seen Qiu Heng before, but most had not, though even those who hadn't seen her had heard of her.
Princess Consort Kang explained calmly, "I recently adopted the sixth daughter of the Qiu family as my goddaughter. This child likes lively gatherings, so I brought her along."
Upon hearing Princess Consort Kang's explanation, Princess Rongning's eyes flashed with disgust.
Qiu Liu is only interested in climbing the social ladder. Thinking back to Yun Yuan's initial appreciation of her and his invitation to join the Yuan Tuan Society, she wanted to slap herself.
Standing behind Madam Fang, Fang Rui's gaze toward Qiu Heng became even more hostile.
This country girl even got to participate in the autumn hunt; I wonder what tricks she used to bewitch Prince Kang.
The thought that the handsome young man, besides the Princess of Jiayi, was only close to Qiuheng made Fang Rui's heart turn as cold as ice.
What right does a wild girl have? She doesn't deserve it!
"So that's how it is." Consort Shu smiled and glanced at Consort Qiu. "Consort Qiu and Miss Qiu Liu have both come to the hunting grounds, so it's a good opportunity for them to get together."
She misjudged these two sisters.
When she first met Qiu Liu at Furong Palace, she thought the girl knew how to behave. But who knew that the emperor would start to favor Qiu Liu after just one visit to the palace.
To say that it has nothing to do with Miss Qiu Liu would be too naive.
Qiu Meiren had been in the palace for many years without vying for power or wealth, and suddenly she gained immense riches by becoming close to the Emperor. It was hard for her to believe that she was truly someone who was indifferent to worldly affairs.
As a concubine of high rank, she was too lazy to deliberately make things difficult for lower-ranking concubines, but that little bit of goodwill she had gained had vanished without a trace.
Sure enough, all women who enter the palace are the same sooner or later.
Qiu Meiren then glanced at Qiu Heng and said with a light smile, "The young lady's interests are different from ours, so we won't keep her by my side."
"Her Imperial Concubine has arrived!"
At the eunuch's loud announcement, the hall suddenly fell silent.
Although the four consorts—Guifei, Shufei, Defei, and Xianfei—were of the same rank, Guifei Yu was a unique figure.
When noblewomen from outside the palace came to pay their respects to the empresses and concubines, Consort Shu was the first to greet them. It wasn't that Consort Shu had more influence than Consort Yu, but rather that Consort Yu was too lazy to deal with them.
The fact that the concubines in the harem could live so freely shows how much they were favored; all the other concubines combined dared not challenge their power.
For example, right now, Consort Shu, who was sitting, quickly stood up and greeted Consort Yu, who had just entered.
She didn't mind lowering her stance in front of Consort Yu, since Consort Yu had no children and there was plenty of time.
"How lively!" Consort Yu's beautiful eyes swept over Qiu Heng and settled on her face. "Am I seeing things? What is Sixth Miss Qiu doing here?"
This question is quite direct; if a shy young girl heard it, she would most likely burst into tears on the spot.
Seeing that Consort Yu was looking at Qiu Heng when she asked the question, Princess Kang deliberately did not answer immediately.
Out of consideration for her two children, she couldn't openly show her dislike for Qiu Liu, but she also couldn't protect the girl in every way.
Many people waited with amusement for Qiu Heng's reaction.
Qiu Heng remained calm and spoke in a docile tone: "My godmother loves me dearly and brought me here to broaden my horizons."
Princess Kang felt uncomfortable, but she had no choice but to continue, saying, "Children of this age love to play, this is a rare opportunity..."
"The Princess Consort is truly kind." Consort Yu glanced at Consort Qiu and said casually, "She cares about you even more than Consort Qiu, her elder sister."
The ladies present were all shrewd and as soon as these words were spoken, they understood that the Imperial Concubine disliked neither Consort Qiu nor Miss Qiu Liu.
Oh, it's normal that they don't like each other; they're sisters from the same family.
"Autumn Beauty—"
"This concubine is here."
"There are fewer restrictions outside the palace, so you sisters should get together more often," Consort Yu said meaningfully.
She was curious about what the Emperor, who had shown favor to the older sister because of the younger sister, would do if he saw the two sisters every day.
(End of this chapter)
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