The Fujin herself was also aware of the bigger picture and naturally wouldn't interfere with Fucha's pregnancy. Regardless of what Fucha gave birth to, Fujin was still nominally the legitimate mother.
After talking for a while at Yonghe Palace, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law went to the Empress Dowager's Shou Kang Palace.
The Shou Kang Palace was full of people, and Consort Yi and Consort Hui were chatting and laughing around the Empress Dowager.
Consort Rong was sullen by nature, so she just sat aside and listened.
Upon seeing Consort De leading the Fourth Prince's Consort in, Consort Yi greeted her with a smile, "Consort De, you've finally arrived! We've been waiting for you for quite a while."
Consort De subtly withdrew her hand from Consort Yi's grasp. "The journey was quite long, which caused the delay. Your Majesty, I pay my respects."
The fourth princess behind him also bowed his head in greeting.
The Empress Dowager did not make things difficult for them and quickly offered them seats.
Consort Yi pressed on, "It's not Consort De's fault, but the Fourth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince are on the Emperor's side and not in the capital, so it's understandable that you worry a lot. If you ask me, the Fourth Prince is truly valued by the Emperor; such a big task is entrusted to him, and this trust is truly unique!"
Consort De smiled faintly, naturally not falling into her trap. "How could that be? The Crown Prince is the Emperor's most trusted son. The Fourth Prince was merely on a mission. I heard that the Fifth Prince is now also working with the Third Prince on writing letters."
When her son was mentioned, Consort Rong had to say, "Yes, it's convenient for the brothers to work together."
Consort Yi then spoke up, "The fifth prince was raised by the Empress Dowager, so naturally he has some ability to serve the Emperor."
Seeing that Consort Yi was being led astray by Consort De's words, Consort Hui cursed Consort De for being cunning and Consort Yi for being foolish. She had no choice but to speak up herself, saying, "The Fourth Prince not only has the Emperor's trust in him, but I also hear that he is very fortunate in having children. His new wife, Lady Fucha, is already pregnant, isn't she?"
At this point, Consort Hui glanced at the Fourth Prince's wife's expression and saw that she remained calm. She thought to herself that the Fourth Prince's wife was always composed.
Consort Hui continued, "This Lady Fuca comes from an old Manchu family, and her family is a prominent clan. Her father is the Governor-General of Zhili, and she is also the niece of Ma Qi. Ma Qi is a Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall and has always been a pillar of the Qing Dynasty. I imagine that if she had a son, he would certainly be able to serve the country."
At this point, Consort Hui felt extremely uncomfortable. Given the Fucha family's background, which concubine wouldn't have been envious?
Consort Yi didn't dare to fight for the fifth and ninth princes, fearing that her own sons wouldn't be good enough for them.
She could have married the Crown Prince and become his principal wife. But instead, she married the fourth prince and became a secondary wife.
How can she be a concubine for the fourth prince, but not for her own son, Yinqi?
The fourth brother is truly treacherous!
Consort Hui grew increasingly displeased, while the Fourth Prince's wife remained composed and silent.
Consort Hui became more and more excited as she spoke, "It's a great blessing that Lady Fucha is pregnant so quickly. The fourth prince only has one son, Honghui. If she can give birth to a healthy son, there is hope for the future."
Consort Yan Hua clenched her handkerchief tightly. This Consort Hui was deliberately stabbing her in the heart, wasn't she?! Hong Hui wasn't dead yet, what hope did Lady Fucha have!
Just as she was about to lose her composure, Consort De spoke up, "She's just a junior, why is Consort Hui always keeping an eye on her? If you truly like her, why don't you reward her with something? That would be her good fortune. When she enters the palace at the end of the year, let her pay her respects to you and meet Consort Hui."
At this point, Consort De paused for a moment, but continued, "Sister, you should take better care of the male members of the First Prince and Eighth Prince's households. The two children have just been born and need to be carefully raised."
Consort Hui was furious. The eldest prince was stubborn and only doted on his wife, Lady Irgen Gioro. After having so many daughters, he finally gave birth to his first son, who had just turned one month old recently.
As for the Eighth Prince, even Consort Hui couldn't say anything; after all these years, there hadn't been a single child in the household. Even the Emperor had inquired about it. Fortunately, Lady Zhang did give birth to a son.
With one biological son and one adopted son, both faced immense difficulties in having offspring, causing Consort Hui a terrible headache.
However, Consort Hui had been immersed in the palace for many years and was very skilled at cultivating her composure. Therefore, she was very generous and took off two jade bracelets from her wrists, handing one to the Fourth Prince's wife and one to Lady Fucha.
Fourth Princess Consort accepted the bracelet and thanked her, feeling relieved. She understood that Consort Hui was avenging the Eighth Prince.
Previously, Lady Guoluo had spoken recklessly, but she was eventually slapped by Lady Fucha. It wasn't just Lady Guoluo who was embarrassed, but also the Eighth Prince and his adoptive mother, Consort Hui.
After spending another afternoon in fear and anxiety at Shou Kang Palace, the Princess Consort finally returned to her residence.
Granny Fu felt sorry for her mistress, who had been kneeling and kowtowing all day and had suffered greatly. She had prepared a bath tub in advance to serve her bath and personally gave her essential oils for a massage, otherwise her knees would probably be bruised tomorrow.
The Princess Consort was truly exhausted today, but she still forced herself to write a letter to the Fourth Prince.
The events of the day, including the words spoken by Consort Yi, Consort Hui, Consort Rong, and Consort De, were all written down verbatim. It wasn't that the Princess Consort was complaining; rather, these ladies of the palace were all incredibly shrewd and calculating.
Sometimes, a single sentence they utter contains a hidden meaning.
Meanwhile, at Qingzhi Courtyard, Changning was also writing a letter to the Fourth Prince.
A lot has happened these past few days, and she can't keep quiet about it since there's no one to share it with.
First, she wrote that she had given the pomegranates from the courtyard to the Fifth Prince's wife, the Thirteenth Prince's wife, and the Fourteenth Prince's residence, and also sent a few to the other sisters in the courtyard. She added a small parenthesis that read: "I am a very generous person."
She then shared the story of the Guarjia clan with Yinzhen, and also analyzed the similarities and differences between her own role and that of the Guarjia clan, concluding that she was the better one.
Then it mentions picking osmanthus flowers to prepare osmanthus wine, which will be ready in three months. It expresses the hope that the Fourth Prince will return by then, so they can drink together. Although the author cannot drink it himself, he can offer it to the Emperor and Empress in the palace.
Next up is the story of catching a turtle while fishing.
Changning first expressed his deep regret at not being able to eat the Farewell Chicken, and then used flowery language to describe how delicious the scallion-roasted crucian carp and abalone-braised chicken rice were.
Finally, Changning wrote that she felt a little lonely, so she kept the turtle as a pet, but she still wanted a pet.
I heard that Yinzhen likes dogs, but Changning doesn't intend to cater to his tastes. She prefers cats, which are clean and smell nice, and she likes them more than dogs.
So, in her letter, Changning asked if she could keep a cat. She even specified the color she wanted: pure white with long fur. She had already thought of a name for it: Tuantuan.
When Yinzhen received the thick stack of letters, he was overjoyed.
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