The Empress Dowager had heard some rumors about Bayan and Yierha's affairs.
"Our Qing princesses are of noble birth, and it's inevitable that some of them will harbor ulterior motives. This marriage is a major event, and we must be very careful," the Empress Dowager said, her eyes narrowing slightly, her expression somewhat melancholy.
Princess Wenxian, the fifth princess born to the Empress Dowager, did not live to be a vassal of the Mongols and married Shun'an Yan of the Tongjia clan, but she died young, which was an unspeakable pain in her heart.
After this incident, Changning became more vigilant and re-screened the people around the children, even replacing a few who seemed a bit unruly, to ensure the loyalty of those around them.
Hutuli recently learned a lesson from the Yierha incident: "Grandma, Mother, do I have to get married in the future?"
The Empress Dowager and Changning exchanged a glance, both somewhat shocked.
Especially the Empress Dowager, given her aristocratic education and royal etiquette, how could a princess not get married? Or rather, how could a woman not get married?
What should I do if I don't get married?
Only those who remain widows or become nuns do not need to remarry.
Changning was surprised by her daughter's advanced mental state. She never expected that her daughter, at such a young age, could have such a modern way of thinking.
The Empress Dowager did not immediately refuse. Although her eyes were full of disapproval, she had always doted on Hutuli, so she respected her thoughts. She just wanted to ask the reason: "Hutuli, what do you mean by this? Why don't you want to get married?"
Hutuli's eyes revealed a hint of disdain: "Because I think it's completely useless! I am already very fulfilled every day, reading, writing, practicing martial arts, playing with my brothers and sisters, and spending time with my mother, father, and grandmother. Moreover, I am thinking of practicing martial arts hard so that I can go to the battlefield and become a female general in the future!"
If she gets married, she'll never be able to leave again.
At this point, Changning's eyes flickered slightly.
yes……
Once you get married, you lose your freedom and can never leave again.
The Empress Dowager was dumbfounded, but she couldn't think of anything to say in rebuttal. She was just a little worried: "Hutuli, no princess of the Qing Dynasty has ever been sent to the battlefield. It's very dangerous with swords and shadows."
Hutu didn't find this shocking at all. After all, many of the stories in her mother's books and the stories Chunni compiled were about women achieving great things, or women becoming emperors with thousands of male concubines... cough cough, of course, those were female-dominated novels that Changning wrote herself.
Although she knew that her father loved her mother very much, and that their love was stronger than gold, at her age, she would sometimes dream that there would be a boy who would love her just as much as her father loved her mother.
But then she thought, her father had always been so good to her, always obedient and compliant. Why did she need a prince consort?
Her father is already the most powerful person in the world, and he treats her very well. She doesn't need to find another one at all!
And just like Bayan, if he can't distinguish between loyalty and treachery, he'll end up just as depressed and melancholic as his older sister.
Hutuli certainly doesn't want to become like that.
She should always be proud, always happy, and like the female general Shen Feng in "The Legend of Shen Feng", she should be a phoenix soaring through the nine heavens, so that the world can admire her and not look at her directly!
Furthermore, Mengguqing is also a very good example. As a woman, she achieved great things, unified Ujumchin, became a Mongolian prince, subdued soldiers, and developed the tribe. She was practically a war god.
That's her role model!
After listening to Hu Tuli's long speech, Chang Ning was almost moved to tears!
However, she still maintained some rationality, after all, the Empress Dowager opposite her had a furrowed brow.
In the end, the Empress Dowager simply assumed that Hutuli was young and naive. After all, children of that age often have fickle thoughts; they might like one person today and another a few days later. It's not surprising that their ideas keep changing. She figured that if she took a fancy to a particular young man herself, she wouldn't need to worry about it anymore.
After returning to Chengqian Palace, Changning continued to handle palace affairs. This time, when she went to Mulan Hunting Grounds, she would still leave the palace affairs to Consort Mao and Consort Shu. As for Consort Qian, Changning planned to leave her out of the picture.
The thought of seeing Meng Guqing excited her. She called over Chuixue, and the two of them flipped through the warehouse ledgers together, thinking about what gifts and local specialties they should bring back for her when they went to Mulan Hunting Ground.
As the two were discussing, Yinzhen walked in.
She rushed over and noticed that his hands were a little cold, so she asked with some concern, "What's wrong? It's windy outside, didn't you wear an extra layer of clothing?"
Yinzhen smiled wryly: "The Imperial Noble Consort is seriously ill and has been thinking about this matter, so I haven't had time to think about it."
Changning frowned and told Chuixue to go down and quickly make a bowl of strong ginger soup.
The temperature is quite low on autumn nights now, and it's easy to catch a cold if you're not careful.
Yinzhen held Changning's hand, feeling her warm body temperature, and then breathed a sigh of relief before telling her about meeting Xiao Tongjia at Shou Kang Palace.
It turned out that Xiao Tongjia was indeed terminally ill. After the initial examination by the Imperial Hospital, they said that she only had a few months left and probably wouldn't make it to the end of the year.
Yinzhen felt a pang of sadness. With her passing, all the relatives Tong Eniang had left by his side were gone. He still remembered how Tong Eniang held his hand with such reluctance before she died.
"Yinzhen, you are your mother's son. Now that your mother's time is coming to an end, the only thing she can't let go of is you."
Consort De is your birth mother, but she also has other sons and may not be able to take care of you wholeheartedly. You must strive to be strong and learn to protect yourself.
Your mother can't leave you much, but I hope you can follow your own path and live a peaceful life.
Your mother in the underworld will pray for you.
Yinzhen wept uncontrollably. When he was young, he was jealous of his eighth sister, who was Tong Eniang's biological daughter. But later he stopped being jealous because Tong Eniang treated him the same as before. The three of them, mother and sons, lived in their own little world in Chengqian Palace.
Later, Eighth Sister passed away, and so did Mother Tong.
Now, Xiao Tongjia is also about to pass away.
Looking at her broken and frail body, it was just like seeing Tong E Niang many years ago when he stood by her bedside.
This left him somewhat dazed.
After leaving Shou Kang Palace, he didn't go anywhere, just wandered around aimlessly in the cold wind. Su Peisheng knew he was in a bad mood, so he didn't dare to remind him and could only follow behind him silently.
Yinzhen stopped when the familiar lights came into view. He looked up and saw the plaque above that read "Chengqian Palace".
This is Tong E'niang's bedroom, but it is also Yao Xian's bedroom.
His heart suddenly felt at peace.
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