Mother-in-law protecting her daughter-in-law
These bastards are such a rip-off! Shujia thought bitterly, you thought you could convince me by talking nonsense like that in Kunning Palace today?
I wonder what Louis XV's mistress looked like? Before she traveled through time, she hadn't dozed off in middle school art class. She glanced at a painting in her textbook. It was of a foreign woman, and she didn't look particularly good. But the caption underneath was "Madame" (someone with a difficult-to-pronounce name), and the small print explained: "Mistress of King Louis XV of France."
What she didn't know was that she was really wronging the Catholic Church, because Louis XV himself was a guy who despised Catholicism. Until his death, the Catholic Church forced him to expel his mistress.
Besides, there are some things you can think and do but can't say, don't you know? Oh, you said this before, and then I'm trying to persuade Yinreng to convert to religion? Do you think everyone is stupid? With such pettiness, are you disdainful of my intelligence or my husband's?
The queen smiled faintly: "Really? It's similar to Chinese customs. We are also monogamous." Don't be ridiculous, Sunu's sons who converted to Christianity also had concubines and illegitimate sons.
The missionary was dumbfounded.
"Okay, let's stop here today. The Crown Prince's wedding is coming soon, and I want to go to the East Palace to take a look. After I have a daughter-in-law, it will not be appropriate for me to go there. You guys go back and refine the painting first." It must be said that the painting produced by this missionary is much better than the previous one. Shujia does not want to change the painter. Since he has this use, there is no reason not to use him.
The missionary, still eager, had not yet fainted, so he quickly lowered his head, packed up his tools, and left.
After returning to the base, another small meeting was held.
Badomin carefully asked the Queen if she had any dissatisfaction with the portrait. The missionary sent to paint it recalled for a long time and said, "She probably wasn't dissatisfied. It's because the Crown Prince is getting married."
"Even so, we can't relax. We must paint well. If the queen is satisfied with your painting, you may become the royal painter, which will give you a better chance."
Painting oil paintings, especially fine ones (think of the intricate patterns on the Queen's gown), is a time-consuming job. After all, the missionaries came in under the guise of painting, so they couldn't neglect their main job. While setting bait for the Queen, they also had to do their job well.
The reason why they work so hard is not just because of their indomitable missionary spirit.
As the saying goes, where there are people, there are rivers and lakes. Missionaries are also human beings, so naturally there are internal struggles, open and covert. On a larger scale, there are conflicts between the old and new religions, a smaller scale is the internal factional struggle, and a smaller scale is the struggle between individual missionaries.
The Rites Controversy was both a struggle between different factions and a personal struggle for honor and disgrace for missionaries. To put it bluntly, some in Europe were jealous of the success of certain non-orthodox missionaries in China and wanted to take advantage of them. They completely forgot one thing: the imperial court was no pushover.
The Pope's plan didn't pan out, and the missionaries stranded in China grew anxious, eager to seize a share of the pie before the Vatican could take over. Nan Huairen's funeral was so grand that Johann Adam Schall von Bell nearly persuaded the then-Empress Dowager and the Emperor to convert to Christianity. The achievements of the forefathers were there, so how could they not inspire those who followed?
When times get increasingly difficult and we see a glimmer of hope, of course we must hold on to it.
Unfortunately, the missionaries were primarily concerned with recruiting followers and trying to convince the Empress to become a believer. However, the Empress's primary concern wasn't whether or not to believe in religion. In fact, in Shujia's eyes, belief or not wasn't even an issue; she simply didn't want to believe in any religion. To put it bluntly, she no longer felt a pressing need to practice religion. Even if she did, it was likely for other reasons.
She couldn't say she understood the missionaries' intentions perfectly, but at least she knew they were aiming for advancement, for a higher-up position. Once someone reached a high position, they were bound to be bombarded with requests and requests. They all thought they were clever, treating their superiors like fools, not realizing that they simply didn't care about them and didn't want to punish them.
Despite the missionaries' eloquent speeches, the Queen dismissed them with a single sentence. The Crown Prince was getting married, and the prospect of a new mistress for the Eastern Palace was clearly more important than a portrait. The missionaries could only lament their bad luck: "This will delay things further."
Badomin fell silent. He had struggled to thrive under difficult circumstances, and he certainly didn't want to miss this golden opportunity. "This will give us more time to discuss how to impress the Queen."
"Isn't our previous method working? Tatars are not so strict about religious matters, but once they believe in the Lord, no matter who they are, they will become pious..." Seeing Badomin's increasingly gloomy face, the person who spoke tactfully shut up.
"I'm afraid it's too late. His Holiness the Pope's opinion will surely anger the Emperor. The Vatican's style is too overbearing. I heard that the Emperor sent another messenger to the Pope. In fact, the Emperor is very humble. As long as the Pope does not interfere in religious affairs here, they don't mind us slowly spreading the gospel. But the Pope..."
We need to hurry and get this done. As long as the emperor recognizes Catholicism and wants to run his own church, it will be them who will be appointed, not those sent by the Vatican. Has the Vatican's orders ever been carried out in Russia? The Pope is such a fool!
If we could freely preach on this vast land and recruit the emperor as a believer, this might just be another Orthodox religion. We, the others, would be saints!
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Shujia was unaware that some people were holding a small meeting to discuss how to deal with her. She was wandering around the Eastern Palace. The Eastern Palace was still in the same layout as before she moved out, and the small Buddhist temple was still there. The Duanyi Hall had been renovated for its new owner, and the layout remained the same.
Although the Crown Prince's wedding included furniture in the Crown Princess's dowry, she couldn't just measure up the furniture for the Eastern Palace. This was likely the same arrangement as when she married Shujia. The furniture for the Eastern Palace was essentially all prepared by the Imperial Household Department. Hongdan personally supported his mother as they strolled through the courtyards.
"I have to trouble you again for my son's matter."
Shujia glanced at her son and said, "You've learned to play tricks on me!"
"Hehe." He chuckled. The Crown Prince was no fool. Parents naturally liked to be with their own children. If he treated them like a distinguished guest, it would be a performance bonus. But if he treated them like a stranger in private, it would reduce his emotional points.
Shujia strolled through the East Palace and sighed, "When I got married, this place didn't even exist. Now you're about to get married. Live a good life."
“Hmm~”
He patted Hongdan's hand with his backhand, and the two of them slowly walked to a small courtyard in the east. This was originally where Li Jiashi lived. Since Li Jiashi moved out, the place has been sealed off. Now, in preparation for the wedding, it has been reopened, cleaned and renovated, and the utensils for the wedding day are piled up.
"I haven't been here many times before," Shujia said thoughtfully to Hongdan, "Do you know why I came here today?"
Hongdan smiled and said, "Please give me your instructions, mother."
"After your wedding, your father and I will no longer interfere in your affairs. You should make your own decisions."
"yes."
"Do you understand what I mean? Just agree first."
"Please give me your instructions, mother."
"Your wife is a good girl, live a good life with her. You have always been strict with yourself, which is good. But there is one thing I still want to tell you - you must be nice to your wife and let her give birth to a son first!" Shujia's tone of the last sentence was very heavy, but her voice was very soft.
Hong Dan was startled, then smiled and said, "Look at what mother said. How can one marry a wife and not have a son?"
"Your fifth uncle's wife didn't give birth to a son," Shujia insisted. "Just as your Mafa valued you back then, I value my grandson now. Understand? That's the basics. I won't easily interfere with your affairs in the future. It depends on you, and of course, your wife. If she doesn't do well later, will I just watch you suffer? You just have to do this first step well. Some things are good for you, me, and everyone else."
“…”
"Since you were little, I've told you to dress and feed yourself. Was it just to embarrass you? Or was it just to pretend and gain a good reputation?" Shujia sneered, "It's just to make sure you don't neglect the little things. You don't have to do the little things, but you must know a thing or two. How many heroes have been ruined because of their carelessness!"
"Every move of the royal family is a model for the world. That's nonsense! But it is true that every move of the royal family is watched by the world. You have to know whether you want people to praise your love for your husband and wife or to wink at you and tell you about your scandals when you are mentioned."
"Some things are just empty talk. If you really have someone you love, what can I do? It's just... do it in a nice way and be more conscientious towards your wife. Okay?"
"Yes." In fact, he was the one who chose this daughter-in-law. He had met her beforehand and was quite satisfied with her.
"I'm really old, nagging like this. You're the groom, and I feel like I'm here to spoil your fun. As I said, I just want you to live a good life. You've had a hard time over the past decade," she waved her hand to signal her son not to interrupt. "I know everything. The night before I sent you to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, I really couldn't bear to let you go. The more I felt bad, the more I wanted everything to go smoothly for you. Okay, enough talk, let's just happily marry your daughter-in-law, okay?"
Hongdan murmured again, "Yes."
Hongdan's wedding followed the same procedures as Yinreng's. Betrothal and other formalities were also carried out in succession, and the eldest princess also married, making the wedding smaller than the crown prince's. Shujia was supposed to host a banquet for the prince's family in Kunning Palace, but because the Grand Empress Dowager was present, the banquet was held in Ningshou Palace.
After their wedding, the eldest princess and her husband were supposed to stay in the capital for a while before returning to their banner territory. However, since Hongdan's wedding was approaching, the couple submitted a petition requesting to stay until after the crown prince's wedding. Yinreng, eager to celebrate his son's wedding with grandeur and splendour to demonstrate the harmony of the nation, naturally granted their request.
The married daughters did not leave, and all the other heroes from the martial arts world, uh, no, they were the royal family and nobles, naturally all those who could come came, and the scene was surprisingly grand.
Wu Yunzhu smiled slyly and slipped in when Shujia retreated to the inner room to change into her wedding attire. "Mother, mother, have you heard? I just heard from the eunuchs on Third Brother's side that they boiled several large pots of ginger soup, fearing that those people would freeze to death."
Ahem, the Crown Prince's wedding was scheduled for the end of October. It was freezing cold, and the banquet was held in a makeshift tent, which wasn't as warm as Kunning Palace. Many elderly men, even in their fur coats, shivered, their faces flushed as they shivered, feeling deeply honored to be attending the royal wedding banquet.
Shujia reached out and poked her forehead: "Say it here, but don't say it outside."
"I know. I must respect the minister. I'm going to see my elder sister."
Shujia shook her head and looked in the mirror to make sure her hat was on straight. The queen's outfit was quite heavy. Shujia moved her neck, breathed a sigh of relief, and went out holding Hongxiu's hand.
He Yi's wife couldn't hide her smile, accepting everyone's compliments while also being mindful not to overlook Xiluo Te. In ordinary marriages, the mother-in-law would inevitably ask the mother-in-law to take care of her daughter, and the more sarcastic ones might even use words to pressure the in-laws.
When you get to He Yi's house, don't say anything, just thank him! You also have to be careful not to offend the Queen's family. The position of Crown Princess is glorious, but it is not safe. It's obvious that the Crown Prince has no concubines. This is most likely the Queen's handiwork. The He Yi family can't help but be grateful.
Before her daughter ascended the throne, He Yi's wife had reminded her countless times: "You must serve the master well. Everything else is fake. The master's mother has already protected you a lot before you got married. Learn more from the master's mother. She was able to give birth to five sons and one daughter. She is not an ordinary person! The emperor was also young and frivolous in the past, but now he is so wise." The implication is that you should learn more from your mother-in-law.
Hesheli remembered the instructions, knowing she was in luck, and became doubly cautious. She entered the Eastern Palace, followed the proper procedures, and arrived at the Duanyi Hall, where she settled down comfortably. The Eastern Palace's underground heating system was blazing, and the new Crown Princess, clad in her winter uniform, was both nervous and overheated, sweating profusely.
Just then, she heard footsteps outside and her husband came in. Hesheli was a little shy and nervous, and she moved closer. When she lifted the veil and saw a handsome face, she was so nervous that she smiled, but then she felt it was not very solemn and immediately stopped smiling.
Hongdan was also quite nervous, but seeing her like this, he actually laughed. This wife, it seems, is not difficult to deal with.
"I don't know how Hongdan is doing now." It may seem unlike a mother-in-law to urge her son to be nice to her daughter-in-law before marriage, but Shujia still thinks her son is more important.
Yinreng himself was very concerned about his son, but after hearing what his wife said, he despised her: "Women are troublesome, why do you need to worry so much?! How is he now? It's the wedding night, what else can happen?" Of course, he was drooling with pleasure!
“…”
Since the Crown Prince was getting married, the entire palace was naturally decorated with festive decorations. Yinreng looked at the decorations gloomily, put his arm around his wife's shoulders, and whispered in her ear, "Can I tell you what he's doing now?"
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The new bride has to go to Ningshou Palace first to pay her respects.
It's said that the supporting characters woke up earlier than the main characters. When Hesheli and Hongdan arrived at Ningshou Palace, a large number of people had already gathered there. Hesheli saw from afar a pile of various sedan chairs in front of Ningshou Palace. When she got off the sedan chair, her legs couldn't help but tremble a little. She whispered to Hongdan, "Are we late?"
"It's fine today, but you should come earlier when you pay your respects in the future. I'll tell you about this when I get back."
"Well, I'll listen to you."
The Empress Dowager looked at her great-grandson's wife with great joy, and said to Shujia, "It's a neat child."
"That's right. If we don't take care of her, how can we bring the child home?"
Shuhui laughed and said, "Look at what you said, you even called yourself a bandit!"
After some banter, the concubines praised the Crown Princess and said that the Empress had made a good choice in marrying her daughter-in-law. Everyone knew that this daughter-in-law was chosen by the Emperor and Empress together, so who could say she was not good? Hesheli secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At least, from these words, she knew that her parents-in-law had no prejudice against her. If there was even one person who disliked her, there would definitely be someone in the palace who would adapt to the situation, unlike the current one-sided praise.
The Grand Empress Dowager, of course, was rewarded. She added, "You still have to go to the Palace of Heavenly Purity to rest and quiet yourselves. I won't keep you here any longer." Actually, she was a little tired. "The Queen, go back too. You've snatched the child away, so you better prepare a gift for him."
“Hmm~”
The newlyweds arrived at the Palace of Heavenly Purity. The emperor, who had spent the previous day enjoying himself, invited everyone to meet him. Since his daughter-in-law was present, Yinreng was reluctant to keep them for long. He only said a few polite words and then said, "Go see your mother. She was talking about you all night yesterday." Ahem, the emperor was lying.
Hongdan, who often saw his father, took his leave naturally. Hesheli, the son's daughter-in-law, followed her husband to Kunning Palace.
In Kunning Palace, Shujia was dressed in auspicious clothes, looking at her son and daughter-in-law. The aura between the two was quite harmonious. She thought to herself: It's half done.
Wen Yan asked Hesheli: "Are you used to living in the palace?" It's only been one day, what's there to be uncomfortable about?
Hesheli replied, "Everything is fine. Thank you for your concern, mother."
"That's not necessarily true. I remember when I got married, I ran around the palace all morning and was starving. It's a good thing you've caught up with me. Why don't you have breakfast here?"
Hongdan said, "My son usually doesn't get to eat at Mother's table. Mother treats her daughter-in-law better than her son. She treats my eldest sister-in-law the same way, and she treats me the same way."
"You fool! If I treat your wife well, she will treat you well, and you will have a comfortable life in the future."
Hesheli said hurriedly: "I will do my best to serve the prince."
"Okay, family, don't be restrained. Where are your things? Bring them up."
Young eunuchs filed out, holding gifts for the newlyweds.
Hongdan stood up and thanked him with a smile, and Hesheli followed suit.
Before his marriage, Hongdan was verbally criticized by his mother. He originally felt that his mother was too kind to his wife and was a little jealous. But now that he saw his mother scolding his wife in person, his heart gradually calmed down and he liked her even more.
During the meal, Hesheli was careful to accompany them. Her mother-in-law was right. She had done manual labor the night before, and she wasn't even a skilled worker. Then, after running around and bowing this morning, she was truly starving and dizzy. Even so, she restrained herself, taking only a few bites of each dish to fill her stomach, thinking about having a snack when she got home. She absolutely couldn't eat in an uncouth manner in Kunning Palace.
The first lesson learned when entering the palace: restraint.
After dinner, Shujia said, "Those of you who should go back, the rest of you should go see them. As for the concubines, the Crown Princess can go and see them in a couple of days."
Hongdan and his wife stood up to receive the instructions before saying goodbye and leaving.
As soon as the prince and his wife left, Hongxiu flashed out from the side: "Master, I just went to the Eastern Palace to ask, and the prince and the princess had a good rest yesterday. The princess brought four maids with her, and I think He Yi's family might have inquired about what you did back then..." She had been sent to the Eastern Palace by Shujia to help for a while, so of course she would not be idle.
For the next two months, Hongxiu's focus was on this task. It wasn't until after the New Year that her frequency of reporting on the Eastern Palace dropped from every event to only reporting on major events.
During those two months, the eldest princess and her husband celebrated their younger sister's wedding, and the Lunar New Year was approaching. The two sisters jointly petitioned to stay in Beijing for the Lunar New Year before leaving. Yinreng readily agreed, and there was a reason for his agreement. According to regulations, princesses were only allowed sixty days in Beijing each year; the rest of the time, they had to accompany their husbands back to their banners, unless their husbands were employed in Beijing.
The husbands of the two princesses had no official positions in Beijing, but the imperial court and the Dzungar Khanate were on the verge of declaring war, so Yinreng had no choice but to show them special favor in order to win over the people. It was not until the middle of the first lunar month of the following year that the two princesses returned to their banner lands with their husbands.
With the princess's return to her banner, the capital was deserted by several princes—they were there to escort her to her wedding—and the once bustling capital now seemed a bit deserted. On the contrary, there was good news in the palace: Hongxi's wife, Gegentana, was pregnant again.
Hesheli said calmly, "That's all. My sister-in-law is just pregnant now, so it's not appropriate to give her too much. We'll increase the gifts when we have a nephew."
Hong Dan nodded. "That's right. Well, let's add a little more. Second brother is sending the princess back to the banner, so we should take better care of him."
Hesheli smiled and said, "You're really thoughtful." If a new bride hasn't gotten pregnant in a year, people would be worried. What about the Crown Princess? She'd be anxious in less than half a year! Especially when hearing the news of someone else's pregnancy, this kind of entanglement and unhappiness is even more irritating.
The author has something to say:
After hesitating for a while, I decided to explain it.
Well, this article is coming to an end. Since the death of Kangxi, the overall situation has basically been determined.
Going on from here is just my own little wish. I've already pretty much laid the groundwork, and what remains is just an elaboration of that. Basically, once that's done, it's over. It shouldn't be too long.
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