The days were growing hotter and hotter, and with no shelter in the palace, it felt like a steamer basket during the day.
Kangxi worried that Jiujiu and several frail princesses and young princes wouldn’t be able to endure it, so he soon set out for Changchun Garden to escape the heat.
This time, the Imperial Noble Consort wasn’t in the palace; she took over the largest residence, Danningju, while the Noble Consort was settled into Wanfang Zhai, which had previously been occupied by Consort De.
Consort Hui and Consort Rong came as well, staying in Qingyuan Zhai and Dingxiang Yuan respectively, just across the lake from Consort Yi’s Yunsong Xuan and the Noble Consort’s Wanfang Zhai.
Everyone else moved into the same courtyards they’d stayed in last year, already familiar with the arrangements—including Fang He, who had recently been promoted from Consort Zhao to Imperial Consort Zhao, and who still resided in Yunya Guan.
This was enough to make people secretly speculate.
Imperial Consort Zhao’s rank had risen, and she was now the head of the four consorts.
By rights, it should have been Consort Hui’s Qingyuan Zhai that she occupied.
Because the Imperial Noble Consort was always in poor health, once everyone was settled, those consorts and concubines close to her came by to visit.
Consort Duan was one of them, and she carefully probed the Imperial Noble Consort.
“I heard that a few days ago, His Majesty left Yanxi Palace in a rage and hasn’t visited Imperial Consort Zhao and her daughter since. Could it be that he discovered the rumor about reincarnation was spread by Imperial Consort Zhao?”
The other few young noble ladies agreed, chiming in one after another.
“Who else but Imperial Consort Zhao would be so bold? Daring to invoke the ancestors—she’s bound to completely lose favor now! Otherwise, why would she still be living in Yunya Guan?”
“That’s not necessarily true. Even if she’s lost favor, the Empress Dowager still protects her, and she’s credited with saving the Grand Empress Dowager. His Majesty is kindhearted—what could he really do to her?”
“That’s not how it works. Have you seen His Majesty visit their mother and daughter these days? If the Empress Dowager finds out it was all Imperial Consort Zhao’s doing, she might not want to protect her anymore.”
Consort Xi, who had come with Consort Duan, said nothing.
Perhaps she had suffered too many losses at Fang He’s hands, but Consort Xi always felt that Fang He wouldn’t lose favor so easily.
The Imperial Noble Consort lay languidly at the head of the gathering, frowning slightly at what she heard, and rebuked the group in a lukewarm tone.
“Thunder and rain alike are imperial grace. How the Emperor acts is not for you to discuss recklessly. I don’t care to hear this—if you must talk, take it outside Danningju.”
Tongjia Wanying, seeing the consorts’ faces turn sour, smiled sweetly and spoke up for her elder sister.
“Don’t take it to heart, Your Highnesses. Elder Sister is a mother herself—she would never use her child as a pawn. I think it’s simply that the Ninth Princess and the Grand Empress Dowager are fated. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that she was born early?”
Consort Duan gave a light snort but didn’t say anything further to displease the Imperial Noble Consort.
But all the consorts present understood well: among the consorts with children, how many hadn’t used their children as pawns to compete for favor?
That early birth was hardly a coincidence.
Consort Duan had already heard that Fang He had taken labor-inducing medicine on the day she gave birth—perhaps to catch this “fate” and avoid the mourning rituals.
Who knew when her water actually broke?
They dared to talk, but with the court still in turmoil and the mourning period not yet over, they only dared to vent their frustrations with words, not with action.
Once the consorts had left, a trace of a smile appeared in Wanying’s eyes as she turned to help the Imperial Noble Consort drink her medicine.
“Elder Sister, don’t worry. Father has said, even if Imperial Consort Zhao becomes Imperial Noble Consort, that rank will eventually return to our Tongjia clan.”
“In the future, the Fourth Prince will always be the most honored prince after the Crown Prince. That will never change.”
The Imperial Noble Consort drank her medicine expressionlessly.
The bitterness made her cough violently, her cheeks flushing ominously red before she finally stopped.
She glanced coldly at Tongjia Wanying and said, “You’d better keep your word. Even if I die, if you and Father break your promise, I have ways to make sure you lose more than you gain. Try me if you don’t believe it.”
Tongjia Wanying’s smile froze for a moment.
She knew her elder sister had entered the palace early, was loved by their late aunt, and had been in the palace for years—surely she had her own people left behind.
For the sake of the Fourth Prince, she might not hand them all over.
Suppressing her irritation, she knelt gently at the Imperial Noble Consort’s feet, soothing her back.
“Elder Sister, whether you believe it or not, I may have a hundred schemes and shameful tricks, but they’re all for the glory of the Tongjia family. I would never harm my own kin.”
“To put it bluntly, I know exactly what I need to rely on to stand firm in the palace. Even if you don’t believe in my sincerity, you should at least believe I wouldn’t dig my own grave.”
The Imperial Noble Consort looked down at Tongjia Wanying for a long moment, then said nothing more, turning to instruct Tong Nanny.
“Prepare paper, ink, brush, and inkstone.”
It was time to submit a memorial and once again request to step down and yield her position.
***
Meanwhile, in Chunhui Hall, Kangxi was flipping through yet another stack of nearly identical memorials full of squabbling, with Suo’etu’s arrogance most apparent.
He even repeatedly mentioned Soni and Empress Xiaocheng, which only stoked Kangxi’s anger.
The court had been arguing for seven or eight days now.
The timing was about right; it was time to bring Nalan Mingzhu back.
Kangxi stood up and instructed Liang Jiugong to deliver an edict outside the palace.
“Appoint Mingzhu as Inner Minister, grant him access to Nanshufang. Tomorrow, I want to see him.”
Having Mingzhu, the primary advocate for elevating Imperial Consort Zhao to Empress, step forward to request her promotion to Noble Consort was more fitting than anyone else.
He had no intention of moving the Imperial Noble Consort’s position; his cousin’s health couldn’t withstand any more turmoil.
When Fang He next bore a son, then she could be promoted to Imperial Noble Consort.
As for Tong Guowei’s schemes and Suo’etu’s bluster, Kangxi already had plans for how to deal with them.
After giving his orders, Kangxi didn’t suppress his anger from reading the memorials, and left Chunhui Hall with Li Dequan, not even bothering to take the imperial palanquin.
***
The news quickly reached Danningju.
As she was writing her memorial, the Imperial Noble Consort’s brush paused, sensing something subtle.
“The Emperor is heading toward Yunya Guan?”
Tong Nanny nodded.
“I had someone watch from a distance. Chief Eunuch Liang went toward the Grand Palace Gate, and His Majesty led people toward the back. He didn’t look pleased.”
That was putting it mildly.
The palace servants watching from afar felt their legs go weak at the Emperor’s demeanor, guessing he was going to hold someone accountable.
Tong Wanying frowned, “Could it be that Imperial Consort Zhao has gotten Mingzhu involved, given him some assurance to support her becoming Empress, and that’s why she’s so calm?”
Normally, with so much uproar outside, any consort would have hurried to express their fear, saying they couldn’t bear the Empress’s position.
That way, it would make more sense for the Imperial Noble Consort to request demotion.
Since Imperial Consort Zhao was so greedy for the Empress’s seat, she would surely not refuse the Imperial Noble Consort position either.
But Imperial Consort Zhao had remained quiet—she must still be hoping to be made Empress.
If not for this, Wanying wouldn’t have secretly tried to stir up suspicion that the reincarnation rumor was Imperial Consort Zhao’s doing, trying to force Fang He to make a statement.
The Imperial Noble Consort glanced at Wanying impassively, lowered her eyes in thought, and then, as she resumed writing, her heart was no longer full of tangled, complicated feelings—her writing was even faster than before.
Even if her beauty had faded and love had waned, the Imperial Noble Consort understood Kangxi.
He was the kind to love deeply or hate fiercely.
If he truly grew tired of someone, he would never want to see them again—just like her own experience with Chengqian Palace and now Danningju.
Unless she died, she would never again see the Emperor’s figure come to her.
Though his anger was obvious, he still kept getting entangled with Imperial Consort Zhao…
Even if the Imperial Noble Consort couldn’t guess why, she was sure the anger wasn’t directed at Imperial Consort Zhao.
Perhaps her father and Wanying’s schemes would all come to nothing.
Lowering her gaze, hiding her myriad thoughts, the Imperial Noble Consort realized she couldn’t put all her hopes in her father and sister.
Before she died, she had to make preparations in advance.
***
While they spoke, Kangxi strode quickly and soon entered Yunya Guan.
Wei Zhu and Chunlai were startled by the cold, sharp aura he brought, hurriedly knelt to greet him, and alerted the mistress inside that the Emperor had arrived.
Inside, Fang He heard the tremble in Wei Zhu’s voice and actually wanted to go out and see how many Oscars His Majesty deserved for his acting.
“Ah ah…” The little dumpling in her arms, discovering that the colorful tiger was no longer waving in front of her, swung her tiny fists in protest.
Fang He immediately forgot about the Oscar-winning act outside and quickly shook the Five-Colored Tiger toy embroidered by Xinke in front of Jiujiu.
“Ah yi~” The little dumpling’s big, dark eyes followed the toy, sparkling with life, and she immediately chased after the bright cloth tiger.
Kangxi entered the hall to see his daughter holding the cloth tiger in both hands, gnawing on it with her toothless mouth.
The child’s mother wasn’t idle either, grinning alongside the tiger, pretending to gnaw at the little dumpling’s chubby cheeks.
Mother and daughter both made silly noises, making it hard to tell which of them was more childish.
Kangxi did his best to keep a straight face, but unconsciously softened his voice as he instructed Li Dequan.
“Have everyone stay far away. Without my order, no one is to approach.”
Cui Wei glanced worriedly at her mistress, but seeing that she didn’t even look up, and knowing the situation, she finally relaxed and led the still-pale wet nurse out.
Once everyone else had left, the coldness on Kangxi’s face melted away like snow, replaced with warmth.
He tiptoed over and kissed both mother and daughter, teasing Fang He.
“When our Fuer Guochun gets a bit older, you can’t keep kissing her like this. Otherwise, she’ll think it’s fine to do this to anyone, and we’ll have a little bandit running around the palace.”
Fang He rolled her eyes at him, sitting on the soft couch with the child in her arms. “Your Fuer Guochun—what’s that got to do with our Jiujiu? Go talk to Fuer Guochun about it.”
She knew the name meant “auspicious omen,” even better than Galu Dai’s meaning.
It had to be the grand name Kangxi had given Jiujiu.
But as her mother, she didn’t even know about it until it was settled.
Was that appropriate?
Kangxi chuckled, squeezing Fang He’s cheek as he sat beside her.
“With your naming skills, it’s fine if you pick her nickname, but I wouldn’t dare let you choose her formal name.”
“What’s wrong with my names?” Fang He protested, carefully placing the child in Kangxi’s arms and guiding his hand to support the baby’s neck.
Since both parents were present, she didn’t have to be overly cautious.
This lord couldn’t always shirk responsibility—he had to learn to take care of the child, under her and the wet nurse’s watchful eyes.
“If you’ve got the nerve, say in front of Jiujiu that her name sounds bad!”
Kangxi, now holding a soft little dumpling, froze for a moment before skillfully adjusting his posture to make the child more comfortable.
He then kissed the little one, who was still wrestling with the tiger.
The child’s features took after Fang He, but the contours were like his, making it obvious whose child she was.
Kangxi’s eyes softened even more.
“I never said Jiujiu sounded bad. It’s just that only you and I can use her nickname—who else is worthy?”
He’d raised the Crown Prince himself, so he wasn’t new to holding babies.
Unfortunately, Kangxi overestimated his daughter’s affection—she gave her father no face at all.
When Kangxi kissed her, he bumped the tiger, and Jiujiu, not strong enough, dropped it to the floor.
Fang He was satisfied with Kangxi’s answer and got up to help the father and daughter play.
Since the tiger had rolled on the floor, it couldn’t be chewed anymore.
She tossed it into the Bamboo Basket and prepared to switch it for the Five Venomous Scorpions toy she’d made for the Dragon Boat Festival.
In that brief moment, Jiujiu noticed the bright toy was gone, leaving only a yellow patch in front of her.
She paused, then calmly smacked Kangxi’s chest and leaned in to gnaw on him instead.
One color was fine—she wasn’t picky.
When Fang He returned, she saw Kangxi at a loss: he couldn’t hold Jiujiu farther away, nor could he keep her close, and there was a suspicious wet mark on his chest.
Fang He: “Pfft! Hahaha…”
She bent over with laughter, clearly thinking Jiujiu had mistaken her father for a wet nurse.
Kangxi could only sigh.
When Fang He finally stopped laughing, he handed Jiujiu back and called Li Dequan in to help him change into a more casual robe.
The child, not even two months old, quickly grew sleepy after a short play.
Fang He handed her over to the wet nurse and Chunlai.
With no outsiders left in the hall, Kangxi stepped forward and, just as he’d held the baby, pulled Fang He into his arms.
But this time, the kisses were no longer gentle—they carried a passionate heat that made her heart race.
Fang He was soon breathless and had to push him away.
“Your Majesty… just say it—what’s wrong with the names I picked?”
Kangxi let her sit up and leaned against the low table to compose himself, glancing at her with a half-smile.
“Cracking melon seeds? I like gold and silver? What’s next—Lazybones? Glutton?”
After being promoted to consort, Fang He could have one wet nurse, four senior palace maids, six second-class palace maids, eight eunuchs, and eight labor maids.
According to the rules, once entering Yanxi Palace, the palace staff had to be renamed by their mistress.
The labor maids’ names were chosen by Cui Wei, and the four new young eunuchs were named by Wei Zhu.
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