In October, the capital finally saw its first snowfall.
Although it was only a light flurry of snowflakes, accompanied by a biting wind, it quickly blanketed the city in white. Â
The cold was biting, and fewer people walked the streets, draping a veil of tranquility over the previous chaos.
The Forbidden City, too, was much quieter. Â
At least most of the palaces were like this.
Only Yanxi Palace remained as lively as ever. Â
“Jiujiu, that’s not right!” A small, pouty voice filled with stubborn sobs echoed from the main hall, drawing the anxious palace maids stationed outside to pace nervously. Â
Fang He leaned sideways on the soft couch, a half-smile playing on her lips as she watched the little one stubbornly cross her arms.
“I told you, one candy a day—one from me, one from Aunt Cui, and one from Aunt Chunlai. You still ask Aunt Chunlai for more? Don’t you want to be punished? Are you trying to get yourself into trouble?”
Jiujiu’s small lips puckered high, her eyes reddening quickly.
She pointed a finger accusingly, her voice trembling with tears.
“Mother teaches, singing earns candy~ Mother is lying.” Â
Fang He chuckled, “I said kids who sing well get candy, but you could at least wipe your mouth clean before sleeping. You can’t fool yourself, why blame others?”
Jiujiu sobbed twice, huge tears streaming down her cheeks, pouting silently.
Cui Wei, feeling her heart ache, stepped forward to plead on the little princess’s behalf.
“It’s my fault, I should’ve asked Chunlai first…”
“I never said I wouldn’t hold you accountable, so no need to panic.” Fang He interrupted with a smile.
Cui Wei shot Chunlai a helpless look—better to feel sorry for herself first.
Chunlai knelt swiftly, “Mistress, I failed to manage the little princess. I’m willing to accept full punishment.” Â
Fang He thought to herself: ‘if you hadn’t spoiled her, would Princess Jiujiu be so brazenly sneaking candy to bed?’
If she hadn’t wiped Jiujiu’s face and noticed how sticky her drool was, she wouldn’t have realized this little one’s acting skills had already surpassed her own.
She fixed her gaze on Jiujiu and suppressed a smile.
“Mother gives you two choices: either face the wall and reflect for half an hour and lose your candy for three days, or have Aunt Cui and Chunlai starve for three days instead.”
Chunlai immediately spoke up, “Mistress…”
“Silence.” Fang He said coolly, “Let Fue Guochun choose for herself!”
At the sound of the little princess’s full name, everyone knew Fang He was angry.
Even Jiujiu shrank her neck and cried harder but dared not say another word.
Before Jiujiu could reply, Consort Yi and Concubine Jing entered hand in hand.
Jiujiu stood in front of the soft couch, still crying, with Chunlai kneeling—everyone immediately understood the situation.
“Oh, where did this little kitten come from?” Consort Yi smiled as she wiped Jiujiu’s tears, then turned to Fang He with a playful glare.
“Everyone in and out of the palace says no one loves their daughter more than our Noble Consort, how can one not praise that?”
Concubine Jing suppressed a smile and saluted Fang He before sitting opposite her.
Though she had been a consort many times in her past life, she never had children and never interfered with scenes of motherly affection—she just enjoyed watching the fun.
Jiujiu, almost ready to admit fault, was coaxed by Consort Yi.
Her little mouth trembled twice as she clung to Consort Yi’s sleeve and nestled into her arms, bursting into tears. Â
“My little nest!”
“Wuwu, it’s so cold~ my tummy’s hungry~ it hurts, Jiu~”
Consort Yi, who had always favored this soft little bundle, was nearly melted by the sudden affection.
The Fourth Princess had always been headstrong and tougher than most boys, but now, leaning on Consort Yi’s soft warmth, her heart almost melted.
“All right, all right, Mother’s the bad one, starving our Jiujiu, aren’t I?”
Jiujiu stole a glance at Mother Fang, who was still picking at a plate of preserved fruits without looking at her, and cried even harder, clutching her chest.
“Wuwu, it’s not me, it’s Auntie’s fault, my tummy hurts here~ Mother doesn’t hurt me, wuwu~”
Consort Yi: “……”
‘These two in Yanxi Palace, one with more flair for drama than the other.’
She bit back a laugh and spat heavily, “Mother doesn’t hurt you?”
“A mother so cruel, we don’t want her anymore. Aunt Yi will take you back to Yikun Palace to see your brothers and sisters; we’ll all soothe your heart together.”
Jiujiu paused, then panicked, grabbing Consort Yi’s arm and pushing towards Fang He.
“No, no going! Punish me, it hurts together, it won’t be cold~”
Consort Yi bit her tongue, almost laughing out loud.
Oh, it’s not that Mother doesn’t hurt her—it’s that she wants Mother to hurt her, too. Â
This daughter is really filial!
She suppressed her smile and put on a serious, troubled expression.
“But I’m ranked lower than your Mother. Only she can hit me, I can’t hit her.”
Consort Yi clutched her chest and added, “You don’t know, your Ninth Brother and the others got punished, too. Aunt Yi had no choice but to secretly cry under the covers. That’s why she came to plead for your Ninth Brother just now.”
Jiujiu didn’t fully understand but heard that Mother Fang was stricter than Aunt Yi and that even Aunt Yi was afraid.
She grew even more aggrieved, thinking of the words she overheard in the Imperial Garden, crying nonstop.
“Got brothers, don’t want Jiujiu anymore, wuwu~”
Consort Yi’s expression darkened, and Chunlai’s face turned grim, both unconsciously glancing at Fang He, who was leisurely eating snacks.
Fang He calmly wiped the crumbs from her lips, rubbed her belly, and sat up.
“Order Li Dequan to investigate the route Jiujiu takes for her walks. If nothing’s found, all palace staff on that route will be sent to the Office of Punishment and Investigation and beaten until the gossipers are revealed.”
Chunlai quickly agreed, then looked helplessly at the still-crying little princess, biting her lip as she stood and left.
Fang He smiled and said to Cui Wei, “Help Consort Yi up and bring in two more plates of Yunpian Naigao. I like the taste; let’s invite Consort Yi and Concubine Jing to join us.”
She winked at Consort Yi, “We have a singer today. We can listen to Fue Guochun sing while enjoying the snacks.”
Consort Yi: “Aren’t you afraid she’ll cry her voice hoarse?”
Fang He scoffed, “I’m a bad mother. Bad mothers aren’t afraid of children crying.”
Jiujiu never cried hysterically.
A little crying is actually good for lung capacity. Â
Everyone had spoiled Jiujiu so much that she whined at every little displeasure.
If this continued, the child would surely be spoiled. Â
Consort Yi saw that Fang He was determined to set rules for Jiujiu, so she could only helplessly stroke Jiujiu’s head and then go eat the Yunpian Naigao herself.
‘Mmm… so fragrant.’
Crying, Jiujiu noticed that Mother Fang, Aunt Yi, and even the less familiar concubines were all watching her cry with smiles, eating sweet milk cakes, ignoring her loud sobs.
She grew too tired to cry anymore and plopped down on the floor.
By now, the palace had lit the dragon warming fires, so Fang He wasn’t worried about her catching a chill.
Hearing Jiujiu’s crying begin to subside, Fang He had Xinke fetch a cup of warm water.
With a smile, she asked Jiujiu, “Tired? Drink some water, keep crying if you want, don’t stop—the mothers haven’t eaten enough yet.”
Others:Â Â “……”
‘Does this sound like a normal person talking?’
Consort Yi encouraged Jiujiu, “Good child, drink plenty of water and cry as loud as you can, let your mother listen to it!”
Concubine Jing: “If it were me, I’d definitely shout twice to show my strength, let your two mothers listen to that!”
Fang He: “…”
‘Those two sure have dark hearts!’
But the more they said this, the more exhausted and parched Jiujiu became.
Surrounded by the sweet aroma of milk cakes, her tears stopped flowing and she could no longer cry. Â
Feeling wronged, she got up slowly like a little duckling, shuffled to the corner with her back to everyone, and quietly sobbed.
Fang He picked up a plate of snacks and signaled Xinke.
“The Ninth Princess cares for you all and takes responsibility. From now on, for the sake of the Ninth Princess’s teeth, anyone caught secretly feeding her candy will starve for three days.”
“Starting today, not a single candy for the Ninth Princess for three days!”
Cui Wei, Xinke, and the others responded loudly.
Just as Jiujiu’s tears began again, Xinke took the opportunity to slip a piece of Yunpian Naigao under her bottom while placing a cushion.
The Ninth Princess immediately stopped crying, broke into a smile, and stuffed the milk cake into her mouth, bowing her furry little head in full repentance.
Consort Yi watched Fang He use both the carrot and stick and soon had her daughter thoroughly managed, smiling and shaking her head.
It seemed no one could escape the grasp of Noble Consort Fang.
She whispered, “With all the uproar recently, the palace and outside have built up much resentment. If you send people to the Office of Punishment and Investigation now, I’m afraid the moment the Emperor returns, they won’t let up.”
Concubine Jing was unbothered, “What can they do if they don’t let up?” Â
She thought Consort Yi was overthinking.
“Your Noble Consort’s status here and being pregnant with the Little Prince means the Emperor must give some face. Those who resist will just be beaten into submission.”
It’s effective.
In her past life, serving her lord, she knew well that endless reasoning was futile.
Sometimes violence spoke louder than words. Â
“Those who don’t learn from their punishments simply weren’t hit hard enough to remember. Only when it’s etched deep into their bones will they stop being foolish.”
Fang He raised her teacup to Concubine Jing, acknowledging her words.
She would never run the harem like the previous mistresses, with their meekness and virtue.
Foolish?
Hit. Â
Relapsing?
Hit again. Â
Acting out?
Beat to death if needed. Â
Only when no one played petty schemes, slandered others, or plotted against heirs would she reform the harem and carve a path for the worthy young women.
Consort Yi thought it over and agreed but was used to overthinking—better safe than sorry.
Consort Yi said, “I heard Galdan fled, and the Emperor was furious. If someone seizes the chance to poison the Emperor’s mind now, even if the Emperor says nothing, it may cause a rift between you two.”
She recalled how she herself had drifted away from Kangxi when she tried to probe the Emperor’s mood on behalf of the Noble Consort.
Whether for her natal family or to avoid being implicated, Consort Yi didn’t want Fang He to lose favor.
Seeing Fang He still indifferent, Consort Yi snatched her snack plate.
“Speak up. Don’t just act like the eunuch who’s unconcerned when the Emperor is anxious…”
Fang He laughed, “What do you want me to say? I can send messages to the front; so can the Crown Prince. If there was poison in the morning, it would’ve acted by now. What’s the use being anxious now?”
Unless she endured silently for years, until the entire harem respected her, this kind of situation was unavoidable.