In the thirty-fifth year of Kangxi, winter.
The selection of palace ladies became a nationwide craze, even causing quite a stir among the common people.
Since His Majesty never got the chance to scold the Imperial Noble Consort Zhen, the matter finally ended with Minister Xiong Cilu of the Ministry of Rites being penalized with a year’s pay deduction.
As for those stubborn Yushi, they weren’t fools either.
If His Majesty truly wanted to reprimand someone, was there ever a time he lacked the opportunity?
The Fifth Prince and Ninth Prince drank too much at the Crown Prince’s wedding banquet and started a brawl.
Yet, His Majesty still managed to give both brothers a scathing lecture in the Imperial Study.
Previously, in the Yongding River corruption case, many officials were implicated.
Kangxi flew into a rage and not only dealt with the officials involved, but even pointed at the Minister of Works’ nose and scolded Minister Zhang Ying so harshly that he couldn’t raise his head.
So what, when it came to Imperial Noble Consort Zhen, did His Majesty ever utter a single word of censure in the Golden Throne Hall?
Moreover, the Yushi noticed that their superior, the Left Metropolitan Censor Chen Tingjing, never said a word throughout the whole affair.
This Chen scholar was not one to curry favor or avoid trouble—clearly, he thought there was nothing to say about this.
So the Yushi could only lay low and stop making trouble.
Only Old Qin Imperial Censor remained indignant, but even he, with his old wife at home weeping and his sons and daughters in constant turmoil, ultimately lost his impartiality and felt ashamed to speak up.
But Fang He had never intended to challenge Master Kang’s imperial authority; she never wanted to keep the Qing Gazette in her own hands.
Just dealing with the matter of the Women’s Academy was enough to keep Fang He and the Princess of Chengyuan busy.
The former female prime minister, Princess of Chengyuan, understood very well that such a powerful tool for controlling public opinion would never be left in the hands of others by Kangxi.
If not for Fang He, the Gazette would have long been taken over by Kangxi.
While Fang He was cheerfully flirting with her man, even during breaks, she didn’t forget to fight for her own rights.
“If the Gazette falls into the hands of the Hanlin Academy, from then on, it’ll just be filled with the dry, pretentious essays of those scholars—boring, and the people won’t want to read it. That would defeat the whole purpose of guiding public opinion. And they’ll definitely take the scholars’ side. Anyway, if you allow others to bully the palace candidates, I won’t stand for it!”
Kangxi chuckled, stroking the warm, creamy-white jade in his hand with a meaningful look he said, “So in the end, I can only indulge you. You’d better be useful then—no slacking off!”
Fang He: “…”
‘Talk properly! Stop being a scoundrel!’
Kangxi’s low laugh was softer than usual, his mood especially good after being satisfied. He only asked with a smile, “Then tell me, Guoguo, who do you think the Gazette should be entrusted to?”
Fang He blurted out, “Of course the Third Prince!”
She had no idea how the Third Prince got so much inside information, but he wrote those tales of love and hatred in deep mansions so grippingly that you just wanted to climb inside his mind to know what would happen next.
Kangxi looked a little surprised, “The third?”
He had thought Fang He would recommend the Fifth Prince, Yinqi.
Based on Fang He’s relations with the princes, she was closest to the Fifth and Ninth Princes.
With the others, it was only a matter of polite greetings.
Fang He had actually wanted to choose Yinqi, she always thought the Fifth Prince was the most gossipy in the palace; every time he visited the Empress Dowager, he’d share all kinds of family trivia.
But the thing was—he just couldn’t write!
Maybe it was because he grew up by the Empress Dowager’s side, but as soon as Yinqi picked up a pen, his head hurt.
He was much better at riding and archery.
So Fang He declared righteously to Kangxi, “This is called making use of people’s talents. At the very least, I am now the Imperial Noble Consort—I need to show some measure, don’t I?”
Kangxi calmly pulled her closer and chuckled, “What you say is…”
Fang He wrapped her arms around his neck and bit down on his thin lips, her snort even louder than his.
“I won’t say. If you have the ability, make me say it!”
How could she admit she just loved reading gossip and watching people quarrel in the Gazette?
That would make her seem so childish.
Ask her, and she’d just say she wasn’t showing favoritism, only choosing the most suitable person!
But when she rolled over to mount him, it fit perfectly with Kangxi’s wishes.
He laughed softly as he encircled her waist, and in the gentle shake of the bed curtains, he was the first to start the ride.
His ambiguous words were muffled by Fang He’s lips, left breathless.
“I’m useless—I can only make you speechless, let you laugh at the Emperor.”
Fang He pinched his ever-hardening arm, but was so exhausted she couldn’t say a word in retort.
These days, she was always the one to start things, always the one to provoke first, but every time she ended up raising the White Flag, worn out by all the effort.
So greedy, yet so weak—that’s her.
Before she drifted off to sleep, Fang He still remembered, in the TV drama, Kangxi’s children were still being born at this point.
If she wanted to wait for him to decline, it would take another ten years at least.
A woman’s revenge isn’t too late in ten years—she’d wait for that day!
***
In the court, the matter of the selection of palace ladies was considered resolved.
But thanks to a certain persistent rookie in the harem, the Gazette ended up being handed over to the Third Prince, who had just married that autumn, and the stories of the palace candidates and scholars never stopped being exciting.
Kangxi even gave the Third Prince a Hanlin Academy position as a compiler, making him the first prince, including the Crown Prince, to officially receive a title.
For this, Consort Rong specially made a trip to Yanxi Palace and knelt as soon as she entered before Fang He.
“Thank you, Imperial Noble Consort, for thinking of the Third Prince. From now on, I swear never to oppose you again—I’ll only follow your lead!” She was sincere.
Consort Rong really hadn’t expected that Fang He would still be willing to promote his son.
For the Third Prince, and for Ning Chuge, who was already betrothed, she would give her own life if needed.
“When you went to Beimong the first time, it was my Ma Jia clan’s youth who shot you in the woods. Rong Shang was soon stripped of his guard post by His Majesty and sent to guard the tombs in Shengjing. He’ll never enter the capital again for the rest of his life. I know that can’t make up for my wrongdoing, but if the Imperial Noble Consort wants, I can be confined in Zhongcui Palace at any time and never come out again.”
Fang He really had no interest in confining Consort Rong, she didn’t plan to become friends with her, but as a subordinate, Consort Rong was quite competent.
She just said, “Just manage the palace affairs properly, don’t overthink things. When trouble comes, consider it three times before acting. If you’re confined, who will do the work?”
Consort Rong: “…..”
She really feels like she’s come for nothing.
Still, Consort Rong did once again pledge her loyalty to Fang He before Consort Hui.
Consort Yi always sided with Fang He, so Consort Hui cursed Consort Rong for half an hour in Changchun Palace.
As for Consort Hui’s grudge, let’s set that aside.
The Third Prince, being the first among all his brothers to get an official position and favored by his imperial father, was practically bursting with excitement.
In the Qing Gazette, regarding the disputes between palace candidates and scholars, he set up a “Wen Lei” and called upon officials and concubines to vote anonymously every three days.
The winner would get exclusive front-page coverage for a day.
It was Jiujiu who told her third brother about this; he thought it interesting and immediately adopted the idea.
Thus, the debate became a regular occurrence, and the Qing Gazette became a favorite conversation piece for the people.
Officials soon discovered the Gazette’s benefits.
First, the commoners—especially those outside the capital—became less resistant to the court.
New policies were much easier to implement than before.
Second, spurred on by the palace candidates, talented scholars sprang up everywhere, making the civil service exam results soar across the country.
These were all tangible achievements for local officials and since officials were often each other’s students or relatives, everyone could see the benefits.
The court officials thus tacitly agreed with the growing praise that everything the Imperial Noble Consort did was for the country and the people, and accepted that the selection of palace ladies would never return to the old system.
Some even turned a blind eye to Han Chinese women being allowed to become female officials in the palace.
With the Women’s Academy and the selection finished, Fang He didn’t rest, she immediately began arranging for harem consorts to visit Wu Long Pavilion.
Ever since she became favored alone, many in the harem had grown anxious.
As soon as winter arrived, Fang He issued orders for the Household Department to cut back on coal deliveries to each palace, including Consort Hui, Consort Rong, and Consort Yi.
Yikun Palace, where Consort Yi resided, received only two baskets of coal.
Usually, this was supposed to be a month’s supply.
Since Wei Zhu personally delivered the coal, Consort Yi’s close maid, Ying Tao, noticed something amiss and only reported to her mistress after Wei Zhu left.
“Master, this quantity of red Luo coal isn’t right. The Eleventh Prince uses a lot of coal, and we always supplement A Ge Suo palace. The Household Department knows this, but the coal we received isn’t enough for ten days, let alone the whole palace.”
Consort Yi was also a bit surprised.
Even if Wei Zhu delivered it openly, it shouldn’t be so obvious.
Fang He was never one to mistreat the harem.
Since she took the Golden Seal, even the lowest concubines lived much better.
But Consort Yi, who often spoke with Fang He and the Princess of Chengyuan, knew a bit more than others.
Her mind raced and she grew excited.
“I’ll go to the Imperial Noble Consort myself!” She ignored the cold, snowy weather outside and immediately got up to head to Yanxi Palace.
Fang He must be arranging for them to leave the palace, right?
Judging by the amount of coal, they’d have free access in and out of the palace before November?!
Ying Tao hurriedly stopped Consort Yi and said, “Mistress, don’t worry. Wei Zhu said Their Majesties aren’t in the palace, that they had urgent business outside and would only return tomorrow night. Even the morning court is canceled.”
Consort Yi paused and suddenly recalled Liang Jiugong’s earlier visit, during which he had subtly probed about certain matters.
She more or less guessed what His Majesty was up to with Fang He.
Her heart filled with both happiness for Fang He and a complicated feeling that was both sour and sad.
So even an emperor isn’t without feeling—he just gave it all to Fang He.
No matter how early they came, none of them could compare to a perfect match.
She bit her lip, quietly sat back down, and forced herself to smile, needing some time to adjust.
Forget it, she had already rooted out those inappropriate feelings for the Emperor over the years.
Since she couldn’t have the Emperor’s love, she could find fulfillment elsewhere.
That was already much happier than the consorts in the next reign but while Consort Yi understood and accepted the situation, not all the other consorts were so broad-minded.
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