Yin Hui’s ascension was not at all unexpected.
The Imperial Clansmen, the imperial princes, and the high ministers all knelt to the new Emperor in an orderly fashion, without causing any trouble.
Kangxi was like a stabilizing anchor.
As long as he sat upon the throne and accepted the new Emperor’s bows, there was no room for accidents.
However, it was not entirely without ripples.
Before the new Emperor had even sat upon that dragon chair, he issued four Imperial Edicts in quick succession.
First, he honored the Empress Dowager as the Grand Empress Dowager.
Next, he honored Kangxi and Fang He as the Grand Emperor and the Empress Dowager.
Finally, he invested his Consort, Muhua, as the Empress to lead the Imperial Harem.
Only then would the Empress determine the ranks for the Side Consorts and the ladies still waiting at Prince Rui’s Palace and present them to the Grand Empress Dowager and Fang He.
Naturally, the Grand Empress Dowager, Kangxi, and his wife did not need to offer formal thanks for the favor.
However, as the Empress, Muhua still had to offer her thanks at the Yongshou Palace, which had already been designated as the Empress’s residence.
Yet, as she was receiving the Imperial Edict, she fainted the moment she knelt, terrifying the officials from the Ministry of Rites who had come to deliver the decree.
Over at the Fengxian Hall, where the ancestors were being worshipped, Yin Hui nearly dropped the incense in his hand when he received the news.
Kangxi remained steady, shot him a glare to signal the ritual officials to continue, and sent someone to the Qianqing Palace to inform the Empress Dowager.
Fang He hurriedly took an Imperial Physician to the Yongshou Palace.
Upon checking the pulse, it was discovered that Muhua was over a month pregnant.
When Fang He saw her son again, her gaze was somewhat subtle.
Who was it that had previously stood before her so seriously, saying that it was enough to simply give the primary Fuqin honor and prestige?
He had claimed that Muhua didn’t need much favor and that, as the Empress, she shouldn’t be overly pampered.
He clearly knew the ascension ceremony was set for this time, and for the past month, he had been so busy he stayed in the Side Hall of the Qianqing Palace eight out of ten days.
Yet, despite only returning to his Palace a few times, he hadn’t forgotten to slip into the Fuqin’s courtyard…
Was this what Yin Hui meant by “not being overly pampered”?
Both Yin Hui and Muhua were somewhat embarrassed.
Even though today was only the day the Imperial Edict for the ascension and the Empress’s investiture was issued—and the grand investiture ceremony hadn’t even been held yet—it felt as if the couple was having a second wedding.
Fang He suppressed a smile as she looked at her son and the blushing, bashful Muhua, then rose with a laugh.
“Your Father and I will be escorting the Grand Empress Dowager back to the Changchun Garden in a moment. For now, I will leave Cui Wei here in the palace to assist Muhua. Once the Empress’s pregnancy has stabilized, I’ll have Cui Wei return.”
By then, it wouldn’t be too late for her to slowly enjoy the drama.
Previously, Fang He could tell that her son had some feelings for Muhua.
It was just that Muhua always kept her position very clear and never played along with Yin Hui.
Now, it seemed they had truly “connected.”
Fang He felt that since Yin Hui had chosen the path of a traditional monarch, problems would eventually arise once the Imperial Harem became crowded.
She couldn’t say in good conscience that she would always side with Muhua.
Yin Hui was her son, and she would always be biased but she truly did admire Muhua.
In terms of being firm and soberly relying on oneself without leaning on others, Muhua was very much like her younger self.
Such a woman wasn’t devoid of feelings; after all, Muhua knew how to be very pleasing in front of the Grand Empress Dowager, herself, Jiujiu, and Minbao.
It was just that Muhua had her own pride and could bear the cost of whatever outcome she chose.
To protect herself from being hurt, choosing not to “open up” was perfectly normal.
Fang He could preach many grand principles and was good at swaying people, but she never interfered in the affairs between a husband and wife…
Ahem, it definitely wasn’t just to have drama to watch; it was simply to stay true to her admiration for Muhua.
***
After Kangxi and Fang He left , Yin Hui, who was sitting by Muhua’s bedside, stared at her in silence.
Muhua also looked up at him, momentarily unsure of what to say.
After a long while, the couple spoke at the same time—
“I’m afraid it will be hard on My Lord during this time.”
“I’m afraid it will be hard on you during this time.”
“Hmm?” Both their expressions froze, and their eyes flickered with emotion.
Yin Hui arched an eyebrow and asked, “How will it be hard on me?”
Muhua spoke in confusion, “Is the Emperor not even planning to give your servant time to focus on the pregnancy?”
Yin Hui understood.
She thought he was going to hand over all the matters of promoting the other consorts to her so she could rest and not worry about the Tongjia or Fuchashi families seizing power in the harem.
What he had meant, however… Yin Hui shot a disgruntled look at Muhua’s belly and tapped her on the head.
“They say pregnancy makes one silly for three years. I never expected you to be the one busy with work. Just focus on nurturing the baby.”
With that, he left.
If he didn’t leave now, he was afraid that under Muhua’s suspicious and dazed little gaze, he wouldn’t be able to resist kissing her.
In hindsight, this definitely wasn’t a story of romance; this woman was best at using her soft, warm mouth to say exceptionally cold and irritating things.
After Yin Hui left, Yinxiao hurried forward and stamped her foot.
“Master, you’re going to worry me to death! The Emperor meant that you have been working so hard inside and outside the palace while carrying the little imperial prince. Why, oh why, are you so unromantic?”
“If you could just say a few sweet words, you could use the opportunity of granting titles to the other consorts to get closer to the Emperor and prevent those in the East and West wings from getting high ranks!”
“Did you only find out today that I’m unromantic?” Muhua leaned against a soft pillow with a dull expression, yawned, and turned over to lie down.
Yinxiao tried to coax her master earnestly, “Master Lord has just ascended the throne. There must be many matters, and he’s busy with thousands of daily tasks. If he gets tired, he might overlook the subtleties here. If the titles for those two in the East and West wings are too high, the one who will suffer later is our Yongshou Palace.”
Muhua closed her eyes and didn’t speak.
As long as a man had the heart to do it, even if she could stop him now, she couldn’t stop him for a lifetime.
She wasn’t blind to the way Yin Hui looked at her differently from the others in the residence, and she wasn’t completely unmoved, but she didn’t have the status to lose herself in it.
Even if the Tongjia and Fuchashi women lost favor, as long as their maternal families were still heavily used by the court, with the Emperor’s temperament, their face and honor wouldn’t diminish one bit.
But she was only the daughter of a minor official.
Even if her Father became a Duke, he was still “rotten mud that couldn’t stick to a wall.”
If she made one wrong move, it would be an irreversible fall.
Therefore, she had long known her cycle had stopped and intentionally chose today to reveal it—it was a test for Yin Hui.
She wanted to see what ranks he would give to those concubines from Prince Rui’s Palace while he was feeling affection for her.
If the ranks were high, she should be even more sober, do what an Empress should do, and close that door that had opened a crack.
If the ranks weren’t high, perhaps she could try to do a bit more—besides being an Empress, she could also try to be a good wife.
However, Muhua knew Yinxiao was right.
Yin Hui had just ascended the throne, and there would surely be many things to do.
It would likely take several days for the women from Prince Rui’s Palace to enter the harem.
She could finally have some peace and quiet for a while and think about what other Imperial Shops she should have her Mother help her open.
But what neither Muhua nor Yinxiao expected was that Yin Hui didn’t even wait for the night to pass.
That very evening, he had someone toss a booklet over.
“My Lord has ordered that the Empress should send someone to take this to the Changchun Garden. The decree shall be issued from there.”
Muhua curiously opened the booklet.
Inside, a single line was written in a flowing script: [Tongjia and Fuchashi shall be Consorts. The others shall be Noble Ladies. No special honors; they shall simply live in the West Six Palaces.]
Muhua: “…”
These ranks weren’t low, but why did she want to laugh so much?
***
The booklet was sent exactly as it was by Cui Wei to Fang He.
Fang He also sensed a massive amount of resentment from Yin Hui’s writing and couldn’t stop laughing.
“I left space for the two of them. Did they not say anything to each other?”
Cui Wei thought about the few sentences she had overheard through the wall and nodded while holding back a laugh, “It was like a chicken talking to a duck, or playing a lute to a cow… Master, you understand.”
Fang He: “Pfft—”
She clutched her stomach, laughing uncontrollably, and asked Kangxi, “What on earth is Yin Hui doing?”
Others thought Yin Hui was busy after just ascending the throne, but did she not know?
Kangxi had already dumped most of the government affairs onto Yin Hui half a year ago.
By now, the ministers were mostly used to Yin Hui reviewing memorials and handling administrative tasks.
Once the ascension ceremony was over, he had nothing pressing to do.
Why couldn’t he even find time to have a heart-to-heart with his wife?
Kangxi sat nearby, sketching a dragon pattern with leisure.
Hearing this, he let out a chuckled snort, “He’s probably busy figuring out how to pit his brothers.”
Previously, after Kangxi and Fang He had discussed Minbao’s wish to become a female general in the Qianqing Palace, Yin Hui immediately sought out Yinzhi and Yinzhen, his two most reliable older brothers.
Of course, he didn’t let the Fifth Prince and the others off the hook either.
He said only one thing: “The Beimeng side has been scattered like sand these years, yet the Moxi and Tibet regions are still being eyed by the Luosha, who have long held designs on our Great Qing. I want to establish a Lady Army to lure the enemy. I ask my brothers for your help!”
Yinzhi immediately thought Yin Hui had gone mad.
Where would they find so many women who could ride and fight?
Yinzhen rationally analyzed the uproar and opposition this would cause in the court.
If women went to war, losing would damage the Great Qing’s morale, and if they won, how should they be rewarded?
These were all contradictions that would make the Court Hall explode.
Yin Hui patted his chest and said, “I’ll find the women to ride and fight. If all else fails, there’s still the Nine Princess and the Tenth Princess. They’ve already gone to persuade the Third and Fourth Sisters. As long as Beimeng takes the lead in establishing a female cavalry, there will be no shortage of a Lady Army that can fight!”
As for the uproar… Yin Hui gave a long bow to Yinzhen.
“That will require the assistance of all my brothers.”
Yinzhen: “…”
This time, even the Fifth Prince Yinqi, who had always been a die-hard supporter of Yin Hui, couldn’t help but complain.
“Fifteen, your brothers’ lives are also lives. Use them sparingly. We’d like to live a few more years!”
None of them were fools.
They could tell from Yin Hui’s few words that it was either Jiujiu or Minbao…
Based on their understanding, it was highly likely that Jiujiu wasn’t satisfied with being the top scholar in both literary and martial arts and wanted to secure a place in the Court Hall using Fan Lianghan as a foundation.
As the future Emperor, Yin Hui had never even thought of refusing his sister’s various shocking ideas.
No matter what happened, his first thought was always how to support her.
Did he not think that if Jiujiu wanted to ascend the throne in the future, he would have to give up the seat?
The brothers were all determined not to do it, claiming they didn’t want to be strangled by their ancestors in their dreams.
Yin Hui, who had just finished visiting his sisters-in-law at their respective Palaces in advance, smiled without a word.
Yin Hui telling them beforehand was merely fulfilling his duty and affection as a younger brother; it wasn’t something they could just refuse to do.
When Yinzhi returned to his Palace, his Fuqin was there with their four daughters and a tiger-headed son, watching him gloomily from the Main Courtyard.
His wife asked him if he no longer wanted to bring his Mother out of the palace.
His four “golden flowers” asked him if they couldn’t take after their father—if they were destined to be “pup daughters of a tiger father,” destined to spend their lives locked in the Noble Ladies’ Residence?
Yinzhi looked at his son, who was still being held by his sisters to clap his hands like a fool.
He choked, wiped his face, and turned around to go to the Ministry of War to argue the logic of “military deception” with his maternal uncle.
When Yinzhen returned to his Palace, what awaited him was his wife and the Eighth Brother’s wife, both holding identical fiery red whips.
Oh, they weren’t for hitting him; they were for him to see if they looked good.
“I plan to follow the Nine Princess and Tenth Princess to Beimeng later. My old home is still in Shengjing. If I’m bullied by those Russians, Tibetans, and Jungars, I won’t have the face to see my Father and Mother.”
Yinzhen: “…”
Then what about the lives of him and the children?
Did she not care?