jdhmnovel Chapter 286 Fang Nanxi's Time Travel in the Qing Dynasty (40) (The End)
Chapter 286 Fang Nanxi's Time Travel in the Qing Dynasty (40) (The End)
The former emperor retired after achieving his goals, and the eldest brother was transferred back to the capital. He is now a third-rank official, and the third brother was promoted to a fifth-rank official.
The Emperor is now implementing his policies to reform the bureaucracy. Hongxu, Hongxi, and Hongchen have been very busy lately. Fang Nanxi feels sorry for them and tells them not to come to pay their respects every day.
Hongxi's primary consort, Lady Zhaerjia, became pregnant in May of this year, while Hongchen's primary consort, Lady Borjigit, has not yet conceived. Fang Nanxi even asked Hongchen if he disliked Lady Borjigit, but Hongchen blushed with embarrassment.
It seems that Hongchen's lively personality also makes him like his easygoing primary wife. If the primary wife were too gentle, she probably wouldn't get along with Hongchen.
Having gained Hongchen's approval, Fang Nanxi gave Borjigit a fertility pill during a visit to pay her respects.
Hongxu didn't worry her too much. The family already had two sons and a daughter. The primary consort, Niohuru Siyan, had given birth to the eldest son, the secondary consort, Ma Jia, had given birth to a daughter, and a concubine had given birth to a son. Fang Nanxi had met them, and the children were all in good health.
When these women were pregnant, Hongxu specifically asked Aunt Qiushuang to take care of them. Qiushuang was someone who had worked for him and was steady and had learned some medical skills from Fang Nanxi, so she knew some knowledge about pregnancy.
Over the years, many women have entered the harem, but none of them have become pregnant. The emperor doesn't seem to care much, and he still has five princes, so his lineage isn't exactly dwindling.
In the seventh year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, the Emperor established the Grand Council. Hongxu was now highly regarded by the Emperor, and Fang Nanxi, seeing that she was no longer needed to exert herself, began to lie low.
After Hongxu ascends the throne, she will try her best to change the status quo, but she is not a god and can't control too much. She will have to see what Hongxu wants at that time.
Hongli was full of tricks, even hindering Hongxu's work behind the scenes. Hongli was quite pleased with himself, but he didn't see the emperor's distrust of him.
In the emperor's mind, Hongli became a petty person who was somewhat clever but lacked skill and did not care about his brothers. The emperor only entrusted some peripheral matters to Hongli.
Another batch of new women entered the harem, including Lady Liu, who gave birth to the emperor's last son. She was initially granted the title of "Daying" and was assigned to Xianfu Palace by the empress.
In Chengqian Palace, Consort Mao and Consort Yu came again. Since Consort Mao came to visit the Second Princess and arranged her marriage, the Emperor issued a special decree allowing the Second Princess to stay in the capital for three months each year and also bestowed upon her a mansion.
Consort Mao sees the Second Princess every year, and she is in good physical and mental health. This year, the Second Princess is pregnant, and Consort Mao specially sent several nannies to take care of her.
Consort Yu came to see Fang Nanxi because Hongzhou and Hongchen of the previous dynasty had a good relationship. Consort Yu thought that Hongzhou and Hongli could not be repaired, and Fang Nanxi also had a prince named Honghan, who was obviously intelligent. In a few years, when Prince Honghan entered the court, Fang Nanxi's power would be unprecedented.
Fang Nanxi chatted casually, but the Emperor disliked her alliance with the concubines in the harem and hoped to control Fang Nanxi's power in the harem through the Empress's authority.
She was well aware of the Emperor's suspicions about her. Who wouldn't want their son to sit on the throne? Even Consort Xi had shown her ambition.
Consort Mao and Consort Yu approached, obviously because she might become the future Empress Dowager, and they were trying to secure her son's or daughter's favor.
"There are just too many people in the harem," Consort Yu said dejectedly. She still had some genuine feelings for the Emperor. In the past, the Emperor liked to visit her palace to drink and compose poetry. But now that there are so many people in the harem, the Emperor no longer likes to go there.
"Yes, time waits for no one." Consort Mao was a year older than the Emperor and had long passed the age of lamenting the passing of spring and autumn. Now she only hoped that Jingyue could give birth to the child safely.
……
In the blink of an eye, it was the ninth year of Yongzheng's reign. In August, the Empress fell seriously ill. Fang Nanxi could see Consort Xi's smugness. Consort Xi was the only Manchu concubine in the harem with a child. If the Empress were to fall ill, it would definitely expand Consort Xi's power.
Fang Nanxi didn't want this to happen, so she gave the Empress one-third of the pills, which could slowly regulate the Empress's body and allow her to live for another seven or eight years without any problem.
In October of the tenth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, Lady Liu, who had been granted the title of Noble Lady, was revealed to be one month pregnant.
The Emperor was overjoyed and first bestowed titles upon the concubines: Consort Xi was promoted to Consort Xi, Consort Yu to Consort Yu, and Consort Mao to Consort Mao. Noble Lady Liu was granted the title of Qian, and the other ladies-in-waiting and ladies-in-waiting were each promoted one rank.
The previous dynasty conferred the title of Prince Rong on Hongxu, Prince Jun on Hongxi and Hongchen, and Prince Beile on Hongli and Hongzhou. It also ordered that all those except Hongxu should leave the palace and establish their own residences.
On the eleventh day of the sixth month of the eleventh year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, Consort Qian gave birth to a prince, the eleventh prince. The Emperor, who was already fifty-six years old, was naturally delighted to suddenly have a son and immediately bestowed upon Consort Qian the title of Consort Qian.
Having gained a son, the emperor, unwilling to accept his age, actually began to suppress Hongxu in the imperial court.
Fang Nanxi learned from her connections in the previous dynasty that the emperor simply wanted to live to the age of the late emperor. At present, the father was weak and the son was strong, so who would want to give up the power in their hands?
Fang Nanxi immediately advised Hongxu not to oppose the emperor. The emperor was suspicious, and if he showed ambition at this time, the emperor would be even more wary. Otherwise, showing weakness and intelligence might have a different effect.
What happened next was simple. The emperor, having heard someone's slander, began to consume "golden pills," and Fang Nanxi did not stop him.
The older the emperor got, the more he liked to stay in the Yuanmingyuan Garden, spending six months of the year there.
In May of the twelfth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, Honghan got married. His primary wife was from the Shumulu clan, while Hongnuan married into the Fuca clan.
In May of the thirteenth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, Miao bandits caused trouble on the border. The Emperor appointed Ha Yuansheng as General Yangwei and Hongchen as Deputy General Fuwei to lead the expedition together. He then ordered Hongxu, Hongxi, Ortai, Zhang Tingyu, and others to assist in handling affairs in the Miao region.
On August 21st, the Emperor suddenly fell ill. The Empress and the concubines stayed with him. When the Emperor regained consciousness, he seemed to have thought things through and summoned Hongxu, Hongxi, Hongli, Hongzhou, Honghan, as well as a group of princes and ministers.
The emperor first said that after his death, he would remove the imperial edict behind the "Upright and Bright" edict and support the new emperor's ascension to the throne.
Hongli was well aware of his situation, and his father had even kept Hongxu behind for a talk. He was resentful and wanted to unite some ministers, like his eighth uncle had done before. If he could succeed…
Over the years, Hongli had only one legitimate daughter. He had been married for many years, but no children had been born to his concubines, which had troubled him for a long time. However, after Lady Fucha gave birth to his legitimate daughter, Hongli was no longer so anxious, as it proved that he was capable of having children.
On August 22nd, it was Fang Nanxi's turn to wait for the emperor. She planned to see the emperor one last time. In recent years, the emperor had been wary of her and had not stayed in her palace for a long time, only visiting occasionally.
Upon entering, she saw the emperor leaning against the headboard, looking at Fang Nanxi.
"You've arrived," the Emperor said, panting.
"It's been a long time since I've seen Your Majesty, which reminds me of the past," Fang Nanxi suddenly brought up the past.
Then, Fang Nanxi talked about the things from back then, about the happy events they had at the Prince's Mansion, the things that happened at Shaoguang Courtyard, and the funny stories about the princes Hongxu, Hongxi, and Hongchen. The Emperor was amused and laughed a few times.
Fang Nanxi changed the subject, mentioning the difficulties the emperor faced when he ascended the throne. Of course, Fang Nanxi would not mention Consort Dunsu.
The emperor was only awake for a short time; an hour later, he became sleepy and rested. Fang Nanxi returned to Bitong Academy.
On the evening of August 22, the Emperor regained consciousness once again and instructed Su Peisheng to invite Hongxu, Hongxi, Hongli, Hongzhou, Honghan, princes of the imperial clan, and ministers to the Yuanmingyuan. Then, with Zhang Qilin's help, he went to the desk near his bed.
When Su Peisheng brought the people in, they saw the emperor standing in front of his desk, looking quite energetic, writing something. After the princes, dukes, and ministers bowed, the emperor did not say anything.
Having finished writing, the Emperor had Zhang Qilin hand over the imperial seal, which he then stamped in front of them, before having Su Peisheng read the imperial edict aloud.
The imperial edict declared Hongxu as Crown Prince and Fang Nanxi as Imperial Noble Consort.
"Your subject (servant) obeys the decree."
The Emperor then dismissed them, but kept Hongxu behind to say a few words.
At midnight on the 23rd of August, Emperor Yongzheng passed away. Following the emperor's instructions, the princes and ministers retrieved the three imperial edicts behind the "Upright and Bright" edict, which indeed stated that Hongxu had ascended the throne.
Later, Hongli did unite with some rabble to rebel, but was suppressed by Hongxu and imprisoned in the Imperial Clan Court. Hongxu ascended the throne as emperor, and Fang Nanxi was promoted to Empress Dowager, while the empress became Empress Dowager Mother.
The primary consort, Niohuru, became Empress; Ma Jia became Consort Shu; and Wanyan became Consort Ji. The other consorts who gave birth to princes and princesses were Consort An, Consort Jing, Consort Chun, and Consort Duan. The rest were all Noble Ladies, Attendants, and Ladies-in-Waiting.
The current emperor has four sons and three daughters, which is less than the previous emperor. However, the emperor is still young, and it is estimated that he will hold another selection of concubines in the future.
Hongxi and his primary consort, Lady Zhaerjia, had a very cordial relationship. Lady Zhaerjia gave birth to two sons and one daughter. The other consorts, including the secondary consort Suochuoluo, gave birth to one son and one daughter, and two other princesses gave birth to two sons each.
Hongchen surprised Fang Nanxi greatly. Hongchen had a very good relationship with his primary wife, Borjigit, and Borjigit had given birth to two sons.
Hongchen had no concubines, only one princess who gave birth to a son. It is said that this princess was personally bestowed upon him by Borjigit when she was pregnant.
After Hongxu ascended the throne, he first enfeoffed his brothers Hongxi and Hongchen as princes, Hongzhou and Honghan as dukes, and Hongzhan was too young to be enfeoffed.
In the second year of the Qianyuan era, the Empress Dowager passed away. In fact, the Empress Dowager's health had been declining for the past few years.
After the funeral of her mother, the Empress Dowager, Fang Nanxi first stayed in Cining Palace for three years before moving to Yuanmingyuan. She also took with her Consort Mao, Consort Yu, and several of the concubines from the previous emperor's time.
A few years later, Fang Nanxi gave the information she had compiled to the emperor and then went on a trip. The emperor was worried and sent five hundred men to protect Fang Nanxi. As for how many men were secretly there, Fang Nanxi did not know. In addition, Fang Nanxi knew some martial arts, and perhaps those villains were not as good as her.
Consort Yu traveled around with Fang Nanxi, enjoying the beautiful scenery.
When she was too tired to walk any further, Fang Nanxi returned to the Yuanmingyuan Garden. She saw off Consort Mao, Consort Qi, Consort Yu, and others. It is worth mentioning that Consort Xi, who was supposed to live to be over eighty, actually only lived to be fifty-six. Hongli died at the age of thirty-six.
As Fang Nanxi lay dying, looking at her great-grandchildren surrounding her, she felt no dissatisfaction. However, she felt that the Fang family had become too arrogant and had been dealt with by Hongxu. She hoped that the Fang family would be more careful in the future.