jdhmnovel Chapter 278 Fang Nanxi's Transmigration to the Qing Dynasty 32
Chapter 278 Fang Nanxi's Transmigration to the Qing Dynasty 32
By the time Yinzhen (Ti) returned to the capital, it was already January of the first year of Yongzheng's reign. The matter had been settled, but Yinzhen (Ti) was clearly dissatisfied and wanted to join forces with Yinsi, Yintang, and others to overthrow Yinzhen.
Yinzhen was not someone to be trifled with. First, he eliminated dissidents and suppressed those ministers with ulterior motives. Then, he divided and disintegrated the prince group, imprisoning Yinzhen (Ti), who was leading the rebellion. He then exiled Yintang to Xidatong in Qinghai, promoted Yinsi to Prince Lian, and also granted Yinsi the position of Minister of General Affairs.
After all that, it was already May. In the past few months, Fang Nanxi had been hearing news from the imperial court while in the inner palace.
Regarding the Fang family's promotions, Fang Nanxi could only say that it was all due to their merit in supporting the emperor. The emperor wanted to suppress those ministers with disloyal intentions, so he would naturally promote his own people. Her father was now a first-rank official, the Minister of Works, her eldest brother was promoted to the fourth-rank Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices this year, and her third brother was also promoted to the sixth-rank Vice Prefect.
On May 10th, Consort Nian gave birth prematurely to a sickly little prince. The prince's health was even worse than that of Fu Yi. The imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital had to visit Yikun Palace every day. The Emperor was worried about the little prince's health and gave him the nickname Fu Pei.
Then, the emperor instructed his brothers to avoid using his name and to change "胤" to "允".
On May 20th, the Empress Dowager fell seriously ill. It seemed that the Emperor had reached some agreement with the Empress Dowager and issued an edict allowing the imprisoned Yunzhi to enter the palace to visit the Empress Dowager.
The Emperor and Empress served her medicine day and night. Fang Nanxi only visited the Empress Dowager once when she was seriously ill. Later, the Empress did not want the concubines to disturb the Empress Dowager's recovery, so she asked the concubines to copy Buddhist scriptures for the Empress Dowager.
On May 23, the Empress Dowager passed away at the age of 64.
The funeral arrangements for the Empress Dowager began again. Three days later, on May 26th, Consort Nian's son, Fu Pei, died young. Because the Empress Dowager's funeral came first, Fu Pei's funeral could only be held simply. Consort Nian fainted immediately, her face looking even paler.
Given that it was summer, there were concerns that the Empress Dowager's body would decompose, so her body was kept in Cining Palace for only seven days before being sent to the mausoleum.
With all this happening this year, the Emperor has no interest in going to the Yuanmingyuan Garden to escape the summer heat. Consorts like Fang Nanxi have no choice but to stay in the Forbidden City. Fortunately, Fang Nanxi is a Noble Consort, and with her five children, there is enough ice for her.
The Emperor issued an edict exempting the candidates from the imperial concubine selection process, allowing them to marry freely after the national mourning period. He said he wanted to observe three years of mourning for the late Emperor and his birth mother.
After Fu Pei's death, Consort Nian's complexion remained poor. She had been observing mourning for the late Emperor and Empress Dowager, and her health had not been properly restored.
Fang Nanxi had studied medicine, and seeing Consort Nian's condition, she understood that Consort Nian probably wouldn't live much longer and was currently only being kept alive by medicinal herbs.
Since the Emperor ascended the throne, he has not issued an edict to appoint Hongxu as the Crown Prince. Hongxu is still the Crown Prince appointed by the late Emperor. Fang Nanxi is unaware of the Emperor's plans.
However, the emperor did not issue an edict, which led some princes to have ulterior motives, such as Hongshi, Hongli, and Hongzhou. Hongzhou was not raised by Niohuru Gege, but was strictly raised by Geng Gege, so he was still doing alright.
Hongxi and Hongchen look alike, making it virtually impossible for them to inherit the throne. Naturally, the two are on Hongxu's side.
Hongshi is the emperor's eldest son. Li was granted the title of Consort, but she was always dissatisfied. Nian and Fang were also Consorts of the same rank, but they were granted the title of Noble Consort. She had been with the emperor the longest and was the first Consort of the Emperor, but now she was only a Consort.
Therefore, Consort Qi wanted her son to seize the throne. If she became Empress Dowager, everyone would have to watch their step. The Third Prince, Hongshi, was not intelligent and listened to Consort Qi. In addition, Consort Qi kept mentioning that Hongshi was the eldest son.
Gradually, Hongshi began to get arrogant, acting like a superior elder brother, instructing his younger brothers, and then secretly trying to win over the ministers.
But the ministers were not fools. Although Hongshi was the eldest son, he was not intelligent. Hongxu was valued by the late emperor and was also smart. By all accounts, Hongxu had a better chance.
The Emperor saw through Hongshi's little tricks and was displeased. He did not want to establish a crown prince simply because he did not want his sons to fight for power, and the affairs of the previous dynasty were unstable.
Fang Nanxi instructed Hongxu to keep a low profile, pay close attention to the home front, and avoid doing anything irreversible during the national mourning period.
"Mother, don't worry, I know. The primary wife is still young. I've heard you mention that it's best for her to get pregnant after she turns eighteen. I've been keeping that in mind," Hongxu nodded and said.
Fang Nanxi had always trusted Hongxu. Hongxu had his own ideas and was better at strategy than Fang Nanxi. Then Fang Nanxi said, "Fang family, you should be careful and not let them hold you back. If anything goes wrong, don't worry about your mother. Your mother will always stand by your side."
Now that the Fang family is wealthy and powerful, and with her as a concubine, it's inevitable that people worry that the Fang family might become complacent and do something reckless. Fang Nanxi doesn't want that to happen. Whether the Fang family is powerful or not is no longer important to her, but she can't let Hongxu down.
When Hongxu heard his mother say this, his face lit up with a smile, and he said, "Don't worry, Mother, I understand."
When Hongxi, Hongchen, Honghan, and Hongnuan returned from their classes at the Imperial Study, Fang Nanxi invited the five children to stay for dinner.
Hongnuan lived in Chengqian Palace with Fang Nanxi, while the princes lived in the Princes' Residence. As a twin, the Emperor specially arranged for Hongnuan to study with the princes. Since Hongnuan was in this position, the other second princess, Jingyue, would naturally also go to the Imperial Study to study.
Some ministers from the previous dynasty even submitted memorials impeaching the emperor over this matter, but unfortunately the emperor simply ignored them.
In Xianfu Palace, Consort Xi looked at Hongli. Hongli was now twelve years old and his health had improved a lot. He no longer fell ill for months at a time.
Hongli had his own thoughts. Now that his father was the emperor, who wouldn't want to become the future emperor? Hongli thought that Hongxu had a natural ally, so he began to win over Hongzhou.
“Eighth Brother is simple-minded, so it’s not too surprising,” Hongli said calmly.
"The Emperor hasn't named a Crown Prince, which means he's not so satisfied with Hongxu. Hongli, you need to perform well, because your mother's future good days depend on you," Consort Xi said.
“Back then, Consort Yu had a minor conflict with Mother. Hongxi and Hongchen stood behind Hongxu. Hongzhou is about your age and has an ordinary relationship with Hongxu, so he is a good person to win over,” Consort Xi analyzed for Hongli.
"Your subject understands." Hongli nodded.