jdhmnovel Chapter 261 Fang Nanxi's Transmigration to the Qing Dynasty 15
Chapter 261 Fang Nanxi's Transmigration to the Qing Dynasty 15
In the first month of the 48th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, the snow in the capital had not yet melted. The cold wind blew across the red walls of the Forbidden City, carrying away the dust of the old year, but it could not take away the disputes in the court.
The ministers of the previous dynasty submitted memorials one after another, earnestly requesting the emperor to establish a crown prince as soon as possible. At this time, the emperor remembered the good qualities of Yinreng. If it were Yinreng, these ministers would not have kept pressuring him to establish a crown prince.
Amid this rapidly changing situation, the emperor decided to reintroduce Yinreng as a shield against various forces.
Subsequently, the emperor began to show frequent concern for Yinreng, intentionally or unintentionally signaling to his ministers that he wanted to reinstate the deposed crown prince.
In mid-January, the Emperor issued an edict ordering his ministers to recommend a candidate for Crown Prince. This edict was like a bombshell, causing a huge uproar in the court and posing an even greater challenge for the Fourth Prince.
As a member of the Crown Prince's faction, the Fourth Prince knew the matter was thorny and returned to his residence in distress. Thinking that he hadn't seen the Fourth Prince for a long time, he decided to go to Shaoguang Courtyard to relax his tense nerves.
At present, Shaoguang Courtyard holds an extremely high position in the mansion. Of the four princes in the mansion, three reside in Shaoguang Courtyard. Whenever the servants go out, they feel immensely honored to mention that they are from Shaoguang Courtyard.
Fang Nanxi was playing with the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince in the inner room. The two children looked extremely alike, with seven or eight parts resembling the Fourth Prince in their eyes and brows. The Fourth Prince was also by his mother's side, watching his younger brothers with curiosity.
"Mother, why is my little brother so small?" the Fourth Prince asked in a childish voice, blinking his big, watery eyes.
Fang Nanxi smiled and patted the Fourth Prince's head, patiently explaining, "Children are all like this. When you were little, you were even smaller than your brothers."
"Why are all the younger brothers sleeping?" the Fourth Prince asked, his little face full of confusion.
"Hahaha, you used to be like that too. Sleeping more helps you grow up faster." Fang Nanxi replied with a smile. The mother and son exchanged questions and answers, creating a warm and harmonious atmosphere.
When the Fourth Prince entered Shaoguang Courtyard, this was the scene he saw. He had never received his mother's love since childhood, and the scene before him stirred up a wave of emotions within him, as if he had found a long-lost warmth.
"What are you saying?" Fourth Master's voice came.
Hearing the voice, Fang Nanxi turned around and saw it was Fourth Master. She quickly stood up and bowed. Fourth Master walked over quickly and personally helped Fang Nanxi up. After so many years together, Fang Nanxi had already gained a certain place in his heart.
"Why did you suddenly come to Shaoguang Courtyard, Your Highness? I was just teasing the Fourth Prince," Fang Nanxi said softly, her voice as gentle as a spring breeze, making the Fourth Prince feel particularly comfortable.
Every time the Fourth Prince came to Shaoguang Courtyard, he could feel a unique tranquility and comfort. Here, he could temporarily forget the disputes in the court and be an ordinary father and husband.
The Fourth Prince played with the Fourth Prince, and also teased the Fifth and Sixth Princes, spending a pleasant evening in laughter and joy.
The next day, the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, was the day to pay respects to the main courtyard.
On the third day, Fang Nanxi carefully instructed the wet nurse, Qiu Shuang, and Qiu Zhu to take good care of the three princes. After a quick wash, she dressed in a simple qipao and walked lightly to the main courtyard.
When Fang Nanxi arrived, it wasn't early; apart from Consort Li, all the other princesses were already there. Upon seeing Fang Nanxi enter, the princesses all rose and bowed. Fang Nanxi nodded slightly in acknowledgment, then sat down in the first chair on the right.
Sitting diagonally opposite was Consort Song. Ever since the death of her daughter in the 45th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, she had devoted herself to vegetarianism and Buddhist chanting, her whole being like a withered flower, devoid of vitality. In her daily life, apart from copying Buddhist scriptures, she cared nothing for anything else in the household, even more so than the Fujin (the wife of the Kangxi Emperor).
Princess An sat to the left of Princess Song, head bowed, silent. Princess An had long since fallen out of favor, and her days in the mansion were increasingly desolate, yet she had been unable to bear a child.
Fang Nanxi discovered last year that the person who caused the original owner's illness and death was Chun Tao, Li's personal maid, and it was highly likely that Li was the one behind it.
As the mistress of the inner palace, the fact that the Fujin (princess's wife) was indifferent to the life and death of the princesses in the mansion is not necessarily a good thing.
When the case was discovered, she was pregnant with twins and had difficulty moving around. In addition, there was no direct evidence. Even if there were evidence, the Fourth Prince might not punish a concubine for the sake of a secondary consort, since Lady Li was the birth mother of the Third Prince.
After weighing the options, Fang Nanxi decided to endure for the time being and wait for the right opportunity to teach Li a lesson, so that she could also experience what it was like to be sick and unable to receive treatment from the imperial physician.
As Fang Nanxi was pondering this, she overheard Princess Niohuru and Princess Geng chatting. It seemed the two had formed an alliance. After all, they had entered the manor together, were of similar age, and naturally had many things in common.
Consort Li arrived at the main courtyard just in time. As soon as she entered, her gaze swept over Fang Nanxi like a venomous snake, her eyes filled with jealousy. Then, she sat down in a chair on the left. Upon seeing this, everyone rose and bowed.
Consort Li paused deliberately for a moment before feigning surprise and saying, "Sisters, please get up quickly. Look at my memory, how could I forget that you are still bowing? Please get up quickly."
"Thank you, Consort." Everyone said in unison.
Li looked at Fang Nanxi with disdain and said provocatively, "A concubine is a concubine, not someone who can be compared to someone who has given birth to a few princes."
Fang Nanxi secretly plotted how to deal with Li Shi in the future, but her face was full of respectful smiles as she said, "What the concubine says is true, but in this mansion, only the Fourth Prince and the primary wife can make decisions. The inner courtyard has always been managed by the primary wife. Does the concubine have a problem with the primary wife's management?"
"How dare you! Fang Shi, you are just a lowly concubine, how dare you speak to a secondary consort like that..." Li Shi hated it most when others used the position of primary consort to suppress her. When Fang Nanxi said this, she was immediately enraged and her face turned red.
"Sisters, what are you saying?" Just then, the Fujin came out from the inner room.
"Greetings to the Princess Consort, may the Princess Consort be blessed." Everyone quickly rose and bowed.
"Please sit down," the princess said calmly.
Fang Nanxi glanced at the Fujin and saw that she looked calm, but she knew in her heart that the Fujin could not have missed the conversation just now.
"We just chatted casually," An Gege quickly interjected, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere.
Li fell silent, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward. Seeing this, Princess Niohuru cleverly took over the conversation: "Yes, I was just talking to my sisters about the rouge we received a few days ago."
Niohuru Gege sought refuge with the Fujin (principal wife), and the two were both under the Manchu banner system. Niohuru Gege was also adept at reading people and often tried to please the Fujin, thus gaining her protection.
The princess consort didn't ask any further questions; she was overwhelmed with recent troubles. Her maternal family, the Ulanara clan, had sent someone two days ago to ask for a loan to pay off her elder brother's debt of five thousand taels of silver.
However, the household's silver reserves were almost depleted, leaving them with no money to spare, which greatly worried the Fujin (princess).
As was customary, the Fujin inquired about the household's offspring and mentioned that the eldest princess was approaching marriageable age, and it was time to choose a husband for her.
The marriage of the eldest princess had little to do with Fang Nanxi. She remembered that the eldest princess would marry in the fifty-first year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, and her husband's family was in the capital. It was just a pity that the eldest princess was short-lived and passed away in the fifty-sixth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign.
After saying this, the Princess Consort dismissed everyone. Granny Gui helped her back to her inner room and sat her down on the couch. Granny Gui looked at the Princess Consort with concern and softly comforted her, "Is the Princess Consort troubled by the Master's affairs?"
“Granny knows me best. My eldest brother is such a worry. If he could just stick to his job and follow the master’s orders, none of this would have happened.” The princess sighed wearily, her eyes full of helplessness.
Her sister-in-law came to see her every few days, even though she knew that her status in the mansion had declined significantly since Honghui's death, she still made her clean up his messes.
"Alright, no matter what, he's still my elder brother. Granny, go and get five thousand taels of my dowry and send it to my sister-in-law." After thinking for a moment, the Fujin finally made her decision.