I got so caught up in work this week that I forgot to upload this chapter. Sorry for the delay!
Translator: Jalyss
Editor: Odyssey
On the occasions where the concubines gather together, Yun Xiu had always been the one who dominated the crowd.
Her clothes were bright and exquisite. Even if her position was limited and she couldn’t compare with the noble consorts and the imperial noble consort, she would be the centre of attention.
It wasn’t just Emperor Kangxi who often praised her for her good looks, but also the Empress Dowager liked and praised Consort Yi. The others could only be jealous.
But today, she combed her hair into something simple, wore a plain emerald silver hairpin, and matched it with an apricot white outfit. She was completely different from before.
Wet Nurse Dong’s expression remained unchanged. Her eyes flashed with distress. Consort must have been frightened by the dream yesterday and was not in the mood to dress up today. When they returned to Yikun Palace, Consort should catch up on sleep.
……
Winter was over. Spring was here and March was still cold.
Because Yun Xiu was pregnant, they didn’t dare to be careless. The servants took out a moderately thick cloak from the cabinet, which was also a warm white colour.
Rui Zhu asked the small kitchen to cook a bowl of clear porridge. Half an hour after eating, Yun Xiu looked at the slightly bright sky and raised her chin slightly. “Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Noble Lady Le was already waiting in the front hall. When she saw Yun Xiu, she came over to greet her. “Greetings to Consort Yi.”
When she saw that Yun Xiu didn’t wear makeup, was wearing apricot white clothing, and had slight bags under her eyes, she paused for a moment. Her face was full of worry. “Last night, did older sister not sleep well? Should the imperial physician come and take a look? I still have some Chinese eaglewood…”
There was a lot of movement in the main hall.
Yun Xiu’s heart warmed up and she held her hand. “It’s fine. It was just a nightmare.”
Noble Lady Le, Mrs. Guo Luoluo, was Yun Xiu’s younger sister. Her name was Yun Shu and they had been close since childhood.
As soon as Yun Xiu entered the palace, she was promoted from a noble lady to imperial concubine. Kangxi favoured her immensely, but she hadn’t conceived for two entire years, so there was a lot of gossip surrounding her.
At that time, Imperial Concubine Yi couldn’t support herself, so her father hardened his heart and said that he would pick a girl from the clan to help her in the palace. They did not expect for Yun Shu to volunteer to enter the palace for her older sister, saying that if she gave birth to a prince and gave him to her older sister to raise, it would solve this problem.
Yun Xiu couldn’t stop her, so she could only ask Kangxi to let Yun Shu live in Yikun Palace so that the two could look after each other.
Maybe her younger sister really brought good luck. Yun Shu got pregnant after being favoured only once, and Yun Xiu received the good news right after.
Yun Shu gave birth to the fourth princess, Yi’erha. A few months later, Yun Xiu gave birth to the fifth prince, Yinqi, who was raised by the empress dowager.
Yun Xiu knew that Yun Shu was there for her sincerely and she didn’t care about being a noble lady.
The one she owed the most was this younger sister!
She thought of Noble Lady Le, who was imprisoned by her in her dream. She thought of the iron-willed, world-famous Ocean Clam Princess, Yi’erha, who was sent off to marry a Khalkha in Mongolia by herself and who had only gained that title many years later. Yun Xiu closed her eyes and suppressed the sour feeling in her heart. She asked:
“Did Yi’erha sleep well?”
Was her sleep disturbed that night?
Noble Lady Le smiled and said, “Older sister, don’t worry. That girl sleeps soundly, unlike us adults, who sleep lightly…”
Because a mere concubine was not qualified to raise a child, when Yi’erha was born, she was raised by Yun Xiu, who was an imperial concubine, and was called Yikun Palace’s Manchu Princess.
Noble Lady Le also lived in Yikun Palace, so the mother and daughter met every day and had a deep relationship. It was no different from ordinary families.
It was unlike Yanxi Palace. If Noble Lady Liang wanted to see the eighth prince, she still needed Consort Hui’s approval. The last time she was able to see him was 5 days ago and it was considered an act of kindness on Consort Hui’s part.
“That’s good.” Yun Xiu frowned.
Her eye-catching beauty, which gave off a fresh feeling, shocked Noble Lady Le. She sighed in her heart and the doubts cleared her mind.
She felt that something was wrong with her older sister today, but she couldn’t tell what it was. Maybe she was thinking too much.
***
Apart from Consort Yi and Noble Lady Le, there were no other young masters living in Yikun Palace.
In private, Yun Shu called Yun Xiu older sister Yun Xiu. When they were in public, she called her Consort politely.
The temperature at the beginning of March was indeed chilly. Yun Xiu supported Wet Nurse Dong’s hand and walked forward steadily. When they arrived at the front yard, Noble Lady Le was surprised for a moment. “Consort did not use a sedan chair?”
When traveling, concubines and above could ride in sedan chairs, but noble ladies had no such qualifications and could only pay their respects on foot.
Yun Xiu rubbed her lower abdomen and looked at the red walls and blue tiles around her. “I didn’t sleep well yesterday, so I wanted to walk more to stay awake.”
Noble Lady Le understood. She pursed her lips in worry and stopped asking further questions.
……
Yikun Palace was located to the west of Kunning Palace. Chengqian Palace was just opposite to it. It was the residence of Imperial Noble Consort Mrs. Tongjia, and also the place where the palace power belonged.
Since the death of Empress Xiaozhao, Mrs. Tongjia was in charge of the harem as a noble consort, and was later promoted to imperial noble consort. She was the real first.
It was just that, since entering the palace, she had nothing to do. Even drinking tonics didn’t help.
Since she didn’t think she was destined to be a mother, the imperial noble consort adopted the fourth prince, Yinzhen, from Noble Lady Wuya back then. She raised him with great care, like he was a pearl in her eyes. Even Kangxi praised her for her motherly heart.
However, to everyone’s surprise, when the fourth prince was five years old, the imperial noble consort became pregnant!
Up until now, she had been pregnant for six months. She was only waiting for the good news to arrive.
Not only was the harem shaken, but it also caused instability in the previous dynasty.
Mrs. Tongjia was from the emperor’s mother’s family. The imperial noble consort was the niece of Empress Xiaokangzhang, and was the emperor’s cousin… If this child was a prince, it would be amazing!
In terms of blood relations, it was not worse than Prince Yinreng.
The imperial noble consort was ecstatic and regarded the child in her womb as a treasure. She even handed over the palace power to Noble Consort Niu Gulu to assist her, which was a highly praised move by the empress dowager.
This pregnancy even overshadowed the light of the other concubines and attracted everyone’s attention. It allowed Yun Xiu to raise her baby with peace of mind, and she managed to avoid being a target of everyone else’s jealousy.
But under the calm, there was an undercurrent of unrest. There were signs of storms to come.
Yun Xiu was still able to comfortably rank as one of the four consorts. In addition to Kangxi’s love and favour, her abilities and vision were not lacking.
After the imperial noble consort became pregnant, Yun Xiu was afraid that the unsettling undercurrents would affect Yikun Palace and Yinqi. She lived in a secluded place, and she didn’t go out and mingle as much. In private, she was still thinking about how she would respond if Mrs. Tongjia gave birth to a prince and took away the emperor’s attention.
After the imperial noble consort gave birth, it would be Yun Xiu’s turn!
But now—
Yun Xiu didn’t care at all.
In the dream, the thing she cared the most about was the future of herself and her children. As for the fate of others, their fates were just mentioned in passing.
She only knew that the imperial noble consort gave birth to a princess, but she didn’t quite know when the little princess died or when the imperial noble consort died of illness.
Yun Xiu also lost the desire to inquire.
She thought aimlessly that if Mrs. Tongjia, who was posthumously named Empress Xiaoyi, would be buried with the imperial tomb, she would at most be buried in the consort’s tomb.
… She was envious, after all.
However, what was the difference between her and Empress Xiaoyi? In the end, dust turned to dust, and ashes turned to ashes.
When she recalled how cautious she was during this period of time, she found it hilarious.
Yun Xiu lost her train of thought. With a small smile in her eyes, she entered Chengqian Palace calmly with her arms on her waist.
She and Noble Lady Le entered a little later. In the main hall, the imperial noble consort had already occupied the seat of honour. Only the noble consort stool with an embroidered cover was empty. The other 3 consorts were already there.
Yun Xiu glanced at them from the corner of her eye, and found that the women’s clothing had their strong points.
Imperial Concubine An, Imperial Concubine Duan, Imperial Concubine Xi, Imperial Concubine Jing who occupied the first place. There were also two concubines, Concubine Hesheli and Concubine Bo’erjijite who were well-dressed. However, it was herself who was surprisingly elegant.
The imperial noble consort wore a beautiful dark brown qipao. The phoenix hairpin in her hair looked as if it was about to fly. She looked so graceful and beautiful with a faint smile on her face.
If one looked carefully, one could find that her body was a bit bloated, and her complexion was no better than before. She must have covered it up with a thin layer of makeup.
Her hands were resting on her lower abdomen in a protective posture. She would not leave it for a moment.
When Yun Xiu performed the ancient woman’s gesture of paying her respects, the main hall suddenly fell silent.
The imperial noble consort was stunned. The smile on the corner of her mouth flattened before quickly returning to her original state. She said softly, “It’s fine. Quickly, sit down.”
Consort Hui wore a light blue palace attire. Her appearance was delicate. When she saw Yun Xiu, she was surprised for a moment. Then, she smiled kindly and called out “Younger Sister Consort Yi”.
Yun Xiu paid her respects to the three consorts and sat below Consort Hui, but above Consort De.
Consort Rong and Consort Hui were the same age, twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old. She was much prettier than Consort Hui, but appeared to be decrepit and exhausted for no reason – in her early years, she had 4 sons who died young. Only the third prince and the second princess survived. It was a great blow to her. In recent years, she had gradually lost favour and devoted herself wholeheartedly to her son.
She glanced at Yun Xiu, who was dressed in apricot white, with a strange expression on her face. She smiled slightly and turned her head towards Consort De. “It is such a coincidence that Younger Sister Consort De and Younger Sister Consort Yi have a good understanding and both wore apricot white. The pattern is even the same.”
Seniority in the palace was not according to age, but according to rank. The order of the four consorts was Consort Hui, Consort Yi, Consort De, and finally Consort Rong. She should have addressed Consort Yi and Consort De as older sister, but she always called them younger sister.
What Yun Xiu cared about was being pampered, so she didn’t care about these trivialities with Consort Rong. However, Consort De was born to a lower class family. She never had confidence in her seniority. When Consort Rong called her younger sister, she never refuted it.
Consort De’s smile froze when she heard Consort Rong’s words.
Everyone in the harem knew that Consort De liked elegance and Consort Yi liked beauty. But today, the two overlapped.
Consort De was also dressed in apricot white today with a gentle smile on her face, but because of the premature death of her young princess, and her immediate pregnancy after, she was far less beautiful than before.
Consort De had put on a thick layer of powder. When compared to Consort Yi, who showed her plain face…
Consort Yi was actually even better!
No, it was more like she was mere dust.
Everyone knew that Consort Yi looked good, but they didn’t know that when she dressed plainly without makeup, she had a special style.
The bright colours and cold aura were intertwined. Because of her drowsiness, there was a sense of laziness to her expression, which made people stunned.
She was almost five months pregnant, but she didn’t have spots, nor did she gain weight…
Her eyes showed some signs of dark circles causing her to look slightly haggard, but it didn’t detract from her appearance.
At this time, they were unable to deal with their jealousy.
Dark eyes flitted between Yun Xiu and Consort De. The imperial noble consort covered her lips with her hand. Consort Hui almost laughed out loud.
Did Consort Yi do this on purpose?
……
The heavens only knew that Yun Xiu really didn’t do it on purpose.
Because of the impact of her dream, she had this feeling in her heart. She didn’t want to compete with the consorts, so she casually pointed to a piece of clothing. She didn’t expect that she would match with Consort De.
Before Yun Xiu could speak, Consort De smiled gently, and said softly, “What do you mean that we have a good understanding? Older Sister Consort Yi must have had a nightmare last night and therefore didn’t have much thought of dressing up. Why don’t you invite a shaman into the imperial palace to pray for good fortune? Then, you can sleep peacefully…”
Yesterday, Yikun Palace was lit in the middle of the night. All the well-informed concubines knew about it. They all understood. Nobody took it seriously. When a concubine was pregnant, her body underwent many changes, and there were many examples of waking up in the middle of the night.
Consort De went so far as to reveal this matter to the public. She even said that she would invite a shaman to pray for good fortune.
Praying for good fortune? She was implying that Consort Yi was haunted by an evil spirit and that she wanted to ask someone to exorcise the evil spirit.
But on the surface, she seemed like she was saying this for the good of Consort Yi. She showed that she cared and nobody could find a single fault.
As soon as Consort De opened her mouth, the corners of Imperial Noble Consort’s lips dropped.
Mrs. Tongjia raised her hand. Just as she was about to change the subject, Yun Xiu raised her eyebrows and stared straight at Consort De. She shot her a cold look and said, “If you don’t want to be compared to me, then just say it outright. What kind of excuse is praying for good fortune? You shouldn’t reach the point where you are too tired and you panic!”
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