Favoured Consort Goes on Strike Every Day: Chapter 20

Translator: Jalyss

Editor: Odyssey

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Chapter 20 

The emperor glanced around and met the eyes of the crown prince.  

Both father and son had the same phoenix eyes. One was uncomfortable while the other was evasive. 

It was Kangxi who was uncomfortable and the crown prince who was evasive.  

The crown prince never thought that in private, imperial father and Consort Yi got along like that. So it was like this! 

He was full of disbelief. It took him a while to react, then he muttered in his heart, ‘what did Little Five do wrong? For imperial father to be so disgusted by him!’ 

Yinzhen’s psychological activities were exactly the same as his second older brother’s. Yinqi’s face was blank, and slowly, he seemed a little aggrieved.  

In the hall, there was a wordless silence. 

Liang Jiugong looked around, smiled dryly, quickly retracted his neck, and tiptoed to the corner. Then, he wiped off his cold sweat, wishing he had never come. 

Now, the majesty of the emperor had been shattered to pieces in front of the princes…  

Who was to blame? There was no one to blame! 

Kangxi stared at his sons, coughed, and remained expressionless for a while.  

In the end, it was he who broke the silence first, with a stern face, ready to take the crown prince’s knife. “Baocheng, did you ask the masters for leave? You even dragged your fourth younger to Yikun Palace. You’ve abandoned your studies and went out for fun. Is that behaviour befitting a crown prince?” 

The crown prince opened his mouth and suddenly felt that he was wronged!  

He puffed up his cheeks slightly, arched his hands, and said solemnly, “Answering imperial father, the chief master said that today I will be on vacation for half a day. Not only your son, but also eldest brother and third younger brother. Besides, your son brought his fourth younger brother here to teach fifth younger brother Chinese. We did not come here just for fun.” 

Kangxi: “…”  

He put his hand to his lips, coughed again, and his complexion was unusually red. 

He suddenly remembered that there was such a thing! There was some paperwork in his study room, and he readily approved it.  

Kangxi’s words of reprimand stuck in his throat. He wanted to praise the crown prince but couldn’t, so he subconsciously looked at Yun Xiu. 

Consort Yi covered her mouth and smiled silently. It was not an exaggeration to say she was close to uncontrollably laughing. Wet Nurse Dong supported her, frightened. She was afraid that something might happen to Yun Xiu’s stomach. 

Consort, it is disrespectful to laugh at the emperor!  

Kangxi’s face darkened instantly. 

At this moment, Little Five’s accusing voice was like the sound of heaven, saving his imperial father and his soon-to-be-suffering mother. 

Yinqi opened his round eyes, angry and extremely wronged. “Imperial Father, what do you mean ‘Little Five is gone’? You despise me, and you only care about mother!” 

Because Little Five moved to Yikun Palace and Kangxi often “came uninvited” because of Yun Xiu, the number of times the father and son met greatly increased. The image of Imperial Father in Yinqi’s heart became taller and clearer, and the awe of Kangxi gradually turned into closeness. 

For example, normally, the little kid would never dare to complain.  

Everyone present was taken aback. The crown prince looked at Yinqi in surprise. Did the fifth younger brother do this unintentionally, or was it deliberate? 

…It should be unintentional, Little Five was not that clever.  

The little crown prince sighed secretly, and thought regretfully that imperial father’s deflated situation was a rare occurrence. It was gone so fast! 

The fourth prince also looked at Yinqi in surprise. Not only was he surprised, but there was envy hidden in his eyes.  

With a favoured mother like Consort Yi, the fifth prince dared to speak and act in such a manner. He was not afraid of the sky and the earth or imperial father blaming him. And his own mother… Recalling this, Yinzhen felt sad in his heart. 

Hearing Yinqi’s accusation, Kangxi’s heart was relieved. His complexion improved a lot, and he was ready to give Little Five a good reward when he returned.  

What a good boy. He was not as vile as his mother, who dared to make fun of him! 

“We are wrong. Your imperial father doesn’t only care about your mother.” Facing Yinqi’s increasingly aggrieved gaze, Kangxi felt a little guilty.  

He glanced at Yun Xiu and saw that she was holding her belly, as if she was watching a scene. She had curved eyebrows and a smiling face. He was even angrier. 

Look at her! She was even more arrogant! She knew that he would come, but she still kept Yinqi in the main hall. She also attracted Baocheng and Yinzhen, making it hard for him to stop halfway. His prestige plummeted. 

Kangxi explained it to Yinqi nicely, but he had nothing to do with Yun Xiu in his heart.  

He wanted to teach her a lesson, but when he looked at the harem, who could suit him better than Xiuxiu? 

He could only continue to pamper her willingly. 

*** 

Yanxi Palace.  

Consort Hui took out a handkerchief. While wiping the forehead of the sweaty eldest prince, she scolded him. “The weather is getting hotter and the sun is out for longer. You can practice riding and shooting, but you have to be careful! If your skin peels off after being exposed to the sun, is it not your mother who will be heartbroken?” 

At the age of twelve, Yinti was already half a head taller than Consort Hui. At this time, he lowered his head obediently and let Consort Hui scold him.  

“Okay, let’s go to the inner room to take a bath and freshen up, so as not to catch a cold…” Consort Hui stopped wiping Yinti and gave him a push. “The hot water is ready. Go quickly.” 

Yinti smiled, responded loudly, and walked away.  

When he walked outside the curtain, his footsteps stopped. He turned his head, his expression slightly confused. “Mother, I asked Xiao Xizi to find out, and he just said that the crown prince took the fourth prince to Yikun Palace.” 

The master gave half a day off, but the crown prince went to Yikun Palace?  

Consort Hui’s expression froze. Yanxi Palace had not received any news, but Yinti had already said so, so it must be accurate. 

How could this be?! The crown prince and Consort Yi had never met each other. Could something have happened that she didn’t know about?  

Consort Hui suppressed her smile. She suddenly felt a sense of uneasiness and quickly asked her son, “Why did the crown prince do such a thing?” 

“I don’t know.” Yinti pouted, thought for a long time, and ended up guessing, “Didn’t fifth younger brother move to Yikun Palace? He should be looking for fifth younger brother.” 

As he said that, Yinti’s tone became more determined, revealing a look of disgust. “That’s right! The crown prince always ran to the Cining Palace before, saying that he was teaching Yinqi Chinese. That made father emperor and the revered elder very happy. Just to receive benefits, he will pretend to be a good older brother who cares for his younger brother…” 

He was still pretending. How old was he? What a hypocrite.  

Consort Hui listened. “You said the crown prince often goes to look for the fifth prince?”  

“Exactly.” 

“At such a young age, his scheming is so strong. It is not enough to win the fourth prince, but also the fifth prince.” Consort Hui muttered something in a low voice, squinted her eyes, and suddenly asked Yinti, “How are your relationships with your younger brothers?” 

Yinti thought for a while. “The relationship with the third and fourth younger brothers is not bad, but I am not that close with fifth younger brother.” 

This was actually expected. Yinzhi looked timid, but Yinzhen followed the crown prince. He disdained dealing with people who were related to the crown prince.  

As for Yinqi, he was raised by the empress dowager since he was a child, and he was not yet old enough to go study. Except for the palace banquet, he, the eldest brother, had only seen Yinqi a few times! 

How could Consort Hui fail to hear her son’s insincere words? 

She took a few steps forward, poked Yinti’s forehead fiercely, and said bitterly, “Can’t you learn from the crown prince and act like a brother and friend? It’s fine not to worry about the third and fourth prince, but Little Five is Consort Yi’s child – Little Five is not a threat, but Consort Yi is your father emperor’s favourite!” 

After taking a breath, Consort Hui continued, “Behind Consort Yi, there is the Guo Luoluo family who is rooted in the army. If Little Five is drawn over by the crown prince and Consort Yi pillow talks the emperor… Think about the consequences.” 

Yinti didn’t take it seriously at first, but gradually changed his expression and became serious. 

“Fortunately, my son found out early enough.” Consort Hui sighed thoughtfully, and then told Yinti, “Keep an eye on the prince carefully, and don’t neglect Yinqi. Mother doesn’t usually have much interaction with Consort Yi, but it seems that has to change now…” 

*** 

Since Madam Tong Guowei left, although the grounding in Chengqian Palace had not been lifted, the condition of the imperial noble consort was getting better day by day.  

Well, that was not necessarily true. It was two extremes compared to before. 

In the past, she suffered from sickness and would throw up whatever she ate, making her complexion sallow and thin. Now that she was getting better, her complexion was getting rosier. The symptoms of her sickness had completely disappeared, her appetite had suddenly increased, and her meals were delicious. 

Within a few days, the imperial noble consort grew flesh. Not to mention her getting plumper, even her face had gradually changed back to being beautiful. It was not an exaggeration to say she was radiant. 

This change made the servants rejoice, and Wet Nurse Zhen finally sighed in relief. After Imperial Physician Liu saw it, he was not very optimistic.  

The imperial noble consort’s condition was very sudden. It was as if she was supported by a breath of joy. Like a castle in the air, it would collapse with a slight push, and would fall when it really mattered. 

To describe it in two words, one was “strange” and the other was “empty”.  

And eating too much was not a good thing! 

Every time he took her pulse, Imperial Physician Liu wanted to express his hidden worries, but hesitated for a moment. He finally swallowed it back.  

Last time, he tactfully advised the imperial noble consort not to overeat, but her cold eyes made him sweat profusely. 

If he was not sent to the palace by Madam Tong, and he was still useful, Imperial Physician Liu had no doubt that his fate would be decided here. 

The imperial noble consort’s foetus was weak, which must be due to some strong drugs. While Imperial Physician Liu smiled wryly, he was quite upset in his heart. He tried to persuade her multiple times, but the imperial noble consort insisted on going her own way. What else could he do?! 

Now, it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble. It was better to have a longer life. 

… 

Not long after, the imperial noble consort’s rest was over, and Consort De’s confinement was also finished. 

The empress dowager seemed to be relieved, and quickly transferred the palace power back to Chengqian Palace. The imperial noble consort was eight months pregnant, so she declined to accept the appointment, but the empress dowager really did not want to handle palace affairs. The imperial noble consort had no choice but to split the palace affairs into several parts and hand them over to her confidants.  

The fifth prince, Yinqi, moved back to Cining Palace and lived with the fourth prince, Yinzhen. They got along very well. 

“It’s come to this point and she still refuses to share power.” Consort De laughed lightly. She was too forceful. In an instant, the rose petals scattered all over the ground in a mess. 

… 

Rumours suddenly spread in the palace. The eunuchs and maids all said in private that the emperor was about to choose an empress! The most likely candidate was the imperial noble consort. 

The imperial noble consort was in the same position as the deputy empress, and she was about to give birth again. Regarding the matter of becoming the empress, the vast majority of people firmly believed that it would be the imperial noble consort, so their attitude towards Chengqian Palace became increasingly more respectful. 

This was especially true for the people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. No matter which department they were, they were extremely flattering, wishing to honour the imperial noble consort as an elder.  

The rumours spread in private at first, but when the imperial noble consort found out, she couldn’t hold back anymore. 

Fortunately, the affairs in the south were complicated, and the emperor was busy regaining the lost ground, so he didn’t notice it at all. After the imperial noble consort was frightened, she became ruthless. She used thunderous means to severely punish the disgruntled palace servants. Gradually, the storm dissipated.  

She sent people to investigate the source of the rumours and took special care of Yonghe Palace, but she still couldn’t figure out the cause and had to give up. 

Soon it was the fifth of May.  

During the Dragon Boat Festival, the Forbidden City would welcome the summer and get rid of bad luck. In the harem, almost every concubine wore new clothes. 

The Imperial Household Department ushered in the busiest time of the year. The damaged part of the palace had to be repaired, the missing utensils had to be replenished, and the sedan chairs and guards of honour for the ladies were all replaced with new ones. 

There would be a “rice dumpling banquet” at noon today. After that, they would follow the emperor to Xiyuan to enjoy the dragon boat. The imperial noble consort got up early and took 2 hours to dress. Then, with Wet Nurse Zhen’s support, went over the imperial noble consort’s ceremonial guard, which was carefully prepared by the Imperial Household Department. 

The sky was clear. The sun was shining brightly. The phoenix flag fluttered on the sedan chair. Because the sun was too glaring, the imperial noble consort couldn’t see clearly. She just took a quick glance and smiled with satisfaction. “It’s much more beautiful than before, they have heart.”  

Wet Nurse Zhen helped her into the sedan chair, forced a smile, and suppressed her worries, “Imperial Noble Consort…” 

The imperial noble consort was getting older. She should have stayed in the bedroom at ease like Consort Yi. She shouldn’t be here! If there was an accident, what should she do?  

“Don’t worry, I know it well.” The imperial noble consort patted her hand, and said calmly, “Consort De has gone. We should go…”  

The unfinished words disappeared in the wind. 

*** 

The Dumpling Banquet was different from the family banquet. It was a rare feast for the emperor and his ministers to enjoy together.  

When the guard of honour of the imperial noble consort arrived, it so happened that Tong Guowei and Ming Zhu were walking together and were about to step into the threshold of the main hall. 

There were whispers. Ming Zhu seemed to sense something. He looked out, carefully searched for a moment, then suddenly opened his eyes wide.  

“Lord Tong.” His voice was trembling. “There are colourful phoenixes on the phoenix flag. According to the regulations, the only one who can use the colourful phoenix is… the empress’ honour guard!” 

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