Life does not stop, palace struggles do not end (Part 1)

  After the dinner party was over, I returned to Qian Xi's second residence and slept well with Yunzhu.

  The next day, after having breakfast with the triplets and taking a stroll in the imperial garden, she returned to the Mingyuan Hall in the rear courtyard to receive visits from Ula Nara and others.

  Perched high up, the facial expressions and movements of people below are truly hard to escape the scrutiny of a keen observer.

  The struggle in the palace was quite lively, like the Warring States period. One moment it was "He Zong" gathering the weak to oppose the strong, and the next it was "Lian Heng" following one strong faction to attack another weak one. Among them, Gao Lü Wei was a mastermind, able to form an alliance with Wu La Na Ni Meng Yi one moment, bringing up how to frame Yun Zhu this Fu Jin, and in the next moment, she could join forces with Jin Li through the Nei Wu Fu to poison Wu La Na Ni Meng Yi.

  Yunzhu smiled and put down the teacup in her hand, saying: "The Mid-Autumn Festival is over, and the king will go out to handle affairs again. You should also gather your thoughts, go out less, and avoid trouble. Also, the emperor said that this year's Wan Shou Festival will stop the court banquet, but our birthday gifts are indispensable. Wait a moment, I'll let Shang Ayi send you some materials, and when you have time, you can move your needles and threads in the house to show filial piety to the emperor and the noble concubine."

  Here is the translation:

  "Here we go again! Su Bao Rou and Gao Lu Wei were helpless, knowing that for the next two months they would be inseparable from their needles and threads, yet could only stand up and respond with a "Yes."

  "Sukge and Fucha don't need to come, they are pregnant and shouldn't overexert themselves."

  "Thank you, Fu Jin." Fucha and Su Bao Rou's faces showed gratitude.

  "I heard that Ulanara's sister's embroidery is quite good, this time it's a case of the more capable one taking on more work."

  "Miss Ni obeyed Mr. Fu's orders." What else could she say?

  "Madam, Shang Ayi has arrived." Hanlin came in and reported.

  "Let her in."

  "This humble servant greets Mistress Fu." Shang Ayi came in and paid her respects to Yunzhu.

  "Mother, please get up. Mother, are the things ready?" Yunzhu asked warmly. The list was something she had prepared long ago to let Shang mother prepare, various leather, silk, ramie, cotton... satin, and the leather robe, padded jacket... interlining robe, interlining jacket and so on, she had all of them memorized by Su Xun, the person in charge of distributing materials.

  "All have been prepared separately." Shang Nainai replied.

  "If so, you will send things to both Side Concubine Fu and Ke'erqin Gege, Jingege."

  "Yes."

  Next, everyone took their materials and orders, while Fucha's wife, Su Bao Rou, sat aside eating snacks with a big belly. Gao Lian Ru was so angry that her temples were throbbing - why did they get to relax after getting pregnant with the master's children, while she had to work tirelessly?

  But people under the eaves have to bow their heads, she thought resentfully, is it time to seriously consider Ula Nara's proposal? This imperial concubine in Qian Xi Er is too powerful and oppressive, making them unable to lift their heads! Apart from better annual treatment, what difference does this secondary imperial concubine have with the gege (imperial princess)?

  After walking out of Zhengyuan for a while, she called out to the Ulanara in front of her, "Ulanara sister?"

  Wulana. Nini stopped turning around, seemingly smiling but not quite, staring at her: "What's the matter, Elder Sister Gao?" A mere servant girl dared to call her younger sister? Hmph.

  "I heard that younger sister's embroidery is extremely good, older sister wants to ask for some guidance, but doesn't know..."

  "Sister praised, I heard that the robe made by sister in previous years was highly praised by Fu Jin, and younger sister still wants to learn a few points." Wulana Naimu smiled with joy, did Gao Shi finally make up her mind to join forces?

  "It's settled then."

  The two of them slowly walked towards their respective courtyards.

  Fu Cha stood thoughtfully on the second step, gazing at the scene of people chatting and laughing in front of her. After a while, she spoke softly to Autumn Leaf beside her: "After returning to the courtyard and putting things in order, you sneak out and reveal the situation of the two concubines' comings and goings to the people in the main courtyard. Then, send someone to keep an eye on Jin Fengyuan and Liu Xiangyuan."

  "Yes." Autumn Leaf hugged the fabric she had received and went ahead to put it away. These were all fabrics that Madame Fu had prepared for the Emperor's birthday, and they could not be easily damaged.

  Soon, Yunzhu received the news. With a strong spiritual force, Wulana's and Gao's plans fell into Yunzhu's ears without exception. By nightfall, Ling Shu had also sorted out the intelligence reports from various palaces and the Imperial Household Department in the palace.

  When Hongli was not around, Yunzhu loved to discuss things with Linghui and others while taking a bath. Linghui would give her water while reporting the organized information to her.

  "Is the contraceptive powder from Jin's family? It was actually applied accurately to Wu La Na's wine cup at the dinner party, and the influence of Gao and Jin in the Imperial Household Department is on the rise. Hmph, the fourth prince's consort, Ce Fu Jun, is indeed a good facade, the future empress, how can they not fawn over her?!"

  Ling Huan's eyes flashed, "Yes, I didn't expect the Jin family to still have a lot of palace secret medicines brought from Korea, which can help with fertility and infertility. It seems that the Jin family's foundation is not as shallow as outsiders see it. However, this slave doesn't understand, since there is no great conflict of interest between the Jin and Ula Nara families at present, why would they actively join forces with the Gao family to deal with her?"

  "Who can deal with Wu La Na is Gao's, Jin's just to join hands with Gao's, borrow power to stand firm in these two places and seek favor, what's more closely connected than having a common secret?"

  "Jin chose to stand on Gao's side because they both came from a humble background, I suppose." Indeed, birds of a feather flock together? Su asked disapprovingly, while putting away the new autumn and winter clothes that Si had sent over in the afternoon. "Has Jin forgotten what happened when she first entered the West Second House? It was clear that Gao had instructed Liu to trip up Jin and harm Su."

  "What does Grandma think?"

  "After the incident, it didn't cause any loss to Su's family. In Prince Wang's eyes, Jin's family was even more innocent. To say that Jin's family still benefited from Gao's family, and perhaps Prince Wang would think that Jin's family is easily bullied. Adding to that, during the assassination attempt at the young master's full moon celebration, Jin's performance wouldn't have left a bad impression on Prince Wang.

  Guo Mama was indeed more experienced in human affairs and had a deeper understanding of people's hearts: 'Jin's clever move was choosing to collaborate with Gao's family. Their similar backgrounds were one reason, another being that Gao's family couldn't produce an heir, while Jin's could. Gao's family was the secondary wife, whereas Jin's was just a concubine. If Gao's family wanted to adopt a child, it would most likely be one of Jin's children. The other families wouldn't agree to it, especially not the Fourth Prince and the young master.'"

  "Isn't it also impossible for the Sus?" Su asked, taking a cotton gown and walking over. The Sus were only from a Han military banner, with humble origins, so wouldn't it be acceptable to have their child raised by the Gus?

  Yunzhu sighed: "This is really hard to say, apart from having a good father and a good older brother, Gao's birth and bloodline have determined that her son has no chance of becoming the crown prince, unless the king has no other sons... Su is also like this, so this problem depends on the specific situation at the time." In history, Gao did not adopt anyone else's child, and Su was not a thrifty lamp, but simply gave away the child for nothing. After all, it was just a concubine, still a package of clothes, what benefit would she and her child get from this?! "However, in my heart, I do not agree with adopting other people's children."

  Raising children together has its pros and cons, but it's easy to form a situation where the birth mother and stepmother become mutually supportive. This is certain, unless the child dies young and they become sworn enemies - many first wives would be happy to see this happen. Another point is that if you didn't give birth to the child yourself, you won't feel heartache for them, and if you didn't raise your own flesh and blood, you won't be close to them either. In the long run, this isn't very beneficial for the Qing dynasty.

  Moreover, there is Yong Zheng, unless the birth mother has passed away and the child is still young and needs someone to take care of them, otherwise he would also rather have his descendants live alone.

  Ling Xiu smiled and helped Yunzhu get up, wiping her body: "Su Shi won't agree to this, don't forget that she and Gao Shi are not as harmonious as they seem on the surface."

  Yes, such an alliance is the closest, and both are from the Imperial Household Department's aristocratic families. United, they have even greater power in the Imperial Household Department. However, since the "Moon Root Grass" incident last time, Yongzheng has used several pretexts to punish many officials who were not doing their jobs well in the Imperial Household Department. Others may only see the superficial reasons, but Yunzhu is clear that Yongzheng is step by step eliminating the Gao family's influence in the Imperial Household Department. Although there is no solid evidence, and no other suspects are framing the Gao family, so the truth can only be one. Having confirmed this point, how could Yongzheng possibly allow the Gao family to continue developing their power?

  Yunzhu put on a cotton robe, and said lazily: "What Nian'er said is only beneficial to the Jin family, but from the perspective of the Gao family, what is more urgent is to consolidate their position in the Imperial Household Department. Although the Gao family is a powerful minister in the court, its roots are actually in the Imperial Household Department. It is necessary for the Gao family to strengthen its influence in the Imperial Household Department by pulling together other forces within it. Therefore, her alliance with the Jin family is a win-win situation and an inevitable trend."

  "Master, rest well." Gu's nanny called someone in to clean up the room and then left.

  Ling Xue followed Yunzhu into the bedroom, attended her to bed, and then quietly reported on the movements of other palaces in the imperial palace.

  Yunzhu murmured a response, closing her eyes. "Let them go, instruct the people below to not make any rash moves."

  "Yes." Ling Xiu responded, lit up the jade-carved lamp on the counter, blew out the other lights and then retreated.

  In mid-September, Zhong Xiu Palace's High Consort fell and gave birth to a premature daughter, who died of massive bleeding three days later.

  Immediately after that, Consort Xian's illness worsened and she died. The Sixth Princess Zilan altered the jade tally, officially recording it under Ning Pin's name.

  The news reached Qian Xi's two places. Yunzhu said: "Ning Pin finally got what she wanted." It wasn't a waste of effort after all.

  On October 1st, Ronghuai gave birth to the Eighth Prince prematurely in Jingyang Palace. She suffered greatly from childbirth and was bedridden with illness from then on.

  On the thirtieth day of the tenth month, Yongzheng gave Eighth Prince Aixinjueluo Hongxiang his name. He promoted Rong Lü Qi Ren to Lü Pin and Ning Pin to Ning Fei. It is not clear whether Empress Dowager Chongqing was aware that the influence of the Imperial Noble Consorts on the harem was too great, or whether the suppression by Xi Guifei had taken effect. In any case, Qian Güiren Liu did not advance in rank this year.

  Although Ronggui Ren was promoted to Pin, she did not move to another palace like Gu Pin, possibly because her weak body could not manage the affairs of a palace and take care of Eighth Prince, so she continued to rely on Jingyang Palace. Alternatively, Yongzheng knew that her current situation was caused by Xi Guifei's hand, and he didn't want her to lose her life too, so he let Yu Fei continue to take care of her...

  In short, no matter how effective the emperor's control over the harem is, it cannot stop the continuous struggle from happening.

  The author has something to say: The following is the main text:

  After the dinner party was over, I returned to Qian Xi's second residence and slept well with Yunzhu.

  The next day, after having breakfast with the triplets and taking a stroll in the imperial garden, she returned to the Mingyuan Hall in the rear courtyard to receive visits from Ula Nara and others.

  Perched high up, the facial expressions and movements of people below are truly hard to escape the scrutiny of a keen observer.

  The struggle in the palace was quite lively, like the Warring States period. One moment it was "He Zong" gathering many weak ones to oppose a strong one, and another moment it was "Lian Heng" following a strong one to attack a weak one. Among them, Gao Lü Wei was a mid-to-high level expert. In the previous moment, she could still communicate with Wu La Na Ra Ni Meng Yi, who had just entered the palace, and recall how to frame Cloud Pearl, this imperial concubine. With a turn of her body, she could join forces with Jin Li through the Imperial Household Department to poison Wu La Na Ra Ni Meng Yi.

  Yunzhu smiled and put down the teacup in her hand, saying: "The Mid-Autumn Festival is over, and the king will go out to handle affairs again. You should also gather your thoughts, go out less, and avoid trouble. Also, the emperor said that this year's Wan Shou Festival will stop the court banquet, but our birthday gifts are indispensable. I'll let Shang Ayi send you the materials later, and when you have time, you can move your needles and threads in the house to show filial piety to the emperor and the noble concubine."

  Here is the translation:

  Oh no, here we go again! Su Bao Rou and Gao Lu Wei were helpless, knowing that for the next two months they would be inseparable from their needles and threads, yet could only stand up and respond with a "Yes."

  "Sukge and Fucha don't need to come, they are pregnant and shouldn't overexert themselves."

  "Thank you, Fu Jin." Fucha and Su Bao Rou's faces showed gratitude.

  "I heard that Ulanara's sister's embroidery is quite good, this time it's a case of the more capable one taking on more work."

  "Miss Ni obeyed Mr. Fu's orders." What else could she say?

  "Madam, Shang Ayi has arrived." Hanlin came in and reported.

  "Let her in."

  "This humble servant greets Mistress Fu." Shang Ayi came in and paid her respects to Yunzhu.

  "Mother, please get up. Mother, are the things ready?" Yunzhu asked warmly. The list was something she had prepared long ago to let Shang mother prepare, various leather, silk, ramie, cotton... satin, and the leather robe, padded jacket... interlining robe, interlining jacket and so on, she had all of them memorized by Su Xun, the person in charge of distributing materials.

  "All have been prepared separately." Shang Nainai replied.

  "If so, you will send things to the two concubines and Ke'erjiete Gege, Jingege."

  "Yes."

  Next, everyone took their materials and orders, looking at Fu Linga and Su Bao Rou who were sitting aside eating snacks with a big belly. Gao Luomiao was so angry that her temples were throbbing. Why did they get to relax after getting pregnant with the master's children while she had to work tirelessly?

  But people under the eaves have to bow their heads, she thought resentfully, should she seriously consider Ula Nara's proposal? This imperial concubine is too powerful and oppressive in the two palaces of Qian Xi, making it hard for them to lift their heads! Apart from better annual treatment, what's the difference between this secondary imperial concubine and a gege (princess)?

  After walking out of Zhengyuan for a while, she called out to the Ulanara in front of her, "Ulanara sister?"

  Wulana glared at her, seemingly smiling yet not quite: "What is it, Elder Sister Gao?" How dare a mere servant girl address her as 'sister'? Hmph.

  "I've heard that younger sister's embroidery is extremely good, older sister wants to ask for some guidance, but doesn't know..."

  "Sister praised, I heard that the robe made by sister in previous years was highly praised by Fu Jin, and younger sister still wants to learn a few tricks." Wulana Nala Niemeng smiled with joy, did Gao Shi finally make up her mind to join forces?

  "It's settled then."

  The two of them slowly walked towards their respective courtyards.

  Fu Cha stood thoughtfully on the second step, gazing at the scene of people chatting and laughing in front of her. After a while, she spoke softly to Autumn Leaf beside her: "After returning to the courtyard and putting things in order, you sneak out and reveal the situation of the two concubines' comings and goings to the people in the main courtyard. Then, send someone to keep an eye on Jin Fengyuan and Liu Xiangyuan."

  "Yes." Autumn Leaf hugged the fabric and went ahead to put it away. These were all fabrics that Madame Fu had prepared for the Emperor's birthday, and they couldn't be easily damaged.

  Soon, Yunzhu received the news. With a strong spiritual force, Wulana's and Gao's plans fell into Yunzhu's ears without a single leak. By evening, Ling Shu had also sorted out the intelligence information from various palaces and the Imperial Household Department in the palace.

  When Hongli was not around, Yunzhu loved to discuss things with Linghui and others while taking a bath. Linghui would give her water while reporting the organized information to her.

  "Is it the imperial family's sterilization powder? It was probably made by Jin Shi. Things have actually accurately and silently been applied to Wu La Na Shi's wine cup at the dinner party, and Gao Shi Jin Shi's power in the Imperial Household Department is on the rise! Hmph, the fourth prince's consort, Ce Fu Jun, is indeed a good face-saving signboard, future imperial concubine ah, how can one not fawn upon her?!"

  Ling Huan's eyes flashed, "Yes, I didn't expect the Jin family to still have a lot of palace secret medicines brought from Korea, which can help with fertility and infertility. It seems that the Jin family's foundation is not as shallow as outsiders see it. However, this slave doesn't understand, since there is no great conflict of interest between the Jin and Ula Nara families at present, why would they actively join forces with the Gao family to deal with her?"

  "Who can deal with Wu La Na is Gao's, Jin's just to join hands with Gao's, borrow power to stand firm in these two places and seek favor, what's more closely connected than having a common secret?"

  "Jin chose to stand on Gao's side because they both came from a humble background, I suppose." Indeed, birds of a feather flock together? Su asked disapprovingly, while putting away the new autumn and winter clothes that Si had sent over in the afternoon. "Has Jin forgotten what happened when she first entered the West Second House? It was clear that Gao instigated Liu to trip up Jin and harm Su."

  "What does Grandma think?"

  "After the incident, it didn't cause any loss to Su's family. In Prince Wang's eyes, Jin was an innocent victim. To say the least, Jin benefited from Gao's good fortune. It's possible that Prince Wang would think Jin is easily bullied by others. Adding to this, during the assassination attempt at the young master's full moon celebration, Jin's behavior didn't leave a bad impression on Prince Wang.

  Guo Mama was indeed more experienced in human affairs and had a deeper understanding of people's hearts: 'Jin's clever move was choosing to collaborate with Gao. Their similar backgrounds were one reason; another reason was that Gao couldn't bear children, but Jin could. Gao was a secondary wife, while Jin was just a concubine. If Gao wanted to adopt a child, the possibility of adopting Jin's child was highest. The other children born wouldn't be agreed upon by the Fourth Prince and the master.'"

  "Isn't it also impossible for the Su family?" Su asked, walking over with a woolen gown. The Su family was only from a humble Han military background, so it's not unreasonable to have their child raised by the Guo family, is it?

  Yunzhu sighed: "This is really hard to say, apart from having a good father and a good older brother, Gao's birth and bloodline have determined that her son has no chance of becoming the crown prince, unless the king has no other sons... Su is also like this, so this problem depends on the specific situation at the time." In history, Gao did not adopt anyone else's child, and Su was not a thrifty lamp, but simply gave away the child for nothing. After all, it was just a concubine, still a package of clothes, what benefits would she and her children get?! "However, from my heart, I do not agree with adopting other people's children."

  Raising children together has its pros and cons, but it's easy to form a situation where the birth mother and stepmother become mutually supportive. This is certain, unless the child dies young and they become sworn enemies - many first wives would love to see this happen. Another point is that if you didn't give birth to the child yourself, you won't feel heartache for them, and if you didn't raise your own biological child, you won't be close to them either. In the long run, this isn't very beneficial for the Qing dynasty.

  Moreover, there is Yongzheng, unless the birth mother has passed away and the child is still young and needs someone to take care of them, otherwise he would rather have his descendants live alone.

  Ling Xiu smiled and helped Yunzhu get up, wiping her body: "Su Shi won't agree to this, don't forget that she and Gao Shi are not as harmonious as they seem on the surface."

  Yes, such an alliance is the closest, and both are from the Imperial Household Department's aristocratic families. United, they have even greater power in the Imperial Household Department. However, since the "Moon Root Grass" incident last time, Yongzheng has used several pretexts to punish many officials who were not doing their jobs well in the Imperial Household Department. Others may only see the superficial reasons, but Yunzhu is clear that Yongzheng is step by step eliminating the Gao family's influence in the Imperial Household Department. Although there is no solid evidence, and no other suspects are framing the Gao family, so the truth can only be one. Having confirmed this point, how could Yongzheng possibly allow the Gao family to continue developing their power?

  Yunzhu put on a cotton robe, and said lazily: "What Nian'er said is only beneficial to the Jin family, but from the perspective of the Gao family, what is more urgent is to solidify their position in the Imperial Household Department. Although the Gao family is a powerful minister in the court, its roots are actually in the Imperial Household Department. It is necessary for the Gao family to strengthen its influence in the Imperial Household Department by pulling together other forces within the department. The Gao family's greatest reliance at present is their maternal family, so how can they not do their best? Therefore, her alliance with the Jin family is a win-win situation and an inevitable trend."

  "Master, rest well." Guo's nanny called someone in to clean up the room and then left.

  Ling Xue followed Yunzhu into the bedroom, serving her onto the bed, and then quietly reported on the movements in the other palaces of the imperial palace.

  Yunzhu murmured a response, closing her eyes. "Let them go, instruct the people below to not make any rash moves."

  "Yes." Ling Xiu responded, lit up the jade-carved lamp on the counter, blew out the other lights and then retreated.

  In mid-September, Zhong Xiu Palace fell and gave birth to a daughter prematurely. She suffered severe postpartum hemorrhage for three days before the infant died early.

  Immediately after that, Consort Xian's illness worsened and she died. The Sixth Princess Zilan altered the jade tally, officially recording it under Ning Pin's name.

  The news reached Qian Xi's two places. Yunzhu said: "Ning Pin finally got what she wanted." It wasn't a waste of effort after all.

  On October 1st, Ronghuai gave birth to the Eighth Prince prematurely in Jingyang Palace. She suffered greatly from childbirth and was bedridden with illness from then on.

  On the thirtieth day of the tenth month, Yongzheng gave Eighth Prince Aixinjueluo Hongxiang his name. He promoted Consort Rui to Noble Lady Rui and Consort Ning to Consort Ning. It is not clear whether Empress Xiaoxian was aware that the influence of the imperial consorts on the harem had become too great or if the suppression by Empress Xiaoshengxian had taken effect, but in any case, Imperial Noble Consort Xiuli Liu did not receive a promotion this year.

  Although Ronggui Ren was promoted to Pin, she did not move to another palace like Gu Pin, possibly because her weak body could not manage the affairs of a palace and take care of Eighth Prince, so she continued to rely on Jingyang Palace. Alternatively, Yongzheng knew that her current situation was caused by Xi Guifei's hand, and he didn't want her to lose her life too, so he let Yu Fei continue to take care of her...

  In short, no matter how effective the emperor's control over the harem is, it cannot stop the endless struggle that arises one after another.