A string of 130 pearls

  In Beijing, the Naerbao Fu family of the Yellow Banner had a very lively and festive time.

  He heard that the fourth Fu Jin was stabbed and injured, and was recuperating quietly. Gao Shi had also miscarried, and he was overjoyed in his heart. He pulled Ni Meng's clothes and said: "My son has a good life as soon as he enters the door. This New Year's Eve, before the grand ceremony, the four Fu Jin didn't come out. She must have been seriously injured... It's not easy to recover from that body in a year or two. Maybe my daughter can take over the affairs of Qian Xi Er So."

  "What nonsense are you talking about? The Fourth Imperial Concubine and Gao Gege were both injured for the sake of the Fourth Prince. If Ni Mengyao really enters the palace, her only duty is to serve the Fourth Prince and the Fourth Imperial Concubine wholeheartedly. How can she have any thoughts of living a good life?" Nalan Rong's face sank, staring at his wife, saying: "You can eat more food, but you can't talk nonsense. You can't casually discuss imperial family matters."

  He knew that walls have ears, and being told by Nalan Rong like this made him feel a bit weaker. The royal family's power was overwhelming, with many eyes and ears everywhere, leaving her with a deep impression. However, she couldn't show it on her face, so she stubbornly said: "I'm just happy for my daughter."

  "With this energy, go and prepare some good dowry for her." Nalbu looked at his daughter who was becoming more and more beautiful and elegant, thinking that the wet nurse sent by the Empress Dowager was indeed very capable. This dignified and noble demeanor, even the Crown Prince's consort would be worthy of it. "Life in the palace is not easy, your mother and brother don't have any other skills, they can't add to your glory like the Fuca family, everything depends on you to fight for it."

  "Empress Dowager has already done more than enough for her daughter, and there are still younger brothers and sisters at home." Besides, the Empress also left many things for herself. If she still can't stand firm in the palace, who else can she blame?

  The power that the Empress Dowager had cultivated in the Yung Palace for decades, and which she had controlled the harem with for nearly ten years, was now handed over to her daughter. Na Er Bu wasn't sure how much of it was actually passed on, but it should be enough for her to rival the Fourth Imperial Concubine. The Empress Dowager also felt a lot more at ease. "The selection of imperial consorts is about to begin, if you need any clothes or jewelry, just tell your mother, and listen to what Summer Palace's nanny has to say. This time, we can't afford to make any mistakes."

  "Remembering the last time she had a fight with Heshiri and Tuliren, Niyimai also felt a bit ashamed, and said in a low voice: "Ama, don't worry, last time was just my daughter being too impulsive, if I encounter something like this again, I'll endure it."

  "It's reasonable to not tolerate it, just need to choose the right method, can't lose dignity and etiquette." The last time, people in the clan were already somewhat dissatisfied. Unmarried women of the Eight Banners have a noble status, and this matter concerning family reputation is taken very seriously, affecting not only the daughter's future but also the development of the entire family.

  "Yes." Ulanara was a prominent surname, and by her generation, many noblewomen became the consorts or secondary consorts of imperial princes. If she hadn't been somewhat better-looking, Empress Xiaojing wouldn't have chosen her as the secondary consort for the Fourth Prince either. There were plenty of people with higher official ranks and titles than her mother's, but as Summer said, relying solely on looks to establish oneself in the palace, give birth to an imperial son, was not enough; cunning, strategy, and demeanor were also essential.

  For this, she has been working hard for six years, from etiquette and demeanor to backroom struggles, how can she not win men's favor without making a sound...

  Three years ago, she was still young and vigorous, and before entering the palace, she was already plotting with Gao's family to frame the Fourth Imperial Concubine. She didn't think that even though many people knew about Empress Xiaojing's intention to leave herself for the Fourth Prince, it didn't mean they wouldn't make a move on her. There were many people who wanted to take her place, and He Sheli was just one of them. As long as something happened to her and she was discarded, perhaps another girl could be chosen from the clan to fill Empress Xiaojing's regret.

  Everything starts from around you, step by step. Heaven won't give her another chance to audition, at least she must ensure herself to successfully enter Qian Xi No. 2 before talking about other things.

  Returned to her own courtyard, Da Yuer hurriedly came up to greet her, "Young lady."

  "What's the hurry." She walked into the house without looking up, and another personal maid, Shan Yan, quickly poured her a cup of tea. Ni Mengyi took it and drank a mouthful, feeling a bit calmer. "Is there some news from the palace again?"

  "The four consorts' injuries seem to be not too serious, the Ga family has been granted the title of Ce Fu Jin, and the Jin family has been promoted to Ge Ge." Xia Mama came in with two new sets of cheongsam in her hands.

  Ni Mengyi's fingers, which were holding the teacup, turned white with rage, and it took her a while to suppress the urge to smash it on the ground. She put it back on the table, pursed her lips and said: "This High family is really cunning, they actually got ahead of me and sealed off Ce Fu Jun." The order of entering the house often represented the high and low status of the same rank.

  "High is just a concubine who was promoted because she saved the Fourth Prince and the Fourth Princess, so they can't easily punish her without being seen as ungrateful... With this backing, even if High can't have children for now, others can't suppress her status." Xia Mama said with a serious face. She was the nanny who had been secretly assigned by the late Empress to take care of Niangzi, and she understood the meaning behind the Empress's move. As someone who came from a prominent family and had a good appearance and demeanor, this concubine was the biggest threat to the Empress... Moreover, once the Empress took over the palace affairs, her energy would be drained by competing for favor, taking care of children, and making mistakes, so it's almost certain that a new Empress would emerge.

  Now, Niermengyi, who was carefully raised by the Ulanara clan, is being ruthlessly suppressed by a lowly slave, how can she not feel indignant?!

  Niangniang was also very worried, but she was more concerned about the Fourth Concubine: "How is the injury of the Fourth Concubine? It seems to be not serious?" Good, good, where did this "seems" come from.

  When it comes to this, Xia's face shows a hint of joy, "At that time, the wet nurse of the eldest brother, Jia Shi, was not injured as seriously as Fu Jin, but she still died... It can be seen that the severity of the injury is not important, what's important is that the poison is hard to cure. The fourth Fu Jin was treated by Sun Taiyi himself at that time, and the emperor and the noble consort also bestowed a lot of good medicine... Now it seems to have recovered, but who knows what hidden injuries are left behind? This is a good thing for the young lady."

  Xian Yin and Xian Yan, who were standing beside them, showed joy on their faces, as if they had seen their own daughter become the illustrious wife of Ji Fu Jun. "What a pity, triplets would have been perfect..."

  "Shut up." Ni Mengyi shouted, "Don't mention these words again, even in your own home."

  "The young lady's courtyard can still say a few words, but once inside the palace, she must be careful." Xia Mama looked at Ni Mengyi with approval, and the young lady had become more and more cautious over the past two years. On the surface, she was obedient, but in her eyes, there was still a hint of discontent. Shan Yinshan said: "The fourth Fu Jin is from the rich and powerful Fuca clan, also a prominent Manchu surname clan, with a deeper foundation than the Ula Nara clan. For generations, they have been the emperor's trusted advisors, and they are not unfamiliar with the secrets of the palace. Food is just a small matter."

  Xian Yan made an effort to speak, "We understand the means that the four consorts also understand, so what can we do about it in the future?"

  The Empress Dowager's remaining power in the Imperial Household Department was not great, but there were one or two who were useful. During the New Year, many tribute oranges were distributed to the two residences of Qian and Xi. Unexpectedly, neither the Fourth Imperial Concubine nor the Wet Nurse ate much, and their plan to spoil the triplets' health had failed. Instead, it was Su's eldest daughter who had a few bouts of diarrhea.

  "Who says there's no way to deal with her? Didn't Fourth Mistress get hurt at the full moon celebration for the triplets?" It wasn't that Shu Mama looked up to Fourth Mistress, but rather that she had those skills and abilities. If they wanted to deal with her, it would be better to join forces with others and use direct and forceful methods, which might have a higher chance of success.

  "I'm afraid that after this incident, the power around Si Fu will be strengthened again." Xan suddenly had an epiphany.

  Xia Gu's expression changed, as it was not impossible that the Emperor and the Fourth Prince would attach great importance to the Fourth Imperial Concubine. Even if they didn't care, the Fuca clan behind her would still be concerned about this matter.

  "Anyway, let's get through this draft first before talking about anything else." Niyimai said.

  "The young lady said that these were the two new clothes sent by the madam, and asked the young lady to try them on to see if they fit. Xia Mama thought it was reasonable and continued to tell the young lady which noble ladies would be participating in the selection..."

  "Uh-huh." The clothes were definitely a good fit, and the floral pattern was bright but not tacky. Wearing it made her look even more beautiful, and she couldn't help but admire herself for a while before finally taking off the clothes. "Tell Mother to change into two sets of simple yet elegant ones instead, the selection is just a formality, no need to compete with the other showgirls."

  "You've done the right thing." Xia Yini was very supportive of her choice, "These two sets of clothes don't need to be returned either, keep them and wear them again at your wedding."

  Niangniang smiled: "In the past few years, thanks to Ayi, Ayi must stay with me for a long time."

  "As long as you don't despise me, I will certainly serve you for a lifetime."

  ……

  On February 22nd, Yunzhu received many birthday gifts again.

  Yongzheng gave her a personally annotated copy of the "Three Character Classic", probably because he heard from Hongli that she read to the triplets every day. He also gave her a Ru kiln Tianqing Wuwen elliptical water narcissus pot, several saplings including Jin Si Nan, Red Bean Pine, Tian Zhu Gui, Chen Shui Zhang and more than twenty Yangtao trees from southern tributes.

  The noble consort bestowed upon her a large quantity of high-grade brocade and satin, most of which Yunzhu couldn't use for the time being. She stored them in her space, who knows when she might reincarnate into primitive society, it's good to have some emergency supplies.

  Hongli gave her a pair of pure white gyrfalcons with only golden feathers around their eyes, newly hatched. Okay, she could raise them when they were young, but how to train them to hunt when they grew up... this problem would be considered later. She asked Feng Yi to build a nest for them on the osmanthus tree in the courtyard first.

  Fu Hui gave her a painting, the triplet on it looked adorable, Yunzhu carefully collected it and planned to take it out to reminisce about the past when the triplets grew up.

  He Huan and the gentle and cautious Princess Shu sent her dried beef from the grasslands... Yunzhu thought it tasted better than what she made herself, making it worthwhile to send various food and interesting trinkets to several princesses during the New Year.

  Fu Heng followed Hong Li into the palace, arrived at Qian Xi's residence and said to her, "Originally wanted to give a personal gift to sister, but afraid that the Emperor and brother-in-law would have an opinion, so decided to give this instead." Smiling, he presented a beautifully crafted handgun.

  "Ah, a flintlock gun?!" In modern times, Yunzhu once saw a flintlock gun on an antique appraisal show and learned that China had invented the flintlock gun as early as the 8th year of Chongzhen. There's even a joke online saying that when the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing, they used fire lance guns, which were even more outdated than flintlocks... In the late Qing dynasty, the laughable Manchu government thought China couldn't produce advanced weapons like exploding bullets and had to import them from England. However, the invading Eight-Nation Alliance discovered that the cannonballs stored in the Ming dynasty's armory were superior to British ones in terms of quality, range, and lethality.

  After opening up maritime trade and attempting overseas trade, Yongzheng began to attach importance to the firearms camp, re-researching and manufacturing cannons and muskets.

  "Yes, this is the new flintlock gun developed by the Qing Dynasty."

  Tightly connected components, exquisite and smooth patterns, Yunzhu couldn't believe it, "It's actually done!"

  Fu Heng looked at her with a surprised and delighted expression, playing with the object in his hand, raising an eyebrow: "Still Seventh Brother, after returning from overseas, he suggested that the Emperor re-develop firearms, and also said that the Ming dynasty's firearms were quite advanced... As a result, I and Fourth Brother entered the sealed Ming military arsenal and found that the 'Sui' fire gun was indeed more advanced than the flintlock guns used in most foreign countries, only it couldn't be mass-produced yet."

  "Times are always progressing, first it was cannons, then fire lances and fire bows, now there's the flintlock gun. One day, this gun will become smaller and lighter, easy to carry and able to shoot continuously." She said casually, weighing the gun in her hand, about half a catty (a little over 8 taels), less than one foot (about 20 cm) long. "It's really beautiful, I like it, thank you Chunhe." It must have taken some effort to get a gun like this.

  Yongzheng and Hongli, standing outside the door, exchanged a glance, and had to admit that Yunzhu's words indeed shocked their minds. Yes, times are progressing, and one day, who knows when this fire gun will evolve to the extent she described? At that time, how can the iron cavalry bows and arrows of the Qing Dynasty withstand such weapons?!

  Hongli stepped forward, his expression arrogant: "Even if Ming has such a weapon, it will still be destroyed by our great Qing."

  Yunzhu turned her head and took a look, then hastily paid her respects: "The daughter-in-law has seen the Emperor, may the Emperor be auspicious."

  "Stop." Yongzheng waved his hand, "I see that you seem to disagree with Hongli's words?"

  Yunzhu gave him a sorrowful and resentful glance. What does she have to do with anything? Women should not rashly discuss national affairs, what are you trying to do?

  Yongzheng smiled and said, "I pardon you of your crimes, speak your mind freely."

  "She said, 'I'll just say my foolish opinion.' Glancing at her husband Hongli, she playfully bared her small white teeth, eliciting a light cough from Yongzheng. She continued, 'The downfall of the Ming dynasty wasn't because its weapons were advanced or backward, but because it lost the hearts of the people. Similarly, the Qing's conquest of the world was due to the trend of the times and the help of many. As for weapons, the same divine instruments, in the hands of Grandfather and Chun, could be used to expand the borders for Emperor Father, but if they fell into my hands, I could only use them to chop vegetables...'"

  Yongzheng burst out laughing, "You make sense."

  Hongli nodded and put down his hanging heart, saying to her: "I know you're having a small party today, Huang Ama came on purpose, go prepare some good dishes."

  "I'm going then." Yunzhu bowed and headed towards the kitchen.

  By the time it was late in the afternoon, Hongdai arrived with Wu Fu Jin, Fu Hui, Wu Gongzhu Yulan, and Yong Huang. Yunzhu had prepared a lot of food that children like to eat, such as double-skinned milk, egg tarts, etc. She also took out ingredients from her storage space and made some simple yet delicious home-cooked dishes, including apricot kernel stewed white lung soup, lemon simmered soft duck, lotus leaf chicken, sugar vinegar fish, golden mushroom stir-fried eel slices, soft-burnt tofu, double-flavored tendon, fried glutinous rice balls, steamed loofah with garlic paste, stir-fried vegetable hearts, sour and spicy potato shreds, vinegar-glazed cucumber, fragrant mushroom tofu pancake, honey sugar egg scatter...

  Although the dishes are not as exquisite as those prepared in the imperial kitchen, they are exceptionally delicious and have won the favor of Yongzheng and Fuhui, who are both picky eaters. "This wine is also good, rich and smooth, is it made from citrus fruits?"

  "It's made from tangerine peels, this wine has the effect of clearing lungs and resolving phlegm, it's best to drink after spring begins." Yunzhu said, "My wife brewed a lot, will Emperor Ama bring a jar back to drink later?"

  Yongzheng nodded, "Two jars, one jar I will leave for Prince Yi."

  You really never forget about Prince Yi at any time... Yunzhu could only respond with: "Yes."