Tongjia Residence
“Yujin, it’s windy today. Have Liu Chun and the others bring an extra cloak.” In the main courtyard, Hesheli Shi spoke gently to her daughter.
It was still early, and they didn’t need to set off at this hour.
“Mother, I’ve noted it down.”
Today wasn’t the first or fifteenth of the month, so besides Lanzhu, only her younger brother Longkodo was present in the main courtyard. The other concubine-born sons and daughters were not there.
On days like today, neither concubine-born sons nor daughters were qualified to enter the palace for the banquet.
No matter how favored they were, it was not allowed, as this was an ancestral rule.
“Sister, is there any gift you want?”
“I’ll go into the palace later and trade with Cousin for you.” Eight-year-old Longkodo already understood that the most prosperous place was the Forbidden City, and the wealthiest person was his emperor cousin.
The gift he gave his sister had to be the best!
After all, he was just trading things.
The mother and daughter were stunned by Longkodo’s bold statement. Finally, Lanzhu was the first to recover: “Brother, Sister doesn’t need such gifts. No matter what you give Sister, she will be very happy, but the premise is that you can’t trade with Cousin.”
Hesheli Shi also came to her senses at this time: “Your sister is right.”
“If you want something, just buy it. You’re not allowed to trade with your cousin!”
Longkodo hesitated, “But, Mother, the silver you give me isn’t much, and the things I buy aren’t worthy of Sister.”
“What’s so difficult about that? In the future, as long as you buy things for your sister, no matter what, come to Mother, and Mother will give you silver.” Hesheli Shi’s tone suddenly became stern.
“The premise is that it must be used for your sister. If it’s for other purposes, you’ll have to pay for it yourself.”
“Alright!”
Lanzhu, standing by, was stunned by her mother’s and brother’s back-and-forth, then she laughed: “Brother, you don’t need to buy me anything. Sister has everything.”
But Longkodo shook his head: “How can that be? Sister’s things are Sister’s, what I buy is my intention, Sister must not refuse.”
“Your brother is right, a girl’s gifts can never be too many. If we can’t fit them, we’ll just get a bigger storeroom.” Hesheli Shi’s words were very generous.
Lanzhu couldn’t refuse her mother’s and brother’s intentions. When she left, Liu Chun was given a set of ruby jewelry and a silver note worth a thousand taels by her mother.
Finally, there was also a verbal promise from her brother of a twisted silk gemstone bracelet.
He said he would buy it for her after school tomorrow.
Being pampered by her mother and brother, Lanzhu felt very happy. No matter how thorny the road ahead, she feared nothing!
Because she had the best family!
Forbidden City
Taking advantage of some free time, Kangxi quietly summoned his cousin Longkodo.
However, it seemed that his purpose today might not be realized.
“What did you say?!” Kangxi looked at his cousin, who was not even as tall as his waist, with a displeased expression.
“Cousin, I said I won’t trade with you anymore.”
“Mother gave me silver, I’ll buy a gift for Sister myself.”
“No need to trade with you anymore.” As he said this, Longkodo smiled, revealing his missing front tooth.
“Didn’t you say earlier that the silver your mother gave you wasn’t much? Good gifts require more than a little silver. Are you willing to let your sister have inferior goods?” Kangxi clearly knew how to grasp Longkodo’s thoughts.
The dignified emperor, now actually coaxing a child, was something no one would dare believe if told.
“Of course, Sister can’t have inferior goods.” Clearly, eight-year-old Longkodo was no match for Kangxi. With just a few words, he was led astray.
“But Mother said I could ask her for as much silver as I needed.” Longkodo, already a bit dizzy, had some cleverness, but not much.
“Isn’t your mother’s silver meant to be saved for your sister’s dowry?”
“You’re using your sister’s future dowry to buy her gifts, Cousin, you’re quite the strategist.” Kangxi looked at Longkodo with a half-smile.
“Is that so?”
“But Sister doesn’t like me trading with you, Cousin.” Longkodo finally said.
Kangxi was choked by these words: “You don’t have to tell your sister you traded with me.”
His cousin was still somewhat resistant to him, so he had to work harder.
“Lying is wrong, Cousin.” Longkodo said seriously to his cousin.
“…”
“Just tell me if you’ll trade or not!” Kangxi’s eyes darkened as he looked at his cousin.
Longkodo thought for a while, then finally said firmly: “Trade!”
He couldn’t be blamed!
Cousin had many good things, and with better ones available, he didn’t want his sister to settle for inferior goods.
Clearly, eight-year-old Longkodo still didn’t realize his emperor cousin’s cunning intentions.
In the end, Longkodo traded a newly made sea eagle pouch from his sister for a pair of pink glass peach blossom hairpins.
“Take it.” After the trade, Kangxi finally showed a faint smile.
This kid was getting harder to fool.
“Hurry back.” Seeing the time was almost up, Kangxi didn’t keep Longkodo any longer.
“Got it, Cousin.” Longkodo was already used to his cousin’s change of expression after getting what he wanted.
Led back to the banquet by the palace attendants, Longkodo didn’t see his father’s complex expression on the side.
The emperor called Longkodo over, wasn’t it just to trade things with him and then use his foolish son’s hand to send them to Lanzhu?
Whether it was or not, he’d find out on the way back.
Hall of Preserving Harmony
Half past the hour of Shen
After a series of activities, everyone finally sat down at the banquet.
The Banquet of Gold was a grand occasion, so this time the banquet wasn’t divided into separate tables, but screens were set up between the sides.
Lanzhu sat quietly beside her mother, obediently enjoying the song and dance, not noticing that the consorts at the head table were secretly observing her.
Concubine Ma Jia pretended to inadvertently glance at the Tongjia Gege below.
Indeed, she was a national beauty, no wonder the emperor was fond of her.
However, she had heard that the Grand Empress Dowager had brought a Mongolian Gege from Khorchin to the capital. Everyone in the harem naturally understood her intentions.
There was still more than a year until the next selection, so she should start preparing early.
She had been a concubine for almost a few years, it was time for a change!
If the Grand Empress Dowager wanted to intervene in the next selection, then those of them who had been with the emperor for a long time couldn’t possibly end up with nothing.
She had given birth to four sons and a daughter for the emperor, and although only one son and one daughter survived, she had given birth to the most princes among the consorts in the harem.
Wanting a consort position wasn’t too much to ask.
She knew that Concubine Nara was also plotting.
After all, her son held the position of the Crown Prince’s eldest son, and there were plenty of people in the Hesheli Shi who wanted to make a move.
…
After watching the song and dance for a while, Lanzhu felt a bit of a chill on her back, but the source of the gaze seemed to be from above?
That was the position of the harem consorts!
It seemed that her cousin’s actions some time ago had indeed caught the attention of the harem consorts.
What could Lanzhu do?
She was now just a minister’s family member without any rank.
Fortunately, this was the Banquet of Gold, and since there was no main consort in the harem now, everyone just got along with hidden intentions.
Finally, when the banquet ended, Lanzhu felt a sense of relief in her heart.
Outside the Forbidden City
“Yujin, your complexion doesn’t look very good today. Did you catch a chill in the evening?” Hesheli Shi asked, looking at her daughter’s somewhat pale face.
Lanzhu smiled brightly: “Mother, I’m fine. It’s just that the incense in the hall was a bit strong earlier, and I’m not used to it.”
“When there are many people, it’s not very comfortable to stay.” Hesheli Shi nodded in agreement.
However, such banquets were obviously unavoidable.
As family members of ministers, they naturally had to endure it.
“Mother, should we wait for Father and Brother?” Seeing that it was getting late and that only women were coming out of the palace gate, Lanzhu turned to her mother.
“Wait.”
“They should be coming out soon.”
“Hmm.”
Sure enough, after about half a stick of incense’s time, Lanzhu, who was already on the carriage, saw a large group of people vaguely appearing at the palace gate.
As the figures became clearer, the leading few finally revealed their true faces.
At the front of the group was the father of the late Empress Xiaocheng—First Class Duke Gabula.
Next to him was his younger brother Soetu.
Looking further to the side, Lanzhu saw her father and uncle.
Following a step behind was the Minister of Personnel, Nalan Mingzhu, who was also the uncle of the Fifth Prince Baocheng.
Beside Nalan Mingzhu was the Vice Minister of Rites, Chen Yanjing.
“Lord Gabula, my brother and I will take our leave first.” Tong Guogang slightly cupped his hands towards Gabula beside him, then turned to look at the people behind him.
“Fellow colleagues, we’ll meet again.”
“Take care, Lord Tong.”
On this side
Lanzhu received her father and uncle. Since both had drunk quite a bit, they didn’t ride horses but each got into a carriage.
After the Tongjia Shi group at the front left, the carriages of Hesheli Shi and the others followed.
Inside the carriage
“Big Brother, aren’t the Tong Guogang brothers a bit too arrogant?”
“You’re the highest-ranking official now, how come the Tongjia family’s carriage is ahead of ours!” Soetu showed dissatisfaction.
The queue position of carriages at the palace gate was also a matter of etiquette.
In such banquets where the emperor and ministers enjoyed together, people usually left together, so the carriages were arranged according to the rank of the officials.
Gabula looked at his brother calmly, his face still peaceful: “Yuan, small impatience spoils great plans.”
“The Hesheli Shi is already at its peak, there’s no need to fuss over such small matters.”
“Baocheng is now the Crown Prince, our every word and action should be more restrained.”
“The emperor currently favors the Crown Prince, but who knows what the future holds? We can’t leave any handle for the Crown Prince.”
“You must know, sometimes a young and strong Crown Prince can also be a threat to the emperor.”
After listening to his brother, Soetu finally calmed down: “I have learned, Brother.”
Gabula then smiled: “The odds are already in our favor, what we need to do is wait!”
“The prosperity of the Hesheli Shi is yet to come.”
“As for the Tongjia family, what harm is there in giving way!”
“This makes it easier for the emperor to feel pity for the Crown Prince. After all, the title of the emperor’s maternal family is also a double-edged sword.”
“I have noted it, Brother.”
After saying this, Gabula changed the topic: “Have the candidates for entering the palace been selected?”
“The Crown Prince is now of utmost importance, there must be no negligence!”
In Gabula’s mind, the entire Hesheli Shi combined was not as important as one Crown Prince. This was related to the future of their Hesheli Shi family.
“Brother, there are no suitable candidates in the clan. The next selection…” Soetu was equally troubled.
In the vast Hesheli Shi clan, they couldn’t find a single suitable Gege of the right age. The eldest, the illegitimate daughter Xiuluo of Brother’s family, was only five years old.
Even for the next selection, she was far from the right age.
Author’s Note:
Dear readers, the Dragon Boat Festival is coming soon, remember to eat zongzi!