novelden Chapter 179: Moving to a New House and Inviting Guests
Chapter 179: Moving to a New House and Inviting Guests
Chapter 179: Moving to a New House and Hosting Guests
The capital had been bustling with activity recently, and with this imperial edict adding fuel to the fire, the atmosphere was as lively as in May and June. However, after the imperial edict was issued, the Qianqing Palace remained completely still; everything was as tranquil as ever.
During the morning court session, Yinreng was directly assigned to observe government affairs at the Ministry of Personnel. This was the first time that Yinreng had a real task since he became involved in government affairs, rather than following behind Kangxi to observe government affairs and handle memorials.
Of course, those things were nothing new to Yinreng; he had been a skilled worker in his previous life. It was the thought of going to the Ministry of Personnel that piqued his interest. If nothing else, with his memories of his past life, he knew there were many talented people there. This time, he could have the opportunity to interact with them or even retain them and place them in suitable positions.
There was a new guest in the Qianqing Palace recently, Master Dejia. Kangxi would chat with him every day, and sometimes the two of them would even go for a night stroll with candlelight. No one in the entire Forbidden City knew what they talked about except Liang Jiugong, and sometimes even Liang Jiugong didn't know.
However, in the southwest corner of the Forbidden City, near the Qianqing Palace, a temple was slowly built without anyone noticing. Then Master Dejia moved in in the second month after he entered the palace.
The princes all knew the news, but no one knew the specific origins of this Master Dejia, or what the emperor wanted to do. All they knew was that a large amount of medicinal herbs were delivered to the small temple every day.
It’s not that no one went to find out the news, but the emperor protected it very tightly. The people there were all his confidants. As long as someone appeared outside, the emperor would order them to be killed immediately.
Finally, after so many times, the emperor even went directly to the princes who were trying to gather information and warned them not to offend the dragon's might.
Of course, with Yinreng's implicit reminder, he, Prince Yong, Prince Min, and Prince Dun also followed the crowd and sent someone to investigate, but they stopped after that person was killed.
What was going on inside became a hot topic among all the princes for a while, but this time Kangxi was really determined not to let anyone know, and even sent out secret guards, so for a while, no news was leaked at all.
This also deterred the princes who were ready to make a move. Your father is still your father, do not disturb the sleeping dragon.
Time soon came to October, and Yinreng's new mansion was completed. It was also a happy event. After discussing with Buerhe, Yinreng prepared to hold a big banquet. Apart from the princes, they only invited a few close relatives.
Yinreng even went to the Qianqing Palace in person to invite Kangxi. As for whether Kangxi would come or not, that was not within Yinreng's consideration, or he didn't care.
As early as when Kangxi decided to depose him from the position of crown prince, Yinreng knew that the father-son relationship of two lifetimes had finally come to an end. They could never go back to the past, and when they met again, they would be just monarch and subject wearing masks.
The location chosen for Yinreng's new mansion was not far from Yinzhen's, or in other words, all the princes lived quite close to each other, with the farthest being only two or three streets away.
Early in the morning, the Fourth Lady came to help. Bu Erhe did not hesitate to take her to the second gate to welcome the guests.
The first one to come was the eldest wife. She was in much better health than before, perhaps because her children were healthy and her husband was in a good situation. Anyone with a discerning eye could see the strength and confidence emanating from her.
And I don’t know if it was because he had directly passed over the Prince of Zhi without any reward before, but the emperor finally gave the Prince of Zhi’s Mansion a favor, that is, the eldest and second princesses in the mansion were allowed to marry freely.
It was also from that time that the relationship between the First Lady and Bu Erhe faded, and this was also the first time the two met after the incident of deposing the crown prince.
Buerhe greeted her with a smile: "Sister-in-law is here. It is a great honor for our family to come here in person today."
The colorful sedan was carried by everyone. Even though Buerhe was no longer the Crown Princess, don't forget that she was still the Princess. After all, she had the highest status among the princes' wives. So now she took the initiative to call the First Wife "Sister-in-law", and the First Wife was of course more than happy to accept it.
Did she complain after hearing the emperor's decree? Of course she did. After all, she was the eldest sister-in-law. The eldest prince was not convinced by Yinreng. Would she, a concubine, be willing to bow down to Buerhe? There is no room for two people to sleep in the same bed!
If the gap in their status wasn't so huge, and she had always wanted to use her power to keep her daughters in the capital, how could she have become friends with Burhe?
At this point, the eldest wife smiled sweetly at Buerhe: "Second brother and sister-in-law are in high spirits today because of a happy event. Congratulations on moving to a new house."
Did Buerhe know what kind of person the eldest wife was? Of course she did. A year later, she wasn't clear, and two years later, she still didn't understand. But after knowing each other for so many years, if she still couldn't recognize someone, wouldn't she be completely clueless? But then again, getting along is all about following your heart. If you're attracted to each other, you're friends. If not, then you can break up. It's best to part ways amicably.
Besides, her previous relationship with the First Lady was simply because, as a woman, she wanted to help her live a good life and didn't want to see her nieces and nephews lose the protection of their mother after they passed away.
After welcoming the First Concubine into the house, the Third Concubine, the Fifth Concubine, the Seventh Concubine, the Eighth Concubine... soon came over. Bu Erhe also brought the Fourth Concubine into the main courtyard to entertain these sisters-in-law.
Today, the Eighth Concubine was dressed very brightly and luxuriously. Her appearance was already upper-class among the concubines. With this outfit today, she instantly stole the limelight from Burhe.
Not only that, he also used his skills to win over several of the female relatives, and directly scolded those he didn't like, not taking Bull and his master seriously at all.
The Fourth Lady couldn't stand it and directly retorted, "Eighth Brother's house has been very busy lately. I heard that Eighth Brother's wife is also hosting banquets every day. It seems that there is a big happy event. Did you hear some good news from the eldest sister-in-law? Is he going to be promoted to a noble? What do you think, eldest sister-in-law?"
As soon as the Fourth Lady finished speaking, the Eighth Lady stopped talking instantly, and even the First Lady's expression began to turn ugly. The Eighth Prince had always been a little tail behind the First Prince, and even Concubine Liang had always lived in Concubine Hui's Yanxi Palace. It could be said that in the eyes of the First Prince, the Eighth Prince was just a dog that came whenever he called.
But now, looking at the recent small moves in Lian Beizi's mansion and the behavior of the Eighth Concubine, it is clear that they are trying to set up their own faction.
The eldest wife was not one to get angry easily, but faced with the fourth wife's direct words, she had to speak out: "Fourth sister-in-law, you misunderstood. What good news about the promotion is there? If there is, it is the man's business. How much can we women in the backyard know? Eighth sister-in-law must have drunk a little too much today and is getting excited. Come on, eighth sister-in-law, I will accompany you to change clothes."
The First Concubine spoke, and the Eighth Concubine wanted to say something, but at this time the maid beside her pulled her sleeve, and the Eighth Concubine stopped talking and followed the First Concubine out obediently.
Buerhe patted the Fourth Lady's still trembling hands and said, "Relax, Second Sister-in-law is fine. The Eighth Lady is not a smart person either. She will suffer in the future."
The Fourth Lady couldn't help but pout, but thinking that today was a good day for her second sister-in-law, she didn't pursue the matter any further. Instead, she put on a smile and greeted the women around her happily.
At this moment, Buer and a second-class maid beside her walked up to her and whispered softly in her ear: "Princess, there is a woman outside the door who claims to be the wife of Lord Longkodo and wants to come in, but the servant did not see the invitation."
Buerhe frowned slightly and said, "I haven't sent her any invitations. Please let this lady go back! You don't have to stay."