Chapter 18 Kangxi Huifei
"Master, Chuntao found a maid whose appearance is more outstanding than that of Concubine Yi, but her status is a little..."
"what happened?"
Zhang Shan glanced at her sideways and continued to embroider the purse in her hand. This was the mosquito repellent sachet that the original owner prepared for the eldest prince. The eldest prince had just returned to the palace, and the mother and son were very distant, which made the original owner happy and sad.
The original owner's wish was to save the eldest prince's life and wealth. She knew that she could not persuade the eldest prince not to go against the crown prince, nor could she guarantee that after the eldest prince stopped fighting, the crown prince would not take action against the eldest prince, the eldest son.
Therefore, she only wanted her eldest prince to be safe and sound, not to be imprisoned by Kangxi like in his previous life and die of depression, nor did she want her eldest prince to toil for a living all his life.
Furthermore, she didn't want to support Concubine Liang and the Eighth Prince anymore. One was like a white lotus dodder, sucking nutrients from her body and then biting her in return, while the other hid behind the First Prince and plotted against the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince, making enemies for the First Prince.
After causing the eldest prince to be imprisoned, the eighth prince hollowed out the power under the eldest prince and set up his own faction.
"That maid is Wei Shuang'er, a member of the Chanjue clan. Her ancestors committed crimes and were sent to the Imperial Household Department. She works in the Xinzheku. She is the most beautiful maid I have ever seen. Every man who sees her wants to protect her."
Her master was almost thirty years old and no longer served him in bed. Liu Lu no longer had any reservations about what she said. After all, her master just wanted to find a beautiful palace maid to help him consolidate his favor.
"If she is so beautiful, why did you discover it only now? Is Concubine De's influence in the Ministry of Internal Affairs no longer strong enough?"
Among the four concubines, only Rongfei, whose clan name was Ma Jia, was not from the Baoyi Banner. However, only Defei's parents and brothers worked in the Imperial Household Department. The fathers of Rongfei and Yifei had already served as officials in the court. This was also the reason why they looked down on Defei.
Liu Lu didn't dare to say a word. Concubine Hui and Concubine De didn't get along, but this was the first time that Concubine De's power in the Imperial Household Department was stated so bluntly.
"I don't want to end up making wedding clothes for others. Who is the person who gave you the news? Think of a way to let Concubine De know."
Concubine De had just given birth to the sixth prince, and the emperor named him Yinzuo. The original owner didn't know the meaning of it, but Nalan Mingzhu knew and reminded the original owner many times.
But Zhang Shan knew that this was the person the emperor had put forward to protect the prince. Now that the prince was old enough to enter the Shangshufang, all parties were watching him, so she could only think of a way to divert everyone's attention and ill will.
Without knowing it, Concubine De exchanged her son for the position of concubine.
Regardless of who has been hiding Wei all this time and bringing her out now, the purpose is just to compete for favor with Concubine De. Concubine De has been too favored over the years and has attracted a lot of people's attention.
Zhang Shan had just cut the thread and asked someone to deliver the sachet to the eldest prince when Concubine De received news that Concubine Hui had found a beautiful maid in the Xinzheku to secure her favor. Fortunately, Concubine Hui had not yet started to summon the little maid.
Concubine De: "A lotus can grow in a place like Xinzheku? It's really rare."
Shanhu: "My queen, I have seen that criminal slave. He is quite pretty. Will it affect the favor of the queen and the Sixth Prince?"
Concubine De: "The emperor loves the Sixth Prince the most, how can that bitch from Xinzheku be worthy of him?"
Shanhu: "Of course she is not worthy to be compared with the queen, but it is inevitable that someone is helping her behind the scenes!"
Concubine De: "Are you talking about Concubine Hui? Concubine Hui is old and pale, and she has come up with such a low-brow method to try to divert my favor. One Wei family member is not enough. The most important thing is the emperor's feelings."
However, she found this Wei annoying and disgusting, so she had people add a lot of good things into Wei's food. Wei was very vigilant and did not fall into the trap. It was then that Defei felt that this Wei posed a threat to her.
And Zhang Shan also found out who was behind the Wei family. That person was Imperial Noble Consort Tongjia. Zhang Shan was not surprised at all, because Wei family's status was not presentable. The emperor would only favor her but not like her. At most, he would just dote on her for a while and forget about her soon.
It will not threaten the Royal Noble Consort's position in the Emperor's heart, and this Wei can share Concubine Bo De's favor. If she can give birth to a child, raising him or her under her wing will be a profitable deal.
The prerequisite is that Wei is smart enough to get the emperor to allow her to give birth to the child.
Since Zhang Shan didn't like him, the Imperial Concubine would not dirty her hands, lest Wei Shi make a stupid move and implicate her.
She then instigated Concubine Rong to find a palace maid to consolidate the emperor's favor. However, Concubine Rong was very noble and disdainful of doing so. Wei just kept dragging it out, knowing that Wei could not sit still and would run to the Imperial Garden to meet the emperor by chance.
There was a new concubine in the palace, and the concubines reacted indifferently. After all, the emperor had many women, some with status and some without. Only when she gave birth to a prince and was promoted would they look at her in the eye.
Wei lived in the back hall of Chuxiu Palace, in the same palace as Concubine Niohuru. The emperor liked her appearance and skin very much, so he doted on her a little more, but it was also true that he cared about her identity and did not want her to give birth to a child.
However, Wei secretly vomited the contraceptive soup and did not discover it until the dragon fetus was four months old. It's hard to say how angry Kangxi was, as he felt he had been fooled.
The Imperial Noble Consort was extremely happy. She loved the Fourth Prince very much, but the Fourth Prince was after all Concubine De's child. She felt uncomfortable seeing him like that, but she was unwilling to send the Fourth Prince back to Concubine De.
But she was also happy to have an adopted son.
This means that the Tonggiya clan has an extra layer of protection.
However, to the disappointment of the Imperial Noble Consort, the Emperor had no intention of giving the Eighth Prince to her for raising. He only stayed with her for a month before being taken to Concubine De.
Not only did Concubine De not understand, but Zhang Shan also didn't understand. However, she didn't want to understand. She was already 30 years old, which is the prime age in modern times and she wouldn't be afraid of giving birth to a child.
So, after Concubine Yi and Concubine Niohuru gave birth to the ninth and tenth princes, Zhang Shan gave birth to a son safely, who was the eleventh prince Yinzhen.
The eldest prince was very happy. After all, among all his younger brothers, none of them shared the same mind as him. Now that he had a younger brother, he would go to Zhongcui Palace to pay his respects after school every day.
Ten years have passed. The eldest prince has grown from a chubby boy into a handsome young man of about 1.8 meters tall. He has also reached the age to get married. Zhang Shan cannot decide what kind of wife the eldest prince should marry.
But she only hopes that her son and daughter-in-law get along well so that the family can be harmonious.
The emperor appointed Irgen Jueluo, the daughter of Shangshu Kerkun, as the eldest prince's wife, and they were to get married in October this year. The eldest prince was very satisfied with this wife. Zhang Shan also did not want to be a wicked mother-in-law and take a concubine for her son before her daughter-in-law came into the family.
However, Kangxi still gave the eldest prince two palace maids to teach him about human affairs. This was the rule, and Zhang Shan would not stop it. Originally, Kangxi was already very dissatisfied that she had not given the eldest prince palace maids to teach him about human affairs.
Not long after the eldest prince got married, the Imperial Noble Consort fell ill. In order to bring good luck to the Imperial Noble Consort, the Emperor made Tong Jia the Queen, but the Queen died after only one day.
The Fourth Prince was sent back to Concubine De by the Emperor. He was in a very awkward situation. After the Sixth Prince died, Concubine De gave birth to the Fourteenth Prince. Now there was the Eighth Prince, an adopted son. There was no place for the Fourth Prince at all.
The Eighth Prince was raised in the palace of Concubine De, a sweet-mouthed but treacherous concubine. He had never met Concubine Wei, but the Eighth Prince was naturally close to her and was lying in wait for the opportunity to kill her with one blow.
However, the Eighth Prince did not have the opportunity to form his own team. Concubine De did not allow the Eighth Prince to get close to Concubine Yi and her children, and the Eighth Prince had to obey. Therefore, he was destined to fight alone.
The Thirteenth Prince was raised in Rong Fei's palace. Concubine Zhang Jia could see him whenever she wanted. She looked very easy-going. The Emperor particularly liked this temperament of Zhang Jia and favored her continuously. Zhang Jia also lived up to his expectations and gave birth to two princesses.
However, Zhang Jia's health deteriorated due to her repeated childbearing, and the emperor had a new favorite concubine, Wang.
The women in the palace are like the flowers in the back garden, they bloom and wither one after another. None of them will remain evergreen, nor will any of them remain favored forever.
Perhaps Zhang Jia was sincere in her love, but she became sickly after being abandoned by the emperor.
When Yinxuan was eighteen years old, Emperor Kangxi arranged for him to marry Wanyan, the daughter of the Minister of Personnel, as the eleventh prince's legitimate wife. The wedding date was set for February of the following year, so he would not be able to get a date this year. The eighth prince, the ninth prince, and the tenth prince all chose this year, and the dates were all scheduled for December.
The Eighth Prince's wife was not Guo Luoluo, but Huifa Nara. As the Eighth Prince followed the Fourth Prince, he was naturally classified as a member of the Prince's faction. Kangxi did not want the Prince's faction to become too powerful, so he would not promise him the granddaughter of Prince An.
The Eighth Prince's power was suppressed again and again. There were three big mountains in front of him - Kangxi, the Crown Prince, and the Fourth Prince.
Only when the ones in front of him fall one by one will it be his turn.
He schemed and plotted until he overthrew the crown prince, then deposed and reinstated him again. The crown prince's advisers were transferred to the Fourth Prince, and the Eighth Prince continued to poach their advisers.
But before he could dig into the corner, the emperor passed away, and the name of the eleventh prince was on the edict of succession. The eighth prince was not convinced, and when he wanted to make a fuss, he found that he was the only one who was unwilling to accept it.
During the period when the Eighth Prince was trying to poach people, the Eleventh Prince did several important things to prevent the Eleventh Prince, the deposed crown prince, the Third Prince, the Thirteenth Prince and others from being imprisoned. The Ninth Prince and the Tenth Prince had always been on good terms with the Eleventh Prince and they supported him.
The Fourteenth Prince only wants to fight. Since the Eleventh Prince wants to send troops to Dzungar, he will definitely be able to go to the battlefield. There is nothing to argue about.
The Fifth Prince, the Seventh Prince, and the Twelfth Prince remain neutral and do not offend anyone, so anyone can take the throne.
In recent years, the Fourth Prince has held the view that not competing is also competing. The appearance of not competing is too misleading. It would be disadvantageous for him to stand up and oppose now.
In this way, Eleventh successfully ascended the throne and became the third emperor since the Qing Dynasty entered the Pass.
Zhang Shan became the empress dowager, but she was already old and had great-grandchildren. The eldest prince's son Hongyu already had a son, and several granddaughters also had children.
Zhang Shan lived like an old darling of the Forbidden City, but there was no guarantee that she would survive, as she died in the fifteenth year after her son ascended the throne.