The Qing Palace Never Meets Spring

When Qingwan entered the palace that year, she turned around and went to Yonghe Palace.

Consort De treated Shuhe very well. She had three sons and three daughters in her life, but none of them grew up by her side. Unlike Consort Hui and Consort Rong, who raised many princes and princesses, she only had one adopted daughter, Princess Quejing.

She had finally raised her two sons and one daughter, and watched them get married, especially Wenxian who married into Kangxi's maternal family. She thought that the most difficult hurdle for the princess, the pacification of Mongolia, was over, but unexpectedly, she died on the way to Rehe to escape the summer heat.

She had three sons and three daughters, but in the end, only two sons remained.

When Kangxi first asked her to keep Shuhe by her side, she was willing, but she only thought about keeping her by her side to amuse her, asking someone to take good care of her, and then arranging a marriage for her when she grew up. That would be considered completing her task. But as time went on, she developed some feelings for her.

When Qingwan entered, Shuhe was playing on the kang (a heated brick bed), and Consort De led people to pick out things for her.

"Greetings to De'e."

Someone had already informed Consort De that Qingwan was coming to pay her respects, so when she saw Qingwan, she smiled and said, "Come, let's see what she should wear today, since it's New Year's Day."

Qingwan got up and walked to her side, saying, "What I chose is naturally good."

“You young people never speak the truth, all you do is flatter.”

Qingwan supported Consort De's forearm and waited until Consort De sat on the kang before saying, "If you say that, I'll have to protest my innocence. We wouldn't dare to play tricks in front of you. Of course, we do whatever we want. After all, you only taught us a few words, and I'll have to think about them carefully when I get back."

Consort De smiled and shook her head, turning Shuhe, who was facing away from Qingwan, to face Qingwan. Shuhe looked up in confusion, not understanding why she had changed direction. She glanced at Qingwan and then lowered her head to play with the nine-linked rings in her hand.

“You’re busy taking care of several children and the thirteenth child, so you can’t come often. She recognizes people.”

Then she coaxed Shuhe to look up: "Shuhe, your aunt has come to see you. The shoes you are wearing were made by your aunt."

After much coaxing, Shuhe finally raised her head, and Qingwan was still momentarily dazed upon seeing her again.

Consort De also noticed this, and she remembered how Qingwan lost her composure when Shuhe fell into Qingwan's arms during her first birthday celebration a few days ago.

He said, "Those two children, Wen Ke and Dun Ke, were good to you, and they both died by your side. You have to remember this for the rest of your life."

"Especially since Wen Ke lost one of his two children, you and the thirteenth prince." Seeing Qing Wan's grief-stricken expression, Consort De paused and didn't continue.

Only when Qingwan's expression changed did she understand: "But Dunke is Dunke, and Shuhe is Shuhe. No matter how similar they are, they are still different."

Qingwan looked at Shuhe in front of Consort De, squatted down and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Your Highness."

Seeing her like this, Consort De guessed she had taken the words to heart but hadn't quite grasped the meaning, and said:

"Get up, it's getting late, let's go."

"Yes." Qingwan got up and left with Consort De. Before leaving, she couldn't help but look back one last time and found Shuhe lying by the kang watching her, biting her finger and smiling. The wet nurse took her hand out of her mouth, and she looked unhappy with a stern face.

Qingwan turned around and smiled.

When they arrived at the palace banquet, they found that Yinzhi's family members were nowhere to be seen, presumably because of the death of Consort Liang.

However, the ladies and noblewomen around them were talking about matters concerning the Eighth Prince's residence.

"It's been almost two months since Consort Liang passed away, and the banquets at the Eighth Prince's residence are getting more and more lively. Even his wedding wasn't this lively."

"That's right, everyone in the capital says that the Eighth Prince is filial."

Quejing chuckled beside Qingwan, and Qingwan whispered, "The princess is laughing too loudly."

Que Jing became even more overjoyed, and only after laughing enough did she say, "Thirteenth Sister-in-law is truly a wonderful person."

Qingwan looked at her innocently, and Chunque continued, "I heard that these days, Ninth Brother, Tenth Brother, and Fourteenth Brother have been taking turns delivering meals to Eighth Brother who is observing mourning."

I was even admiring the myna's filial piety, but when my husband returned, he said he saw the myna from afar and that it had actually become quite plump.

Thinking of the emaciated Eighth Prince's wife, and hearing that the increasingly plump Yinzhi was, Qingwan said, "Eighth Brother is probably suffering from the hardship of mourning."

Que Jing laughed even more: "That makes sense. Apart from the first few days when I didn't see you and Thirteenth Brother, I thought you hadn't been going all the time. I didn't know that the mansion was so lively, with pigs and sheep constantly being brought out. Anyone who didn't know would think it was a wedding."

Qingwan was somewhat surprised: "I heard it was lively, but I didn't know it was this lively."

Que Jing smiled when she heard this, but a hint of sarcasm flashed in her eyes. However, it wasn't directed at Qing Wan. She then asked, "Did Thirteenth Sister-in-law go to Yonghe Palace to pay her respects to my mother today?"

"Hmm, let's take a look at Shuhe too."

Speaking of Shuhe, Chunque felt a pang of sadness: "The four of us sisters spent the longest time together in the palace, and now I'm the only one left."

Fortunately, both Susibali and Shuhe were being raised in the palace, so he could visit them often.

Su Xibali was the son of Chunque and Celing. Chunque and Yi'an both died in the 49th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, and her son was brought into the palace to be raised.

Yi'an and Yi Huan married Mongolians and died in the capital. Chun Que, although also married to a Mongolian, did not return to herdsmanship and lived in the capital for many years. Unexpectedly, she also passed away.

The three sisters shared similar fates and similar endings.

"Princess," Qingwan whispered a reminder. Quejing snapped out of her reverie. Today was indeed not the time to be sad. After nodding to Qingwan, she turned to see that most of the people had arrived before heading to find Consort Yuan.

Although she was married in the capital, it was still somewhat inconvenient for her to enter the palace, and she could not stay for too long.

After returning home, Qingwan told Yinxiang about Yinsi's grand banquet.

Yinxiang laughed and said, "It seems that Brother Ba has really made a big fuss. We were just saying that Brother Ba is still so heartbroken that he needs help to walk."

The two of them are now only seeking to keep a low profile in the capital, and they haven't specifically asked anyone to inquire about many things. If they inquire too much, they might catch Kangxi's eye, which would probably not be a good thing.

Qingwan frowned in confusion. Yinzhi's actions were excessive. Kangxi might not want to see such a scene. Moreover, after Kangxi's return to Beijing from the north, he went to offer wine at Consort Liang's memorial altar. Consort Liang was only a consort. What Yinzhi did was not a matter of filial piety, but rather a transgression of etiquette.

"Do you believe me, sir?"

Yinxiang lifted the carriage curtain and looked out. Even though it was New Year's Day, there were still quite a few people going to Yinsi's residence to join in the fun. He said, "Whether we believe or not is not important. It depends on whether Father Khan believes or not."

As it turned out, Kangxi did not believe it. After Yinzhi finished his mourning period, Kangxi issued an edict rebuking Yinzhi for being hypocritical and unfilial, and for being treacherous.

The conclusion is that Yinzhi's filial piety, whether genuine or not, was all fake.

It's unknown whether Yinzhi got what he wanted from this funeral.

Emperor Kangxi's special trip to offer wine at Consort Liang's memorial altar was undoubtedly a sign of his remorse over her death.

Secondly, it might not be that there was no intention to make peace, but whether Yinzhi didn't understand or didn't want to accept it, in any case, the father and son remained deadlocked after that.

But none of this concerned Qingwan and her companion. Once they closed the door, they heard the news only after others had already discussed it.

Yinxiang shook his head helplessly: "Now we really don't know what might happen next."