The Qing Palace Never Meets Spring

After sitting for a while, the group headed towards the Empress Dowager's Palace of Tranquil Longevity, with the three consorts leading the way and the rest of the group following behind.

This was the first time Qingwan had seen the Eighth Prince's wife since their last meeting. She wasn't as dejected as she had imagined; on the contrary, she seemed more energetic.

Upon arriving at Ning Shou Palace, Fifth Princess Consort, though residing outside the palace, was the first to arrive; she didn't even come with her mother-in-law, Consort Yi.

This time, she also came out to greet the Empress Dowager's attendants: "Greetings to all the ladies, Fourth Sister-in-law, and my brothers and sisters-in-law, you've arrived."

Qingwan and the others returned the greeting to her.

Fifth Prince Consort and Yinqi were a notoriously estranged couple. She was indeed beautiful, but not the kind of beauty Yinqi liked.

Although she was able to become the prince's wife because of her grandfather, her father's official rank was too low.

Therefore, Yinqi still disliked it. In addition, Yinqi had a favored concubine, Guarjia, who had squeezed out the Fifth Prince's wife from her position in earlier years.

When the Fifth Prince's wife first entered the mansion, she humbled herself and tried to win his favor, but Yinqi's dislike for her was too obvious. So she simply dusted off her sleeves and went to the palace to win the favor of Consort Yi and the Empress Dowager.

People that Yinqi dislikes are also hard for Consort Yi and the Empress Dowager to like. Consort Yi is better, at least she still cares about appearances and can occasionally show a smile to the Fifth Prince's wife.

But the Empress Dowager was different; like Yinqi, she made her displeasure plain to see.

At that time, all the imperial family members in the capital were waiting to see the Fifth Prince's wife make a fool of herself, but in the end, the Fifth Prince's wife not only won the favor of the Empress Dowager, but also secured her position in the Fifth Prince's mansion with the help of the Empress Dowager and Consort Yi.

No matter how much Yinqi favored his concubines, he still had a wife above him who he couldn't get around. After Yinqi passed away, no matter who inherited Yinqi's title, they could only request the title of his birth mother after the death of the Fifth Prince's wife.

Later, the Fifth Prince's wife also came to understand that there were so many couples in the capital who were only superficially harmonious, and she and Yinqi were just one of them.

As for Yinqi, although he was not as good as his younger brother Yintang at making money, he was still much better than the other princes.

Perhaps because the Fifth Prince's wife was being dutiful to the Empress Dowager and Consort Yi, Yinqi's relationship with her, while not exactly good, was not as tense as before. At least she could use the money in the mansion as she pleased.

With the status of a prince's wife and the wealth she possessed, the Fifth Prince's wife could only console herself that this was enough.

As she spent more time by the Empress Dowager's side, the Empress Dowager seemed to recall her younger self and felt a greater tenderness towards her.

The person who originally wanted to see the Fifth Prince's wife make a fool of herself ended up finding some enjoyment in her life.

So no one was surprised to see her arrive so early.

Consort De laughed first, "There's one that came even earlier. Have you arrived yet?"

"We haven't arrived yet. Grandmother went to the Imperial Garden to see the flowers early this morning and is changing her clothes now. Please come in with me, Your Highnesses."

Everyone entered and took their seats in turn, but soon the remaining concubines and others also arrived.

After everyone had talked for a while, the Empress Dowager asked about Yinzhi's newborn child: "How is the child?"

The Eighth Prince's wife sat behind Consort Liang and said with a smile, "That child was well-nurtured in the womb, and even more so after birth."

"I'll bring the child to the palace to pay my respects when he's a little older."

Telling about the child's origins was like stabbing the Eighth Prince's wife in the heart, but when the cleaned child was held in her arms, she couldn't help but cry and laugh at the same time.

This child came at just the right time, both for Yinzhi and for her.

The Empress Dowager showed little interest in seeing Yinzhi's child, but looked at the Eighth Prince's wife and said, "It's good that you can understand."

Consort Liang also said, "This child is kind-hearted. It's just that the young couple has a good relationship, so she was a bit stubborn. But she's fine now."

She also took the eldest prince into her care and raised him, meticulously attending to every need he required.

Consort Hui said, "Zhang's status is indeed a bit low. The fact that you thought of bringing the child to your side shows that you have really thought it through. In the future, when you have your own child, the eldest prince can also be a support."

The child's biological mother has a low social status, so what she thinks is not something they consider.

Before Consort Hui could finish speaking, Ningyin quietly tugged at Qingwan's sleeve, and the two of them went out under the pretext of changing clothes.

Ning Yin said somewhat sullenly, "It's really frustrating."

Qingwan simply placed her hand over hers and patted it gently to comfort her: "Didn't you already know that?"

Ning Yin was in a daze for a moment, then asked, "Do you think Eighth Sister-in-law has really come to her senses?"

"I don't know, but there are quite a few concubines in the Eighth Brother's mansion. Eighth Sister-in-law may have already resigned herself to her fate. The child is just the last straw."

But no matter what she thinks, she will protect this child and the unborn one, both for her own sake and for the sake of her myna bird.

“Yes,” Ning Yin chuckled, “bringing the child to your side means he’s your own child, which is better than nothing.”

That's what I thought at first too." Ning Yin thought absently about the past.

When she first married Yinzhen, Lady Shushu Gioro had already given birth to Hongchun. At that time, she still hoped to get along peacefully with Lady Shushu Gioro.

However, Lady Shushu Jueluo already had a child and had a long-standing relationship with Yinzhen, so she was very confident. At first, the two of them had a very ugly argument.

However, Yinzhen was a very childish person, and taking care of Hongchun was more like a child taking care of another child, let alone expecting him to mediate the relationship between his wives and concubines.

It wasn't until Ningyin suggested to Consort De that Hongchun be brought to her side that Lady Shushujueluo finally gave up.

"As for you, this time, I'm afraid you really will bring one or two back with you."

"Moyaqi is already a year old, you should start paying more attention to her." Ningyin continued after regaining her senses.

With Consort Min absent, Consort Hui only paid lip service but didn't actually care, and Lady Li Jia could only communicate occasionally and would never urge her, so Qingwan could only worry on her own.

Qingwan said, "There's no use rushing things like this. It's not like I can give birth to a child on my own."

Ning Yin looked at her with a hint of disappointment: "You..."

Then she changed the subject, "A few days ago, when Fourth Sister-in-law went to the palace to pay her respects to the Emperor, she mentioned that Fourth Brother had asked for a title for Li Shi in their household."

Fourth Sister-in-law seemed to take it all in stride. Although her mother disliked Li Shi's ostentatious behavior, Fourth Sister-in-law helped persuade her, saying that Li Shi was the birth mother of the prince and princess, and elevating her to the rank of concubine would be a matter of respect for the children.

It's clear that Lady Li is favored. When the imperial genealogy was revised in the forty-fifth year, Lady Song from their household gave birth to two princesses but they didn't get any names. Now, the fourth brother is willing to ask for a title for Lady Li.

"You'll be crying when your thirteenth brother asks for titles for others in the future."

Qingwan feigned sudden realization: "So that's how it is. It seems I'll have to keep the Thirteenth Prince in the main room for longer."

When she finished speaking, Qingwan covered her mouth and lowered her voice.

Ning Yin glared at her and laughed, "You're really shameless."

"Who's shameless? I didn't start this." But what she said before was also true; having a child isn't something she can just have whenever she wants.

As the two were chatting and laughing, someone from the Empress Dowager's side came over: "How are the two princesses?"

The two looked at each other, and Qingwan said, "Alright, we were just about to head back."