Chapter 59 Chapter 59: Concubine Niuhuru celebrated…

Concubine Niuhuru celebrated her 30th birthday. Kangxi actually held a banquet for her that went far beyond the usual standards for a concubine.

However, singing and dancing were forbidden during the mourning period, so they simply shared a meal.

The banquet wasn't held in Concubine Niuhuru's Yongshou Palace, as was customary. Kangxi held it at the Shouxuanchunyong in Changchun Garden, a special favor.

Not only were the concubines in attendance, but princesses, princesses, and wives of ministers with imperial titles also entered the palace to celebrate the birthday. There was even a special banquet set up in the front hall for the princes and ministers.

Early in the morning, Concubine Hui, Concubine Rong, and Concubine De entered Changchun Garden and happened to run into each other, so they walked together for a while.

"Now, both Imperial Concubines are blessed with the Emperor's favor. One has so many wonderful daughters-in-law, and the other was personally granted a birthday celebration in Changchun Garden by the Emperor. Even the princes and ministers came to congratulate her."

Hui Fei spoke sourly, holding her maid's hand as she walked slowly.

Rong Fei, though more composed than Hui Fei, couldn't help but say a few words when the Third Prince's marriage was brought up.

"After all, we are not as noble as the Imperial Concubine, and even our son is not as noble as the Fourth Prince."

De Fei simply smiled and remained silent.

Hui Fei and Rong Fei exchanged a glance. In their momentary bliss, they had forgotten that the Fourth Prince 's real mother was present

. "Come to think of it, the first child is always a little different from the others. It must be hard for De Fei to have the child you worked so hard to give birth to be given to someone else," Rong Fei said, glancing at De Fei.

De Fei's expression barely shifted, as if they were talking about someone completely unrelated.

"Both princesses are still young, and Yinzhen is only two years old. My younger sister is truly unable to spare the time, so it would be best if the Imperial Concubine could take care of Yinzhen."

Huifei, still somewhat comradely with Defei, interrupted the conversation to resume the scenery of Changchun Garden. Just then, a palace attendant arrived to report that the Fifth Princess was looking for Defei, so Defei excused herself and left.

"Why did you bring up the Fourth Prince in front of Defei? Everyone knows that Defei dislikes this son to begin with," Huifei whispered after Defei had left.

She and Rongfei had been competing with each other for years, and now, among the concubines of the early years, they were the only ones to have made it through and ascended to the throne.

"It was just a casual remark."

"I can't get involved in so many trivial matters," Huifei said. "Yinzhen's marriage is already keeping me busy enough."

"I heard that the eldest prince will be getting married next year after the mourning period?" Rongfei was clearly more interested in the mention of her sons' marriages than before.

Concubine Hui couldn't help but smile with a hint of pride. "The Emperor loves Yinzhi. This marriage has been planned for three years now, and he's almost twenty. We must hurry up. The Emperor already had several princes and princesses by Yinzhi's age."

Rong Fei nodded in sympathy, a rare moment of sympathy.

They all had sons, and they longed for them to grow up, marry, and start families.

"The Emperor wants Yinzhi's wedding to wait two years, so he can marry the Fourth Prince together. What can we do about it?" Rong Fei sighed.

Initially, Kangxi had wanted his sons to marry sooner, but Wen Shan firmly stopped him.

She had no say in the Third Prince, but Yinzhen absolutely couldn't marry at fourteen; sixteen was her bottom line.

Seeing her insistence, Kangxi had no choice but to agree to postpone Yinzhen's marriage for two more years. Yinzhi would be one year older than Yinzhen. After a moment's deliberation, Kangxi simply waved his hand and let the two brothers marry together.

The two chatted as they walked slowly towards Shouxuan Chunyong. On the way, they ran into Lady Dong E, the future mother-in-law of the Third Prince, who had come to celebrate the birthday. Since

the imperial edict had been issued, Lady Dong E was considered a relative of Concubine Rong, so they went into the hall together and sat down to talk for a few words.

Wen Shan and Concubine Yi came together. When they arrived, more than half of the people had already arrived. The concubines and wives were seated in the back hall. When they saw Wen Shan enter, they all stood up and greeted her.

Wen Shan smiled and told everyone not to be so formal, and then she and Concubine Yi walked to the left. The first seat was reserved for her, and Concubine Yi sat right below her.

Today, Concubine Niuhuru was the birthday girl, so she was seated at the top, next to Kangxi.

From the Tenth Prince onward, the princes were taken to the front hall by Kangxi, and the remaining younger princes and princesses stayed with their mothers.

So, only Yinxiang was by Wen Shan's side.

Wen Shan was recently enjoying a surge of popularity within the imperial harem. With a son, the Fourth Prince had completely won the arranged marriages for the princes. Furthermore, Wen Shan had been secluded lately, making it difficult to see anyone. As soon as she sat down, concubines and ministers' wives constantly approached her to chat.

Wen Shan was somewhat overwhelmed by these social interactions. She could simply nod and smile at some, but there were a few she couldn't handle so perfunctorily.

For example, the wife of Yinzhen's future in-law, Ma Qi.

Lady Fucha wasn't terribly surprised that her daughter had been chosen as the prince's legitimate wife. Her family background made her a natural choice, and

marrying her to the Fourth Prince wasn't surprising, given their similar age. However, with the appointment of two concubines, both from well-established families, Lady Fucha worried about her daughter's future role as legitimate wives.

The Emperor's grand birthday celebrations coincided with the birth of Noble Consort Nianhulu, giving her the opportunity to speak with Noble Consort Xuan.

If Consort Xuan could pay a little more attention to her daughter, life would be much easier. As

Wen Shan chatted with Madam Fucha, Ma Qi in the front hall was sizing up his new son-in-law, the Fourth Prince Yinzhen, who sat across from him in a stately manner.

Ma Qi and Tong Guowei were currently high-ranking ministers within the Shangshufang, and since their ranks were similar, they were assigned to the same seat. Tong Guowei, after taking his seat, congratulated Ma Qi.

"Sir Ma Qi, I haven't congratulated you and the Emperor on becoming in-laws yet."

Ma Qi felt mixed emotions. He was naturally pleased that his daughter was marrying the Fourth Prince as his principal wife, but the Emperor had also designated the daughter of Fei Yanggu and Nuomin as his concubine, which was a significant pressure.

Fei Yanggu had retired two years ago, holding only the honorary title of a First-Rank official and no longer serving in the court. However, Nuomin was the official Minister of Justice, and Ma Qi frequently interacted with him, not just in daily encounters but also on government matters.

Now that his daughter was outshining Nuomin's daughter, Nuomin felt uneasy. Ever since the imperial edict was issued, she hadn't been kind to him.

"Lord Tong, we've been colleagues for years. Don't make fun of me. Haven't you seen how Nuomin has been treating me with such disdain lately?" Ma Qi said with a wry smile.

"This is the imperial edict, the emperor's will. If Nuomin has any complaints, she can speak to him." Tong Guowei dismissed the idea. "Just prepare your daughter's marriage and wait for her wedding. Why bother with him?"

Ma Qi naturally understood the logic, but no one liked to be treated coldly, and the thought of the unrest in the harem after his daughter's wedding only made him a little uneasy.

Overall, however, Ma Qi was quite pleased with Kangxi's arranged marriage.

Not only did he become in-laws to the emperor's children, but the Fucha family also outshined the Majia and Ulanara families—a natural favor.

Thinking of this, Ma Qi also smiled and said: "Speaking of which, the Fourth Prince was raised by Empress Xiaoyi for a few years. So, Master Tong and I are related."

Ma Qi's words were pure exaggeration, but private conversations were less elaborate to curry favor. The Fourth Prince had indeed been raised by Empress Tong Jia for several years, so even that was plausible.

Tong Guowei had clearly come to establish good relations with Ma Qi, so he didn't say anything to dampen his mood.

He was thinking about the Eighth Prince and the Fourth Prince being raised together by Concubine Xuan. While the Fourth Prince seemed closer to the Crown Prince, and it was unclear whether he knew the Eighth Prince's feelings, they had grown up together, and there was no guarantee the Fourth Prince would support the Eighth Prince. As the Fourth Prince's father-in-law, Ma Qi would naturally be on their side.

So, after deciding to support the Eighth Prince, Tong Guowei began to deliberately befriend Ma Qi.

Kangxi and today's birthday girl, Concubine Nianhulu, hadn't arrived yet. Everyone in the palace was gathered in groups, talking, including the princes.

Tong Guowei coldly watched the Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Princes, who seemed closer and kept joking, while the Fourth Prince was pulled away by the Third Prince to speak with the Crown Prince.

Tong Guowei dismissed the Fifth and Seventh Princes, one lacking talent and the other suffering from a disability, as having no chance of inheriting the throne.

The Third and Fourth Princes' marriages were already set, and after their weddings, they would both take on the government. As the princes grew older, many were secretly making plans.

The Crown Prince, however, was surprisingly calm and unreactive about the Third and Fourth Princes' marriages. He even cheerfully congratulated Yinzhi and Yinzhen.

"The Emperor wants you two to get married together. We'll definitely have a grand wedding then," the Crown Prince said with a smile, patting Yinzhen on the shoulder.

The Third Prince initially assumed the Crown Prince would also be unhappy with Yinzhen's marriage, but was surprised by his generosity.

The Crown Prince's composure was evident because Kangxi had already discussed the matter privately. The reason he had been chosen for the arranged marriage was because Kangxi had favored Guaerjia, the daughter of Shi Wenbing, a First-Rank Commander-in-Chief. Guaerjia's mother's surname was Aisin-Gioro, and her maternal grandfather, Chang Adai, was the grandson of Daishan, Prince Lilie, and the eldest son of Man Dahai, Prince Xun. As a dual-brother prince, they held exceptional prestige within the imperial family.

Guaerjia was also a well-established Manchu aristocracy, so Kangxi, after much deliberation, ultimately chose her.

However, Guaerjia was several years younger than the Crown Prince, so the arranged marriage would have to wait another two years.

Kangxi had already reviewed not only the Crown Princess but also the concubines, and had a clear idea

of his choice. While the Crown Prince might be a bit impulsive, he was no fool, and naturally, he wouldn't express any displeasure at the Emperor's thoughtfulness.

Moreover, Yinzhen and Yinzhi were both considered by the Crown Prince to be his own people. The Emperor's promotion of them was partly out of consideration for his own good, as long as it wasn't a favor to the eldest prince, who always contradicted him.

Speaking of the eldest prince, his brothers were growing up and had their own minds.

The Crown Prince looked around. Aside from the younger ones, who were taken care of by their mothers, the rest of the brothers were clearly divided into factions.

The eldest brother, alone, had always disdained to interact with his brothers. The third and fourth brothers talked to him, while the eighth, ninth, and tenth brothers huddled together. The fifth and seventh brothers, however, could be ignored. These two were good people and could talk about their relationships with any of their brothers.

Yinsi, the ninth and tenth princes, were chatting nearby. Born in the same year, they were now seven years old and understood many things much better than before.

"Eighth brother, thirteenth brother will be three next month. Shouldn't he come to the Shangshufang?" the ninth prince suddenly asked.

The tenth prince was eating fruit nearby. When he heard what the ninth prince said, he looked up at Yinsi in confusion. He was not very familiar with Yinxiang, but he knew that this was the younger brother who was raised in the palace of Concubine Xuan with the eighth brother.

"Eighth brother, you can't be partial to the thirteenth brother now." The tenth prince said hurriedly.

Yinsi laughed: "You are all my brothers, so of course you are the same."

"The eighth brother must still like us the most. Look, the fourth brother also grew up with the eighth brother like the thirteenth brother. Doesn't the eighth brother still like to be with us more?" The ninth prince said with his head held high.

It was as if Yinsi had become a rare treasure and it was a great honor for anyone to be looked at by him.

Yinsi thought to himself that these two really liked him consistently. Maybe this was fate.

"Alright, enough of this," Yinsi interrupted, both amused and embarrassed, asking, "Have you prepared the birthday gifts for Concubine Niohuru?"

Since they were assigned to the front hall, they couldn't share their mothers' birthday gifts. They had to prepare separate gifts for when the Emperor and Concubine Niohuru arrived.

"My mother helped prepare them all. It's pretty much the same every year," the Ninth Prince said unconcernedly.

Such things were just formalities.

The Tenth Prince nodded in agreement. It was his own mother's birthday today, so naturally, Concubine Niohuru herself would decide what to give at the banquet.

As they were talking, Kangxi and Concubine Niohuru entered hand in hand, and everyone hurriedly stood to greet them.

Kangxi walked to the head of the table and sat down, saying, "Please sit down."

Concubine Niohuru also took a seat beside him. She would receive their birthday gifts first, and then she would go to the back hall to celebrate with the concubines and the rest of the family.

"Yin'e, what gift have you prepared for your mother's birthday today?"

Kangxi called out the Tenth Prince's name as soon as he sat down.

Concubine Nianhulu had already prepared the gifts, and all the Tenth Prince needed was a few words of good luck. So, the Tenth Prince congratulated Concubine Nianhulu on her birthday, and then presented her with a piece of clear Kunshan jade carved into the character for longevity.

"I was wondering what you'd been up to lately, secretly, and it turns out you were carving this jade," Concubine Nianhulu said, smiling at Kangxi. "Your Majesty, please forgive me. This jade was given to Yin'e on his birthday this year. I didn't expect this kid to find it and carve something on it."

The Tenth Prince was still young and had no connections to prepare birthday gifts, so Concubine Nianhulu had specially selected a piece of Kunshan jade Kangxi had given him and then carved it slightly.

Everyone in the audience understood what was going on, and this act both demonstrated the Tenth Prince's filial piety and subtly praised Kangxi.

As expected, Kangxi gave Concubine Nianhulu the benefit of the doubt and praised the Tenth Prince's filial piety. Concubine Nianhulu then summoned the Tenth Prince to sit beside her, fearing he might cause trouble if she wasn't watching him.

After the Tenth Prince presented his gifts, it was the Crown Prince's turn, followed by everyone else according to their seniority. Everyone's birthday gifts were similar: precious treasures, antiques, jade, and jewelry—all valuable and symbolic, ensuring no mistakes. It wasn't

until Yinsi's turn that he presented a calligraphy scroll.

The scroll was a full six feet long. Unfolding it, it contained auspicious birthday wishes, but it looked like it had been written by dozens of people, and the handwriting was of varying quality, making it a somewhat chaotic mess.

"Yinsi, what are you giving me?"

Kangxi was puzzled, wondering what Yinsi was up to.

"Your Majesty, I have found thirty elderly people over sixty years old who are blessed with many children and grandchildren and enjoy the happiness of family life. They have written congratulatory letters to the Imperial Concubine," Yinsi said. "While I was searching for these people, I heard that there was a locust plague in Henan. I felt deeply for the hardships people are facing, so I distributed porridge in the affected areas for three days in the name of celebrating the Imperial Concubine's birthday."

"There is a locust plague in Henan?" Kangxi frowned slightly and looked at Tong Guowei. "Why didn't the Shangshufang pass on the news?"

Tong Guowei quickly stood up and replied, "Your Majesty, this locust plague is primarily confined to Nanyang County and isn't considered serious. Nanyang Prefect Tian Wenjing submitted a memorial a few days ago, and Henan Governor Yan has already provided relief to the victims according to established procedures. The situation is now under control. We, your servants, had been planning to report back to Your Majesty once the memorial regarding disaster relief arrived." "

Oh, it's Tian Wenjing," Kangxi said thoughtfully, but didn't say anything else.

The expressions of the eldest prince and the crown prince were captivating as soon as Yinsi presented his gift. They had all presented gold, jade, and antiques, but Yinsi presented a modest but thoughtful gift and even provided relief to the Nanyang victims.

He was filial, yet he also cared about the people's well-being.

This trait instantly put all the other princes to shame.

Kangxi was also very pleased with Yinsi's gift, saying, "Yinsi's gift is well-presented and well-thought-out. What do you think, Your Highness?"

Concubine Niohuru had already been fond of Yinsi because of the Tenth Prince, and now that she was getting older, she longed for a long and prosperous life with children and grandchildren, so she was truly pleased with Yinsi's congratulatory message.

"Of course I like it. Eighth Prince's kindness is so special, and what's rare is that he has such a kind heart," Concubine Niohuru said with a smile.

The Eighth Prince's gesture also caused the princes and ministers to have mixed feelings. Kangxi had publicly expressed his affection for Yinsi many times, and now, after today's event, many people were thinking that the Eighth Prince, who had just turned ten, seemed to be truly exceptional.

Tong Guowei was also secretly delighted, thinking that he had made the right choice.

Noble Consort Nianhulu's birthday banquet ended with Yinsi stealing the show. By the time Wenshan heard about it, she had already returned to Xianfu Palace from Changchun Garden and was changing out of her heavy and cumbersome court robes. As Zhenzhu was removing her headdress, she explained how the Eighth Prince had received the Emperor's praise today, earning him the highest rank among the other princes.

Wenshan had only one thought after hearing this:

"Venerable, truly virtuous." That

was truly Yinsi's style.

And this gift truly touched Noble Consort Nianhulu's heart. I heard she had the congratulatory memorial framed and hung somewhere after returning to the palace; after all, it was good to share in the good cheer.

Yinzhen and Yinsi, after attending the birthday banquet, had to rush to their classes in the Shangshufang, keeping them busy. Only Yinxiang returned with Wenshan, enjoying his remaining free time.

Wen Shan emerged from her dressing room to find Yinxiang's restless little hands poking at her koi, which weighed nearly three or four pounds.

Yinsi had carefully selected these koi, both beautiful and easy to care for. Over the years, they had grown from tiny fry into plump, robust koi.

"Yinxiang, don't kill the fish!"

Wen Shan walked over and pulled his little hand out.

Yinxiang smiled sheepishly, not expecting to be caught red-handed.

Everything his mother raised always grew plump and white. Fuqi and Laifu, for example, would have grown into fat dogs too lazy to walk if he hadn't driven them around the Imperial Gardens daily.

In a few days, Yinsi would officially be moving to Ganxi No. 5 Residence. Wen Shan's top priority lately was packing up Yinsi's belongings, and she couldn't wait to make three trips to Ganxi No. 5 Residence to check on how everything was going.

Seeing Wen Shan start to tick the luggage for Eighth Brother on the list again, Yinxiang said helplessly: "Mother, you've almost moved half of Xianfu Palace for Eighth Brother. Eighth Brother is so old and can take care of himself." "

Don't be fooled by your Eighth Brother's good temper. In fact, he is the most picky among the three of you brothers." Wen Shan counted the things again to make sure there was nothing missing. When she heard Yinxiang's words, she said without raising her head: "If the bedding is not right, he can't sleep well. If the sachet and purse are not right, he can't sleep well. Even the comb has to be picked and chosen. He is so picky. It takes a lot of effort to raise him."

Yinxiang listened and thought it seemed to be true. He immediately went to Wen Shan and said: "Then Mother, don't raise Eighth Brother. My fourth brother and I are easy to support."

"Your fourth brother isn't much better."

Wen Shan checked the items again before feeling reassured. She turned, rubbed Yinxiang's cheek, and kissed him. "Our little Thirteenth is the best. He's fine with anything and isn't picky!"

Yinzhen and Yinsi had grown up and needed to consider gender differences, so now only Yinxiang could enjoy Wen Shan's caresses and hugs.

Yinxiang felt a little flattered by Wen Shan's words. Sure enough, he was now Mother's favorite! As

Yinzhen and Yinsi were enjoying each other's company, they returned from the Shangshu Room.

Yinsi, taking one look at the boxes and crampons of things in the hall, knew Wen Shan had gone through everything again.

"Mother, you don't have to work so hard. If there's anything missing, we can just have the servants prepare it."

Yinxiang, mimicking Wen Shan's tone, said, "It can't be helped. Eighth Brother is the pickiest of the three of us."

Yinsi: "..."

Seeing the two about to argue again, Wen Shan quickly separated them.

Just then, Zhenzhu arrived with a brew of tonic medicine.

"Master, your tonic for today is ready. Take it first."

Wen Shan's face turned bitter at the sight of it, and she really didn't want to drink it.

Kangxi had stayed over last night, so this morning she drank the contraceptive decoction prescribed by Imperial Physician Zhang, and then another bowl of tonic in the evening.

This double routine was exhausting for Wen Shan.

Meanwhile, Yinzhen and the other two were urging her to drink the tonic quickly. Holding her nose, Wen Shan swallowed it, feeling the smell of medicine all over her body.

"Drinking medicine like this all the time isn't a good idea," Wen Shan's thoughts began to wander. "If only the Emperor could be childless."

"...!!!"

Yinzhen and his brothers were stunned by her wild idea.

Wen Shan figured that since sterilization herself was painful and harmful, she'd better forget it. She'd have to think of someone else.

"Mother, you..." Yinzhen was at a loss for words, not knowing what to say.

On the other hand, Yinsi stroked his chin and thought seriously: "The emperor is now in his prime. If there is no heir in the harem... Tsk, it's not easy to deal with."

Yinzhen: "..."

Wenshan was very moved. It had to be Xiaoba. She didn't raise him in vain.

Wenshan was obviously just talking casually. Even if she really wanted to do so, it couldn't be now. Fortunately, after the birthday of Concubine Nianhulu, Kangxi became busy and didn't enter the harem more than a few times a month.

The matter of the emperor personally leading the expedition to Junggar has been officially put on the agenda.