Chapter Five

  The Qinghua porcelain Guanyin vase only had two flowers inserted, one high and one low. The flowers in the Fugui flower vase never exceeded three branches. The purple gold incense burner burned faintly every day, with an unspoken nobility and elegance. Even in this small room, if you came in, you would feel solemn and elegant, not daring to speak or move much.

  Li sat beside Quan Pei with her head down, carefully trimming her nails and then meticulously applying a layer of pink nail polish. The delicate nails now had an extra layer of pink polish, making them look even more plump and vibrant, as if they could drip water at any moment.

  Li said: "Still, the nails of the lady are beautiful, and only this color matches the nails of the lady."

  Wan looked at her: "You also applied it well, but after all, applying it to your fingernails isn't very comfortable. The hibiscus syrup is better."

  "It's not easy to dye it either, soaking it for a whole night makes your skin wrinkled."

  After all, many things have changed, but these new and interesting things are all Western goods, which makes her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

  Outside, the eunuch delivered this month's monthly interest silver to everyone. Xiaoyue grabbed a handful of money and rewarded the eunuch, and then counted the silver with Xiaorong in front of Quan Pei. The reward money for Yongzheng, Quan Pei, and the two small eunuchs added up to 343 taels and 5 mace of silver, which was 5 mace short after counting back and forth.

  Five coins, saying more is not much, saying less is not little. If this time loses without a word, there might still be next time. The palace maids and eunuchs will also increasingly look down on people. If making a fuss about these five coins, it must again hurt the face of the noble consort in charge of this matter. Neither side seems to have an advantage.

  Five taels of silver are missing, and no one can take it out for the time being. Li said: "It must be these eunuchs who have embezzled it. You can't spoil their habits for such a small amount of silver. It's not good to ask the imperial concubine about this. Just deal with a few small eunuchs and that will do!"

  Ruan Yu lightly blew on the nail polish on her fingernails and said to Xiao Yue, "Go tell that eunuch that I'm not afraid to go ask the Imperial Consort for those five coins. Does he think I don't know about his little tricks?"

  The eunuch who sent the money, how could he not know that there were five fewer coins in the money he took? He originally had his own plan, and when he saw Xiaoyue coming over, his eyes changed. Listening to Xiaoyue say: "Our Fu Jun asked you 'Do you think I don't dare to go with the noble consort to discuss this five coins, or do you think I don't know your little tricks?'"

  "This remark is too ambiguous: 'Fu Jin said...' "

  Xiao Yue sneered: "Do you think we would make things difficult for you?"

  The little eunuch had not yet come back to his senses when two eunuchs came up and seized the little eunuch's arms.

  The imperial concubine is looking at this month's account book: "It would be best if one were not missing and sent down."

  The eunuch came in and said: "Fourth Madame is here with a small eunuch who brought the silver for sending off the month."

  The imperial concubine narrowed her eyes: "Let him in."

  The dignified yet casual-looking Eunuch Guan spoke in a low voice: "......You don't know how detestable the eunuchs under me are. Originally, it wasn't much money, I could have just made up for it, but they still had to send someone to you. It's just that I wanted to remind you not to let these small characters ruin your reputation."

  The imperial concubine's face was stiff for a moment before she spoke: "These eunuchs are detestable, just don't think I'm intentionally making things difficult for you."

  Quan Pei smiled faintly, the crimson tassels in her hair gleaming with a soft light, and even her eyes seemed somewhat hazy: "Some people think I only dare to make things difficult for the eunuchs, but when it comes to the empress, I'm also at a loss. But I just don't want to talk to these underlings, they're just some lackeys. What do you say?"

  The imperial concubine smiled and said: "You're still understanding..."

  Quan Pei's skirt was pressed with a jade pendant, and when she walked, it made a crisp sound. Matching her walking posture, it was really pleasing to the eye. The imperial concubine had been watching Quan Pei leave the door, and then closed her eyes slightly. Some people want to gain multiple benefits at once...

  Dafu Jin knelt beside Consort Hui's feet, diligently massaging her legs with just the right amount of force. However, her hairpins had all come loose from the exertion. Consort Hui glanced down at her, slightly annoyed, and waved Dafu Jin's hands away. She examined a small, exquisitely carved snuff bottle, sniffed it, then covered her mouth with a handkerchief to stifle a sneeze, only feeling somewhat relieved afterwards.

  From the first child to last year, Da Furen had given birth to four children, all of whom were daughters. Consort Hui carefully examined Da Furen, but couldn't figure out what was special about her. The Emperor only allowed her to have one son, yet she couldn't give birth to a son. Fortunately, the Crown Prince didn't have any surviving sons either, so Consort Hui didn't want to pressure her too much.

  The Empress Dowager rarely spoke to Concubine Hui during her time on top, as speaking too much often led to mistakes.

  The eunuch brought in a small eunuch from outside, the palace maid whispered a few words in her ear, and Consort Hui's expression was still relaxed, but her tone turned icy: "Everyone has been sent to me, is this angering to the point of shame?"

  The palace maid said: "In front of the four noblewomen, losing such a big face, definitely won't be happy, and just asked if it was our fault."

  The imperial concubine sneered and carefully wiped the patterns on the snuff bottle with a handkerchief: "You go, treat that little eunuch well, I want to see how she can deal with me?"

  Among so many brothers, only the eldest prince is older and has the greatest power. Consort Hui is also a formidable figure. In this palace, what can Imperial Noble Consort Yi be considered as? Empress Fu didn't quite understand what was going on, but she felt that something big was about to happen in the harem.

  Quan Pei had just entered the courtyard when she saw thirteen standing upright in the middle of the yard, sunbathing. Seeing Quan Pei, they smiled and showed a row of teeth.

  Xiao Rong saw Quan Pei looking over and hastily stepped forward saying: "Master is displeased with the thirteenth young master for not being diligent in his studies, so he's being punished to stand here."

  Yongzheng was reading in his study when he heard Guanpei enter and stood up: "Has it been taken care of?"

  Quan Ai smiled and nodded, walking towards the study.

  Quan Pei just lightly sniffed the tea water in the cup and put it aside. Yongzheng knew that if he hadn't brewed it himself, Quan Pei wouldn't drink much of it. He only asked: "Did the Empress Dowager give you a hard time?"

  Guī Fēi is a clever person and has never made things difficult for me.

  Yin Zhen felt a little guilty: "I didn't expect you to suffer with Grandfather too."

  Ruan Yu raised her eyes and looked at Yongzheng: "What are you talking about? When did I say I was wronged?"

  Yongzheng didn't respond immediately and after a pause said: "Who do you think is behind this matter?"

  Gong Yu's mouth muttered something before saying: "The Empress actually favors the Crown Prince, and we are almost 100% on the side of the Crown Prince. Naturally, there are people in the harem who have ideas, I don't need to say it for you to guess."

  A hint of a smile suddenly appeared in Ruo Xi's eyes: "Still, you have a plan, so this isn't a case of 'trouble from the east and inviting it to the west'?"

  Xiao Rong came in from outside and said softly: "The person has been sent to Concubine Hui."

  "It's like this, isn't it..." She smiled and pointed at the thirteen-year-old in the courtyard: "Still, let him come in, it's not good to be out in the sun for too long, he's still young, take your time."

  "Yuan Zhen furrowed his brow and said, 'You don't know him, he's been sitting in front of the table for a while, always looking towards the courtyard. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was looking for you. I asked him what he wanted with you, but he wouldn't say. This child is too mischievous...'"

  Wei Zifu smiled and looked at Yongzheng with her chin in her hand: "In the future, when our children grow up, you will be like this too."

  Yin Zhen felt a bit uneasy and didn't speak to Quan Pei. He looked out at the bright sunlight outside and shouted towards Shisan: "Aren't you coming in yet?!"

  Thirteen happily responded with a "yes" and ran towards the study room.

  This time, with Quan Pei present, the thirteen-year-old boy sat upright and calculated seriously, deeply afraid of being disliked by Quan Pei. When Zhong Yan went out in the middle, he nervously looked at Quan Pei sitting beside him also calculating problems, and whispered: "Fourth sister, teach me archery."

  Quan Pei looked up at Thirteen, and Thirteen smiled again: "Is the master's teaching not good?"

  "The master is not as fierce as the fourth aunt."

  Quan Pei smiled: "But Master has already taught you enough."

  Thirteen's two small eyebrows were instantly tied together, Quan Pei said it was right, but he always felt that something was wrong, and couldn't say anything for a long time. Until noon, after eating with Yunzong and Quan Pei, Thirteen returned to his own courtyard, still feeling suffocated, why didn't it work out?

  That little eunuch was supported by Concubine Hui, specifically to fight with Consort Gui. Consort Gui sneered, gritting her teeth at a nearby palace maid: "Find an excuse and beat him to death!"

  He was just a minor eunuch, and the imperial concubine wanted to find an excuse to put him to death, so he didn't even have a thread of chance to live, but the feud between the imperial concubine and Consort Hui was also settled.

  Eighth Brother came to pay his respects to Empress Hui, who glanced at him and said: "I heard you get along well with Tenth Brother?"

  Eighth Brother lowered his eyes and looked at Consort Hui's purple skirt hem: "It's okay."

  "It's better if you don't associate with him in the future, lest the Empress Dowager be displeased."

  The eighth prince nodded and responded with a "yes".

  He came out of the Hui Fei Palace and saw a few maidservants surrounding a young girl walking towards him. He paused for a moment, took a closer look, and realized it was Ping An, the granddaughter of Prince An's wife, who had come to pay respects to the Empress Dowager along with her grandmother.

  He smiled peacefully and warmly, like a warm jade. Ping An ran up to him with small steps: "I didn't expect to meet you here."

  "Really, what brings you here?"

  "I came in with my grandmother, the empress dowager was afraid I'd feel stifled and told me to come out for a walk. I was thinking maybe I'd run into you!" Ping An looked like a happy lark, not hiding the delight and excitement in her eyes, and the corners of Eighth Brother's eyebrows also curved up in a smile: "Don't run around randomly, just take a turn and go back."

  Replied with a happy and peaceful tone.

  The eighth brother slowly walked away, and Ping An's younger sister quietly said to Ping An: "Among the brothers, the eighth brother is the most handsome!" Another one said: "Not only is he good-looking, but also has a good temper!"

  Ping'an pouted, waving her handkerchief and saying, "Don't talk nonsense!" However, her gaze couldn't help but follow the direction where Eighth Prince had walked away, thinking that what the girls said wasn't wrong either.