Chapter 259: A Casual Chat Between Mother-in-Law and Daughter-in-Law
Chapter 259: A Casual Chat Between Mother-in-Law and Daughter-in-Law
Su Su was soon sent back to the side hall by the Emperor to sleep.
Aunt Xu and Aunt Xiang kept watch nearby, and there were also palace attendants in the outer hall, so there was no need to worry about any unexpected situations.
The Emperor returned and quickly took his seat again.
The family chatted casually for a while, with the Empress Dowager doing most of the talking, while the Qi King responded and the Qi King's wife chimed in occasionally.
The Emperor mostly listened quietly.
After the casual chat, they brought up the topic of gifts from the concubines.
The Qi King's wife took the opportunity to mention that she would need to take the child to visit the various palaces to express her gratitude when Su Su woke up.
But the Empress Dowager quickly waved her hand, "No need. It's just some greeting gifts for my niece. How can I expect my niece to kneel and thank me in return?"
She smiled as she said this, her meaning ambiguous, "They didn't come to greet me, and I didn't hold it against them. Are they trying to pick a fight with me now?"
Although she said this, the Empress Dowager didn't intend to go overboard with her actions.
She wanted to avoid causing further resentment toward Su Su from the concubines.
So, after speaking, she signaled for Ma Auntie to come closer, "Go to the warehouse and find some items. Prepare gifts according to the standards of each palace, and send them over this afternoon. Say that the weather is pleasant today, and I'm in a good mood, so I'm bestowing these gifts upon them."
Ma Auntie quickly acknowledged the instruction.
The Qi King's wife understood that this meant there was no need to go and thank them in person.
She wasn't particularly keen on taking Su Su to kneel in each of the palaces anyway.
As for the Empress, given the situation with the Tang family, the Qi King's wife wasn't sure if she would make things difficult for them, even if she didn't show it openly.
What about behind closed doors?
And then there was the Noble Consort, who was difficult to get along with due to her proud and indulgent nature. There was also the uniquely positioned Shunyang Princess in her palace.
Children could be both easy and difficult to get along with.
Sometimes, they just didn't get along, and there were even cases of them fighting at first sight.
The Qi King's wife was quite worried about this.
As for the other concubines...
The Qi King's wife couldn't predict their attitudes either.
So, in her opinion, the best place for the initial meeting was the Empress Dowager's palace. With the Empress Dowager there, even if they didn't like Su Su, they wouldn't be able to show it.
However, since the palaces had sent gifts today, she needed to express her gratitude in some way.
Now that the Empress Dowager had refused, the Qi King's wife could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Since the Empress Dowager said it wasn't necessary and had made alternative arrangements, the Qi King's wife felt reassured.
As the family continued chatting, they eventually brought up the topic of Su Su's identity reveal banquet.
This banquet would definitely need to be held.
Although there was an imperial decree, the Qi King's family also needed to express their stance and publicly announce Su Su's identity.
Bringing up this topic, the Empress Dowager turned to the Emperor, "Has the Bureau of Astronomy and Astrology calculated a suitable date?"
The Emperor was naturally attentive to this matter, so when the Empress Dowager asked, he quickly replied with a smile, "They've already calculated it. However, the date is a bit far off. It's the sixth day of June, which, according to the Bureau, is a double date with a positive connotation. Additionally, that day is also considered highly auspicious, suitable for rituals and moving residences."
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager felt that the date was indeed quite far away.
There was still the long month of May in between.
However, good things were worth waiting for.
Su Su had endured enough hardship in the past, and from now on, the Empress Dowager wanted her to have a smooth and fortunate life.
So, the date had to be carefully chosen.
After considering this, the Empress Dowager turned to the Qi King, "What do you think, Ninth?"
The Qi King also felt that the date was a bit too far away.
However, his precious darling wasn't afraid of waiting.
So, he thought for a moment, glanced at the Qi King's wife, and then nodded, "I think it's fine, Mother."
The Qi King's wife agreed that June was a propitious month, so she naturally had no objections.
And with that, the date was tentatively set.
Next, the preparations for the Prince Qi's Manor would begin.
After this topic, they chatted about some other things.
They also briefly mentioned the preparations for the banquet.
Before long, the scene turned into a quiet conversation between the Empress Dowager and Princess Qi, with the Emperor and Prince Qi occasionally chiming in.
The Empress Dowager was naturally very concerned about the affairs of Prince Qi's Manor.
In the past, she might not have paid much attention.
But after Prince Qi's incident, the Empress Dowager wished she could find someone to keep a close eye on the manor.
So, the fact that the manor had dismissed quite a few concubines and sent one of them to a Taoist temple was naturally known to her.
At this moment, she said in a deep voice, "You should have been more decisive sooner. They were all troublemakers, and keeping them around was useless."
What could Princess Qi say to that? She could only smile and agree.
How could she possibly say that the Prince had been obsessed with having children, and that if she had really dismissed those concubines, the two of them would have definitely argued? If she said that, the Empress Dowager would certainly not be pleased.
Seeing Princess Qi's gentle and smiling response, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but feel frustrated with her: "You're just too soft-hearted. That's why they dared to bully you. Next time something like this happens, be more stern and fierce. What are you afraid of? You are the main wife of Prince Qi's Manor. Those concubines are just playthings to pass the time. If you don't like them, beat them, sell them, or get rid of them. If Little Nine takes a fancy to any of them, just get him a new batch! You can always find some obedient ones."
Princess Qi replied with a smile, her eyes curved like moons: "Mother is right."
The more gentle and obedient Princess Qi was, the more the Empress Dowager felt exasperated with her, wishing she could take matters into her own hands and clean up the backyard of the manor.
However, Little Nine's health hadn't been good lately, and his mood was probably affected as well.
Additionally, the manor had already dismissed a batch of concubines.
The Empress Dowager thought, "Next time."
After considering this, she nodded: "Right, regarding the one who's reflecting in the temple, just let her pass away from an illness in three to five months. Don't bring her back, I don't want her causing trouble for my beloved grandson."
Princess Qi was not surprised by the Empress Dowager's decision and smiled as she agreed.
...
Towards the end of the conversation, the Empress Dowager's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she glanced at her two sons, noticing that they seemed to be engaged in their own conversation and hadn't paid attention to this side. She then asked in a low voice, "Has Ren been well-behaved lately?"
Due to the conflict of interests between the previous generations, the Empress Dowager did not favor Concubine Ren, and Princess Qi was aware of this.
Princess Qi was not surprised by the Empress Dowager's question and quickly smiled as she replied, "The last time I entered the palace with the Prince, Chen caused a ruckus at the mansion, but it was Ren who protected Suisui and prevented that aunt-niece pair from bullying her. I think Ren must have matured with age, as she was able to protect Suisui."
The Empress Dowager was not surprised by Princess Qi's defense of Concubine Ren.
She thought, "This daughter-in-law of mine is just too soft-hearted."
Fortunately, over the years, she had made sure to discipline Ren and Meng, so they wouldn't dare to cause trouble for Princess Qi.
However, this time, Princess Qi was defending Ren because she had protected Suisui.
The Empress Dowager thought to herself that she was not someone who held grudges. Since Ren had shown good behavior, she would reward her accordingly, as an expression of the Emperor's favor.
With that in mind, the Empress Dowager nodded: "Since she protected Suisui, she should be rewarded. Later, I'll have Ma Auntie pick out some items..."
Originally, the Empress Dowager was going to say, "You can take them back to the mansion together."
But she was afraid that Ren wouldn't believe that this was her reward, so she quickly changed her words: "I'll have someone else deliver them."
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
