klisemfg Chapter 157 Adopting the 4th Prince
Chapter 157 Adopting the 4th Prince
Concubine Jin became the Fourth Prince's adoptive mother, and the Fourth Prince naturally followed her back to the Forbidden City.
He is old now and lives in the prince's residence with the third prince.
Although he did not have much contact with the concubines in the harem, they were all very curious about the Fourth Prince.
The Fourth Prince's return to the palace also means that the prince is officially exposed to the public's attention.
His every move was watched.
The Fourth Prince was a filial child. Although he had just returned to the palace and was busy with many things, he would pay his respects to Concubine Jin whenever he had the chance.
But according to the news, although the Fourth Prince is diligent, he has missed a lot when he was in the Old Summer Palace. The teachers in the study are all famous officials and scholars, and he finds it difficult to learn.
He is also far behind the Third Prince in his academic performance.
But fortunately, the Fourth Prince is very hardworking.
According to informants, Concubine Jin also attached great importance to the Fourth Prince's studies. She gave him instructions every day and often checked him on his recitations. The Fourth Prince studied late into the night, never putting his books down.
The mother and son worked hard to overshadow the Third Prince.
But Concubine Qi...
She did attach importance to the Third Prince's studies, but she paid more attention to his health and was worried that her son was under too much pressure.
In response to the news that Yi Ning passed on, Concubine Qi also advised her to persuade the Third Prince more and not to ruin his health.
As a mother, Concubine Qi’s heart and eyes are filled with her son.
As for Concubine Jin, Huimin didn't know what to say.
That day Huimin also met the Fourth Prince by chance.
He has grown a lot taller than before. Teenagers who are in the growth stage grow very fast. Compared with before, he was a little childish, but now he looks a bit like an adult.
"Greetings to Her Majesty the Concubine."
The Fourth Prince now calls all the concubines "Ernest" except Concubine Jin, and no longer calls the other concubines "Ernest". He only refers to their titles and positions.
This child is sweet-talking. Before, she called me "Empress Xian" and called Zhen Huan "Empress Wan". But when she met Concubine Jing that time, she just called her "Empress Jing" and it made Concubine Jin unhappy.
Concubine Jin has always been bothered by the fact that the Fourth Prince is not her biological child and is not close to her even at such an age.
It was already felt that the Fourth Prince was difficult to tame, yet he was showing affection towards other concubines.
Although the Fourth Prince only called him this, he stirred up a hornet's nest.
Although Concubine Jin did not get angry at that time, Huimin found out through the people arranged by Zhang Changzai, who was dependent on her, and later Concubine Jin gave the Fourth Prince a bad look.
Speaking of Zhang Changzai, she is an important source of information.
Although Zhang Changzai was dependent on Concubine Jin, she could not get much favor from the emperor.
She hoped that Concubine Jin could get a higher position so that she could also benefit her family and live a better life.
But although Concubine Jin became the queen, she had no children for a long time. She finally had an adopted son, but both mother and son were wary of each other.
They are mother and son, but there is no affection or trust between them.
She also sighed every day.
Concubine Jin lived in Yonghe Palace, which was the Empress Dowager's rear base when she was Concubine De. It was difficult to arrange spies there who could obtain more information.
Huimin had to settle for the second best and arranged for Zhang Chang to be here.
I learned a lot of interesting things through Zhang Changzai.
For example, Concubine Jin did not like the Fourth Prince to be close to other high-ranking concubines.
For example, Concubine Jin never stopped taking pregnancy-maintaining medicine and even drank a lot of "folk remedies".
For example, Concubine Jin was ambitious and wanted Zhang Changzai to be of some help to her, but she also didn't want Zhang Changzai to be too favored and fall out of her control.
……
Although Concubine Jin was extremely secretive about some things, Zhang Changzai had such close contacts with her that many things were difficult to hide from her.
Just like when Huimin and Concubine Xin lived in Chuxiu Palace, because they lived in the same palace, many things were watched by others. No matter how hard they tried to hide something, some clues would be discovered.
So Huimin conquered Concubine Xin.
Zhang Changzai now also submits to Concubine Jin, but unlike Concubine Xin, her ability to control her subordinates is really worrying.
For the concubines, except for those like An Lingrong who did not bring their own confidants into the palace, generally speaking, the people who served them closely were the people they trusted the most.
No matter how arranged his palace is like a sieve, there are still people he can trust.
But no one knew that one of her two personal servants was turned against her by Cao Qinmo.
A lot of information came from that person.
And all that man wanted was money and a promise to leave the palace at the age of 25.
Huimin didn't know how Cao Qinmo did it.
I don’t know how Zhang Changzai did it.
I can only say that he is worthy of being Cao Qinmo, and is indeed the best counselor under my command.
But let’s not talk about the relationship between the Fourth Prince and Concubine Jin, and just talk about the Emperor’s attitude.
It was indeed useful to make his presence felt under the emperor's nose after returning to the palace. At least this son was no longer unknown to the emperor.
The emperor had the habit of going to the study to check the princes' homework, and it was rare for him to praise or scold them.
The Emperor was diligent and attached great importance to the studies of the princes. Although the Fourth Prince was a little behind in progress, he improved rapidly and was praised by the Emperor on several rare occasions.
The Third Prince originally thought that his younger brother was far inferior to himself, but when he saw the Emperor acting like this, he began to feel a sense of crisis.
The two of them were not fighting openly or secretly in the study, but they were not on good terms with each other in their hearts.
Concubine Jin and Concubine Qi were sometimes at loggerheads.
Although Concubine Qi was not very smart, she loved her son and was higher in rank than Concubine Jin, so she tried her best to find fault with Concubine Jin. She also had a military advisor, Meng Changzai, and with Meng Changzai's help, Concubine Jin suffered a lot of losses.
Although Concubine Jin did not have an advantage in terms of seniority and position, she was sarcastic to Concubine Qi, mocking her for being old and ugly and the fact that the Emperor could not visit her once a year, which was a burden to the Third Prince. This also made Concubine Qi very angry.
Now that the Queen has fallen, everyone should go to Xianfu Palace to discuss matters with Concubine Jing.
Concubine Jing was a good-natured person, and she didn't care about the verbal battles among the concubines as long as they were not too excessive.
So every now and then, the harem would set up its own stage for a play, and the actors performing were not fixed. This time it was Concubine Qi and Concubine Jin, and next time it would be someone else.
But this also has an advantage. From the quarrels among the concubines, we can inevitably see which concubines have close relationships with whom and which concubines are incompatible with whom.
It is possible that you may be an ally on a front today and become the protagonist on the stage tomorrow.
Huimin saw that it didn't involve her, so she followed them.
Some people make a fuss.
The dull and stagnant days in the Forbidden City also had some waves.
These days are more interesting.