Her elder sister, the Second Princess, had already been bought over by the Imperial Noble Consort Jiang Xinyue with small favors.
"Your Highness, are we really not going to do anything about it?"
On their way back, Shuang Jiang voiced her concerns: "What if the Second Princess believes that it was you who caused the death of Consort De? Then she..."
Isn't it hard to be a stepmother?
Jiang Xinyue strolled leisurely, saying: "It's not that we don't care, but this matter shouldn't be managed by us. She is the Emperor's princess, and it should be the Emperor who takes care of it himself."
If handled poorly, it could lead to resentment. If one wants to handle it well, it would require a lot of effort. The Second Princess is not a child with unformed values; once she's bent, it's hard to straighten her out again.
After all, she's not her own child. Why should she exert herself so much? It's exhausting.
She's not a saint; she doesn't need everyone to like her.
For the Emperor to take charge, he needs to hear the Second Princess curse Jiang Xinyue.
Shuang Jiang's bright eyes, like grapes, rolled a few times before she turned to instruct the young palace maid behind her: "Go to the Imperial Noble Consort's storeroom later and fetch a few good bolts of fabric, specifically velvet flower fabric, and choose the best ones to send to Yanqing Palace for the Second Princess."
The maid didn't understand why velvet flower fabric was specified, but Jiang Xinyue had already smiled faintly: "The weather is too cold. The Second Princess is in the prime of her youth; she should have more beautiful dresses made. In a few days, the new selected maidens will be entering the palace, and they will all be dressed to impress. Don't let anyone say later that I didn't provide her with beautiful clothes."
When this reached the Emperor's ears, it would mean that Jiang Xinyue had been very considerate of the Second Princess and hadn't been harsh with her in any way because of her relationship with Consort De.
Moreover, the Emperor had previously sent Wang Dequan to the Ancestral Temple to deliver warm clothing for the Third Prince, but the Third Prince said that Consort Jiang had already sent him what he needed.
Wang Dequan had also seen that the clothes and bedding, made to the Third Prince's measurements, were all thick and warm, and the kang was heated to a comfortable temperature.
The servants at the Ancestral Temple all said that the Imperial Noble Consort had warned them not to mistreat the Third Prince, or else, no matter how strong their backing, they would face severe consequences.
"The Imperial Noble Consort is kind-hearted," Wang Dequan said with a smile, pouring tea for the Emperor. "The poison in me could be cured thanks to the instructions of the Consort, who had Minister Jiang prepare an extra dose for me. I've never seen anyone softer-hearted than her."
The Emperor chuckled and shook his head: "You still don't understand her. She's not kind-hearted; she's protective, extremely protective. If you treat her with three points of kindness, she'll repay you with seven. Anyone under her wing, she doesn't want them to suffer or be bullied."
But for her enemies or those who betray her, she's not a soft-hearted goddess but a ruthless King of Hell.
"That's why it's the Emperor who truly understands the Imperial Noble Consort's nature," Wang Dequan said.
Thinking of Jiang Xinyue, the Sixth Prince, and the little princess she was carrying, the Xuanwu Emperor felt his heart melt with warmth. That empty heart of his finally had a place to call home.
Wang Dequan chuckled, suddenly remembering something: "Your Majesty, in two days, the selected beauties will enter the palace. Do you have any plans? If so, I can inform the Imperial Noble Consort."
Who should be kept and who shouldn't, to avoid any misunderstandings.
In previous years, the selection was done by the Empress Dowager and the Empress, along with the concubines, but the Emperor had never participated. He would only provide a list of names of the favored young women who must be kept.
"No need," the Xuanwu Emperor said, putting down his brush. "This time, I'll go with her."
Otherwise, this vinegar jar might spill again.
In fact, whether they selected the showgirl or not, the significance wasn't very great anymore. In these three years, he had eliminated his rivals, prosecuting the Song and Pei families, along with the dozen or so smaller families that relied on them.
The current court was either families he had personally supported, like the Jiang, Jiangang, and Jing families, or scholars from humble backgrounds who had entered the government through the imperial examinations.
The important positions were all filled by his own people.
The selection of beautiful women was no longer very significant.
But the selection of court ladies (xiùnǚ) every three years was a rule that had been followed since ancient times, and it couldn't be abolished so easily.
If he set a precedent here, in the future, his sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons... every generation of rulers, if even one of them had a romantic inclination and abolished the selection for the woman he loved, they would use him as an example.
They would say they were following the precedent set by a predecessor.
And who would that predecessor be?
Him, the big victim.
So, although the significance was not great, the Emperor still couldn't abolish the selection system.
He couldn't set this precedent.
Tang Shiliang entered from outside, tearing up the small note from Shuang Jiang and throwing it into the incense burner by the door. He didn't speak immediately but waited until the Emperor finished handling the memorials and was about to retire for the night, helping him change out of his dragon robe, before saying: "I heard that the Second Princess went to cry to the First Princess again today, saying that the servants of the Neiwufu were disrespectful to her. I thought, Your Majesty, it's been a while since you visited the Second Princess. The Qintianjian said tomorrow's weather is good; why not go to Yanqing Palace to see her?"
After all, she's still his daughter; how could he not feel a bit of affection?
Even if he didn't feel affection, a princess is still a princess, a master in the palace. There's no reason for her to be bullied by servants.
"Then after the morning court tomorrow, I'll go to Yanqing Palace to take a look," the Emperor said.
Tang Shiliang felt reassured upon hearing the specific time and, while going to fetch the Emperor's foot soak water, summoned his trusted eunuch: "Go to Hexi Palace and find Shuang Jiang, tell her..."
The next day, the heavy snow was about to stop, and the entire imperial palace was enveloped in a silver-white world.
The Qintianjian stated that this winter was longer than usual, which is why there was still heavy snow in March.
In Yanqing Palace, Consort Ru was dressed in the headpiece of a Great Yan palace consort, admiring herself in the bronze mirror: "Great Yan is indeed a heavenly kingdom. Look at this exquisite hairpin; no matter how we imitate, we can't capture the essence."
"Bang!"
A loud noise came from the back attic, and Consort Ru listened intently but couldn't hear what was being said, only the Second Princess's sobs.
Hui Yuan, Consort Ru's personal maid, rolled her eyes unhappily: "Princess, they say that many people have died in this palace before! I heard the maids say that in the sealed-off lotus garden in the backyard, they dug up more than a dozen corpses, all killed by the Second Princess's birth mother."
"Don't listen to their nonsense," Consort Ru said indifferently, pursing her lips. "I know the women of Great Yan are very scheming, trying to sow discord between me and the Emperor. I'm not that foolish!"
Hui Yuan sighed: "But the Emperor never comes to our place!"
"The Emperor has arrived——"
Speaking of the Emperor, here he comes!
