Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 278 Honor and disgrace are established before the illness is seen.

"His Majesty bestowed a title upon the Li family's daughter alone; it is truly an honor." After having a heart-to-heart talk with Hua Yan yesterday, Consort Chun's mind cleared, and she regained her usual outspokenness.

The title bestowed upon Li Mingzhen by the Emperor was "Rong".

Ruizhu, who didn't know many characters, asked curiously, "According to the meaning of the words, it signifies the glory of a noble family. What's wrong with that?"

"Putting righteousness before profit and enjoying great honor and wealth is called 'honor'; when favor and grace are exhausted and blessings are abundant, it is called 'honor'."

Consort Chun offered a brief explanation, then, considering that her own title also carried profound meaning, she sighed, "...a single word with multiple interpretations, it is quite meaningful."

Since seeing the list of candidates for the imperial concubines in mid-February, Hua Yan has taken a detailed look at the family backgrounds of several of them, paying particular attention to the Zhao County Li clan to which Li Mingzhen belonged.

The Li family of Zhao County was not only a powerful clan but also a local magnate. Their main branch resided in both the capital and Luoyang, their business empire spanning the Jiangnan region, and they controlled the Grand Canal. They intermarried with the Cui family of Qinghe, the Lu family of Fanyang, and the Chen family of Jiangzhou, creating a deeply entrenched and powerful family that was extremely hostile towards those from humble backgrounds.

Consort Chun dissected the character "Rong" by extending its meaning from its ordinary form. Hua Yan recalled something and suddenly had a different perspective.

This all started when the Emperor went to the Funing Palace to serve the Emperor. There was an open copy of "Zhuangzi" next to the memorials on the Emperor's desk. When the Emperor got up, he mentioned that the book was annotated by Li Kai, and said that "the language is simple and easy to understand, especially the annotation of the Zeyang chapter is the most concise".

Li Kai was an ancestor of the Li family. After Hua Yan returned, she read it carefully, and there was a phrase in the Yang section that seemed to subtly match the title:

"Only after honor and disgrace are established can one see the problems; only after wealth is accumulated can one see the disputes."

To understand the emperor's intentions, one must first understand his deeper meaning. The emperor's decision to select the eldest daughter of the Li family of Zhao County to enter the palace is likely related to the matter of the Grand Canal.

If that were the case, Lady Li would undoubtedly be the first to gain favor after entering the palace. However, if we delve deeper, given that it concerns the grain transport, the emperor would surely find a fault with her, and this favor would ultimately be nothing more than a mirage.

Hua Yan composed herself and her gaze fell on the name Xie Ruxuan. She was the highest-ranking among the imperial concubines, having been granted the title of Jieyu upon entering the palace. Without a doubt, the emperor was pleased to promote her, and she would need to show some favoritism in the subsequent arrangements.

After dismissing Mengzhu and the others, Huayan said to Consort Chun, "This old nanny served the Emperor when we were in the Prince's residence. Perhaps we could assign her to Consort Xie. As for Consort Rong..."

Hua Yan pointed to the last name on the list, "Let's arrange for Granny Zhou."

According to what I learned from Aunt Mei, Granny Zhou is the laziest person, but she is very good at putting on a show.

Consort Chun was slightly surprised. "Although Consort Rong's rank is not as high as Consort Xie's, she comes from a good family and has been granted a title. Isn't this arrangement inappropriate?"

After Hua Yan explained, Consort Chun nodded in agreement.

Among the remaining women, Pei Fuyan, the daughter of the Jiangzhou Prefect, was born in Jiangzhou and must have had some connection with the maternal family of the Duchess of Qingguo. She was probably sent to the palace by the Duke of Qingguo to support Consort Mei.

Yun Yao comes from the third branch of the Yun family. This branch has been serving outside the family for many years and has had little contact with the Marquis of Lin'an's mansion. It will take some time to observe them.

Qu Qingge was Qu Baolin's cousin; her father also worked at the Hanlin Academy.

Of the last four, the one who truly surprised Hua Yan was the least noticeable: Yang Huixin, the daughter of the Registrar of Shu Prefecture. The Registrar was only a seventh-rank official, and in the past, he wouldn't even be qualified to be selected as a candidate for the imperial concubine examination. This was quite unusual...

While Consort Chun and Hua Yan were discussing matters, Chun Tao from Consort Guo's palace entered Huining Palace with gifts.

Although Guo Xiuyi did not know why the events of last night had been arranged, she had indeed regained her rank as a result, so she sent Chun Tao over to deliver a gift.

"It seems that Xiuyi values ​​you more and more. You've done well," Huayan said.

"It's quite a coincidence that Shuyao and I are from the same county. Because we are from the same hometown, she and Huajin trust me a bit, which allows me to show my face in front of Consort Xiuyi a few times." Chuntao spoke fluently and crisply.

Mengzhu accepted the gift and then gave her a purse, saying, "Go back and tell her it was a gift from the Empress."

"I understand. Everyone in the palace envies the job of delivering things to Your Highness. When I get back, I can share some of the benefits with them."

Ruizhu said, "Look, no wonder she was taught by Sister Huanyun. The other one, Cailian, is also quite good. The manager of the Shangfu Bureau has praised her several times."

Besides Cai Lian, Hua Yan also planned to arrange for the other four women who entered the palace with Lv Liu and Chun Tao to be placed in various locations during the opportunity of arranging palaces for the new imperial concubines.

Before dinner, following Hua Yan's advice, Consort Chun recorded the arrangements for the governesses and the palace in a memorial, and then took Mengzhu and Ruizhu to Renming Palace.

About half an hour later, Consort Chun returned to her bedchamber.

"Her Majesty the Empress had no objection to the arrangement of the governesses, but she disrupted the palace arrangements, giving the Chunxi Palace, which was originally intended for Consort Rong, to Consort Xie, and also mentioned arranging for Cousin Yun to live in the Dieqiong Pavilion."

Consort Chun picked up her teacup, took a sip, and added, "The Yang Huixin you were watching has moved from the side hall of Chunxi Palace to Yulan Pavilion to live with Consort Wu."

Hua Yan frowned. "Yunbaolin Residence, Dieqiong Pavilion? That's not quite right." The young ladies-in-waiting entered the palace in May, and by then, Consort Guo would be just over six months pregnant.

"So I refused."

"Ah—?" Before Hua Yan could speak, Aunt Mei couldn't contain herself any longer: "After all, it's Her Majesty the Empress's arrangement, Your Majesty can't directly disobey Her Majesty's wishes..."

Hua Yan said, "Her Majesty the Empress must be saying that Consort Guo is pregnant and the Emperor is very fond of her, so there will be an opportunity for Consort Yun to be favored."

Consort Chun twitched the corner of her mouth, "That is indeed what she said. I only thought it was because Consort Guo needed to rest and recuperate during her pregnancy, so it was inconvenient to arrange new people in her palace."

“This approach is acceptable,” Hua Yan comforted Aunt Mei. “Since Your Majesty has the authority to assist in managing the six palaces, this is your duty, and there is no need to be so cautious.”

"The Empress did not object any further, and in the end, Cousin Yun was arranged to live in the Ganlu Palace, where Consort Rong resided."

Ganlu Palace is closest to Funing Palace, so it was expected that the Empress would move Consort Rong to Ganlu Palace. Huayan was also deliberately arranged to be moved to Chunxi Palace first so that the Empress could make the change.

......

In the two months leading up to the arrival of the young women in the palace, the inner palace was unusually peaceful.

While recuperating at Dieqiong Pavilion, Consort Guo no longer needed to pay her respects to the Empress every day. She only needed to go there every three days to have her pulse checked, and the Empress would often send people to deliver some nourishing items.

During this period, Consort Shen was favored more often, but only once or twice more than before.

Aside from spending the night at Renming Palace on the fifteenth of each month, the Emperor visited all the other concubines. However, he still summoned Hua Yan to Funing Palace to serve him every seven or eight days.

Before the young ladies entered the palace in early May, news spread that Consort Shen was pregnant. She was promoted to the rank of Jieyu that same day and moved to Shujing Palace, which was located near Taiye Pond.

On the day of the move, Consort Chun and Hua Yan went to offer their congratulations. Meng Zhu carried two brocade boxes, and Lü Liu carried two bolts of shimmering brocade, following behind the two mistresses.

The four of them, master and servants, strolled along the Taiye Pond. The stone path under their feet was winding and twisting. The pond water in front of them shimmered in the sunlight, like countless pieces of silver jumping on the surface.

When they arrived at Shujing Palace, Consort Mei and Consort Song also arrived one after the other.