The sixteenth year of Yanli's reign.
Four newly entered imperial consorts gathered for a small gathering in the Imperial Garden.
Yan Cairen, with her charming appearance and dressed in a light cyan gown embroidered with chrysanthemums, idly twisted the handkerchief in her hand. She glanced sideways at Zhao Cairen and Chen Xuanshi, who were sitting on the other side playing cat's cradle, as well as Liu Xuanshi, who was playing chess by herself.
Yan Cairen: "I say, dear sisters, aren't you the least bit anxious? It's been half a month since we entered the palace, and we haven't even caught a glimpse of His Majesty's face."
Zhao Cairen gave a faint smile but said nothing. Since the Emperor hadn't summoned any of the newcomers, what was there to be anxious about?
It was Chen Xuanshi's turn to manipulate the cat's cradle. She spoke without thinking: "Being anxious is useless anyway. It's not like we can just run off to the Qianqing Palace on our own to request an audience with His Majesty, can we?"
Yan Cairen grew impatient. "Well, even if we can't see His Majesty, it would be good to see Consort Hui or Consort Shun!"
Zhao Cairen: "Sister Yan, I heard even before entering the palace that Consort Hui has a reserved temperament and dislikes disturbances. Although she currently manages the affairs of the six palaces, she seldom receives people easily. She is only close with a few senior consorts. We've just entered the palace; Consort Hui isn't familiar with us, so naturally, she won't summon us."
Mentioning Consort Hui, Chen Xuanshi stopped playing with the string. "I heard Consort Hui is of peerless beauty, is that true? I was fortunate enough to see Consort Xi a couple of days ago—the one who gave birth to the Fourth Prince. She was so kind and also extremely beautiful. I was thinking, if Consort Xi is that beautiful, how stunning must Consort Hui be?"
Yan Cairen curled her lips smugly. "I have actually seen Consort Hui."
Drawing everyone's attention to herself, Yan Cairen unconsciously straightened her posture. "It was at the New Year's banquet two years ago. I saw her when I entered the palace with my family for the banquet."
She had the highest family status among the four. The other three hadn't had the opportunity to attend the New Year's banquet.
Yan Cairen lowered her voice: "Consort Hui is indeed beautiful, but privately, I think Consort Li surpasses her!"
Chen Xuanshi then said, "I heard from the senior maid in my palace that Consort Hui, Consort Shun, and Consort Li are extremely close. They often play mahjong together. Oh, do you know about mahjong? I heard it was something Consort Hui invented."
"Who in the capital doesn't know about mahjong?" Yan Cairen pouted. Mahjong had become popular years ago. Nowadays, there were even dedicated mahjong parlors in the capital; her own family ran one.
She added, "And not only did Consort Hui invent mahjong, but also something called 'playing cards.' Pfft, such a strange name. What kind of person do you think could invent these things?"
As soon as her words fell, Liu Xuanshi, who had been silent all along, stood up. "Sisters, it's best not to discuss high-ranking consorts outside, lest trouble come from careless words. It's getting late. This concubine will take her leave first."
Watching her retreating figure, Yan Cairen sneered, "What's she being so aloof about?"
Zhao Cairen smiled and said, "Sister Yan, you probably don't know. This Liu Xuanshi is related to Consort Hui by kinship. Naturally, she can't bear to hear you discussing Consort Hui."
This was truly something Yan Cairen didn't know. "She's related to Consort Hui? Isn't Consort Hui's maiden name Qi?"
Since they were selected as palace ladies, their families had made comprehensive arrangements, including gathering information on the family backgrounds and preferences of the high-ranking consorts in the palace. Consort Hui, being the highest-ranking consort in the rear palace now, was someone every candidate's family would try to learn about.
Consort Hui's father, Lord Qi, currently served as the second-rank Governor of Jiangning. He had only one son and two daughters. The eldest son married the daughter of General Lang, the Cavalry General. The youngest daughter was already married to Zhou Yue, the sixth-rank Commander of the Military and Horses Department.
They hadn't heard of any relatives with the surname Liu.
Zhao Cairen: "Liu Xuanshi's cousin is precisely the wife of Consort Hui's elder brother." Although it's a bit roundabout, how could it not count as a kinship relation?
Upon learning this secret, the expressions of the three women changed differently. Finally, Yan Cairen put on a scornful look: "So what if she has that kinship relation? It's not like Consort Hui treats her any specially." She was just like them—having entered the palace for half a month without even stepping into the gates of Changchun Palace.
Zhao Cairen said quietly, "But she is still different from us after all. Currently, Consort Hui holds the highest rank in the rear palace and manages palace authority. Even if she isn't close to Liu Xuanshi, she certainly won't mistreat her. But us..."
These words made both Yan Cairen and Chen Xuanshi somewhat nervous. Chen Xuanshi couldn't hold back her words, "Then, Sister Zhao, do you have any good ideas?"
Zhao Cairen, however, put away the cat's cradle string. "What are you saying? What good ideas could I possibly have? At most, it's about seeking the protection of a powerful patron. If one patron doesn't work, wouldn't seeking another suffice?"
Yan Cairen and Chen Xuanshi both became thoughtful.
The discussion in the Imperial Garden continued, while the subject of their discussion, Qi Daiyu, had just finished a round of mahjong. Her ears aching from Zhaorong's chatter, she gave up her seat to Zhaorong.
She stood up, and Nie Zhiyu also stood up, giving her seat to Ye Qiong. She then walked with Qi Daiyu to the lounge chairs in the outside pavilion and lay down.
Occasional sounds of mahjong tiles clacking and the voices of Zhaorong and the others drifted out.
"My ears are almost numb from Consort Wei's chattering. She wasn't this talkative before, was she? When did she become so chatty?" Qi Daiyu couldn't help but rub her ears.
Actually, Zhaorong wasn't particularly close to her, so by rights she shouldn't have come to Changchun Palace. But some time ago, Qi Daiyu had organized a "Mahjong God" tournament in the palace. Zhaorong was knocked out among the top five, and ever since she had set her sights on Qi Daiyu, Nie Zhiyu, Ye Qiong, and Consort Li—the final four. From then on, whenever there was a mahjong game at Changchun Palace, she would eagerly show up.
If there was no seat for her, she would watch from the sidelines. Watching was fine, but she particularly liked to comment.
Qi Daiyu's regular mahjong partners were Nie Zhiyu, Consort Li, and Feng Qi. Feng Qi was shy and timid, not good at socializing, especially feeling socially anxious around unfamiliar people. It was only after playing mahjong with them for a long time that she could interact normally. Zhaorong was an unfamiliar person to Feng Qi, yet Zhaorong would sit right next to Feng Qi and boss her around about which tiles to play. Seeing Feng Qi's ears and eyes turning red, Qi Daiyu simply gave up her seat and let Zhaorong play.
Nie Zhiyu laughed upon hearing Qi Daiyu's words. After laughing, she asked her, "By the way, those newly entered palace ladies, are you really not going to see them?"
Qi Daiyu: "Why should I see them? They are imperial consorts, meant to serve the Emperor, not me. If a meeting is necessary, it will happen when the time comes. Why make a special point of seeing them?"
Perhaps because she was getting older, or perhaps because there were more and more people in the palace, she was becoming increasingly impatient with making new friends.
"You!" Nie Zhiyu was used to Qi Daiyu saying such unconventional things. Sometimes, she found them quite reasonable.
"Alright, I can't control whether you want to see those people or not. But you must manage the affairs of the palace, right? Her Majesty the Empress entrusted the palace authority to you. You can't always avoid your duties!"
Mentioning the Empress, Qi Daiyu lowered her gaze.
The Empress was poisoned by the Yang clan many years ago. To counteract the poison, she took potent medicine, which left her body severely depleted. She held on for eight years before passing away last year, shortly after presiding over the Grand Princess's coming-of-age ceremony.
The responsibility of managing the Six Palaces was not something the Empress handed over to Qi Daiyu just before her death. In fact, for the two years prior to her passing, the Empress had already largely withdrawn from daily affairs, having Qi Daiyu assist in administering the inner court.
But who was Qi Daiyu? She had long vowed to live a life of leisure in this lifetime. Asking her to manage such a vast harem was no different from asking for her life!
However, the Empress insisted, and her objections were useless. A brilliant idea then struck Qi Daiyu: "If you can't lead a team, you'll work yourself to death." She could simply delegate the work to others!
For instance, Nie Zhiyu was a perfect candidate. Her character and abilities had been affirmed by the late Empress! Matters concerning personnel transfers and overall coordination within the palace could be handed to her.
Then there was Consort Li. She was familiar with the procedures for banquets, songs, and dances, so the palace affairs related to feasts were assigned to her.
And Ye Qiong—didn't she crave power and glory? Then let her do more work; more labor deserves more reward.
Even Zhaorong and Feng Qi were given tasks.
Two years prior, the Emperor had generously promoted the ranks of the harem consorts en masse. Nie Zhiyu was now Shunfei (Noble Consort Shun), the former Li Zhaoyi was now Lipin (Consort Li), Ye Qiong was promoted to Xipin (Consort Xi), Zhaorong was promoted to Wei Zhaoyi (Consort Wei), and Feng Qi was promoted to Jieyu (Lady Jieyu)...
High-ranking consorts commanded respect from subordinates when handling affairs, which conveniently worked to Qi Daiyu's advantage.
Qi Daiyu didn't let the lower-ranking consorts off the hook either. So what if their rank was low? Couldn't they manage the flower nursery? At the very least, wasn't distributing mung bean soup or ginger soup to the palace staff simple enough?
She then divided the Eastern and Western Palaces into two departments. The Eastern Palace was headed by Nie Zhiyu, and the Western Palace by Ye Qiong, establishing a hierarchical management system. If any issues arose within someone's area of responsibility, they would report to the consort one level above. Only if Nie Zhiyu and Ye Qiong encountered something they couldn't handle would they bring it to Qi Daiyu for a decision—though such situations were rare. Even if they occurred, Qi Daiyu wouldn't make the decision herself. Instead, she would seek out the Empress. After the Empress passed away, she would wait until the Emperor visited the Changchun Palace and let him decide.
In short, Qi Daiyu successfully turned herself into a commander without troops.
At first, she was somewhat apprehensive, worried she might ruin the stable situation the Empress had established. But perhaps everyone knew she had the Empress's backing, or perhaps each person cherished their hard-won authority. Surprisingly, everything proceeded peacefully and smoothly.
After that, even the squabbles born of jealousy decreased significantly.
Qi Daiyu could only sigh in admiration: indeed, palace intrigues happened because the consorts had too much free time. Now, with work to do, who still had the mind for scheming?
The Empress found this outcome both amusing and exasperating, but she also felt that this might be the most suitable management style for Qi Daiyu and thus let her have her way.
And so, the inner court began to operate in this peculiar manner.
It has continued peacefully to this day.
So why did Nie Zhiyu come to persuade Qi Daiyu not to shirk her duties at this time? It was because she saw how leisurely and carefree Qi Daiyu was every day and felt deeply envious...
She also wanted to slack off.
Qi Daiyu tried to fob her off: "Who says I'm slacking off? Haven't I been busy lately with selecting a suitable consort for the Grand Princess? The Emperor said the Grand Princess's consort must be an exceptional talent, one in ten thousand. I really must choose carefully!"
Nie Zhiyu was startled: "The Grand Princess is already selecting a consort?" After saying this, she realized it was a silly question. Of course—the Grand Princess was already sixteen this year, so it was indeed time to start considering candidates.
Qi Daiyu smiled. The Emperor doted on the Grand Princess and would certainly be reluctant to let her marry too early. Even though they were starting to look now, it was only to avoid missing out on promising young men. Even if a candidate were chosen, the Grand Princess wouldn't marry too soon.
As the two chatted and drank tea, Sangsen entered from outside the palace.
Five years ago, after Qi Daiyu found good matches for Pomegranate and Grape and saw them married off from the palace, Sangsen and Lychee took over the duties of senior palace maids in the Changchun Palace. The once young and inexperienced girls were now addressed respectfully as "elder sister" by the younger maids and eunuchs.
However, Sangsen's steps were hurried, and her face wore an anxious expression. "Mistress, I just returned from near the Imperial Study," she said, glancing at Nie Zhiyu hesitantly. "The Grand Princess, along with the Second and Third Princesses, got into a fight with the Prince of Beili. The Eldest Prince and the Third Prince were trying to mediate on the sidelines and accidentally got caught up in it. The Eldest Prince has a black eye, and the Third Prince fell, scraping the skin off his palm..."
Upon hearing this, both Qi Daiyu and Nie Zhiyu straightened up.
Nie Zhiyu asked, "How did they start fighting for no reason?" Then, worried about her son, she added, "This won't do. I must go and see."
