allendalepharm Chapter 278 The Shen family has no money to prepare a dowry.
Chapter 278 The Shen family has no money to prepare a dowry.
In fact, neither Cui Cairen nor Liang Baolin were fools. They knew that Wang Cairen wouldn't say such things without reason. However, Wang Cairen only touched on the subject, and naturally she wouldn't reveal that she was disliked by the Emperor.
Consort De looked at Consort Su. She used to be such a bright and intelligent person, but now she looked as dull as if she had Alzheimer's.
"Consort Su, you are the one who should work the hardest. The Emperor has returned. You are the birth mother of the Third Princess and the Fourth Princess. If you can gain even a little of the Emperor's favor, how can you not break the deadlock?" Consort De said.
Su Chongyi suddenly burst into tears, "What can I do? It doesn't make sense that Her Majesty the Empress can scheme against me, but I can't fight for myself. Back then, when Her Majesty the Empress sent out that decree, wasn't it to let me deal with the Xie family?"
"I did it, but the Empress abandoned me. I am utterly innocent!"
Consort Su and Wang Yuehuai were among the first to follow Consort De. Although Consort De disliked them, she couldn't afford to be cold-hearted at this time.
"Alright, I will put in a good word for you with the Emperor when I have the chance. It would be unreasonable to say that you are not to blame at all. You know, even though the Empress did not become the Empress, you were not someone who could scheme against her."
Now that Lady Shen has vacated the position of Imperial Noble Consort, it's not like no one is eyeing it.
Consort De was one of them.
What the others are thinking is something only they themselves know.
The next day, Consort Jin and Consort Qiong came to see Consort De to return the power of the palace. They arranged a time to go together, and Consort De suggested that everyone go to the Empress's palace to pay their respects.
Hearing that the three high-ranking concubines were going to the Empress's palace, the other concubines dared not disobey. Since the decree was issued, the Empress had not held a single morning meeting. Some people had also inquired and found out that the Empress had no intention of asking the concubines to go to the palace to greet her in the morning.
It wouldn't be good if someone went and then didn't show up because they were thinking about it.
The group set off in a grand procession.
Shen Shixi is still asleep. She stayed up a bit late last night. She's planning to get pregnant, so she stopped taking birth control pills because she's worried about any residue left in her body. She's concerned that if she gets pregnant, the pills might affect the fetus.
It must be done outside the body.
This really put Li Yuanke to the test. He, a dignified emperor, was actually doing something so superficial!
Thank goodness I wasn't driven mad!
Li Yuanke scolded her, "Why are you messing around with all this stuff? If you get pregnant, I won't be able to protect you anymore! Aren't you tired of causing trouble!"
Shen Shixi said, "If you don't want it, fine. But why did you have it in that situation? You didn't even know how many days you'd be on the throne!"
The two stumbled and tumbled several times before Li Yuanke was finally satisfied.
Time was wasted.
This morning, when it was Bai Kui's turn to be on duty, she felt like she had encountered some terrible bad luck. She whispered for a long time before finally waking up the Empress.
Shen Shixi, always grumpy when she wakes up, asked, "What is it now? Who's having a baby?"
No one in the palace is pregnant, so what are they going to have?
"Your Highness, it's Consort De and the others. All the ladies have come and say they want to pay their respects to Your Highness!" Bai Kui said cautiously.
"Greetings my ass! Tell them all to get back home and not to go out unless necessary! Are they all so bored out of their minds? Do they think greetings will make me live to be a hundred? Eating so early in the morning instead of sleeping, they're stuffed. Starting today, the imperial kitchen's meals are being halved!"
After saying that, she pulled the blanket over her head.
The blanket covering Li Yuanke was gone.
In the dead of winter, isn't he cold?
"You bastard, trying to freeze me to death?" Li Yuanke quickly crawled in, hugged her, pulled the blanket up around them, wrapped them both up, and continued to sleep.
Bai Kui then came out to dismiss the concubines, "Her Majesty was feeling unwell this morning. All of you ladies may return home. We will summon you again once Her Majesty issues a decree!"
Consort De smiled and said, "Everyone says that Her Majesty the Empress likes to sleep in late. I wonder if it's true or not. If she is indeed unwell, we'll have to stay and take care of her, won't we? Please go in and inform her."
Bai Kuixin thought to herself, "If I report this again, you might not even get any water to drink today!"
She didn't say anything, just stood there blankly, smiling foolishly.
Upon seeing this, Consort De happened to spot Li Fude and said, "Eunuch Li, could you please inform Her Majesty the Empress that we have come to pay our respects?"
Li Fude felt his luck was running out after being caught red-handed, but thankfully the year was almost over. He smiled and said, "Your Highnesses and Consorts, please go back. If you want to pay your respects early, Her Majesty the Empress will inform you. Coming here so abruptly might displease Her Majesty."
Consort Qiong and Consort Jin could tell that Consort De had ill intentions. Who knew if she came to see the Empress or to see the Emperor?
Seeing that she still insisted, Consort Qiong said, "Why must Consort De insist on today? It was our own decision. Since Her Majesty the Empress did not issue an imperial decree, we sisters should bear with the affairs of the palace. There is no need to rush."
Consort De said, "I was just worried that Her Majesty the Empress might overthink things. Now that the Emperor is back, with him handling the affairs of the court, Her Majesty the Empress can focus on those matters."
Consort Jin replied without any hesitation, "No wonder, Consort De seems afraid the Emperor won't know you've also contributed in the harem. Don't worry, I'll find an opportunity to speak on your behalf later!"
After saying that, he turned around and left.
Consort De was extremely embarrassed, but she was a woman who could bend and stretch.
Wang Yuehuai said, "Consort Jin is still as outspoken as ever. She was the same before. When the Empress couldn't say something, Consort Jin would speak up for her. She's still like that now."
This means that Consort Jin was willing to be the Empress's tool.
Bai Kui rolled her eyes at her, thinking to herself, "My lady doesn't need anyone else; she herself is the sharpest knife!"
Consort De laughed and said, "That's always been her temper. We're all sisters in the palace, why bother with such a fuss!"
The palace meals were reduced by half. Consort De thought that the Emperor was out of money and couldn't afford to eat. However, someone from Zhaoyang Palace spread the news that the concubines had offended the Empress that morning, and the meals in each palace were reduced by half.
Fortunately, the princes and princesses continued as usual.
The key issue is that the emperor doesn't care.
Behind the scenes, everyone in the palace spoke ill of Consort De.
Consort De was the one who stood out, and she was so angry that her heart ached. She vented her anger in Bao Ci Palace, feeling that the Empress was doing it on purpose and that it was aimed at her.
Having dealt with the Pei family, it's now the Duke of Xin's turn.
Although it is the Lunar New Year, there are still many folding documents in various places. Many of them are for greetings, while some are for reporting matters.
This winter's snowfall was heavy, causing snow disasters of varying degrees in many places. Shen Shixi was dealing with these matters, while Li Yuanke was still tracking the progress of his wedding.
The 22nd day of the twelfth lunar month was the appointed day for the betrothal. Li Yuanke prepared 136 palanquins of symbolic gifts according to custom and placed them in the courtyard of Qianyuan Palace. The matchmakers he invited were the Minister of Rites and the elderly Mr. Li Jizhong.
It's pitiful that the old gentleman is already quite old, at an age when he should be enjoying his retirement. Not only has he been pulled out of his job to run an academy for the two of them, but now, even in this heavy snow, he has to go through the trouble of arranging their wedding.
To their surprise, when they arrived at the Shen family's house, they were turned away at the door.
Seeing the grand procession carrying the betrothal gifts, the servants of the Shen family, whose household was modest, were dumbfounded. "The old lady, the mistresses, and the young ladies of the manor have all gone to the estate outside the city!"
Li Jizhong was not surprised by this outcome. He could only blame the Minister of Rites for not handling things properly and for not informing him in advance.
"Open the door now! What's the meaning of keeping the door closed when the emperor is about to betroth his daughter?" Li Jizhong said sternly.
The person in charge was so nervous that his legs went weak. He quickly opened the middle door and had someone carry the gifts inside.
It's not entirely the fault of the Shen family and Lu Shixun, the Minister of Rites.
Ever since the Emperor issued the decree at the North Gate, the Shen family's doorstep has been worn down by people coming and going every day. None of the adult male members of the Shen family are at home now.
While Shen's father was working hard in Youzhou, his second uncle was now traveling all over the world, from the south in winter to the north in summer, promoting the planting of crops such as rice, cotton, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn in Champa. He was extremely busy.
Shen Shixi, that rascal, even told his second uncle that there was a fruit grafting technique where the branches of one fruit were cut off and grafted onto another fruit, making the fruit taste delicious.
She herself didn't know the specific details, but as soon as she opened her mouth, her second uncle had to run around like crazy for her.
Where is there any hope of returning home?
My third uncle was doing quite well as a seventh-rank clerk in the Secretariat, with a job that wasn't too strenuous. But then she transferred him to the Ministry of Works, saying she was going to build ships, and my third uncle ended up working on that.
Shen Shixi was only trying to help him. The three provinces were almost gone, so what was the point of having a chief secretary? He would be laid off sooner or later.
My eldest brother is still at the border and hasn't returned yet. My second brother is a scholar, and the family can't be without a male member, so he's still kept around. My third brother, needless to say, is the most miserable of the brothers; he's been enslaved to the point of numbness.
The old lady was so annoyed that she told them to go to the village to hide away for the New Year. So they all went. The family only received a letter from the steward the night before last. They started heading back yesterday, but their car broke down on the way, which delayed them for half the night. The whole family was almost frozen to death. They finally arrived around noon.
Seeing the betrothal gifts laid out in the courtyard, the old lady almost fainted. Even if she sold the entire Shen family, she still couldn't afford the dowry!