76、Usurpation (Part 1)

  "What's special?" Hongli invited them to enter the account and have tea. He and Fu Heng had long been clear about Yue Zhongqi's plan, the main force directly attacked the Junghar, stationed in Bali Kun, a stable and steady advance, step by step, this tactic was indeed suitable for the Eight Banners soldiers and Green Camp soldiers who were not familiar with the terrain and climate of Tibet. The Mongolian soldiers were better, but after all, they were under the joint command of Manchu and Mongol generals, not only was the flexibility of command affected, but also whether each department would exert their strength in battle was a problem.

  Hong Chang's face was full of disdain: "I originally thought that General Hong leading the army would be extraordinary, but it's nothing special after all."

  "Why bother with so much, when the time comes we'll just go on stage and kill a few more rebels." Hong Xun has always been thoughtful, but he doesn't think his fellow brother can become the crown prince. This time, he's coming up with the idea of building merit. However, he is smarter than Hong Chang, knowing that his own military strategy is average, and even if he leads the troops, he might make a big mistake. He thinks that since the emperor has shown favor to them, these relatives will be able to go on stage without making mistakes, as long as they support each other until the end, they will still be able to get some title.

  Fu Heng's eyebrows slightly furrowed, and then he regained his calm expression.

  He remembered that Fu Heng was able to swim in the upper study room, relying on his outstanding talent, not only reading well but also having a rare opponent in martial arts. It is said that the Fourth Prince's several successful missions were also thanks to him. Such a person must be good at things. Looking at this appearance, it is clear that he is extremely consistent with General Yue's military deployment... Hey, Hong Chang doesn't know that he has made a joke. Thinking of this, he was even more determined not to take the lead in everything, and just do what General Yue asked him to do - after all, the reputation of the undefeated general must have some true talent and learning.

  Hong Li took in everyone's reaction: "Tibet's terrain and climate are unfamiliar to our army, and once we get there, messages may be intercepted or confused. Our military strength is also twice as strong, so it should be a straightforward victory, winning with spirit and winning with force. Why bother with some kind of clever trick? If you're not careful, you'll be taken advantage of by the other side..."

  The emperor's intention was for these princes to gain experience on the battlefield, not to cause trouble.

  Hong Chang did not expect him to be so direct and slap himself in the face, his face stiffened, and then he pretended to be nonchalant and covered it up. His Ama was Yi Qin Wang, with high status and power, over the years, which royal brother didn't give him some face when he was outside? But he was suppressed in front of Fourth Brother Hong Li and Hong Xian, his heart was very resentful, discussing the eldest son's wisdom and ability, when did they become so arrogant?! For a moment, he thought about what Prince Li said to him, his heart burning even more: If it really succeeds... how glorious will I be at that time?! At least as much as Ama in front of the imperial uncle...

  Chengqian Palace

  The empress gazed into the mirror, adjusted the plum blossom hairpin on her head to a new position, and stroking her smooth cheeks, smiled brightly saying: "Doesn't this look much better?"

  Chun Hui, who was responsible for her dressing, hurriedly said: "Yes, wearing it like this is indeed better than wearing it straight just now. Your Majesty is getting more and more beautiful, with skin as smooth and tender as that of a girl in her teens."

  Xi Fei's expression turned unpleasant as she said, "I wouldn't dare compare myself to a little girl in her early teens."

  Chun Hui smiled and said, "Where can they compare? They don't have Your Highness's elegant and noble demeanor."

  "Look, this mouth is as sweet as honey!" Xi Fei smiled all over her face. "Alright, alright, I'll reward you with a golden hairpin, and if you continue to speak, both my master and I will become young again."

  Chun Hua also thanked the reward without hesitation, but still didn't give in, "What I said is true, isn't it, Qin Ayi and Chunlan Jiejie? You tell me, am I right or not?" Her cute and mischievous appearance was like a magpie, charming people. "Right, right, right!" Chunlan laughed and pointed at her head with her finger, "You still won't shut up even after getting rewarded."

  "Time flies so fast. Qin Mama, remember when we first entered the palace, they were only 13 or 14 years old? At that time, Chunlan and Chunhui were just her second-grade palace maids, young and lovely, loving to laugh and play, always trying to please her... In the blink of an eye, they are all over 20 years old now, and have become her trusted female officials. It's time to arrange their marriages. However, the newly appointed female officials may not serve as well as them, so it's better to wait until they are more experienced before arranging their marriages. At that time, I will give each of them a generous dowry."

  "The master's demeanor has become even more refined." Qin Ayi smiled and responded, thinking that the jade lan fruit brought by the fourth lady indeed had a miraculous beauty effect. Looking at the master's radiant appearance, one would think she was only in her twenties. If she continued to use it, perhaps one day she could have skin as smooth as jade like the fourth lady, without needing any makeup.

  Chun Lan and Chun Hui saw the situation, a hint of disappointment flashed in their eyes. Their parents and brothers outside the palace treated them well, and they didn't want to stay in the palace as maids. If it wasn't for getting favors and being released from the palace early, why bother competing so hard to serve the masters? Wouldn't it be better to find a secluded palace and live until 25 years old? It's worth noting that the more intimate servants know about private matters, the more uncertain their fate will be. Therefore, most of the young maids who entered the palace were very clear about their goals.

  Qin's eyes took in the scene, but her smiling face showed no change. She knew that the more attentive Spring Orchid and Spring Jade were to Imperial Consort Xi, the more reluctant she would be to part with them. If she had a mind to release them, she would herself bestow favors on them, so why would she need to come forward to plead their case?

  "Master, Gao's nanny has something to request an audience."

  "Go and see if breakfast is ready?" Xi Fei said to the two of them, seeing them obediently bowing and retreating. A look of satisfaction flashed in her eyes. She slightly raised her head, and Qin Mama came forward to support her, walking out of the bedroom to the next room, where she sat down beside a round rosewood table with inlaid snowflake patterns and golden carvings.

  "The humble servant greets her master." A thirty-year-old mama, wearing a dark blue flag uniform, knelt down to the ground and paid homage as soon as Xi Fei entered.

  "Let's talk it over." Xi Fei said in a warm voice, only her own rapid heartbeat could prove that she was not as calm as she seemed.

  "Ah." Gao Ya stood up, her head slightly raised. She had a slightly long face, sharp eyebrows and eyes, and thin lips that were slightly downturned, giving off an impression of being unapproachable. Qin Ya had always disliked her, thinking she was poisonous in her dealings with others. However, people like this were necessary by the master's side, as they could get things done discreetly.

  "Has that matter been settled?"

  "Returning to the main topic, Master has searched far and wide for Yulan fruit and experimented with it in secret, but none of them had the same effect as the one presented by Fourth Mistress. Moreover, eating too much of it is also detrimental to one's health." Old Lady Gao replied expressionlessly.

  "Could it be that the jade orchid potted plant in her hand was truly a rare species?!" This was also an expected response, but Xi Fei couldn't help but feel disappointed. How could twelve jade orchids per year be enough for her?! On average, she could only use one per month. For several months, she had been using two per month, and the change was astonishing - her skin had become tender and elastic, not much different from when she was seventeen.

  It's a pity that she couldn't let Yunzhu be unfilial to the Emperor and Empress, but as her own mother who gave birth to Hongli, she was her legitimate mother-in-law, and her status was there, which she couldn't overstep no matter what.

  She deliberately asked her for more, and in front of Emperor Qianlong, she said: "The varieties of orchids planted by the daughter-in-law are different, and their effects are also different. Generally speaking, they can be divided into two types: nourishing the body and nourishing the face. Once you choose one type, you cannot take another type. If you want to use another type, you have to wait for three months. Otherwise, it will not benefit your body but harm it. Also, do not overuse it, or your body will not be able to bear it, just like taking supplements in vain." Then she asked the emperor to find a small white mouse and fed it half of a red-shelled and half of a purple-shelled orchid fruit on the spot. As a result, within one minute, the little white mouse died from convulsions.

  Eating alone was fine, she finished the remaining half of the red-shelled yulan fruit and only then did she and the empress dowager dispel that frightening thought. Thinking about it, she also felt that she had been too alarmed, if there were any problems with the yulan fruit, Yunzhu wouldn't have dared to give it to the emperor and Hongli for nourishment before. Clearly, everyone could see that the emperor's energy was getting better day by day. And previously, how did Li Rongbao recover from his serious illness? It must also be due to the nourishing effects of the yulan fruit.

  For women, the attraction of beauty and eternal youth far exceeds physical health, let alone her body has always been well maintained. Xi Fei naturally chose to nourish her face. Only she didn't expect that Empress Ulanara also chose to nourish her face, just because Yunzhu said: "The jade orchid fruit for nourishing the face still has a little bit of nourishing effect, it's just not obvious. My wife has been using the jade orchid fruit for nourishing the face since she was young."

  Her skin as smooth and delicate as a clouded pearl had long been the envy of all the women in the harem.

  "Hmph, choosing the beauty-enhancing one is good too, it's a pity to live too long and be an eyesore. Xi Fei thought resentfully, Yunzhu had said before that these Yulan fruits couldn't actually extend lifespan, they could only nourish the skin and body... who knows if it's true or not?"

  She couldn't help but touch her face again and decided that from now on, she would follow Yunzhu's advice and only use one Yulan fruit per month to maintain this effect. After all, the things were not abundant.

  "Shang's nanny is really useless, always saying that she can't see anything different about the jade orchid potted plant!" The potted plant was kept in Qian Xi's second courtyard, and Shang's nanny had even seen her pick the jade orchid fruit and put it into a sandalwood box to take to the Qianqing Palace... without any unusual signs... making one wonder what the mystery of the jade orchid fruit really is.

  "Why bother guessing, in this palace, besides the empress, who else can compare to your status and imperial favor? The fourth prince is born of you! If you ask the fourth concubine for a pot of orchids to decorate the Chengqian Palace, who would dare say anything?"

  Xie Fei heard this and didn't have a change of heart, such good things are naturally safer in her own hands, besides, it doesn't conflict with the Emperor's and Hong Li's nourishing jade orchid fruit, right?!

  Asking his daughter-in-law for something, and it's a potted plant that can produce such precious jade orchard fruit... this behavior is also too humiliating, if the emperor finds out, it won't be good. Qin Yiniu slightly furrowed her brow and said: "I heard that before, when Fourth Madame was living in Xinyi Valley in the Fu family's estate, she also had a lot of jade orchard trees planted there. Every year, the jade orchard trees with her would always bloom early, but this year they're blooming at the same time as ordinary jade orchard trees, around March or April."

  Xi Fei paused, realizing that Qin Mama was reminding her that Yunzhu dared to put those orchid pots in Qian Xi's courtyard without fear of being seen or stolen, and there must be another reason. If she had asked for the pots but couldn't produce such effective orchids, she would only invite others' ridicule behind her back, making it a loss rather than a gain.

  Even if you don't do anything, Yunzhu won't be less filial. Can't help but hesitate.

  Gao's wife also stopped talking. She too didn't get along with Qin's wife, but she understood that she wasn't good at planning and managing things, and was more skilled at handling dark matters. Moreover, Qin's wife wasn't biased in her treatment of people and affairs, and having her by the master's side would be more beneficial to herself than others.

  "I'll think about it." Xi Fei had many thoughts that she never concealed from Qin Mama and Gao Mama. It was because of these two women that she could climb from a humble eight-banners girl to her current glorious position as the most powerful woman in the land. "By the way, how is the situation at Jingren Palace?"

  "The queen has Chen and Hai by her side, Jingren Palace is like an iron barrel, our nails can't get in, even if they do, it's not an important position, and soon they'll be pulled out." Qin said with admiration. "However, it can be seen that the queen, like the master, has improved a lot in color over the past few months, and her body seems to have become stronger too."

  Isn't your body weak?! "If it goes on like this, the power of the imperial palace will be taken back by her!" Xi Fei said with narrowed eyes, "What can you do?!"

  It's not impossible. Qin thought for a moment and said, "In my humble opinion, the Empress's body has improved slightly, but it's far from perfect. The Fourth Imperial Concubine's words about the jade orchid fruit being unable to nourish the body might be true. Moreover, Master, have you forgotten why the Empress was stripped of her power in the palace? It was because she laid hands on Eighth Prince! This matter, the Emperor will never forget..."

  "You're right." She didn't have to rush. But she also had to think of a way, couldn't let her be treated with imperial courtesy again.

  "Master, breakfast is ready." Chunlan reported from outside the door.

  "Come in." Xi Fei said, glancing at the two maids to indicate that the conversation was over. For many things, she was not lacking in patience, let's take it slow.