The Beloved Imperial Consort Chapter 144

“Since Cefei is not happy to see He Lian Wei Rui enter the household, this deal can be negotiated.” He Lian Min Min stroked her golden nail guard with a smile on her face.

Mu Xi Yao listened to He Lian Min Min’s speech filled with confidence, but her attention was on her clothes.

A dark green Principal Consort’s palace attire, which she had never seen before. Was it newly made by the Bureau of Wardrobe[1]? According to the rules, with one Principal Consort and two Cefeis in the household, the quota for new clothes should have already been filled. How could they suddenly make an extra set?

“Does Cefei think that the design of the palace attire that Qiesheng is wearing looks good?” After receiving Mu Xi Yao’s expression of her stance, He Lian Min Min also had the mind to engage in idle chatter now.

“This is custom-made from the newly opened Nichang¹ Boutique. Not only is the fabric soft, but the embroidery workmanship is also top-notch.” He Lian Min Min pulled up the wide sleeve and extended her arm slightly forward, letting Mu Xi Yao see that the workmanship on the details of the garment was also exquisite.

Mu Xi Yao looked at it attentively and slightly furrowed her brows. “Nishang Boutique is allowed to privately tailor palace attire?” Since when could a common tailor shop accept orders for palace attires? How could those chief eunuchs at the Bureau of Wardrobe turn a blind eye to their profits flowing out?

Hearing her puzzlement, He Lian Min Min began to slowly rock the circular fan in her hand. “The Imperial Noble Consort, who assumed the esteemed role of Stand-In Empress, administrates the affairs of the six palaces². But she is not young anymore and cannot manage so many trivial matters. Naturally, this errand was delegated to and shared with all Their Ladyships. Although the Bureau of Wardrobe also takes other orders besides those standard ones, their designs are always too reserved compared to the novel and colorful styles made outside.”

“This Nishang Boutique is newly established in the capital. Several princesses and commandery princesses³ contributed a share of their money to it. It has only been open for a few days. It claims to make palace attire, but in truth, it only copies the style. It also only takes orders based on the person’s status. Imperial Noble Consort should have heard about it, but since it is just an insignificant matter of money and involves several married princesses, she naturally refrained from commenting on this matter and pretended not to know.

Mu Xi Yao raised an eyebrow. Was there such a thing? Princesses and Commandery Princesses pooling their money together to earn some extra income?

Since Imperial Noble Consort did not ask questions, it was likely not because the matter was too small to bother with, but rather because she was not afraid of taking responsibility after delegating this task to others. In addition, she also had other hidden motives.

If Mu Xi Yao’s guess was correct, the two princesses born to Imperial Noble Consort were certainly not involved in this matter.

“Qie once heard about a wealthy family where the head of the family was still alive. Their household expenses were set to a fixed budget. The youngest son thought that the family’s daily spending was too high, so he secretly set up a business outside. He took the piled-up and unused bamboo strips from home and transported them out of the residence to be processed into bamboo baskets, which he sold cheaply.”

He Lian Min Min felt that she had to be very attentive when talking to Mu Xi Yao. Before she finished with one thing, she began to ramble about something else, and she didn’t know what her intention was.

“Although the price was cheap, the number of bamboo baskets sold was high. Slowly, this small business started to prosper.” Upon seeing He Lian Min Min’s nonchalant expression, Mu Xi Yao inwardly shook her head. In the end, she was a tad short-sighted and could not see things from a long-term perspective. Being trapped in the courtyard all the time, all that occupied her mind were women’s affairs. When will this Primary Empress of Zong Zheng Lin be groomed?

“Small profits can accumulate over time. When the youngest son earned enough, he began to spend more lavishly. Seeing the youngest son living a comfortable life, the other branches⁴ of the household were naturally resentful. How did something from their household help him succeed in a business without putting in any money? Wasn’t this against rules? As a result, there was discord in the family. After the head of the family learnt of this, without a second thought, he deducted the youngest son’s yearly allowance. From then on, he would rather let the excess bamboo strips rot and mold than let anyone touch them even a little.”

Yuancheng Emperor was no head of the family, and if he were to punish someone, it would not simply be a matter of deducting a monthly allowance. If someone dared to violate the rules of the palace, unable to distinguish between public and personal matters, and made a fake dragon robe in the future, what do they think, would the emperor let them get away with such amusement?

“What does Principal Consort think? How does this head of the family compare to the current Emperor?” If He Lian Min Min still couldn’t understand, even Mu Xi Yao would go crazy.

She better quickly leave the Nichang Boutique as far as possible. Did she want to get involved and wait for Yuancheng Emperor to find out and settle accounts later? Zong Zheng Lin’s Principal Consort mustn’t act so imprudently and make a fool of herself in front of others.

Mu Xi Yao was grief-stricken. She was Cefei in the household. If Principal Consort lost her face, their standard level couldn’t be raised. Yuancheng Emperor would check on his sons’ inner yard whenever he had time. If He Lian Min Min held them back too much and obviously hindered the Lord Boss’s progress in ascending to the throne, wouldn’t it take a very long time for her to achieve her goal of becoming a favored consort? This was absolutely unacceptable.

Mu Xi Yao felt that she had the most difficulty in finding the right balance with He Lian Min Min. She had to guard against her but also support her from time to time. This job was not easy!

When Big Boss married a woman, she even had to watch over the woman like a nanny. She should get more benefits to justify her painstaking effort, shouldn’t she?

So, when He Lian Min Min came to discuss the matter of He Lian Wei Rui with her today, even if she didn’t speak up, Mu Xi Yao wouldn’t stand by and do nothing. Although He Lian Min Min and she was not the same kind of people, and the internal struggle between them was very annoying, if the huge ship of the prince’s household entirely sank, what would be the point of fighting? Thus, she had to grasp the balance well.

Although He Lian Min Min was not particularly shrewd, at least she was sensible most of the time. Mu Xi Yao didn’t bother to think about whether she was kind or malicious. How many women in the inner palace could be considered clean? It has been less than half a year since Lady He Lian married into the household. If she could be full of malice so quickly, Zong Zheng Lin could immediately send her to recuperate in the side courtyard for eight or ten years.

It was like picking the best of a bad bunch with these women of the inner yard. He Lian Min Min was at least more pleasing to the eyes than He Lian Wei Rui, so she would just have to make do with her. Mu Xi Yao was not demanding. As long as no one provoked her, He Lian Min Min, as the mistress of the household, could handle the other people as she saw fit.

Although Mu Xi Yao was tactful with her words, her meaning was clear. Especially the last question. He Lian Min Min immediately understood the intention behind her words. Upon careful consideration of her point, she quickly came to realize that the issue of the attire she wore was not handled appropriately.

Was this woman reminding her out of goodwill? Suddenly, He Lian Min Min felt much better. No matter how capable Mu Xi Yao was, there were still rules that constrained her. Even if she didn’t like to socialize with the women in the household, at critical times, didn’t she still have to keep the big picture in mind, expending a great deal of effort and energy? Though spoken simply, a lot of thought had been put into those few words. This content belongs to thehlifestyle.com, if you see this translation elsewhere, it’s been stolen!

“After all, Nichang Boutique is several streets away from the residence. From now on, it would be more convenient to collectively hand over clothes from each courtyard to the Bureau of Wardrobe. After all, the sizes in the palace are readily available, so there is no need to bother each courtyard to measure again.” He Lian Min Min picked up the green tea in front of her, took a sip, and smoothly changed the topic.

Mu Xi Yao narrowed her eyes and smiled gently. “Exactly, Principal Consort is very thoughtful.”

The two of them looked at each other and smiled, sharing a kind of tacit understanding that they had never experienced before.

“What is Principal Consort’s plan for this business?” After all the buildup, wasn’t it time to reveal details?

After putting down the teacup and wiping her lips gracefully with a silk handkerchief, He Lian Min Min looked at Mu Xi Yao, who was smiling good-naturedly. Finally, she spoke out her thoughts, which she had been pondering for a long time.

“Before Cefei’s postpartum confinement, Qie shall help Cefei intercept all the troubles caused by Fourth Princess. Cefei needs only to take care of your body and prepare for childbirth with peace of mind in the residence. In exchange, when Cefei has free time, Cefei can help Qie come up with ideas to stop He Lian Wei Rui from entering the household. If Cefei is interested, it would be best if you can put an end to the plan of that shu sister of Qie.”

Translation notes:

[1] Nichang refers to rainbow-colored clothes worn by Immortals. It describes a type of dress or clothing.

[2] Six Palaces refer to buildings of the palace complex where the empress and all of the female consorts lived. See section “Six Western and Six Eastern Palaces” here.

[3] Commandery princess usually refers to a daughter of princes of the first rank.

[2] Branches refer to the family head’s sons and their families in the household.

Relationship Diagram  (by Sith Kazar)

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