Chapter 83: The Crown Prince’s Share
The messenger’s wife rushed in a fluster, leading the informant into the Main Chamber.
The kitchen courtyard was also in an uproar, with everyone running out to hear the news.
Granny Fan, who had been lying on a bamboo recliner for her midday nap, scrambled to her feet.
Finally catching Dong Mei who was delivering tea, everyone pulled at her and asked in confusion.
“What official position has our Master Shen been promoted to?”
At the entrance of the Main Chamber, the person in charge of lifting the curtain had been replaced by the second-rank maid Dong Mei.
She was dazed and sleepy all day, never fully awake, and her work was often careless and inconsistent.
“The imperial edict from the palace says Master Shen has been appointed as Fifth Prince’s tutor.”
“Is the position of a prince’s tutor a high-ranking one? Will there be any reward money?”
“Madam Ning didn’t say,” Dong Mei replied drowsily.
“Such a muddle-headed thing, not even able to understand the message clearly!”
Everyone was terribly disappointed and urged Dong Mei to go inside and inquire further.
Pear Moon brewed sour plum soup and chilled it with ice, leaving a large pot for them to drink.
She also filled two white porcelain bowls, adding plenty of honey to each.
Autumn Abundance woke from her nap wearing only a bamboo-cloth shirt, Summer Cloth loose-legged trousers, and straw sandals.
She sat lazily in the shade, working on shoe soles and sketching floral patterns.
“In such a short time, you’ve already finished sketching the flowers?”
Autumn Abundance’s needlework was truly excellent, and Pear Moon couldn’t help but admire it.
The shoes she made herself—forget about embroidered patterns—weren’t even the same size.
“Who has hands as clumsy as yours!”
Autumn Abundance drank the honeyed plum soup, burped contentedly, and chatted while working on her shoe soles.
“Just now I heard people outside discussing that Fifth Prince’s tutor is a grand secretary, meaning he’ll surely have a share in the crown prince position in the future. Consort He will eventually become the empress. Our Old Madam is overjoyed and immediately wants to summon the Duke back to discuss celebrating this happy occasion.”
Consort He was the legitimate younger sister of the Marquis of Linjiang and Old Madam Ning’s own niece.
Although they were close relatives, she had her own proper maternal family. Was there really a need to rush to celebrate?
The Ning family’s own Consort Ning entered the palace and gave birth to Third Prince, but no one ever heard Old Madam Ning show concern for her or her son.
Third Prince was sent to the Northern Di as a hostage at age twelve and has been missing ever since, with no news of whether he’s alive or dead.
Consort Ning, longing for her son, fell ill and passed away a few years ago.
Old Madam Ning didn’t even care about matters of life and death, all because Consort Ning was born of a concubine, not her own daughter.
Now that Fifth Prince has been assigned a tutor, the Ning family wants to celebrate as a whole household—such blatant favoritism.
Pear Moon shook her head and sighed, while Autumn Abundance continued to show off her knowledge.
“You’re holed up in the small kitchen every day, only knowing how to chop vegetables and stew soup, completely unaware of what’s happening outside.”
She didn’t do kitchen work, instead wandering around all day with her sewing basket, so naturally she knew more.
“A few months ago at the palace banquet, Consort He sent word that she wanted to form a marriage alliance with our family. Old Madam was naturally delighted. Our mansion has four young ladies. The eldest and second miss are not of matching age, only the third miss from the second branch is the same age as Fifth Prince. The marriage arrangement is almost settled, so our mansion will essentially become Fifth Prince’s proper maternal family.”
“Third Miss Ning is to be engaged to Fifth Prince?” Pear Moon exclaimed in surprise.
“Don’t shout!” Autumn Abundance hurriedly waved her hand.
“Although it’s not yet confirmed, it’s seventy to eighty percent certain. Everyone below knows about it.”
No wonder!
When the Main Kitchen was selecting maids, so many people fawned over Madam Jin, wanting to enter the second branch’s small kitchen.
So they were scrambling to climb the social ladder early.
If this marriage alliance succeeds, even if Fifth Prince doesn’t become crown prince, Third Miss Ning would still securely become a principal consort to a prince.
If he competes for the crown prince position, Second Master Ning would rise to prominence overnight.
The father of a crown princess can be enfeoffed as Marquis of Cheng’en, while the father of an empress is directly enfeoffed as Duke of Cheng’en.
Isn’t this about elevating the entire second branch to new heights?
Now that we’re serving in the second branch, in the future we might even follow Third Miss Ning as part of her dowry.
Jumping directly from the Duke’s mansion to the imperial family—perhaps we could advance even further. It’s even possible to secure official positions.
Pear Moon breathed a sigh of relief, her mood unaffected. After all, she had no desire to climb the social ladder.
Autumn Abundance, however, was thinking further ahead. Pinching an awl and pulling thread, her eyes darted around.
“I actually think this marriage is a bit mismatched. Third Miss Ning is a concubine-born daughter of the second branch. Fifth Prince, at the very least, will become a prince. Wouldn’t it look awkward for him to marry a concubine-born daughter as his princess consort when families meet?”
She wasn’t wrong. Second Master Ning had two sons and one daughter, with only Second Young Master Ning being the legitimate child of Second Madam.
Third Miss Ning was born to the favored concubine, Concubine Qian, and was deeply doted on and spoiled by her father.
Second Master Ning doted excessively on Concubine Qian and her children, paying little attention to his legitimate wife, showing clear favoritism toward the concubine over the wife.
“Consort Ning was also concubine-born, yet she entered the palace and became a consort. All four young ladies in our mansion are excellent. Any family that discriminates between legitimate and concubine-born would be foolish.”
The four Ning family young ladies often studied and played together, with no distinction made between legitimate and concubine-born status.
Moreover, Pear Moon felt that even the concubine-born girls of the Ning family were more dignified than the legitimate-born daughters of the Shen family.
“That’s not how it works!”
Autumn Abundance shook her head like a rattle-drum.
“A concubine-born daughter becoming a princess consort is one thing, but could a concubine-born daughter ever become a crown princess or an empress? Think carefully—if Second Master becomes the Duke of Grace, who would become the Duchess of Grace? Second Madam or Concubine Qian? Second Madam is the legitimate mother and principal wife, while Concubine Qian is the beloved birth mother. Leaving either out would be problematic. Isn’t that troublesome?”
Hearing this, Pear Moon couldn’t help but press her lips together and nod.
The Duchess of Grace would naturally have to be the legitimate mother, but Concubine Qian, the birth mother, was no pushover.
Second Madam had often vied for favor with Concubine Qian, yet Second Master Ning single-mindedly protected his concubine.
Behind closed doors in the second branch’s courtyard, Concubine Qian lived far more comfortably than Second Madam.
Just as Pear Moon and Autumn Abundance were whispering, the entrance to Phoenix Ripple Courtyard grew lively.
Old Madam Ning from Crane Longevity Hall had sent maidservants with many ice platters of fruit, looking refreshingly cool and delicious.
Large ice platters were spread with crushed ice, topped with various crystal bowls.
These were rare and novel fruits seldom seen in the capital—Lychees from Lingnan and apples from Shandong weren’t even considered the best.
There were also sweet melons from the Western Regions, honey peaches from Jiangnan, and small tangerines from Jiangxi, their fresh sweetness detectable from afar.
Shen Shi gracefully came to the corridor to receive them, thanking Old Madam from a distance, and had Zhi Qing hand out a string of cash.
Having been depressed for many days, she finally heard some good news and now felt refreshed and clear-headed.
Having studied rituals since childhood, she understood about fifty or sixty percent of the matters concerning imperial princes’ enfeeffment.
Fifth Prince was only twelve years old but already had the current Chief Grand Secretary appointed as his tutor—he was certainly a contender for the heir apparent.
Grand Secretary Shen could serve as the Crown Prince’s tutor, and in the future would undoubtedly be granted one of the Three Preceptors of the Crown Prince.
Grand Preceptor, Grand Mentor, and Grand Guardian—all were official positions worthy of ancestral temple honors.
Many families strive for three or four generations without achieving such prestigious positions.
If her father supported Fifth Prince in ascending to Crown Prince and eventually the throne, the Shen family would truly bring honor to their ancestors. Even she, a married daughter, would share in the glory.
Not only would her husband’s family not dare slight her, but likely all the official families in the capital would come to curry favor with her.
With this burden lifted, Shen Shi felt much better, and even the recent awkwardness with Fourth Sister faded considerably.
After all, she was a daughter of the Shen family. As long as her maternal family had strong backing, would her husband’s family dare disrespect her?
Shen Shi grew more and more gratified as she thought, reclining on the cool daybed while sipping Sweet Bean Water. It had been many days since she had felt this comfortable.
Just as she was considering writing a letter to her parents, the crystal bead curtain was suddenly lifted aside, and Granny Zhao appeared with a beaming face.
“Madam, the Duke has returned to the mansion and is heading toward Phoenix Ripple Courtyard. He sent a servant ahead to announce that he intends to have dinner here!”
Shen Shi was suddenly overjoyed, her body trembling involuntarily. The bean water spilled all over her hands, yet she deliberately feigned annoyance, saying, “In such sweltering weather, he should rest after finishing his official duties. What brings him here?”
Though her words were cool, the smile in her eyes was unmistakable.
From early spring to the heat of summer, she had finally waited for her husband to yield. How could she not feel triumphant?