Chapter 156: The Arena

Since Emperor Kangxi had already caught wind of Yan Yan's encounter in Consort Yi's palace, the Ninth Prince naturally learned of it as well. However, by the time the Ninth Prince returned from North Dock Village, having spent a long time discussing the new rural development with the Eighth and Tenth Princes, it was already quite late. When he returned to the Pavilion of Weaving Dreams, Yan Yan was already fast asleep.

The Ninth Prince sat by the edge of the bed, gazing at Yan Yan's serene sleeping face, and gently stroked her cheek before stepping quietly out of the bedroom. Because Yan Yan always preferred not to have attendants sleeping in her room, the Ninth Prince had to go all the way to her small study to find Cui'er tidying up.

Sitting down at Yan Yan's desk, the Ninth Prince watched as Cui'er gathered some loose papers. Cui'er smiled and said, "The Side Consort said she wants to name the courtyard you designed for the Sixth Princess and the two young princes 'Happy Island,' and she wants to make quite a few alterations to the layout. These are the blueprints she drew today after coming back."

Looking at Yan Yan's familiar handwriting scattered across the pile of papers, the Ninth Prince could not help but smile. His very first impression of Yan Yan had been her peculiar handwriting, completely devoid of any traditional grace or structure; though neat enough, it was simply rather painful to look at. Who could have imagined that in a very short span of time, her writing would improve so dramatically, growing increasingly graceful and expressive? At the time, the Ninth Prince had already guessed that Yan Yan was a person of remarkable resilience.

"What else did the Side Consort do after returning from the garden today?" the Ninth Prince asked casually.

Cui'er was slightly startled, but after a moment she smiled. "The Side Consort truly guessed correctly. She said Your Highness would certainly ask me this the moment you returned."

Lifting his gaze to look at Cui'er, the Ninth Prince said in a deep voice, "Tell me the truth. Do not try to cover for your mistress just because she instructed you to."

Cui'er chuckled. "The Side Consort did not tell me to deceive Your Highness. She said Your Highness is far too shrewd, and any attempt at deception would surely fail. She merely instructed me to tell Your Highness that she is doing very well and is not unhappy in the least."

Looking up at Cui'er with a rather helpless expression, the Ninth Prince murmured, "Very well, I understand."

Cui'er lowered her head. "Then this servant will take her leave."

"Wait!"

The Ninth Prince called her back, and Cui'er sighed inwardly, knowing that Yan Yan's little strategy would never work. Sure enough, the Ninth Prince immediately cut straight to the core of the matter: "When she went to pay her respects to Consort Yi, who else was there?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, the Eighth Primary Consort also went to pay her respects to Consort Yi and shared midday meal with her," Cui'er replied in a low voice, then hesitantly added, "Miss He was also fortunate enough to taste the Side Consort's cooking, and has now been kept by Consort Yi in the palace for a short stay."

The Ninth Prince let out a cold snort. He had known matters would not be so simple; one never feared a lack of fortuitous events, only the presence of malicious people. "Did the Side Consort and Consort Yi have a dispute?"

Cui'er shook her head. "Not at all. The Side Consort even presented Consort Yi with the batch of gemstones she had purchased from Miss Anna in Your Highness's name, and Consort Yi was extremely pleased. Moreover, it is said that Consort Yi was very satisfied with the Side Consort's culinary skills."

Only then did the Ninth Prince nod and wave his hand. "You may withdraw."

Cui'er glanced at him once more before slowly backing out of the room. The Ninth Prince sat at Yan Yan's desk for a long time. He knew his biological mother all too well; she never bothered with pointless gestures. Keeping that He Xuan'er in the palace probably meant her intentions went far beyond the surface. Thinking of this, the Ninth Prince felt a surge of annoyance, feeling that for his mother—a woman of noble imperial consort rank—to make things difficult for Yan Yan was entirely beneath her dignity. Yet, being a dutiful son, he could not direct his grievances at Consort Yi herself, so he transferred all his dissatisfaction onto the Eighth Primary Consort. Naturally, he could easily guess that the Eighth Primary Consort had likely played no benevolent role in this affair.

Early the next morning, the Ninth Prince dispatched a messenger to Lady Dorgon, claiming that a concubine in the Eighth Prince's household was about to give birth. Since the Eighth Prince's household had never welcomed a newborn before and lacked experience, he instructed Lady Dorgon to send over a generous supply of nutritional supplements and infant goods. When the Eighth Primary Consort heard of this, she was so furious her nose was practically crooked; she stormed over to Lady Dorgon's residence to demand an explanation. Upon learning that it had all been ordered by the Ninth Prince, her gaze darkened considerably.

Yet the Eighth Primary Consort was not one to be trifled with and immediately launched a counterattack. Within two days, every noble lady in the capital had heard that Yan Yan had been summoned by Consort Yi, ordered to cook a meal, and then summarily dismissed. Mockery echoed from all directions, and some even went so far as to declare that Yan Yan was simply lacking in good fortune—that despite bearing two sons for the Ninth Prince, in Consort Yi's eyes she was nothing more than a kitchen maid.

Seeing that the Eighth Primary Consort actually had the gall to fight back, the Ninth Prince grew even more depressed. He deliberately had Wang Quan leak the locations of a few pleasure estates where the Eighth Prince kept his mistresses. In an instant, turmoil erupted within the Eighth Prince's household, and before the next day had passed, everyone in the capital knew that the Eighth Primary Consort had flown into a rage and locked the Eighth Prince out of the mansion.

The Eighth Prince, deeply distressed, dragged the Tenth Prince along to settle accounts with the Ninth Prince. The Ninth Prince put on a forced, ingratiating smile to brush them off, but behind the scenes, he immediately targeted a junior clerk in the Lifang Yuan who had grown up alongside the Eighth Primary Consort. That clerk had intended to use the post merely as a stepping stone and had already secured a better position, waiting only for an early-year promotion, when the Ninth Prince abruptly crushed his career prospects mid-stride.

Naturally, the Eighth Primary Consort understood this as the Ninth Prince's retaliation and immediately rushed into the palace to weep before Consort Yi. Consort Yi was already displeased with the Ninth Prince herself, so she summoned him to the palace and gave him a severe tongue-lashing. To her surprise, the Ninth Prince argued his case stoutly, claiming he would never do anything unbecoming of his status, and that the clerk's failure of his evaluation was fully documented in the official archives of the Lifang Yuan. Consort Yi, well aware that the Ninth Prince was subtly rebuking her for her own unbefitting behavior, grew even more incensed.

To make matters worse, Emperor Kangxi decided to join the fray. Upon hearing of the incident, he dispatched a senior palace matron specifically to lecture Consort Yi on the imperial policy forbidding imperial consorts from meddling in state affairs, a rebuke so stinging that Consort Yi fell ill on the spot. With Consort Yi bedridden, the Fifth Primary Consort and Lady Dorgon bore the arduous burden of taking turns entering the palace to wait upon her.

Naturally, Emperor Kangxi also summoned the Ninth Prince to the imperial garden for a severe reprimand, ordering him to cease his feud with the Eighth Primary Consort immediately and put an end to the shenanigans. However, the Emperor refrained from further punishment; after all, in this entire debacle, Emperor Kangxi had unconsciously found himself leaning toward the Ninth Prince's side.

Judging that the commotion had gone far enough, the Ninth Prince instructed Wang Quan to halt all operations and once again devoted himself wholeheartedly to drafting his proposals for rural reform. Yet, events quickly spiraled far beyond the expectations of both Emperor Kangxi and the Ninth Prince. Through some unknown and formidable channel, the secret that Yan Yan was the illegitimate daughter of the Gūwalgiya family was uncovered and leaked throughout the entire capital.

In a single stroke, Yan Yan's social standing plummeted to the very bottom. The Ninth Prince was so enraged that he swore to hunt down the rumor-monger and tear them limb from limb; otherwise, he would never vent the suffocating fury in his chest.

Before the Ninth Prince could track down the source of the rumors, however, a fresh wave of trouble struck him. During early court the following morning, just as the session was drawing to a close, a censor slowly strolled forward, raised his voice, and announced: "Reporting to Your Majesty, this subject wishes to impeach the Ninth Prince for violating fundamental moral principles and engaging in incestuous same-name marriage."

As soon as these words left the censor's mouth, not only the Ninth Prince, but even Emperor Kangxi stood utterly dumbfounded.