Thirteenth Lady's Comback: Her Everyday Life as a Bystander-Chapter 113 - 7: Prince Gong Mansion

The Prince Gong Mansion has fierce infighting in the rear courtyard due to the Princess Consort’s weak position. The Princess Consort has had three pregnancies but none survived due to the courtyard strife. If not for the wise support of Grand Princess Consort Gong for her daughter-in-law, the Princess Consort would likely have been long gone by now.

"The Princess Consort Gong has been married for many years and only has daughter, Princess Qingning, so she treasures her dearly. However, I’ve heard from Sixth Miss that the Princess has a generous disposition and dislikes those who are sycophantic and hypocritical. The granddaughter of Princess Changlong - Lady Shen from Ping Shun Earl Mansion will also be attending. It’s said she has a gentle nature. Both of them are good friends with our Princely Heir’s wife’s cousin, Miss Zhao, and they are fond of Sixth Miss. With Miss Zhao playing with Sixth Miss, there is less to worry about."

Seeing Miss Sun’s worry, Susu shared the information she had learned from Fourth Miss and Sixth Miss with her.

Sun Fangqing finally relaxed and said to Susu, "Dear sister, if there is anything we do not do well, please teach us. Previously, at home, I thought Su Yang was the most prosperous place under the heavens, but upon entering the Capital, I realized I was just a frog in a well! No wonder my mother repeatedly urged me to broaden my horizons with my grandmother."

Though Miss Sun is of the same age as Fifth Miss, she is far more eloquent and considerate.

Susu gently said, "I dare not use the word ’teach’, it’s just that the two young ladies see favor in Susu. The Old Madam cherishes the younger generation, and you can command her if you need anything."

During the conversation, the Prince Gong Mansion was not far away. Several carriages had already stopped at the gate.

The group from the Song Family dismounted, seeing that the first carriage ahead belonged to the Zhao Family girl.

Miss Zhao, warming her hands in a white fox fur muff, looked around and, upon seeing the group from the Song Family, laughed, "I thought it might be your family, and indeed it is!" She then hurried forward, chatting incessantly with Sixth Miss.

The two had not seen each other for over a month since their farewell at the Prince Ke Mansion and naturally had much to converse about!

The Zhao Family came with four girls today; Zhao Sixth Miss was the eldest, the same age as Miss Song. She looked at the Housekeeper by the Princess Consort’s side and at her lively sister, saying helplessly, "Let’s wait until we enter the Prince Mansion to talk, better not keep the Princess waiting!"

Miss Zhao waved her hand, "Qingning is not one to be so petty." Nevertheless, she still led Sixth Miss and Miss Zhao into the green silk car prepared by the Prince Mansion.

Zhao Sixth Miss smiled at Fourth Miss, and took Seventh and Eighth Sisters into another carriage. Fourth Miss looked at the two remaining carriages and said, "I will go with Fifth Sister, and Cousin Fangqing and Susu can be together."

This was Susu’s second visit to the Prince Gong Mansion. The last time, when Grand Princess Consort Gong sent an invitation to the Old Madam, Susu had come as a maidservant accompanying her and had received a pair of jade bracelets as a reward from the Grand Princess Consort and a pair of golden hairpins from the Princess Consort.

At that time, she did not see Princess Qingning, as it was said she had entered the palace.

Since the new Emperor ascended the throne, the Prince Gong Mansion has been flourishing more than ever. This is not just because the Emperor and the current Prince Gong are cousins, but also because of the current Empress Dowager.

The current Empress Dowager is not the birth mother of the Emperor. The Emperor’s birth mother was merely a daughter of a small official, of modest looks, yet plump and well-rounded. She survived the palace selection merely because the former Emperor had a lack of heirs, and the late Empress Dowager remarked she seemed well-suited for childbirth, thus she was appointed as the lowest-ranking concubine with the title of "Yi."

This Lady Yi was true to her reputation for fertility, conceiving after one night in the bedchamber and eventually giving birth to the former Emperor’s second son.

However, the harem at the time already had the virtuous Empress Shude, the beloved Consort Zhenzhen who had given birth to the Eldest Prince, and the beautiful Concubine Li who was pregnant with an imperial heir. Hence, Lady Yi was not favored, and despite having the Second Prince, she only rose two ranks to the rank of a Noble. She had no rights to raise the Prince, so the Second Prince was raised by Consort Shu.

Eventually, Lady Yi died due to complications during the birth of her second child, taking the lives of both herself and the child.

The Second Prince barely remembered his birth mother but was deeply loved by Consort Shu, who had no children of her own. When the Second Prince, Prince Rong, ascended the throne, he first honored his adoptive mother, Consort Shu, as Empress Dowager Shu Ren, and then posthumously honored his birth mother as Empress Dowager Ci Ren.

Empress Dowager Shu Ren came from one of the Six Great Founding Marquis Mansions, the Rongxian Marquis Mansion. The current Marquis Rongxian is her nephew, and her brother, the old Marquis, is still alive and was elevated to Duke Cheng’en by the current Emperor. The once declining Rongxian Marquis Mansion regained vitality due to the Emperor’s ascension and the elevation of Consort Shu to Empress Dowager.

All this is to say, the Princess Consort Gong hails from the Rongxian Marquis Mansion and is the niece of the Empress Dowager. The Princess Consort’s father and the Empress Dowager, along with Duke Cheng’en, are siblings. The Empress Dowager dotes on her niece, the Princess Consort, and her grandniece, Princess Qingning.

Previously, as a less favored royal consort, she could provide little protection to her niece even though she was one of the four premier consorts. But as the Empress Dowager, things are different. The Prince Gong now spends more time in the Princess Consort’s quarters, and the Princess Consort’s days are much better, though there’s a single regret of not having a legitimate son.

The green silk car stopped at the second gate, where Nanny Tao, the steward by the Princess’s side, and several servant women were there to greet the ladies.

Nanny Tao was given to Princess Qingning by Empress Dowager Shu as her governess. She was originally a Chief Lady of the Shangyi Bureau, with a rank of Fifth Grade.

Though the Song Family also hired court nannies to teach the girls etiquette, they cannot compare with Nanny Tao. As a Chief Lady, she managed the etiquette teachings of the entire harem, serving as a paragon in behavior and speech.

Nanny Tao was around forty, but appeared younger, dressed in a white side-fastened high-collared jacket layered over a light gray embroidered horse face skirt, topped with a dark purple collared robe lined with snow-blue patterned satin facing.

Her hair was styled in a neat round bun at the back of her head, adorned with a red gold cloud-shaped ruyi hairpin and a long jade drop hairpin. Her forehead was circled with a headband embroidered with small daisies, with earlobes resembling ingot shapes, sporting small gourd-like hollow golden earrings. She smiled warmly, giving those who saw her a feeling of being in spring breeze, generating affection.

The young ladies dared not neglect Nanny Tao; even though she no longer held the position of Chief Lady, her rank still remained. After paying their respects to Nanny Tao, who returned their salutations one by one, the jade drop hairpin on her head did not move a bit, and the jade step at her waist did not make a sound — a sight which Susu, experiencing this for the second time, found remarkable. "How is this trained to be like this?" Truly an extraordinary person!