The Enchanting Imperial Concubine (Book 2)

Chapter 355 - Humility

The arrangement for the children was quickly settled, and Wan Shi was soon promoted to Xiuyi.

After all, only the Nine Consorts could raise children.

At the same time, Shu Fei, who got the Third Princess, was very pleased.

In her view, this was the Emperor's trust in her.

She even vaguely thought that since the Central Palace was currently unoccupied, as the highest-ranked among the concubines, she might have a chance.

The Emperor himself was born from a concubine and didn't necessarily need a legitimate son; if she became Empress, whoever ascended would be her son.

If she could support a small concubine for her use to give birth to a prince, wouldn't that be even better?

Of course, such things were only fantasies for Shu Fei.

Others with a bit of sense among the concubines could see that if the Emperor intended for Shu Fei to take over the Central Palace, he would have conferred her as a Guifei by now.

If it were any worse, she should at least be promoted to Xian Fei; it wouldn't be possible for her status not to be elevated.

So, the emperor simply wanted her to raise children.

In late October, they finally set off to return to the palace. This time, returning a bit later was also a way to accommodate Wan Xiuyi, considering she had suffered a miscarriage and needed to sit the month.

Upon returning to the palace, they hastily began preparing for the New Year festivities.

Ning Chen issued an edict stating that future palace affairs would be managed jointly by Shu Fei, Jing De Fei, and Hui Zhaorong.

Shu Fei would oversee the monthly allowances for the consorts and the emperor's heirs, Jing De Fei would manage all the servants in the palace, and Hui Zhaorong would be responsible for meals and procurement.

The items entering the palace were the most dangerous; now that Hui Zhaorong was in charge, Ye Yun could relax a lot.

Of course, she also vaguely suspected this might be Ning Chen's deliberate favoritism.

However, she was not dragged into the affairs this time; after all, managing the inner court was a long-term job, not just an occasional task.

Yi Shunyuan, who held a similar rank, also had a son, and if they were to intervene in palace matters, they would have to do so together. Clearly, it wouldn't require so many people to manage it; otherwise, it would be too chaotic. It was better for both of them to stay out of it.

But even though they were not involved, Ye Yun still had an advantage; after all, Hui Zhaorong and Ye Yun were aligned.

This year, due to the turmoil in the inner court, the New Year celebrations were not very lively and passed quickly.

However, the year-end promotions were still held as usual.

Hui Zhaorong was promoted to Zhaoyuan, Ye Yun to Zhaorong, Yi Shunyuan to Shun Yi,  Cui Wanrong to Meiren, and both Qi Meiren and Huo Meiren were promoted to Jieyu.

As for Chen Jieyu, who had never been promoted due to the Empress Dowager's long-standing status, she still did not receive a promotion this time but was given an honorary title, "Qian."

"Qian" signifies respect and also implies modesty and deference.

The emperor's intent was very clear, but the Empress Dowager was not very pleased; however, she could only endure it at this moment.