Chapter 609: Carried on Eight Shoulders
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Before she knew it, the Winter Solstice was approaching. Following the usual practice of previous years, Mingzhu had the Winter Solstice gifts and the household rewards prepared. Those that needed to be sent were sent out, and those that needed to be distributed were distributed. Then she took Zhuangzhuang back to her parents’ house and personally delivered the gift to her family.
Upon returning to the mansion, she received an edict from the palace. Empress Dowager Min expressed that she and the Great Empress Dowager were not in good health and didn’t have the energy to prepare for the banquet. However, the Winter Solstice banquet couldn’t be omitted. Since the emperor was not yet married and there was no one to host, she consulted the Great Empress Dowager and asked Mingzhu and several other Wangfeis to prepare for the banquet.
Upon receiving the edict, Mingzhu didn’t readily agree. She smiled and had someone serve tea to the eunuch who delivered the decree before asking, “When did the Empress Dowager’s health decline? Why haven’t we heard any news about it?”
The eunuch Zhang Fusheng, who delivered the decree, had been serving in Zhaoyang Palace for many years. It was only earlier this year that he obtained this position, so he cherished it greatly and answered questions very cautiously, making sure not to leak any information: “In response to Ying Wangfei’s inquiry, it was in the past few days. Her Majesty the Empress Dowager has been suffering from headaches and insomnia. Because she didn’t want to trouble everyone, she didn’t spread the news. Originally, she hoped that things would improve in these days, but unfortunately, there was no improvement, which made Her Majesty the Empress Dowager very anxious.
The Winter Solstice ceremony to worship the heavens and ancestors must not have any mistakes. After careful consideration, among all the Wangfeis, although Qi Wangfei is older and more stable, she is still somewhat distant. Fu Wang’s Concubine Ji was young, without much experience, and Dai Wangfei was a widow and it’s not convenient for her to take the lead. The rest of the Wangfeis are young and have not seen many grand occasions. Therefore, we can only rely on Ying Wangfei with Dai Wangfei as the main organizer, and the other Wangfeis as assistants. It’s essential to handle this matter properly and solemnly.”
It sounded like she had no reason to refuse. After thinking for a moment, Mingzhu felt that although the other party had ill intentions, she could handle it. So she accepted the decree, dismissed the eunuch who delivered it, and then sent invitations to Dai Wangfei, asking when she would be available for a visit.
The steward quickly came back with a message. Dai Wangfei said she had been at home all along, and Mingzhu could come over anytime.
Mingzhu immediately went to the Dai Wang Mansion. Dai Wangfei welcomed her in and straightforwardly said, “This Winter Solstice banquet is not easy to handle. Not to mention the complex situation nowadays, many things are extremely difficult to manage. Just arranging so many people to organize this banquet together, each with their own ideas, makes it extremely difficult.”
Dai Wangfei was mainly referring to the Wusun Princess. Although Fu Wang caused trouble, his Concubine Ji had no foundation and couldn’t stir up much. Huayang Wangfei and Mingzhu were allies, and Xu Meier had already fled, leaving only the Wusun Princess. Yuwen You was close to Empress Dowager Min and the young emperor, almost their spokesperson. The Wusun Princess listened to him very much and was definitely going to cause trouble.
Mingzhu said, “That’s not a problem. As long as we all work together, even if she causes trouble, there’s nothing she can do. She’s from Wusun and doesn’t understand our customs very well. We can ignore her, and nobody in the royal family will listen to her.”
Dai Wangfei frowned and said, “But what if she has people behind her who are supported by the Empress Dowager? If we succeed, it’s only natural, but if we fail, it’s our fault. And you and I will bear the brunt of it.”
Although Dai Wangfei adhered to the principle of staying low-key and not offending anyone, with a young child and being a widow, she couldn’t rely solely on herself. After careful consideration, she had to rely on the big ship of Yuwen Chu. However, she had a strong premonition this time that she would be in trouble. She knew Mingzhu and her husband well enough to know they wouldn’t ignore her, but she was afraid they might be too preoccupied with their own affairs.
“We’d better send invitations to the other Wangfeis first and discuss it together before entering the palace.” Mingzhu called for ink and paper and wrote the invitations on the spot with Dai Wangfei. Then, she privately instructed the steward to send the invitations to Huayang Wangfei’s mansion and asked Huayang Wangfei to come early.
The next day, Huayang Wangfei arrived early at the Dai Wang Mansion. Mingzhu, Dai Wangfei, and Huayang Wangfei discussed several important aspects of the Winter Solstice banquet, roughly setting the rules and bottom line. Fu Wang’s Concubine Ji and the Wusun Princess entered one after another. Fu Wang’s Concubine Ji was a year younger than Mingzhu. Because Fu Wang had many children with his concubines*, the side consorts became quite marginalized. She was living quite poorly, with a slight downward droop at the corners of her mouth and dressed in a gloomy manner, looking older than Mingzhu and Huayang Wangfei by several years.
* lower rank ones
The Wusun Princess still had the expression of someone who felt owed money by everyone. Seeing that Mingzhu and Huayang Wangfei had already drunk most of the tea in their cups, she knew they had been there for a while. Thinking that everyone was treating her like this, she felt very resentful. She coldly raised the corners of her lips and said, “Both sisters-in-law arrived very early. I wanted to come earlier, but I was afraid the fourth sister-in-law would find me annoying and disturb her peace. If I had known, I should have come earlier. Now it seems I’m being disrespectful.”
This sounded very unpleasant, as if she was blaming Dai Wangfei for treating her differently. Fu Wang’s Concubine Ji bowed her head and drank tea without saying a word, while Huayang Wangfei couldn’t help but ridicule, “Ninth Sister-in-law is right. We came early and waited for you alone. If you hadn’t come, we would have sent someone to carry you in a sedan chair!”
The Wusun Princess looked at Huayang Wangfei and said lightly, “I always thought that Seventh Sister-in-law’s sedan chair was only for Sixth Sister-in-law to ride.”
This was again accusing Huayang Wangfei of being Mingzhu’s lackey. Early in the morning, she was biting at one person after another. That’s right, she really lived up to being Yuwen You’s wife, just liking to bite people like a mad dog. Huayang Wangfei sneered, “Ninth Sister-in-law is right. You are from Wusun, and you probably can’t get used to our sedan chair. You might vomit. Even if there were a sedan chair, I wouldn’t dare to let you sit in it.”
The Wusun Princess was furious and initially wanted to storm out in anger. However, she noticed that Mingzhu and the others remained calmly seated, with no intention of persuading her otherwise. She realized that if she left, she wouldn’t be able to accomplish what Yuwen Cong had asked of her. Suppressing her rage, she turned to Fu Wang’s Concubine Ji and complained, “Second sister-in-law, you’re the eldest sister-in-law here, you should have the final say. They’re bullying me like this, shouldn’t you say something?”
Fu Wang’s Concubine Ji continued to sip her tea, looking absent-minded. Huayang Wangfei, knowing she was pretending, mischievously remarked, “Second sister-in-law, our ninth sister-in-law is talking to you, asking for your help to scold us.”
Only then did Fu Wang’s Concubine Ji raise her head in surprise. “Ah? What? I was lost in thought and didn’t hear what you were saying. My apologies. Ninth sister-in-law, could you repeat that?”
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