Twenty-One Trees Without Sentiment (Part 2)

  Hall of Benevolent Forbearance secondary chamber

  "Your Highness, Princess Consort Tatala has arrived for an audience."

  "Please come in."

  Before long, Da Gong Nü Mei Ying led in a woman wearing an autumn-colored chang pao, with two buns on her head, and a silver-gilt hairpin with blue sapphire inlay, gold-gilt earrings dangling from her ears, looking elegant and refined, about thirty years old, accompanied by a girl of around ten years old, dressed in a red chang pao.

  "Your humble servant pays respects to Her Majesty the Empress; may Her Majesty live for a thousand years."

  "Ni Maoyi kousheng Huang Hou Niangniang, Niangniang qiansui."

  Translation: "Ni Maoyi pays respects to Empress Dowager, Long live the Empress Dowager."

  "Get up." Empress Ulanara smiled and said, "Sit here."

  "Yes." He Da Lao respectfully responded, and with his daughter, he half-knelt in the position indicated by the Empress Dowager.

  "Are you Ni Mengyi? Come closer and let me take a look." Is this the niece who might carry on the glorious future of the Wu La Na Ra clan?

  "Yes." Ni Mengyi responded in unison, taking two steps closer.

  The queen carefully looked at the girl in front of her, and although it was hard to say what the future held due to her age, she could see that she had the tall and slender figure typical of a Manchu lady. Her face still had a girlish air, but it was clear that she would grow into a beautiful oval-shaped face with high cheekbones. Her skin was fine and white, her eyebrows were long and dark, straight and reaching to the temples, her nose was straight and her lips were full. Those eyes sparkled like stars in the sky... She was truly a beauty in the making. The queen smiled slightly, nodding in satisfaction as she turned to Lady Hetai, who sat at the lower end of the table: "I've long heard that Niuhuru is the most beautiful of our Ula Nara clan for generations, and now I see it's true."

  He Ta La's face couldn't hide his pride as he said: "I heard she looks just like Abahai Dafei in her younger years..."

  "Shut up!" The queen's face turned stern, and she lightly scolded, "How dare you say such things? Don't you know where this is?" Ah Ba He, the imperial concubine, really dared to compare. Even if the Ula Nara family had an agreement to send another daughter to be a consort or empress for the next emperor, don't speak so bluntly! This sister-in-law's city is so shallow, and she's worried that this niece can't be taught well. You know, a woman wants to stabilize her position in the harem, it's not just about having a superior appearance, but also about having a mind and strategy! Having a stunning appearance without matching wit and self-protection or even plotting, will only bring disaster to the family, not power and glory. Unfortunately, the Ula Nara family has no outstanding children to support the family in these two generations, otherwise, she wouldn't have to worry so much.

  Her face, which was well-maintained by Ta La, slightly froze, and she said with a hint of embarrassment: "Your Majesty, please forgive me, you also know my mouth..."

  "Sister-in-law, don't think that just because you say something in this palace, the Emperor won't find out." The Empress naturally knew her sister-in-law's temperament. With her noble birth and stunning appearance, if she hadn't been so loose-lipped, she might have even been chosen for the imperial family back then, let alone ending up with that brother of hers.

  She took a deep breath, lowered her voice and hummed: "And what about the outcome of that Abahai, compared to her?" And then there was the case of Huang Taiji's demoted Empress Fuquan... Was it really so bad for the Ula Nara clan that they couldn't have a good beginning and end, a glorious life as imperial consorts?!

  "You must understand, to occupy a leading position in the six palaces, family background, appearance, wit, and means are all indispensable." The empress murmured, directly making it clear to her, as well as to her cousin's daughter beside her, "You yourself were eliminated from the selection of imperial consorts back then because of what reason? And me, look, I was so glorious when I married into the imperial family, with status and means all in place, yet wasn't I careless for just one moment and lost my only legitimate son..."

  The empress, who had been sitting upright and dignified, couldn't hide a hint of regret and desolation in her eyes, although she quickly suppressed it. However, it was caught by Nian Mang, who was sitting on the side and looked up at her with shock, and felt a sense of fear towards the inner palace struggles of the royal family. The legendary virtuous and wise empress, who was supposed to be a model for women's virtues, couldn't even protect her own son, so what about her?

  At the age of nine, Niuhuru's daughter was somewhat straightforward but not stupid. She began to learn riding, archery, needlework, books and painting under the guidance of teachers invited by her mother and grandmother. Recently, due to the upcoming selection of consorts, her mother and grandmother have been more open with her about her future, which may be arranged for her to become the secondary consort of Emperor Qianlong's fourth brother, Hongli - becoming the primary consort is impossible because the Ula Nara family has already produced an empress and cannot produce another, and besides, she is not of suitable age for the fourth brother. This year's selection of consorts will not work out.

  The most powerful helper in the planning of the Ulanara family is the aunt who stands at the highest position among the women of the Qing Dynasty, and today's purpose of bringing her into the palace by Mother is to show off to this aunt. Originally, she felt that she was worthy of being called the number one beauty of Manchu with the praise of Mother and the maidservants, and with her family background and the aunt in the palace, her future would be bright and smooth... But now, she can't help but feel anxious, can she really do it? Without the status of the legitimate wife, can she rely on her appearance and temperament to capture her husband's attention for a long time?

  Fourth Brother, Hong Li. She muttered to herself, and a figure she had imagined appeared in her mind - a young man with a handsome appearance, majestic and elegant... Would he know her? Would he understand this person, see the good in her? No matter what, she would work hard to learn and become a suitable Rong Fu Jin for him.

  He Ta La heard the Empress say that Abahai's fate was not unexpected, and her face turned pale with embarrassment. Later, however, she was really moved. Wasn't it because of this unbridled mouth and overly straightforward personality that she was designed by other concubines to compete for favor in front of people, and was labeled as "improper" by the Empress? And yet, this Empress from the Ula Nara Manchu aristocratic family, with a dignified and beautiful appearance, had a temperament and ability that even earned the praise of Emperor Kangxi... She couldn't even protect her only son... It turned out that the death of Honghui was actually due to other reasons...

  After a moment of silence, she asked again: "Master and mistress, do you think the first wife of the fourth prince will be which family's daughter?"

  The empress glanced at her lightly, picked up the teacup and took a sip: "The emperor thinks highly of Marzi's niece, this is something I can't influence." Since it's impossible to benefit her own family, who the fourth prince's wife was didn't matter to her, only that the Fuca clan had considerable power in the military and with Marzi in the court, their future prosperity could be foreseen. However, having too much power as a consort's family wasn't a good thing. Perhaps this was another opportunity for the Ulanara household, as long as they played it well...

  "I also want to know what kind of temperament Fu Cha's daughter has."

  "It's good that the princess is suitable for the prince." The empress said lightly, but this sister-in-law still couldn't see through it. It's hard to say what kind of inner self was hidden behind her virtuous appearance.

  He Tala obviously also sensed that he had asked a stupid question, and was somewhat embarrassed for a moment. However, in his heart, he still decided to let someone investigate the girl from the Fu Cha family after returning home.

  "After returning, cultivate Ni Mengyi well. It's not easy to be the Crown Prince's consort, it's hard to fight for it, and even harder if you don't fight." The Empress warned, putting down her tea cup on the table, clearly not wanting to discuss further, "I'm tired, you all go back, let Ni Mengyi come into the palace again before the next selection of consorts so I can take a look at her."

  "Yes." He Da Lao saw this, stood up and took his daughter to bid farewell.