Chapter 322

Chapter 322: The Great Jin

Emperor He pondered: "How many more are there in Baolin’s rank?"

"Your Majesty, in Baolin’s rank, there are Zhou Baolin, Liu Baolin, Wang Baolin from four years ago. Yun Baolin, Yu Baolin from eight years ago. Qi Baolin, Xiang Baolin from fourteen years ago. And then there's Li Baolin." The Li from the Eastern Palace.

"Hmm, promote Zhou, Liu, and Wang to Cairen." A leap of two ranks, but truly nothing to envy, all earned through years.

"The rest, except for Li, promote to Xiaoyi," said Emperor He.

"For the Yushi rank, except for those guilty, all are promoted to Baolin. The same for the attendants, those without fault move up one rank." Emperor He hardly remembered who else was in these lower ranks.

"Yes," Meng Chang acknowledged, then went to draft the imperial edict.

Such a large-scale promotion is rare in the life of an emperor.

By October, marking his twentieth year on the throne, this year was special.

For Yunli, being First or Second Rank made little difference.

Either way, life was good.

It's merely the difference between better and good.

For those concubines who rarely see the emperor, a promotion is a joyous occasion.

After all, there's a difference between being a Yushi and a Yufu, even though both are low-ranking positions.

A Yufu has slightly better treatment and more monthly allowance than a Yushi.

If they can't seek favor or glory, they must at least survive, right?

The next day, when the imperial edict was announced, almost everyone in the harem was delighted.

Except for a few who remained unchanged regardless.

Wuzhaorong was truly in despair, but without offspring, she couldn't hope for promotion.

Minfei felt humiliated, yet comforted herself knowing the higher ranks were filled.

Sun Xiaoyi, since losing her title, had kept a low profile; her promotion was not to be.

But that didn't mean she wasn't upset.

Li Baolin would never be promoted unless posthumously.

Meng Shiyu, plagued by illness these years, likely faced the same fate, only posthumous recognition.

Hua Shiyu was the most composed, knowing well she wouldn't be involved, thus harbored no desires.

The most distressed was Huimei.

She never imagined the emperor wouldn't promote her.

Even Yu Meiren became Chongyi, and Jiang Cairen became Chongyuan; why was she left without even a Jieyu title?

This round of promotions, most notably, focused on the two First-Rank consorts.

The Honorable and Virtuous Consorts.

The Honorable Consort received a new title, Wei.

Her previous title was also pleasant to hear, but ultimately frivolous.

Now, with the emperor bestowing a new one, people couldn't help but speculate.

As for the Virtuous Consort, though she has been out of favor in recent years, her son is highly favored.

As the Crown Prince grows, secrets become harder to conceal. What is the emperor's intention?

The Empress has visibly become more anxious with each passing year.

She can't help but be anxious, yet ultimately, there's nothing she can do.

Since it was a collective promotion, a collective enthronement ceremony was held in May.

Wei and Virtuous Consorts led the procession, followed by others, all paying their respects to the Dowager Empress and the Empress.

Wei's gown was the closest to bright red, embroidered with colorful phoenixes poised to fly.

Her headdress was of red gold with agate and cat's eye stones, each pearl as large as the pad of a thumb, smooth and luminous under the sunlight. The cat's eye stones were amber-colored, and the agate uniformly bright red, creating a magnificent crown topped with a pair of golden phoenixes clutching a ruby.

The golden phoenixes, with five tails, symbolized supreme nobility.

The goose feather fans were also adorned with pearls of thumb size.

The gown was embellished with pearls, and the phoenix feathers were not just embroidered but made of real peacock feathers.

Wearing it, she looked both splendid and dignified, befitting her status.

Wei only recently learned that this gown had been in the works since last year.

It seems Emperor had planned the promotion from last year.

Similarly promoted to a First-Rank consort, the attire of the Virtuous Consort seemed somewhat... simple in comparison.

Her headdress was also made of pearls, but it only featured pearls and agate, lacking cat's eye stones, and had a greater proportion of agate to pearls.

Though also exquisitely luxurious, it inevitably lacked something.

Her gown too was adorned with phoenixes, but ultimately, it was just ordinary gold and silver thread embroidery, still quite delicate and beautiful. Such attire couldn't be made overnight.

Yet, compared to Wei's, it inevitably fell short.

Looking further, the attire of Consort An was even less impressive.

Pearls are limited, with only so many available each year.

Such uniformly sized and beautiful pearls really can't be distributed in large numbers.

Most people use ordinary pearls, rarely seeing such fine items.

Thus, it's impossible for the consorts below the rank of Jiu Pin to have pearls on their gowns.

Not to mention cat's eye stones, which are even rarer.

They can only use gold, silver, agate, and not much of the finer jade.

Clan relatives and families of some officials in the court watching the ceremony in the harem, there was much whispering.

"Did you see the attire of the Honorable Consort? It's worth a fortune."

"They say her attire is made from the feathers of various birds, truly splendid."

"Indeed, now the Emperor favors her exclusively."

"Even her title was changed, the previous one was beautiful but not solemn enough. Now changed to Wei, which sounds pleasant, meaningful, and dignified. What do you think..."

"Let's not speak of what we don't understand."

"Exactly, we don't understand. But setting everything else aside, Honorable Consort Wei truly epitomizes beauty."

"Indeed, not everyone can carry such attire. That luxurious headdress seems to be enhanced by her presence."

As everyone chimed in with praise for Yun Li, they all thought the same thing: her splendor was unmatched, and Consort Shu’s naturally understated aura made her seem somewhat out of place.

Regardless, with the ceremony concluded, the palace's hierarchy was now set.

For any newcomers aspiring to rise, it would only get harder from here.

Among those promoted, it was Consort An, along with Xiang Baolin, who moved into Zuiyun Palace.

Currently, Zuiyun Palace housed only Sun Xiaoyi.

Yu Congyi, along with Zheng Cairen, moved into Cuiwei Palace, which had been vacant since Lady Hua's departure and subsequent renovations. It finally had new occupants.

After a day of ceremonial rites and a banquet at Fengyi Palace, everyone was exhausted.

Returning home, Yun Li immediately changed into a dress, having swapped out the heavy crown as soon as the morning’s ceremonies concluded. Wearing it all day would have been unbearable for her neck.

It didn’t take long for He Jinli to arrive.

After drinking some wine, Yun Li smiled brightly: "The Emperor has arrived? I thought after sending so many gifts, you wouldn’t come in person."

He Jinli wrapped his arms around her waist: "Why does it sound like Yun’er isn’t happy?"

"Thinking you wouldn’t come made me unhappy, but now that you’re here, I’m happy."

She reached out to touch He Jinli’s cheek. He Jinli, in his prime, was even more mature and charming.

She traced his nose lightly: "I've had too much to drink. Hold me, Your Majesty."

He Jinli laughed and lifted her into his arms: "Are you really that happy?"

"What's there to be happy about? Whether it’s the Noble Consort or the Virtuous Consort Wei, aren’t they all your consorts?"

[The character for 'Wei' can be hard to remember, haha. I suppose some might find transition chapters a bit tedious, huh? Hehe.]