Thus, right before the Lunar New Year, the Emperor spent the night in the Palace of Earthly Honor for three consecutive days. This was probably the most he had favored her since he rose to the throne. However, nobody knew what really happened between the two of them except for Consort Zhao herself.
The Lunar New Year Eve and the Spring Festival flew by in a flash. After the Spring Festival, the Emperor threw himself into the affairs of the political court again. Whenever he went to the back palaces, it was to pay the Grand Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager a visit. If he visited the harem, he usually picked Noble Lady Hui, Noble Lady An and the others to share his bed. However, he never so much as stepped into the Palace of Earthly Honor again.
Because of the Lantern Festival, the palace was even busier than it had been during the Lunar New Year. The Grand Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager invited officials of the court to partake in a royal feast along with their wives and concubines. The feast would be held in the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility, and First-Class Female Attendant Bu had received an invitation too. Aunt Wang had wanted to come along, but First-Class Female Attendant Bu insisted on bringing only Lanqi and Panxia with her.
Because she was of a low rank, First-Class Female Attendant Bu sat with the Noble Ladies at the seats that were furthest away from the Emperor's dais. Her weak constitution meant that she couldn't drink or eat wine, and she was reduced to chatting with the other concubines or watching the stage performance that the palace had put up.
Halfway through the feast, the royal children arrived from the Princes' Palace to greet their elders. When she spotted the youngest princess in her wet nurse's arms as she kowtowed, First-Class Female Attendant Bu couldn't help but steal a few more glances.
However, Noble Lady Hui, who was next to her, cautioned, "You mustn't do that. Try and control yourself." First-Class Female Attendant Bu teared up a little. When she saw this, Lanqi took her to a side hall under the guise of touching up her mistress's makeup. She made sure to carry a box of powder out of the room and pat some onto her mistress's face.
After Lanqi counseled her a little and packed up the cosmetic products, they walked out of the room and returned to the banquet hall. Before they could make their way out of the chamber, however, the beautiful and noble Consort Zhao came stomping into the room with an enraged expression. Behind her was a man who looked around thirty years of age.
Consort Zhao said angrily, "My dear brother, you saw that for yourself, didn't you? While the Grand Empress Dowager and Empress were complimenting me for my efforts in managing the harem, the Emperor just smiled and didn't praise me at all! See how miserable my life in the palace is! Father keeps sending you lot to look for me—is it my responsibility to resolve all the problems that befall our family? Back then, I warned all of you to stay away from Oboi, but none of you listened to me! See what you've done now—even His Majesty despises me!"
So the man was Consort Zhao's older brother, Alingga. He had received an invitation to the royal feast, too. From the sound of it, he had met with some trouble in the political court and decided to turn to his younger sister for help. However, Consort Zhao was not a favored concubine, and getting her to counsel the Emperor would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens.
When her brother made a remark about her conceiving a prince or a princess to curry favor with the Emperor, Consort Zhao, who always behaved with propriety in front of others, suddenly exploded with rage. "You won't believe me even if I told you, but the Emperor absolutely refuses to touch me. Who am I supposed to have children with?"
First-Class Female Attendant Bu was a rather timid person—when she heard Consort Zhao's angry roar, she stumbled backwards in shock and knocked over a porcelain vase. The vase shattered loudly onto the floor, and Consort Zhao said sharply, "Who is it?" She turned to her brother and told him to leave. After that, she rushed into the chamber in a fit of anger. When she saw that it was First-Class Female Attendant Bu and Lanqi, she shouted furiously, "Guards!" First-Class Female Attendant Bu was so frightened that she knelt down immediately.
Meanwhile, the Eldest Prince had spilled wine all over Xuanye's robes while playing with him. Head Eunuch Li led him to the Grand Empress Dowager's bedchamber to change his clothes. While they were making their way there, they spotted Alingga emerging hurriedly from the side hall. Feeling rather the suspicious, Xuanye decided to satiate his curiosity and find out what was happening.
When he entered the hall, he saw Consort Zhao's maid, Dongyun, tugging furiously at a palace maid, who was stubbornly shielding the person behind her. Xuanye didn't recognize the person she was shielding, but he recognized the palace maid immediately.
The Emperor had long been annoyed at the Niohuru clan for throwing their weight about and abusing their power in court. Back then, when he had deposed Oboi and his allies, Xuanye had only let the Niohuru clan off because of their ancestor Ebilun's outstanding service during the reign of Hong Taiji and the Shunzhi Emperor. Otherwise, the Niohuru clan would have lost their privileged standing in court a long time ago, and Alingga would not have the gall to pressure him in court to select Consort Zhao as his new empress.
Xuanye said coldly, "I heard you took Oboi as your godfather when you were still a child. I thought it had been a rumor all along, but as I see it now, you seem to have inherited your bad temper and cruelty from him!"
Consort Zhao turned around with a start. When she saw that it was the Emperor, she froze in shock immediately.