Hairanju and Da Yuer stood and replied respectfully, but Jeje waved them down with a playful scold. "Sit, sit. We're family; why be so formal?"
Da Yuer smiled and ladled a bowl of soup for both her aunt and her elder sister. Seeing the two sisters exchange warm smiles, Jeje felt deeply gratified. "I truly thought I'd never see the day when you two made peace, never imagined we could sit together as a family and share a meal."
"Aunt, it was my fault," Da Yuer said, taking the initiative to admit. "Everyone doted on me, but I was always stubborn and unyielding."
Jeje's heart ached at her words. "No one blames you, and you've done nothing wrong. It's fate that played tricks on us." After a pause, she continued, "The same goes for Hairanju. From now on, set aside those thoughts. Each of you should focus on living your own life well. The Great Khan holds the world in his grasp, battling on all fronts. The only thing we can do for him is to give him a warm and peaceful home."
Hairanju agreed, and Da Yuer, while ladling soup for herself, also responded affirmatively. However, her thoughts were different. She indeed wanted to provide Hong Taiji with a warm and comforting home, but wasn't he, Hong Taiji himself, a part of that home? Even though he was the Great Khan of Jin and would one day become an emperor, wasn't he still her husband above all else?
"Yuer, in a couple of days, have someone clean and refurbish the vacant side palace, and assign a few..." Jeje started, then paused and decisively added, "No, let Nam Jung bring her own people."
Da Yuer asked, "Last time, when Dorgon prevented Consort Doutumen from bringing her maids into the palace, was that not the Great Khan's intention?"
Jeje nodded. "Dorgon was being considerate. Naturally, I don't want Nam Jung to bring her people into the palace either. But on second thought, people are different. Consort Doutumen only felt fear, but Nam Jung will recognize that we are guarding against her, and she'll feel even more pleased with herself. Even if I send people of my own choosing, she could still win them over, just like Zarut did. So, let her bring her people. After all, the palace is only so big—there's no corner she can hide her schemes in."
Hairanju listened intently from the side, her expression serious, though she couldn't find the opportunity to interject.
Da Yuer then asked, "Should I speak to Qiqige and have her pass on a message?"
Jeje thought for a moment and agreed. "Do that. Have Qiqige deliver the message. I'll explain it to the Great Khan myself. He may not like us meddling, but when it comes to palace matters, if we can avoid troubling him, I'll handle it myself."
After the meal, they drank tea. Yebusu and Sose came to pay their respects, accompanied by Yanja. Da Yuer and her sister then excused themselves.
As they left the gates of Qingning Palace, Yanja observed the two sisters walking closely together, laughing softly. She smirked to herself but dared not let anyone notice and quickly urged her son to go in and pay respects to Jeje.
In the side palace, Da Yuer removed her clothes to reveal her arms. Knowing that her sister had been attacked by an eagle earlier that day, Hairanju carefully inspected her for injuries. Once assured there were no marks, she helped Da Yuer put her clothes back on.
Taking out an ointment to prevent scarring, she gently applied it to Da Yuer's chin and said with concern, "Make sure there are no scars. Don't slack off—come to me every day, and I'll apply it for you. If I leave it to you, you'll forget about it the moment you turn away."
Da Yuer laughed. "Sumala reminds me."
Hairanju replied, "But can Sumala control you?"
"Older Princess, you're absolutely right," Sumala immediately chimed in. "Miss doesn't listen to me at all."
Da Yuer glared at her. "Have you recited your lessons yet?"
Sumala lowered her head but quickly rolled her eyes and pleaded with Hairanju, "Older Princess, could you be kind to your servant just this once?"
Hairanju laughed. "What's wrong?"
Baoqing, who was standing nearby, chimed in, saying, "My Lady, Sumala is really suffering now. She works during the day, and when she returns to her room at night, she has to light candles and memorize her lessons. I told her not to work so hard, since she's not going to be a high-ranking official, but she said if she doesn't memorize it, she'll get punished by Consort Yu."
Sumala pitifully added, "Older Princess, I've already been punished several times."
Hairanju smiled gently. "As for the study matters, I don't get involved. Even Yatu has come to ask me for help, but in the end, it's all up to Yuer. If you memorize your lessons well, you won't get punished, right?"
Da Yuer patted Sumala on the head. "Behave yourself." Then, she instructed, "Send someone to the Fourteenth Beile's residence to pass on a message. Ask Qiqige to come to the palace to visit tomorrow."
Not long after, the kitchen sent over candied red fruit for the masters to snack on. Da Yuer complained that only cold treats would be satisfying and asked Baoqing to place them outside to chill.
Hairanju leisurely ate the warm red fruit, and as she listened to Yuer giving instructions about cleaning the opposite side palace, she curiously asked her sister, "What is this Imperial Seal of the Nation? What kind of treasure is it?"
Da Yuer recalled that it had been over a year since Hong Taiji had told her about it. So much had changed in this year, and she had been in Shengjing for ten years, but this year, she would remember for the rest of her life.
"It's fake," Da Yuer said mysteriously, "Definitely fake."
Hairanju looked nervous. "How do you know?"
Seeing her sister take her seriously, Da Yuer smiled teasingly, and Hairanju was even more confused. Suddenly, she realized that her sister was teasing her, and she said angrily, "Are you just trying to have fun with me?"
Da Yuer walked over, leaned against her sister, and said, "Sister, come study with me."
Hairanju shook her head. "I'm not as smart as you. I get a headache after reading just a few pages. You study well, and then tell me the interesting stories."
Da Yuer replied, "When we enter the capital, there will be many eunuchs and palace maids, and the palace will be full of Han people. You don't know a single Han character. What if the servants bully you?"
Hairanju blinked and looked troubled. "But I just can't learn it."
Da Yuer said, "Sumala also said she couldn't learn it. I gave her a few spanks, and then she got it."
Hairanju pinched her waist. "What, are you going to hit me too?"
Da Yuer was ticklish, and the two of them playfully wrestled, accidentally knocking over the kang table and spilling a bowl of red fruit. Outside, Yanja, who had just finished visiting Qingning Palace with her son, was startled by the crash and hurriedly pulled her son away.
The next day, Qiqige came to the palace and brought Hairanju several boxes of pear lozenges for relieving phlegm and cough. Da Yuer, wary of the situation, hesitated to let her sister eat what Qiqige brought. She was already planning how to take the lozenges away later.
Despite Hong Taiji having given Qiqige a sterilizing medicine and wouldn't need to drug her again, the Fourteenth Beile's residence still had other concubines, and he remained cautious of Dorgon being involved with other women. The people he had previously placed around Dorgon had not been removed.
Qiqige, hearing the message aunt wanted to her to convey to Dorgon from Da Yuer, asked, "Is this really appropriate? Originally, Dorgon thought that by setting clear rules early on, even when Nam Jung comes, if she's not allowed to bring her maids into the palace, she won't have any grounds to object."
Da Yuer replied, "Aunt said our people can move freely in the palace. Once Nam Jung tries to recruit them, they'll be able to do whatever they want, while her own people will have too many eyes on them."
"That makes sense," Qiqige sighed. "But still, everything depends on the Great Khan. Once he has the Imperial Seal, he can just leave her in the palace, right? Why let her gain any power?"
Da Yuer smiled bitterly, "Who knows?"
Hairanju, sitting nearby peeling pears, divided the fruit and handed pieces to her two younger sisters while calling the children over to eat. She didn't involve herself in these discussions—she didn't understand them and, more importantly, her nature was indifferent to such matters.
However, the night before, Yuer had explained to her that once the Great Khan obtained the Imperial Seal, his next step would be to become the emperor, so he couldn't just ignore Nam Jung. Otherwise, it wouldn't reflect the status of the Imperial Seal.
Hairanju truly couldn't understand how having one more woman or less in the harem could create such complicated entanglements with the court. Just listening to it made her head ache. It was impressive how Yuer could think everything through so clearly, yet still had to pretend to be naïve in front of Qiqige. Who said her sister was just a child? Yuer was more than capable.
"Your complexion looks much better now, sister," Qiqige said, smiling as she ate a pear. "Yuer is really thoughtful, isn't she?"
Hairanju smiled lazily, "Of course, but as thoughtful as she is, she talks too much. I often get a headache."
Da Yuer, not pleased with the remark, took a big bite of pear and mumbled, "I think you just don't study enough."
Qiqige laughed, "Getting cocky now? How many books have you even read?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Baoqing came in to announce that Niman, the head steward, had arrived. The three women immediately straightened up and properly sat before calling him in.
Niman entered carrying a large stack of books, gently placing them down. Qiqige flipped through them and asked, "What are these? Did the Great Khan send you with these?"
"Greetings, Fourteenth Consort," Niman replied, then turned to Da Yuer and said, "Consort Yu, these are the histories of the Liao, Jin, Song, and Yuan dynasties recently translated by the ministers of the Imperial Academy. The Great Khan said you might want to look them over when you have time. The parts in the Han texts that you don't understand, you'll be able to grasp through the Manchu script."
Da Yuer felt a warmth in her heart, knowing that Hong Taiji was thinking of her. How could she not be happy? But she didn't want to show it, so she casually flipped through the books and asked, "Do you know about Empress Xiao?"
Hairanju shook her head, while Qiqige responded, "Are you talking about Xiao Chuo of the Liao dynasty?"
Seeing that they had started a conversation, Niman quietly stepped out. He looked up and noticed that the side palace opposite was being cleaned. He couldn't help but sigh. Today, he had also received a letter from Nam Jung, who earnestly requested that the Great Khan personally go and meet her.