Mingxiu didn't want to go back either. She stepped on the sesame stalks, moving from one side to the other, making a crunching sound as she played happily.

When Kangxi came out, this was the scene he saw, and he couldn't help but smile.

I only followed her because I was worried about her coming out alone, but I didn't expect her to have so much fun and find so much enjoyment in it.

She walked over and looked at Mingxiu: "Did you have fun?"

Mingxiu looked up and saw Kangxi walking towards her. Under the warm yellow light, Kangxi's already gentle face looked even more radiant.

Mingxiu looked at Kangxi curiously, "Why is Your Majesty out? Isn't this the most lively time of year?"

Emperor Kangxi smiled and said, "I drank a little too much just now, so I came out for some fresh air."

Mingxiu's eyes lit up. "Your Majesty, would you like to try stepping on this? It feels so comfortable."

Emperor Kangxi was about to refuse, but seeing Mingxiu's smiling face, he agreed.

The two of them childishly stepped on sesame stalks under the eaves.

After stepping on the sesame stalks, Kangxi then followed Mingxiu to look at the lanterns.

Walking up to a row of lanterns, Mingxiu picked out a glass lantern shaped like a plum blossom. Looking at the plum blossom lantern, Mingxiu thought of Yimei Garden, the place of Fourth Master's unrequited love, and became interested in visiting Yimei Garden.

Kangxi naturally agreed, as he had come out to accompany Mingxiu. The glass lantern was a bit heavy, so Kangxi had to carry it. Although not all the plum blossoms in Yimei Garden were red, there were indeed a lot of them. Mingxiu was very happy to see the plum blossoms everywhere and the air filled with their refreshing fragrance.

Walking happily ahead, picking one here and one there, soon he had a whole bunch in his hand.

Kangxi watched Mingxiu frolicking in front of him from behind, a smile playing on his lips.

Suddenly Mingxiu stopped and squatted down in a bright spot with lanterns hanging there.

Kangxi, wondering what was wrong, quickly stepped forward and saw Mingxiu turn around, raise her head, her rosy cheeks flushed, holding a red plum blossom. The snow-white ground made Mingxiu appear even more beautiful. Mingxiu smiled and looked up at Kangxi, holding the flower between them, and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, I love you."

Kangxi felt as if his heart had stopped beating for a moment, he could no longer hear any other sounds, and all he could see was the young woman in front of him and the words "Your Majesty, I love you" that she said.

I should scold her for saying whatever comes to mind, but I just can't bring myself to say it.

After a long while, before Kangxi could react, Mingxiu stood up and stuffed the flowers into Kangxi's arms, then snuggled into his embrace. The two of them stood tightly together under the lanterns in the plum grove, holding a bunch of plum blossoms in their arms.

Seeing this from afar, Green Bamboo smiled with satisfaction. She was naturally very happy that her mistress was favored by the Emperor.

In the main hall of the Qianqing Palace, Consort Tong looked at Emperor Kangxi, who had not returned for a long time, and then at Consort Ming's empty seat. She tightly gripped her wine cup in her hand.

A maidservant advised, "Your Highness is not in good health right now; it's not advisable for you to drink too much wine."

Consort Tong sighed, put down her wine cup. She was currently taking medicine to help her conceive, so she couldn't drink too much alcohol. She knew her limits.

After a long while, when the banquet was almost over, Kangxi and Mingxiu returned from outside. Behind them, Lüzhu was carrying a large bouquet of plum blossoms, which looked very beautiful.

This scene was witnessed by everyone, and they realized that the Emperor had been with Mingxiu just now, so they couldn't help but curse inwardly.

Seeing this scene, Consort Tong felt even more distressed. She exchanged a glance with the maid behind her and made up her mind about something.

Mingxiu didn't care about the gazes of the crowd; she simply smiled when she saw Yinreng looking at her.

He sat back down and began eating the pastries.

Finally, midnight arrived, and the Emperor bestowed the yearly gifts. Everyone could finally go back to sleep, except for the Emperor, whose business was not yet finished. He had to hurry off to another place.

Mingxiu received a huge purse with beautiful red hibiscus embroidery; she could never make such embroidery in her entire life.

She was overjoyed to see that the room was full of gold leaves. She loved gold, and she was extremely pleased with the gift from the Emperor.

Thanks to the emperor's rewards and subsidies, she is now a very wealthy woman.

Back in the palace, everyone was rewarded with silver: ten taels each for those who served outside, fifty taels each for Yu Qing and Yu Lan, and one hundred taels each for Xiao Xizi and Lü Zhu.

Everyone happily held their purses, waiting for Mingxiu to speak.

Mingxiu looked at everyone and said with a smile, "Thank you all for your hard work this year. As long as you serve us well next year, you'll all be rewarded."

Everyone was very happy to hear this, and after expressing their gratitude, they left.

Green Bamboo helped her remove her makeup, and then applied pearl powder to her face.

Then I prepared to go to sleep.

After the start of the year, the emperor was busy with sacrifices and banquets for the imperial family and Mongolian affairs, and did not enter the inner palace until after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month when he had time to favor his concubines.

During this period, Mingxiu had nothing to do. After the palace banquet, she no longer needed to handle palace affairs, so she was very relaxed.

Since Yinreng didn't have to study, Mingxiu spent her days figuring out fun and delicious things for him. Of course, she also made mahjong, but Yinreng couldn't touch it. He could only secretly take it out to play when Yinreng wasn't around.

After Kangxi entered the inner palace, the first place he visited was definitely the Empress's palace. However, the Empress's health was already very poor, so he only went there to chat. After that, he went to Consort Tong's palace.

When Green Bamboo spoke to her, she secretly glanced at Mingxiu's expression, but Mingxiu didn't seem to care much.

This is perfectly normal; she's used to it. Even if she has a slight liking for the Emperor now, she knows that the Emperor can't possibly be without other women. If the Emperor were to favor her exclusively, then the Empress Dowager would kill her without the court officials even having to impeach her.

Therefore, she was very clear that she gave the Emperor only three parts of her heart, while keeping seven parts for herself.

After all, it's impossible for such a handsome guy to say he doesn't like you at all when he's in front of you every day.

This was a perfectly normal thing, but the next morning, Emperor Kangxi did indeed emerge from Chengqian Palace with a rather unpleasant expression.

Then the sound of things breaking came from Chengqian Palace.

Mingxiu was very curious; what had happened?

I sent Xiao Xizi out to inquire, and he returned quickly.

Xiao Xizi quietly approached Mingxiu and told her the news she had heard with an incredulous look on her face.

It turns out that yesterday, Consort Tong had some reason to insist on having a palace maid serve the Emperor in bed. She even gave the Emperor a soup with aphrodisiac effects and had already arranged the person to serve him. Unexpectedly, a palace maid appeared out of nowhere in Chengqian Palace, took away the person who was supposed to serve the Emperor, and went up to the palace herself.

By the time Consort Tong found out, the matter was already settled.

The next day, the emperor woke up and realized what had happened, so he left with a very bad expression, without even eating breakfast.