After paying their respects and offering birthday wishes at Cining Palace, the noblewomen left their gifts and went to watch the performance. The day was very lively, and the ancient acrobatics were novel and something Mingxiu had never seen before.

When the family banquet arrived that evening, Mingxiu quickly grabbed the gifts she had prepared. This was the time for the concubines in the harem to show off their talents.

With no Empress in the palace, the first to present a gift was naturally Consort Tong: a Guanyin seated on a lotus, holding a luminous pearl—truly priceless. Everyone praised it highly, and Mingxiu was also greatly impressed. However, the Empress Dowager didn't offer much praise, only a few casual remarks before moving on.

Mingxiu looked on with some confusion. It seemed that the Empress Dowager disliked not only her, but also Consort Tong.

However, Consort Tong was clearly not as optimistic as Mingxiu, as could be seen from her less-than-attractive face at that moment.

However, Mingxiu didn't have time to think about it anymore, because it was her turn next.

Mingxiu followed suit and presented her own bracelet, a purple one, smooth and translucent, with a very nice sheen, but it seemed a little shabby to give to the Empress Dowager.

However, to everyone's surprise, the first person to speak up was someone close to the current Empress Dowager, Mingxiu, who knew her as Borjigit Moyaqi.

"Isn't it rather unthoughtful of Consort Ming to send this to the Empress Dowager? Doesn't she have any other good gifts?"

Mingxiu smiled and didn't take her words to heart. "Your Majesty, I have something to say. The value of this bracelet isn't in this. The Empress Dowager can close the box a little closer, and then you can see it."

Hearing this, Kangxi's expression softened a bit. He also felt that Mingxiu's continued offerings were somewhat half-hearted.