"Your Majesty, rest assured, His Majesty is well aware of the situation. The most important thing in His Majesty's heart is the Qing Dynasty, and the situation you are worried about will certainly not occur."

"But I am so afraid that what happened before will happen again. The Aisin Gioro family is full of romantics," Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang sighed. Wasn't her son one of them?

"Su Mo'er, I'd like to meet this Consort Ming sometime," the Empress Dowager said.

"Yes," Su Mala Gu sighed slightly. Actually, she felt that the Empress Dowager was being too strict with the Emperor. The Emperor was no longer a child; he was now the ruler of the country. She didn't know if this way of getting along was a good thing.

Inside Yonghe Palace, Mingxiu stood by the window, gazing at the scenery outside. For the past few days, the sky had been shrouded in overcast skies with a constant drizzle, but today the sun had suddenly shone brightly, and the azure sky was exceptionally clear.

"The sun is finally out!" Mingxiu murmured to herself, her mood brightening. Today is Yinreng's birthday, and such fine weather is truly a good omen.

After stretching, Mingxiu sat up and decided to start preparing a birthday cake for Yinreng. Her oven was already eager to get started. Although the servants below had learned how to make cakes, Mingxiu still wanted to make one herself. When she came to the kitchen and saw the ingredients that had been prepared, a sense of satisfaction welled up in her heart.

"Today I must make a special cake for Yinreng myself!" Mingxiu said to herself. First, she beat the eggs, added flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and stirred until smooth. Then, she poured the batter into a mold and steamed it. Next, she decorated the cake with fresh cream and fruit, and of course, most importantly, she wrote "Happy Birthday" on top. Finally, she sprinkled a layer of powdered sugar on top, and a beautiful birthday cake was completed.

Mingxiu looked at the cake she had painstakingly made, a satisfied smile spreading across her face. Besides the cake, she had also specially selected some of Yinreng's favorite snacks, including fried chicken, fries, and hamburgers. Since there was no cola, she could only substitute juice and milk tea. She also thought about having some spicy strips made; a little less spicy food wouldn't hurt on a happy day. Mainly, she herself was craving them; after getting a sore throat from eating them once last time, she hadn't had them since and really missed them. Finally, she added some freshly picked fruit, prepared everything, and sent it to the Qianqing Palace.

She mainly prepared some snacks, while the main meals were prepared by the Imperial Kitchen, which were primarily for the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. Mingxiu did not want to stand out in this regard.

After preparing everything, he changed his clothes and headed towards the Qianqing Palace with Green Bamboo. Yinreng was currently living in the Zhaoren Hall of the Qianqing Palace, so the birthday banquet would be held there.

The Yuqing Palace behind it has been built, but the Emperor has not mentioned it, so Yinreng has not moved in. Mingxiu is unlikely to bring it up first, since everyone is still unaware of whose palace it is.

When Mingxiu arrived, it was already quite late. The princes and princesses had all arrived and were already having fun. Mingxiu greeted them one by one and then saw Yinreng in the crowd. She walked up to him and said, "Happy birthday, Baocheng! This is a gift that your mother prepared for you. Come and see if you like it."

Mingxiu looked at Yinreng with a smile.

Yinreng opened the box, inside was a set of wooden figurines, in the shape of his favorite Monkey King, and they were even painted and looked very lifelike.

Yinreng looked on happily and raised his head: "Thank you, Mother Consort Ming, I like it very much."

At the birthday banquet, everyone sat together, laughing and chatting. Yinreng, as the protagonist, sat smilingly among a group of children. He was supposed to sit beside Emperor Kangxi and the Empress Dowager, but he didn't want to, so he sat among his friends. Dressed in a bright new outfit, he was particularly eye-catching.

Today, Mingxiu is the only one of Kangxi's concubines. She sits beside Kangxi, gazing tenderly at her son, Yinreng, whom she raised from childhood. Her eyes are full of affection.

The Empress Dowager sat at the head of the table, looking at the children sitting below with a smile on her face. Although there were still a few, they all looked healthy, which was very gratifying for the Empress Dowager, who had previously seen many children born in the palace die young.

Meanwhile, her gaze frequently fell upon Mingxiu and Kangxi, as she pondered to herself. She worried that Kangxi's excessive favoritism towards Mingxiu might incite conflict within the harem. Kangxi noticed the Empress Dowager's gaze and, after a moment's thought, understood her concerns. He felt a pang of displeasure; the Empress Dowager had been too controlling of him in recent years, making him feel very restricted. However, he did not show it and continued to gaze at his beloved son in the center.

Mingxiu didn't care; her main attention was on Yinreng. Anyway, the Empress Dowager had never liked her, and she knew that, so she generally avoided contact with the Empress Dowager whenever possible. She didn't want to be snubbed.

As usual, everyone did a quick job and then left, since the children weren't very comfortable around them.

Mingxiu's status was different this year, so she was among those who left early. She repeatedly reminded Granny Xu to keep a close eye on Yinreng and the others.

Then he took the green bamboo back to Yonghe Palace.

Kangxi then left with the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager.

By the time Kangxi emerged from the Empress Dowager's quarters, it was already quite dark. Kangxi's expression remained rather grim, and he immediately ordered his return to the Qianqing Palace.

Inside the Cining Palace.

The Empress Dowager's expression was also not good. She only wanted to speak up for the concubines from Khorchin, but Xuan Ye wouldn't listen to her at all.

Sumalagu stood to the side, sighing slightly, "Master, please don't be too angry."

"Suma, His Majesty has truly grown up; now, nothing I say carries any weight," the Empress Dowager sighed.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor has grown up and is now in the prime of his life. He can still decide for himself who he wants to favor. Besides, didn't the Emperor just say that he will not allow the situation of having only one favorite?"

"Besides, Consort Ming is not quite the same as that other one. I think she's a good person, and I doubt she'd want such a thing to happen. After all, if it did, it would be putting her in a very difficult position."

"I know, but what angers me is that Xuan Ye now dislikes favoring women from the Khorchin. I'm worried that I might have to come and maintain the relationship between the two, but if I go there, the relationship with the Khorchin might be severed," the Empress Dowager said with concern.

But Sumalagu couldn't say anything. She knew very well that some things could be advised against and some things couldn't.