"Yes, Your Majesty, you still have us! I'll head back now. Eunuch Liang, please take good care of Your Majesty!"

Wanyi roughly knew that Kangxi wanted to calm down, so she left without lingering. However, she still looked back at Kangxi every few steps, and the worry in her eyes was genuine.

Time passed in the mourning days. Even though Wan Yi thickened the kneeling mat and her knees, the bruises on her knees were still visible to the naked eye by night. There were patches of blue and purple, and before the old ones had healed, new ones appeared.

After seeing Wanyi's worries, Emperor Kangxi thought about it all night. He suspended court for three days to mourn the passing of the Empress Dowager and the Empress. He then resumed attending court every day, and after court he would come to the coffin to keep vigil. In the afternoon, he would deal with the backlog of official duties.

"My lady, what's wrong?" With the vigil about to end, two days before it was over, Consort Tong, of the Ulanara clan, couldn't help but faint, and some bloodstains were visible beneath her.

"What happened behind us?" Wanyi asked, puzzled, after hearing the commotion behind her.

"Don't panic, everyone! What happened?" Consort Tongjia was the one in charge of this event, so it was normal for her to handle it.

"Your Highness, Consort Tong is bleeding!" Hongye, who was beside Consort Tong, said anxiously. They could not leave the mourning hall without the Imperial Consort's permission.

"Quickly carry Consort Tong back and fetch the imperial physician to examine her."

Now that there is no empress and no concubines of high or equal rank by her side, it's her turn to be the empress! So she has to be friendly to all the concubines.

"I'll leave this to you, Consort Chen. I'll go and take a look first!" Although presiding over the funeral is very important, it's almost over, so it's fine to let Consort Chen take over. It shows that she treats her concubines well.

"Yes, Your Highness, I will keep an eye on it!" Wanyi nodded to the Imperial Concubine.

"Where is the Imperial Concubine!" Not long after Imperial Concubine Tongjia left, Emperor Kangxi, who had just finished court, came in and saw that it was Consort Wanyi presiding over the proceedings.

"Greetings, Your Majesty! Consort Tong is pregnant and has been feeling unwell. She has been carried back to the palace, and the Imperial Concubine has gone with her. She has instructed me to keep an eye on things here!" Wanyi felt very tired, so she made it clear on the surface.

"That's enough for today! Everyone has worked hard lately!" Kangxi felt sorry for Wanyi, who had just given birth and was not fully recovered, yet she had to kneel and pray here.

"Your Majesty, we are not tired! Your Majesty, we take our leave!" Although she said it was not tiring, she retreated swiftly.

"Your Majesty, please accept my condolences. I believe that the Empress Dowager and the Empress are watching over us from heaven! I'm sure the Empress Dowager wouldn't want to see you like this!" Wanyi said to Kangxi's departing figure after everyone had left.

"Wan'er, you didn't leave?" Kangxi was a little surprised. He thought Wan'er was tired and could go back to rest, but he didn't expect her to stay and comfort him.

"Your Majesty, I have left, but when I looked back from the doorway, I saw Your Majesty all alone. I was also all alone, so I walked step by step to Your Majesty's side, hoping that Your Majesty would not be so lonely!"

Wanyi was thinking of taking this opportunity to spend more time with Kangxi and strengthen their relationship, as she was considering distancing herself from him recently.

"Only you, Wan'er, keep an eye on me all the time. Now that I'm alright, how about I bestow upon you the title of Imperial Concubine?" Kangxi suddenly probed.

"It doesn't matter. Whether I am a concubine, a consort, a noble consort, or a concubine, it is all given to me by the Emperor. I don't care about these things. What I care about is the Emperor's affection for me."

"Imperial Consort! She hasn't even had the investiture ceremony for a Consort yet, but she's already an Imperial Consort. I never imagined she could sit in the position of Imperial Consort. Will she...?" Wanyi excitedly imagined, but her face showed no emotion.

"It's so good that I have Wan'er!" Kangxi remembered Wan'er's exhaustion, so he simply took her hand and walked back to the Qianqing Palace.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine has sent someone to report that Consort Tong is weak and has been bleeding from her lower body, indicating a possible miscarriage. The imperial physician has advised her to rest in bed!" Liang Jiugong reported as soon as Consort Wan and Emperor Kangxi were seated.

"It's bad luck to see blood at a funeral; it's extremely unlucky!" This is an old custom that says seeing blood at a funeral will make the deceased restless.

"Your Majesty, please don't be angry. This cannot be blamed on Tong-mei. She is only two months pregnant, and the pregnancy is still unstable. I believe that the Empress Dowager, as her great-grandmother, would not hold a grudge against a mere concubine!"

Wanyi wasn't speaking up for Consort Tong out of kindness; she was merely trying to show off her own merits.

"So be it!" After all, Consort Tong was pregnant, so he couldn't punish her.

After the mourning period, Emperor Kangxi issued an edict promoting Consort Tongjia to Imperial Noble Consort, Consort Wanyi to Noble Consort Chen, and Noble Consort Wen to Noble Consort Wen, with the three of them jointly managing the affairs of the inner palace.

Because this year was a year of national mourning, Emperor Kangxi was in a low mood. The concubines in the harem all stayed quietly in their own palaces, not daring to show their faces, lest they displease Emperor Kangxi. Three months passed quickly, and Emperor Kangxi finally got over this period of grief and slowly entered the harem. The Imperial Garden gradually welcomed the attention of the concubines.

"The most favored one now is Consort Chen. Having a son really makes a difference; the Emperor visits her more often."

Take Consort Rong, for example. She's reached the age where she shouldn't serve the emperor anymore, but she has a son, so the emperor still visits her from time to time. Moreover, Consort Chen is so young and beautiful, and she's on good terms with Consort Wen.

"Sister Anpin, Consort Chen is not something we can envy. We can only work hard to gain seniority. It would be good enough if we could reach the rank of Consort. And the person who entered the palace with Consort Chen is a Noble Lady!"

Consort Xi originally wanted to remain a nobody in the harem, but now that the position of Empress is uncertain and Tongjia is only an Imperial Noble Consort, does she, as a member of the Hesheli clan, also have a chance to compete for it?

"Your Highness, it's not so bad that Consort Chen was promoted to Noble Consort, since the Fourth Prince is there. But what about Noble Consort Wen? She has no seniority and no children, yet she jumped from a lowly concubine to a Noble Consort. What does His Majesty mean by this?"

Upon hearing the word "Noble Lady," Consort An immediately thought of Consort Wen, who had previously had to bow and greet her, but now it was Consort Wen, whom she had to bow to, causing her great discontent.

"Consort An, don't be so unconvinced. Consort Wen comes from the Niohuru clan. Whether it's helping the Emperor capture Oboi or fighting in the Three Feudatories Campaign, the Niohuru clan has produced the most people. If your family is capable, the Emperor will surely reward you handsomely." Imperial Noble Consort Tongjia was also unconvinced! After all, it was the Niohuru clan that killed Granny Tong. She had finally become the mistress of the harem, originally intending to control a mere concubine, but in the blink of an eye, that concubine became a Noble Consort and even allied with Consort Chen. She hated both of them immensely.

"I've been bewitched!" What does the Li family have? They only rely on their maternal grandfather!