"Your Majesty, aren't you worried?" Youbai asked, watching Consort Zhao engrossed in looking at the account books, seemingly unconcerned about Emperor Kangxi's personal expedition.

"The Council of State will not allow the Emperor to personally lead the army. It is too dangerous for the Emperor to go to the battlefield. If something happens, it will affect the whole situation. The previous dynasty has only been stable for a few years, and the Empress Dowager will not allow it."

Why should she worry? Anyway, she'll never have her own child in this life, not even an adopted one, because the Empress Dowager and the Emperor won't let her have a prince. The Niohuru family has too much influence in the previous dynasty, isn't that a clear case of the maternal relatives taking power?

"Ah! So that's how it is!"

This caused the servant to worry unnecessarily for quite some time, fearing that her mistress would be saddened.

"Just you wait and see! The Emperor will not be able to go to the Three Feudatories."

"The charcoal rations for each palace are still sufficient, but the weather this year is much colder than in previous years. I'm afraid the charcoal we've purchased won't be enough for the remaining two months. I'll keep this in mind and report it to the Empress Dowager when I go to pay my respects next time."

Consort Zhao sighed as she looked at the charcoal that had been used up significantly last month. The main reason was that the Emperor had added a lot of extra charcoal when he went to that palace, and some of the concubines had also asked Consort Zhao for more charcoal when they ran out.

“Yes,” Youbai replied.

As expected, the previous emperor, citing the advanced age of the Empress Dowager and the importance of the capital, strongly advised Kangxi to rescind his order. In the end, Kangxi remained in the capital and ordered Admiral Wang Fuchen to go to Shaanxi to support the Three Feudatories Rebellion.

At the same time, some unstable houses in the capital collapsed under the weight of the snow, and many people were even killed. Emperor Kangxi ordered the resettlement of the disaster victims, the opening of granaries to distribute grain, and the allocation of funds to rebuild houses.

On the first day of the twelfth month, Consort Wan had just returned from paying her respects at Cining Palace when she received an imperial edict from the Empress Dowager. Under the pretext of the court's need for disaster relief, the rations for the imperial harem were reduced, with charcoal and clothing being halved, and the number of dishes served to consorts and above reduced from twelve to six. The rations for princes and princesses, however, were not reduced.

"Your Highness Mei Qing has succeeded. Now we just wait for Consort Tong to reveal her true colors at the New Year's banquet."

Gu Cui happily returned to report on the matter. Mei Qing was a second-class palace maid whom Wu Ya had recruited when she was in the rear palace of Chengqian Palace. This time, Consort Wu Ya had Mei Qing put something in Consort Tong's pregnancy-enhancing medicine.

"That's good. I imagine Consort Tong is very pleased with the gift I gave her." Consort Wuya smiled darkly.

"Yes! She must be overjoyed. That way, even if you are pregnant, Consort Tong won't adopt your son." Gu Cui thought about her mistress's scheme, it was truly ingenious.

"No, my son must be raised by Consort Tong!" Consort Wuya said, her smile fading.

"Why is this, Your Highness?" Gu Cui asked, looking at Consort Wuya with a puzzled expression.

“The princes raised by a concubine are different from those raised by a secondary concubine. If my prince were raised by Consort Tong, he would gain the Emperor’s favor and could be promoted to Noble Lady or even Consort in the future.”

She felt it was worth it to exchange a prince for a higher rank. It wasn't like she couldn't have children; she could just have another prince. Besides, even if the prince was raised by Consort Tong, she would still be the prince's birth mother!

"My lady, what dress should I wear tonight for the New Year's banquet?" Hongxiu held several festive qipaos in her hands, waiting for Wanyi to choose.

"Didn't we have a new light blue qipao made a while ago? Let's use that one!"

Without thinking, Wanyi said that she was lucky to have the foresight to prepare plenty of clothes and charcoal, as well as quilts, enough for her to get through the winter. She had already given the old quilts to Hongxiu and the others.

"Wouldn't this be too plain? Why not wear this rose-red qipao? It would be more appropriate for the occasion, and the Emperor would be pleased to see it." Hongxiu unfolded a qipao for Wanyi to see, which was embroidered with red plum blossoms.

"No, today is the New Year's banquet, and Consort Tong will definitely wear red. She holds grudges the most, so it's best if we keep a low profile."

In her past life, she was supposed to wear a light green qipao, but it was Uya who suggested that she wear a dark red qipao instead, since it was New Year's. This caught the eye of Consort Tong, and not long after the New Year's banquet, Consort Tong found a reason to punish her by making her kneel in the snow for two hours, which nearly killed her.

"Yes, then should it be paired with a set of blue hairpins?" Hongxiu took out a blue hairpin from the dressing table and placed it aside.

"This one will do! Also, bring the white orchid hairpin that His Majesty wore for his birth time a while ago." The orchid that Wanyi painted was left in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, while Kangxi gave Wanyi a white orchid hairpin.

When Wanyi arrived at Baohe Hall, almost all the concubines in the harem had arrived, each dressed in their finest attire, all hoping to outshine the others that night.

"Greetings, Consort Ma Jia, Consort Yehenara!"

Wanyi gave them both a polite bow, and they returned the bow in kind. Since all the concubines were just paying their respects to each other, Wanyi had to bow to the two concubines first because they were of higher seniority and had given birth to princes and princesses. The others did not need to pay their respects, as Wanyi was entitled to the privileges of a Noble Lady.

"Consort Suo Zhuolun looks really beautiful today."

Looking at the cheerful and beautiful Wan Yi, Consort Wu Ya couldn't help but feel jealous. Ever since Consort Suo Zhuolun recovered from her illness, she had become increasingly difficult to fool. In addition, she had forgotten about her grandfather's matter and had grown distant from her.

"Really? Uya looks so pretty too! And her clothes are really unique."

Wanyi looked at the light blue cheongsam embroidered with white orchids, her face adorned with exquisite makeup, clearly showing that she had dressed up carefully.

"Yes, we were truly amazed by Consort Wuya's attire. It's hard to believe how subservient she was when serving Consort Tong."

Consort Li had the most dislike for concubines who came from palace maid backgrounds; seeing them always reminded her of her detestable half-sister.

“Sister Li is right. In fact, we and Sister Suo Zhuolun were all selected into the palace as imperial concubines. Naturally, we are not comparable to those who rose from humble beginnings as maids.”

Consort Zhang waved the handkerchief in her hand, speaking as if with disdain.

“Sister Zhang, you’re wrong to say that. How can you lower yourself to compare yourself to such a person!”

Consort Dong seemed displeased that Consort Zhang had actually compared them to Consort Wuya.

"Sister Dong is right, I have learned a lot."

As Wuya's face turned pale and bruised, she watched the concubines humiliating her. She secretly vowed to herself that she would rise high and trample them all underfoot.

"Your Highness Consort Zhao, Your Highness Consort Tong has arrived—" Consort Tong was already a little late, but she didn't expect to run into Consort Zhao at the palace gate. She had no choice but to follow behind Consort Zhao and enter the Baohe Hall as an accompaniment.

"Greetings to Consort Zhao and Consort Tong! May you enjoy boundless blessings and peace!"

"We're all sisters, no need for formalities, please rise!" Consort Zhao smiled and called to the kneeling concubines after she had sat down.

"Thank you, Consort Xie."