Consort Yi
"You're too kind, sister."
"..."
After parting ways with Consort Yi at the palace gate, Xiu Ning boarded a sedan chair and returned to Qixiang Palace.
As soon as Xiuning stepped off the sedan chair, she saw Yinlu running towards her like a gust of wind.
"Yinlu"
With a hint of urgency in her voice, Xiu Ning grabbed Chun Yu's wrist and walked quickly forward.
Mother
Yinlu, that heartless brat, had no idea why Xiuning was in such a hurry. He rushed over and hugged Xiuning's leg, even doing a little sway.
Xiuning: ...
This child is being spoiled rotten.
"It's very cold outside. Why are you out here instead of staying indoors?"
Xiuning reached out and grabbed Yinlu's wrist, leading her son towards the main hall.
Yinlu twisted his body like a pretzel, saying, "Son misses Mother." Actually, he had been playing in the toy room for too long and was a little bored.
"You have a sweet tongue," Xiu Ning said, giving Yin Lu a reproachful look. She then gave the child a few more instructions on how to walk carefully, "Be careful not to fall and hurt your face."
Xiuning deliberately tried to scare him, and it worked.
Yinlu covered his fair face with his hands, his face scrunching up like a bun.
He likes his appearance and doesn't want to be disfigured.
"If you're scared, walk slowly. No matter where you go, you must have palace servants with you."
Xiu Ning spoke earnestly, saying that with her older siblings Yin Yi and Ning Chuge, who had strong opinions, as role models, she was worried that Yin Lu might not learn anything else, but he might become incredibly audacious.
The palace is rife with accidents every day, involving many people, and Xiuning doesn't want to hear anything about Qixiang Palace for the time being.
"Don't worry, Mother, I understand."
Yinlu tapped his little head, his beautiful black grape-like eyes looking around.
The mother and son entered the main hall smoothly. With Chunyu's help, Xiuning took off her cotton-padded clothes and changed into ordinary clothes before coming to the bed.
Yinlu had already taken off his shoes and socks and climbed onto the couch. At this moment, he was sitting at the small octagonal table, eating the pastries that the palace servants had brought him.
Xiuning: ...
Xiuning shook her head helplessly, "It's almost lunchtime, eat less."
These pastries are all made in a small kitchen, and they tend to be sweet, so eating too many can make you feel full.
Yinlu nodded, his chubby little paws gripping the pastry he had already bitten off, and he gnawed on it earnestly, like a little hamster trying hard to eat.
Seeing this, Xiu Ning beckoned Chun Yu and said, "Bring me the books that the Emperor left behind."
Chunyu responded with a "yes," and a moment later, Xiuning had two storybooks in her hands, neither too thin nor too thick.
"Wipe your hands, and take a rest after you finish eating."
Xiuning handed the handkerchief to Yinlu, then laid the open book flat on the table. "Your father said that you can go to the Imperial Study to begin your studies ahead of time."
"Lu'er, have you thought about going back?"
Yinlu shook his head vigorously, "Mother, I know I am not qualified enough, so I'd better give up."
What kind of good place is the Imperial Study? He had heard from his third brother about the conflict between his eldest and second brothers. If he went there, wouldn't he just become the new punching bag? No way.
Xiu Ning raised her eyebrows. "Really not going? Your third brother is in the Imperial Study. You two brothers can spend more time together. You always say that you're bored in Qixiang Palace. The Imperial Study is much more interesting than Qixiang Palace." Just thinking about seeing all kinds of power struggles every day, and even getting involved if you're not careful, tsk tsk tsk, just thinking about it is exciting.
Just like the wolf in sheep's clothing who tried to lure Little Red Riding Hood, Xiu Ning spoke sweet words and described a scene that was enticing enough, but Yin Lu just wouldn't budge, keeping a straight face and refusing to nod.
Despite not being particularly intelligent, Yinlu possessed his own survival wisdom.
Just like how his mother would say that a place was good or nice, it meant that the place would definitely be difficult for him. His mother always liked to tease him with her mischievousness. Although he was young, he had already seen through everything.
Xiuning was a little disappointed. Her youngest son had become smarter. Unlike before, when he would just happily fawn over Xiuning whenever she offered him something nice. Although he wouldn't suffer any real loss, he always brought her a lot of joy every day.
Well, if you can't have children for fun, then what's the point of having them?
Xiu Ning, with her mischievous mind, thought to herself while saying it was a pity.
Yinlu continued to eat his pastries with his head down, and wisely ignored his mother.
Xiuning: ...Alright, Xiuning, who was no longer teasing the child, started flipping through the storybook on the table, and the mother and son began their time together without interfering with each other.
...
A few days after Yinzhi's full moon celebration, Juechan finally received the title of Lady-in-Waiting.
Kangxi originally wanted to make this person a concubine, since there were already concubines in the harem (for example, Wanliuhashi, who had been suppressed by Consort Jia since she entered the palace and had no chance to stand out).
However, this idea was ultimately stopped by the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager has been in poor health since last winter. She is quite old, and her once hard heart has softened.
She had helped promote someone like Juechan, so now she was going along with it and giving her the title of "Consort" as compensation.
"Since the Emperor has made his decision, then let the Imperial Household Department expedite the production of the auspicious robes."
Appointing so many concubines at once will probably keep us busy for a while.
"Does the Empress Dowager agree?"
Kangxi was somewhat taken aback. He had come today to discuss the list of conferments with the Empress Dowager.
Before he could even pull out his weapon, the Empress Dowager chose to release it first, catching Kangxi completely off guard.
The Empress Dowager's gaze was calm and indifferent. "Why would I disagree?"
Regardless of who is bestowed a title, Mongolia will not be included, so what is there for her to say?
Furthermore, because of the existence of the Crown Prince, the Emperor could not possibly appoint an Empress.
The highest rank among the imperial concubines was that of a Noble Consort, but in the end, they were still concubines. What could the Empress Dowager possibly worry about?
Emperor Kangxi paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Your grandson is overthinking it."
Yes, this time his investiture ceremony was much grander than the one sixteen years ago.
In essence, it was no different from the sixteen years; it was just a matter of selecting a few to raise their rank and then using the power of these concubines to maintain balance in the harem.
The concubines he selected, whether they were Consort Hui, Consort Jing, Consort Yi, or Consort Ping, each had their own mission.
After pondering for a moment, Kangxi told the Empress Dowager the list of people to be conferred titles.
"...As for the Imperial Concubine, she has to take care of her children and manage the harem on a daily basis. I plan to ask her to help manage it after the imperial decree of conferring titles to Consort Jia and others is issued."
"That's right. The Imperial Concubine is too busy to handle all the palace affairs."
"..."
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