"Consort Wang, it's time for you to leave."
Chunyu stood less than three steps away from Wang Shi, a faint smile on her face, which made Wang Shi even more uneasy.
call
That's scary.
In particular, this was Consort Jing's personal maid, who had been by her side for decades and had experienced countless trials and tribulations.
Wang forced a smile, but her expression was somewhat stiff and looked awkward.
After exchanging a few polite words with Chunyu, Madam Wang turned and left with her maid.
Chunyu watched the person disappear at the palace gate, then stood there for a moment, pondering before returning to the main hall.
Inside the main hall, Xiu Ning had just finalized the terms with Madam Wang, and she looked completely at ease.
In her opinion, the favored concubines who would emerge in the middle and later years of Kangxi's reign each had their own shortcomings. In comparison, Wang was a better investment target, with a high cost-performance ratio and not too much of a threat to her.
"master"
Spring Rain called out softly, then brought over a teacup that had already been poured.
"Hmm, besides Lady Wang, have any of the other concubines in the harem who have gained the Emperor's favor gotten in through connections with other people?"
Emperor Kangxi was a passionate yet ruthless emperor. If you wanted him to care about you, you had to be valuable; otherwise, you would just become a plaything that could be discarded at will.
On the surface, Emperor Kangxi entrusted the southern tour to him, but in reality, Consort Ping and Consort Rongyue also had some of the duties on his behalf.
Of course, if Consort Jia's health hadn't been so poor recently, she would have gotten a little something too.
Chunyu nodded and shook her head, then picked a few to tell her master.
“Will Consort Zhangjia go? Isn’t she pregnant?”
She's really going all out, giving birth to two children in quick succession these past two years. It seems she's hoping to have another little prince, but unfortunately, the imperial physician's diagnosis is that Consort Zhangjia's pregnancy will once again result in only a princess.
Pregnant for four or five months, instead of staying obediently in the palace to rest and recuperate, she still had to go on a arduous southern tour. What was her purpose? Emperor Kangxi couldn't possibly sleep with a pregnant concubine, after all, he had enough to enjoy with the non-pregnant concubines.
Xiu Ning shook her head, puzzled, but when she looked up, she saw Chun Yu with a strange expression. "You know the inside story?"
Chunyu hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded and said, "I've heard a little about it; it's related to the Thirteenth Prince."
Thirteenth Prince?
Yinxiang?
Thinking of the thirteenth prince, who was quite unlucky in historical records, Xiuning rested her chin on one hand and asked Chunyu to tell her the news she had heard.
"My lord, this matter is also related to the Crown Prince."
After the eldest prince got married and went to court, the emperor valued him highly, which made the crown prince anxious.
However, the crown prince has not yet been able to attend court, so there are not many things he can do on a daily basis.
Just then, the Thirteenth Prince came to the Emperor's liking, and the Crown Prince wanted to take advantage of this southern tour to rely on the Thirteenth Prince to get closer to the Emperor.
Consort Zhangjia, upon hearing this, felt uneasy, which is why she told Consort Ping that she wanted to accompany them on the trip.
After Chunyu finished explaining what had happened, she saw her master looking helpless.
Um?
"Confused"
Xiu Ning uttered two words, thinking to herself that it was no wonder Consort Zhangjia didn't live long; it turned out she wasn't smart enough.
Worried about your son? Does that mean you have to follow him from afar? Don't you even consider your own situation?
Besides, Yinxiang is only four years old this year. Even if Consort Ping takes care of him, would he forget his own mother in the palace? It's really just making these useless worries.
Feeling embarrassed by Xiu Ning's words, Chun Yu knew that her mistress wasn't talking about her.
However, with so many people in the harem, all sorts of oddballs exist, and Consort Zhangjia's behavior was not an isolated case.
Reaching out to rub the tip of her nose, Chunyu quietly explained the deeper meaning behind Consort Zhangjia's actions. It was simply because the continuous childbirth over the past few years had damaged her health, making it difficult for her to conceive again. She was worried that her only remaining son would not be close to her, so she wanted to use various methods to increase opportunities to spend time together and preserve the mother-son bond between them.
As her adoptive mother, Consort Ping could not completely sever the bond between mother and son. Moreover, she was born into the Hesheli clan and had the Crown Prince with her. Consort Ping could not afford to have any ambition while raising Yinxiang. Otherwise, before Kangxi could even take action, a warning from her family would have already come.
Yes, some things have happened in the past two years. The old patriarch of the Hesheli clan, who was originally on par with the Crown Prince's lineage, Suo'etu, and was also the father of Consort Ping, suffered a stroke and could no longer manage the clan affairs.
Because the incident happened so suddenly, Consort Ping and her family were unaware of it, leaving them unprepared and in a state of panic.
After settling the former clan chief, Suo'etu seized the opportunity to take over the banner of the Hesheli clan and turned his full support to the crown prince in the palace.
Based on this, the Crown Prince's power has greatly increased. It's possible that the Kangxi Emperor will send another direct descendant of the Guarjia clan into the family, since the Crown Prince is very different from before, and investment will naturally increase.
However, this last point will not affect the cooperation between Xiu Ning and Consort Rong for the time being.
The Guarjia clan is not monolithic, and one cannot put all their eggs in one basket. The Xiuning lineage has not lost power; it is merely a matter of the scope of cooperation.
Because neither Yinyi nor Yinlu is married yet, the entire Qixiang Palace is keeping a low profile. Whether there are more or fewer people from the Guarjia clan at this time will not have much impact on her.
"She has a good idea, but she doesn't know what she needs most right now."
Shaking her head slightly, Xiu Ning stopped discussing Consort Zhangjia. There was no need to talk to such a person, since she would be out of the picture when the conflict started. Since she wouldn't affect the future situation, why waste her breath?
Changing the subject, Xiuning mentioned the other people Chunyu had mentioned.
These were all concubines of low rank who had risen to prominence in the harem in the past two years. Seeing that Emperor Kangxi was stingy in bestowing ranks, they had no choice but to rely on a few high-ranking concubines to make a living.
"Now that we have the Wang family to rely on, we have a source for all these future developments."
Xiuning disdained to lower herself to compete for favor with these people, so it can be said that Lady Wang's appearance was very timely.
“It is Wang’s good fortune that she can serve her master.”
Others wouldn't have a choice even if they wanted to; Qixiang Palace isn't a place just anyone can get close to.
"It also depends on whether she can handle it. Let her take a couple of days to recover, and then you can go over and remind her."
This southern tour is a rare opportunity, and she should not keep thinking about giving up now that she has come this far.
I will help her, but she also needs to strive for improvement herself.
It's not like I gave them benefits but got nothing in return. Xiu Ning values the future of the Wang family, and we need to show her their worth.
Chunyu nodded, "Don't worry, Master, I understand."
With a soft "hmm," Xiu Ning waved her hand, indicating that Chun Yu could leave.
Chunyu obediently took her leave, leaving Xiuning alone in the room.
After rubbing her slightly sore wrists, Xiu Ning felt she had used up too much energy and decided to get up and go to the inner room to rest.
Choosing to take a short rest, Xiu Ning opened her eyes again as it was getting dark.
After stretching her body, Xiu Ning finished her dinner with Chun Yu's help, then turned around and played with Bu Er and Dai, who had come to the main hall.
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