On the third day after entering the palace, Xitala Xiuning formally met Hesheli Fangyi.
"This humble concubine, of the Hitara clan, greets Your Majesty the Empress with boundless blessings and peace."
Xiu Ning smiled and bowed to greet him.
"Rise and be seated."
Hesheli Fangyi waved her hand, her expression solemn and calm, which, combined with her gorgeous clothes and jewelry, made her look extremely noble.
Xiu Ning couldn't help but mutter to herself that Hesheli Fangyi's appearance wasn't outstanding, but her overall demeanor was excellent. In particular, the two large pearls adorning her ears complemented her complexion perfectly, making her appear dignified and noble, truly befitting a queen of a nation.
As the saying goes, "Marry a virtuous wife, take a beautiful concubine."
The same principle applies to the royal family. Consort Hesheli Fangyi does not need to be very beautiful because she is a wife, and is naturally superior to the other concubines.
Despite her outward composure, Xiu Ning's mind was racing. Sitting on the round stool, she appeared somewhat 'awkward'.
Feeling cramped?
Hesheli Fangyi raised an eyebrow, and at the same time looked down on Xiuning a bit. So she was nothing special. She was beautiful, but she was only beautiful and had no other abilities. It wouldn't be easy for her to get ahead in the harem.
"Since you are new to the palace, if you feel unwell, please have a palace servant come to Kunning Palace to report. I will ensure that the Imperial Household Department provides full support."
After finishing her speech, Hesheli Fangyi picked up the teacup beside her and took a simple sip.
Xiu Ning shook her head repeatedly, her 'calm' expression finally crumbling. "I'm so grateful for Your Majesty's concern. I've been doing well since entering the palace and would never dare to bother Your Majesty." Her words were filled with emotion and unease, her whole being exuding an aura of fear and trepidation.
Immediately, Hesheli Fangyi felt even more contempt for Xiuning. She had thought this person had something special about her, but it turned out to be nothing special.
She maintained the dignity of an empress on the surface, but Xiuning noticed the disdain in her eyes.
Each with their own thoughts, they chatted about useless nonsense while giving each other a score for their first meeting.
"...Now that you've entered the palace, you're like sisters, so you don't need to worry too much."
"With Her Majesty the Empress's words, I feel much more at ease."
"..."
As she spoke in a feigned manner, a palace maid from Hesheli Fangyi's side approached and said, "Your Majesty, several concubines from the harem have come to pay their respects."
Upon hearing this, Hesheli Fangyi glanced outside and asked, "Have they all arrived?"
Upon hearing this, the palace maid shrank back. "Only the Borjigit concubine of Yonghe Palace and the Shufei Consort of Yongshou Palace are missing."
Consort Shu is pregnant; according to past arrangements, she probably won't be coming.
That's perfectly true. Since becoming pregnant, Consort Shu had been begging the Emperor for favors, and her morning greetings were almost always absent, unlike another pregnant woman, Lady Zhang, who, despite being heavily pregnant, had to go to Kunning Palace every day. This also shows the extent of Emperor Kangxi's favoritism towards the mothers of his children.
Hesheli Fang's expression remained unchanged. "What happened at Yonghe Palace?"
She had already anticipated whether Consort Shu would come or not, so she wouldn't be surprised no matter what. But Consort Borjigit was not usually late, so could something have happened to her?
"I heard he tripped and fell while going out," the little palace maid muttered. "They've already sent someone to fetch the imperial physician."
Hesheli Fangyi: ...
Hesheli Fangyi waved for the maid to leave, then nodded to Xiuning, "Sisters have all arrived. Xitala, please come with me to meet her."
Xiu Ning got up and followed Hesheli Fangyi toward the main hall.
Inside the main hall at this moment, sat a group of women with very different styles.
"Sister Ma Jia, I heard there's a new face making an appearance today. I wonder what kind of stunning beauty she is."
Beside Ma Jia, Nara, who had spoken, inevitably steered the conversation toward Xiu Ning.
"I heard she was already famous during the talent show, so she must be very beautiful."
Ma Jia replied, then shifted the topic to Hesheli at the end of the sentence.
“Sister Hesheli, you also participated in this selection of imperial concubines. Do you know this Sister Xitala?”
Despite being of a higher rank than Ma Jia, she was referred to as "younger sister" by Ma Jia, showing no respect whatsoever for someone of higher rank.
Nara couldn't help but sneer inwardly as she listened to Ma Jia's words.
Ma Jia was always good at pretending. She must still be proud of the fact that she gave birth to the Emperor's eldest son. Ha, what a fool. She gave birth to a child before the Empress even had one. She was just waiting to see when Cheng Rui would give birth.
"There are many concubines selected for the imperial examination, and I am just one of them. I don't understand what Consort Ma Jia is talking about."
Even if she knew, she couldn't say anything in public, especially since the other party called her "sister." Humph, did she really think that just because she entered the palace two years earlier and had a son, she could be arrogant and domineering?
Hesheli had a pretty face, and her icy demeanor was quite striking.
That makes sense; a woman chosen by Empress Hesheli to be sent into the palace must have something special about her.
Hesheli's words slightly offended Lady Magiya, who looked displeased and seemed about to say something when the Empress entered.
Well, everyone had no choice but to stand up and pay their respects to the Empress.
Hesheli Fangyi smiled and asked them to sit down, then introduced Xiuning, who was following behind her, to everyone.
"By the way, Consort Borjigit of Yonghe Palace has accidentally injured herself and will be absent from today's greetings. Consort Shu is pregnant, so she will most likely not come today either."
After explaining the situation to the two absent women, before Hesheli Fangyi could even speak, Zhang Shi, who was heavily pregnant, muttered, "Isn't Consort Shu being a bit too disrespectful to Her Majesty the Empress? Even when I'm pregnant, I can come to pay my respects every day without fail. Why is Consort Shu being treated as an exception?"
As soon as Zhang finished speaking, the entire hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Huh? Zhang is just pregnant, is she really that brave?
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Even those who had spoken up earlier, like Ma Jia and Hesheli, dared not respond. They could only shout in their hearts, "Sisters are awesome!"
Zhang, who had taken the wrong medicine, didn't care about that. She held her stomach with one hand and was smugly pleased with herself.
Hey, she'd heard that Consort Shu's pregnancy was unstable, unlike her healthy body.
Although Zhang is not yet four months pregnant, the imperial physicians always say she looks good after examining her pulse. What does this mean? She is the next mother of a prince.
“Zhang, Consort Shu is different from you, but she is also considering the imperial heir,” Hesheli Fangyi naturally wanted to see a great power struggle in the harem, otherwise how could she gain benefits and increase her bargaining power? “If you are not feeling well, you can send someone to Kunning Palace to explain in advance,” as long as you are not afraid of being exposed to the Emperor and accused of being arrogant because of your offspring.
Hesheli Fangyi's attitude towards Consort Shu and Lady Zhang was completely different; she didn't take Lady Zhang seriously at all.
Zhang replied, "This concubine is in good health and would much rather listen to Her Majesty the Empress's teachings, so I am not..."
"Not like what? Not like my poor health, which requires me to rest in bed every few days?"
A woman's voice suddenly burst in, startling not only Zhang Shi but also catching everyone in the hall off guard.
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