Chapter 3 Pulse Diagnosis
Sexual intercourse is possible when the fetal phase is stable.
I don't know how long the handkerchief had been on my face, but the dampness had dried, and the fragrance on it seemed to have faded a bit.
She covered her face with her handkerchief, the fabric rising and falling with her breath, inhaling the lingering fragrance of Chen Guanxue before finally removing it. After rubbing it gently for a while, she reluctantly put it into the purse she always carried.
He glanced at the jade on the table and instructed Liang Jiugong, who was standing against the wall like an inanimate object, "Send it to your Master Chen."
With Liang Jiugong's head bowed, Kangxi did not see the shock in his eyes.
Master Chen?
Whether it was the previous empress or concubines, Kangxi always addressed them by their surnames or titles. This was the first time he had ever heard him use the word "Master," which shows that Master Chen was of considerable importance.
He walked over in silence, reaching out to touch the jade, but heard the deep voice that Kangxi only spoke when he was angry, "Wait."
After taking a couple of steps, he put the jade into another handkerchief and rubbed it vigorously, so hard that the silk handkerchief was deformed, before he carried it out in his palm along with the handkerchief.
Even after wiping it once, the discomfort in my heart did not lessen in the slightest.
This jade has been separated from her and touched by countless people. She really wants all those people to disappear forever.
As Yinzhen left the palace, he felt a chill run down his spine. He thought it best not to go back to the palace today. His lifelong sense of danger told him that nothing good would come of it.
"The sedan chair that the Fourth Prince brought into the palace, wasn't taken out?"
Inside Consort De's Yonghe Palace, the candles had been burning all night because the Fourth Prince had entered the palace overnight, as everyone awaited news from the front. Upon hearing that he had brought a sedan chair with him again, Consort De frowned.
Previously, she had only heard that Yinzhen was working for Kangxi, but she did not know what he was doing. However, the person in the sedan chair was enough to attract the attention of the inner palace.
"Yes." Shanshui, who had followed her for many years, leaned closer and whispered in her ear, "There is a young lady in the sedan chair. The Qianqing Palace ordered the Imperial Household Department to check her identity and instructed them not to leak the news. No one in the palace knows yet."
They were able to get some information only because Consort De was a bondservant, had connections in the Imperial Household Department, and had many spies in the palace.
"It's getting late, let's get ready and go to bed." Consort De's eyes flickered, but she didn't say what she wanted to ask. Shanshui helped her to the bed.
She was forbidden from leaking any information. All she knew was what she was allowed to know. If she inquired about even a single word more, Emperor Kangxi would likely not forgive her and the person who relayed the message.
This is the real Kangxi, seemingly indifferent to everything yet holding everything firmly in his grasp. Like a sky hanging over the Forbidden City, he knows everything that happens in the palace but merely observes. When he's in a good mood, the sky is clear; when he's in a bad mood, even if it doesn't rain, lightning will strike and kill several people.
Chen Guanxue changed her clothes, putting on a soft, smooth silk nightgown. She then asked Runxi to keep watch and went to bed.
Only when all sound in the room was gone did Runxi stare blankly at the faint candlelight on the table.
Runxi's experience today is something that others would never dare to imagine in their entire lives. First, she was sold by her father, then bought by Chen Guanxue, who was dressed as a girl but was pregnant. When she saw the soldiers, she followed them into the palace in fear.
She didn't know Chen Guanxue's identity. She was clearly not a concubine, yet the most noble emperor in the world personally lifted the curtain of her sedan chair. Her identity was unknown, yet she was able to live in the emperor's palace.
All she knew was that she had given her a chance to escape being sold into marriage as a concubine and to serve her in the palace, instead of being left in a rented house before entering the palace.
Runxi's eyes couldn't penetrate the heavy bed curtains; she could only see the auspicious clouds and the characters for "fortune" and "longevity" embroidered on them. Perhaps, she was destined to enjoy good fortune in the future.
This is an opportunity given to her by Miss Chen, and she will seize it.
But looking down at her rough hands, she felt utterly powerless.
Outside the palace, she could cook and do laundry, but inside the palace, there were imperial chefs, so her clothes should have been washed by someone else, right? No, perhaps she didn't need to wash her clothes at all. Even the wealthiest families didn't wear washed clothes. What else could she do?
Her rough hands were not able to serve her a bath, nor could they style her hair, nor dare they touch the finest fabrics, for fear that their hands would snag the clothes.
She hadn't learned the rules of the palace, and her relief was followed by suffering. Perhaps going to the palace was a mistake after all...
Runxi stayed by candlelight until dawn. The weariness and sadness in her eyes faded away when Chen Guanxue called her. She hung the bed curtains on the copper hooks, helped her put on her shoes and socks, and then went to open the door.
Chen Guanxue watched her figure and saw her leading people in, so she said, "Take her downstairs to wash up and change into suitable clothes before serving her."
He frowned after she left, opened his mouth and took a sip of tea to rinse his throat, holding it in his mouth. It was really uncomfortable to speak without moistening his throat so early in the morning.
When Runxi was brought up again, she was already dressed in the uniform of the palace maids, a straight-cut long robe in light green. Luckily, she was naturally fair-skinned, otherwise this outfit would not have suited her.
I don’t know what Emperor Kangxi ordered, but the palace maids serving here are all very respectful. The palace dress that Runxi wears is made of fine material, and the embroidery on it is something that only the first-class palace maids serving the concubines can wear.
"Miss..." Runxi saw Chen Guanxue looking at her, and her previous unease and awkwardness intensified, so she called out to her.
Chen Guanxue turned her head, picked out a hairpin and put it in her hair bun, and said slowly, "From now on, call me Master. Serving me, you must have the best of everything. If you are dissatisfied with the food, clothing and housing, just say so. If anyone is dissatisfied, just kick them out. You are my person, and if anyone else displeases you, they don't need to stay by your side."
The palace maids in the room lowered their heads even further because of her words, while others secretly glanced at her. No matter what they did, their eyes were full of respect.
She was still wearing yesterday's clothes, which were clearly the most stingy Han women's attire in the eyes of the Manchus, yet she felt as if she had seen Emperor Kangxi, making it hard to breathe.
Runxi seemed to have realized what was most precious to her: her loyalty to Chen Guanxue.
This was something no one in the palace could match. Because of her loyalty, Chen Guanxue could grant her a degree of arrogance and the power to manage everyone in the room.
Following the etiquette she knew, and disregarding whether she would soil her new clothes, she knelt on the ground and kowtowed deeply, saying, "Yes, Master."
Chen Guanxue liked intelligent people and those who understood things, and Runxi was such a person, which made her feel much better.
"There's no need to teach her the rules. She won't need them since she's always by my side. Just serve her the meal." Teaching her the rules would ruin her sincerity. If she's always by my side, who would dare to give her a hard time?
The jade, which had been wrapped in a bright yellow handkerchief on the dressing table, was put back around her neck.
Carefully touching the jade, I wonder what Kangxi was up to. He gave her the jade and then made her the mistress of the East Warm Pavilion.
The breakfast in the palace was more refined than that outside the palace. Runxi was allowed to stand and eat some, but she was not used to only being able to eat twice a day. So she said, "From now on, I will serve you three meals a day. Breakfast will be light and varied. At noon, you can eat whatever you cannot eat during your pregnancy. Dinner should be easy to digest."
No one answered, but she knew someone would relay the message to the Imperial Kitchen, or perhaps not the Imperial Kitchen, but the small kitchen in the Qianqing Palace.
After the meal, she asked Runxi to help her walk around the courtyard. She guessed that after the morning court session, Kangxi would arrive with an imperial physician.
Chen Guanxue still held a grudge against him for pulling his hand away yesterday, and remembering that she had actually cried in front of him yesterday, she couldn't help but glare at him.
Little did she know that her eyes seemed to have hooks, making Kangxi uneasy. He reached out and took her hand, bringing it to his nose to smell it.
It wasn't the smell of incense; it was a faint, warm fragrance that was her own natural scent.
Before she could even discern the details, her soft hand was pulled away, and she heard a soft groan. She wasn't afraid of him at all, and even the way she sat down and gently lifted her clothes was quite pleasing to the eye.
Anyone else would have been dragged away and beaten long ago, but he had more patience for her, for her sake and for the sake of the child in her womb.
"Take a look, how many months pregnant is the baby?" Kangxi said to the imperial physician after sitting down, lifting his robe.
The imperial physician took out a soft wrist rest from the wooden box. After Chen Guanxue pulled up her sleeves and placed her hand on it, he draped a white gauze over it, then knelt down and extended his hand to take her pulse.
When taking a pulse, I try to control my trembling hands, afraid that some strange expression might appear on my old face.
Upon first touch, it became very clear that the noblewoman's child was already four months along. Four months... just four months ago it was May, the time when Emperor Kangxi had not yet returned to the capital after his campaign against the Dzungars.
It was hard to say whether the child in the womb was his. The imperial physician dared not think too deeply about it and simply withdrew his hand, saying, "Your Majesty, it's exactly four months."
Chen Guanxue withdrew her hand and looked at Kangxi with a smile. Did she know that he was not in the capital four months ago? Her identity was that of a Han Bannerman bondservant, but she was still in the capital. It was something that could be found out with a simple investigation.
One night was enough for him to find out everything clearly. She originally wanted to tell him the truth, but seeing his attitude last night, she decided not to say it anymore.
He's the one who cheated on himself; it's up to him to admit it. If he turns against you, it's not too late to tell him the truth.
Kangxi's attitude towards her gave her leverage, and she naturally had to make good use of the leverage he gave her.
"Is the pregnancy stable?" Kangxi accepted it well, as if he had already decided that the child was his own, without any doubt.
"It's stable, and there's no need to take any medication. However, you need to be mindful of your diet before giving birth."
Chen Guanxue frowned. Besides the things pregnant women can't eat, what else is there to restrain herself from? It's so annoying. Before she could speak, Kangxi dropped a sentence that made her eyes widen in shock.
"Can we share a room?" Having smelled her scent, he couldn't get close to her for even a day without relieving the itch in his heart, and he felt empty inside.
The imperial physician's eyelids twitched, feeling Chen Guanxue's gaze fall upon him, but he still forced a smile and said, "As long as there is some restraint, it will be fine."
[Author's Note]
Kangxi: I am not human, I am a lecherous ghost.
Guan Guan: Hehe
Imperial Physician: I'm done being human!!!
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