Chapter 20 Consort Hui is caught sneaking away
Baoqing pulled the Crown Prince along and tiptoed out through the side door of the warm pavilion.
The wind under the eaves was cooler than inside the warm room, and it carried a crisp chill after the snow on her face. Baoqing shrank her neck, feeling a bit cold.
He glanced again at the crown prince who had come out with him.
Very good, the Crown Prince is dressed warmly.
The two walked along the corridor for a short distance before the Crown Prince couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Fifth Brother, where are we going?"
To a three-year-old child, everything around him is huge. Although he had only walked a short distance, in the prince's eyes he had already walked a very long way.
Baoqing looked left and right, then pointed to the imperial steps not far away, "Let's go take a look there."
The two continued walking hand in hand.
A deep, authoritative voice suddenly came from behind: "Why are Your Highness the Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince here?"
Bao Qing's heart skipped a beat, and she tightened her grip on the Crown Prince's hand.
He was very aware that he was doing something wrong.
Turning around, Bao Qing saw a man in a dark blue court robe standing not far away, with a jade belt around his waist. He had a square face and a burly build, and looked like someone not to be trifled with.
Bao Qing looked up, a little flustered, but still forced herself to ask, "Who are you?"
The man slowly approached, squatted down, and his gaze softened.
The crown prince stared at him for a while, then suddenly recognized him, his soft, sweet voice carrying a hint of obedience: "Uncle."
It turned out to be Suo'etu.
Soetu hadn't expected to encounter such a small surprise so soon after the Qianqing Palace was established.
He had just come from the imperial court and was on his way to see the emperor in the West Warm Pavilion when he unexpectedly bumped into these two little ones in the corridor.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince, are you here to see the Emperor?" Soetu answered the Crown Prince with a smile, but his gaze swept over the two little ones' clasped hands.
There were no wet nurses behind them, so these two must have sneaked out.
As a frequent visitor to the Qianqing Palace, and also the third son of Sony and the uncle of Empress Renxiao, Songgotu was no stranger to the Crown Prince and was a natural supporter of the Crown Prince.
The slightly mischievous adult stood up before the two could answer, gently took Baoqing and the Crown Prince's hands, and said with a smile, "It's cold, Your Highness and Fifth Prince can't stay in the corridor. I'll escort you to the West Warm Pavilion."
His hand was grabbed, his plan to sneak away was completely ruined, and he was even caught by the crown prince's younger brother's uncle.
In Baoqing's mind, the Crown Prince's younger brother's uncle was also considered his elder, even though he had never met him before.
Moreover, this elder is now taking them to see their father, the Emperor.
Bao Qing is now very guilty, and feels like he's been caught doing something wrong.
The crown prince, however, still didn't understand what had happened.
He only felt that he had walked a distance, met his uncle whom he knew, and was now on his way to see his father, the Emperor. As for the fact that he had secretly run away, he had no concept of doing anything wrong.
It was also quite interesting.
As the prince walked, he asked Suo'etu curiously, "Uncle, is Father Emperor in the West Warm Pavilion?"
Soetu smiled, showing none of the seriousness he usually displayed when facing other ministers. "Yes, it's cold outside. Why didn't Your Highness and the Fifth Prince come out without any nannies?"
Seeing that continuing the conversation would expose the fact that he had sneaked out, Baoqing let go of Suo'etu's hand, walked around to the Crown Prince's side, and tugged hard at his clothes.
Silly little brother, we sneaked out without Grandma.
These past few days haven't been wasted. The Crown Prince immediately understood what his Fifth Brother meant, and covered his mouth, shaking his head at his uncle.
I can't tell you that.
Bao Qing breathed a small sigh of relief.
He completely forgot that he was about to meet his parents.
It can't be hidden.
When Suo'etu gently lifted the curtain of the West Warm Pavilion, a rich scent of ink mixed with ambergris wafted out.
"Your subject, Soetu, pays his respects to Your Majesty," Soetu bowed first, his voice respectful.
Baoqing and the Crown Prince quickly bowed as well, their childish voices mingling together: "Your subject greets Father Emperor."
Hearing a voice that shouldn't have been there, Kangxi put down his vermilion brush, looked up, and said, "Get up, all of you. What brings Baoqing and Baocheng here?"
Soetu straightened up and replied with a smile, "I happened to meet His Highness the Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince in the corridor. Seeing that they were not accompanied by any nannies, I brought them along."
Kangxi's gaze fell on his two sons. "Oh? How did you two get out here? Where are the maids?"
Baoqing's ear tips turned red.
What to do? I got caught by the Emperor the first time I did something wrong.
Before Baoqing could react, the Crown Prince toddled to the imperial desk, tilted his little face up, and said in a soft, sweet voice, "Father, let's go out and play."
He was still thinking about watching ice skating.
Looking at Baoqing's guilty look and his reluctance to utter a word, and then at the Crown Prince's innocent expression, Kangxi feigned seriousness and said, "Baoqing certainly knows how to lead his younger brother astray. The Qianqing Palace is so big, what if he gets lost?"
Despite saying that, Emperor Kangxi still had considerable confidence in the security of the Qianqing Palace.
The guards standing outside were all Manchu bannermen, skilled in martial arts, and some of them were related to the royal family. Among them, Bao Qing and Bao Cheng were at least three who could be called cousins.
However, if the kids are naughty, you still need to teach them a lesson and scare them a little.
Bao Qing pursed her lips and whispered in defense, "There are guards outside."
He wasn't a clueless child. Although there was no nanny around, he and his younger brother, the Crown Prince, didn't avoid the guards.
Soetu, who was close to Emperor Kangxi, smiled and tried to smooth things over: "The two princes are quite bold. The guards in the corridor noticed them a long time ago. If I hadn't run into them, the guards would probably have brought them over by now."
Luckily he was quick, otherwise he wouldn't have brought the two children in.
They can stay outside for a short while, but if they stay too long, the guards will bring them in, or their matrons will come looking for them.
The West Warm Pavilion and the East Warm Pavilion are not far apart; the nanny can see them at a glance.
This is also why they didn't follow. Baoqing and the Crown Prince's whispered conversation was anything but quiet; the nannies heard it all. They were just allowed to go out and play for a while, but they were actually keeping an eye on them.
The moment Suo'etu led the two princes into the West Warm Pavilion, the nanny followed and is now waiting outside.
Emperor Kangxi stood up, gently pinched Baoqing and the Crown Prince's cheeks, and gave them a few words of advice, "If you want to play, next time you can have your nanny accompany you. You can go wherever you want, but don't sneak out on your own. What if you get cold?"
These words sound like a lecture, but in reality, they are a way of letting this minor mistake slide.
Bao Qing felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. Just as he was about to grin, he heard Kangxi call out to the door, "Someone, go to the Imperial Kitchen and bring over two bowls of ginger soup to warm up the Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince."
However, the act of sneaking away from the nanny is not something to be encouraged.
Emperor Kangxi decided to make the two children drink ginger soup, which they did not like.
Bao Qing was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up.
Although the ginger soup is spicy, it's still better than being scolded by the Emperor!
The Crown Prince was not very happy. He didn't like the spicy taste of ginger soup and frowned. "Father, I don't want to drink ginger soup."
I drank it in the end.
After drinking the ginger soup, Baoqing finally remembered Granny Sun. Afraid that Granny Sun would worry, Baoqing tugged at Kangxi's sleeve and said, "Father, you must tell Granny Sun."
Otherwise, if Granny Sun couldn't find him, she would definitely tell Mother.
Father Emperor has already found out about our sneaking away; we can't let Mother know either.
Kangxi, unaware of Baoqing's ulterior motives, pointed outside and said, "Your Granny Sun is waiting outside."
He and Suo'etu had important matters to discuss, so Baoqing and Baocheng should continue to be cared for by the nanny.
"Alright, let Granny take you back. There's an ice skating performance this afternoon, so go back and rest for a while to make sure you're well-rested for the show."
Although it was Laba Festival, Emperor Kangxi was still quite busy.
-
After the greetings at Kunning Palace ended, Consort Tong returned to Chengqian Palace with Consort Wuya and Chunzhi.
As soon as she stepped into the main hall, the anger she had been suppressing could no longer be contained. She swept the enamel porcelain vase on the table to the ground, scattering shards of porcelain everywhere. The palace maids and eunuchs in the hall were so shocked that they all knelt down and kowtowed.
Granny Zhao dismissed all the palace maids in the hall.
She carefully walked around the porcelain shards and patted Consort Tong's back to help her breathe, saying, "My dear princess, you must take good care of yourself."
"Gege" was the title Zhao Mama used to address Consort Tong when she was at home.
This brought Consort Tong back to her senses. She leaned on Zhao Mama's shoulder, her voice choked with sobs, "Mama, do you think my cousin might also think that I pushed this palace maid up there, and that I'm using the maid to curry favor?"
She didn't really care that the harem had gained another concubine, even if that concubine came from her palace.
What she cared about most was the Emperor's feelings.
Her cousin had always treated her very well and would never favor a palace maid in his palace against her will, because that would damage her reputation.
Therefore, therefore.
When Wuya agreed to appear in the side hall, did her cousin think it was her arrangement?
Will I be angry with her and stop caring for her?
These thoughts, like fine needles, pricked Consort Tong's heart, causing her pain.
Granny Zhao patted Consort Tong's back, her tone as steady as the old locust tree in the Tong family: "Princess, please don't worry. The Emperor cares about you, and this old servant has seen it all."
“A mere concubine is nothing. There are plenty of concubines and mistresses who are out of favor in this palace. If the princess is unhappy, she can be asked to come and establish rules or copy Buddhist scriptures. There are plenty of ways and means to do so.”
"But the most important thing right now is to figure out who the people in Chengqian Palace are. This time, Wuya was able to take advantage of the situation, and there are bound to be others who are envious and want to learn from her methods to climb the social ladder."
Consort Tong wiped away her tears.
Previously, her mother had told her to tighten the rules of Chengqian Palace, but she thought it was unnecessary. Now it seems that she was too soft-hearted. Did she really think that she, as a noble consort, was made of clay and could be manipulated by her subordinates?
"Chunzhi!" Consort Tong called out, her voice tinged with coldness.
Chunzhi, who was guarding outside the palace, hurriedly came in. Seeing the mess on the ground and the reddened eyes of the Imperial Concubine, she understood seven or eight parts of the situation. She lowered her head and said, "This servant is here."
"Go and summon everyone from Chengqian Palace."
"From the head eunuchs to the palace maids in charge of each hall, those who sweep, those who keep watch, and those who serve writing materials, not one can be missing. They are all brought to kneel in the courtyard of the main hall."
"I want to see who dares to do this treacherous thing on my Chengqian Palace's territory."
The side hall wasn't without night watchmen, so how could Wuya Shi have just happened to walk in?
Someone must be colluding with the Uya clan.
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