Chapter 22 Consort Hui's Large Characters
After the New Year, the Empress's health deteriorated further, and she was almost bedridden, so she exempted the concubines from paying their respects.
However, serving the Empress during her illness was also one of the duties of the concubines.
The Kunning Palace was as warm as springtime. The Empress couldn't stand the wind, so the windows were sealed tightly with the finest mica sheets and Korean paper. The room was filled with a strong smell of Chinese medicine.
The Empress is benevolent and does not allow the concubines to overwork, so she adopts a rotation system to attend to their illness. Today it is Consort Hui's and Consort Rong's turn.
Although they were said to be serving the sick, in reality, the concubines who were served could not compare to the attentiveness of the palace maids who served them. They were not even as good as those who directly fed the Empress medicine.
The two men simply stood beside the dragon and phoenix canopy bed, verbally expressing their concern for the Empress, which was essentially a form of ceremonial companionship.
The Empress was carefully helped up by Qingxing and leaned against the bright yellow soft pillow, sipping her Chinese medicine.
Yunyun felt bitter just looking at it.
After drinking the Chinese medicine, the Empress seemed to regain her energy, her voice weak as she said, "Thank you for troubling my two younger sisters today."
Yunyun replied softly, "It is all our duty."
Although they didn't actually do anything all morning, they just stood on the side.
The Empress seemed to smile and brought up another matter, "After the New Year, Baoqing should also start school and move to the East Third Residence."
According to palace rules, once a prince begins his studies, he can no longer live with his birth mother or adoptive mother, and must move to the Prince's Residence.
Of course, the crown prince is an exception.
As the only prince currently enrolled, Baoqing can choose the best place.
"The Imperial Household Department has taken care of things at the East Third Palace. Let's pick an auspicious day and have the Fifth Prince move there."
Yunyun had been preparing for this for a long time, packing several large boxes of things for Baoqing.
Without waiting for Yunyun's reply, the Empress said that this was just a notification.
She then looked at Consort Rong, "How is the Third Princess?"
Even while ill, the Queen did not forget her duties.
Consort Rong said that the Third Princess was doing well. She originally wanted to tell some interesting stories about the Third Princess, but seeing the Empress's pale and sickly appearance, she stopped herself.
The Empress looks like this; she should get some rest.
Midway through, an imperial physician came to take the Empress's pulse. Yunyun and Consort Rong tactfully withdrew from the East Warm Pavilion and waited in the outer room.
There were strict rules for concubines attending to the sick: they could not speak loudly, make noises without reason, or whisper, laugh, or chat with other concubines who came to attend to them.
Yunyun could only stand on either side of Consort Rong in the outer room, occasionally making eye contact before quickly looking away.
She stared somewhat boredly at the mica sheet embedded in the windowpane.
This state of being able to stand, unable to speak or move, feels very much like being punished by being made to stand in school in a past life, as if you can only pass the time by having your mind race.
So, how were they written in those Qing Dynasty dramas?
Yunyun hadn't thought about her past life for a long time.
She thought about it carefully.
Although the plot is somewhat far-fetched, those Qing Dynasty dramas still basically respect historical facts. It seems that Emperor Kangxi had three empresses, and the third one only reigned for one day before dying of illness.
And that Consort Wuya from before should be the future Consort De, and also the birth mother of the final victor on the throne.
But it looks like a little white flower.
However, she has carved out a unique path for herself; there's no one like her in the harem yet.
Whether they were concubines from bondservant families or noble ladies from Manchu and Mongol families, the palace was more inclined towards the bright, elegant, and dignified type.
It seems that Baoqing is better at martial arts?
Should I keep an eye on his studies when we get back?
Oh well, let him grow up happily. There's no rush to have a complete childhood.
A jumble of illogical thoughts raced through my mind until the imperial physician emerged with a young eunuch.
They should go back inside now.
Thinking that it wouldn't be right to do nothing since she was already there, Yunyun took the tea offered by the palace maid and respectfully presented it to the Empress.
The Queen is at ease as long as she is served tea.
The Empress took the gift, touched her lips to it as a gesture of respect, glanced at the clock on the floor, and began to urge everyone on, "It's getting late, my two sisters should go home soon."
As I stepped out of Kunning Palace, it was snowing lightly outside.
Yanxi Palace and Zhongcui Palace both belong to the Eastern Six Palaces. Yunyun and Consort Rong walked together for a while, talking quietly.
Consort Rong: "I haven't congratulated you yet, but the Fifth Prince should already be going to the Imperial Study."
She said this calmly, with a hint of envy in her expression, and it was genuine.
Yun Yun was relatively relaxed when facing Consort Rong, and smiled at her, "The Eastern Third Palace only has one prince now, so we can wait for the Tenth Prince to return, so he will have a companion."
At this time last year, the original owner was still worried about Baoqing outside the palace.
By this year, Baoqing should be going to the Imperial Study.
Consort Rong accepted her kind wishes and smiled, "Thank you for your kind words, it will only be five years."
As concubines with children, the two of them had nothing to fear about not having common ground when they talked.
A group of young eunuchs stood quietly in the corner, carrying trays, waiting for them to pass by.
The topic naturally shifted.
"Is this a eunuch serving the emperor?"
Consort Rong recognized the attire of the eunuch from the Qianqing Palace at a glance.
Yun Jun glanced over and saw that the leading eunuch was dressed in a dark purple palace satin embroidered with bat patterns, clearly serving the emperor. She confirmed, "It looks like it."
"Which palace are you going to?"
"Since it's arrived at the Eastern Six Palaces, it's probably being sent to the Chengqian Palace."
"I guessed so."
"·····"
After a second or two of silence, Consort Rong lowered her voice softly, "What do you think of Wuya's outcome?"
Perhaps it was an intuition that Consort Rong believed that Consort Wuya would not remain unknown in the harem.
How could someone who could climb into the emperor's bed under Consort Tong's influence be an ordinary person?
Without even thinking, Yun Jun blurted out, "I guess he didn't have a good time in Chengqian Palace."
Consort Rong chuckled softly, "Do you think Consort Wuya can soar to great heights?"
She didn't have a good impression of Consort Tong; her contemptuous gaze made it seem as if they were some insignificant trinket.
They're all concubines in the imperial harem, so what's with all the airs of superiority here?
Yun Jun joked, "What if she gets pregnant with a prince? Wouldn't that be a meteoric rise to power?"
For all the concubines, children were a guarantee of security in the harem.
Needless to say, the child that Uya promised was her guarantee of becoming Empress Dowager.
Consort Rong clearly understood the first layer of meaning.
She sincerely hoped that Wuya would conceive a prince, so that she could better cause trouble for Consort Tong.
Zhongcui Palace is closer to Kunning Palace, so after saying goodbye to Consort Rong, Yunyun still needs to walk a little further.
The snow fell heavier and heavier. Fuling held up an umbrella, afraid that she would catch a cold if she stayed outside for too long—Fuling still remembered the high fever she had last year.
"Master, let's go back soon."
Yunyun nodded.
Upon returning to Yanxi Palace, Lingzhi hurriedly came forward to remove her cloak and brought her a cup of hot tea, saying, "Your Highness, please rest."
Although the concubines attending to the sick could not do much, just standing for an hour or two wearing platform shoes was enough to make their legs uncomfortable.
"What is Baoqing doing?" Yunyun asked while sipping her hot tea.
It's snowing today, so she didn't let Baoqing go out to play. She's probably staying in the side hall now.
Lingzhi was kneeling down, gently massaging her calves with just the right amount of pressure, when she replied, "The prince is practicing calligraphy in the side hall. He asked the master several times just now."
After resting for a while, feeling much better in her legs, Yunyun changed into a pair of soft-soled embroidered shoes. "I'm going to see him."
The door to the side hall wasn't closed tightly, leaving a three-inch-wide gap. Although people in the Qing Dynasty didn't know what carbon monoxide poisoning was, they knew that charcoal shouldn't be lit in a completely sealed environment.
Stepping into the inner room, the silver charcoal in the charcoal brazier was burning brightly.
Baoqing sat at the table, her small body ramrod straight, writing large characters with a serious expression.
Yunyun didn't make a sound to disturb her until Baoqing finished writing a page and looked up, at which point she saw her mother.
He happily ran over, shouting, "Mommy's back!"
Yunyun touched Baoqing's little hand and then his forehead. "Are you cold? Do you want to put on another layer of clothing?"
Bao Qing shook her head. "It's not cold, the room is very warm."
His hands were indeed warm.
Baoqing seemed quite pleased after finishing writing a large piece of calligraphy. He pulled Yunjun to his small table, which Yunjun had specially commissioned the Imperial Household Department to make for him, perfectly suited to his height.
The set contains all four treasures of the study, including a set given to Emperor Kangxi during the Lunar New Year, which can be considered his unique New Year gift.
"Mother, look at my handwriting, isn't it getting better and better?" Baoqing asked, her eyes sparkling as she waited for her mother's praise.
This can also be considered a parent-child activity for the mother and son.
To maintain Baoqing's good habit of loving to learn, Yunyun never hesitated to praise Baoqing for his studies.
And the praise was quite sincere.
She carefully read through each of Baoqing's large characters written that morning. Although they were still somewhat immature, each stroke was quite neat.
"Baoqing is really amazing! You've improved so much since the last time I saw you!" Yunyun patted Baoqing's little head, her eyes full of smiles. "If you keep practicing like this, maybe Baoqing will write even better than Father Emperor in the future!"
"Really, Mother?" Baoqing blushed slightly at the praise and became even more enthusiastic about writing characters better than Father Emperor. "Then I'll write two more tomorrow and try to surpass Father Emperor as soon as possible!"
Yesterday's goal was clearly to write large characters well so that the Emperor would praise me.
Today, inspired by my mother, I have surpassed even my father, the Emperor.
That can be considered a lofty ambition.
Just then, Xiao Fuzi's voice came from outside the hall, saying that the Imperial Household Department had sent over the spring allowances and asked the master to take a look.
Although the Empress was ill, she did not remain idle.
Although there were fixed regulations for the distribution of cloth, fur, and cotton to the concubines according to the seasons, the harem system was only newly established this year, and many things within it required the Empress's supervision.
The New Year had just passed, and the spring allowances were already being distributed. Clearly, the Empress was very diligent and did not delay at all.
He pays salaries and benefits very promptly, making him a good boss whom Yunyun likes.
She pinched Baoqing's little face and smiled gently, "Baoqing, keep writing. Mother is going to check on the clothes and will come back to keep you company in a little while."
Bao Qing nodded and picked up the brush again.
He knew his mother had important matters to attend to.
However, you can write a few more pages, and when you finish writing them, show them to your mother, and you'll get another compliment from her.
Baoqing had his own little scheme in mind.
A note from the author:
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