Chapter 42 Consort Hui wants to raise a dog
Yunyun named her new companion Yunduo, who was her younger sister.
With her adorable appearance, sweet voice, and clingy manner, this new resident of Yanxi Palace quickly won the hearts of everyone, both inside and outside the palace.
Even Consort Wei, who was usually timid and quiet, personally wove a bamboo cat house for it, lined with fine linen and decorated with a few auspicious cloud patterns.
Baoqing really likes this cat named Yunduo. As soon as she came back, she squatted in front of the cat bed and meowed incessantly.
In the blink of an eye, the fluffy little kitten has grown into a solid, adorable adult, often seen patrolling Yanxi Palace with its long, fluffy tail.
"You're six months pregnant now, right?"
Yunyun and Consort Nara sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) on one side, while Consort Wei sat on a soft stool facing them, her hands adorned with knotted ribbons.
"It's been six months already," Consort Wei said softly. Now that she had become familiar with Yun Jun, she was no longer as timid as before. "The imperial physician said that the pregnancy is progressing well, and I can move around as usual."
The other two concubines in Yanxi Palace had both given birth, and they usually helped her keep an eye on what she couldn't use, so she didn't have to worry too much.
Consort Nara has now seen through the favoritism towards offspring. She took a small dried fish and fed it to Yunduo, who was nestled between her and Yunyun, and said calmly, "It's a good thing that the child is well-nourished in the womb and will be healthy after birth."
Her twelfth son died in May of this year, having lived for a total of one year and three months.
Although she knew that the child was born weak and even weaker than his brother, Noble Lady Nara was undoubtedly heartbroken once again, and even developed some gray hair.
Yun Duo ate dried fish, its big tail swishing back and forth, its fluffy tail brushing against Yun Jun's hand.
Yunyun knew that this was the knot in Nara Guiren's heart. She scooped Yunduo up and placed her on her lap, gently stroking her fur with a small comb. "Now that it's autumn, I won't take sides with anyone. Here are some furs for you to take and make a few more clothes."
The weather was a bit chilly after autumn arrived, and they loved to sit in the main hall early in the morning. Noble Lady Nara had been in the palace for many years and had no shortage of this, but Consort Wei probably didn't have much left.
Previously, she seemed to be a newly favored concubine, and everyone below fawned over her, sending her some fine materials.
However, it was summer then, and they only sent breathable gauze.
After she became pregnant, the Emperor stopped choosing concubines, and Consort Yi continued to be favored. The Emperor visited Yikun Palace every few days, and Consort Wei's place became deserted again.
Therefore, favors and other such things are not as valuable as a title that one has actually obtained.
Noble Lady Nara and Consort Wei verbally thanked each other for the reward, then changed the subject, asking, "How is Consort Daijia doing?"
Consort Wei and Consort Dai Jia had some contact when they were palace maids, but after Consort Dai Jia went to Chuxiu Palace and became pregnant, the two had no further contact.
She only heard that Consort Dai had given birth to a son and had moved to Xianfu Palace.
Seeing that she was completely unaware, Yun Jun lowered her voice slightly, "Don't mention this outside. His Majesty has issued an edict forbidding people to discuss it. I'm only telling you because I'm worried that you might break a taboo without knowing."
Consort Wei, being timid, quickly shook her head, "If it's something that's difficult to talk about, Your Highness should not tell me, lest it implicate Your Highness."
Yunyun took a sip of red date and longan tea to soothe her throat, and waved her hand, saying, "It's just that we're not allowed to talk about it outside, but everyone knows about it. Consort Daijia's son was born with a foot ailment, and the Emperor allowed Consort Daijia to raise him herself."
The prince's foot ailment was considered an ominous sign, but the emperor took it upon himself to bear it. With some unspeakable thoughts in mind, he moved Consort Daijia to Xianfu Palace, and the prince was left to fend for himself.
Consort Borjigit of Xianfu Palace was a kind-hearted woman, and Consort Daijia was always able to take good care of the princes when she was with her.
The cloud made a gurgling sound, and Yunyun knew she was comfortable. She gently scratched her chin.
Having learned the whole story, they didn't dwell on Consort Dai's matter and instead started chatting about other trivial matters.
The sound of Fuling talking to a palace maid could be heard from outside, but it was indistinct and hard to hear clearly.
After a while, Fuling came in and said, "The two empresses' sisters have entered the palace and gone to the east side. One lives in Yongshou Palace and enjoys the treatment of a concubine, while the other lives in Chuxiu Palace and enjoys the treatment of a noble lady."
Consort Nara asked in surprise, "How come Empress Renxiao's sister is a consort?"
It wasn't that she looked down on her rank; she was simply very aware of the situation in the harem.
Although Consort Xi's surname was Hesheli, she had absolutely no connection with Empress Renxiao; they only shared the same surname.
But Consort Hesheli was different; she was the younger sister of Empress Renxiao, the same father as her. In terms of kinship, the Crown Prince would have to call her aunt.
Lingzhi chimed in, "This Lady Hesheli is ten years old this year. She is said to have entered the palace to await her coming of age."
Ten years old? That's understandable. He hasn't even had his period yet, let alone been a concubine.
Noble Lady Nara casually picked up a shimmering satin pillow from the side and hugged it, looking unusually melancholy.
That's the advantage of family background. A ten-year-old girl can be of the same rank as her as soon as she enters the palace. After two or three years, she can serve the emperor and will definitely be assigned a principal position.
Thinking about it, she felt a little smug. With such a powerful figure in Consort Xi's palace, no matter how she treated him, he would be a hot potato.
When a new concubine enters the palace, a titled concubine like Yunyun is given a small gift.
However, both concubines came from prominent families and had probably seen plenty of good things, so they wouldn't be interested in ordinary things.
"Go and find out what Zhongcui Palace sent, and we'll compete with them," the first one said. They didn't know what kind of personalities these two were; the first one, Consort Tong, was already arrogant enough, relying on her status as the emperor's cousin.
-
Autumn rain always feels chilly. It rained lightly all night, and when I woke up this morning, the osmanthus blossoms outside the palace were scattered all over the ground.
Yunyun likes people to open the windows for fresh air in the morning. She opened the window herself, and whoosh—
A gust of cold wind chilled her to the bone.
Rejecting her plan to pick osmanthus flowers herself later, Yunyun shrugged. "It's cold outside, and I don't know if it will rain. Bring your umbrellas when you pay your respects later, and make sure you all wear more layers so you don't get cold."
Both Poria and Ganoderma readily agreed.
“The temperature drop was so sudden. The casual robe I prepared yesterday was a bit too thin. I’ll find another mandarin jacket with a pipa-shaped front and fur trim,” Lingzhi said, peeking out from in front of the rosewood wardrobe. “Your Highness has a rabbit fur jacket that you haven’t worn yet. Would you like this one?”
She took out a mandarin jacket with plum blossom patterns to look at.
He rejected it himself, saying, "Today is the first time I'm meeting that lady from Yongshou Palace, this outfit is too simple."
Consort Niohuru had served the Emperor last night, and according to the rules, she would also have a share in paying respects to the Empress Dowager and the Grand Empress Dowager from now on.
Only Consort Hesheli was still young, so she had to stay obediently in Chuxiu Palace.
After changing into a silver-gray satin jacket with colorful square knot patterns, carefully selected by Lingzhi, and having breakfast, the sedan chair was already waiting at the gate of Yanxi Palace.
Upon arriving at the side hall of Shou Kang Palace, the concubines' positions had changed again.
The newly appointed Consort Niohuru of Yongshou Palace sat upright in the former seat of Consort An, while the remaining consorts moved down one seat in order.
Consort Niohuru arrived early, and each time a new concubine was promoted, she would greet her once. Consort Niohuru never found it annoying and always responded.
No one was familiar with this Consort Niohuru, and they didn't have much to say to each other. They simply chatted with the other concubines they knew.
Before Consort Tong arrived, Consort Yi came out of the main hall of Shou Kang Palace.
Ever since the prince was given to the Empress Dowager, Consort Yi would arrive very early every time she paid her respects, personally serving the Empress Dowager her washing and meals. She also taught herself Mongolian to facilitate communication with the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager knew why she was doing this. She was not a malicious person and was kind to Consort Yi, even to an excessive degree.
She didn't want Consort Yi and her son to be separated, but she also adored the little prince. So she could only let Consort Yi visit Shou Kang Palace more often and spend more time with the prince when she paid her respects.
Compared to Consort De, who never gets to see her own son, Consort Yi understands this perfectly and follows the rules. Aside from taking advantage of the time to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager, she rarely visits Shou Kang Palace to bother the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager spoke Mongolian and rarely had the chance to chat with them.
Unexpectedly, the newly arrived Consort Niohuru was quite fluent in Mongolian. She chatted fluently with Consort Yi and the Empress Dowager, making the Empress Dowager smile broadly.
After paying her respects, Yunyun returned to Yanxi Palace, where she was caught off guard by a message from Baoqing.
He wants to get a dog?
-
This is all Emperor Kangxi's fault.
The Manchus conquered the world on horseback, so the skills of riding horses and shooting arrows were indispensable and required a lot of practice. Emperor Kangxi himself was a great enthusiast of the autumn hunt at the Mulan Hunting Ground.
For example, during the hunt on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, Emperor Kangxi personally shot many prey, including a tiger and a bear, as well as countless other small animals such as rabbits, foxes, and deer.
Fathers sometimes like to show off in front of their sons, and Emperor Kangxi also had this common trait.
The crown prince was not yet old enough to enter the Imperial Study, and his riding and archery instruction had not yet begun, so Kangxi did not say much to him.
Another one was Kangxi's eldest son, Baoqing. He loved riding and archery and was good at it. Whenever Baoqing looked at him with that admiring gaze, Kangxi would want to say more.
He recounted how he shot down the tiger with his bow and arrow, describing how large the bear was and how dangerous the situation was. In short, his story was full of ups and downs, making Bao Qing wish he could immediately go and fight bears and tigers himself, and compete with the Emperor.
Emperor Kangxi also mentioned the hunting dogs kept by the royal family, which were described as fierce and tenacious, capable of fighting wolves.
Baoqing then decided that he also wanted to raise a hunting dog so that it could accompany him when hunting wolves.
However, since the other person was in the Imperial Study and there was no suitable space in the East Third Palace, Baoqing decided to entrust this very important task to the person he trusted most—his mother.
As Bao Qing's best partner, Yun Rui's brain rarely worked for once, and she hesitated, "But I heard that hunting dogs are specially bred. Yanxi Palace is the residence of a noble lady. Is there space to keep hunting dogs there?"
Yunrui's father was an important official of the previous dynasty, and he went to the Mulan Hunting Grounds for the autumn hunt, so Yunrui knew a little bit about it.
But in Baoqing's mind, Yanxi Palace was really big. He had lived there for half a year and it would take him a long time to explore it all. The open space outside was huge and the corridors were long.
"Don't worry, I've already told Mother that I want to get a dog!"
Mother is all-powerful.
This is much better than my father always tricking me and punishing me with my schoolwork.
Of course, Baoqing didn't forget his good friend either. He patted Yunrui on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, we'll go hunting together in the fall. I'll share the game I catch with you."
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