Chapter 386 Yixiu 64
"Sent it out?"
Concubine Qi leaned on the kang and yawned. She glanced at Cuiguo and narrowed her eyes again. Her voice was filled with deep sleepiness.
"Send her away." Cuiguo said as she took a pair of small bamboo hammers, sat on the footstool and slowly began to massage Concubine Qi's legs.
The perfect amount of force landed on her legs, which had felt a bit heavy and achy. Concubine Qi sighed in relief, and finally felt a little more energetic. "I'm really getting old. I've only been sitting and talking with Concubine Wu for two days, and my waist is sore and my legs are heavy. Back in the mansion, Concubine Yu, Concubine Mao, and I could play mahjong all night without feeling tired."
"I need you to give me a massage tomorrow. The others can never be as good as you. They are as weak as kittens and mice, as if I have treated them unfairly."
"It's good that Your Majesty doesn't mind my clumsiness. But Your Majesty is too good-natured. Since you feel tired, why don't you refuse Concubine Wu? I've seen her never come here before, but since the Emperor has been busy, Concubine Wu has become more attentive..."
Normally, these were words they shouldn't have said as slaves, but there was nothing they could do about it. After all, their master was Concubine Qi. If they didn't make their words clearer, Concubine Qi wouldn't even be able to react.
But this time Cuiguo guessed wrong. Concubine Qi curled her lips when she heard her words: "She is just doing it for the emperor, I am not stupid."
"Yes, Your Majesty has a keen eye. How could others fool you?" Seeing that Concubine Qi knew what was going on, Cuiguo immediately kept silent, smiled and complimented her, then lowered her head and concentrated on massaging Concubine Qi's legs.
Concubine Qi was aroused by the conversation. She asked Cuiguo to replace the charcoal in her small red copper carved hand stove and held it in her hands again. She lay flat on the kang, looking up at her face in a daze for a moment before she said, "I may not be favored by the emperor, but my Hongshi can't be so unattractive that he won't even look at me."
"How could that be? The Emperor has only three princes now. Besides the Empress's eldest son, Prince Duan, there's our Third Prince. How could the Emperor not value him?"
"You don't understand. It's all my fault as your mother for not letting Hongshi be born in a good time. The Queen's eldest son was born first. At that time, the Emperor was still a prince and didn't have so many responsibilities. I heard that Prince Duan's lessons were all taught by the Emperor himself. Just this one thing about the father-son relationship has left behind many people far behind."
"Not to mention that his marriage was personally granted by the late emperor to the prominent Niuhulu clan, and he was the first of his generation to be crowned a king and have a son. Even so, he was originally the legitimate son of the Empress, and my Hongshi could never compare to him."
"But you also heard what Hongshi said when he came to visit me before. The emperor asked him about his homework that day and actually said that he was not as good as Yu Fei's Hong Zhou! God has pity on him. Hong Zhou just started studying this year. How many times has the emperor praised him? Now he thinks Yu Fei's Hong Zhou is better than my Hongshi!"
Concubine Qi became more and more excited as she spoke, and she even sat up cross-legged. Her face turned red by the end, and it was obvious that she was very angry.
"Well, Prince Hongzhou is young, so it's understandable that the Emperor favors him a little. But our Prince Hongshi is not bad either. When he got married and became an adult who could help the Emperor with his work, Prince Hongzhou was still studying in the upper study."
Cuiguo quickly poured a bowl of tea and handed it to Concubine Qi, picking up some words that she liked and saying something. Concubine Qi took the teacup and drank it all in one gulp, slamming the cup heavily on the table: "Speaking of getting married, this palace is full of grievances."
"It's fine if I can't interfere with Hongshi's choice of wife, but can't I even ask? But look, I fawned over the Queen and acted like a slave for two or three months, but did I get a single definite answer? In the end, I had to ask the Queen Mother for help before I could even get a glimmer of news."
Cuiguo quickly lowered her head, not daring to respond. She disagreed in her heart, but she dared not speak out. She secretly regretted not speaking at all today, as it had reminded her of the Empress's words.
But she didn't say anything, her mother had a lot to say to her. It was as if a switch was pressed on Concubine Qi, and everything she said was blurted out: "Besides other things, Hongshi is the emperor's only two adult princes. My mother's family is not good enough and can't help Hongshi much. Naturally, I hope that the emperor can find a good girl for Hongshi in the future. Without his mother's family, he can at least rely on his wife's family."
"The Dong'e family is naturally excellent. The one from Guaerjia is also very good. They are a close relative of the Guaerjia noble lady in the palace. There is also the niece of Concubine Wu... Forget about the Nian family. Noble Nian is quite honest, but her family is unable to rise."
Concubine Qi listed them in detail, as if she had already decided on these people. She didn't even feel guilty at all. Instead, she took it for granted that these families would be happy to marry their daughters into their families. After all, her son was the only two adult princes among the emperor's three.
"What's more, Prince Duan's mansion is already full of concubines. Could it be that they would rather be concubines to Prince Duan than marry Hongshi as his legal wife?"
"My Lady, it's getting late. Do you think I should ask them to serve the meal?"
Concubine Qi nodded with a hint of satisfaction: "Go ahead, tell them to hurry up. I'm really a little hungry."
"Yes, I'll go right away."
Cuiguo bowed and hurried out, but returned a moment later with a look of joy on her face: "Your Majesty, Eunuch Xia is here."
"Xiao Xiazi, why are you here?"
Concubine Qi was stunned. Although the emperor would always remember to visit those of them who had children, she could only wait for it once every two or three months. Sometimes, if the emperor was busy, it could take half a year. It was only a month since the last time she received him, so it was no wonder that she was surprised.
"Your Highness, Concubine Qi, may your Majesty be well. The Emperor is on his way to Changchun. I have come to inform you first. Your Highness, please prepare to receive him."
"Ah, okay, okay... I understand. Thank you very much."
Concubine Qi was a little slow to react and looked dazed. She only slowly came to her senses after Xiao Xiazi left, but the expression on her face was very complicated.
Cuiguo, who was delighted, was confused and could only remind her anxiously, "Your Majesty, let me help you dress up. The Emperor should be here soon."
"Cui Guo...should I call the Third Prince over as well?"
"This... Third Prince is studying in the upper study. I think he can see the emperor often. Besides, the emperor rarely comes to the harem."
Cuiguo tried her best to speak tactfully and clearly, and only breathed a sigh of relief when Concubine Qi nodded.
"You're right, and that child is very impulsive. Don't say the wrong thing again and make the emperor unhappy."
Concubine Qi finally stood up and ordered Cui Liu to find her a pink dress while she walked to the dressing table. After she changed her clothes and combed her hair, she picked up a handkerchief embroidered with a plum blossom pattern depicting a winter snow scene. "Do you think I should take this handkerchief that Concubine Wu embroidered for me?"
Cui Guo: ...
Cuiguo: "My lady, this scarf doesn't really go with your clothes."
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