The Empress Dowager glanced at the crowd bowing below and said calmly, "Rise, all of you."
Everyone began to sit down in their seats.
The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "This year is the same as every year. Just come and pay your respects to this old woman today. After that, everyone can relax and have some fun. But as I always say, there aren't many children in the palace now, so everyone must be mindful of their duties and do their part to ensure the continuation of the royal family."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will remember your instructions." The others replied hastily.
The Empress Dowager nodded with a smile, then turned to look at the Imperial Noble Consort sitting in front of Mingxiu and asked, "How is An'er's health? Has she been feeling better lately?"
The Imperial Noble Consort's forced smile instantly became strained, and she gently shook her head. "It's still the same as always, neither good nor bad. I brought her here this time because it's cooler here, and An'er will be more comfortable."
The Empress Dowager nodded. "You must also take good care of yourself. I've noticed you haven't looked well lately. Luckily, I brought some bird's nest with me on this trip. I'll have Su Ma send some over to you later. Take good care of yourself so you can better take care of the children, understand?"
The Imperial Noble Consort nodded gratefully and quickly thanked the Empress Dowager.
Mingxiu sat to the side, listening intently with her eyes closed. An'er was the nickname of the little princess born to the Imperial Noble Consort. Because the little princess had been unwell since birth, they wanted to give her a nickname to suppress her illness and wish her a peaceful life. That's why she was named An'er, and now almost everyone in the palace calls her that.
After showing concern for the Imperial Noble Consort, the Empress Dowager glanced at the concubines below and then focused her gaze on Mingxiu. "I heard that Consort Ming was unwell, but she has recovered quite well recently."
When Mingxiu heard the Empress Dowager ask her a question, she stood up and replied, "Thank you for your concern, Empress Dowager. I am much better now."
"That's good. You all still need to take good care of yourselves. Only when you take good care of yourselves can you have the energy to take care of the Emperor and continue the royal lineage, understand?" The Empress Dowager looked at Mingxiu, a glint of light flashing in her eyes, and then continued.
Everyone nodded.
Mingxiu pursed her lips, feeling somewhat speechless. She really couldn't stop talking about having children. If she really wanted to have children, why didn't she have more back then?
Oh, and I guess she couldn't have given birth even if she wanted to. That was probably when Huang Taiji had his favorite concubine, Hailanzhu.
Mingxiu thought to herself with a hint of schadenfreude.
After the greetings were finished and the Empress Dowager was seen off, everyone prepared to disperse.
Mingxiu directly led the three women—Xiao Hesheli, now known as Consort Ping, Consort Rong, and Consort Hui—to Mingxiu's Linxiangshancui.
She was in a bad mood recently, so the four of them haven't played mahjong together for a long time.
Since I have nothing else to do here, I might as well play mahjong.
Of course, it's not just them who play mahjong. Mahjong has basically spread throughout the palace now. In addition, mahjong is more fun with more people, so now it's played in almost every palace.
For a while, the messy infighting in the palace decreased, and everyone gathered together amicably to play mahjong.
When Kangxi first found out, he was somewhat opposed, because it was considered gambling. However, after he felt that the atmosphere in the harem had improved and that there were no longer people vying to bring him soup or running into him in the Imperial Garden, Kangxi turned a blind eye.
When they arrived at Linxiangshancui, Mingxiu asked Yuqing, Yulan, and the wet nurse to take Chenghuan out to play. Lvzhu set up a table on the first floor near the lotus pond.
Mingxiu and the others sat on benches next to a lotus pond, with a waterwheel gently blowing a breeze behind them.
Consort Hui was fortunate that she had visited Mingxiu's residence before and had seen its decorations, but Consort Rong and Lady Xiao Hesheli were both surprised to see the decorations for the first time.
They were all looking around, one by one.
"Alright, stop looking. We're all pretty much the same. Besides, the decoration here is basically based on Yonghe Palace. What's so interesting about it?" Mingxiu, who was originally in a calm mood, suddenly started urging the two of them after the mahjong tiles were arranged.
Consort Rong and Lady Hesheli took their seats with great interest.
"Sister, this place is so nice, especially the breeze from that waterwheel in the back is so refreshing," said Little Hesheli with some delight.
"Yes, yes, I didn't expect my sister's place to be so good," Consort Rong chimed in.
Mingxiu found it somewhat amusing. "If you like, just come visit more often when you're at Changchun Garden. Besides, it's not just my place that's cool; your palaces are all kept very tidy."
"Especially the pomegranate tree and bamboo grove next to Consort Hui's house, they make people feel happy just looking at them. I am so envious every time I see them."
Mingxiu jokingly teased Consort Hui, who was watching the spectacle from the sidelines.
When Consort Hui saw that the fire had spread to her side, she quickly waved her hand and said, "You only see such a big bamboo forest. The bamboo forest is big, but there are also a lot of mosquitoes. Although there are mosquito repellents, you can still easily get bitten if you go out for a walk at night."
"Here, although there's a big windmill in the back that makes it cool, it's also very damp. You wouldn't believe how sticky my clothes and blankets always feel when I sleep here, so I have to close all the doors and windows at night to avoid that sticky feeling."
Several people complained about their living conditions.
After they finished speaking, they looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh.
The group chatted and laughed together, playing mahjong all morning. At noon, Mingxiu invited them to eat there, but none of them ate there.
After all, apart from Little Hesheli, the other two also had children, and it wouldn't be appropriate for Little Hesheli to stay there alone, so everyone left around noon.
Mingxiu could only sigh and enjoy her lunch to herself.
After lunch, it was time for my afternoon nap. I stripped myself down to just a bib and pants, crawled into bed, and fell into a comfortable sleep.
This is her own bedtime ritual; she takes off all her clothes before bed so she can sleep comfortably.
While sleeping, Mingxiu suddenly felt an itch on her face, as if something was moving around on it.
Mingxiu wrinkled her nose, tilted her head slightly, and then continued sleeping.
A moment later, I felt something messing with my face again.
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