As the weather grew colder, a new person entered the palace. Although she had not yet been officially appointed, she was provided with all the necessities of a concubine. After entering the palace, she lived in Yongshou Palace, which was not far from Yikun Palace, and went directly to the main hall. Everyone in the palace speculated that she was going to be granted another concubine rank. Only a few people knew that this person was not just a concubine.
Consort Wenxi, of the Niohuru clan, was a Manchu of the Bordered Yellow Banner. She was the granddaughter of Eidu, a famous general who helped found the Qing Dynasty, the daughter of Grand Tutor Guoyi Gong Ebilun, the niece of the first wife of Emperor Taizong of Qing, and the younger sister of Empress Xiaozhaoren.
This concubine later became one of the most distinguished in her family. She gave birth to the Tenth Prince, Yin'e. Yin'e's nobility was most evident in how long he followed the Eighth and Ninth Princes through their troubles. However, in the end, Yinzhen caused the Eighth and Ninth Princes to suffer tragic ends, while Yinzhen had many children and grandchildren and lived a good life.
The arrival of Lady Niohuru in the palace was quite a hot topic, and the palace was abuzz with discussion. Everyone wanted to see Lady Niohuru's charm, but because she had not yet been chosen to serve the emperor, no one could see her.
According to palace rules, only concubines who had served the emperor in bed were required to pay their respects; those who had not were not.
Mingxiu looked at the man in her arms with some curiosity. Logically speaking, the emperor should have favored the new concubine in the first few days after she entered the palace, but why did Kangxi not seem to be making any moves?
Thinking this, Mingxiu asked the question. Kangxi looked at Mingxiu with a dark and unfathomable gaze, and Mingxiu shifted her body uncomfortably.
"Do you wish for me to favor you?" Kangxi asked after looking at Mingxiu for a long time.
Ah, Mingxiu was a little confused. Why ask her about this? Really, if she said she didn't want to, then he really wouldn't go.
Mingxiu was speechless inside, but she didn't show it on her face. She shook her head and said, "If Your Majesty asks me this question, I certainly don't want Your Majesty to do it, but these are not matters that I can decide."
"Is that so?" Kangxi said in an ambiguous tone, leaving Mingxiu completely bewildered. What was wrong with Kangxi? Had he gone crazy?
"Your Majesty, what's wrong? Are you unhappy?" Mingxiu looked up at Kangxi and asked cautiously.
Kangxi seemed lost in thought. After a long while, he shook his head, held Mingxiu in his arms, and said, "I'm fine. Go to sleep early; it's already late."
Mingxiu felt uncomfortable being held so tightly in Kangxi's arms, but Kangxi seemed a bit off tonight, so Mingxiu didn't say anything. She snuggled closer to him, found a comfortable spot, and fell asleep.
If Emperor Kangxi wanted to tell her, he would; if he didn't, no amount of asking would change his mind.
Mingxiu quickly fell asleep, finding the humanoid heat source in her arms very comfortable.
Emperor Kangxi, however, was suffering from insomnia while holding Mingxiu.
When Mingxiu woke up in the morning and saw Kangxi's two big dark circles, she was very curious. He went to bed very early last night, so how could this be?
However, Kangxi had already left, and Mingxiu didn't have time to ask. She stopped caring about it afterward because the next three days were filled with news of Kangxi favoring new concubines.
With the Lunar New Year approaching and the emperor busy with court affairs, Kangxi had no time to visit the inner palace, and Mingxiu completely forgot about the matter.
The snow fell heavily, one snowfall after another. Looking at the exceptionally heavy snow outside, Mingxiu sat in the glass room warming herself by the charcoal fire, and sighed. With this heavy snowfall, she wondered what next year would bring.
Turning to look at Chenghuan playing with toys in front of her, she realized that she had been too idle and had been daydreaming on the way here.
Time passed day by day, and soon it was New Year's Eve again. Mingxiu didn't really like celebrating New Year's Eve anymore because it meant going to a banquet to eat.
She just wanted to have a lively meal with her family, but that wasn't possible. Mingxiu left Chenghuan at Yonghe Palace and didn't let her come along. The child was too young to come here, so it was enough for her to just show her face and be taken away.
Looking at the noisy scene inside the room, Mingxiu felt a headache coming on. She told Consort Hui and took Green Bamboo outside. The air outside was much colder, but Mingxiu didn't feel it at all.
She was wearing a cashmere vest underneath today. It was made of high-quality cashmere from the store, and it was so comfortable and warm that she wasn't cold at all.
Looking at the row of lanterns outside, Mingxiu recalled her naivety when she first attended a palace banquet. She liked everything and even went to celebrate the New Year with great enthusiasm.
Thinking of the New Year's Eve celebration, Mingxiu turned around and indeed found some of the same wheat stalks in the same spot. Mingxiu happily led Green Bamboo over there.
She stepped on the wheat stalks, making a rustling sound, which made Mingxiu even happier, and she kept stepping on them.
This sound isn't as pleasant as the noise inside.
Mingxiu was enjoying herself immensely, completely unaware of any changes around her, until a pair of feet suddenly appeared in front of her as she looked down, at which point Mingxiu stopped.
The person wearing the bright yellow clothes with dragons embroidered on them could be identified at a glance.
Mingxiu looked up and was immediately met with a pair of eyes that seemed to contain a vast galaxy, their shimmering light making her momentarily stunned.
She then smiled happily: "Your Majesty, what brings you out here? Are you here to celebrate the New Year?" Mingxiu said, winking as she spoke.
Looking at Mingxiu's mischievous appearance, Kangxi suddenly recalled the first time they met. Although Mingxiu always kept her eyes down, a lively spirit would occasionally emerge from them.
Later, she became his concubine, but that lively spirit did not disappear; it was just that she would not show it in front of everyone.
Fortunately, he was within the range where she could freely express her emotions, and Kangxi felt his mood instantly improve.
He agreed to Mingxiu's request, took her hand, and the two of them stomped around on the wheat stalks, making sounds that were pleasant to hear.
Mingxiu listened while secretly smiling.
Kangxi laughed as he watched Mingxiu's clever and mischievous antics, just like the first time the two of them celebrated the New Year together.
Finally, Kangxi took Mingxiu to the Plum Blossom Courtyard to see the plum blossoms. The bright red plum blossoms were a delight to behold.
Finally, carrying the chill of the night and the scent of plum blossoms, the two returned to the banquet.
When the others in the palace saw Mingxiu and the Emperor walk in together, clearly having been together for a while, their expressions changed.
Niohuru saw this scene, but turned her head away disdainfully. Although she had heard that Consort Ming was very favored in the palace before she entered the palace, she saw that Kangxi did not go to Mingxiu's place after she entered the palace.
They naturally held a slight contempt in their hearts, and even now that they saw the two of them coming in together, they didn't think much of it.
Her main concerns were her rank and her children. As for the emperor's favor, Niohuru was very confident, especially about her appearance.
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