Meanwhile, on Kangxi's side, ever since he met Wanwan, Wanwan's face had been constantly on his mind.
(Note: This does not count towards the main text word count)
I searched for photos of Qing Dynasty empresses on Baidu, including several of Kangxi's empresses, and found that the concubines in the Qing Dynasty's harem weren't particularly attractive. This was because most of the concubines were Manchu or Mongol women. They were generally tall and robust, and not as fair-skinned as Han Chinese. Compared to Han Chinese, they could be considered less beautiful; otherwise, Kangxi wouldn't have favored Han women so exclusively in his later years.
The advisor, seeing Kangxi staring out the window in a daze, could guess some of Kangxi's thoughts. After all, Kangxi had been frequently gazing out the window in a daze ever since his last return to the palace.
After returning to the palace last time, Kangxi rarely visited the inner palace.
The concubines in the early Kangxi period included those from the Nara clan, the Magiya clan, the Nara clan, and a Borjigit clan member who was posthumously honored as Consort Hui. Only the last Borjigit was a Mongolian concubine; most of the others were Manchu bondservantes.
Even Niohuru Dongzhu, who was hailed as the most beautiful woman in the capital at the time, could only be considered the most beautiful among Manchu noblewomen; in reality, she was merely described as having delicate features. She could barely be considered a girl from a modest family.
The advisor thought to himself that even if Wanyan's daughter could enter the palace, it would have to wait several years, since she was only eight years old this year.
As the chief eunuch of Emperor Kangxi, he knew what Emperor Kangxi was thinking and naturally wanted to understand the situation. Therefore, he had already learned about Batu Ruirui's situation very clearly.
As for Emperor Kangxi, he did indeed make several incognito visits in the later period, but the main purpose was to seek knowledge from Wu Ciyou.
After all, Emperor Kangxi was a wise ruler. Although he met a beautiful girl who captivated him, he would not give up his empire for a woman.
One day, while reading, Emperor Kangxi subtly inquired about his family's situation from his son, Wanyan Batu Rui.
The main thing they wanted to know was about his sister, but it would be a bit awkward to ask her directly, since she was only eight years old. Even if Emperor Kangxi liked her a lot, he wouldn't be so cruel as to let an eight-year-old child into the palace.
Wanwan's elder brother, being rather oblivious, failed to grasp Kangxi's meaning, simply assuming that since he was nearing marriageable age, the emperor had merely asked one more question.
But Emperor Kangxi truly remembered this girl and thought that when she came of age, he would bring her into the palace as a concubine.
With that thought in mind, she had her advisor serve her until bedtime.
She never entered the harem again.
Meanwhile, back at the Wanyan family, after listening to the storyteller that day, Wanwan dragged her brothers to buy a lot of snacks, jewelry, and other items, bringing them home in large and small bags.
In fact, Wanwan's mother also runs Zhenbaozhai, the largest jewelry store in the capital. The jewelry there is very innovative, and most of it is designed by Wanwan herself.
It wasn't really design; it was more like giving the craftsmen a lot of different suggestions. After all, before the apocalypse, I was just a junior in college. My major was classical dance, with minors in jewelry and clothing design.
So I only have a superficial understanding of jewelry design, but there are many more types of jewelry to choose from.
Over the past eight years, Wanwan has also learned etiquette very well, because she knows where her future lies.
I also often go to places like the outskirts of Beijing to bring warmth to some poor families, such as food and clothing.
As long as you help kind people—ordinary people—you can accumulate a certain amount of merit points. But helping bad people is different. If you do something bad and incur karmic consequences, you will lose all your merit points and even suffer backlash.
As they approached the backyard, she said, "Mother, I'm back! Today, my brothers and I went out to listen to storytelling, bought lots of food, and even bought you some pretty jewelry."
Upon hearing her daughter's voice, Gu Ning put down her embroidery and came out of the house.
Looking at my daughter, I can't help but exclaim how beautiful she is. And I don't know if it's because I've been in a better mood or because life has been going smoothly these past two years, but I've also become more and more beautiful.
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