"Perhaps this is the only empty place. Besides my mother, Consort Cheng lives in the east side hall of Yonghe Palace, and a few noble ladies live in the west. I'll be going back after a few days, it's just a temporary stay, there's no need to make a big fuss," Lanqin said dismissively.
“Yes, we don’t live here permanently, it’s just a little further. Master, you must be tired, it’s getting late, let me fetch some water for you to wash up,” Nianxue said.
Lanqin nodded, and the three of them, master and servants, didn't say much. After washing up, they went to rest.
The next day, Lanqin was woken up by someone, not Nianxue, but Aunt An.
She also knew that this place was different from the Fourth Master's mansion, where she was under her mother-in-law's watchful eye and couldn't sleep as casually as she usually did.
But this is too early; it's just past the hour of Mao (5 a.m.), which is a little after 5 a.m.
Lanqin had her eyes closed while Nianxue changed her clothes, combed her hair, and finally washed her face, hands, and mouth with her eyes closed.
“Consort, please don’t complain. Her Majesty gets up before dawn. In the past, when His Majesty was still resting in the palace, Her Majesty would get up right after him to serve him. Even when the princes were not resting in Yonghe Palace, Her Majesty would still get up after dawn,” said Aunt An.
"Does Father Emperor also get up at 3 AM? Mother also has to get up so early?" Lanqin asked, thinking to herself: Being an emperor is not easy. Year after year, they have to get up in the middle of the night to read memorials and attend the morning court.
"Yes, His Majesty's waking time is fixed and has never changed. Our Consort has also never changed. Sometimes, the Consort would send some food to His Majesty. Our Consort is always thinking about His Majesty, and when he gets up, she can't sleep either. It was only after His Majesty repeatedly instructed her not to get up so early that she postponed it," said Aunt An.
Lanqin was somewhat surprised: There was a reason why Consort De was favored by Emperor Kangxi. So, was there true love between them? After all, Consort De was once a palace maid. Emperor Kangxi must have liked her to promote her.
“Consort, you are here to attend to my illness, so naturally you cannot get up too late,” said Aunt An.
Lanqin said with a little embarrassment, "Aunt An is absolutely right. Lanqin will go and serve Mother breakfast right away."
When Aunt An and Lanqin arrived at the main hall of Yonghe Palace, they heard several women talking inside. The sky was only just beginning to lighten, yet all the women in these deep palace courtyards were already up. Of course, they were all longing for a man; how could they possibly sleep?
When Lanqin entered, she saw Consort Cheng, Noble Lady Xiao, and Noble Lady Qi talking with Consort De. They all lived in Yonghe Palace and naturally had to rise early to pay their respects to the Empress. It was still barely dawn outside, and the room was even darker. Only behind Consort De's main bed were six palace lanterns lit, making the room particularly bright. Also, two meters apart on either side of the main hall stood sandalwood crane lanterns. The rest of the room was almost completely dark.
Lanqin followed Aunt An. The palace maids standing in the darkness stood there silently, like wooden pillars.
"Lanqin is a little late. I pay my respects to Mother." Lanqin walked up to Consort De and curtsied.
"Yes, we've been waiting for you to have breakfast. Everyone, please eat here today," Consort De said meaningfully.
Lanqin smiled awkwardly, and the others naturally echoed her gratitude to Consort De.
"I had your dinner yesterday, so how about you prepare breakfast today as well? Let the others have a meal with me too," Consort De added sarcastically.
Lanqin's smile froze instantly. She thought to herself, "Empress De is cunning too! How am I going to prepare breakfast for this huge group?!" "Empress De, are you enjoying my cooking now?"
Consort Cheng smiled, hiding her face behind her handkerchief. The other young noble ladies also smiled as they watched Lanqin. Their eyes held only amusement, not a shred of sympathy. They were only a few years older than Lanqin, some even the same age, perhaps even from the same year of the imperial concubine selection. Yet, Lanqin would become a prince's secondary consort. Though her status was lower than theirs now, who knew what would happen ten years from now? Meanwhile, they, in the prime of their youth, were confined to this aging palace, only occasionally getting the chance to keep the aging emperor company.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will go and prepare immediately. Please wait a moment, Your Highnesses and Noble Ladies," Lanqin said.
"Go ahead and do it. After the imperial physicians arrive, you can go to the Imperial Pharmacy with Aunt An," said Consort De.
Lanqin agreed, her heart filled with conflicting emotions, and followed Xiuzhu once again to the small kitchen in Yonghe Palace.
"Your Majesty, I heard that Lady Niu cooked several dishes for you last night. Did you enjoy them?" Consort Cheng asked.
“You’re quick with your information. Very good. So I’ll let her put in some more effort and let you all try it out and see what she can come up with today,” said Consort De.
"It was my maid who went to the kitchen to fetch water, and the cook there told me. She's Your Highness's daughter-in-law, so we concubines are really enjoying the good life," Consort Cheng quickly explained.
Consort De smiled and waved her hand, saying, "Since this child has become the fourth prince's concubine, I want to see if she can hold the position firmly. Alas, the fourth prince's principal wife is almost thirty, and I don't expect her to bear him any more children. I can only train a few more people to help her, so that the fourth prince's harem can have a few more children."
Consort De made herself perfectly clear, and Consort Cheng certainly understood. The other noble ladies also realized that Consort De was not trying to torment Lanqin, but rather to observe her character.
As for Lanqin, when she arrived at the kitchen, the same two cooks from yesterday were staring at her with wide eyes.
With so many people, what should we do? Lin Mengyao, a 21st-century woman, is from Shandong. A Shandong person's breakfast is usually mutton soup or mutton broth with two fried dough sticks or a fried pancake.
The breakfast in the palace was nothing more than various kinds of bread rolls, thin noodles, and millet porridge. However, since Consort De had asked Lanqin to make breakfast, she wanted to make something a little different.
"Sister Xiuzhu, does Mother prefer sweet or savory food this morning?" Lanqin asked, seeing that Xiuzhu hadn't left yet.
“Her Majesty likes something sweet in the morning,” Xiuzhu said.
"No wonder Fourth Prince also likes sweet things, just like his mother," Lanqin thought to herself, but aloud she asked the cook, "What does Consort Cheng like for breakfast? What about Noble Lady Xiao and Noble Lady Qi?"
Normally, Consort Xiao and Consort Qi wouldn't be entitled to use the small kitchen in Yonghe Palace; they had to fetch their own breakfasts from the Imperial Kitchen. However, Consort De was usually very lenient with these lower-ranking consorts, and their meals in Yonghe Palace were generally provided by the small kitchen.
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