Chapter 55 The Feud Between Lady Ma Jia and Consort Hui
Back in the inner palace, Fanghua rested for a while before asking about Ma Jia's affairs.
"How did Ma Jia and Consort Hui get into a feud? Do you know what connections they have?" Fanghua had been staying in her room lately and really didn't know the ins and outs of it.
Li Changfu was serving nearby when he heard the Empress ask, so he immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this servant knows about this matter."
"Oh, tell me about it."
Fanghua was genuinely curious. Consort Hui was always low-key and rarely clashed with anyone in the harem. Even when she did, she would always back down.
This time, they really offended Ma Jia Shi. I don't know what she did.
"This story begins after Consort Hui was found to be pregnant." Li Changfu was a smooth talker; his tone was calm yet soothing, and soon he slowly uttered a complete tale of his deliberate attempt to steal the emperor's favor.
It turned out that Consort Hui was terrified after becoming pregnant, and she already had early pregnancy symptoms, so she couldn't bear it any longer.
The Empress Dowager felt sorry for her and asked the Emperor to come and keep her company several times.
Over time and on numerous occasions, he naturally won over the favor of the women in the harem.
Lady Ma Jia was already exceptionally beautiful and was the most favored among all the new entrants to the palace. The emperor visited her palace four out of ten times when he entered the harem.
It has to be said that her favor is unparalleled.
Even Fanghua had to give way, but even so, the Empress Dowager's unintentional act directly stole two-thirds of her favor.
This brings us to Lady Magiya's luck; it seemed that every time it was her turn, the Emperor would be asked to leave by the Empress Dowager.
Even the best clay figure has a temper. Lady Ma dared not hate the Empress Dowager, so she ended up hating Consort Hui.
Consort Hui's misfortune can be considered an undeserved one.
After listening to Li Changfu's story, Fanghua laughed until she cried.
"Anyone who didn't know better would think the Empress Dowager hated Consort Hui so much that she stirred up hatred for her throughout the palace." Fanghua couldn't help but mutter as she laughed.
They're really taking advantage of Ma Jia's situation.
Ma Jia was just unlucky; it was always her turn to suffer.
"Your Highness, please don't laugh so hard you'll catch your breath." Qiaoling smiled as she tried to soothe her mistress, afraid that she might laugh herself sick. "Consort Hui has the Empress Dowager protecting her, so Ma Jia wouldn't dare to cause trouble at Cining Palace."
Fanghua waved her hand, telling Qiaoling not to help her catch her breath. She just found it funny, but not to the point of laughing herself sick.
"I am fine. It seems that the reward of those two pairs of earrings to Lady Majia was a bit meager. Such a great injustice should be compensated with a greater reward."
After saying that, Fanghua asked Qiaomeng to prepare some more things to make up for Ma Jia's situation. After all, she was the daughter of a high-ranking official of the previous dynasty, and she couldn't let her be wronged.
Compared to the previous bondservant Ma Jia clan, the current Ma Jia clan member is of a much higher status.
They came from a prominent Manchu family, and their father was a military and political minister, which was incomparable to the bondservant Ma Jia clan.
Qiaomeng naturally obeyed and went to prepare the gift. Fanghua also reminded her to tell Ma Jia that the Empress knew about her grievances.
Not long after Lady Ma returned to her palace, the Empress sent her many gifts. She was overjoyed, as it proved that the Empress had not only not blamed her for what happened that day, but had also comforted her.
If the Empress is so fair, her days in the palace will not be bad.
"Thank you so much, Miss Qiaomeng. I will personally go to express my gratitude tomorrow," Ma Jia said gratefully to Qiaomeng, who had come to deliver the gift.
Qiaomeng smiled and accepted the reward from the nobleman. "Yes, this servant will certainly pass it on to Your Highness."
Perhaps it was the Empress's choice that made everyone feel that she was on their side.
So the next day, when Ma Jia came to express her gratitude, two more people came with her.
Both of these women had their favor stolen by Consort Hui.
One was surnamed Dong, and the other was surnamed Zhangjia.
The two men were also from bondservants, but they were not poor and wanted to seek justice for themselves.
Three people came to her with accusations at once. Fanghua could not ignore them, so after seeing them off, she sent someone to the Emperor.
Just as Emperor Kangxi was about to go to the Empress's palace after learning that she had invited him, the head maid of Cining Palace arrived.
"Why is the old nanny here? Is there something wrong with the Empress Dowager?" These days, Emperor Kangxi has also been quite tormented. Consort Hui is pregnant and cannot serve the Emperor, so she often calls him over to keep her company. Anyone who doesn't know the situation would think that Consort Hui is the one in charge.
The dissatisfied Emperor Kangxi even harbored resentment towards the nannies serving the Empress Dowager.
Having lived in the deep palace for a long time, the old nanny was naturally very good at reading people's expressions and feelings, and she could feel the emperor's resentment.
But her master had given her orders, so she had to explain her purpose.
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager sees that Consort Hui is suffering from severe morning sickness and wishes to invite Your Majesty to accompany her." As a servant, she naturally sensed something was amiss, but Consort Hui was the Empress Dowager's niece, and the Empress Dowager protected her fiercely, so they were powerless to do anything about it.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Kangxi's face darkened: "I am not the imperial physician. Do you think she can eat if I go? I have something to do today, so I will not go to accompany Consort Hui. Go back and tell the Empress Dowager that if Consort Hui is not feeling well, please call the imperial physician."
After saying this, Kangxi turned and left.
Wei Zhong and the others immediately followed.
After the emperor had disappeared from sight, Liang Jiugong, who remained in the Qianqing Palace, sighed and walked forward.
"Granny, don't blame the Emperor for displeasing you. This has happened so many times. Today, Her Majesty the Empress has invited you. How could the Emperor embarrass Her Majesty because of Consort Hui?"
Liang Jiugong was a veteran who had served Emperor Kangxi, and he understood his master's thoughts.
At first, out of respect for the two empress dowagers, the emperor would pay more attention to Consort Hui, but those who served her closely knew that the emperor disliked Consort Hui very much.
Those previous rumors about her being the only one favored were just rumors.
Furthermore, Consort Hui's pregnancy is not necessarily a good thing.
Liang Jiugong naturally wouldn't tell the nanny these things; he only thought about them in his heart.
The old nanny was a sensible person; upon hearing that the Empress had invited her today, she knew she could report back safely.
"Thank you for your guidance, Eunuch Liang."
After the old woman left the Qianqing Palace, Liang Jiugong also began to attend to his own affairs.
Emperor Kangxi walked briskly to the Kunning Palace.
Upon entering, I was greeted by the sight of flowers blooming in the Kunning Palace, and my earlier unhappiness gradually subsided.
They also found themselves wanting to appreciate the scenery of Kunning Palace.
The emperor's arrival was reported to Fanghua by a clever servant.
She came out to greet them personally, holding the child in her arms.
"It seems that I am not as beautiful as these flowers. Even the Emperor's beauty is overshadowed by them."
The Empress's slightly sarcastic words rang out not far from Kangxi, startling the emperor who was just relaxing, causing him to tense up immediately.
He only slowly relaxed when he saw who it was.
"Fang'er, you've come! You've taken such good care of these things in your palace. I think these flowers aren't even in season yet, how come they're blooming so well?" Kangxi said, pointing to a few flowers that shouldn't be blooming at this time of year.
Fanghua glanced at the Emperor's hand and then smiled, "These are new varieties of peonies that I had the flower room cultivate. They bloom not only at this time of year, but also in all four seasons."
Fanghua loved the peonies in her palace very much; apart from some large trees, she planted only peonies.
It's colorful, and you can find all kinds of things.
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