Hearing her master's suppressed sobs and feeling the slight trembling of the bed, Ruoqi, who was keeping watch by the bedside, felt a pang of heartache for her master. "Our master is suffering so much, and he can't let anyone see him. He can only cry secretly under the covers."
However, the truth is actually... After seeing Kangxi and Wuya Xinyue off, Yunyi lay in bed, unable to sleep, and feeling incredibly bored, so she asked Xiaoqi to tell her a story.
Xiao Qi also had a sense of humor, telling the story in a hilarious way. She laughed so hard her body was shaking, but there were palace maids outside, so she couldn't laugh too obviously. She kept trying her best to control her movements, which exhausted her. It was because of this that Ruo Hua misunderstood her.
The next day, around 7-9 AM, Yunyi had taken a nap and her condition had improved considerably; she was also more energetic than the day before. After getting up and having breakfast, Ruohua reported, "Your Majesty, Consort Wuya is outside requesting an audience to pay her respects."
The original ranking system of the Qing Dynasty's imperial harem was not particularly well-established. It wasn't until a few years ago that Emperor Kangxi issued an edict to perfect the ranking system for the imperial concubines. In his edict, he stipulated that there would be one Empress, the emperor's principal wife, who would oversee the harem; one Imperial Noble Consort, whose rank was equivalent to that of a secondary Empress, who would manage all affairs of the harem when there was no Empress, but would not be granted the title of Imperial Noble Consort if there was an Empress; two Noble Consorts; four Consorts; six Concubines; and then there were Noble Ladies, Attendants, and Ladies-in-Waiting, among others, with no prescribed number.
Just now, I heard Ruohua refer to Wuya Xinyue as a concubine, so she must not have been officially appointed by Emperor Kangxi, but was just a concubine in name only.
Those thoughts raced through Yunyi's mind. After figuring them out, she whispered a "Xuan" to Ruohua.
When Wu Yaxin Yue entered, after serving Kangxi to the morning court, she simply tidied herself up slightly to make herself look presentable before coming directly to the main hall to pay her respects to the Imperial Concubine.
She knew that she would be made difficult by the Imperial Concubine during this visit, so she had prepared beforehand, but she overestimated her physical condition.
She had been standing outside the main hall for an hour, and since this was her first time receiving the emperor's favor, her body was sore and weak. When she heard the imperial concubine's summons, she had to rely on the little palace maid beside her to support her as she walked into the main hall, barely managing not to fall to the ground.
Seeing Wu Yaxin's pale face, Yun Yi was startled. How cruel must Kangxi have been last night to have tormented her like this?
Having witnessed the entire scene and overheard Yunyi's internal monologue, System Xiaoqi dared not utter a word. "Isn't it possible that you slept too long, making them wait outside for too long, which is why you look so pale?"
Yunyi originally had a lot more to say, but seeing the current situation, she was too embarrassed to say anything more. She just said a few words and sent Wuya Xinyue away.
It wasn't until Wuya Xinyue left that Ruohua said indignantly, "Master, look at that Wuya clanswoman. She only received the emperor's favor once, but she doesn't know her place at all. She walks around so seductively and has no manners whatsoever."
Yun Yi didn't care at all. "It's alright. She's just a lowly concubine living in my Chengqian Palace. How could she possibly cause any trouble?"
Ruohua was extremely anxious, fearing that Yunyi would suffer a loss. "Master, that Wuya clanswoman has become incredibly arrogant since gaining favor. You must be on guard!"
Yunyi was quite impressed by the imagination of these ancient people. They could deduce someone's ulterior motives from such a small action. However, she also knew that Ruohua was doing it for her own good. "Alright, I know. You are thinking of me too. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing regarding the Wuya clan."
After hearing her master's words, Ruohua felt relieved and stopped talking about Wuya Xinyue. Instead, she talked about other things to cheer Yunyi up.
Since Wu Yaxin Yue was already the emperor's woman, she no longer needed to return to her previous side room and live with the three palace maids.
Yunyi was generous and pointed out the east wing of Chengqian Palace to her, and also assigned her two maids to serve her. One was Yuyin, who had just gone with her to pay her respects, and was a first-class maid by her side. The other was a second-class maid named Hongyi, who was tidying up her living quarters.
Upon returning to the East Annex, the woman in red greeted her and two palace maids helped her bathe and change clothes, and then served her breakfast.
Only then did Wu Yaxin have time to work with two palace maids to register, organize, and store all the congratulatory gifts sent by the concubines in the harem.
News travels very fast in the harem. Wu Yaxinyue served the emperor last night and became a concubine this morning. Her gifts were already delivered just as she was having breakfast.
Because Wu Yaxin Yue's current rank is not high, she is just a minor concubine, the lowest-ranking person in the harem, so the gifts people give her are not expensive.
Only after finishing all these tasks could Wu Yaxin go back to bed to rest. After a long night of work, standing for more than an hour in the morning, and then sorting out the congratulatory gifts, she was completely exhausted and weak.
On the other side, just after Kangxi finished his morning court session, Liang Jiugong came up to report that the matter had been investigated and clarified.
Having removed his court robes and changed into more casual clothes, Kangxi leaned back in his chair, stroking the thumb ring on his right thumb, and said coldly, "Speak, what have you found out?"
Liang Jiugong knelt on the ground, not daring to raise his head. He carefully recounted what he had discovered over the past two days: "Your Majesty, I have found that there are no signs of human damage on the railings of the pavilion in the Imperial Garden. The reason they broke so easily is because they have not been maintained or repaired for a long time and have been hollowed out by termites."
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