The Forbidden City was extremely hot in August. Yunyi, who was afraid of the heat, was dressed very lightly and, without any regard for her image, grabbed a deck chair and sat under a tree to cool off.
Urina, holding a fan, stood to the side, her eyes filled with heartache, fanning her princess in the hope of dispelling some of the heat.
Yunyi closed her eyes, completely at ease, unaware of Urina's thoughts.
In the courtyard, it was dusk, and the glow of the sunset cast a warm, yellowish light on the girl's face under the tree.
The sun was about to set, and the air was still very stuffy, but it was slightly cooler than at noon.
Yunyi stayed indoors all day, and only dared to come out into the courtyard at this time of evening.
As she lay there, perhaps because the air wasn't so hot, or perhaps because the atmosphere was too quiet, Yunyi unknowingly fell asleep.
When Qimuge came over with the food box, she saw her princess lying under the tree, looking relaxed with her hands folded on her lower abdomen.
Feeling genuinely happy for her princess, Qimuge smiled easily, exchanged a glance with Urina, and then withdrew.
Princess is still asleep. She'll come over later, so as not to disturb her sweet dreams.
On the way back to the small kitchen, Qimuge felt very gratified. Although the incident a few days ago had caused her to lose a lot, it could also be said that she had turned misfortune into blessing, as it had transformed her.
The princesses of the past were the pearls of the grasslands, proud, passionate, and arrogant, not even putting the emperor in their eyes.
She never bowed her head or gave in, and even though she loved the emperor, she refused to show any weakness.
But all men are the same; they only like delicate women. Even though the princess was beautiful, her personality didn't please her husband, and in the end, she lost everything.
After this incident, Gege finally matured. She learned to think, to be patient, and to let go of her pride, becoming able to calmly deal with anything.
Seeing her princess so peaceful now, Qimuge was both happy and gratified, but her heart was also filled with heartache.
The proud little princess of the grasslands back then has had her edges smoothed out, and now lives alone in this remote corner of the palace, suffering such humiliation.
If only she had known this would happen, perhaps the princess should never have married into the palace. If she had stayed on the grasslands, she would still be the most beautiful pearl.
Yunyi slept for half an hour until it was completely dark before she slowly woke up.
Perhaps still half asleep, Yunyi looked around and was momentarily disoriented, unsure of what year it was or where she was.
Urina was still fanning herself when she saw that her princess had woken up. She put down her fan and went over to help Yunyi get up.
"Your Highness, you slept soundly. You looked very comfortable, so you must have slept well."
patting Urina's hand, Yunyi smiled and praised her, "Yes, I slept very comfortably just now. It's all thanks to our capable Urina, who fanned me so I was able to sleep so well."
Feeling a little embarrassed by her princess's praise, Urina lowered her head and smiled shyly, feeling extremely happy.
Hehehe, Princess praised me!
After Yunyi woke up, the servants in the courtyard seemed to come alive and started to get to work.
Upon receiving the news, Qimuge also brought over food boxes with her men and arranged the food.
Yunyi entered the room, glanced around, and saw that the food on the table was decent.
Although she was deposed as empress, as Consort Jing, she was still the person with the highest rank in the harem besides the empress.
This was during the early Qing Dynasty, and Shunzhi was the first emperor after the Qing army entered the pass. The ranks of his concubines in the harem were not very formal.
The Empress is the principal wife, and below her are concubines, primary wives, secondary wives, concubines, and princesses.
The later system of one empress, one imperial concubine, two concubines, four consorts, six concubines, and the rule of no fixed number of noble ladies, ladies-in-waiting, and ladies-in-waiting was established by Emperor Kangxi, and such ranks do not exist now.
The original empress was made in the eighth year of the Shunzhi Emperor's reign and was the emperor's first empress and principal wife. A few days ago, in the tenth year of the Shunzhi Emperor's reign, she was deposed by the emperor for being jealous and extravagant and was demoted to Consort Jing.
Her original identity was that of Borjigit, the legitimate daughter of Prince Wu Keshan of Khorchin, the niece of the current Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, and the cousin of Emperor Shunzhi.
Originally a politically charged marriage, it was also a union between close relatives, and should have been able to live happily ever after.
However, the original owner's personality and background were her original sins. Shunzhi had always lived in the shadow of his mother and the regent Dorgon, and he disliked this woman who was arranged by someone else.
After spending some time together, their personalities clashed, leading to numerous conflicts.
Furthermore, Shunzhi met his true love, Consort Dong'e. The two were soulmates and a loving couple, which made the original owner's wife appear as a vicious villain.
In order for his true love, Consort Dong'e, to become Empress, Emperor Shunzhi naturally had to clear away the obstacles in his path. The original owner of this body was the one who was disliked and blocked his way. Thus, she was ruthlessly deposed from her position as Empress and became Consort Jing.
The original owner of this body was such a proud person. She grew up like a princess of heaven, the undisputed little princess of the Khorchin tribe, and later became the empress. How could she accept such an outcome?
But she was abandoned. Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang chose her son over her niece. Without her support, she had no way to change her situation.
This incident dealt a heavy blow to the original owner of the body, causing her to faint and fall seriously ill. It was during this time that Yun Yi transmigrated.
This mission is very different from the past. She transmigrated too late. The original body had already been destroyed, and Emperor Shunzhi and Consort Dong'e had known each other for a long time and were very much in love.
Fortunately, Yunyi's transmigration wasn't too late, which allowed her to retain that trump card; otherwise, her mission would have been really difficult.
After dinner, Yunyi took Wurina and her mother, Muge, for a walk in the courtyard. She was recovering from a serious illness and needed to move around more to exercise.
The courtyard wasn't very big, but it was secluded and quiet, and she was surrounded by familiar people. No one would bother her, so she could live a peaceful and carefree life.
Inside the Cining Palace, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, holding Buddhist prayer beads, knelt in the Buddhist hall with a devout expression, chanting incantations.
Hearing the noise behind her, she didn't open her eyes, continuing in her previous position, asking a question with a hint of concern in her voice.
"How is Meng Guqing feeling?"
Sumalagu lowered her head, recalling what the palace maid had just said, and reported in a low voice.
"Princess, rest assured, Princess Meng Guqing's illness has improved a lot and she's fine now. Moreover, after her serious illness, I think she's become much more open-minded."
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