Seven days have passed in the blink of an eye.
That afternoon, Xu Lejin had just woken up from her nap, still drowsy, when Qin Huai hurried into the palace and reported to her, "Your Majesty, the Emperor just sent someone to tell you that you will have dinner in our palace tonight."
"Yes, I understand."
Xu Lejin nodded slightly in agreement.
Qin Huai, like Ying Chun and Lian Zhi before her, was one of Kangxi's people. Xu Lejin would avoid Qin Huai when it came to things that Kangxi couldn't know, just as she had avoided Lian Zhi before.
Ru Hua raised her eyes and glanced at Qin Huai's retreating figure, then spoke softly, "Your Majesty, Qin Huai is the Emperor's man. If Your Majesty distances yourself from him and doesn't allow him to serve you closely, won't the Emperor be displeased?"
"It's alright."
Xu Lejin said casually, "His Majesty has already made it clear to me that he ordered someone to send Qin Huai to my side."
"The person I trust most right now is you, followed by Ziwu. As for Qin Huai, there are some things I can trust him about, but there are others I cannot."
"Just as I did with Yingchun and Lianzhi back then."
The painting was entered with a respectful and respectful tone.
Xu Lejin then spoke up, "Qin Huai is quite beautiful, even more so than Yingchun and Lianzhi. With Yingchun and Lianzhi as precedents, I have a bold guess."
"Qin Huai should be nearing the end of his career; I may be the last master he serves."
Ru Hua looked up, glanced quickly at Xu Lejin, and then lowered her head.
Xu Lejin glanced at Ruhua out of the corner of her eye and said leisurely, "Ruhua, you have been serving me for five years now. I remember you are almost twenty, right?"
"It's time for me to find you a good home."
Ru Hua immediately knelt down.
"Your Majesty, this servant does not want to leave you. This servant is willing to serve you by your side forever."
With a gentle smile, Xu Lejin said, "What young lady doesn't stay single forever? It's just a matter of time. After I give birth to this child, I'll mention it to the Emperor and ask him to select a suitable husband for you from among the guards. I'll then send you off to your wedding in style."
"Of course, if you have someone you like, you can tell me, and I will ask the Emperor to make the decision for you."
Ru Hua blushed, her face filled with both shame and anger.
As night fell, Emperor Kangxi arrived at Yikun Palace and dined with Xu Lejin. After dinner, the two sat in the main hall of Yikun Palace, drinking tea to aid digestion and chatting idly.
"Today, my seventh brother came to the palace and reported some good news to me. His concubine, Lady Huang, is pregnant and is already one month along."
"Huang is a blessed woman. She used to serve the concubine, and now that she has come to the seventh brother's residence, she is pregnant in less than three months."
Xu Lejin looked puzzled.
Emperor Kangxi suddenly realized and laughed loudly, "My beloved concubine doesn't know that the palace maid Lianzhi who used to serve you was originally surnamed Huang."
"oh."
Xu Lejin responded softly, "Lianzhi used to serve me. She was very attentive and careful. Thanks to His Majesty's favor, she went to serve Prince Chun. Prince Chun will surely like Lianzhi's gentleness and thoughtfulness."
"Lianzhi is pregnant, which is a joyous occasion. I will have Ruhua and the others send some things to Lianzhi later."
Kangxi nodded with a smile.
After a long silence, Kangxi said in a deep voice, "What I like most about my beloved consort is her intelligence, understanding, and sense of propriety. Among the concubines in the palace, very few understand me as well as she does. Noble Consort..."
"Enough, let's not talk about the Imperial Concubine anymore."
Changing the subject, Kangxi asked, "My beloved consort, do you still remember Lady Seattle, the palace maid of Jingren Palace?"
"The imperial heir of Lady Seattle is now nine months old. I originally intended for the Imperial Concubine to raise the child in Lady Seattle's womb, but the Imperial Concubine..."
"Behind the Imperial Concubine is Mongolia."
"Besides, the Seattle family is always stirring up trouble. I'm worried that the Seattle family's children will be just like the Seattle family, and will also be restless in the future."
Emperor Kangxi spoke in a low, rambling voice.
Xu Lejin's head was buzzing with pain. She thought to herself, "Your Majesty, shouldn't you be discussing these matters with the Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager, or at the very least, the Imperial Concubine?"
You're asking me, someone of the same rank as a concubine, how am I supposed to respond?
If I go along with your wishes, wouldn't that offend the Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager, and the Imperial Concubine? The Imperial Concubine is already unhappy with me and has been finding fault with me both openly and secretly.
With her head down and silent, Xu Lejin pretended not to understand the meaning behind Kangxi's words.
Following the late-night conversation between Emperor Kangxi and Xu Lejin, five more days passed quickly. On the last day of October, everything in the palace was calm and peaceful. The only surprising thing was…
For three consecutive days, Emperor Kangxi visited Consort Duan at Jingyang Palace.
Consort Duan was over twenty-five years old, which was no longer young in the palace. When she was seventeen or eighteen, she had never been favored by Emperor Kangxi. But now her luck had turned around.
For a time, the concubines in the palace were filled with both envy and jealousy.
"What is Consort Duan? Old and faded, yet she still seduces the Emperor, sending him to her palace for three days in a row. Consort Jing and Consort Yi, you are both consorts, young and beautiful, why don't you have the Emperor's favor?"
"It's a waste of Duan Pin's money; that's not something that can be presented in public."
The Imperial Concubine looked down at Consort Jing and Consort Yi, who were about the same age as her, with a sarcastic expression.
Then, turning to Consort Hui and Consort An, he said coldly, "Consort Hui and Consort An are fine, but they are old and cannot be compared to flower buds, which are young and delicate."
Hui Jing and An Yi, along with the other three, felt their anger rising, but they had no choice but to maintain a dignified and proper smile on their faces.
Half an hour later.
The four of them left Xianfu Palace, their faces immediately falling.
"The Imperial Concubine is going too far. She is an Imperial Concubine, but I am no less. I am a Concubine and the birth mother of the Second Prince. The Imperial Concubine is unhappy and has nowhere to vent her anger, so she humiliates us like this."
Consort Hui complained in a low voice with a cold expression.
Consort An kept her eyes downcast and her heart at ease. Although she was angry, she knew that before she had a prince or princess, she had to swallow all her grievances and unfair treatment.
Sigh, I hope Chun Chang will have a son in this pregnancy.
Consort Jing lowered her head. Because of her relationship with the Imperial Concubine, she always followed the Imperial Concubine's lead. She also knew that the Imperial Concubine had become arrogant. Although she felt uncomfortable, she chose to endure it.
When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head.
The emperor disliked her, so in order to gain a foothold in the palace, she had to cling tightly to the Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager, and the Imperial Concubine.
Consort Yi, bright and beautiful with a fiery temper, answered without hesitation, saying softly, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. After the Imperial Concubine's miscarriage, it is difficult for her to conceive again. Even if she has Consort Ya in her palace, and Consort Ya adopts her child after giving birth, it is not her own, and she will never truly love the child."
"We're either young or healthy, so we still have a chance to conceive."
After speaking, Consort Yi lowered her head, her mind replaying the letter from home from a few days ago, their message that her half-sister had entered the palace, and that she should find a way to introduce her to the Emperor.
May he soon give birth to a son who carries the bloodline of the Guo Luo Luo clan.
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