It was afternoon that day.
The Empress Dowager, her face aged, looked at Kangxi and said softly, "Has the Emperor not visited the Consort's palace in a long time? Regarding the matter of the Fourteenth Princess, it was indeed the Consort who was confused, but..."
"Your Majesty, you have already stripped the Imperial Concubine of her title, and the Imperial Concubine has realized her mistake and repented."
With a soft sigh, the Empress Dowager spoke again in a serious tone.
"The Imperial Concubine is the highest-ranking official in the palace, wielding power within the palace. Moreover, she comes from the Khorchin. Even if we don't care about her, we should still give her some face. It would be better for the Emperor to visit her palace more often."
Upon hearing this, Kangxi looked up at the Empress Dowager, his expression grave, and remained silent.
The Empress Dowager continued leisurely, "Even if the Emperor doesn't like the Consort, for the sake of peace and harmony in the harem, he should still visit her palace more often. I've heard that the Consort has selected several young and beautiful maids from among the palace maids..."
"Royal grandmother?"
Emperor Kangxi looked surprised, then suddenly realized what was going on and understood.
After a moment's hesitation, Kangxi spoke in a deep voice, "I understand my grandmother's teachings. I will visit the Imperial Consort often. As for the palace maids in the Imperial Consort's palace..."
"My grandson's harem is now quite large. The palace maids in the Noble Consort's palace will be kept to serve her. If there are any particularly outstanding ones, they can be bestowed upon members of the imperial family as princesses or concubines, to show the imperial family's benevolence."
The Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager exchanged a glance, then remained silent in contemplation.
A quarter of an hour later, Kangxi rose to take his leave. The Empress Dowager watched his departing figure and murmured, "Empress Mother? What did the Emperor mean by that?"
"The Emperor is subtly telling me that he doesn't like Consort Gui interfering in the inner quarters of the imperial family. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, Consort Gui interfered in Longxi's inner quarters. The Emperor didn't say anything, but he was clearly bothered by it."
The Empress Dowager's expression changed, and she spoke in a deep voice, "The Consort was also confused. On the Mid-Autumn Festival, she actually suggested that Abahai Borjigit come to Longxi's residence as a secondary consort. As a result, Abahai Borjigit did not become Longxi's secondary consort, but became a concubine."
"Although the Abahai tribe is not as powerful as our Khorchin tribe, it is still one of the top tribes on the grassland. So what if the noble women of the Abahai tribe are born out of wedlock? They are qualified to be the wives of the royal family or the secondary wives of princes. In the end, they are just wives of concubines."
The Empress Dowager lowered her head and pondered.
Inside the Cining Palace, all was silent. The palace maids and nannies serving the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager lowered their heads, not daring to utter a sound. The five-year-old Fifth Princess, Buerhe, rolled her eyes around, then lowered her head, her face showing confusion and annoyance.
she?
When she was born, she was very surprised and astonished to hear the palace servants calling her the sixth princess, then the little princess, the fifth princess, and so on.
Days passed, and she grew up. When she was old enough to roll over, move, and run, she finally accepted the fact: she had become a girl, and her little penis was gone...
Moreover, many things in the palace have changed.
Consort Gong, of the Tongjia clan? Consort Gong died young.
Why would the Imperial Consort Borjigit bestow such a high position upon a Mongolian woman?
Consort Yu, of the Xu Mu'er clan? A woman who has never appeared before in the Emperor's harem, and the triplets born to Consort Yu, a boy and a girl; Consort Yu frequently becomes pregnant...
In addition, princesses were born one after another to the Emperor.
All of this is puzzling, and as a child who is only five years old (by Chinese reckoning), I have no right to inquire about things in the palace. I can only hear bits and pieces of information from the private discussions of the palace servants.
After Laba Festival
As evening fell that day, Ru Hua strode into the main hall of Yikun Palace and reported to Xu Lejin in a low voice, "Your Majesty, the Emperor went to the Imperial Concubine's palace today."
"Okay. Got it."
Xu Lejin nodded slightly and smiled, "If I remember correctly, since the Consort's unexpected miscarriage, the Emperor has only visited the Consort's palace twice, and he didn't even stay overnight on one of those visits?"
Ru Hua glanced at Qin Huai, whose eyes were lowered, out of the corner of her eye.
"Your Majesty, it's like this. At the end of July and the beginning of August, His Majesty visited the Imperial Concubine's palace. On the visit at the end of July, His Majesty did not stay overnight, but on the visit at the beginning of August…"
Lowering her voice, Ru Hua blushed and spoke softly, "This servant has heard that the Emperor and the Imperial Concubine did not consummate their marriage in early August, and there is no record of it in the Imperial Household Department."
"Um."
Xu Lejin responded softly, her expression indifferent, and said casually, "On the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Consort interfered in Prince Chun's household, intending to have Abahai Borjigit enter Prince Chun's residence as a secondary consort. To save the Consort's face, the Emperor issued an edict to bestow Abahai Borjigit as a secondary consort, and at the same time, he bestowed Lianzhi, who was by my side, upon Prince Chun as a princess."
"Furthermore, the Emperor has ordered the Hesheli family, the Niohuru family, and the Tong family to send their daughters to the Prince Yu's residence, the Prince Gong's residence, and the Prince Chun's residence as princesses. This shows that the Emperor is dissatisfied with the Consort's interference in the affairs of the court."
Ru Hua and Qin Huai lowered their heads and nodded slightly.
Xianfu Palace
The Imperial Concubine greeted Emperor Kangxi with a beaming smile, her mind preoccupied with her next move. Meanwhile, the Empress Dowager sent word that the Emperor disliked the palace maids she had carefully selected, but...
She knew that it would be difficult for her to conceive, and if she wanted to have her own child, she would have to rely on the womb of a palace maid.
"Imperial Consort, I heard from my grandmother that you carefully selected several palace maids to recommend for me to serve me? I came to your palace today, but I didn't see any of the palace maids you selected."
Emperor Kangxi stared coldly at the Consort and spoke.
The imperial concubine's expression froze. Her joy turned to disbelief, as if she had fallen into an ice cave.
After a long while, the Imperial Concubine recovered her senses and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, I have indeed carefully selected several palace maids and intend to recommend them to serve Your Majesty."
"Um."
Emperor Kangxi responded calmly, "Since it was carefully selected by the Consort, then bring it up for me to see. Anything that can catch the Consort's eye must be something extraordinary."
The Imperial Concubine was filled with fear and uncertainty about Emperor Kangxi's thoughts. She nervously ordered her personal maid to go and fetch someone.
A moment later, five palace maids, each with their own unique characteristics—some bright and beautiful, some gentle and graceful, and some dignified—knelt in a row before Kangxi, who looked down at them.
The more he looked, the more gloomy Kangxi's expression became.
These palace maids, more or less, resembled the concubines in the palace, whether in their eyebrows and eyes, or in their demeanor.
A cold laugh escaped his lips as Kangxi looked at the Imperial Concubine and said in an icy tone, "The palace maids chosen by the Imperial Concubine are all exceptional. It's truly admirable that the Imperial Concubine has put in such effort."
"I'm in a good mood today, won't the Imperial Concubine introduce them to me?"
The imperial concubine exclaimed in surprise.
"emperor……"
Your Majesty, I am a Noble Consort personally appointed by you. How can you humiliate me like this? What are their identities? They are palace maids selected from the Imperial Household Department. What merit do they have that I would personally introduce them to you?
Kangxi's eyes sharpened. He slammed down his teacup and said coldly, "What? Is the Imperial Concubine unwilling?"
"Your Majesty, your concubine, your concubine..."
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