One hour later
Emperor Kangxi stood up, looked down at the Consort who was slumped on the ground, and said in a cold voice, "I appreciate the Consort's good intentions. Since these women were carefully selected by the Consort, I cannot refuse her kindness."
"Liang Jiugong?"
He called out loudly towards the outside of the hall, and Liang Jiugong jogged into the hall.
Emperor Kangxi chuckled and said, "By imperial decree, the five palace maids carefully selected by the Consort, who are exceptionally beautiful and virtuous, shall, from this day forward, travel to Khorchin as princesses of the imperial clan for a marriage alliance."
"For this marriage alliance, the envoy will be Wang Huashan, the father of Consort Jing. In addition, Liang Jiugong will send Li Dequan to Khorchin with Wang Huashan."
Liang Jiugong was shocked, but on the surface he respectfully replied, "Yes."
Upon hearing this, the imperial concubine was filled with astonishment and disbelief, and finally, she felt utterly hopeless.
The next day, the news that Emperor Kangxi had sent five palace maids from Consort Gui's palace to marry into the Khorchin Mongols spread rapidly throughout the palace and even beyond.
"The Emperor's move?"
The Empress Dowager's eyes were solemn, her brows furrowed. After a moment, she said in a deep voice to Su Ma La Gu, who was bowing and serving her, "Su Ma, go and find out what the Imperial Concubine has done to anger the Emperor."
"yes."
Sumalagu agreed and left.
Inside the Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager looked at each other, while the Fifth Princess, who was quietly bowing her head to the side, quickly showed a hint of confusion in her eyes.
The Fifth Princess couldn't understand why her Emperor Father would suddenly do such a thing.
This emperor seems different from the one in the previous life. In the previous life, when the Empress Dowager was alive, the emperor consulted her on matters of state and the affairs of the harem. But now...
Has Father Emperor changed, or is it just that I have a bad memory?
After a long silence in the Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager revealed her anger and said, "Your Majesty, what does the Emperor mean? Several palace maids from the Consort's palace, as members of the imperial clan, are being sent to marry into our Khorchin tribe?"
"The Emperor's actions are a blatant disgrace to Your Majesty, your concubine, the Imperial Concubine, and the Khorchin tribe. If the Emperor wishes to marry into our Khorchin tribe, any of the many eligible princesses in the imperial clan could be chosen to marry into our Khorchin tribe, which would be far better than marrying a few palace maids."
The Empress Dowager was filled with rage, feeling that she and the Khorchin tribe behind her had been insulted.
The Empress Dowager's expression was solemn. After pondering for a long time, she spoke in a deep voice, "Xuan Ye has truly grown up. He is no longer the child who consulted me on everything."
"Now, because of the Consort's actions in the palace over the past two years, Emperor Xuan Ye is taking his anger out on you and me, and on the Khorchin!"
The Empress Dowager opened her mouth as if to say something, but the words were stopped by the Grand Empress Dowager.
"The Qing Dynasty has now established a stable foundation. Although our Khorchin is the leader of the forty-nine Mongol tribes, it is no longer what it used to be. This time, the Emperor bestowed palace maids upon the Khorchin as princesses of the imperial clan for a marriage alliance. This is a warning to us and a warning to the Khorchin."
"Enough, enough. As long as I am with you, even if the Emperor dislikes Khorchin and is wary of us, he will not send troops against Khorchin. The only thing we can do now is to do our best to maintain the relationship between Khorchin and the Qing Dynasty."
The Empress Dowager lowered her head and softly replied, "Yes."
Inside Yikun Palace, Xu Lejin was stunned when she heard Ru Hua's whispered report!
What kind of move is this by Emperor Kangxi?
The palace maids carefully selected by the Imperial Concubine to serve Emperor Kangxi were sent to the Khorchin for a political marriage in the blink of an eye. Wasn't this a blatant and obvious slap in the face to the Imperial Concubine?
This time, the Imperial Concubine will probably be too ashamed to show her face for ten days or half a month.
After frowning and pondering for a moment, Xu Lejin looked at Qin Huai and said softly, "Qin Huai, go and inquire before the Emperor why he suddenly bestowed five palace maids upon the Khorchin tribe."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Qin Huai responded softly and left.
In the afternoon, Qin Huai returned from the Emperor's presence and respectfully reported to Xu Lejin, "Your Majesty, this servant has learned that among the five palace maids carefully selected by the Noble Consort, one is named Xu Jia, another bears a striking resemblance to Your Majesty in her features, and the other three resemble Consort Yi, Consort Hui, and Consort An, respectively."
Upon hearing this, Xu Lejin's lips curled up slightly, revealing a knowing smile.
Qin Huai lowered her voice, then said, "Your Majesty, there is something else, but I don't know if I should say it or not?"
"Well, please speak freely."
Xu Lejin spoke casually.
"This servant and Eunuch Wang, who serves the Emperor, are from the same hometown. Eunuch Wang privately told this servant that Eunuch Liang instructed Eunuch Li to select governesses from outside the palace to carefully train the five palace maids who are about to be sent to the Khorchin tribe for marriage alliances."
Upon hearing this, Xu Lejin looked surprised.
With a furrowed brow, she spoke slowly, "There are many governesses in the palace, why choose from outside? How can those outside compare to those in the palace?"
"Your Majesty, she's not an ordinary governess, but rather... but..."
Qin Huai blushed deeply, stammering and unsure how to begin.
A thought flashed through Xu Lejin's mind, but upon further reflection, she felt it was unlikely. Even if Kangxi disliked the Consort and took his anger out on the Khorchin because of her outrageous behavior, it wouldn't go to such lengths...
Taking a deep breath, Qin Huai gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, Eunuch Liang instructed Eunuch Li to find a washed-up old prostitute from the largest brothel outside the palace to train those five palace maids. He said he wanted to turn them into prostitutes from brothels like those in the Khorchin..."
Xu Lejin was stunned when she heard this.
What... what kind of operation is this? Is Emperor Kangxi planning to use a honey trap against the Khorchin tribe?
Does the Empress Dowager know?
Does the Imperial Concubine know?
What will be the reaction of the Khorchin Mongols when they find out?
Xu Lejin's head was buzzing with questions.
Time flew by, and soon it was the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month. As was customary, the concubines of the harem went to Xianfu Palace to pay their respects to the Noble Consort. Although the Noble Consort was not favored by Emperor Kangxi, she was still the highest-ranking concubine in the palace.
Therefore, on the first and fifteenth of each month, the concubines in the harem had to perform the morning and evening greetings to the Imperial Concubine.
Consort Rong tilted her chin slightly, chuckled, and said, "What's going on today? It's already this late, and the Imperial Concubine is already up. We've been in the Imperial Concubine's palace for a quarter of an hour, and we've already drunk several pots of tea."
"What, Consort Yi hasn't paid her respects to the Noble Consort yet? Could it be because His Majesty stayed in Consort Yi's palace yesterday, and Consort Yi worked hard serving him, so..."
After Rong Pin finished speaking, she turned her head to look at the Noble Consort in the main seat, whose face was slightly gloomy.
Xu Lejin quickly exchanged a glance with Consort Duan, shook her head almost imperceptibly, and remained silent with her head down. Consort Hui, Consort An, and the others kept their eyes down and their minds at ease.
The Imperial Concubine gave a wink to the palace maid beside her and said in a deep voice, "Lingyan, go to Yongshou Palace and ask what happened. Today is the fifteenth, the day when the concubines of each palace pay their respects to me. Consort Yi has been in the palace for many years, how could she be so confused?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
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