After bowing to see Kangxi off, Xu Lejin sat there in a daze.
I always thought that emperors in movies and TV dramas were unapproachable, solemn and majestic, but now I am here in person and have talked to Emperor Kangxi so much.
Aside from being a little nervous at the beginning, I felt that Kangxi was no different from an ordinary person.
She even felt that Emperor Kangxi was quite approachable.
What kind of emperor was Kangxi?
"Congratulations, Miss Xu. Eunuch Liang sent me to tell you that you have a bright future ahead of you."
The young palace maid could not hide the smile on her face and respectfully congratulated Xu Lejin.
Xu Lejin snapped out of her reverie and smiled faintly, "Thank you for your kind words. Now I only hope to return to serve Her Majesty the Empress as soon as possible..."
The young palace maid lowered her head and remained silent.
As night fell, Empress Hesheli sat regally in the Kunning Palace.
"His Majesty has arrived."
Outside Kunning Palace, the shrill voice of a eunuch could be heard.
The Empress paused for a moment, then quickly asked the palace maid beside her, "Yuncui, is my hair and clothes neat? Is my makeup clean too?"
Yun Cui smiled and said, "Your Majesty, your hairstyle, clothes, and makeup are all very appropriate."
The Empress nodded and, supported by Yun Cui, prepared to personally greet Kangxi.
Emperor Kangxi strode into the Kunning Palace with brisk steps.
Kangxi helped the Empress up and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, there's no need for such formalities. You are pregnant now, so everything should be for the sake of the child in your womb."
The Empress nodded shyly, "Your Majesty, I thank you for your consideration."
Emperor Kangxi took the Empress's hand and sat down.
"As the year draws to a close, Your Majesty, you are pregnant and have to manage the affairs of the six palaces. You must be very tired!"
With a shy smile, the Empress spoke softly, "It is not hard for me to manage the affairs of the inner palace for Your Majesty. It is Your Majesty who is truly working hard on matters of state."
Emperor Kangxi laughed heartily.
After a moment of contemplation, Kangxi said in a deep voice, "Since Chenghu's death, I have not seen the Empress smile for a long time. Now that you are pregnant again, I hope that the child in your womb will be a prince."
The Empress felt bitter inside, but smiled gently on her face.
"I do hope that I will be carrying a princess, as well as the third princess of Consort Ma Jia, who is so well-behaved and lovely."
Kangxi was taken aback.
With a hearty laugh, Kangxi said, "Whether it's a princess or a prince, they are all my and the Empress's children, born of the Empress herself. The princess born to Lady Magiya is still an infant in swaddling clothes, and I don't know if she can..."
After a pause, Kangxi swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue, changed the subject, and said with a smile, "I have few children. Now I only have Saiyinchaze, the third princess, born to Lady Magiya, and Baoqing, born to Lady Nara."
"Whether it is Saiyinchaze or Baoqing, they are ultimately just sons of concubines, and their status is not as noble as that of the Empress's legitimate son. I hope that the Empress's next child will be a prince."
"After having a legitimate son, the Empress should give birth to a legitimate princess. It would be ideal to have both a son and a daughter."
The Empress lowered her eyes slightly and respectfully replied, "Yes."
After a moment's thought, the Empress gently raised her eyes and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, there are Consort Zhang, Consort Ma, your concubine, and Consort Zhao in the palace who are pregnant with the imperial heir. Your Majesty will surely have more and more children."
Kangxi responded.
"Zhaojia clan?"
The Empress smiled slightly and said, "Your Majesty, although Consort Zhaojia has only been in the palace for two years, she has been very fortunate. This morning, the head maid of Zhongcui Palace came to my palace to report that Consort Zhaojia is pregnant and is two months along."
"Um."
Emperor Kangxi responded, "Zhaojia is a blessed woman."
The Empress smiled but remained silent.
After pondering for a long time, Emperor Kangxi spoke in a deep voice, "Empress, last night I favored Xu, the palace maid who serves you. Xu is gentle and considerate, and I am very satisfied with her. I have decided to promote her to the rank of concubine."
"The Xu family?"
The Empress felt bitter inside, but on the surface she was gentle and virtuous, and said with a smile, "When Xu first came to serve me, I felt that she was clever and quick-witted. Now that His Majesty has made Xu a concubine, it is her good fortune."
Emperor Kangxi nodded.
After a pause, the Empress smiled and asked, "Since Your Majesty intends to bestow the title of Consort Xu upon her, then, may I ask which palace Your Majesty plans to place Consort Xu in? Among the Six Palaces of the East and West, Yongshou Palace is where Consort Hui resided before her death, Yikun Palace..."
"Yikun Palace is spacious and magnificent, second only to Tong Jia's Chengqian Palace."
The Empress's words were full of profound meaning.
Emperor Kangxi's expression changed, and he frowned, deep in thought.
Inside Chengqian Palace,
"You're saying that the Emperor favored a palace maid in the Empress's palace, made her a concubine, and granted her residence in Yikun Palace?"
Consort Tongjia's face was so gloomy it seemed to drip water, her beautiful eyes burning with raging anger. Finally, she slumped onto the jeweled couch with a look of dejection and helplessness, muttering softly:
"The Ma Jia clan, the Na La clan, the Zhang clan, the Dong clan, and the Zhao Jia clan—does Your Majesty really favor those palace maids of lowly birth?"
The head palace maid, Xiuqin, lowered her head slightly and said respectfully, "Your Highness, you must not say such things."
"Both thunder and rain are blessings from Heaven. No matter where Consort Xu's background is, it can never surpass Your Majesty's. Your Majesty is of noble birth, being the niece of Empress Xiaokangzhang and the Emperor's cousin."
After a pause, the head palace maid Xiuqin lowered her voice and said, "Your Majesty, if I may presume to say something presumptuous, in the entire palace, even the Empress's birth is not as noble as Your Majesty's."
"Your Majesty, you are born into the Empress's family, and are the Emperor's own cousin!"
Tongjia snorted coldly, forcing herself to calm down.
Seeing this, another palace maid, Xiuhe, quickly offered her a cup of warm tea.
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