Emperor Kangxi frowned and pondered for a long time before finally deciding to entrust his 23rd daughter to Consort Que for upbringing.
Firstly, Consort Que was Emperor Kangxi's cousin.
Secondly, Consort Que was forced to serve the emperor at a young age, which damaged her health and made it difficult for her to conceive in the future.
Thirdly, among the concubines in the harem, Consort Wan and Consort Ning were from the Khorchin Mongol tribe. Although they were now obedient and timid, they still...
Given the precedent set by Consort Xuanyi, it is possible that Consort Wan and Consort Ning deliberately feigned their identities.
In his heart, Emperor Kangxi was actually wary of the Khorchin.
The next day
Xu Lejin bowed and saw Kangxi off. After a quick moment of consideration, she instructed Nongying, who was serving her, "Nongying, go to Consort Que's palace and tell her that things have been accomplished."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Nongying bowed in agreement and quickly retreated.
Ru Hua raised her eyes, quickly glanced at Xu Lejin, then lowered her head and spoke softly, "Your Majesty, this servant does not understand why Your Majesty is helping Consort Que."
"Your Highness Consort Que is a fellow consort with you. If she has a princess, she will inevitably be even more greedy and want a prince."
Xu Lejin smiled slightly, her lips curving upwards.
"No, Consort Que is not that kind of greedy person."
After a pause, Xu Lejin's expression turned indifferent as she murmured softly, "Of course, even if Consort Que is truly greedy and wants to raise another prince, that's fine too."
"To put it bluntly, just as I can ensure she has princes and princesses, I can also ensure she has none, leaving her with nothing."
Xu Lejin picked up the teacup beside her and took a small sip.
With a calm and composed expression, Xu Lejin spoke leisurely, "Although Consort Que is not very old, she is a smart woman and knows what is most beneficial to herself."
"Don't worry, Consort Que is not greedy and will not want to raise the prince any further."
With her lips pursed, Xu Lejin pondered inwardly that Consort Que hated Tong Guowei and the Tongjia clan to the core.
Consort Que currently maintains a superficial relationship with the Tongjia clan, only because her birth mother is still alive.
If Consort Que's birth mother were to pass away, given Consort Que's vengeful nature, she would inevitably turn against the Tongjia clan.
A father's kindness is essential for a daughter's filial piety; if the father is not kind, how can a daughter be filial?
When Tong Guowei mistreated Consort Que and her daughter, leaving them to fend for themselves, and allowed his wife to humiliate Consort Que's mother and nearly kill her, he should have known that one day he would suffer the consequences.
Chengqian Palace
Consort Que was pleased to receive the definite news.
Unable to hide her joy, Consort Que solemnly instructed the maid beside her, word by word, "Sang'er, you personally go and clean the side room next door."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Sang'er smiled and agreed, secretly happy for her master.
Leaning back on the soft couch, Consort Que's eyes shone brightly, filled with hope for the future, unlike her former lifeless and weary self.
With her lips slightly parted, Consort Que spoke softly, "I thought it would be several years before I could have my own child, but now everything is fine."
"After Consort Rui gave birth to the twenty-third princess, she lost her mind. The Emperor was furious and stripped her of her right to be the mother of the twenty-third princess. He decided to give the twenty-third princess to me and even change the imperial genealogy."
"The twenty-third daughter of the Emperor is now my own daughter. I will raise her well and give her the best."
After a pause, Consort Que frowned.
"Although Consort Rui is mentally unstable, should I eliminate any future troubles and make the Twenty-Third Imperial Daughter my child forever?"
"Consort Rui,"
After pondering for a while, Consort Que suddenly realized something.
With a smirk playing on her lips and a mocking, disdainful sneer, Consort Que said coldly, "Noble Lady Rui is mentally unstable and has been rejected by the Emperor. She is useless and poses no threat to me whatsoever."
"Very well, for the sake of the mother-daughter relationship between me and the Twenty-Third Princess, Consort Rui will spare her life for now and let her fend for herself in the palace!"
Cining Palace
The Empress Dowager knelt before the Buddha statue, chanting incantations.
Su Ma La Gu bowed and entered the hall to report to the Empress Dowager: "Your Majesty, news has come from the inner palace that the Emperor intends to entrust the twenty-third daughter born to Consort Rui to Consort Que for upbringing and to change the imperial genealogy."
"Um."
The Empress Dowager responded with a faint "yes".
Opening her tightly closed eyes, the Empress Dowager spoke softly, her voice frail and aged, "The Tongjia clan is second only to Consort Yu in rank in the palace. Because she was young when she served the emperor, she was unable to bear children. The emperor entrusted his twenty-third daughter to her care out of pity."
"Consort Rui?"
With a soft sigh, the Empress Dowager's eyes turned cold as she said, "If Consort Rui hadn't been so obsessed with the idea of giving birth to a princess and hadn't gone insane, the Tongjia clan might not have been able to raise the 23rd princess so easily."
"Well, in the end, even God is on their side..."
Sumalagu lowered her head slightly, lost in thought and remained silent.
After a short while, the Empress Dowager shook her head and murmured, "I am getting old and my body is not cooperating. I have only been reciting Buddhist scriptures for half an hour today, and I already feel extremely tired."
"Su Ma, help me to rest!"
July 19
On the day of the full moon celebration of the 23rd princess, Emperor Kangxi officially issued an edict to give the princess to Consort Que for upbringing and ordered the Imperial Clan Court to change the imperial genealogy to register the princess under Consort Que's name.
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