Day 2
Consort Mu sat comfortably in the main seat of the rear hall of Xianfu Palace, gazing lovingly at the Eighth Prince in his swaddling clothes, imagining her future life as a concubine and imperial consort, a life of boundless glory.
Mu Jin, the palace maid who served Consort Mu, hurried in from outside the hall and respectfully reported, "Your Highness, Consort Lan and Consort Xiao from the side hall are requesting an audience outside."
"Lan Changzai and Xiao Yingtai?"
Consort Mu was taken aback for a moment, then spoke in a cold voice, "Is it Lan Changzai and Xiao Yingying, whom the Empress Dowager recommended to serve the Emperor through Consort Yu, and whom the Emperor only favored once or twice?"
Mu Jin replied softly, "Yes, Your Highness."
A contemptuous and disdainful sneer appeared on his face.
"Lady Lan and Consort Xiao aren't exactly favored either. Tell them that I'm in a bad mood today and don't want to see them. Tell them to go back to where they came from."
Mu Jin was taken aback for a moment, then lowered her head and quickly thought it over. "Your Highness, Consort Lan and Consort Xiao said they have something important to report to you."
"oh?"
Consort Mu snorted coldly and said, "Since that's the case, then let them in. I'm very curious what important things they have to report."
Fifteen minutes later
Consort Mu, her face grim, stared at Consort Lan and Consort Xiao, and spoke coldly, "Did she really say that? Guarjia clan..."
Lan Changzai wore a fawning smile and quickly exchanged a glance with Xiao Yingying.
"Yes, Consort Jing did say that. My sister Xiao and I have served in the palace for a long time and have several close sisters."
"In the east side hall of Consort Jing, there is a third-class palace maid named Xiaoju, who is from the same hometown as Xiaomei."
Consort Mu: "..."
Afternoon
Xu Lejin flipped through the account books sent by the Imperial Household Department, thinking that with the end of the year approaching, the palace servants had worked hard all year and it was time to give them some rewards.
Annual rewards were an unwritten rule in the palace.
Whether they were imperial concubines or palace maids and eunuchs, they would all receive a reward as the year drew to a close as a sign of appreciation. In addition,
The concubines who had given birth to princes and princesses and had served Emperor Kangxi for a long time should be promoted in rank!
In the past, these things were done by the Empress. But now there is no Empress or Imperial Noble Consort in the palace. She and Consort Que are both Noble Consorts, and she respects her more. So she should mention the matter of promoting the concubines to higher ranks in front of Emperor Kangxi.
The imperial favor should be shared by all the sisters in the palace.
Liu Ying, her face grave, hurried in from outside the hall and respectfully reported, "Your Majesty, something has happened at Xianfu Palace! Consort Mu and Consort Jing, for some unknown reason, suddenly started fighting!"
"Consort Jing's face was scratched, and Consort Mu was pushed to the ground by Consort Jing, and she immediately started bleeding."
Xu Lejin was taken aback upon hearing this.
"Consort Jing's face was scratched, and Consort Mu was pushed to the ground and bleeding?"
"With the year drawing to a close, why did Consort Jing and Consort Mu suddenly get into a fight?"
The fireflies lowered their heads and remained silent.
After a moment, Xu Lejin said coldly, "Investigate."
Dusk falls
Xu Lejin did not wait for Liu Ying, but instead waited for Consort Mu and Consort Jing.
Consort Mu was being supported by a palace maid; her face was pale, as if she had lost too much blood, while Consort Jing had bandages wrapped around her face and was glaring fiercely at Consort Mu.
"Your Highness, Consort Yu, please do justice for me!" Consort Jing knelt on the ground first, sobbing softly.
Although Consort Mu was a step too late, she knelt down immediately afterward.
"Your Highness, Consort Yu, I have just finished my postpartum confinement period and am still weak and not fully recovered. Consort Jing pushed me to the ground, and I injured myself and bled on the spot."
Consort Jing glared fiercely at Consort Mu and said coldly, "It was clearly you who suddenly came to my residence, verbally abused me, and physically assaulted me."
"You even scratched my face, I don't know if it will leave a scar."
Consort Mu: "You shameless woman, you're turning the tables on me! It was clearly you who spoke ill of me behind my back, saying I was unworthy of my position, that I was of humble origins, old and faded, and that my only merit was giving birth to the Eighth Prince and receiving a title from the Emperor!"
"You even said that you would be the future head of Xianfu Palace, and that I was usurping your position!"
Consort Jing: "You are not from a bondservant family, you are not old and faded, so what are you? A widow who remarried entered the palace, seduced the emperor, and gave birth to the Eighth Prince. What right do you have to move into the rear hall of Xianfu Palace?"
Consort Mu: "I...I'm not a widow. I was only engaged, but my fiancé died before I could marry him. When I served the Emperor, I was still a virgin."
Consort Jing: "Pah! You old hag..."
...
Consort Jing and Consort Mu, one after the other, started arguing in front of Xu Lejin in Yikun Palace, completely abandoning their composure as imperial concubines.
She's like a shrew from the marketplace.
With a 'smack', Xu Lejin slammed her hand on the table, her face stern.
Consort Mu and Consort Jing shut their mouths awkwardly, glaring fiercely at each other, wishing they could skin them alive, tear them apart, and chop them into eight pieces.
They wished they could eat its flesh and drink its blood.
"Consort Mu, Consort Jing, you are imperial concubines, not common women. Your every word and action represents the palace and the imperial family."
Xu Lejin glared at the two of them and said in a deep voice, "Fine, considering that Consort Mu gave birth to the Eighth Prince and Consort Jing also went through this ordeal, I will punish you by confining you to your rooms for half a year to reflect on your mistakes, copying the palace rules thirty times, and withholding your salary for half a year."
"Consort Yu"
Consort Mu looked displeased and opened her mouth to say something, but when she met Xu Lejin's cold gaze, she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
With her head down, she quickly thought to herself, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, when will I become a concubine? I will definitely avenge myself today."
Although Consort Jing was dissatisfied, she dared not offend her again. She lowered her head, swallowed her anger and resentment towards Consort Mu, who had caused her such a disaster, and also hated the person who had tipped off Consort Mu.
The two slunk away from Yikun Palace.
Xu Lejin watched the two figures disappear, sneered, and muttered, "The concubines in the palace are becoming increasingly ignorant of etiquette. Consort Mu is one thing, but she was sent to the palace through connections by the Guo Luoluo family and has never been taught manners by a headmistress. But Consort Jing…"
"Consort Jing is the legitimate daughter of the Guarjia clan. She has been carefully taught and nurtured since childhood. How could this be?"
Xu Lejin shook her head, her brows furrowing slightly.
"Of the new concubines whom the Emperor decreed to enter the palace, those from the Han Banner are quite well-behaved, but those from the Manchu Banner—Consort Jing, Consort Ma, and Consort Suochuoluo—..."
"Fine, since she was appointed to the palace by imperial decree, let the etiquette instructor teach her carefully!"
Ruhua and Nongying exchanged a glance, then lowered their heads and remained silent.
The following afternoon
When Emperor Kangxi arrived at Yikun Palace, he looked at Xu Lejin with a complicated expression, hesitating to speak, wondering to himself how to bring it up with her.
The imperial court and the harem were intertwined, and even as an emperor, he was helpless in the face of such a situation.
They may seem incredibly noble, but they can't actually do what they want.
"emperor,"
"My beloved concubine..."
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