As night fell, the Forbidden City was shrouded in a hazy twilight.
Xu Lejin sat upright at the table, picked up a cup of tea, took a few sips, and looked at Jing'er who was carefully serving her in the hall. A faint smile appeared on her lips.
Zhi Shu hurried in from outside the palace and said respectfully, "Your Highness, this afternoon Consort Hesheli went to the Empress's palace. After Consort Hesheli stayed in the Empress's palace for about half an hour, Your Highness's half-sister, Miss Xingxi, accidentally broke a teacup in the Empress's palace."
After a pause, Zhishu glanced at Jing'er, whose eyes were lowered, and then spoke again. "Her Majesty the Empress is kind and benevolent, and has not punished Miss Xingxi."
"Okay, I understand!"
Xu Lejin smiled gently, glanced at the night outside, and said softly, "My twelfth sister, Xingxi, has been clever and quick-witted since childhood. Now that she has been favored by the Empress, she is serving in Kunning Palace. She must be thriving there."
"Her Majesty the Empress relies heavily on her twelfth sister, so naturally she can't bear to punish her."
Zhi Shu smiled and agreed.
Xu Lejin changed the subject, looked at Jing'er, and smiled as she spoke again. "Jing'er, you've been serving me for almost a month now. Have you encountered any difficulties adjusting during this time?"
"Although I am pregnant with the emperor's child, the emperor is busy with affairs of state and rarely has the mind to go to the harem. Even when he does go to the harem, it is to the palace of the empress, the palace of the concubine of Chuxiu, the palace of Chengqian, or the palace of a few high-ranking concubines."
"Thank you for your care, Your Highness. I am well. Aunt Yingchun and Sister Zhishu have been very kind to me."
Jing'er's heart skipped a beat, but she forced a calm smile and replied.
Xu Lejin nodded slightly, smiling without saying a word.
The next day, news spread through the palace that Consort Hesheli of Changchun Palace was unwell and was recuperating in Changchun Palace. The Empress, being kind and benevolent, exempted Consort Hesheli from the daily morning and evening greetings.
Before we knew it, it was the first day of April.
According to custom, Emperor Kangxi would stay in the Empress's Kunning Palace on the first and fifteenth of each month.
In the afternoon, Emperor Kangxi visited the Empress's palace and dined with her.
"Your Majesty, I have heard that your cousin, Hesheli, is unwell and is currently resting in Changchun Palace. It is late spring and early summer, and the weather is still chilly. Your Majesty should remind the concubines in the harem to take care of their health."
After a moment of contemplation, Emperor Kangxi looked at the Empress and spoke in a deep voice.
The Empress paused for a moment, then smiled and replied, "Yes, Your Majesty, I will obey your orders and will certainly remind my sisters in the harem to take care of their health."
Kangxi paused for a moment, then spoke.
"Among the concubines in the harem, those who are currently pregnant are the Empress, Lady Magiya, Lady Zhaojia, and Lady Xu. Your Kunning Palace is the central palace, so the people of the Imperial Household Department dare not deduct your allowance. As for Lady Magiya and Lady Zhaojia's palaces, the Empress should have someone keep an eye on the Imperial Household Department."
"As for Lady Xu of Yikun Palace, she is pregnant with twins. The Empress has instructed the Imperial Household Department to increase her allowance by 30%."
The Empress was taken aback. She was very unwilling, but she had no choice but to obediently reply, "Yes."
Emperor Kangxi looked up at the sky outside, his brows furrowed.
"Your Majesty, I am currently nine months pregnant and it is not appropriate for me to serve you. Consort Hesheli is also unwell. Therefore, I have specially selected a young and beautiful maid from among the palace maids and plan to have her sent to the Qianqing Palace to serve Your Majesty later. I wonder what Your Majesty thinks?"
Emperor Kangxi laughed heartily, looked at the Empress, and said, "The Empress's choices are naturally excellent. The Shangjia and Fanjia clans in the harem are both gentle and considerate."
"In the Empress's palace, Chu Yun, who used to serve me, is also quite good."
After a brief pause, Kangxi smiled and said, "The affairs of the court are busy, and the Rebellion of the Three Feudatories has not yet been quelled. It is not appropriate for the harem to have any new concubines. I am thinking, tonight, why not have Chuyun from your palace serve you in the Qianqing Palace? What do you think, Empress?"
"Chu Yun?"
The Empress paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "It is the Emperor's good fortune to have taken a liking to Chuyun. However, Chuyun caught a cold a few days ago and is not yet fully recovered. I am worried that Chuyun may pass on her illness to Your Majesty and harm your health."
"The palace maid I have chosen is named Xingxi. Her looks and figure are no less than Chuyun's, and she is also obedient and gentle. I think Your Majesty will like her."
Emperor Kangxi looked displeased, but he did not refuse the Empress's arrangements.
Before leaving Kunning Palace, Kangxi instructed the Empress to later arrange for palace servants to send the maid Xingxi to Qianqing Palace to serve him in bed...
West side hall of Yikun Palace.
In the dead of night, Zhishu entered the palace in a flustered manner.
Yingchun glared at Zhishu, lowered her voice, and scolded her sternly, "What kind of behavior is this, all flustered and disorderly? The young mistress is practicing calligraphy right now and needs quiet."
"aunt,"
Zhi Shu opened her mouth, but swallowed the words that were about to come out.
After writing the last few words, Xu Lejin put down the fine wolf-hair brush in her hand, washed her hands with the help of Jing'er and Ruhua, and said with a soft smile, "Zhishu is always calm and composed. He must be in a great hurry because something extremely important has happened."
"Yes, what you say is very true."
Yingchun lowered her eyes and smiled as she replied.
Xu Lejin looked up at Zhishu and said softly, "Tonight is the first day of the fourth month. According to custom, the Emperor is supposed to stay in the Empress's Kunning Palace. But what happened in the Empress's palace?"
"Your Majesty, everything is well in Her Majesty's palace."
After a moment's hesitation, Zhi Shu said, "Your Highness, this evening Her Majesty the Empress recommended your half-sister, Miss Xingxi, to the Emperor. Miss Xingxi has already been sent to the Qianqing Palace to serve him."
Xu Lejin paused for a moment, her expression indifferent.
Jing'er, who was holding a basin of hot water for washing with her head down, was stunned and surprised when she heard this. Her hands froze, and the hot water spilled on the ground, wetting Xu Lejin's dress.
With a thud, Jing'er immediately knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, begging for forgiveness, "Please forgive me, my lady, please forgive me, I deserve to die, I deserve to die, I didn't mean to."
Xu Lejin's expression darkened, and she looked at Jing'er with a meaningful gaze.
Jing'er felt fearful and uneasy.
After a long while, Xu Lejin said coldly, "I know what you're thinking. You're just jealous that Xu Xingxi, who was a palace maid like you, was favored by the Empress and went to the Qianqing Palace to serve the Emperor, while you've been by my side for a month and haven't even seen the Emperor's face."
"This servant wouldn't dare, this servant wouldn't dare."
Jing'er lay prostrate on the ground, her heart pounding in her throat.
Xu Lejin smiled and said, "The Empress bestowed you upon me as a palace maid so that you could attract the Emperor's attention when he visits Yikun Palace and successfully become his bedchamber maid, right?"
"It's just a pity that the Emperor is so busy with state affairs that he rarely goes to the inner palace."
Jing'er looked up in terror, staring blankly at Xu Lejin, momentarily losing all sense of propriety.
After a long while, Jing'er lowered her head and said respectfully, "Your Highness, this servant has no such intentions. Her Majesty the Empress bestowed this servant upon you so that I, along with Aunt Yingchun and Sister Zhishu, could serve you and ensure your safe delivery of the imperial heir..."
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