After seeing Kangxi off, Xu Lejin calmly instructed Yingchun and Zhishu to help her remove her makeup and change her clothes.
"Your Highness, before His Majesty left, he implied that he would return to Yikun Palace after visiting the Fifth Princess. Won't you wait for His Majesty?"
Yingchun lowered her voice and spoke softly.
Xu Lejin removed the nail guards from her hands, smiled sweetly, and said, "There's no need to wait. If nothing unexpected happens, His Majesty should stay at Zhongcui Palace tonight."
“Consort Ma Jia went to great lengths to intercept the Emperor from my place, how could she possibly let him return to my Yikun Palace?”
Yingchun paused for a moment, then exchanged a glance with Zhishu beside her.
“Your Highness, in Zhongcui Palace, Consort Ma Jia has just given birth and is still in her postpartum period, so she is not suitable to serve the Emperor. Consort Zhao Jia is also pregnant and is not suitable to serve the Emperor. The only one who can serve the Emperor is Consort Dong.”
Yingchun pondered for a moment, then asked, "Does Your Highness mean that His Majesty will be staying in Consort Dong's room tonight?"
"not necessarily."
Xu Lejin smiled faintly, "Consort Ma Jia and Consort Dong are not close, and she may not be willing to share the Emperor's favor with Consort Dong. Consort Ma Jia is indeed not suitable to serve the Emperor during her postpartum period, but she has young and beautiful palace maids by her side."
"The family of Consort Ma Jia is a branch of the Ma Jia clan, and they were incorporated into the Plain Yellow Banner as bondservant women. Many of their women serve in the palace. Now that Consort Ma Jia has given birth to a little princess, it is possible that she will recommend her cousins to serve the Emperor when she is unwell."
Yingchun nodded and said with a smile, "Yes, what you say is very true, Your Highness."
Xu Lejin glanced at the night outside.
With a gentle smile, she parted her lips slightly and said, "Yingchun, Zhishu, serve me as I rest!"
"yes."
Yingchun and Zhishu respectfully tidied Xu Lejin's bed and took off her shoes and socks.
When Emperor Kangxi arrived at Zhongcui Palace, Consort Ma Jia was overjoyed and immediately had her wet nurse bring the fifth princess to pay her respects to Kangxi. Kangxi saw that the fifth princess had a rosy and healthy complexion and showed no signs of spitting up milk, but his face was so gloomy that it seemed as if water could drip from it.
Consort Ma Jia carefully chose her words, then said awkwardly, "Your Majesty, the Fifth Princess did indeed spit up milk earlier, but I personally fed her milk, and she stopped spitting it up..."
"Yeah?"
Emperor Kangxi looked intently at Consort Ma Jia and said in a deep voice, "I never knew that you loved the Fifth Princess so much that you even breastfed her yourself."
A hint of unease flashed across Consort Ma Jia's face as she whispered softly.
"The fifth princess was carried by me for ten months; she is my own flesh and blood, so naturally I love her dearly. The fifth princess vomited milk and cried incessantly, so I had no choice but to feed her with my own breast milk."
"This humble servant knows her mistake and begs Your Majesty for punishment."
Kangxi sneered, "What wrong have you done? You have the heart of a loving mother, personally feeding my fifth daughter. How dare I punish you? If I were to punish you, wouldn't I be telling the people of the world that I do not like the fifth daughter you gave birth to, and that I, the Son of Heaven, favor sons over daughters when it comes to my offspring?"
"emperor……"
Consort Ma Jia looked surprised and quickly knelt down, saying respectfully, "Your Majesty, this concubine had no such intention."
"Your Majesty, please calm down! Your Majesty, please calm down!"
Kangxi remained silent for a long time.
"Ma Jia, since you love the Fifth Princess so much, from this day forward, the number of wet nurses for the Fifth Princess will be halved, and you, as the birth mother, will feed the Fifth Princess yourself. I want you to make sure that the Fifth Princess is raised to be healthy."
Consort Ma Jia looked up in surprise.
After a moment, Consort Ma Jia suppressed her helplessness and respectfully agreed.
As soon as Kangxi left Zhongcui Palace, the sound of porcelain shattering on the ground and Ma Jia's hysterical roar came from the east side hall where Consort Ma Jia lived.
Consort Zhao Jia and Consort Dong, who lived in Zhongcui Palace together, were secretly delighted.
Two flowers bloom, each representing a different branch.
After leaving Yikun Palace, Kangxi was in a bad mood and decided not to go to Xu Lejin's place there. With a gloomy face, he walked aimlessly down the long street, followed by Liang Jiugong and a group of palace servants who served him.
Before he knew it, Kangxi had arrived at the Imperial Garden.
After dismissing Liang Jiugong and the other palace servants who were following him, Kangxi walked into the Imperial Garden alone. Under the moonlight, the Imperial Garden was filled with a hazy and mysterious atmosphere.
The bright moonlight fell on Kangxi, casting a long shadow over him.
Kangxi continued walking deeper into the Imperial Garden. His heart, weary from the daily toil of governing the country, found a brief respite. At this moment, Kangxi seemed to have returned to many years ago, to the time when he was still a prince and had not yet ascended the throne.
Ascending the throne at the age of eight, under the tutelage of the Empress Dowager, Kangxi learned much, but also lost much.
He married at the age of twelve and assumed personal rule.
Empress Hesheli was originally a gentle and virtuous woman, but over the years in the palace, her temperament gradually changed, and her dignity and composure were replaced by jealousy and pettiness.
After Chenghu died young, he needed a legitimate son, so the Empress was pregnant with this child. He said he didn't care, but in fact he cared a lot about it.
Because of this emphasis, the Empress was indulged in many ways, and now...
Emperor Kangxi fell into deep thought, feeling utterly exhausted, and longed to relax quietly for a while to relieve his physical and mental fatigue.
As he walked, Kangxi arrived near the Thousand Carp Pond.
Under the moonlight, a woman dressed in plain clothes danced gracefully in a pavilion by the pond, attracting the attention of Emperor Kangxi. The moment the woman turned her head, her beautiful face was imprinted in Kangxi's eyes.
The woman's every movement—flicking her sleeves, turning her head, smiling gently, bending over, and twirling—captivated Emperor Kangxi.
A beauty under the moonlight, what beauty could be like this?
Emperor Kangxi stared blankly at the woman dancing in the pavilion.
After a long while, the woman finished her dance, carefully looked around, and lifted the hem of her dress to leave. Kangxi couldn't help but ask, "Who is dancing in the Imperial Garden?"
The woman, who was holding up the hem of her skirt, froze in place.
"This servant has disturbed Your Majesty. Please forgive me."
The dancing woman did not turn around. Her melodious voice rang out, and Kangxi felt that it sounded familiar, but he couldn't remember who it was. After a moment of stunned silence, the woman in plain palace attire had already walked a few steps away in a hurry.
Kangxi paused for a moment, then took long strides and chased after him.
The woman's slender, fair hand was grasped by Kangxi, forcing her to stop. Under the bright moonlight, her ears turned bright red, and she lowered her head slightly, feeling both ashamed and annoyed.
Emperor Kangxi asked in a deep voice, "Which palace maid are you from?"
"This servant girl..."
The woman was furious and angrily raised her head to look at Kangxi. But when she looked at him, she was stunned.
She quickly broke free from Kangxi's grip, knelt down with a thud, and said in a trembling voice, "This servant greets Your Majesty, long live the Emperor!"
Kangxi's face darkened as he looked down at the woman on the ground.
"I ask you, which palace maid are you from?"
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