The woman, kneeling on the ground and trying to minimize her presence, kept her head down and remained silent.
She wanted to attract the emperor's attention with her dance, so she went to the Imperial Garden's Thousand Carp Pond to practice dancing late at night. Unexpectedly, she met the emperor in the Imperial Garden.
But she wasn't ready yet?
After a long silence from the woman on the ground, Kangxi spoke coldly, "Which palace are you from? I feel like I've seen you before."
"Your Majesty, this servant..."
The woman on the ground paused for a moment, then slowly raised her head and met Kangxi's gaze. "Your Majesty, I serve in the Empress's palace. Tonight, I came to the Imperial Garden to dance on a whim, not intending to disturb Your Majesty. Please forgive me."
Emperor Kangxi's expression was solemn.
"Are you from the Empress's palace? What's your name?"
The woman in plain palace attire on the ground paused for a moment, then spoke respectfully, “This servant’s name is Nongyu. I used to be a head maidservant by Her Majesty the Empress’s side. Because I was foolish and did something wrong, Her Majesty the Empress punished me by making me a third-class maidservant.”
Kangxi's gaze swept over Nongyu.
After a long while, Kangxi laughed heartily, "With your beauty and dancing skills, it's a disservice to you to be a third-class palace maid in the Empress's palace..."
Nong Yu looked up in surprise.
Kangxi turned and walked away, while Nongyu knelt in the moonlight, unable to come back to her senses for a long time.
The following evening, Xu Lejin was embroidering children's clothes in the west wing of Yikun Palace when Yingchun entered from outside the palace with a solemn expression, opening her mouth as if to speak but then stopping herself.
Xu Lejin looked up at Yingchun and smiled as she asked, "What is it? Why are you hesitating?"
"Your Highness, it's from the Empress's palace."
Yingchun carefully chose her words and said softly, "This afternoon, the Emperor went to the Empress's palace for a meal. For some reason, he took a fancy to Nongyu, a third-class palace maid in the Empress's palace, and specifically asked Nongyu to serve him in the Qianqing Palace tonight. Nongyu has already been taken to the Qianqing Palace to prepare."
Upon hearing this, Xu Lejin smiled gently.
“Nongyu is young and beautiful, and she had already attracted the Emperor’s attention. It was expected that she would be chosen by the Emperor to serve him in bed. The person who is most unhappy about Nongyu serving the Emperor should be the Empress, followed by my good half-sister Xu Xingxi.”
Yingchun nodded with a smile, "What you say is very true, Your Highness."
"Miss Nongyu will be serving the Emperor tonight. I wonder what title the Emperor will give her after this. After all, she is the one the Emperor himself has chosen, and she is from the Empress's palace. It is only natural that the Emperor would treat her specially."
Xu Lejin smiled slightly and looked up at Yingchun.
Setting down the half-finished children's clothes, Xu Lejin glanced at the night outside the palace and spoke softly, "His Majesty may bestow upon Nongyu the title of Consort, or he may keep Nongyu as a palace maid before the Emperor."
"Whether she is granted the title of concubine or stays in the imperial court as a palace maid, it is an excellent way out for Nongyu and a great favor bestowed upon her by the emperor."
Yingchun smiled and agreed.
Inside Kunning Palace.
After having lunch, Emperor Kangxi specifically requested that Nongyu from the Empress's palace come to the Qianqing Palace to serve him that night. The Empress then sat in the main hall with a gloomy face.
As night fell, Nongyu was sent to the Qianqing Palace.
As the moon rose above the willow branches, Yun Cui looked up at the night outside and said softly, "Your Highness, it's getting late. You should rest now. I've had a midnight snack prepared for you. Please have some to tide you over."
"I can't eat."
The Empress looked sorrowful, staring blankly at the outside of Kunning Palace.
Yun Cui sighed softly and said carefully, "Your Majesty, I know you are sad, but for the sake of the little prince in your womb, Your Majesty must eat something."
"Yuncui, Nongyu is in Qianqing Palace right now, she should have already served the emperor, right?"
The Empress murmured her question, her heart filled with a bitter taste, as if she had swallowed a bitter herb.
Yun Cui lowered her head and replied respectfully.
“Your Majesty, even if Nongyu were to serve the Emperor, her background would still be far inferior to yours. Your Majesty is the Empress, whom the Emperor married through proper channels, and the head of the inner palace. Your status is noble, while Nongyu is merely a palace maid selected from the Imperial Household Department.”
"If Nongyu is lucky, she might be bestowed the title of concubine by the emperor; if she is unlucky, she will just be a palace maid who serves the emperor."
After a pause, Yun Cui slightly raised her eyes, glanced at the Empress, and said softly, "Your Majesty, you are carrying the Emperor's child. Your most urgent task is to safely deliver the little prince in your womb. As for Nong Yu..."
"The Emperor is the Son of Heaven, of noble status. Even if there is no Nongyu, there will be others to serve him in bed."
The Empress's gloomy expression eased considerably.
"I know all this, but I still feel uneasy. There is a Xu woman in the palace who came from my Kunning Palace. She was made a concubine and became pregnant with the emperor's child. Do we have to have a second Xu woman now?"
"If His Majesty favors other concubines, or takes a fancy to a princess from a high-ranking official's family, I can accept it. The only thing I cannot accept is His Majesty favoring a palace maid in my own palace."
Yun Cui was taken aback.
Lowering her voice, Yun Cui said with a smile, "My Lady, Nongyu is favored by the Emperor, but what about her background? What if the Emperor favors another concubine in the palace and she becomes pregnant with his child?"
“If His Majesty takes a fancy to the princesses of the ministers in the court, such as Consort Chuxiu, Consort Chengqian, Consort Li, and Consort Wanyan, they would be a great threat to Your Majesty.”
Yun Cui paused, and seeing the Empress deep in thought with a stern face, she continued in a voice barely audible, "Your Majesty, the mothers of several imperial heirs in the palace are of lowly birth. Only in this way can the nobility of the imperial child in Your Majesty's womb be highlighted."
"Although the young princes and princesses in the palace are all of the emperor's blood, their birth mothers are of lowly status, and from the day they are born, they are already divided into different classes."
The Kunning Palace was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
The empress pondered for a long time before suddenly realizing what was happening.
Indeed, in the palace, there are mothers who gain status through their sons, and sons who gain status through their mothers. Princes whose mothers are of lowly birth are naturally not valued by the emperor, just like Prince Gong Changning and Prince Chun Longxi during the reign of the previous emperor.
If the late emperor had not had few children, and Prince Gong and Prince Chun were among the emperor's few brothers, why would they have been granted the title of idle prince?
Prince Gong and Prince Chun had the status of princes, but not the substance of princes.
After a long silence, the Empress spoke in a deep voice to Yun Cui, instructing, "Have someone keep an eye on the Qianqing Palace. Report to me immediately if there's any news. I want to see how the Emperor will treat Nongyu."
"In addition, the news of Nongyu's favor was revealed to the two women in Chuxiu Palace and Chengqian Palace, as well as Ma Jia from Zhongcui Palace and Xu from Yikun Palace."
Yun Cui respectfully agreed.
After serving the Empress until she was ready to rest, Yun Cui left the inner room with a sigh of relief. She exchanged a glance with Chu Qiao and Bi Xin, who were waiting at the door of the inner room, and the three of them understood each other without saying a word.
Chu Qiao spoke softly, "Sister Yun Cui, Nong Yu is extremely fortunate. She has already been demoted to a third-class palace maid by the Empress, but she still has a chance to turn things around."
"Yes, Nongyu is beautiful. The Empress was worried about her before and found a fault to punish her by making her a third-class palace maid. But after all the twists and turns, Nongyu still caught the Emperor's eye."
Yun Cui gazed at the moon high in the night sky and sighed softly. "After tonight, there will be another palace maid, or perhaps a concubine, in the palace."
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