Consort Hesheli uttered a shocking and unconventional statement.
Upon hearing this, Xu Lejin looked at Consort Hesheli with a stunned expression.
turn out to be,
Consort Hesheli came to the west wing of Yikun Palace today for the sake of the Empress's position!
Although the Hesheli clan was a prominent Manchu clan and the ancestral home of Empress Xiaochengren, the Hesheli concubine's family was incorporated into the bondservant banner, making the Hesheli concubine merely a distant cousin of Empress Hesheli.
The bolder a person is, the more they dare to dream.
Consort Hesheli, now so arrogant and ignorant, dares to try and seize the position of Empress!
After pondering for a long time, Xu Lejin looked at Consort Hesheli and timidly said, "Sister Hesheli, I don't know how I can help you? I am just a humble person with little influence, and I am also pregnant with the emperor's child. I'm afraid I can't offer you any advice."
After speaking, Xu Lejin lowered her head, a cold smile playing on her lips.
“Sister Xu is too modest. You are carrying the imperial heir, which is your greatest source of confidence. I don’t need you to do anything. You just need to say a few good words for me when the Emperor comes to visit you.”
After a pause, Consort Hesheli did not forget to make a grand promise.
“Sister Xu, if I become Empress, I will definitely petition the Emperor to make you a concubine.”
Xu Lejin was filled with excitement and gratitude, and quickly said, "Thank you, Sister Hesheli. I will do my best and speak well of you in front of the Emperor."
Consort Hesheli wore a virtuous smile on her face, but in her heart she sneered and despised.
Despite her hypocrisy, Consort Hesheli and Xu Lejin exchanged pleasantries for half an hour in the west wing of Yikun Palace before Hesheli, with her maids, left Yikun Palace with haughty expressions.
After seeing off Consort Hesheli, Xu Lejin gave a cold laugh.
"Ha, she's quite the schemer, actually coveting the Empress's position? Although she is the late Empress's cousin, she has never been favored since entering the palace, and she has no children. Her maternal family outside the palace is not trusted by the Emperor either. What virtue or ability does she have to become Empress?"
Yingchun responded softly, "Since Your Highness thinks Consort Hesheli is delusional, why did you agree to help her and speak well of her to the Emperor?"
Xu Lejin picked up the teacup beside her and took a small sip.
Xu Lejin chuckled and said, "It's just a delaying tactic. After the Empress passed away, the Emperor rarely went to the inner palace. Even when he did, he only visited the palaces of a few concubines who were of noble birth and favored by the Emperor."
"His Majesty has already decided to appoint a new Empress. As long as His Majesty does not come to my place before appointing the new Empress, I will have a reason to appease Consort Hesheli. Even if His Majesty does come to my place, I can still say that I am of low status and have little influence."
After a moment's thought, Yingchun smiled and replied, "Yes."
Afternoon, 5-7 PM.
Xu Lejin, heavily pregnant, strolled leisurely through Yikun Palace, followed by her two aunts, Chunhua and Qiuyan, as well as Yingchun, Zhishu, and others.
"Your Highness, is this Consort Chu Yun?"
Not far away, two 'sneaky' figures appeared in Xu Lejin's line of sight. Yingchun looked closely and whispered to Xu Lejin to report.
Xu Lejin nodded and said with a smile, "It is indeed Sister Chuyun."
"At this hour, why is Sister Chuyun not resting in the East Annex Hall? Why is she here at the back gate of Yikun Palace?"
Yingchun and Zhishu exchanged a glance and quickly said, "I don't know."
Xu Lejin frowned and pondered. At this moment, Aunt Chunhua and Aunt Qiuyan exchanged a glance and said with a smile, "Your Highness, Consort Chuyun may just be passing by. Your Highness is carrying the imperial fetus and is quite heavy. Why don't you go back to your room and rest early?"
"Um."
Xu Lejin looked at the setting sun. "The sun has been scorching these past few days, and it seems like it hasn't rained for four or five days. Zhishu, go back and get some silver to the Imperial Kitchen to cook a big pot of mung bean soup and distribute it to the palace servants of Yikun Palace."
Zhi Shu smiled and replied, "Yes, Your Highness is kind. This servant will do my best to complete the tasks assigned by Your Highness."
Xu Lejin had just returned to the west wing of Yikun Palace when Ru Hua entered the hall with a joyful expression and respectfully reported to Xu Lejin: "Your Highness, great news! Just now, Eunuch Li from the Imperial Household Department came to deliver a message that His Majesty will be visiting our west wing during dinner."
"Is His Majesty coming to my place for dinner?"
Xu Lejin's face lit up with joy upon hearing this.
In any case, the fact that Kangxi was willing to come to her shows that she was not an insignificant figure in the palace. Furthermore, the more often Kangxi visited her west side hall, the more attention she would receive after her child was born.
For the sake of her child and for the future, she naturally hoped that Kangxi would visit more often.
Night fell.
Xu Lejin smiled gently and said to Kangxi, "Your Majesty, this is a new lotus leaf chicken developed by the Imperial Kitchen. It is made by using fresh lotus leaves, feeding young hens that have been raised for half a year, adding tender lotus flower stamens and various seasonings, wrapping it in yellow mud, and roasting it over charcoal for an hour."
"This concubine finds the taste very delicious; Your Majesty, please try it."
As she spoke, Xu Lejin used silver chopsticks to place the most tender and succulent piece of chicken breast into the white jade bowl in front of Kangxi.
Kangxi's gaze fell on the table, on the lotus leaf-wrapped chicken.
With a hearty laugh, Kangxi said, “My dear consort, you are pregnant, so let Chunhua and Qiuyan handle the serving. This lotus leaf chicken, although the preparation is not very elegant, has been praised so highly by you, so I will try it.”
Xu Lejin smiled gently.
Emperor Kangxi ate a small piece of lotus leaf chicken and was immediately captivated by its deliciousness. The tender and succulent chicken, combined with the fragrance of lotus leaves and flowers, was indeed a rare delicacy.
Xu Lejin considered for a moment, then smiled and said, "Your Majesty, while the method of making lotus leaf chicken may not be considered refined, the taste is excellent. The Imperial Kitchen imitates the folk dish 'Beggar's Chicken' in its preparation."
Emperor Kangxi put down his silver chopsticks, still savoring the moment, and looked at Xu Lejin with doting eyes.
What is beggar's chicken?
Xu Lejin smiled and said, “It is said that there was once a beggar who begged for a chicken, but he had no pots and pans. So he came up with a plan: he wrapped the whole chicken in leaves, covered it with yellow mud, and put it in the fire to cook it.”
"It was a desperate act by the beggar. Unexpectedly, the chicken wrapped in yellow mud tasted exceptionally delicious. As a result, beggar's chicken became very popular among the people and became a delicious dish."
Emperor Kangxi nodded.
After a moment of contemplation, he looked at Xu Lejin and said loudly, "The wisdom of the people is boundless. I have been living in the imperial court for so long that I have forgotten the suffering of the common people. Today, my beloved consort's words have made me realize the truth."
"I remember that when Empress Xiaochengren first entered the palace, she often mentioned interesting stories about the common people to me."
With a soft sigh, Kangxi's thoughts drifted away.
After a long while, Kangxi looked at Xu Lejin and murmured, "Now that the Empress has passed away, my beloved consort used to be in the Empress's palace. It must have been because the Empress couldn't bear to see me lonely in the palace that she specially arranged for my beloved consort to come to my side. My beloved consort is intelligent and has the same grace and charm as the Empress when she first entered the palace..."
Xu Lejin was stunned for a moment, and with the help of Yingchun and Zhishu, she knelt down respectfully.
"This humble servant is terrified. Your Majesty the Empress is the mother of the nation and comes from a noble family. This humble servant is of lowly birth and dares not compare with Your Majesty. Your Majesty's favor towards this humble servant is the greatest blessing I can receive."
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