Xu Lejin glanced at Kangxi in surprise, then frowned and pondered.
After a moment, Xu Lejin murmured to herself, “Your Majesty, Ruhua is still young. I was thinking of keeping Ruhua by my side for a few more years. Yingchun, on the other hand, is older, and I have noticed that Yingchun is acting suspiciously.”
With a quick glance around, Xu Lejin's expression suddenly brightened.
Looking intently at Kangxi, Xu Lejin smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I think Yingchun and my second cousin are a better match in terms of age."
“Yingchun is twenty-four, and my second cousin is twenty-three. If it were Ruhua, she would be too young and would need her second cousin to coax her. She wouldn’t be able to take good care of my cousin’s daughter at all. My cousin’s daughter lost her mother when she was one year old and is very weak.”
“Now that I am a mother, I feel very sad whenever I think of my cousins, such little girls who have lost their mother. Although Ushiha and Unaxi are young, they will be choosing companions to study with in a few years. I come from a humble background and I am always worried that they will be mistreated if they choose companions from noble families.”
With a fawning smile on her face, Xu Lejin's eyes sparkled as she looked at Kangxi.
"Your Majesty, when choosing study companions for Ushiha and Unashi, could you please select one or two from my family? I only hope that they grow up happily and healthily, marry into ordinary families, be good wives and mothers, and give birth to many well-behaved and adorable grandchildren for Your Majesty and for me."
Xu Lejin became more and more enthusiastic as she spoke, while Kangxi's head was buzzing.
Although she was very unhappy, and the spring night was too short, Xu Lejin talked about the marriage of the palace maids and what the children would do when they grew up. But Kangxi couldn't help but imagine what it would be like when his children grew up and started their own families.
Kangxi fell into a deep sleep amidst Xu Lejin's incessant chatter, emitting soft snores.
The sound of the autumn wind whistling outside the window came from time to time. Xu Lejin had a sly look on her face, and she slightly curled her lips, looking like she had the victory in her grasp. She smiled and then fell asleep peacefully.
The next day, just after dawn, Kangxi got up to go to the morning court. Xu Lejin mustered her energy to serve Kangxi, personally helping him change his clothes and tie his hair.
Before leaving, Emperor Kangxi glanced at Xu Lejin and said with a refreshed expression, "I grant my request last night, my beloved consort."
"Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor!"
With a look of joy on her face, Xu Lejin quickly knelt down and performed a grand salute.
Kangxi shook his head, strode out of Yikun Palace, and headed towards the front court.
In the afternoon, just as Xu Lejin woke up from her nap, Liang Jiugong, an imperial attendant, personally came to the west side hall of Yikun Palace to deliver a message, bestowing a marriage upon Yingchun, the head palace maid serving Xu Lejin.
The wedding date was set for the second day of the twelfth lunar month. Yingchun was granted permission to leave the palace immediately and prepare for the wedding at Xu Muer's home in the capital.
Immediately afterwards, in the afternoon, the Imperial Household Department swiftly delivered Juxiang, a fourteen-year-old palace maid who had entered the palace two years prior, to Xu Lejin to fill the vacancy beside her.
After packing her luggage, Yingchun sincerely kowtowed to Xu Lejin in the west side hall to express her gratitude, "Your Highness, since the day I was selected to enter the palace, I never thought I would be able to leave the palace one day. Now..."
"I will never forget your great kindness and virtue in this lifetime. From now on, I am willing to serve you with all my heart and soul, and to do my utmost until my dying breath."
Yingchun's voice choked with emotion, her eyes filled with reluctance.
Xu Lejin beamed with joy and, with Lianzhi's help, personally helped Yingchun up. "His Majesty is benevolent and has bestowed a marriage upon you. Although it is only a verbal decree, it is one of the few that has been granted to a palace maid."
"When you marry your second cousin, you must live in harmony with him and be a loving and loving couple."
Yingchun respectfully replied, "Yes."
Xu Lejin gave a wink to Ruhua, who was second only to the head palace maid Lianzhi, and Ruhua smiled and presented an exquisitely crafted box.
The box was opened, revealing some gold and silver jewelry inside.
Xu Lejin smiled gently and said, "These are the dowry I prepared for you. They are not worth much money, so I hope you won't find them too expensive. In addition to the jewelry, I have already written to my mother to ask her to purchase fifty acres of fertile land for you as a dowry from the Xu Muer family."
"Thank you for the reward, Your Highness."
Nodding, Xu Lejin waved for Yingchun to leave the palace before it got dark.
Yingchun, a palace maid serving Xu Lejin, received a verbal marriage decree from Emperor Kangxi. The news quickly spread throughout the six palaces, and Consort Zhao, Consort Tongjia, and others were furious.
However, since it was an imperial edict personally issued by Emperor Kangxi, they could only swallow their resentment.
When the Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager Cining Palace learned of this, they thought about the cause and effect they knew and secretly sighed that the Emperor had really grown up and knew how to use both kindness and severity.
Yingchun, a palace maid serving Xu Muer, is the emperor's woman, and now she is being betrothed to him.
Although the marriage was merely a betrothal to the second son of the Xu family, a bondservant family, as a second wife, it was a clear message to the palace servants who secretly obeyed the emperor and served him: those who did their jobs well would be richly rewarded.
Late October.
As the weather grew colder day by day, Xu Lejin put on her thick winter clothes early.
Ru Hua rushed in from outside the palace, panting, and said, "Your Highness, something terrible has happened. This afternoon, Consort Zhao somehow found out that Consort Ma Jia's miscarriage was caused by accidentally eating something cold, and that it was all a staged drama."
"Consort Zhao was furious and went to Zhongcui Palace with her people to question Consort Ma Jia. A conflict broke out over a disagreement, and Consort Ma Jia accidentally pushed Consort Zhao to the ground, breaking Consort Zhao's arm."
Xu Lejin looked surprised upon hearing this.
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