That evening, the two, having gotten to know each other, both felt good about each other.
One person exclaimed, "Kangxi's technology was truly amazing! It wasn't a loss."
Double the joy! It's absolutely wonderful!
The next day, Emperor Kangxi visited Changchun Palace again, and it was another night filled with the warmth of spring, with the red quilts billowing in the breeze...
Only then did Kangxi stop entering the inner palace.
Having been favored by the emperor three times in a row was not a big deal for Kangxi in his early years. At that time, there were not many women in the harem that Kangxi found pleasing to the eye. Consort Rong, Consort De, Consort Yi, Noble Lady Cheng, Noble Lady Liang, etc., had all experienced being the emperor's favorite for a period of time.
Of course, the period of exclusive favor did not last long.
Now that Emperor Kangxi is getting old, the harem is in full bloom, with each concubine dressed in her finest attire, dazzling the eyes.
Kangxi's heart hardened further. He still had some tenderness for his former concubines, but now the young and tender concubines in the harem were becoming disposable to him.
Anning served the emperor for three consecutive days, and was generously rewarded afterward, which shows how much the emperor valued her.
Kangxi's attitude toward her determined the attitude of everyone in the harem toward her.
The high-ranking concubines in the harem shared a tacit understanding: they had seen through Kangxi's fickle nature and now that their children were grown up, they had less desire to compete for his favor. They were quite friendly towards Kangxi's successive new favorites.
If the new favorites are sensible and respectful to them, they won't be harassed even after the favor is gone. But if the new favorites are sensible and become arrogant and disrespectful to them, once Kangxi's novelty wears off, their lives will probably be difficult!
Anning was somewhat different from Kangxi's previous favorites; she came from a very good family.
To put it simply, given Anning's family background, even if she were to become a Noble Consort or Imperial Noble Consort without having children, there would be no opposition from the court. If she were to have children, and Emperor Kangxi wanted to make her Empress, probably no one could really stop him.
The family's heritage speaks for itself!
The sixth day after entering the palace, in the afternoon.
Chen Changzai came over with the clothes she had made herself.
"This concubine greets Your Majesty."
An Ning smiled and said, "Chen Changzai, there's no need for such formalities. Please sit down and let's talk!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After she sat down, Anning finally spoke: "Didn't the nanny already tell you that you only need to come once on the first and fifteenth of each month? Is there something wrong with the servants around you today?"
Chen Changzai smiled and shook her head: "Since Your Majesty came to Changchun Palace, my life has been much better. After being reprimanded by Granny Wulan, the palace servants around me have become much more diligent in their work. I have nothing of value, but I am quite good at embroidery, so I made a dress for Your Majesty."
An Ning found it amusing; could this be the legendary act of surrendering?
Granny Wulan had told her about the specifics of the three people living behind her.
Before serving Emperor Kangxi, Consort Chen was an embroidery maidservant serving Consort Duan. Her embroidery skills were truly remarkable.
It is said that the reason why Consort Duan pushed her out to serve the emperor was because the clothes she made for Consort Duan were praised by Emperor Kangxi, and she was also outstanding in appearance. Consort Duan reluctantly pushed her out.
"I've heard that your embroidery skills are superb. I appreciate your thoughtfulness. I'll accept the clothes. Clothes are a big item, and it wouldn't be good if you strained your eyes. Actually, a handkerchief or purse would suffice. Chunlan, go to the storeroom later and pick out two bolts of fabric to have someone send to Consort Chen. Now that I've received your clothes, I can't let you suffer a loss."
Chen Changzai was surprised by this unexpected joy.
"Thank you for your generous gift, Your Majesty."
Despite the large sums of money the Imperial Household Department spends on the harem each year, very little actually goes towards what is actually used for the women.
The lives of low-ranking concubines who were not favored in the palace were not as comfortable as those of favored daughters of wealthy landowners outside the palace! The Imperial Household Department treated the unfavored concubines even more differently, sometimes sending them food, clothing and other necessities that were not suitable for use outside the palace.
Anning rewarded her with two bolts of fabric, which saved her a lot of money and made her life much more comfortable.
Anning chatted with Chen Changzai for a few minutes, then let her leave.
After Consort Chen left, Bai Guo said, "Your Majesty, is Consort Chen perhaps trying to pledge allegiance to you?"
"I am the head of Changchun Palace, so there is no question of whether I should pledge allegiance or not. Since she is so willing, I am happy to give her face. Changchun Palace always needs someone to live there. Consort Chen seems to be quite well-behaved at the moment. I think as long as she doesn't cause trouble for Changchun Palace, it wouldn't hurt to give her some benefits."
This is called spending money to avoid trouble, and it's not even her money that's being spent.
The fabrics she provided were all sent by the ladies of the harem. She didn't intend to use them, and the palace maids couldn't use them anyway, so she gave them to Consort Chen to prevent them from spoiling in the storeroom.
Camellia: "Your Majesty, I heard that Consort Xia recently visited Consort Chen twice. The two talked alone in the room for a long time. Consort Xia also secretly spent a lot of money to buy rouge and face powder from the Imperial Household Department, and had her personal maid intentionally or unintentionally get close to Xiao Shanzi, trying to find out about your relationship with the Emperor. Could it be a trap that Consort Chen suddenly came to show goodwill?"
An Ning wasn't surprised.
Xia Yingying and Chen Changzai are not even thirty yet! In Anning's opinion, this is the best age for a woman. Consort De in the palace gave birth at nearly thirty, so it's normal for her to have thoughts about it; it would be strange if she didn't!
"You're keeping an eye on them, aren't you? Have someone keep an eye on them. If the Emperor remembers them, there's no need to stop him. If the Emperor doesn't remember them, then let it go."
The women in the harem were all vying for the emperor's favor. It was neither shameful nor disgraceful for Consort Xia to have such ambitions. After all, everyone wants to strive for advancement.
Since they were all Kangxi's women, she really couldn't control whether Kangxi favored them or not. She wouldn't pimp them out, but...
"Of course, if anyone wants to climb up the social ladder by stepping on my face, they don't need to be polite."
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