That evening, to express their gratitude to Emperor Kangxi, the two got along very well.
Kangxi's skills in bed were indeed excellent, and Anning felt it was well worth the price. Kangxi also felt that he experienced double the pleasure with Anning, and the next day, he left Changchun Palace in high spirits.
Half a month later, jade pendants gradually became popular in the palace. They were interesting and fun, giving the ladies and concubines who had nothing to do all day something to pass the time.
Anning summoned Consort Chen and two other Consorts from Qixiang Palace, making a group of four, and they started playing.
In the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Kangxi put down his brush and ink.
"Liang Jiugong, let's go for a walk in the Imperial Garden."
"Yes, sir."
"The journey begins in the Imperial Garden."
The Imperial Garden was where Emperor Kangxi "hunted for beauties." Recently, he had been going to Changchun Palace more often at night, followed by Consort Wang. Occasionally, he would call on other concubines to serve him in bed, but he was getting a little tired of it.
I'm planning to visit the Imperial Garden; I think I'll run into some "fresh" faces.
The reason it was "new" was because some of the concubines had not left any impression on Kangxi before. Those who could enter the palace must have some merits. Encountering them by chance in the Imperial Garden was like a second "interview". With the previous experience, Kangxi could usually find someone who suited his taste.
Upon arriving at the Imperial Garden, looking at the impenetrable garden where one could hear a pin drop, a hint of confusion flashed across Kangxi's face.
"The weather is cool today, so why is there no one in the Imperial Garden?"
This "person" specifically refers to the imperial concubines.
Liang Jiugong, who was most aware of the situation in the inner palace, quickly explained, "Your Majesty, the ladies are all playing with jade tokens right now!"
So I didn't have time to stroll around the Imperial Garden.
The Imperial Garden, such a small place, used to be something to do when you didn't know how to pass the time. You might even bump into the Emperor while strolling around. But now that there's the jade token, even Emperor Kangxi has lost some of his appeal.
Emperor Kangxi couldn't help but laugh: "So it was the jade pendant that caused this. I'm curious about the charm of that jade pendant. Let's go to Changchun Palace and see what's so special about it."
They outshone even the emperor.
Liang Jiugong quickly lowered his head: "Yes, sir!"
In Changchun Palace, Anning was playing with jade tokens. In ancient times, when entertainment was scarce, this was indeed a good way to relieve boredom. She didn't play much and used copper coins. Even if someone was unlucky, they would only lose one or two taels of silver at most in a day.
For the imperial concubines, that was indeed not much.
At the beginning of the game, Chen Changzai and the others deliberately let her win. After she rewarded those who could beat her twice, they started to take it seriously. After half a month, they became more and more relaxed around An Ning and spoke without any restraint.
Chen Changzai: "Your Majesty is having such good luck today. I've almost lost five hundred copper coins."
Chen Changzai's tone was inevitably melancholy.
Anning was in a good mood. She had lost a lot yesterday, so she changed her position today and her luck improved.
She plans to never deliberately count cards, relying on luck, mainly because the stakes are low, it's just for entertainment.
An Ning: "You won a lot yesterday, so you must let me win a few times today. Fortune turns around, and today it's my turn."
Consort Su said, "Your Majesty, it's still early. Don't be too smug. I've had some good luck these past two rounds. Maybe I can even surpass you later!"
Niu sighed, "I don't know how to describe my luck today. I was lucky at the beginning, but my luck has been bad these last two rounds. Sister Chen, how about we switch positions?"
They were all unlucky; maybe their luck would change if they were in a different position.
Upon hearing this, Chen Changzai's face showed a hint of conflict; she was afraid that changing her luck might not be any better.
Emperor Kangxi entered at that moment.
Honestly, he almost thought he was seeing things. How could he not know the true nature of the relationships among the concubines in the harem? It was all just a facade of peace.
But the four of them sitting together in Changchun Palace looked genuinely harmonious, not just pretending.
Chunlan, who was by Anning's side, was the first to notice Kangxi.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
Upon hearing this, everyone looked outside and saw Emperor Kangxi. They hurriedly stood up and bowed.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
Emperor Kangxi waved his hand and said with a smile, "Get up, all of you."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
When Emperor Kangxi arrived, Anning was alright. After learning about her situation, she became much more relaxed in front of him. However, the other three became somewhat reserved.
After all, they hadn't seen Kangxi in a long time. If it were in their own rooms, it would be fine, but here in Anning's place, they were afraid of getting in Anning's way.
"Why did Your Majesty come here? Why didn't you send someone to inform me beforehand so that I could prepare to receive you?"
Hearing Anning speak so familiarly to Kangxi, the others couldn't help but feel envious. When they were favored by the emperor, they were always very respectful in front of him and would never dare to speak like that.
"I took a walk in the Imperial Garden. It wasn't as lively as usual. I asked Liang Jiugong and learned that jade pendants are popular in the palace. I'm quite curious about what makes these jade pendants so special that the Imperial Garden is deserted."
Everyone knew the situation of the "people" in the Imperial Garden. Kangxi's words meant that he was curious about the charm of the jade pendant, which was even more attractive than him.
An Ning couldn't help but laugh: "If Your Majesty is interested, how about we play a few rounds with you?"
Emperor Kangxi did indeed have this intention.
"Very well, Liang Jiugong, go to the Qianqing Palace and fetch some silver. Today's wins and losses are all on me."
An Ning couldn't help but laugh. What a sucker who came to her door!
"Then Your Majesty must not be stingy. Let's play for ten taels of silver a game, so as not to disgrace Your Majesty."
"You're always making fun of me. Ten taels it is, just this once."
Emperor Kangxi was not short of money, but gambling was not a good thing. The amount of money used for gambling in the palace was generally small, and everyone knew how to manage it. Even the Empress Dowager used copper coins.
"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."
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