"Has His Majesty not arrived yet?" With the appointed time fast approaching and Kangxi still nowhere to be seen, the Imperial Noble Consort asked anxiously.
"Something must have been holding things up! Perhaps we should send someone to inquire about it!"
Wanyi suggested it, but she didn't ask Furong, who was beside her, to go; she just said that.
"Why don't we wait a little longer?" Consort Wen said with little interest. After all, she was getting on in years, and the Emperor's selection of consorts naturally diminished her favor.
"Then let's wait a little longer!" Anyway, it's not her standing outside, so if the other person gets dizzy or their makeup gets messed up, it's not her fault.
Not long after, Kangxi walked in. He was clearly in a very good mood, with a smile on his face, and his clothes looked much better than usual.
"Greetings, Your Majesty! May Your Majesty be well!" Wanyi rose and bowed along with the Imperial Noble Consort.
"Get up! Let's begin!"
Kangxi didn't say much and started directly, first the Manchus and Mongols, then the Han. Putting aside Kangxi, even Wanyi was dazzled by the sights. There were thin and beautiful women, as well as plump women, truly living up to the saying that there was everything from plump to slender.
As time passed, Emperor Kangxi did not select many women from the Manchu Banners. He only registered three names, which were undoubtedly given to members of the imperial family. However, when it came to the Mongol Banners, a woman from the Khorchin Borjigit clan was given a sachet.
"What skills do you possess?" Kangxi asked Zhangjia, a member of the Han Chinese Banner below.
"Your Majesty, this servant knows some poetry and books, as well as some traditional female virtues and skills!" These were all taught to her by her mother, and she even added poetry and books to her repertoire.
"Poetry and books? You've read all of those?" Kangxi asked with interest.
"Your Majesty, there are 'Peach Blossom Hermitage Song', 'Willow Catkins', and so on." She had read all of Kangxi's works thoroughly, all in the hope that one day she could serve the emperor as his concubine.
"Isn't this the collection of poems His Majesty loves? Lady Zhangjia really put her heart into it." The Imperial Noble Consort's words were loaded with meaning; wasn't she implying that the Zhangjia family did it on purpose?
"His Majesty is the supreme ruler of the land, revered by all people, and everyone loves him!"
Zhang Jiajia meant that the whole world loves the Emperor, and the best way to express this is by sharing the same preferences as the Emperor.
"Not bad!" Kangxi only said two words, and Wei Zhu, who was standing to the side, said with great interest.
"The Zhangjia clan has left a plaque and bestowed upon her a sachet!"
"This servant thanks Your Majesty for your great kindness!" Lady Zhangjia kowtowed to Emperor Kangxi with joy.
"But what's wrong?" Suddenly, Hongxiu, who was by the Fourth Prince's side, walked in, and Wanyi asked in confusion.
"Your Highness, the Fourth Prince has not seen you today and is crying incessantly. He has even started to have shortness of breath. Granny Kong is afraid that the Fourth Prince will cry himself hoarse, so she sent me to invite Your Highness back."
Granny Kong and the others were truly at their wits' end, which is why they came here to find Wanyi and take her back.
"But what happened!" Kangxi was distracted by Wanyi's condition, so the appearance of Hongxiu prompted him to ask.
"Your Majesty, it's because the Fourth Prince couldn't see me and was crying so hard that the servants came looking for me," Wanyi said truthfully. After all, she also needed to ask Kangxi for permission to leave, and it just so happened that he asked her.
“The prince is the most important. Your Majesty, why don’t you let Sister Chen go back first?” The Imperial Noble Consort felt that there wouldn’t be any problem if one less person was here. Originally, Consort Wan and Consort Wen were just going through the motions.
"I think it's about time. I'll leave the rest to the Imperial Noble Consort and Consort Wen. I haven't seen Yinzhen in a long time, so I'll go with Consort Chen!"
After watching for so long, Kangxi naturally grew a little bored. Just then, Wanyi was about to leave, so he thought it best to go see his son.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The Imperial Noble Consort bowed with some displeasure, but she did not show it on the surface.
"Sister Wen, our Sister Chen is truly favored by the Emperor. You two are so close, why doesn't she mention you to the Emperor more often, so that he might visit you more often?" The Imperial Noble Consort openly stirred up trouble when she saw Consort Wen watching Kangxi leave, lost in thought for a long time.
"Whether the Emperor comes or not is his business. Sister Chen has the Emperor in her heart. Besides, Sister Chen is not the Empress, so how can she be so quick to offer advice?" The Empress has the duty to advise the Emperor to treat everyone equally. Although she is very uncomfortable that Consort Chen is favored, they are on the same side!
"I was just saying. Since Sister Wen doesn't want to hear it, then I won't say it."
She had finally gotten the Empress's position vacant, and it was almost her turn to sit in that seat. If Consort Chen were to sit there, she would be so depressed.
"Imperial Noble Consort, time is running out, shouldn't we hurry up and finish this quickly?" She still needs to go back and get her beauty sleep!
"Let's begin!" Actually, there's not much left to see. I've seen most of them since she was in the second round, but I haven't seen the ones further back.
"Third one, step forward and let me see you!" The Imperial Noble Consort had almost finished looking at them all, but she felt that they were all of average appearance. She reluctantly selected two, but then she noticed someone who looked familiar.
"Sister Wen, doesn't this look familiar?" The Imperial Noble Consort turned her head with amusement to look at Consort Wen, who was lost in thought.
"Ah! Yes, a little!" She had just been thinking about what to eat when she got back, but she only ate a few snacks here and wasn't full at all.
“Sister Wen, please take a good look.” The woman below, surnamed Sun, is only the daughter of a county magistrate, but she looks four or five parts like Consort Chen.
"They only have a slight resemblance in their alluring eyes; this girl's delicate and refined appearance is no match for Sister Chen."
Consort Wen was only saying this on purpose. Based on her understanding of the Imperial Noble Consort, she knew that this person who could cause trouble for Consort Chen would definitely be kept alive. She was saying this to Sun Shi below, to arouse her jealousy. Jealousy can be a terrible thing.
"That's true, but it's not good to let someone like Consort Chen go out and become someone else's wife or concubine. So, I'll give her a sachet!" The Imperial Noble Consort was afraid that Consort Wen would object, so she simply kept her there. Consort Wen remained silent, but no one knew what she was thinking.
"I was thinking of giving some of my clothes to the Fourth Prince to smell so that he could keep up until I returned, but I didn't expect the little guy to be so clever."
Wanyi held her chubby, sweet-smelling baby in her arms. The little guy was still afraid that his mother would leave, and he was tightly holding onto the necklace around Wanyi's neck, sobbing slightly.
"I think he's too clever for his own good. All this commotion is making things difficult for Wan'er."
Kangxi was most annoyed by Yinzhen clinging to Wanyi and refusing to let go. Didn't the brat know how heavy he was?
"What hardship is there? This is my little baby whom I carried for ten months and gave birth to. No matter how heavy it is, Mother will hold it."
Wanyi radiated maternal love, which suddenly brought Kangxi back to his memories. How many times had he been held in his mother's arms like this, being coaxed in gentle voices? At that time, princes were not allowed to be raised by their birth mothers and had to live in the princes' quarters. The day he looked forward to most each month was when he could see his mother.
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