"Your Majesty, an informant reports that the Emperor seems to have favored a woman at Mingya Pavilion, suspected to be a palace maid." Ningdong rushed to inform Consort Tong as soon as she received the news, so that Consort Tong could be prepared.
"What did you say? The Emperor slept with a woman at Mingya Pavilion, and it turns out it was that lowly maid?"
Consort Tong's eyes were like sharp knives, burning with jealousy. She thought about how a lowly maid from the Banner of the Imperial Household had climbed into her bed, leading the other women in the harem to believe that she was someone Consort Tong had pushed out to secure her favor. They had laughed at her for a long time. That was bad enough, but now another lowly palace maid had come along. How could she not hate her?
"Your Majesty, it's not necessarily true. The informant isn't sure if she's a palace maid; she could be a concubine in the harem."
"That would be best!"
Consort Tong felt that as long as it wasn't those lowly palace maids, it would be fine. Which concubine in the harem didn't have a family that worked hard for the emperor's cousin in the court? Only those lowly servants seduced the emperor and bewitched him.
"Your Highness, whether it's a palace maid or a concubine, it's daytime!" Ningdong reminded Consort Tong that engaging in lewd behavior in broad daylight was not a good thing.
"Yes, the Empress Dowager will not let that person go, whether she is a palace maid or a concubine."
"Keep your attention on Niohuru. If she makes any mistakes or does anything wrong, inform me immediately." Hmph! Niohuru Daiya is not qualified to compete with me for the position of Empress. Only I, Tong Yuzhu, can sit on the throne.
"Yes, Your Majesty, this servant will give the order immediately."
As soon as Sumalagu received the latest news from Kangxi, she immediately came in to tell her princess, who was none other than the most honored Empress Dowager Bumbutai of the Qing Dynasty.
"Princess, news just came from the Qianqing Palace that the Emperor has summoned the imperial physician. None of our people were on his trip today. However, we found out that the Emperor favored a woman at the Mingya Pavilion, but we don't know if she is a palace maid or a concubine."
"In addition, Chief Steward Liang imprisoned Luan Xue, the palace maid who served tea to the emperor, in the Department of Cautious Punishment. Since only Chief Steward Liang interrogated her, we do not know what happened."
Bumbutai put down the memorial in her hand. This one also mentioned the Three Feudatories. As she thought, the three kings were kings in various places, with fiefdoms. Only Wu Sangui was arrogant. He joined forces with Taiwan to attack Guizhou and advanced all the way to Hunan. Once the three kings united, the consequences would be unimaginable!
"Alas! Now that the Rebellion of the Three Feudatories has just begun, the emperor is indulging in debauchery in broad daylight. This is an inappropriate act by the emperor. This woman deserves to die. Whether she is a concubine or a palace maid, she should all be put to death." Suddenly, her son, Fulin, became a monk for a woman, abandoning the throne and also abandoning his mother, as well as the late emperor's great affection for Hailanzhu.
Suddenly, he thought again that his grandson, whom he had raised based on his experience through two dynasties, would certainly not follow in his father's footsteps.
"No, the Emperor is someone I watched grow up. He is not a lustful person. Physician Lu, could you tell me how the Emperor's health is?"
"His Majesty's health is perfectly fine; there is nothing amiss!"
"Greetings to Your Majesty the Empress Dowager! His Majesty has arrived!" Liu Guangcai, the head eunuch of Cining Palace, came in to report.
"Quickly, invite Xuan Ye in." Bumbutai was quite pleased; her grandson's filial piety made her feel Kangxi's thoughtfulness in every way.
"Your grandson greets His Majesty!" As soon as Kangxi entered, he knelt down to pay his respects to Bumbutai.
"I've told you so many times, there's no need for such formalities. Come and sit down." Bumbutai stood up and gently helped Kangxi to his feet, inviting him to sit in the seat next to him.
“Grandma, etiquette cannot be neglected. Besides, I am more than happy to come and pay my respects to you.”
Kangxi was half-jokingly talking to Bumbutai, and his flattery was spot on. When Bumbutai heard that Kangxi meant he would come to pay his respects to her every day, she was overjoyed.
"You have such a sweet tongue, you know best how to make me happy."
"That's right! Ever since the Emperor came, the Princess has stopped paying attention to us and only has eyes for her grandsons." Su Mala Gu said, sounding a little jealous.
"Father! I smell a hint of jealousy in your grandson. I wonder where it's coming from!"
"You! You actually dare to be jealous of the Emperor! Be careful, or he won't let you eat your steamed buns!"
Bumbutai and Sumalagu paused simultaneously, then burst into laughter. This incident stemmed from a funny story from Kangxi's childhood. As a child, Kangxi loved Sumalagu's steamed buns (similar to modern roujiamo). He went to great lengths to get her to make him some, offering silver and jade pendants, all for a bite to eat. Bumbutai, feeling sorry for him, asked Sumalagu to give him one. Kangxi intended to thank her, but instead said, "I won't give you any steamed buns." At that time, Kangxi couldn't hide his emotions; his round, chubby face, his large, bright eyes, and a shy blush on his fair skin caused him to finally manage to stammer, "Sumala, it was Xuan Ye who misspoke, do you believe me!" Kangxi's appearance at that moment was incredibly endearing, a scene deeply etched in the minds of Bumbutai and Sumalagu.
"Yes, Xuan Ye wouldn't dare. The steamed buns were all from Su Ma Momo." Clearly, Kangxi also remembered this embarrassing scene.
"Xuan Ye, have dinner before you go back!" Bumbutai said, asking Kangxi to stay.
"Good, your grandson is in for a treat." Kangxi thought that after chatting with his grandmother, it would be time for dinner. It wouldn't be a problem to go back to the Qianqing Palace after dinner, and he also wanted to spend time with his grandmother anyway.
"Princess, Your Majesty, this servant will go and make preparations." Although Kangxi told Su Ma La Gu not to bow to him, Su Ma La Gu did not take it seriously and still followed the palace rules as usual.
"Go! Prepare plenty of Xuan Ye's favorite foods."
"Yes, I understand."
After Sumalagu left, the grandmother and grandson began to talk about what had happened to Kangxi that day.
"This palace maid is utterly incompetent! Luckily it wasn't some kind of medicine, otherwise what would I be supposed to do!" Bumbutai was furious. She had already lost her husband and son, and now if her grandson, whom she had raised with so much hardship, were to die before her, wouldn't that be a cruel blow to her heart?
"Grandmother, please calm down. Your grandson is fine!" Kangxi said, and even stood up and turned around twice.
"What will I do if something happens to you? What about all the servants who serve you? How can they be so useless? If they can't handle it, replace them all." Bumbutai was so angry that she wanted to kill everyone around Kangxi and replace them with other clever and obedient servants.
If Liang Jiugong were here, he would definitely be scared out of his wits. Fortunately, the Emperor was wise and left him outside to guard the gate.
"It's alright, Your Majesty. Your grandson is fine. They've already been punished. Besides, I'm used to Liang Jiugong and the others. I wouldn't be used to using other servants!" Kangxi spoke up for Liang Jiugong.
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