"Damn it, even a lowly palace maid dares to oppose me."
When Consort Wuya learned that Guo Luoluo Yihua had been taken to the Emperor's presence, she was furious and regretted not coming sooner. She told Chuyao to wait until evening, hoping to see during the day whether Emperor Kangxi would take her to the Emperor's presence. If he didn't, she would come over that night.
"Your Highness, it seems the Emperor is just having a passing fancy. He'll forget about it once the novelty wears off," Chu Yao quickly reassured him.
"If that's really the case, that would be good. If it weren't for her, she would have already regained favor today." So now, although she's been unbanned, it's not much different from not being unbanned at all.
"Guo Luoluo Yihua, go and investigate who she is related to in the Guo Luoluo family!"
Consort Wuya thought that Guo Luoluo Yihua was probably just a lowly palace maid with no background, since someone with a background wouldn't be assigned to a place like Huayu Pavilion.
"yes."
"My lady, this is a bundle that the master handed in." Hongxiu walked in carrying a bundle.
"Let me see." Wanyi opened the bundle, which contained embroidered sachets, handkerchiefs, and pouches. Wanyi arranged the items on the table.
“These were all embroidered by the Fujin (principal wife). The Fujin dotes on the young lady the most.” Hongxiu could tell from the embroidery style that it was embroidered by Wanyi’s mother.
"Yes, they were all embroidered by Mother herself." Wanyi stroked the embroidery pieces one by one. One of them was a little different. It was a purse that was thicker than the others and had a peony embroidered on it.
"My lady, would you like some scissors?" Hongxiu knew that this was a message from the master.
"Okay, you go out and keep watch."
Wanyi cut open the purse and took out a piece of paper. It told her that the smallpox vaccine had been tested and that they planned to submit a memorial to Emperor Kangxi soon. It also instructed her to be careful in the palace and to prioritize safety. Below the paper were several names, all of whom were members of her clan with connections in the palace. This was a show of allegiance from her clan to Wanyi, and it seemed to be only a portion of them.
Wanyi copied down the lists, then put the purses and sachets into her spatial storage, and then called Hongxiu in to serve her.
"Your Highness, the young palace maid Yihua from Huayu Pavilion has already been taken to the Emperor's court by Eunuch Liang," Granny Kong told Wanyi as she entered.
"Is this a matchup?" Wan Yi was a little excited. She wondered who was more powerful, Consort Wuya or Lady Guoluo.
"As it stands, there are only some disputes at present, and there will probably only be some friction in the future!" Granny Kong meant that it was far from a fight to the death.
"Then let's add fuel to the fire, so that the two of them start arguing the moment they meet, and even want to kill each other." That would be more interesting.
"Alright, but it will only work if someone from the Emperor's court cooperates." When Granny Kong was organizing Wan Yi's network of contacts, there were no people from the Emperor's court, so she said this.
"You can go find Wei Zhu, or Granny Xianglan will also work." They have all taken the Loyalty Pill, so they will know who is on their side as soon as they meet, according to Hongxiu and the others.
"Yes, I understand."
Granny Kong was somewhat surprised, not expecting that the Imperial Vice President Wei Zhu and the head maid of the tea room were actually Wan Yi's people. Suddenly, she remembered some unknown things about Wan Yi and then felt relieved.
"Your Majesty, please have some tea!" The tea was prepared by the tea server. Guo Luoluo Yihua was just serving the tea. She had arrived before the Emperor the night before last, and yesterday was just to familiarize herself with the Emperor's surroundings. She only started her duties today.
"Hmm, put it down for now!" Kangxi glanced at Yihua, not recognizing her as the palace maid from the Imperial Garden, assuming she was a newly selected one.
An hour passed in this way. Kangxi was writing and reviewing memorials with ink, while Guo Luoluo Yihua was bored but dared not move. Suddenly, she noticed that there was not much ink left next to Kangxi, so she went over and started grinding. Liang Jiugong had just gone down to prepare dinner, and before leaving, he also told Yihua to be careful.
"Hmm, why is it ground so coarsely?" Kangxi looked up and found an unfamiliar palace maid with a bright and beautiful face and a smile on her face. She seemed somewhat familiar. When their eyes met, Kangxi was stunned for a moment.
"Wan..." Liang Jiugong, who had just entered, suddenly didn't know whether he should go out or continue going in.
"What is it?" Kangxi didn't feel anything, he was just surprised that the palace maid was pretty, and assumed that Liang Jiugong had arranged it, so he didn't take it seriously.
"Dinner is ready. Your Majesty, would you please move along?" Liang Jiugong was afraid that his interruption would displease Kangxi, so he spoke cautiously.
"Then go! Oh, and teach her how to grind ink properly." He had never seen a palace maid grind ink so coarsely before; usually, women ground ink finely and smoothly.
"Yes, sir!" After Kangxi left, Liang Jiugong told Yihua to go back first and he would call her again when he had the chance.
That morning, Emperor Kangxi listened to his ministers discussing the Three Feudatories for a long time in the court, and then he submitted his important memorials.
"Now that the rainy season has begun, several counties in Henan have been flooded. Nearby cities and counties have opened their granaries to distribute grain, but the rain has not stopped, and there is a risk of riots. Local officials have asked me for grain and people to reinforce the dikes. I wonder who is willing to go?" Kangxi looked around and saw that everyone below had fallen silent as soon as he finished speaking. Disaster relief has always been a difficult task.
"What's wrong? Weren't you all so talkative just now? Why are you all silent now?" Kangxi threw the memorial in his hand away in a bit of anger.
"Please calm your anger, Your Majesty!" A chorus of voices knelt down.
"Then you tell me, who's going to Henan?"
How could Emperor Kangxi not be angry! There was a war in Hunan, and now this happened in Henan. Two counties have already been flooded. As long as the people sent there build the dikes and resettle the people, there shouldn't be any major problems.
"With this water conservancy project, river dredging, and year-round maintenance, Anli should have been able to weather this year's floods. How come the village was flooded before the rainy season was even over?"
A senior minister suddenly said that he had two years left before retirement, and that he had participated in flood control when he was young, which was why he asked the question.
"This year, Henan has experienced continuous rain for longer than in previous years, which is why things are like this." Even the Forbidden City was affected by the rain several times, and it only stopped raining in March. It seems the rain has all reached Henan.
"Your Majesty, I am willing to go," a minister who was relatively late in line suddenly spoke up, drawing all eyes to him.
Zhang Ying genuinely wanted to work on flood control, and he also had some experience. He had only been transferred back not long ago, and if he wanted to make a name for himself, he had to achieve something.
"Good, my dear minister, you have courage." Kangxi was very pleased that someone had stepped forward, and Liang Jiugong, who was beside him, quickly showed Kangxi Zhang Ying's resume.
"Issue Zhang Ying as Imperial Commissioner, to proceed to Henan for disaster relief in three days. The Ministry of Revenue shall cooperate as soon as possible and allocate funds." Kangxi made the final decision.
"Your subject will certainly not fail in your mission." Zhang Ying kowtowed and then gave the order.
"Get up! Continue."
Kangxi took the last memorial and began to read it. The more he read, the more excited he became. He even stood up and read it again in disbelief.
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