An hour later, Emperor Kangxi and his entourage arrived at the entrance of Cining Palace. The concubines were waiting there, their faces showing worry, some with tears in their eyes.
He looked very worried about the Empress Dowager's health. If their palace attire hadn't been so flamboyant, Yin would have found it acceptable.
Compared to Consort Tong's ivory-white blue-and-white porcelain palace dress, they actually appeared somewhat affected.
As the concubines knelt to pay their respects, they glanced at Consort Tong's clothes out of the corner of their eyes and couldn't help but regret that they should have changed into plainer clothes beforehand. Wouldn't His Majesty think they were there to compete for favor when he saw their cheongsams?
"Grandson/Chenggan Palace Tongjia Clan/Great-grandson pays respects to Grandmother/Angguma." The Empress Dowager was displeased. Looking at the family of three kneeling on the ground, she thought of the Empress Dowager and Consort Xin in the palace. Both of them came from noble backgrounds. Consort Xin was a noble lady from Khorchin who entered the palace through a selection process by merchants.
Not only did Kangxi not visit Consort Xin, but he also spent a lot of time in Chenggan Palace. She was able to let Yinzhi leave the palace, and Lanya and Kangxi got along even better.
"Start kowtowing." The Empress Dowager looked at Yin and felt a pang of panic at the abnormal red bumps on his left hand.
That wolf and tiger medicine would be a fatal blow to underage boys; even just smelling it could cause health problems.
"Xuan Ye... those two children are still young, someone must have framed them." The Empress Dowager asked them to stand up and pleaded for them.
Kangxi felt aggrieved. Yin was the Empress Dowager's own great-grandson, but in her eyes, he was not as honorable as the noble ladies of those two families.
"Grandma, Yin's health needs several years of recuperation, and there may still be some hidden dangers. Are you still going to plead for those two?" Consort Tong was anxious. Her child had been harmed, and as a mother, she was bound to vent her anger.
The Empress Dowager was speechless. Consort Tong, who was usually gentle, was now like a fierce tigress protecting her cubs, slashing at anyone who had harmed Yin.
Emperor Kangxi merely smiled at Lanya's behavior. If a child is bullied, wouldn't the mother argue?
"Xuan Ye, those two children don't understand anything. Perhaps the servants they brought from Mongolia are not good and have developed disloyal intentions." The Empress Dowager sighed deeply.
She did not hide the fact that she hoped they would act as guides for Yin, a task that should have been the job of the maids.
The maids who came with them were also tempted. She promised that if they could fulfill the task assigned to them, she would exchange the position of Princess Yin for it.
Thus, the maids around them plotted how to make their mistresses favored. There was only one mistress's position, and the two of them still had to compete for it. The maids around the one who ascended to the position could also climb into the prince's bed, which was much better than being female slaves for a lifetime.
The Empress Dowager's explanation was far-fetched, but it also reflected a reality. Those slaves who came from the grasslands all had their own ambitions. Consort Xin brought them into the palace because someone wanted to sleep with the emperor. When Kangxi found out, she had them beaten to death.
"Li Dequan, you dismiss all the concubines outside. Li Dequan, you personally lead men to bring those maids here."
At this moment, Yin took out a small mirror from his purse. He could see Qingyan's worried expression on the other side. Everyone else only saw this somewhat strange-looking 'pocket watch'.
A few days ago, after the space was upgraded, Qingyan spent a lot of gold coins to exchange for it from the space supermarket.
As Yin grew older, he couldn't just stare blankly at the mirror every time. If word got out, his reputation would be ruined. But this pocket watch was different; if Yin had it, many people would assume it was a gift from Emperor Kangxi.
It's also suspicious that Yin would take it out to play with when he was bored.
He pointed the pocket watch at his left hand, and Qingyan saw a patch of red bumps, as if he had a severe allergic reaction. Listening to the Empress Dowager's ambiguous words, he felt really uncomfortable.
"Grandma, if they dare to use this against the Fourth Prince today, will Consort Xin use it against me tomorrow?" Kangxi was furious as he watched the Empress Dowager acting so shamelessly.
Those people from Khorchin have no sense of propriety whatsoever; they should just wait for their revenge.
Su Mo'er felt a chill in her heart. Was His Majesty planning to make things difficult for the Khorchin?
The Empress Dowager glanced at Consort Tong. Was it this woman who instigated Kangxi to treat her so disrespectfully?
"Consort Tong, do you think the Khorchin would allow a small collateral branch to harm a prince of the Aisin Gioro family?" The Empress Dowager's tone pressured Consort Tong to speak. "Emperor, don't forget, the Qing Dynasty and the Khorchin have always been related by marriage."
Consort Tong was furious. Yin had lost weight and felt wronged. The Empress Dowager still wanted her to plead for him. Did she really think that the Tong family had no one left?
Kangxi and Yinzhen were both amused and annoyed. They were related by marriage?!
Yin recalled that in his previous life, Thirteen's two younger sisters had been humiliated by the princes and ultimately hanged themselves. At that time, those two princes, seeing that Thirteen had fallen out of favor, wanted to marry another favored princess, thus utterly degrading them.
When they were dying, the palace maids they brought from the capital were mostly violated by the prince's guards. If they hadn't had backbone, who knows what their final fate would have been. Back then, Emperor Kangxi was unaware of his daughters' tragic fate. Later, after Yinxiang ascended the throne, the Tenth Princess's personal maid returned to the capital from hiding on the grasslands. After searching for several years, she finally met Yinxiang. One sentence from her made Yinxiang take a knife and kill the two "brothers-in-law" there.
Later, when Yin learned the truth, he investigated the sisters' situation in Mongolia and even arranged for someone to look after He Hui, so that she could live a comfortable life. If it weren't for her weak health, He Hui's life would have been even more fulfilling.
“Grandma, their safety is threatened by their husbands’ men. On the grasslands, men can rape them. They are princesses of the Qing Dynasty. Why should they be insulted like this by the princes of Khorchin?” Yinzhi ordered the people of the Sticky Rod Office to quietly reply that Kangxi’s Dragon Guards had discovered the deeds of those Mongol princes.
After the princesses were taken advantage of, they became depressed and unable to truly open their hearts, ultimately dying of depression.
The Empress Dowager looked at Yin in surprise. Could this really stand in his way? She was afraid that Yin would hate the Khorchin and the Mongols. Yin doted on his younger brother, and if he were to say a few more bad things about the Mongols, or even talk about the situation of the Aisin Gioro princesses on the grasslands, Yin would no longer listen to the Empress Dowager.
"Xuan Ye, don't listen to the rumors outside." The Empress Dowager was panicked. Those princes had acted this way; several princesses who had succeeded had hanged themselves, some even writing letters in blood, hoping Kangxi would avenge them. The Empress Dowager had been helping to cover it up, and those families were shamelessly eyeing the princesses in Kangxi's palace. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com.)
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