The only person in the palace who could command such respect from Master Kang was the Empress Dowager of Wanshou Palace. Could it be the Empress Dowager?
As Li Tiao was pondering this, the person entered, supported by a palace maid. The person had gray hair and looked quite old, but judging from their attire, Li Tiao knew that this was not the Empress Dowager.
If it's not the Empress Dowager, then who is it?
"This servant greets Master De and the Fourth Prince."
Upon hearing this, Li Tiao knew that this was not her master. But even though she wasn't her master, the domineering Consort De dared not accept the greeting and slightly avoided the other party's gesture of bowing. The Fourth Prince did the same.
"Auntie, you're too kind. It's me who should be bowing to you."
“Your Highness, you are mistaken. You are the master, and I am not your servant…”
"Granny Su, Consort De is bowing to you, and you are able to accept it." Emperor Kangxi personally walked over from the dragon throne, helped the nanny to sit down.
However, upon hearing the title "Master Kang," Li Tiao belatedly realized something: could this person be the famous Su Ma La Gu?
Sumalagu was a maid who accompanied Empress Xiaozhuang during her dowry. She followed Xiaozhuang from Mongolia to Shengjing and then to Beijing, and lived through the reigns of Emperors Huang Taiji, Shunzhi, and Kangxi.
Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang had already passed away by this time, which Li Tiao knew, but she never expected that Su Mala Gu was still alive.
Upon realizing who it was, Li Tiao quickly bowed.
"Your Majesty, is this the princess that you and I were talking about before, the one the Fourth Prince married?" Su Ma La Gu pulled Li Tiao up and asked Kangxi.
Kangxi: "It is indeed her."
Emperor Kangxi said to Li Tiao, "Li Tiao, this is Su Ma La Gu, an elder in the palace, someone whom both the Empress Dowager and I greatly respect."
Upon hearing this, Li Tiao bowed respectfully to Su Mala Gu once again.
"Granny Su, what do you think of the matter I mentioned to you before?"
"Your Majesty, this servant naturally has no objection, but wouldn't doing this be unfair to Consort Li?"
Li Tiao was puzzled. How did this get involved with her? Confused, she subconsciously looked at the Fourth Prince.
Although the Fourth Prince ignored Li Tiao, she could tell from his profile that his mood seemed to have improved, while Consort De's expression was rather unpleasant.
Although Li Tiao's doubts were not resolved, she felt much more at ease.
Consort De was unhappy, and Li Tiao thought it must be because the matter was in her favor.
"How could we possibly wrong Princess Li?" Kangxi said to Granny Su with a smile. "Being able to become your granddaughter is a blessing that Li Tiao earned in her previous life."
granddaughter?
Li Tiao looked at Kangxi in surprise: "Your Majesty, this servant..."
"What? You're unwilling?" Kangxi asked Li Tiao.
Li Tiao quickly shook her head: "Your Majesty, this servant is not unwilling, but I am a little surprised and feel like a pie has fallen from the sky."
"Since a pie has fallen from the sky, why not hurry up and catch it?" Kangxi said.
Li Tiao naturally wanted to accept, but instinctively she glanced at the Fourth Prince first, who nodded at her without saying a word.
"Granny Su, please accept my bow!" Li Tiao quickly knelt down to greet Granny Su.
"You're too kind, child. Get up now."
Li Tiao was still a little confused. Was Kangxi plotting something for her? But why?
"Li Tiao, I remember I already told you last time not to refer to yourself as a servant anymore, why are you doing this again..."
Before Kangxi could finish speaking, Su Mala Gu said, "Since His Majesty has allowed you not to refer to yourself as a servant, you certainly cannot refer to yourself as a servant in front of this old servant."
"Li Tiao thanks the Emperor for his grace and thanks Granny Su."
"You're such a beautiful girl, you and Lao Si are a match made in heaven."
Li Tiao was a little embarrassed by the compliment and gave a rare, shy smile.
“Granny Su, since you have accepted Li Tiao as your granddaughter, then I will issue an edict so that Li Tiao can visit you at any time in the future to maintain our relationship.”
"Your Majesty can decide everything." Su Mala Gu had no objection to the Emperor's words.
Master Kang acted swiftly; his decree seemed to have been prepared in advance, and he quickly sent someone to deliver it.
Although Sumalagu held a somewhat detached position in the palace, she was not a mistress after all. Therefore, even though Kangxi recognized Li Tiao as his granddaughter, he would not bestow any titles or honors upon Li Tiao.
However, he still issued the decree, simply to let everyone in the palace know that Li Tiao and Su Mala Gu had a good relationship, and that they should be more polite to Li Tiao in the future.
Li Tiao didn't know how others would react, but at least Consort De's face... could no longer be described as unpleasant; it was almost ferocious. However, Li Tiao didn't care.
Kangxi's purpose in summoning Li Tiao was to introduce her to Su Mala Gu.
Having finished their business, and with Kangxi himself busy with state affairs, he did not keep them any longer.
She came to the Qianqing Palace with the Fourth Prince, but left with Su Ma La Gu.
Li Tiao took her to Su Ma La Gu's place, since they had just become relatives and couldn't be too unruly.
I thought that someone like Su Ma La Gu, with such a high status in the palace, might not have as many servants as the masters, but she would still have quite a few.
When she arrived, she found that there were very few people to serve her, and that her living quarters were decorated like a Buddhist shrine.
Having been in the palace for so long, Li Tiao had never heard anything about the old woman. Given the state of her residence, Li Tiao realized that the old woman had probably long since retired from worldly affairs.
So Li Tiao said with a bit of guilt, "Granny, I'm sorry to have bothered you and put you in such a difficult position."
“It’s not difficult,” Su Mala Gu said with a smile. “This old servant has served the Emperor since childhood and has done whatever the Emperor commands. Recognizing you may seem like a good thing for you, but it may not be entirely a good thing.”
After all, as you can see, since the passing of the Empress Dowager, this old servant has been practicing vegetarianism and chanting Buddhist scriptures.
The Emperor's arrangement shows that he cares about you very much. I don't know what kind of crisis you are in the palace, and I can't imagine what others might do. But I did see the way Consort De looked in front of the Emperor just now.
She's probably always been dissatisfied with you, and now that the Emperor is so attentive to you... she might still try to get back at you in the future. Of course, because of this old servant, she might not dare to be so blatant, but she certainly won't let it go easily.
So you still need to be careful.
Su Mala Gu's words didn't exactly startle Li Tiao, but they made her understand her situation even better, and made her even more confused about Master Kang's attitude.
Su Ma La Gu thought she had spoken too harshly, so she comforted Li Tiao: "What this old servant is saying is mainly to make you pay more attention to yourself. But you don't need to worry. Since the Emperor is determined to protect you, he will naturally be able to protect you. After all, His Majesty once dared to capture Ao Bai all by himself."
Li Tiao twisted her fingers: "It's the Emperor's attitude that makes Li Tiao even more worried, after all, given Li Tiao's status..."
Because of Li Tiao's hesitant words, Su Mala Gu stopped striking the wooden fish.
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