The concubines finally welcomed the day of the official enthronement ceremony. They wore solemn and luxurious auspicious clothes, and wore auspicious crowns inlaid with golden phoenix pearls on their heads. Around their necks hung court beads made of precious gems such as oriental pearls, jadeite, agate, blue topaz, coral, etc. The whole set weighed dozens of kilograms, but every concubine present stood up straight with a smile on her face.
To the sound of music, they slowly walked into the Hall of Supreme Harmony according to their rank, performed the ritual of six silences, three kneelings and three bows, and knelt to listen to the announcement. After the female official finished reading, they had to go to the Empress Dowager's Cining Palace and the Empress Dowager's Ciren Palace respectively.
By the time Imperial Noble Consort Tong Jia returned to Chengqian Palace, her entire back was soaked and she even found it difficult to lift her arms.
"Quick, change this outfit for me."
After several palace maids came forward to help her change back into her normal clothes and she sat on the couch and drank a sip of hot tea, Tong Jia felt that she was alive again. However, she had only rested for a while when she heard a message from outside.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
Tong Jia was the person with the highest rank in the harem, and today was the day of her enthronement ceremony, so it was reasonable for Kangxi to come.
"I pay my respects to His Majesty."
Kangxi walked right past her, sat down first, and then called out.
Tong Jia's heart tightened, and she immediately realized something was wrong. The emperor seemed unhappy, but nothing big happened today.
"Your Majesty, please have some tea." The Imperial Concubine personally took the teacup from the palace maid and presented it to the Emperor.
Kangxi took it and said in a gentle tone: "You are now the Imperial Noble Consort. Just let the servants handle such matters."
Tong Jia smiled and replied: "Whether I am a concubine, a noble concubine or an imperial concubine, I should serve the emperor, and I am willing to do this."
The atmosphere between the two of them gradually became harmonious. Unlike when Kangxi came in just now, after a few casual words, Kangxi somehow mentioned the refugees who were starving and cold outside the imperial city in the winter, and said that he wanted to send people to provide porridge.
"It's really pitiful. Although I haven't been in charge of the harem for long, I am willing to think of ways to save some money and share the worries of the emperor."
"Well, it's good that you think this way, but I heard from the Imperial Concubine that the Imperial Concubine was not satisfied with the embroiderers in the palace, so she asked people to find several embroiderers outside the palace to make clothes. Don't do this in the future, otherwise the nobles in the capital will follow suit, which will probably make the people feel disappointed."
The Imperial Concubine's eyelashes trembled, and a faint light flashed in her eyes. Imperial Concubine?
"Yes, I understand, but I'm afraid that the imperial concubine has misunderstood. I asked my mother's family to find an embroiderer outside the palace to make clothes for me. But I'm not dissatisfied with the embroiderers in the palace. Besides, I didn't make them for myself, but for Xiaoliu."
"Oh?" Kangxi was a little surprised, but he thought about it and realized that his cousin grew up with him and was indeed not a person who was greedy for luxury. It was just that he mistakenly thought that his cousin's personality changed after she became the Imperial Noble Consort.
"I happened to get a blueprint that looked very festive, so I thought of making a new dress for Xiaoliu for good luck, but the embroiderers in the palace were busy making auspicious clothes for the concubines who were to have their canonization ceremonies today. I was afraid that they would not be able to make it in time and delay the canonization ceremonies of other concubines.
Plus, my own embroidery skills are not that good, Your Majesty, as you know, of course I don’t want to let Xiaoliu down, so I went outside the palace to find someone to do it, and I was also afraid that I wouldn’t be able to make it in time for Xiaoliu to wear it on New Year’s Eve to give the Grand Empress Dowager, the Queen Mother, and the Emperor a surprise.”
The imperial concubine spoke so highly of it, so Kangxi was very curious about what kind of dress it was.
"What kind of clothes are they?"
"I am not good at speaking, I am afraid I cannot explain it clearly, Your Majesty, you can see it for yourself on New Year's Eve."
"Don't you have the blueprints? Show them to me."
"Your Majesty, of course the drawings must be shown to the embroiderer so that the clothes can be made according to them." The Imperial Concubine covered her mouth with a handkerchief and chuckled.
Kangxi picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea with some embarrassment.
"I just forgot for a moment. Where's Xiaoliu? Why didn't I see him running around outside today?"
"I know that the emperor will come to my place today, but today is also the day when my sister Defei is crowned as a concubine, so I asked them to go to Yonghe Palace to congratulate my sister Defei."
"You are really thoughtful." Kangxi put down the teacup and his tone softened a lot.
Except for the Imperial Concubine herself, no one else knew about this thrilling, secret battle without the smoke of gunpowder.
Yinzuo was happily holding his mother in one hand, holding his brother's hand in the other, and chattering away.
"Mother, your clothes are so beautiful, and so is this hat." Yinzuo said with a smile, pointing at the hat inlaid with golden phoenixes and pearls that Aunt Qing was holding.
"Sixth Prince, this is a ceremonial crown, not an ordinary hat." Aunt Qing explained with a smile.
Concubine De touched Xiaoliu's head and looked at him with a gentle smile.
"Xiao Liu is right. It really looks like just a hat. Mother also made a new hat for Xiao Liu. Do you want to try it?"
"Yes!" Yinzuo likes to wear a hat in winter the most. Not only does it keep his head warm, but his ears will also not get cold.
Yinzhen was stunned when he saw the hat.
De Fei noticed that something was wrong with him and said to him with a smile, "Xiao Si has it too."
Each of the brothers wore a fox hat with fox fur rolled around it. Yinzhen pulled the big ears that were specially made on the hat in a somewhat unnatural manner.
Yinzuo was very happy. He happily turned around in the hall, showing his new hat to everyone in 360 degrees, and couldn't stop asking everyone.
“Does it look good?”
"It looks great! The Sixth Prince looks so cute in this hat."
"The Queen's craftsmanship is excellent, and the Sixth Prince is handsome. I think they are very good."
"But Xiaoliu still thinks brother is the most handsome~" Yinzuo hugged his brother, tilted his neck and looked at him with a smile.
The corners of Yinzhen's mouth lifted a little, finally he felt less uncomfortable. As long as Xiaoliu thought it looked good, it was fine. He couldn't see it anyway, so he might as well just wear it.
When the two brothers came out of Yonghe Palace, they met several concubines passing by who were walking in groups. The leader among them was Concubine Xi.
When Concubine Xi saw the fox hats on their heads and saw that they had just come out of Yonghe Palace, she immediately snorted coldly.
"Everyone should learn from this. With this skill of humbly trying to please others, you can not only gain the emperor's favor and be promoted all the way, but also get the protection of the imperial concubine. You can see your son every day, and you will get used to begging for mercy. No wonder the hats you make are all in the shape of foxes."
After hearing this, the others sneered and whispered to the two brothers.
Yinzuo was extremely angry. This woman clearly took advantage of his and his brother's young age and deliberately made indirect accusations and insulted their mother in front of them!
Although Yinzhen frowned after hearing these words, he knew that it was normal for women in the harem to say unpleasant things after falling out of favor. He just ignored her and wanted to take Yinzuo's hand and leave quickly.
Unexpectedly, Yinzuo took his hand and led him to the front of Concubine Xi and her group. Such a small person stood bravely in front of a group of adults.
"I have never seen this lady before. I wonder which palace she is from?" Yinzuo blinked, and his eyes like black grapes flashed with tiny light.
"This is Concubine Xi from Jingyang Palace."
"Empress Xi? Brother, she is also a concubine like my mother before her. Aren't Empress Hui, Empress Yi, Empress Rong and my mother all concubines? Xiaoliu thought there were no concubines in the palace."
Yinzuo tilted his little head and seemed very confused.
These words really hit the nail on the head for Concubine Xi.
"How dare you!" Concubine Xi pointed at him and roared.
"Did Xiaoliu say something wrong? Concubine Xi? But Xiaoliu really didn't know. It wasn't intentional. Xiaoliu now knows that there are still concubines in the palace. Concubine Xi, please don't be angry, okay?"
Yinzuo hid behind his brother very carefully, seeming a little afraid, but it was obvious that he still mustered up the courage to hope that Concubine Xi would no longer be angry.
"Sixth Prince is disrespectful to me. Someone, come and teach me a lesson on how to behave!"
Shunfeng and Su Peisheng quickly stood in front of the two princes.
"The Emperor has arrived! The Imperial Concubine has arrived!"
Kangxi and the Imperial Noble Consort were standing at the gate of Chengqian Palace. They had been listening for an unknown amount of time. Yinzhen noticed that Shunshui, one of the twin eunuchs next to Xiaoliu, was standing next to the Imperial Noble Consort.
"Empress Xi, even if the Emperor doesn't give you the title of Consort, you can't be angry with Xiaoliu and my brother. Xiaoliu will go and talk to the Emperor for you, okay? Can you please not ask them to come and bully Xiaoliu and my brother~ Woo~~"
As soon as Kangxi approached, he saw a group of palace servants surrounding the two children. Among them, the sixth child, who was hiding behind the fourth child, had a pale face and timidly asked Concubine Xi who was sitting opposite him.
Xiaoliu was usually a very lively person, and Kangxi had never seen him so frightened before. It was heartbreaking to see him like this.
Just at this time, the people in Yonghe Palace heard the emperor's procession arriving here, and they notified Concubine De, who also happened to come out in a hurry.
She saw the two children being trapped and immediately walked over to protect the two children behind her.
Seeing that Xiaoliu was five months pregnant, the Imperial Noble Consort was worried, so she walked over and picked up Xiaoliu, who was obviously more frightened. Defei held the hand of Yinzhen, who looked better.
"Concubine Xi, why did you let your people block the Fourth Prince and the Sixth Prince? Are you dissatisfied with their promotion?" Kangxi's face looked unhappy and his tone was very cold.
"Your Highness! I didn't!" Concubine Xi was very confused at the moment. She just saw that the two princes were young and ignorant and should not understand the adults' sarcasm, so she deliberately wanted to vent her anger.
"No? Then swear an oath to heaven. I am listening."
Of course, Concubine Xi did not dare to swear. She was already dissatisfied. The current Concubine De was not half as honored and favored as she was in her prime. In terms of seniority, she was more senior than Concubine De. Concubine De was just lucky. She was used to putting on airs and trying to please the Emperor and the Imperial Noble Concubine.
"Princess Xi, no matter how dissatisfied you are, you can't be angry with the two princes. What's more, there are so many people surrounding them. They are still so young, how scared they must have been just now." Defei said weakly, and tears fell from her affectionate eyes.
"I was angry because Sixth Prince spoke rudely to me just now. I just wanted someone to teach Sixth Prince some rules. I didn't mean to hurt them!" Concubine Xi hurriedly defended herself.
"Sixth Prince spoke rudely to you? Little Six, tell me, what did you say just now?" Kangxi spoke while looking intently at Concubine Xi who was kneeling on the ground.
Yin Zuo's voice trembled as he spoke incoherently, "Just now... Xiao Liu really... didn't know there was a... concubine position in the palace, so I asked... a question, but I didn't expect... Concubine Xi to get... angry. It's all Xiao Liu's fault... Your Majesty, don't... blame Concubine Xi... OK?"
Others present also nodded, saying that what the Sixth Prince said was true, and that it was Concubine Xi who first made innuendos and slandered Concubine De.
"Listen to yourself. He is a child less than two years old. He was frightened by you and was eager to speak for you. But you are jealous of others' promotion and take it out on two children. From now on, you are confined to your own palace and are not allowed to leave the palace again."
Kangxi was afraid that his punishment was too harsh and would scare the child again, so he let her go so lightly. However, he had not favored Concubine Xi for a long time and had confined her to the palace. He would probably not think of such a person easily in the future.
Yinzuo was also satisfied with this result. He had no intention of harming Concubine Xi. He was just counterattacking her for insulting his mother in front of so many people. He just wanted to teach her a lesson. Besides, he was really scared just now. When those people surrounded him, the thing he feared most in his mind was that his brother would be implicated.
The author has something to say:
Although Xiaoliu is young, he is a little man who will protect his mother!
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