Kangxi suddenly laughed when he heard the empress dowager's tone, which was half threatening and half negotiating.
"Does the Empress feel that my favor for Concubine Min is an eyesore to you? If that's the case, you could just stay in Ningshou Palace. Why come out?"
The Queen Mother's face froze. She had thought Kangxi would be angry, but she had never thought he would be so angry!
She made the suggestion because she thought Kangxi should treat everyone equally. How could Kangxi talk to her like this?
Moreover, Concubine Borjigit was not bad looking, so why did Kangxi prefer to favor a noble lady who was born as a palace maid instead of her?
"Emperor, I am the Empress Dowager. Are you planning to confine me to Ningshou Palace?"
"You are wrong. You are the Queen Mother, but you must be punished for your mistakes. I have never been a good person.
Concubine Min is pregnant, so it is only right that I pamper her a little. After all, she has to endure the pain of pregnancy and give birth to a child for me.
But why do you ask me to treat everyone equally? I am an emperor, I have my own ideas, and I don't want to be controlled by others.
You have lived a life of luxury in Ningshou Palace these years and have earned my respect. I still hope you can maintain this and not lose your integrity in your later years."
The Empress Dowager almost fainted from anger at Kangxi's words. She looked at Xiaozhuang for help, hoping that Xiaozhuang could help her vent her anger.
After all, the reason why she did this today was because Empress Xiaozhuang secretly asked her to propose that Kangxi should benefit everyone equally.
As for the Borjigit concubine who came with her, she felt that since everyone should be treated equally, the Borjigit concubine was also indispensable.
Since they were both from Khorchin and were her cousins, she naturally hoped that Kangxi would favor her first.
It's just that the other party didn't understand her thoughts and didn't want to compete for her favor, so she threatened the other party.
She originally thought that she had made everything clear, and since she was the empress dowager and Kangxi's elder, Kangxi would do things according to her ideas.
Unexpectedly, Kangxi not only refused directly, but also said that he would put her under house arrest.
Her status in the harem was all given by Kangxi. If Kangxi really put her under house arrest, who in the harem would respect her?
"Empress Dowager, please help your daughter-in-law."
Seeing that Xiaozhuang had not offered any help for a long time, the empress dowager was worried that she would really be put under house arrest, so she had to plead for mercy.
At this moment, Xiaozhuang was looking at Mu Sili and didn't notice her gaze or hear her words at all.
She just felt that Kangxi's favor for Mu Sili was too glaring, which reminded her of Hai Lanzhu and Dong Efei.
Of course, her hatred for Dong Efei far exceeded that for Hai Lanzhu. After all, although Hai Lanzhu was favored, she was the winner.
But Dong Efei was different. Not only did she die, but she also took her son with her, leaving her with no husband and son in middle age, and it was even more difficult for her to raise Kangxi.
In her eyes, Mu Sili is now the next Dong Efei, and she will never allow Mu Sili to become the most powerful in the harem.
"Xuanye, being the only favorite in the harem is a big taboo. Aren't you afraid that Concubine Min will become the target of public criticism?
She is less than five months pregnant and is carrying multiple babies. If everyone's attention is on her, even with Su Ma around, she won't be able to withstand so many attacks."
"Does the Imperial Madam also think that I shouldn't be nice to Concubine Min? With me protecting her, who would dare to disrespect her?
The most important thing is that she is pregnant with the first twins of the Qing imperial family. I believe that even if someone really dislikes her, they would not dare to take action against her easily.
After all, I have the final say in this harem, and I am watching over it. If anyone dares to attack her, I will not let her go.
I know you want me to favor Borjigit concubine, but I want to tell you and the Empress Dowager clearly that I don't want to.
Borjigit concubine has Khorchin blood in her veins, and Khorchin has been intermarrying with the Qing Dynasty for many years, so it will not decline easily.
But if I really favor Borjigit concubine and give her a high position, I believe Khorchin will not be as obedient as it is now.
You have Khorchin in your heart, but you must be clear that you and the Empress Dowager have married into the Qing Dynasty, and the Qing Dynasty is your home.
Korchin is just your mother's homeland to you. No matter how good your mother's homeland is, how much benefit can it bring to you?
On the contrary, in my opinion, Khorchin has always relied on you and the Empress Dowager to dare to act so presumptuously."
Xiaozhuang wanted to make a few remarks in her defense, but she had no way to start because what Kangxi said seemed to be true. Khorchin had always relied on them for its development.
"It seems that the Queen Mother also knows this. Then why don't you think about it again? The Qing Dynasty and Khorchin have been intermarrying for many years, but how many princesses who married into the Qing Dynasty had a good ending?
Let’s not talk about the distant past, just take your three aunts. Aside from Aunt Artu, did the other two aunts have a good ending?”
Xiaozhuang felt that she had suffered a heavy blow from Kangxi, and her two daughters, Yongmu and Shuzhe, were her lifelong pain.
Princess Yongmu was her eldest daughter, and she shouldn't have had such a rough fate.
It was for the benefit of Khorchin that she insisted on letting Huang Taiji fulfill her engagement with her brother Wu Kesan's son and marry Wu Kesan's son Biltahar when Huang Taiji decided to cancel the engagement.
She thought that if she married her daughter to Biltahar, Huang Taiji would forgive Wu Keshan's crime of rebellion, but she didn't expect that Huang Taiji still blamed Wu Keshan.
Her daughter went from being a princess to a criminal, and she bore the blame for her whole life.
And there was her youngest daughter Shuzhe, who was only sixteen years old and as beautiful as a flower. This was a lifelong pain for her.
"It seems that the Queen Mother has thought about the plight of her two aunts. Do you think that under such circumstances, I still have the heart to favor the Mongolian concubines?
If you think I must favor Mongolian concubines, then I will put pressure on Khorchin."
This was the first time that Kangxi clearly expressed in front of Xiaozhuang that he did not like Mongolian concubines and did not want them to become powerful.
If Empress Xiaozhuang supported him, he would be filial to her. But if she insisted on letting him favor the Mongolian concubines, or even took action against Mu Sili, then he could not be blamed.
He was raised by Empress Xiaozhuang, who taught him to be ruthless. He was not talented and only learned the basics, but that did not affect his ability to take advantage of the situation and kill people with a borrowed knife!
"Does Concubine Borjigit think I should favor you?"
Borjigit, the concubine who had been acting like an ostrich behind the Queen Mother, was suddenly named, and she trembled with fear.
She even felt that if she said the wrong thing, she might die young.
"Your Majesty, I, your concubine, do not deserve your favor and dare not ask for your love."
Kangxi had just said that. If she dared to say that she wanted to gain his favor, news of her sudden death would spread in the harem tomorrow.
She is not stupid and knows what is best for herself.
But she was also unwilling to give in. She had been in the palace for many years and had lost to those concubines of noble birth, but she didn't expect that even a palace maid who had risen to a high position could surpass her.
If God gave her another chance, she would never enter the palace.
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