Wan Anran gritted her teeth.
Her eyes were practically blazing with fury as she stared at the emperor: "This will cost a full ten thousand taels!"
No wonder Emperor Qianlong was such a spendthrift.
Wan Anran originally thought it was because of Qianlong's bad character, but now, in Wan Anran's opinion, genetic factors account for the majority of the reason.
The emperor rarely saw Consort Qi so furious, so he smiled and reassured her, "It's just ten thousand taels of silver."
"You make it sound so simple..." Wan Anran was displeased.
She glared angrily at Kangxi, her eyes blazing with fury, a look that even startled Kangxi, causing him to break out in a cold sweat: "...Huh?"
Wan Anran crossed her arms over her chest.
She was determined to have a serious discussion with the Emperor about the value of ten thousand taels of silver: "Do you even know the value of ten thousand taels?! A small courtyard house with four rooms rents for four thousand cash a month, and a larger one only rents for ten thousand cash a month. A shopfront facing the street sells for no more than three to five hundred taels of silver. Not to mention, even Father's monthly salary is only..."
Wan Anran became increasingly distressed as she spoke.
It's better to give her the money directly than waste ten thousand taels of silver on a pair of glasses :)
But Wan Anran's rambling was interrupted by a terrified whisper behind her: "Your Majesty?"
Wan Anran's voice abruptly stopped.
She blinked, belatedly realizing that the surroundings had become eerily quiet. The customers who had been gathered around looked shocked, not to mention the waiter who had been talking non-stop, now pale and trembling with fear.
The waiter, who was tidying up the teaware, was even more stunned. He remained in the position of tidying up the teacups, a question flashing through his mind: These teacups in front of him were the teaware used by the emperor... Shouldn't they be carefully preserved and used as the store's prized possession in the future?
This is a teacup that the Emperor used!
Oh no, after a moment of shock, everyone in the shop suddenly knelt down.
As for why no one refuted it.
Who in the capital would dare to impersonate the emperor? Here, you could just grab anyone; they might be a member of the imperial family or a nobleman, someone who has met the emperor. Besides, impersonating the emperor is not just a matter of losing your head, but also the execution of your entire family.
Wan Anran: ...
She glanced at the Emperor suspiciously, her scrutinizing gaze leaving Kangxi helpless. He spread his hands, looking aggrieved: "I really didn't intend to reveal my identity. It was just an accident."
The waiter rolled his Adam's apple.
The shopkeeper, who had come upon hearing the news, was sweating profusely. His gaze lingered on Liang Jiugong, who had no beard or white face, for a moment. Then, without any hesitation, the shopkeeper carefully handed the box and the glass glasses to Wan Anran, saying, "Please accept this, Madam."
This thing is a real hot potato.
Wan Anran felt guilty if she didn't pay; she felt resentful if she did pay.
Ultimately, the real culprit was the emperor.
Wan Anran gave Kangxi a chilling look and gritted her teeth: "Pay up."
Liang Jiugong shuddered.
He stepped forward, took out his banknotes, and quickly and decisively paid the money.
Emperor Kangxi was still somewhat displeased.
Even after leaving the palace, he kept muttering, "The palace has all sorts of gemstones and glass eyeglasses..."
"Why would you buy something that's already in the palace?" Wan Anran asked angrily.
"Most of the glass eyeglasses in the palace are cloudy, but such pure and transparent glass as this is rare. It truly deserves to be called a treasure," Kangxi explained in detail.
Transparent and clear, just like the simple and straightforward Qi Fei, it is a top-tier treasure.
Wan Anran, who was furious, felt that the emperor was just short of saying that she had no taste. She pretended to suddenly realize something, but in her heart she gritted her teeth and was determined to make the emperor know how powerful she was.
Ten thousand taels of silver, huh.
Emperor Kangxi always felt that Consort Qi's smile was fake. He thought that Consort Qi had always been frugal and liked things from ordinary people, so perhaps that was why she couldn't accept expensive treasures? Thinking of this, he softened his gaze and decided to comfort Consort Qi with some delicious food.
Just in time for the main show to begin.
Kangxi glanced at the people behind him, and before Wan Anran could notice, several guards disappeared into the crowd.
The restaurant is the same one as last time.
The shopkeeper's eyes lit up when he saw the two enter. He personally escorted the two elders upstairs, almost sealing off the entire upstairs to prevent any outsiders from disturbing them. It was only after the guards intervened that things calmed down.
Speaking of guards...?
Wan Anran glanced at the guards who came out: "Speaking of which..."
Kangxi's heart skipped a beat.
Did Consort Qi realize someone was missing? The next second, he heard Consort Qi ask curiously, "That particularly handsome... cough cough, that Guard Nalan from last time, didn't he come?"
Kangxi: ...? He's exceptionally handsome.
His gaze was piercing and fell directly on Wan Anran's face, and Wan Anran guiltily turned her head away.
Kangxi snorted.
He replied irritably, "Rong Ruo is resting at home after drinking and is not on duty today."
"Drunk?"
“Yes, he is addicted to drinking and often gets drunk at home. I have advised him several times, but he doesn’t listen.” Kangxi frowned, also somewhat dissatisfied with Nalan Xingde’s situation.
Therefore, he hasn't kept him by his side lately, intentionally neglecting him to make Nalan Xingde understand his situation. As for the person who currently pleases him most and accompanies him on outings, that is, of course…
Just then, a guard pushed open the door and entered: "My lord, everything is ready."
Wan Anran glanced at it.
Nalan Xingde was a gentle and refined gentleman with a touch of melancholy, while the guard before him was a handsome man with sharp features and a sunny and cheerful demeanor...
Wan Anran glanced at the emperor.
After exercising, he's in good shape lately, and even an emperor with a mature and imposing air can be considered handsome, which at least gives Wan Anran some comfort.
Oh, right, that's not the point right now.
Wan Anran asked curiously, "Sir, what does 'ready' mean?"
Kangxi smiled and said, "Aren't there several candidates for Empress?"
He was in a good mood: "I have seen many proposals in plays about selling oneself into servitude to bury one's father, so I thought I'd give it a try."
Wan Anran: …………?
Selling herself to bury her father? Could it be? She leaned on the railing and looked out. Sure enough, a crowd had gathered on the noisy street, and in the middle sat a woman in white, singing a sad and pitiful song.
Wan Anran was speechless with frustration, but then he glanced sideways and saw the Emperor looking on with great interest. He pointed at a few people in the crowd and laughed, "Look at this, this, and this..."
The candidates the empress was hesitant to choose from were all among them.
Wan Anran remained expressionless, sighing and rubbing her forehead: "Does Her Majesty the Empress know?"
"have no idea."
"..." Just as expected.
Wan Anran clutched her chest, feeling a sharp pain in her heart, liver, and lungs. It took her a long while to muster her strength to see what to do. After a while, Wan Anran frowned slightly and muttered to herself, "Could it be that my eyes are playing tricks on me? Why do I feel like there are... so many young men on the street?"
The first group consisted mostly of ordinary people.
Now, however, there are many more elegantly dressed young people inside, looking around as if searching for something.
Kangxi smiled but remained silent.
Wan Anran thought for a moment, then suddenly lowered her voice: "Your Majesty! You were doing that on purpose just now, weren't you?"
Reveal their names in the treasure vault.
Then, someone spread the word that the owner of the Treasure Pavilion was a member of the Eight Banners imperial family, attracting a group of young Eight Banners nobles.
Wan Anran's cheeks were puffed up with anger.
Kangxi pretended not to know and pulled Consort Qi aside to talk about what was happening outside: "These people just passed by without even glancing at us."
"Ha, there are actually fools who went up there."
"Oh dear, this person actually bumped into a child and scared them to tears..."
"Seeing the people fleeing in such a hurry, he must have done a lot of evil deeds in the past?"
Kangxi kept commenting.
Wan Anran's expression generally changed like this: = =, OO, OoO, (ΩДΩ)!
She pointed ahead, her voice trembling, "Your Majesty, didn't you say it was just one person selling themselves to bury their father?"
Emperor Kangxi laughed heartily: "Simply selling oneself into servitude to bury one's father is not enough?"
"so……"
"This street is full of people I arranged," Kangxi explained with a smile.
Wan Anran: …………
She covered her face to avoid looking at the chaotic scene below, and remained numb until she returned to the palace.
Other people's family members leaving the palace.
She could be intimate with the emperor and enhance their relationship.
Wan Anran left the palace.
I'm so overwhelmed by the emperor's display that I just want to know nothing :)
She felt extremely guilty, especially when she saw the Empress.
How should I put it? The Emperor used this strange and unusual testing method...
Fortunately, Emperor Kangxi did not intend to end it in one round. He then gathered the eligible young men and gave them a thorough competition and training, including horsemanship, archery, and poetry. If there hadn't been no eligible princesses in the palace, the officials of the previous dynasty would have suspected that the emperor was intentionally choosing a husband for the princesses.
The Empress was also quite surprised.
She casually mentioned this matter to Wan Anran, causing Wan Anran's expression to instantly become quite strange. The Empress was surprised: "Does Consort Qi know something?"
Wan Anran: "…………Hmm."
She replied curtly, "Perhaps they are looking at potential candidates for the Niohuru concubine."
The Empress slightly opened her eyes.
Then she burst out laughing, "How could that be!"
I'm absolutely right!
But if I say that, who will believe me?
Consort Tong actually believed it.
She concealed the complexity of her expression. Before Consort Tong entered the palace, the Emperor had mentioned that he would definitely find a good family for his sister.
In the end, it was all for nothing.
Consort Tong looked up at the smiling Empress and Consort Qi, her heart filled with complicated emotions for a moment, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she smiled and changed the subject: "Speaking of which, shouldn't the candidates for the imperial concubine selection be decided by now?"
The Queen smiled and nodded: "That's true."
After the Dragon Boat Festival, imperial edicts were sent to every household. The emperor had personally selected Daruk, the second son of Prince Aohan, as the candidate for the Niohuru imperial concubine. He was tall and had a rugged appearance, but he was very thoughtful. During the test, he was the only one who sent someone to report to the authorities and made proper arrangements for the woman who had sold herself to bury her father without ever showing his face. What was even more unexpected was that he was also quite talented in literature, which was quite different from his appearance.
The Empress was initially somewhat worried.
After her younger sister got married and she received the good news that everything was going well, her heart finally settled down.
Wan Anran finally felt relieved.
Her gaze returned to the glass spectacles worth ten thousand taels of silver. The moment they were taken out, Hai Tao and the others gasped in surprise, their excited expressions making Wan Anran wonder if she herself was the one who had gone mad.
Wan Anran recalled that when she visited the Palace Museum in her previous life, there were actually quite a few glasswares from the mid-Kangxi period, but they were not yet in mass production, and there were fewer colors and styles, with most being bright colors.
But since they could produce colored glassware, surely transparent glassware wouldn't be far behind? Therefore, Wan Anran sent someone to deliver the glass eyeglasses to Wan Liuha's residence, emphasizing that the Emperor had purchased them for ten thousand taels of silver.
I think Ama should understand what he means, right?
It was rare for Consort Qi to bestow gifts upon her family, so Emperor Kangxi was also a little curious. When he summoned Wanliuha Tuoerbi to ask him a few questions, he immediately laughed so hard he bent over. He then simply ordered him to do as Consort Qi had said.
He was unaware that Qi Fei was also greedy for money.
Yinzhen also heard about this. He knew quite a bit about the formula for glassware, so he sent someone back to prevent his grandfather from being completely clueless and not knowing where to start.
Of course, Yinzhen said that he had only listened to what his mother said.
Wanliuha Tuoerbi didn't quite believe his grandson's words. Could his daughter, with her character, really have such abilities? But the Fifth Prince was too young to know much about it, right? After thinking it over, Tuoerbi felt that perhaps the Emperor wanted to do this?
The high price of glassware meant that one could make a fortune in the market! With this in mind, Wan Liuha Tuoerbi was filled with energy and devoted himself to the research.
Anyway, the result was good.
As Wanliuha Tuoerbi began his research, summer arrived. As in previous years, the emperor, accompanied by the two empress dowagers and most of the concubines, moved to the Western Garden. However, their leisurely days were short-lived, as sad news came from the palace.
In mid-June, Consort Tong gave birth to a baby girl after a difficult delivery.
However, the good times didn't last long. Before Consort Tong could finish her postpartum confinement, the child died.
Even though Consort Tong was unwilling to believe it, several investigations failed to uncover any problems. The infant mortality rate remained high, and many concubines had lost their children.
Consort Tong's misfortune only elicited sighs, with some palace servants even suggesting that her good fortune was too great for the young princess's fate to bear. Furthermore, the Emperor and the two Empress Dowagers remained unmoved, offering no comfort or reassurance whatsoever. The young princess's passing vanished like a drop of water falling into a vast ocean, disappearing without a trace.
Wan Anran propped her cheek up with her hand.
Even she seemed to have gotten used to these things.
The pregnancies of the remaining Empress, Consort Xuan, Consort Yi, and Consort Ning have also attracted increasing attention.
First, Consort Yi successfully gave birth to a baby prince.
She was very careful during this pregnancy, and although the baby was small, it looked quite healthy, which put everyone's minds at ease.
But just as everyone relaxed, trouble struck.
Just after the Ninth Prince's one-month celebration, the Empress, who was eight months pregnant, went into labor.
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