Chuxiu Palace.
After sending someone to deliver snacks to the Imperial Study, Wan Anran naturally drank a large cup of milk tea and ate four egg tarts. Still wanting more, she made fried chicken wings and enjoyed a delicious high-calorie meal.
Of course, just like every woman on a diet.
She was happy while eating, but after finishing, especially when pinching her belly fat, Wan Anran became extremely anxious.
Therefore, I decided to have something light for dinner.
Wan Anran diced the tomatoes and steamed them together with brown rice, shrimp, green peas, and diced chicken breast over a fire. The tomato juice seeped in layer by layer, and the brown rice at the bottom was roasted into a crispy crust.
As soon as it came out of the oven, Wan Anran's stomach started growling.
She mixed the rice and dishes with a spoon and took a delicious bite. The crispy rice crust, the sweet and sour tomatoes, and the textures of shrimp, green beans, and chicken breast all exploded in her mouth at the same time. Wan Anran squinted her eyes and ate with relish.
This is what Emperor Kangxi saw.
Recalling the harmonious scene in the Imperial Study, Kangxi couldn't help but smile as he looked at Consort Qi, almost forgetting that he had originally come to settle accounts.
Perhaps this is the power of food.
Emperor Kangxi strode in and ordered the palace servants, "Bring up another portion."
Kangxi had originally intended to ask Consort Qi if she knew about Tuoheqi, but while chewing on the crispy rice crust and listening to Yin Tao's chattering laughter, and looking at Consort Qi's smiling eyes, Kangxi casually put those matters out of his mind.
That's enough.
Given Consort Qi's personality, how could she possibly know?
The case of Jin Fuzhi did not come to an end until June.
According to the report of the officials who went to investigate, Jin Fu often exchanged his salary for rice to help the people, which led to his family being poor and destitute. His wife and daughters had no choice but to do embroidery to supplement the family income, and they rarely ate meat once a year.
The investigation revealed that those who frequently recounted Jin Fu's misdeeds were mostly merchants and wealthy farmers, not ordinary people. Their reason for attacking Jin Fu was that their land was located in the lower reaches of the river, and Jin Fu's strategies threatened their own interests.
After repeated checks, even Xiao Chenglong, who had previously doubted Jin Fu, had to admit his mistake, withdraw his prejudice, and write a letter to express his guilt and apology.
Jin Fu was not a corrupt official like Mingzhu, but a rare honest and capable official!
Emperor Kangxi breathed a long sigh of relief.
Tohqi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but on the surface he still maintained a confident demeanor, proudly earning the admiring glances of the court officials. Of course, some people were rather disdainful, secretly calling Tohqi a guy whose brain was all muscles.
Tohqi was quite pleased to hear this.
Muscles are fine, being an honest and simple-minded fool isn't so bad.
The Empress also shared this good news with Consort Qi.
Unable to hide her joy, Wan Anran secretly made a small cake to celebrate.
As for why it was done secretly, it was because there had been more and more affairs in the imperial court and the inner palace lately. The shadow of the Empress Dowager's passing had not yet faded, and Consort Tong had fallen ill.
Not only was the Empress frightened, but the Empress Dowager and Emperor Kangxi were also alarmed by Consort Tong's condition. They quickly ordered the imperial physicians to take turns caring for her and to obtain all kinds of medicinal herbs from the imperial treasury.
The previous dynasty was also not peaceful.
News of war came from the northwest. Galdan pressed his advantage and marched westward in one fell swoop. In a short period of time, he penetrated deep into the heart of Mongolia and defeated the Khalkha Mongols. He pressed closer and closer to the capital. Meanwhile, the Russian Empire launched another major offensive.
While Emperor Kangxi issued an edict ordering Commander Pengchun to lead troops to Yaksa to support the Russian Kingdom, he also ordered Minister of the Court of Colonial Affairs, Alaini, to appease the Khalkha people who had become naturalized, and at the same time, to try to win over Galdan.
With a host of matters piling up at once, Emperor Kangxi worked day and night, throwing himself wholeheartedly into his tasks.
He finally managed to gain some weight, but then he lost it all again in a flash.
While living her own quiet life, Wan Anran also mustered her energy to prepare a variety of appetizing soups for the emperor.
From nourishing ginseng and black chicken soup, cordyceps stewed meat soup, to monkey head mushroom and yam stewed soup, then to sweet and sour tomato and shrimp soup, to cooling and heat-relieving lotus leaf and mung bean soup, to moisturizing and nourishing snow pear and white fungus soup...
At first, Emperor Kangxi was quite pleased, but later he became somewhat amused and exasperated. Especially when he discovered that the newly made dragon robe was slightly tight, he hurried to the Chuxiu Palace to personally demonstrate to Consort Qi that he was perfectly healthy and did not need any tonics or medicines!
After spending time with Consort Qi, Emperor Kangxi took the Crown Prince to Mongolia.
The last time the emperor took his concubines to Mongolia, Wan Anran was pregnant. This time, Galdan invaded Mongolia, and Kangxi went to form an alliance. Therefore, apart from the empress, he did not take any concubines with him.
Wan Anran couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
With the Empress absent, Consort Tong and Wan Anran are the ones suffering. First, the Empress Dowager is not fluent in Chinese; handling palace affairs? That's practically a pipe dream. Second, after Mingzhu gained real power, Consort Hui became exceptionally low-key, and her enthusiasm for assisting in palace affairs waned.
Furthermore, Consort Rong was worried about her eldest daughter, Rongxian.
Unlike the eldest princess, whose marriage had already been arranged in Mongolia, the second princess's marriage was not arranged, and it just so happened that Galdan launched a large-scale invasion.
Who knows, maybe the second princess will get...
Consort Rong was distracted while handling her duties, and instead of helping, she actually did more harm than good. Consort Tong and Wan Anran knew the heart of a mother, and seeing this, they did not want to blame Consort Rong anymore, so they simply gave her a holiday to rest properly.
Consort Xuan was also in a bad mood.
Her family was poised for war, and seeing that Consort Xuan was not interested in handling matters, Consort Tong sent her to accompany the Empress Dowager.
That left only Wan Anran to do the work.
Even though Wan Anran used to like to run away, at this moment she had no choice but to risk her life and do it anyway!
When the emperor and his entourage returned, Wan Anran had successfully lost weight.
As for Consort Tong, she was even more exhausted than Wan Anran, and she fell ill again not long after recovering from her previous illness.
Even the imperial physicians shook their heads this time.
Consort Tong's health deteriorated day by day. After barely making it through the New Year of the 28th year, despite the cries of the Seventh Prince Yinyou, she finally closed her eyes and passed away.
Emperor Kangxi was deeply grieved.
When she passed away, all that remained in his mind were beautiful memories of the past. He personally composed a eulogy to mourn her, posthumously bestowed upon her the title of Imperial Noble Consort Yihui, and buried her in the Jingling Mausoleum.
From then on, he frequently visited Chengqian Palace to miss Consort Yihui and often bestowed gifts upon Consort Tong. Just when the palace concubines thought that the emperor would value Consort Tong more because of the death of Consort Yihui, they never expected that only three or four months later, Consort Tong would be demoted to a lower rank by the enraged Kangxi.
As for Consort Zhangjia, who resided in Chengqian Palace, although she was not implicated in the demotion, she was moved to Yonghe Palace. As for the Thirteenth Prince Yinxiang, he was handed over to Consort Ping for care.
This development was something no one had anticipated.
Wan Anran was the same. After listening to the news brought back by the palace servants, she sighed twice and then focused her attention on her own life.
Recently, Wan Anran wanted to make spicy strips.
Spicy strips, later hailed as the king of snacks, are not an easy thing to make by hand. Wan Anran had a large bag of finely ground flour brought over, and then all the palace staff in Chuxiu Palace worked together to make them.
Just as the flour was kneaded into a dough and then vigorously kneaded in water, the palace maid Nanzhou exclaimed, "Master, are you perhaps making gluten?"
Wan Anran nodded.
Nan Zhou opened his mouth: "The imperial kitchen has it—"
Wan Anran's movements stiffened slightly.
Ding Lan glared at Nan Zhou, then kneaded the dough vigorously: "The gluten made by Master himself must be especially delicious."
Wan Anran: …………
She hesitated, finding it difficult to admit that she hadn't thought of it on the spot. Rather than wasting her energy making it herself, she suggested taking some from the imperial kitchen.
But Nan Zhou suddenly realized the truth.
She nodded emphatically and joined Ding Lan in kneading the dough diligently: "Sister Ding Lan is right, Mistress, I was mistaken! Mistress's gluten is the most delicious."
Wan Anran couldn't back down even if she wanted to.
Looking at Yin Tao, who was happily kneading dough in the basin and laughing, she could only choose to continue kneading the dough.
The water was changed again and again until the dough could hardly be washed out of the water no matter how much it was kneaded and its size hardly changed. Then, it was taken out, mixed with yeast, rolled into a large sheet, cut into thin strips, dried a little, and then slowly fried in a pan.
There are still seasonings left.
Seeing that she had been busy all day and only made a tiny amount of spicy strips, Wan Anran was heartbroken. She rubbed her sore elbows and thought she would do it tomorrow.
Yin Tao, on the other hand, remained full of energy.
He looked at Wan Anran expectantly: "Mother, when can we eat?"
"Mother is so tired, how about tomorrow?"
"Sigh..." Yin Tao was a little disappointed, then he ran up behind Wan Anran and said, "Yin Tao will give Mother a back massage!"
Wan Anran was immediately delighted.
The mother and son sat on the porch, the sky overcast and soon a light drizzle began to fall. The dense mist enveloped the courtyard, creating a unique and charming scene.
Yin Tao's movements stopped at some point.
He nestled in his mother's arms, gazing at the branches swaying in the wind, and lazily yawned.
On the other hand, Kangxi's expression was not good.
Braving the wind and rain, he wandered aimlessly around the palace. Could he possibly go to Cining Palace to express his gratitude to the Empress Dowager? Kangxi couldn't bring himself to do it. Going to Kunning Palace, he felt he couldn't speak his mind freely with the Empress, being purely businesslike. Going to Chengqian Palace, he was still feeling nauseous after what had just happened. As for Yuqing Palace? Forget about it. He couldn't very well go there and have a heart-to-heart talk with his son about the concubines, could he?
The vast Forbidden City offered no place for him to express his feelings, and Kangxi paced around in frustration. Finally, Liang Jiugong, unable to bear it any longer, suggested, "Your Majesty, the Chuxiu Palace is just ahead. Would you like to sit there for a while?"
Kangxi stopped and looked up ahead.
Even on rainy days, Chuxiu Palace looks different. The sudden thunderstorm couldn't dampen Wan Anran and Yin Tao's good mood. As Kangxi approached the backyard, he could see the mother and son sitting side by side under the eaves, laughing and splashing water.
Wan Anran never expected to see Emperor Kangxi arrive in the rain. After her initial shock, Wan Anran quickly paid her respects and the first thing she did upon rising was to take the towel offered by a palace maid. She then placed the towel over the Emperor's head and gently wiped away the water droplets, one by one.
Yin Tao brought a teacup to Kangxi.
He called out in a clear voice, "Father, drink the ginger soup!"
The joyful sounds of children can infect everyone, including Emperor Kangxi.
His gloomy expression softened considerably at this moment. He reached out and took the teacup, taking a sip in silence. The ginger soup at Chuxiu Palace had a pungent spiciness at first, followed by a sweet aftertaste, and a cup of it warmed the stomach.
After walking in the rain for quite a while, Kangxi, who was tired and cold, relaxed and patted his side: "You all should sit down quickly."
Yin Tao let out a howl.
He sat next to Kangxi, snuggling close to him. Although they were very close, Kangxi still noticed that Yin Tao's attention was not on him at all.
Yin Tao looked ahead.
His focused expression made Kangxi unable to resist following his gaze, but after looking left and right, he couldn't see anything different from usual. Finally, he couldn't help but ask, "Yintao, what are you looking at?"
Yin Tao shushed him.
He pointed to his ear and lowered his voice: "It's not about looking—Father, listen, doesn't the sound of the rain sound like singing?"
Emperor Kangxi held his breath and concentrated.
Tick-tock, ding-dong, splash-splash.
The sounds of countless raindrops and water were like musical scales of different rhythms, playing together a melody he had never heard before. It was the first time that Kangxi had sat under the eaves listening to such music, and in the end, he was somewhat mesmerized.
Wan Anran tiptoed inside.
Thinking of the Emperor's bad mood, she casually prepared some snacks to go with the wine: freshly picked edamame, cucumbers mixed with hot and sour sauce, a few kinds of grilled skewers, and some brewed rice wine.
Emperor Kangxi took a sip of rice wine and then smiled.
He glanced at Consort Qi and said, "Don't try to fool me. Bring out a stronger wine."
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