It was common knowledge in the palace that Consort Miao was trying to get close to Consort Qi. Everyone knew she was from Chengqian Palace, yet she was trying to climb the social ladder behind her master's back? Needless to say, once she returned to the Forbidden City, Consort Miao would likely have no future.
Consort An then made her move.
Consort An feared that Consort Miao would be grateful to her, and a little trick would be enough to make her obedient. The more Consort An thought about it, the more delighted she became, and a look of determination appeared on her face. She breathed a sigh of relief: "Granny Wu, I'll leave this matter to you."
Granny Wu solemnly replied, "Don't worry, Master."
Just as they had predicted, as the time to return to the palace drew closer, Consort Miao, who was already overwhelmed with worries, almost without hesitation chose to board Consort An's ship.
At least there's still a future for him by Consort An's side.
If she were to return to Chengqian Palace... she didn't want to be locked up in the inner palace like the crazy Wuya, unable to take a single step out.
The palace maids under Miao Changzai remained silent.
She was filled with worry, vaguely wondering if she should find a way to escape from Consort Miao. But this wasn't escaping to safety; it was more like escaping one tiger's den only to fall into another.
The flirtatious exchanges between Consort Miao and Consort An didn't cause much of a stir. At most, people would sigh later about the decline of Chengqian Palace, noting that even a lowly Consort Miao dared to arrange a relationship with someone behind Consort Tong's back.
As for the Forbidden City...
The old woman from Chengqian Palace turned ashen-faced. She turned and went into the room to quickly report the matter to Consort Tong. Consort Tong sat calmly at the head of the table, her eyes lowered as she fiddled with the prayer beads on her wrist, her gaze fixed on the letter in front of her.
“Master, even Consort Miao…”
“Fine, let her move out when she returns to the palace.” Consort Tong interrupted Granny Zhao, her expression unusually calm: “What I need to do now is to recover my health and conceive a royal heir.”
Granny Zhao remained silent.
Consort Tong comforted her, "Would Consort An be so kind as to let Consort Miao move to her palace? She is not a good-tempered person. In my opinion, she must have other schemes."
After a long silence, Granny Zhao whispered, "I'm just worried that the palace might think you're easy to bully, and then they might start to fawn over you and bully you."
Consort Tong scoffed: "Flattery and bullying? I am the Emperor's cousin. As long as I do not offend the Emperor and remain a Consort, who can or dares to humiliate me?"
For her, the most important thing was to win back the Emperor's heart. Consort Tong shook her head: "Instead of worrying about Consort Miao, I should pay more attention to Consort Yi. If she can give birth to two princes... wouldn't Yikun Palace be like oil on a hot fire, extremely popular?"
"Consort Yi has truly played her cards well."
“Indeed, these are good cards.” Consort Tong said with a half-smile.
Granny Zhao's expression was strange: "Your Highness, do you mean Consort Qi is a tortoise? She can even tolerate this blatant robbery?"
Consort Tong rolled her eyes.
She said with great interest, "She's not a tortoise; this is what a smart person does. If she were to go and complain to the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the Empress right now, do you think Consort Yi or she would be the one to suffer?"
Granny Zhao felt a little embarrassed after thinking about it.
She lowered her voice, unable to resist complaining, "But this... just looking at it is too..."
"Keeping it to yourself is the best course of action."
Consort Tong picked up her teacup, took a sip, and said with great certainty, "Just you wait and see, Consort Qi might even speak up for Consort Yi in front of the two empress dowagers later." Only in this way could Consort Qi appear to be extremely aggrieved.
The Empress Dowager and the Empress thought so too.
Empress Niohuru, in particular, had already devised several ways to appease Consort Qi, just waiting for her to bring up the matter. Meanwhile, the Empress Dowager was thinking that if Consort Qi did bring it up, she would also give her a warning.
As for Consort Yi's matter...
The Empress Dowager neither agreed nor disagreed, but she did not expect Consort Yi to be so pleased.
However, the reality differed somewhat from what they expected.
As Consort Qi launched into a long and detailed explanation of everything from raw chocolate to chocolate chips, from lava chocolate cake to chocolate cheesecake, the Empress Dowager and the Empress's expressions grew increasingly strange.
Only the Empress Dowager listened with great interest.
The bittersweet chocolate had become her new favorite. When the Empress Dowager picked up a piece with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth, the sweet taste that spread between her lips and teeth made her sigh with delight.
Wan Anran didn't even blink.
As soon as the Empress Dowager put down her chopsticks, she couldn't wait to ask, "What does the Empress Dowager think?"
The Empress Dowager nodded: "It's really unexpected... Such a bitter thing before, through Consort Qi's skillful hands, can be transformed into such a wonderful taste. The bitterness is tinged with a slight sweetness, just like life itself."
Wan Anran nodded repeatedly.
The only regret was that she couldn't say that these chocolates were made by standing on the shoulders of her ancestors. The Empress Dowager's praise made her blush slightly, and Wan Anran shifted uncomfortably before remembering her purpose. She coughed lightly, "Empress Dowager, Your Majesty the Empress, I have a favor to ask."
Could it be that they've arrived?
The Empress Dowager was greatly encouraged, while the Empress felt a chill run down her spine. She couldn't hide the worry in her eyes, even wondering if Consort Qi was getting a little too cocky? Was she actually planning to... blurt out... something?
The Empress Dowager was slightly taken aback.
She didn't think much of it and cheerfully replied, "Could it be Consort Yi? My favorite is Xiao Mao Tao, so you can rest assured!"
"...Huh?" Wan Anran looked completely bewildered. She blinked, looking at the Empress Dowager with a blank and confused expression: "What... does this have to do with peaches?"
The Empress Dowager and Wan Anran stared at each other.
Wan Anran suddenly came to her senses, then laughed and cried at the same time: "What I meant was that I wanted to ask the Empress Dowager and the Empress to intervene, to say... to say... that this chocolate is delicious, and to get more from overseas!"
Empress Niohuru: ...
Grand Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager: ...
The three of them were all startled.
Wan Anran was both amused and annoyed: "Consort Yi has already explained this matter. She was only doing it for Consort Guo's own good. How could I not be happy? Besides, the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager dote on every prince and princess. Do they think they'll forget about us, Mao Tao, once they have other women?"
Although Consort Yi's words were indeed unpleasant to hear, Wan Anran did not react much.
Everyone chooses a different life, and everyone has different thoughts. Just as she hoped that Xiao Maotao would not get involved in this power struggle among the princes and would grow up peacefully and healthily. But some people hope to have power and favor, so that their families can be tarnished.
Besides, feelings are a two-way street. It's only natural for the Empress Dowager to treat me well, and for me to treat her well in return. It's the younger generation's way of showing respect to the older generation.
As for the possibility that the Empress Dowager might treat Consort Yi better than herself in the future? If that were the case, would saying anything more now be of any use? Wan Anran remained calm and composed.
The Empress Dowager, however, held her hand and nodded repeatedly: "That's right, that's right. I just can't understand what those people are thinking. In their eyes, am I such a biased person?"
The Empress's lips twitched.
Who in the entire harem didn't know that the Empress Dowager favored Consort Qi? But seeing the Empress Dowager's excited expression, the Empress could only smile.
The Empress Dowager pondered for a moment.
She stared intently at Consort Qi, but could not tell whether all of this was within her expectations or an unexpected event, a coincidence or something she had prepared in advance.
The Empress Dowager squinted her eyes.
Just then, Mao Tao, nestled in the Empress Dowager's arms, giggled and waved her chubby little hands, which were as thin as lotus roots. The Empress Dowager smiled, looking like an ordinary old lady, and lowered her head to play with her grandson.
Yinzhen smiled sweetly.
He was in a great mood. He had previously thought that his mother would suffer in this life, but now it seemed that it was probably not his mother who would suffer, but Consort Yi.
The Emperor naturally knew, and he was greatly surprised after hearing the Empress's account of Consort Qi's reaction. Then Kangxi smiled wryly: "In that case, let's proceed as previously agreed."
The Empress respectfully agreed.
Turning to the topic of returning to the palace, Kangxi's eyes held a hint of regret: "Although I wish to stay here longer, it is regrettable that the Imperial Concubine is still in the palace..."
The West Garden was lush and green, a place of leisure and comfort, but back in the palace, the sweltering summer returned. However, the West Garden had always been mostly used for hunting, and the palaces were cramped and the scenery rather ordinary. The more Kangxi thought about it, the more regretful he became: "I see that the Qinghua Garden is still unused. Perhaps the Imperial Household Department could renovate it and use it as a villa?"
In Wan Anran's view, Xiyuan was already a beautiful place.
However, in Kangxi's eyes, this place was only ordinary, not even remotely outstanding.
Empress Niohuru shook her head.
While personally massaging the Emperor's shoulders, she gently advised, "The war has just ended, so let's wait and see. If Your Majesty misses the Consort, why not invite her to stay at the West Garden for a while? Or perhaps she can relax there and recover faster."
The Ministry of Revenue and the Imperial Household Department were both living on a tight budget.
Kangxi's previous regrets vanished. His goal was to become an emperor who would be praised in history, so how could he squander his wealth? Kangxi looked at the Empress approvingly: "The Empress is indeed my wise and capable wife. Every word she says is exactly what I want to hear."
He smiled and nodded: "I think we should continue to live in the courtyard. As for the Imperial Concubine, we should also bring her here to live for two months."
Does that mean I'll return to the palace in two months?
The Empress smiled and agreed, then turned around and spread the good news to all the concubines in the palace.
Everyone's face was beaming with joy.
Wan Anran, in particular, was still feeling melancholy about saying goodbye to the little panda just two days ago, but now she almost burst out laughing with joy. She didn't even care about Consort Tong's upcoming visit, while only Consort Miao looked embarrassed.
So...who should she live with?
Miao Changzai felt incredibly embarrassed, and the mocking looks from others only made her more depressed. She wanted to ask Consort An for help, but unfortunately, Consort An politely declined.
The matter of changing palaces can only be discussed when we return to the palace.
Consort An, unsure of Consort Tong's current situation, was unwilling to let this stone bring bad luck.
As for Consort Tong, who was far away in the Forbidden City, she didn't care about Consort Miao in the West Courtyard or even Consort Wuya in the backyard. Consort Tong happily packed her bags and hurriedly led her entourage to the West Courtyard.
However, her arrival did not attract the attention of the concubines. Everyone's eyes were on the imperial edict that the empress had just issued—allowing the concubines' families to enter the garden for an audience.
The concubines of the rank of Pin and above fared somewhat better, but the Noble Ladies, Attendants, and Ladies-in-Waiting were overjoyed and chattered excitedly about the matter.
The only exception among the concubines was Wan Anran.
If it were any other time, she could say she wanted to avoid suspicion by not seeing anyone, but this time Wan Anran had no excuse and could only choose to meet with Wan Liuha's family.
Wan Anran was extremely uneasy.
As Hai Tao went to personally greet the women, she became increasingly restless. Her predecessor didn't have many memories, only that her family was close-knit and had a good atmosphere. Her brothers and she were all born of the same mother, and there was no infighting within the family; it was a very harmonious family.
Beyond this superficial impression, everything else was shrouded in mist, and Wan Anran couldn't see clearly no matter how hard she tried. Just as her heart was pounding, she heard the voice of a palace servant calling her.
Wan Anran looked up at the doorway.
A woman in palace attire, both strange and familiar, entered the room and looked up at her. The moment their eyes met, a flash of lightning struck Wan Anran's mind, tearing apart the veil of secrecy in an instant.
Uncontrollably, two streams of tears streamed down her face. Wan Anran's nose stung terribly, and she covered her lips with her hands, choking out, "Mother—!"
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