The snow outside was falling heavier and heavier, seemingly threatening to blanket the entire area. After finishing her tea, Youqing stood in front of the door wearing a cloak. The courtyard was already covered with a layer of snow, looking like it was draped in a silvery-white blanket.
Sangzhu handed her a hot water bottle. Youqing hugged the warm hot water bottle and looked out at the red walls and white tiles. For a moment, she felt as if she had returned to the modern world. She was just a tourist visiting the Forbidden City who had encountered heavy snow and witnessed the rare snow scene of the Forbidden City.
Youqing was lost in thought. Sangzhu looked at her with some concern and said, "Young mistress, your health is already weak, and you can't stand the wind. Please come inside!"
Youqing snapped out of her daze: "Alright."
He went into the inner room, took off his cloak, took out the travelogue from the previous night, and began to read it.
After some time, Cheng Ying pushed open the door and came in, smiling as she said, "My lady, the small kitchen has been set up. Li Zhi went to the imperial kitchen to get the ingredients, and the small kitchen can be used for cooking tonight."
Upon hearing this, Youqing smiled and said, "The Imperial Household Department is quick to act. It's not easy for them to get some money in this cold weather."
Cheng Ying: "Yes, my lady."
Youqing continued, "Tell the two nannies to prepare something nice for dinner. Don't skimp on food. Winter is tough, so you should all eat well too."
Cheng Ying was even happier, as she was also a beneficiary of it.
“Your Highness is kind. I will go and tell them right away, so that Zhu Qiaozheng and the others can be happy too.”
There's a common saying that men fear choosing the wrong profession and women fear marrying the wrong man. But in the palace, the concubines in the harem fear taking a wrong step and regretting it later. The eunuchs and maids in the palace fear following the wrong master, especially a master who seems sweet on the outside but is bitter on the inside.
A master like Youqing is rare. Chengying used to work in Qianqing Palace, where the treatment was good, but he was not as comfortable as he was in Jiangxue Pavilion.
Kangxi had many servants and secret guards, and Chengying was just one of the less noticeable ones. When Liang Jiugong selected people to come to Jiangxuexuan, everyone else avoided him, but Chengying was quiet and reserved, and was chosen. Now, thinking about it, he feels fortunate.
Consort Shu is a rare and good master.
She was determined to pray to Heaven day and night that her mistress would live a peaceful and stable life.
Because of Chengying's voice, Youqing also felt her eyes getting a little sore. The lighting in the room was not very good, and looking at it for a long time would easily hurt her eyes.
So she put on her cloak and decided to go for a walk in the courtyard.
Looking out from the doorway, the courtyard was covered with a thick layer of white snow, with snowflakes dancing in the air, creating a dreamlike scene.
Youqing exclaimed in a daze, "So beautiful!"
After saying that, she asked someone to bring her an oil-paper umbrella, and she held it up herself as she went to walk in the snow.
Sangzhu, who was standing nearby, said, "My lady, we haven't had time to clean up the snow on the road yet. If your shoes and socks get wet, you'll be uncomfortable tonight."
This wasn't something Sangzhu made up. Last year, the two of them, master and servant, were terribly cold, and their hands and feet developed chilblains. At the beginning of winter, she herself couldn't stand even the slightest bit of cold air, otherwise her hands and feet would itch at night, and Sangzhu was also afraid of that.
Youqing really couldn't bear to miss this beautiful scenery. Looking at the deerskin boots she was wearing, she said, "I won't go far. I'll just wander around in the yard. I'll go back and change my shoes later. It's fine."
Upon hearing this, Sangzhu knew that she couldn't persuade her otherwise, so she stopped talking, picked up another umbrella, and followed behind Youqing.
In winter, there was only one withered tree in the yard, but now it is covered with snowflakes, and from a distance, it looks like "thousands of pear trees in bloom".
In a corner of the yard, there was a swing, now covered in snow.
Youqing walked around, stopping and pausing frequently in the courtyard.
After a busy day, Kangxi saw the heavy snow outside and for some reason thought of Youqing. He remembered eating hot pot with her, the rich aroma emanating from the steaming pot after it boiled. On such a cold day, it seemed that hot pot was the perfect choice.
Thinking this, he could no longer write anything with his pen. He put on a pure black cloak and led Liang Jiugong out of the Qianqing Palace, heading straight for the Jiangxue Pavilion.
Then, at the entrance of the courtyard, I saw Youqing admiring the scenery. The people in the courtyard were admiring the scenery, and the people in the courtyard were also part of the scenery.
Looking into the distance, Kangxi suddenly felt as if the person was about to ascend to heaven, impossible to grasp or touch, like a mere illusion.
That feeling of helplessness from last night surged back into his heart, and he even had a ridiculous thought: he felt that this person did not belong in this deep palace.
After an unknown amount of time, as if a lifetime had passed, someone finally discovered Kangxi's whereabouts.
Just as Li Zhi was about to clean up the remaining grime in the small kitchen, he saw Emperor Kangxi at the gate of the courtyard and exclaimed, "This servant greets Your Majesty!"
Kangxi: "Get up."
Then Kangxi stepped into the courtyard.
As Li Zhi spoke, everyone in the courtyard noticed Kangxi's arrival and came over to pay their respects. Youqing also heard the noise and went to Kangxi with her umbrella.
"This concubine greets Your Majesty."
Kangxi quickly helped her up, saying, "Why did you come out? It's snowing so heavily outside, don't let yourself get cold." His tone was very considerate, like a whisper to a lover.
Youqing said, "It's alright, come out and take a look. Staying in the house all the time is making us moldy."
Knowing her health condition, Kangxi was worried: "Let it go this time, but don't go out in the snow again."
Youqing smiled, not revealing anything she couldn't say, and simply said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern for my health."
Youqing was then "forcibly" taken into the house by Emperor Kangxi.
After the two sat down, Kangxi said, "I remember that my beloved concubine does not like to go out. It's snowing heavily today, why did my beloved concubine come out? If she gets cold, I will be very worried about her."
Youqing got goosebumps all over her arm when she heard this. It was too cheesy, but she was dressed thickly so no one could tell.
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