Emperor Kangxi always appeared good-tempered in front of Youqing, but Youqing never dared to overstep her bounds in the slightest. Perhaps the filter of "Kangxi Dynasty" was too strong, and she still felt that a person like Kangxi was very distant from her.
Therefore, Youqing naturally did not refuse Kangxi's "gentle" request.
She knew one thing well: with three thousand beauties in the harem, who was she? She wasn't afraid of angering Emperor Kangxi and losing his favor; she was afraid of angering him and losing her life.
So she is quite pragmatic.
It's just doing more work, it's not like it's impossible.
The next day, the Imperial Household Department sent three nannies, saying that Emperor Kangxi had sent them to assist her.
After arranging the three nannies, Zhu Qiao said to Youqing, "Your Highness, among these three nannies, Granny Hong and Granny Chen have not been in the palace for long. They learned your skills privately at the Imperial Household Department some time ago, so they are probably not very clean. Granny Jing entered the palace many years ago, and I have not heard that she is close to anyone."
"Keep an eye on them in private, just make sure they don't do anything bad."
"Yes, Master."
After Zhu Qiao left, You Qing was heading to the handicraft workshop when Sang Zhu came over with a cloak: "Master, you are sensitive to the cold, and the weather has been getting colder these past few days. This is a newly made cloak; please put it on before you go out."
Youqing obediently draped the cloak over her shoulders.
He went to another room before taking off the cloak.
At that moment, Chengying knocked on the door and came in.
"Your Majesty, a few paintings have been delivered by someone from the Qianqing Palace."
It should be a landscape painting of the Horqin Grassland.
"Bring them in! Let me take a look first. As for those three matrons, make careful arrangements for them. After all, they are from the Imperial Household Department, so don't mistreat them."
"Yes, Master."
Consort De originally planned to make the boxes that only Youqing knew how to weave into common items in the harem, but after Kangxi's actions, although she didn't quite understand his ultimate intention, she abandoned her original idea.
The fact that the box had become a common item didn't seem to have any effect on Youqing, and she decided to take another look.
As the woman who rose through the ranks of the imperial harem in the most "legendary" way, Consort De had no shortage of patience. She was waiting for an opportunity, an opportunity to kill her "enemy" in one fell swoop.
Looking at the blueprints sent by Emperor Kangxi, Youqing made some preparations. Of course, she wasn't very good at it herself, so she bought a scanner and presented the map of the Khorchin grassland in a way similar to cross-stitch patterns.
The result was naturally good.
Since Granny Hong and Granny Chen had already learned the skills, they naturally had a foundation. So she handed over the three slightly larger boxes to the two of them. There was no harm in using readily available people.
The larger boxes are woven using a flat, relatively simple technique, and they all do know how to do it.
As for Granny Jing, Zhu Qiao investigated her again, hoping to find nothing.
She did need someone, so she put Granny Jing in front of her to help out with some trivial tasks.
Of course, she didn't hide some of the basic techniques either.
A month has passed, and the Forbidden City has long been in winter. There is still about a month until the New Year.
Although Granny Hong and Granny Chen came with impure motives, they were quite serious about their work and their skills were impeccable. Granny Jing, although she didn't have much background in this area, had a really strong learning ability and her skills were truly excellent.
Youqing estimated that it should be completed in less than half a month.
Youqing originally thought it would be quite troublesome, but it was actually not too bad.
She is indeed interested in knitting, and with the help of a few people, she doesn't actually spend much time knitting each day.
It was relaxing, not tiring, quite enjoyable, and fulfilling.
Inside Yonghe Palace, after listening to the old nanny's words, Consort De said, "The boxes that Consort Shu is making are all decorated with grassland scenes. What do you think of this?"
After thinking for a moment, the nanny shared her thoughts: "This servant believes it should be a New Year's gift from Consort Shu to the Empress Dowager!"
She couldn't think of anyone else related to the grasslands besides the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager.
Consort De thought so too.
"There's a jewelry box in the last drawer of the dressing table. In the bottom of the jewelry box, there's a hidden compartment with a wooden hairpin inside. Take it to Granny Hong and Granny Chen; they'll know what to do."
The old woman naturally knew what was inside the hairpin. Upon hearing this, she was taken aback: "Master, those boxes might be sent to the Empress Dowager. Wouldn't that be a bit unwise?"
Consort De scoffed: "Complete? What does complete mean? You've seen what the harem has been like over the past year. So what if I have Yinzhuo? Does His Majesty visit Yonghe Palace twice a month? He goes to Yongshou Palace almost every two or three days. It's alright now that Yinzhuo is young, but when he grows up, my family is weak and can't help him much. His Majesty doesn't favor him. How will he stand out among his brothers?"
The old woman wanted to say that it wasn't actually that serious.
His Majesty doesn't visit Yonghe Palace often, nor does he go to the other concubines who have sons. Apart from the Crown Prince, His Majesty is quite fair to his other sons.
But she dared not say it.
"Your Majesty is right. This servant will go find Granny Hong and Granny Chen right away."
After saying that, she went to the dressing table and started getting ready.
Ten days passed, and Granny Hong and Granny Chen finished making the trunks as required.
Once the box was finished, it was naturally delivered to Youqing immediately. Youqing examined the box in front of her, and Granny Hong said, "It was made according to the blueprints given by Her Highness. I wonder if Her Highness is satisfied?"
I'm satisfied with what I've seen. It's hard to say what kind of people Hong Mama and Chen Mama are, but their skills are undeniable.
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