In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed. Youqing and Sangzhu's lives were getting better and better. A batch of fruit ripened, and even the nobles in the palace might not be able to eat fresh fruit, yet they had more than they could finish.
Half of the acre was used to grow rice, since it's a staple food. There were plenty of vegetables in the warehouse, and even if we couldn't finish them all, they wouldn't spoil. The remaining half acre was used to plant some spice seeds.
The farm shop's high-tech features are really expensive, but the seeds are really cheap; a acre of seeds costs less than ten gold coins.
In contrast to the idyllic life of Youqing, Emperor Kangxi lived a different life.
It's been a month. He hasn't touched a woman for a month. It's not that he'll die if he doesn't touch a woman, but he sees ghosts as soon as he does. That's a problem!
If it doesn't get better, this problem will last a lifetime.
He was anxious and frustrated, but he couldn't show it at all. He was busy with government affairs every day, which tormented his usually lazy ministers.
Emperor Kangxi was upset, and the many concubines in the harem were also suffering. With so many women and only one man like him, and he not going to the harem, they were all left alone in their empty rooms.
Sure enough, the news that Emperor Kangxi had not entered the inner palace for nearly a month reached the ears of the Empress Dowager.
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has sent someone to say that she needs you to go to Cining Palace."
Emperor Kangxi put down the memorial in his hand: "Let's go to Cining Palace."
He hasn't been to Cining Palace for quite some time; he really should go and take a look.
In the Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager said with some worry, "Although the Emperor has many concubines in his harem, he does not have a favorite. I am satisfied that this child has not followed his father's example, but now he has not entered the harem for a month or two. I don't know what's going on."
Su Ma La Gu, who was standing to the side, said, "His Majesty must have important matters to attend to and is too busy to attend to them, which is why he has neglected the inner palace."
The Empress Dowager sighed: "I watched the Emperor grow up, and I know his personality very well. He is very casual about women and never tries to wrong himself. He hasn't entered the inner palace for a month. I asked the people in the Imperial Household Department, and they said he hasn't touched any palace maids either. That's why I'm worried."
Su Ma La Gu fell silent. What she had just said was actually just to comfort him. She had watched Kangxi grow up and knew his temperament well. If he hadn't entered the harem for a month, it was probably because he was actually having some kind of health problem.
"I will speak with the Emperor alone when he comes in later."
If there's something he's having trouble saying, it'll save him from being too embarrassed to bring it up.
"Yes, Master."
When Emperor Kangxi arrived, after paying her respects, Su Ma La Gu led everyone out of the room and closed the door behind her.
"Grandma, is there something you want to say?"
Why did they kick everyone out?
The Empress Dowager patted the Maitreya couch beside her and said, "Sit down and talk with me for a while."
Kangxi was somewhat confused, feeling that he had concealed his situation quite well.
Unfortunately, he underestimated the woman's attentiveness.
Especially the meticulousness of a woman who knows him extremely well.
After Kangxi sat down, the Empress Dowager first inquired about his health: "It is inconvenient for me to inquire about your daily life, but I have heard that you have been very busy lately. Have you been eating on time and getting enough rest every day?"
"I'm sorry to have troubled you, Grandmother. Liang Jiugong is a very thoughtful person. My grandson eats and sleeps well."
The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "I am at ease as long as you eat and sleep well. I know you are ambitious, which is a blessing for the Qing Dynasty. But even if you are ambitious, you should still balance work and rest. You should relax when it is time to relax. I heard that you have not entered the inner palace for a month."
The previous words were fine, and Kangxi's expression remained calm. However, upon hearing the last sentence, even though Kangxi managed to maintain his composure, there was still a moment of awkwardness.
The Empress Dowager noticed this moment of awkwardness and her heart skipped a beat.
Could something really have gone wrong?
Kangxi recovered his composure very quickly, so quickly that the Empress Dowager even doubted herself, wondering if she was just old and her eyes were playing tricks on her.
"The previous dynasty was quite busy, so the inner palace was neglected. This is my fault. I have finished dealing with the important matters at hand, and I will no longer neglect the inner palace."
The Empress Dowager was still not entirely at ease: "If you feel that the concubines in the harem are not to your liking, you can just select some more to enter the palace. A grand selection is not possible, but it is still easy to have the Imperial Noble Consort organize a small selection."
Xiao Xuan was selected as a palace maid. Once she entered the palace, strictly speaking, palace maids were also considered the emperor's women, only without official status. As long as Kangxi was willing, he could favor her at will.
Kangxi, mindful of his own shortcomings, declined, saying, "We just had a general election last year, so there's no need to go to that trouble."
The Empress Dowager couldn't directly ask him if there was anything wrong with his health, so she left it at that and the matter was considered closed.
Kangxi returned to the Qianqing Palace expressionlessly, and that very evening he summoned the Imperial Household Department and selected an inconspicuous concubine.
He couldn't touch women, so he handled government affairs exceptionally slowly. It was long past his usual time to rest, but Kangxi remained unmoved. Liang Jiugong had to remind him, "Your Majesty, it's time to settle down."
Kangxi didn't look up, his hand still writing with a pen, and said, "I'll go over after I finish reading these two memorials. Let Consort Wan go to sleep first! She doesn't need to wait for me."
Liang Jiugong had no choice but to reply, "Yes, sir."
With Emperor Kangxi's permission, Wanliuhashi lay on the yellow dragon bed and soon closed her eyes.
Wanliuha was not a bold person; on the contrary, she was somewhat timid and cowardly. She was good-looking, but Emperor Kangxi disliked her personality and rarely summoned her. Logically speaking, a person with such a personality should not fall asleep so easily when serving the emperor. Even with Kangxi's permission, she felt her eyelids were too heavy and couldn't help but close her eyes.
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