The Imperial Concubine said the words "Empress" with a sarcastic smile: "Someone submitted a memorial saying that the Imperial Palace has been vacant for a long time, and begged His Majesty to appoint a Queen. Imperial Concubine Tong Jia is virtuous and can be a role model..."
As she spoke, the imperial concubine's smile widened a little: "The court was in an uproar. The imperial concubine was 'resting' and her power in the palace was taken away, which caused a lot of shock. Who didn't know that the memorial was from Tong Guowei? Suo Etu was strongly opposed, but Mingzhu seemed to agree. The emperor put it aside for the time being, but asked Tong Guowei to accompany him at lunch."
Yun Xiu listened with great interest, and later sighed, "The Tong family is getting anxious."
The Tong family produced Empress Xiaokangzhang, and became the emperor's maternal family. They then thought about producing another empress, and then going a step further and becoming the next emperor's maternal family.
Little did they know that the Empress Dowager would not agree, and the Emperor would certainly not agree. At least, it would be impossible while the Imperial Noble Concubine was alive.
Yunxiu recalled the scene in her dream and shook her head slightly. The imperial concubine smiled and agreed, "You are right... The Tong family is anxious, and some people are anxious too."
"As soon as the court was over, Suo Etu came to the mansion and said that we must discuss it urgently and not let the Tong family succeed." She sighed after laughing, "A Ling'a couldn't make up his mind, so he sent a message to ask me. From what I see, he agrees to join forces."
This "gongfu" refers to the imperial concubine's maiden family, the Niohuru clan.
Yunxiu knew that the imperial concubine always had her own ideas, so she asked softly, "What's your reply?"
The imperial concubine snorted coldly, "I told him to do his job quietly and not to interfere in the matter of establishing a queen, unless he wants to die! Hesheli has Soetu, and Tonggiya has Tong Guowei, each of them is a pillar of the family, but who does Niu Hulu have?"
At that time, the imperial concubine's father, Ebilun, had close contacts with Oboi and was even disrespectful to the current emperor. He never had a clear position. After Oboi fell, Ebilun did not get a good ending. He was stripped of all his positions and only had an empty title.
The imperial concubine knew very well that her father's affairs had always left a knot in the emperor's heart. In the long run, it would affect the entire family.
Without the emperor's favor, joining forces with Soetu to interfere in the matter of establishing the queen, what else could that be but courting death
"Fortunately, he is quite obedient..." After saying that, the imperial concubine looked at Yunxiu with a look of melancholy in her eyes, "At this time, I envy you the most. The Guo Luoluo family has never been involved in court struggles. Your father is far away in Shengjing, so why would he get involved in these troubles?"
Yun Xiu knew that the Imperial Concubine cared most about her family, and she didn't want to arouse her worries any further, so she smiled and changed the subject: "Let's stop talking about this. By the way, is Aling doing well?"
Alinga is the imperial concubine's brother. The day before yesterday, when he was listening to a song, he had a conflict with Mingzhu's second son Kuixu. No one could pull them apart, and in the end, both of them were injured.
"It's all right now." Speaking of this, a trace of anger appeared in the imperial concubine's eyes: "It was Kuixu who provoked him first, but with Mingzhu's support, what can I do? Nara is too bullying..."
When talking about the Nara clan, one cannot help but mention Concubine Hui. Concubine Hui had an elder prince as her child and a pearl behind her, so even though she was a noble concubine, she had to give way to them on weekdays.
After all, the foundation of a woman's life in the harem must be one of the three: family, favor, and offspring. Hui Fei had two of them, and she was the leader of the four concubines. She had never been very respectful to the Imperial Concubine, and the Imperial Concubine never said anything.
Here, Kuixu had another conflict with Alinga!
Even if it was the other party's fault, because of Mingzhu behind Kuixu, the imperial concubine had no choice but to let Alinga come to apologize and seek peace.
The imperial concubine told Yunxiu all these frustrating things.
But suddenly she remembered the noble lady Liang who came to ask for medicine, and her angry expression gradually turned into a smile, and she said slowly: "Empress Hui raised the Eighth Prince, but he is not as good as her own biological son after all. The fire in the backyard of the Yanxi Palace is what she deserves..."
This kind of handle should be used to the fullest at the critical moment.
*****
The decree stated that the Imperial Concubine requested rest due to the hardship of her pregnancy, and that the power of the palace would be handed over to the Empress Dowager. It seemed like she understood the righteousness of the matter, but who didn't know the tricks behind this
Many people in the former dynasty and the harem were paying attention to this matter, and there were waves of unrest in secret.
Kangxi invited Tong Guowei to have lunch with him, and the emperor and his subject were alone together for an hour. After a while, the news spread like wildfire, and everyone who wanted to know knew about it.
It is said that when Lord Tong left the palace, he was smiling and walking briskly. When he returned to his mansion, he closed the door and refused to see anyone.
What did His Majesty say to him
Countless people were wondering, and Soetu had a bad feeling.
After a while, Mrs. Tong Guowei tidied herself up, handed a sign to the palace for permission, and walked into the palace leisurely.
…
"The Emperor actually allowed Madam Tong to visit the Imperial Concubine." Wen Yuan said, somewhat indignantly, "Such a great favor is really..."
Resting is like being confined to the house. Look, does Concubine De enjoy such treatment
The imperial concubine paused, then sighed: "After all, she is the daughter of the Tong family, she is different from us."
His mind was already twisted several times, and his expression became serious.
Could it be that the Emperor really wants to establish a queen
Yun Xiu laughed at her and said, "You are so young and yet you worry too much. Everything will be settled after the Imperial Concubine gives birth. What is bound to come will eventually come. Why worry too much?"
Yes, if the imperial concubine gave birth to a prince, for the prince's sake, the position of queen...
The imperial concubine suddenly realized, "I am too concerned and confused."
Then he smiled and said to Yunxiu: "You are the one who sees things clearly!"
After seeing off the imperial concubine, Yun Xiu yawned lightly, propped up his cheek and felt drowsy, not caring about the matter of the empress at all.
Thinking of today's "double happiness" and the chaos in the vegetable market during the morning court session, the corners of her lips curled up, unable to hide her good mood.
Facing the window, the warm sunlight gilded the jade-like face. The sparkling eyes were half closed, and the long eyelashes were fluttering as if ready to fly. This was the scene Kangxi saw when he came.
He waved his hand to stop the servants from reporting, and slowly approached the couch. His mood, which had been quite gloomy since the morning court session, gradually improved, and the idea of settling the score also faded.
The ministers argued over his family affairs so fiercely that they even put aside the established plan of supporting Shi Lang and attacking the Zheng family!
A memorial requesting the establishment of a queen brought out so many evil spirits.
Suo Etu, Mingzhu, and their faction fought back and forth, and the Tong family, who first proposed the idea, stayed out of the matter. Such a large court was actually developing into a party struggle...
Kangxi's eyes turned cold.
One is Baocheng's great-uncle, and the other is Baoqing's cousin. If the fight escalates, the court will be in chaos.
—Before that, we must first appease Tong Guowei.
After seeing Tong Guowei off, Kangxi threw away the memorial and looked unusually tired.
"Your Majesty, how about I present the birthday gifts presented by the ladies?" Liang Jiugong was serving on the side, not daring to breathe. Seeing the emperor walking around the hall, he suddenly had an idea and said cautiously.
He thought that no matter what the gift from Concubine Yi was, it would always make His Majesty happy.
When Kangxi heard this, his depression disappeared and he immediately became interested: "Bring up the portion that is suitable for your master."
Liang Jiugong heaved a sigh of relief, prayed to the gods and thanked Concubine Yi, and happily sent someone to the storeroom: "Be careful, those are Concubine Yi's things..."
The young eunuch nodded repeatedly, but when he came back, he looked a little strange.
How could Liang Jiugong have the time to care about him
The chief steward took the tray like a treasure, walked over with a smile, and lifted the red cloth: "Your Majesty, look, this is the precious and exquisite gift presented by Concubine Yi-"
Uh, a few precious and exquisite volumes of Buddhist scriptures
In an instant, Liang Jiugong's voice was stuck in his throat.
Kangxi curled the corners of his lips, looked down, and his face suddenly turned pale.
…
"Xiu Xiu."
Kangxi looked gloomy, leaned over and whispered something in Yunxiu's ear, causing Yunxiu to suddenly open her eyes: "..."
She was startled, then saw a magnified handsome face, and her hands suddenly started to itch.
If she hadn't kept repeating "The Emperor is wise" before, and hadn't been able to adjust herself in a short period of time, she might have done something treasonous.
Yun Xiu took a breath and looked at him with a smile in mind: "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. You are in a really good mood."
There was not the slightest intention of bowing or greeting.
How could Kangxi not hear the anger hidden in her words? He must have really scared her.
The emperor was not angry at all. Instead, he felt guilty for no reason and touched his nose: "It's my fault. I was too reckless."
Then I thought, that’s not right. I came here with gritted teeth to settle accounts with her. What’s the point of admitting my mistake first
Kangxi coughed, frowned again, and asked Liang Jiugong to come over immediately.
Liang Jiugong had a bitter face and hesitated for a long time like a grown-up girl before he stepped forward and said, "Your servant pays respects to Concubine Yi..."
Yun Xiu noticed the tray in his hand, her eyebrows jumped, and she suppressed her bad premonition: "Your Majesty, what is this?"
"I have been looking forward to your gift day and night, but what happened?" Kangxi pointed at the tray with a blank expression, "On my birthday, my most beloved Concubine Yi presented me with a stack of Buddhist scriptures. Even if they are handwritten, they are still Buddhist scriptures!"