Whenever all the concubines gather together, Yunxiu is always the most beautiful one among them.
Her clothes are bright and her attire is exquisite. Even though her status means she cannot match the attire of an imperial concubine or a concubine, she will still be the focus of everyone's attention.
Not only Kangxi, but also the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager liked Concubine Yi like this, and often praised her for her good looks and spirit. Others could only envy her.
But today, she wore her hair in a simple bun, wore a plain jade and silver hairpin, and dressed in apricot white, looking like a completely different person from before.
Nanny Dong's expression remained unchanged, with a flash of distress in her eyes. The queen must have been frightened by a dream yesterday, and she had no intention of dressing up. She would have to make up for her sleep when she returned to Yikun Palace.
…
The deep winter has gone and early spring has arrived, but March is still chilly.
Because Yunxiu was pregnant, they did not dare to be careless and took out a cloak of moderate thickness from the cabinet, which was also a warm white color.
Ruizhu asked the kitchen to cook a bowl of porridge for her. After she finished eating, half an hour had passed. Yunxiu looked at the slightly bright sky and raised his chin slightly, "Let's go."
"yes."
Noble Lady Le was already waiting in the front hall. When she saw Yun Xiu, she came forward and bowed in a proper manner, "Greetings, Concubine Yi."
Seeing Yunxiu's bare face, pale white, and slightly dark eyes, she paused, with an unpretentious look of worry on her face: "Did Sister sleep uneasily last night? Do you want to ask the imperial physician to come and see? I still have some remaining agarwood..."
There was a loud noise in the main hall, and she heard it in a daze.
Yun Xiu felt warm in his heart and held her hand, "It's okay, it's just a nightmare."
Concubine Le Guo Luoluo was Yunxiu's biological sister, named Yunshu, and she had been close to her since childhood.
As soon as Yunxiu entered the palace, she was promoted from Noble Lady Yi to Concubine Yi. She was extremely favored by Emperor Kangxi, but she did not get pregnant for two whole years. People wentssiped about her countless times.
At that time, Yipin was alone and could not support the family. Her father, Sanguan Bao, was determined to pick a girl from the family to help. Unexpectedly, Yunshu volunteered to enter the palace for her sister, saying that if she gave birth to a prince for her sister to raise, it would solve the urgent problem.
Yunxiu couldn't stop it, so she could only beg Kangxi to let Yunshu live in Yiku Palace so that the two sisters could be taken care of.
Maybe my sister is really lucky. Yun Shu became pregnant after just one favor, and Yun Xiu had the good news soon after.
Yunshu gave birth to the fourth princess Yilha. A few months later, Yunxiu gave birth to the fifth prince Yinqi, who was raised by the Empress Dowager.
Yunxiu knew that Yunshu was wholeheartedly devoted to her and didn't care about the position of a noble.
The person she owes the most is this sister!
When Yun Xiu thought of the noble lady Le who was implicated by her in the dream, and the "sea clam princess" Ilha who married alone to the Khalkha Mongols and became famous for her iron-blooded methods many years later, she closed her eyes, suppressed her bitterness, and asked softly:
"Did Ilha sleep well?"
Were you startled by her at night
Lady Le smiled and said, "Don't worry, sister. The girl is sleeping soundly, unlike adults who sleep lightly..."
Because concubines were not qualified to raise their own children, when Ilha was born, she was raised by Yunxiu, who was still Concubine Yi, and was called Princess Yiku.
Concubine Le also lived in the Yiku Palace, so the mother and daughter met every day and had a deep relationship, just like an ordinary family.
It was not like the Yanxi Palace, where Concubine Liang needed Concubine Hui's approval if she wanted to see the Eighth Prince. It was considered a kindness of Concubine Hui that she could see him once every five days.
"That's good." Yun Xiu curved her eyebrows.
The gorgeous color that came towards her had a pure and distinct flavor, which shocked Le Guiren. She sighed in her heart and threw away all the doubts in her mind.
She always felt that something was wrong with her sister today, but she couldn't tell why. She must have been overthinking it.
***
Apart from Concubine Yi and Noble Lady Le, no other ladies lived in the Yikun Palace.
In private, Yun Shu called Yun Xiu "Sister", but when she was in a crowded place, she would call her "Empress" politely.
The temperature in early March was indeed chilly. Yun Xiu held Nanny Dong's hand and walked forward steadily. When they reached the front yard, Concubine Le was surprised for a moment, "Your Majesty is not riding in a sedan chair?"
When traveling, concubines and above were allowed to ride in sedan chairs, but noble ladies were not eligible and could only pay their respects on foot.
Yun Xiu touched her belly and looked at the red walls and green tiles around her. "I didn't sleep well last night. I'll walk more soberly."
Concubine Le understood, pursed her lips worriedly, and asked no more questions.
…
The Yiku Palace is located to the west of the Kunning Palace and is symmetrical with the Chengqian Palace. It was the residence of Imperial Noble Consort Tong Jia and also the place where the palace power belonged.
Since the death of Empress Xiaozhao, Tong Jia took over the management of the harem as a noble concubine, and was later promoted to imperial noble concubine, making her the real first person.
However, since entering the palace, she has been childless, and drinking tonics has not helped.
Believing that she had no fate to be a mother, the Imperial Noble Consort adopted the Fourth Prince Yinzhen from the Noble Lady Uya. She raised him carefully and looked after him like the apple of her eye. Even Emperor Kangxi praised her motherly heart.
Who would have thought that when the Fourth Prince was five years old, the Imperial Concubine became pregnant!
By now, she is six months pregnant and is just waiting for the good news to come.
Not only was the harem shaken, but the previous dynasty also caused a turmoil.
The Tonggiya clan is the emperor's maternal family, the imperial concubine is the niece of Empress Xiaokangzhang and the emperor's cousin... If this baby is a prince, it would be really amazing!
Judging from the kinship, he is not much different from Crown Prince Yinreng.
The Imperial Concubine was overjoyed and regarded the baby in her belly as a treasure. She even divided the palace power over to Concubine Niohuru to assist her, and won great praise from the Empress Dowager.
This pregnancy overshadowed the other concubines and attracted everyone's attention, allowing Yunxiu to take care of her pregnancy in peace and avoid a lot of jealousy and targeting.
But beneath the calm, there is an undercurrent of unrest, with signs of impending storm.
Yunxiu was able to securely rank as one of the four concubines, not only because of Kangxi’s favor, but also because of her good means and vision.
After the Imperial Noble Consort became pregnant, Yunxiu was afraid that the unrest would spread to the Yiku Palace and affect Yinqi, so she lived in seclusion and restrained her usual flamboyance. She was also privately wondering how she should respond if Tong Jia gave birth to a prince and took away the Emperor's attention.
You know, after the Imperial Concubine gave birth, it was Yunxiu's turn!
But now—
Yunxiu didn't care at all.
In the dream, the clearest thing was the future of her and her children, while the fate of others was only mentioned briefly.
She only knew that the imperial concubine gave birth to a princess, but she had no idea when the little princess died or when the imperial concubine passed away due to illness.
Yun Xiu no longer had the desire to explore.
She thought aimlessly that Tong Jia, who was posthumously named Empress Xiaoyi, could be buried with the emperor, while she was at most a concubine's tomb.
… After all, there is envy.
However, what is the difference between her and Empress Xiaoyi in the end, when they return to dust and earth
Recalling how cautious she had been during this period, she found it extremely funny.
Yun Xiu's thoughts cleared, a slight smile appeared in his eyes, and he held his waist and walked leisurely into Chengqian Palace.
She and Le Guiren arrived a little later. In the main hall, the Imperial Noble Consort was already sitting on the throne, leaving only the Imperial Noble Consort's embroidered cushion empty, while the other three concubines were all present.
Yunxiu glanced around and saw that the ladies were all dressed in different styles.
Concubine An, Concubine Duan, Concubine Xi, Concubine Jing, who occupied the main seats in the palace, as well as Concubine Hesheli and Concubine Borjigit, who were concubines, were all dressed very appropriately. On the contrary, I was unexpectedly plain and elegant.
The Imperial Concubine was wearing a loose, fragrant cheongsam, with the phoenix hairpins in her hair fluttering as if they were about to fly away. She was graceful and beautiful, with a faint smile on her face.
If you look carefully, you can see that her body is a little bloated and her complexion is not as good as before. She must have covered it up with a thin layer of makeup.
Her hands remained on her belly in a protective gesture, never leaving.
When Yun Xiu bowed, the main hall suddenly became quiet.
The imperial concubine was startled, and the smile on her face flattened, but she quickly returned to normal and said in a gentle voice, "No need to be polite, please sit down."
Concubine Hui was wearing a light blue palace dress and her appearance could only be described as pretty. When she saw Yunxiu, she was surprised for a moment, then smiled kindly and called Concubine Yi "sister".
Yunxiu performed the same ceremony as the three concubines, and sat below Concubine Hui and above Concubine De.
Rong Fei was the same age as Hui Fei, and looked to be about 28 or 29 years old. She was much prettier than Hui Fei, but she looked old and tired for no reason—she had lost four sons in her early years, and only the third prince and the second princess survived, which was a great blow to her. In recent years, she gradually lost favor and devoted herself to her offspring.
She glanced at Yunxiu, who was wearing apricot white, with a strange expression on her face. She rarely smiled and tilted her head to say to Concubine De, "What a coincidence! Concubine De and Concubine Yi are in sync. They both wore apricot white, and even the patterns are the same."
The order of the four concubines was Hui, Yi, De, and Rong, with Rong Fei being the last. She should have called Yi Fei and De Fei "sisters", but she always called them "sisters".
What Yunxiu cared about was favor, and she didn't bother with Rong Fei about these empty things. De Fei was born into a banner family, and she had never had confidence in terms of seniority. Rong Fei called her sister, and she never argued.
Upon hearing what Rong Fei said, De Fei's smile froze.
Everyone in the harem knew that Concubine De liked simple and elegant things while Concubine Yi liked exquisite things, but today, they wore the same clothes.
Today, Concubine De was also dressed in apricot white, with a gentle smile, but because the little princess she had given birth to died young and she got pregnant again immediately, her appearance was far from as beautiful as before.
Concubine De put on a thick layer of powder, compared with Concubine Yi who showed her face without makeup...
After all, Concubine Yi is better!
No, it's more than one level better, it's simply inferior to the others.
Everyone knew that Concubine Yi was beautiful, but few people knew that she also had a unique charm when she dressed simply and without makeup.
Bright colors and coolness are intertwined together, and because of sleepiness, a sense of laziness comes over you, making you stunned.
She is almost five months pregnant, but she has no spots or weight gain...
There is a little dark circles under the eyes, and a slight look of haggardness, but it's nothing serious.
At this moment, they didn't care about jealousy.
His obscure eyes moved back and forth between Yunxiu and Defei. The Imperial Noble Concubine covered her lips with her hand, and Huifei almost laughed out loud.
Did Concubine Yi do it on purpose
…
God knows, Yunxiu really didn’t mean it.
Because of the impact of the dream, she had something on her mind and did not want to compete with the other concubines. She casually pointed to a piece of clothing. Who would have thought that she would be wearing the same clothing as Concubine De
Without waiting for Yunxiu to speak, Concubine De smiled gently and whispered, "What do you mean by telepathy? Sister Yifei must have had a nightmare last night and didn't have the heart to dress up. Why don't we invite a shaman to the palace to pray for blessings, so that she can sleep well..."
Yesterday, the lights were turned on in the Yikun Palace at midnight, and all the well-informed concubines knew about it. Although they knew about it, no one took it seriously. There were many cases where the concubines in the palace had convulsions when they were pregnant and woke up in the middle of the night.
Concubine De actually brought the matter to light and even said she would invite a shaman to pray for blessings.
What blessing? She was implying that Concubine Yi was possessed by an evil spirit and needed someone to exorcise it.
But on the surface, she was doing it for Concubine Yi's own good, and was caring in every way, and there was nothing wrong with her.
As soon as Concubine De opened her mouth, the corners of the Imperial Concubine's lips fell down.
Tong Jia raised her hand and was about to change the subject, but Yun Xiu raised her eyebrows, looked straight at Concubine De, and sneered:
"If you don't want to be outdone by me, just say it. Why are you making up excuses like praying for blessings? Aren't you tired of it?"