Tu Yue encountered the most difficult choice in his life - to be loyal to the emperor or to protect his sister.
He felt a little annoyed and was in a dilemma. How should he respond
She said that Your Majesty, you have misunderstood. This Buddhist scripture was not written by her own sister herself. All the talk about staying up late and working hard was lies. At most, she asked the palace maids to imitate the handwriting, which was as perfunctory as it could be.
If this were to be spoken out... what if the emperor gets angry and no longer favors his own sister, wouldn't my father kill him
After weighing the consequences of deceiving the emperor and telling the truth, Tu Yue backed down.
He hesitated again and again, and finally spoke with difficulty: "Your Majesty, when the queen was at home, my father and mother were reluctant to tire our daughter, so she prepared gifts so carefully. It was unprecedented."
As he spoke, he shed tears in his heart. Deceiving the king, what a serious crime is this
I have only lied a few times since I was a child, but now I have lied in front of the emperor. The pillars of the country who have engraved the words "loyalty to the emperor and patriotism" in their bones quietly lowered their heads and felt the uneasiness of their burning conscience.
In addition, Tu Yue had an indescribable feeling of guilt.
The emperor's treatment of his sister is impeccable. Look, there is a strong sense of boasting in his words. But his sister is too indifferent to the emperor...
He was afraid that if his sister revealed the secret, wouldn't everything be ruined
But there is no way, as her brother I have to take care of her.
He was still thinking about this and that, his head drooping lower and lower. Kangxi nodded in satisfaction, laughed, patted his shoulder, and sighed: "After discussing political affairs, let's talk about family affairs. To be honest, among all the people in the palace, only Concubine Yi is the one who pleases me the most. She also mentioned you to me, saying that you two have a deep relationship as siblings, and it is even better than before after not seeing each other for many years! It is true that I can recognize your handwriting at a glance."
Tu Yue only felt that his shoulder was burning after being patted by the emperor.
He forced himself not to kneel down, and just smiled dryly, not knowing what to say: "Your Majesty, thank you for your praise, Your Majesty, thank you for your praise..."
The tone sounded sad and choked with sobs, but Kangxi felt more relieved.
Such a loyal minister does not speak empty words or flatter others, but speaks from the heart. If all officials were like Tu Yue, the government would be more clean than ever before.
The emperor was so happy that he rewarded Tu Yue with a yellow jacket. Tu Yue wore it and walked out of the palace in a daze.
Guaerjia also walked out of the palace in a daze. Fulu held their hands and looked left and right. After the excitement passed, his little head fell into deep thought.
What happened, father and mother
That night, under the dim candlelight, Lord Guo Luoluo, who had moved into the new house, sat in front of the table for half an hour. When he put pen to paper, his expression was extremely solemn.
Guarjia entered the inner room quietly, adjusted the wick to make the candlelight brighter, and then asked with bated breath, "Master, what happened?"
Tu Yue sighed, "Nothing, just a letter to the Empress in the palace."
…
That day, Ruizhu lifted the curtain with brisk steps and said with a smile, "Madam, the master sent a letter."
Yun Xiu couldn't wait to take it and unfold it. There were several pages of paper with a central idea of just one sentence -
Sister, can we be nicer to the emperor? It's not easy for him either.
His tone was very cautious, as if he was afraid of angering her. Yun Xiu: "..."
*****
The Yikun Palace was immersed in the joy of Tu Yue's family coming to Beijing, and was not at all disturbed by the waves caused by Soetu's dismissal. However, it was not the same for the other palaces.
After receiving the oral order from Kangxi, the Ministry of Internal Affairs hurriedly sent people to Chuxiu Palace to deliver gray winter clothes. This move made Pingpin almost a laughing stock in the entire palace.
In their opinion, Pingpin's backer had fallen, and now she was disliked by the emperor, so she might never be able to stand up again. As a result, concubines came to "show concern" one after another, and their words were full of ridicule and contempt. Even Anpin and Xipin joined in the fun. Pingpin gritted her teeth and sent them away, crying with grievance, but she could do nothing after all.
Seeing this, some smart people looked towards the direction of Yuqing Palace with their eyes flashing.
Pingpin has no backer, and the same is true for the Crown Prince.
If Chuxiu Palace was filled with bleak wind and rain, Yanxi Palace was seeing the light of day. Concubine Hui swept away the previous haze and regained her dignified and smiling look, as if the previous fall had never happened, and gradually appeared in front of people.
But she learned her lesson and became cautious instead of being complacent.
After Soetu's fall, Mingzhu is now powerful and almost has all the power over the court. Except for the Imperial Concubine, Concubine Yi and Concubine Rong, the other ladies, no matter how much they complain in their hearts, dare not be disrespectful to Concubine Hui, and they dare not laugh at her because of the Eighth Prince's relocation of the palace.
Fortunately, Concubine Liang lived with the Eighth Prince in a side hall of the Cining Palace and had the protection of the Empress Dowager. Concubine Hui's hands could not reach so far, and revenge was even more of a fantasy.
Some people suddenly realized that our ancestors had foresight to this extent...
Once Suo Etu fell, it would not only affect the previous dynasty, but also have a profound and far-reaching impact. However, New Year's Eve was approaching, and no matter how many undercurrents there were in the harem, no matter how many active thoughts there were, now they had to suppress their own plans, settle down, and wait until the end of the year to decide everything.
—Just because the imperial concubine conveyed an oral order from the emperor.
Kangxi's original words were: "If anyone insists on making trouble and not letting me spend the New Year in peace, I will punish him if he is found guilty. He will spend New Year's Eve with Concubine Wu."
When these words were spoken, everyone was shocked!
They had never felt so clearly that the emperor had changed.
Those little concubines and maids who were trying to win the emperor's favor became worried. If the emperor was no longer merciful, would they end up like Concubine Ping
Because of this oral order that shocked everyone, the harem was unusually peaceful for a while, until the New Year's Eve family dinner in the 23rd year of Kangxi's reign, the atmosphere was still extremely peaceful.
Nowadays, the Imperial Concubine's illness is well known.
That face, even with makeup, couldn't hide the paleness. The Empress Dowager saw it and sighed slightly. Considering that the Imperial Concubine had been staying at home for the past few months and focusing on taking care of her health, she nodded at her with a relaxed expression.
The Imperial Noble Consort would cover her mouth and cough every few breaths. Apart from that, her eyes almost never left the Fourth Prince sitting at the princes' table. Her eyes were full of smiles and tenderness, as if Yinzhen was the only one left in her heart.
The Empress Dowager discovered it, the Imperial Concubine discovered it, and Yunxiu also discovered it.
The Empress Dowager suddenly remembered the matter of the jade book. It seemed that Yinzhen was still registered under the name of Uya, and the Imperial Noble Consort was still just an adoptive mother, right
She thought to herself that this was not a big deal. However, since the Empress Dowager had not spoken yet, she would not get involved. After thinking for a while, she put it aside and went to see Yinqi happily.
The Imperial Concubine looked indifferent and quickly looked away; Yunxiu sighed softly, it seemed that the Imperial Concubine was definitely targeting more than just the Fourth Prince, and her position as Imperial Concubine Dowager was in jeopardy.
On second thought, it was just a setback and would not affect the overall situation... The little prince had already become a black sesame filling, so she really didn't need to worry too much.
Concubine Yi soon started thinking about other things, not knowing that Kangxi's eyes fell on her from time to time, which aroused a sea of jealousy that almost flooded the Qianqing Palace.
At the New Year's Eve family dinner, the ladies who could not see the emperor's face on weekdays were also present, including those who admired his majesty and longed for his favor. Who would not look towards the emperor
Concubine Hui's chest heaved for a moment, and Concubine Xi's eyes were spitting fire!
But even though they were jealous, they didn't dare to speak out and express their jealousy openly. People like Concubine An and Concubine Jing were even afraid.
This year was simply bizarre. None of the plots against Concubine Yi succeeded, and they were always the ones who suffered in the end. Not to mention the punishment of copying Buddhist scriptures, there were also rumors circulating privately:
On the day when Concubine De was demoted to Concubine Wu, Concubine Yi slapped Concubine Wu twice. The Emperor not only did not punish her, but also rewarded her with many things and asked her if her hands hurt.
Upon hearing this, Concubine Xi widened her eyes in disbelief, and suddenly felt her face burning. The place where Dong Mama had slapped her was slightly painful. She fell on the couch and murmured, "Lawless, lawless."
Isn't the emperor a wise ruler? Why is he so biased?!
Now, Yun Xiu was concentrating on eating, not paying any attention to the gazes at the table that seemed to want to eat her up.
Staring, hatred, jealousy... These emotions are not painful, hasn't she seen enough of them
Her reputation for being domineering spread far and wide, and the lower-ranking concubines were too afraid of her to even think of her. The only ones who dared to look at her like that were none other than a few old acquaintances.
Yunxiu ate while trying not to laugh, thinking it was quite interesting. How come he was only growing older but not smarter after all this
Kangxi retracted his gaze, put down his bowl and chopsticks, and suddenly called out in a gentle voice, "Princess Xi."
Not to mention Concubine Xi, even the Imperial Concubine was surprised. When had the Emperor ever called Concubine Xi in such a tone? Was it possible that red rain was falling from the sky
Concubine Xi came to her senses, was startled, felt uneasy, and then felt happy.
"I am here."
She stood up with a smile on her face, and heard Kangxi ask in a gentle voice: "Do you have other brothers and sisters?"
Concubine Xi was stunned and confused. She could only bow respectfully and answered softly: "Your Majesty, I have a useless brother at home..."
Before she could finish, Kangxi motioned her to stop and asked slowly, "How are his eyes? Is he cross-eyed? Do I need someone to treat him? If he inherits your disease, it will be bad."
Although the emperor was smiling, his eyes were cold. Concubine Xi froze in place, her joy faded, her face turned pale, and she stammered, "Your Majesty..."
Pingpin's face also turned pale, perhaps she recalled some bad memories; a puffing sound came from somewhere, and then silence returned.
The prince looked at his royal father in surprise, trying to hold back his laughter and feeling confused at the same time. Why did the eldest brother Yinzhi also change his expression
The Grand Empress Dowager rubbed her temples and looked at her with inquiring eyes. Was the Emperor in a bad mood recently? It was not enough for him to scold the civil and military officials, but he now scolded the concubines in the harem
She didn't teach him the way of an emperor!
The Queen Mother hesitated for a while, then nodded. This should be the case. She felt that the Emperor was right to scold her...
Only Yunxiu felt complicated. Why did the emperor take away her job
*****
Seeing this scene, the imperial concubine's gentle smile almost disappeared.
She clenched her fingers suddenly, feeling a little uneasy. Something that seemed certain before now seemed a little uncertain.
What if the emperor ridiculed her like he ridiculed Concubine Xi, would she still be able to live as a human being? !
Taking a deep breath, the imperial concubine comforted herself, No, no.
The banquet started in a peaceful atmosphere and ended in a weird atmosphere. When she stood up, the imperial concubine pinched herself, forced a smile, and bowed to Kangxi: "Ahem... Your Majesty, I haven't seen you for a long time. If it weren't for an emergency, I would never dare to disturb you. This time I have something important to report to you."
The imperial concubine was afraid that he would say something sarcastic, so after she finished speaking, her face turned paler and her body became shaky.
Kangxi glanced at her with an unpredictable look, and finally said indifferently: "Go to the side hall."
Hearing this, the Imperial Concubine breathed a sigh of relief and smiled weakly: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your consideration."
"Cousin, seeing that I can't have children, I'm useless," the Imperial Concubine coughed softly a few times when they arrived at the side hall, closed her eyes, and said bitterly, "The elders of the Tonggiya clan, they... they want to send my second sister to the palace to give birth to a son and a daughter for you..."