After listening to Concubine Wen's long words, Cuizhi didn't know what to say.
The two people stood face to face, and a suppressed silence gradually spread throughout the hall.
After a long time, Concubine Wen turned around again and looked out the window at the white and lonely scenery. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, she closed her eyes and continued weakly:
"Cuizhi, I know that you and your sister have a deep love for master and servant, and you can only tolerate your sister as a master in your heart. Now that your sister is gone, you have put your whole heart on Ke Jing."
"I understand your feelings, and naturally I will not force you to be loyal to me and work hard for me like you do to your sister."
After she finished saying this, she lowered her head and stretched out her fingers to carefully trace the carvings on the mahogany window sill. She paused for a few breaths and then said:
"But I also have my own difficulties and plans. I admire little Hershey for being able to love her nephew and adopted son as her own flesh and blood without any grudges. But I can't do that. She has to crawl out of my belly.
Only then will I be able to believe that they will not alienate me because of their biological mother in the future.”
"Kejing is the child that my sister worked hard to keep. Now that my sister is gone, as her only biological aunt, I will naturally try my best to protect her. However, according to my current situation, raising her will not only follow the
There is no guarantee and the price is too high.”
"Behind Concubine Jing is a solid mountain. She has a way out, so she can live as much as she wants in this harem. But behind me is a fragile iceberg. It will completely break if I am not careful. At present, I have nothing but expectations."
Apart from looking forward to being able to sleep with you more often and giving birth to a strong little brother soon, you know I don’t have a choice..."
Concubine Wen looked at the window sill blankly, her voice sounded restrained and calm, but from the perspective that Cuizhi couldn't see, her eyes were extremely red, and there was a faint mist in her eyes.
"My slave, I understand what you mean."
Cuizhi stood there and stared at Concubine Wen's back with a complicated expression for a while before speaking in a low voice.
"It's good that you understand. You can go down to eat earlier. I'm a little tired and want to take a rest."
"In a few days, I will find an opportunity to tell the emperor to ask you to take care of Princess Kejing in the Palace of Qianqing. Today I have made it clear to you everything that is in my heart, and I hope you can understand my difficulty."
Cuizhi bit her lower lip tightly and did not speak again. She just leaned over and bowed respectfully, then bowed and left quietly.
When I heard the footsteps behind me gradually leaving, the door of the hall was also pulled shut from the outside with a "squeak" sound.
The aroma of the steaming mutton pot on the dinner table still lingered on the tip of her nose, but Concubine Wen felt that her heart was severely blocked and her stomach seemed to be so full that she could not even drink a sip of water.
She raised her head and moved her hands to push open the glass window in front of her, allowing the howling cold wind outside to wrap up the dense and rapid snowflakes and the small round ice particles that "crackled" on her face.
It was cold and painful, and two lines of hot tears slipped from the eyes and flowed down the cheeks to the pointed chin, and then fell on the mahogany window sill with a "clack" and broke into several petals.
Thinking of his sister's past voice and smile, Niu Hulu Mingya's heart felt as bitter as if it had been soaked in coptis water.
Like a little girl who had lost her way and couldn't find her home, she raised her hand aggrievedly to wipe the tears that could not stop on her cheeks, complaining and complaining over and over again sadly:
"You clearly promised that you would protect Ya'er for the rest of your life, so that I could live uprightly as someone else's wife and not be bullied. But you broke your promise."
Once the defense line in her heart was broken through, a surge of sadness swept through Concubine Wen's body instantly.
It seemed that she couldn't bear it anymore. She slowly slid down against the wall and sat on the ground with her hands and knees. Her thin shoulders were shaking constantly. The woman's suppressed cries floated out of the window.
I was immediately blown away by the cold wind, and I could only vaguely hear an unreal bitter smile:
"Sister, Ya'er has become someone else's concubine just like E Niang..."
Night gradually enveloped the entire Forbidden City, and heavy snow fell all night. Until the next day, fine snow continued to fall in the sky.
On November 15th, the palace officials began to be busy commemorating the first anniversary of Queen Niu Hulu from the beginning of the Mao hour, and they did not finish until the third quarter of the U.S. hour.
The skylight in winter is very short. When Kangxi crossed the threshold of Kunning Palace, although it was not yet the beginning of Xushi, the sky outside had already darkened completely, and the temperature was extremely low. He could see it even with his breath.
White fog.
He was wearing a black cloak and a fur hat on his head. Under the dim light of the palace lantern above his head, he saw that there was no snow falling in the sky anymore. Looking around, everything was white, and the thick snow piled up on the palace road.
The snow layer has not been cleared yet by the palace staff.
He turned the jade ring on his hand, thought for a moment, and then whispered to the person behind him:
"Liang Jiugong, go pick up a palace lantern and follow me to Cining Palace."
"Hey, yes, I will go right away."
When Liang Jiugong heard this, he immediately turned around and ran back to Kunning Palace without any hesitation. He picked up a dim ram's horn palace lantern from the young eunuch and ran back quickly. He followed Kangxi closely, and the master and servant stepped on it.
Walking westward along the palace road covered with snowflakes as it creaks.
As soon as he walked into Cining Gate, the surrounding light suddenly became brighter. Liang Jiugong handed the ram's horn palace lantern in his hand to the little eunuch guarding the door, and hurriedly followed Kangxi's footsteps towards the main hall.
"My grandson sends his regards to Madam Huang."
As soon as Kangxi entered the warm main hall, he took off his thick cloak and handed it to Liang Jiugong. Then he stepped forward and bowed to the Empress Dowager who was sitting on the couch, leaning on a soft pillow, reading Buddhist scriptures by bright candlelight.
He bowed.
The Empress Dowager, whose thoughts were interrupted by the deep male voice, turned her head away and looked at Kangxi standing on the ground with some surprise.
"Get up quickly, why are you here at this time?"
The Empress Dowager ordered Aunt Sumala to prepare hot tea for Kangxi. She sat up straight and put the yellow-covered Buddhist scriptures on the small table beside her. She raised her wrinkled hands and took off the Buddhist scriptures worn on the bridge of her nose.
Wearing crystal reading glasses, he gently pinched the inner corners of his eyes and aimed his gaze at his grandson.
Kangxi looked at Madam Huang, who was already over sixty years old, and her hair was a little gray. Thinking of his purpose of coming today, he said with a little embarrassment:
"To tell you the truth, my grandson came here today because he wanted to ask Madam Huang for help with something."
"Furthermore, my grandson has been thinking about this in his mind all day long. He feels that in the entire Forbidden City, only Madam Huang can do it."
Hearing what Kangxi said, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but become a little curious. She stretched out her left hand to take the hot tea handed over by Su Ma, held the lid with her right hand and flicked it a few times, lowered her head and took a sip of the hot tea before facing him.
said:
"Then tell me."
Kangxi also took the tea from Su Ma with a smile, put it on the table at hand, organized his words in his heart and started talking:
"Mother Huang, I believe you should already know that Ke Jing caught Sun Eryu finger-twisting at her first birthday ceremony yesterday."
"Yes, when Qiqige came back, she went around to Ai's house and told her story vividly."
The Empress Dowager smiled and nodded, signaling Kangxi to continue.
"Hahahaha, Huang'e Niang has always been a person who likes to have fun. Yesterday, Huang'e Niang even said that she saw the shadow of Mama Huang in Ke Jing."
"Later, I thought about it carefully and found that what Huang Eniang said really makes some sense. Huang Mama, you have experienced so many ups and downs in your life, accumulated so much life experience, and have unique insights into political affairs.
She is the wisest woman in this harem."
"If Kejing can study with you for a few years and learn even half of your skills, my grandson believes that she will benefit a lot in her life."
"Stop putting such high hat on Aijia. Aijia still knows how much he weighs."
The Empress Dowager pointed at the good grandson she was proud of and laughed and cursed a few times, but the smile on her face was very happy. After all, hearing their sincere praise from juniors always makes people feel comfortable.
"This is a bit of a clue about the Ai family. Do you want to put the little girl Ke Jing in Cining Palace to raise her?" the Empress Dowager asked with some uncertainty.
"Yes, Madam Huang, your guess is correct."
Kangxi stood up from his chair, walked to the soft couch, took over the work from the palace servants, and gently tapped the Empress Dowager's shoulders and whispered:
"Huang Mama, the Mongolian side of Mongolia has always been dishonest. In recent years, because of my peace with the San Francisco vassals, the leader of the Junggar tribe there has taken the opportunity to secretly collude with the rebels in the south, and has been constantly going there.
east to expand their territory."
"They are lying like a vicious wolf to the west of us, always ready to bite off a big piece of meat from us. Whenever my grandson thinks of this, he will feel like a stick in his throat. I think the court will definitely fight with Mongolia in the future.
A tough battle.”
Kangxi squinted his eyes and said in a cold tone.
The Empress Dowager reached out and took two of her antique walnuts, turning them in her hands, and listened quietly to Kangxi's words without making a sound.
"The Mongolian side of Mobei has not surrendered to the Qing Dynasty until now. The situation in Mongolia can be said to be a mixture of sand and stone. It is chaotic, complicated and very unstable."
"Didn't the marriage between the Qing Dynasty and Mongolia hope to use this tolerant policy to gradually strengthen the relationship between the two sides and thereby control the situation there?"
"But over the years, the virtuous and beautiful clan girls and princesses we sent to the prairie one by one died early. The Qing Dynasty suffered heavy losses, while the Mongolian side suffered no loss at all.
No effort was made.”
The Queen Mother also felt a little sad when she heard this. Her three biological daughters were sent to Mongolia by Huang Taiji for marriage when they were not very old.
In addition to the second daughter Atu who is still alive and well, the eldest daughter Yatu passed away in April this year, and the younger daughter was married to a white-haired girl and a black-haired girl after only three years of marriage, which made her feel secretive every time she was in bed.
When I saw the little clothes they wore when they were young, I couldn't help but burst into tears.
Kangxi felt the loss of the Empress Dowager, and felt a little uncomfortable in his heart, but the scars had already been opened, and if he continued to tear them apart, it would only hurt more. He paused for a few times and continued:
"In the past, my thinking was limited, and I never thought about the possibility of the princess participating in politics. If Ke Jing hadn't grabbed a jade wrench and pointed it out yesterday, I would never have thought of it in my life."
Kangxi stopped beating his shoulders, lifted up the hem of his robe and sat next to the Empress Dowager. He looked at her with bright eyes and said seriously:
"Royal Mammy, I now have an idea to let the princesses study like my brothers in the future. I don't expect all of them to make achievements in government affairs, but I do hope that they can marry to Mongolia.
If there is a ravine, you can stand strong with a clear mind."
"Kejing has a cheerful personality and a noble background. She is also smart and smart. I have high hopes for this child. She and Baocheng have a close brother-sister relationship and have a very good relationship."
"Now that Ke Jing is just a little old, whenever I read the poem to Bao Cheng at night, the little girl doesn't make a fuss. I have a vague feeling that if Ke Jing can be raised well, we and I will be together.
If Baocheng gives her more confidence and support, she may not be able to achieve some major achievements in Mongolia in the future."
The walnuts in the hands of the Empress Dowager spun faster, and her brows could not help but frown. She was already keen on government affairs and could naturally imagine the picture Kangxi had painted. Moreover, she was also someone who had assisted two generations of young emperors, so she naturally understood some wisdom.
As long as women study more, their achievements will never be worse than those of men.
After making a decision in her mind, she reached out and patted the back of her grandson's hand and said slowly:
"Aijia understands what you mean, but after all, Aijia is getting older now. Teaching a little baby is too time-consuming. Now Kejing is still too young. Give it another two years, until she can run and jump.
When she becomes more sensible, you can send her to Cining Palace. Don't worry, the Ai family will teach her well."
"Thank you, Madam Huang!"
When Kangxi heard this, his eyes lit up instantly, and he proposed happily: "Then after the Yuqing Palace in Baocheng is completed next year and moved in, my grandson will send Kejing to you."
"good."
The Empress Dowager smiled and nodded in agreement, and the grandfather and grandson then said some light-hearted words. It was not until the end of Xu Shi that the Empress Dowager became tired and began to yawn. Kangxi seemed to have solved a major problem on his mind and looked relaxed.
Liang Jiugong followed Liang Jiugong and walked towards the Qianqing Palace in the east, ready to wash up and go back to sleep.