After receiving the flower, the Empress Dowager kept smiling, and shook the flower in her hand as if showing off to the Grand Empress Dowager. “It seems I am still the elder Yiqing loves the most.”
Watching her niece and daughter-in-law act so childishly, the Grand Empress Dowager pressed her forehead with a sigh and looked toward Yiqing.
Sensing the Grand Empress Dowager’s gaze, Yiqing acted promptly. She plucked another flower and offered it to her. “Great-Grandmother, flowers.”
“Our princess is truly so dutiful and loving,” Su Ma La Gu said with a smile. “Even at such a young age, she already knows how to show respect and affection to her elders.”
Yiqing looked at the flowers in the hands of both the Empress Dowager and the Grand Empress Dowager. To her mind, she had simply picked two flowers, and she could not see what that had to do with being dutiful or respectful.
Yet seeing the warm smiles on the faces of the two elders, she felt as though she had begun to understand something deeper.
Having walked all the way from the Palace of Compassion and Peace and stood for some time admiring the flowers, the Grand Empress Dowager began to feel tired.
Su Ma La Gu noticed this immediately and suggested, “Why don’t we go and sit for a while at the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Springtimes to rest our feet? It will also give the princess a chance to watch the little fish swimming in the water. We can have some fish food brought over so she can feed them if she likes.”
The Empress Dowager had no objection, but she said with a laugh, “Perhaps we had better skip the feeding part. Yiqing is still too little, and if we give her fish food, she might very well put it straight into her own mouth. What would we do then?”
Her words brought to everyone’s minds the scene from the princess’ first birthday celebration, when she had grabbed a piece of braised pork and stuffed it directly into her mouth. Everyone burst into laughter, though Yiqing herself could not bring herself to join in.
It seemed that one small foolish act was going to be used to tease her for years to come.
When they arrived at the pavilion, young palace maids immediately served hot tea. The two Dowagers sat down to enjoy the scenery, while Nurse Zhang carried Yiqing over to the edge of the pond.
A maid scattered a handful of fish food into the water, and immediately a school of fish swam over, darting back and forth close to the bank, waiting eagerly for more offerings from those who were kind enough to feed them.
Many imperial consorts came to the Imperial Garden to feed the fish, and the creatures here had long grown accustomed to being given food. They only needed to gather near the shore and wait; once food was thrown down, they would rush to snatch it up, and as they did so, they would hear the sound of people laughing on the bank, which would almost certainly be followed by more food being tossed their way.
The young eunuch in charge of feeding the fish scattered the food generously, and more and more fish swam toward the group. However, he was perhaps too enthusiastic. Once the fish had eaten their fill, they dispersed and swam away. Seeing this, he scattered even more food, but after a while, only a small group remained near the bank.
The young eunuch glanced nervously at Nurse Zhang, and only when he saw that she did not seem displeased did he let out a quiet sigh of relief. He had wanted to make a good impression in front of the princess, but it seemed his efforts had backfired slightly. Still, he was grateful that no blame or criticism had been directed at him.
After watching for a while, the Empress Dowager called Nurse Zhang and Yiqing back to the pavilion. The air near the water was damp and heavy, and while it was fine for a child to stay there for a short time, remaining too long would not be good for her health.
After resting for a while, they prepared to set off on their return journey to the Palace of Compassion and Peace. The two elderly ladies had already had enough exercise for the day and felt too tired to walk back, so they sent word to the Imperial Household Department to have their sedan chairs brought to them.
Yiqing was passed into the arms of Nurse Zhao, as Nurse Zhang’s arms had begun to ache from carrying her for such a long time. The two nurses who attended to Yiqing always worked closely together, taking turns to care for her and supporting one another whenever necessary.
Resting in Nurse Zhao’s embrace, Yiqing let out a small yawn. She found herself wishing that she could grow up faster. Right now, she was still too small and weak to walk any great distance, but once she was older and stronger, she would be able to go wherever she wanted on her own two feet.
Upon their return to the palace, they were informed that one of the imperial consorts had come to request an audience.
This was Consort Li, who belonged to the Han Chinese Plain Blue Banner. Her grandfather was Li Yongfang, a former military commander who had surrendered to the Qing forces and had been married to one of Nurhaci’s granddaughters. The Li family was a distinguished military clan based in Tieling, Liaodong, and several of her uncles and cousins had risen to high positions in the government, with some even serving as provincial governors. It could be said that Consort Li came from a very prominent and influential family.
However, because her family was part of the Han Chinese military banners, she had spoken only Chinese before coming to the capital for the imperial selection. She had only just begun to learn the Manchu script and language, and she did not speak Mongolian at all. As a result, she rarely visited the Palace of Compassion and Peace.
Hearing that it was she who had come, the Empress Dowager was somewhat surprised. But as she had just enjoyed a pleasant outing in the Imperial Garden and was in high spirits, she smiled and ordered that the consort be brought in.
Consort Li was dressed in a deep blue robe embroidered with large patterns of pale yellow flowers. Yiqing did not recognize what kind of flowers they were, but she thought they looked very beautiful, and they complemented Consort Li’s delicate and lovely face perfectly, making her appear even more charming.
“I pay my respects to the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager.”
Consort Li moved with grace and elegance as she performed the required formalities, carrying herself with a natural poise and charm that made her a delight to watch, even as she followed the strict rules of court etiquette.
The Empress Dowager was always kind and courteous to all of Kangxi’s consorts, and she was especially warm toward those who were beautiful and well-mannered. “You may rise.”
Since entering the palace, Consort Li had learned a few simple phrases in Mongolian. While it was difficult for her to understand everything the Empress Dowager said, she could grasp the general meaning, and with the help of the ladies-in-waiting who translated when necessary, communication between them was not a problem.
After sitting down, Consort Li exchanged a few pleasantries with the Empress Dowager, but her eyes kept drifting toward Yiqing, who was sitting nearby happily playing with a toy all by herself.
After speaking for a while, Consort Li suddenly shifted the topic of conversation directly to Yiqing.
“I have always thought the princess is so lovely,” she said with a gentle smile. “She plays so quietly and behaves so well, far more obedient and well-behaved than the younger brothers and sisters I grew up with in my family.”
Hearing someone speak so highly of Yiqing, the Empress Dowager became quite animated and began telling Consort Li about all the amusing and interesting things the child had done in recent days. Yiqing, sitting nearby, could only listen with a sense of helplessness, wishing with all her heart that the Empress Dowager would stop recalling all these embarrassing moments and forget them as soon as possible, as listening to them repeated over and over was truly quite awkward.
Consort Li listened attentively, smiling all the while. She nodded in agreement at every word the Empress Dowager spoke, and asked many more questions about the child.
The Empress Dowager did not sense anything unusual in the conversation, but the Grand Empress Dowager began to feel that something was amiss. She raised her head slightly and looked closely at Consort Li.
Sure enough, after chatting for a little while longer, Consort Li glanced once more at Yiqing, then turned her gaze back to the Empress Dowager. “I have truly grown very fond of the princess. Now that Her Majesty the Empress is expecting a child, she will naturally not be able to look after Yiqing as closely as before. I also worry that the princess may become restless or troublesome while living here with you two elders. Would it perhaps be better if I brought her to my residence, the Palace of Auspicious Beginning? I promise that I will take the greatest care of her and raise her as if she were my own daughter.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the Empress Dowager froze in shock.
Yiqing also lifted her head and looked directly at Consort Li.