“This servant greets the Emperor.”
Seeing Kangxi stride quickly through Jingren Gate and enter the front courtyard of Jingren Palace, the servants in the courtyard all knelt to pay their respects.
The greetings reached the inner hall. Cao Yue looked at An Ning and, seeing An Ning nod, felt much more at ease. Only then did she support herself on An Ning’s hand and get up. Before she had even walked out, Kangxi had already come in looking hurried. Before Cao Yue could kneel, he had both hands on her arm and forcibly led her to sit on the bed.
Seeing the sickly pallor on Cao Yue’s face, Kangxi said with concern, “I heard your body is unwell. Is it serious? Why didn’t you send someone to report it to Qianqing Palace?”
That string of concern and questions shocked the little palace maids serving in the sleeping hall. They had never heard of the Emperor being so worried about any consort or imperial lady before.
Cao Yue barely held herself together and acted coquettishly, only her voice could not hide her weakness: “The Emperor asked so many questions at once. How am I supposed to answer?”
Seeing that at a time like this she still did not take her own body seriously, Kangxi immediately said unhappily, “Then answer them one by one. I have plenty of patience.”
Liang Jiugong also said, “Your Majesty doesn’t know this, but as soon as the Emperor heard that Your Ladyship was unwell, he simply couldn’t care about anything else. He didn’t even have a sedan chair summoned. It can be seen how much the Emperor cares about you.”
Hearing this, the smile in Cao Yue’s eyes and brows deepened a little. Looking at her now, she indeed carried a somewhat weak and pitiable beauty.
She slightly lifted her face, her eyes carrying threads of affection, and raised a hand to gently brush between Kangxi’s brows. “Don’t worry, Your Majesty. I’m fine. It’s just that these past days I’ve felt terribly weak, and I’ve occasionally been dizzy. I was afraid of ruining your mood, so I didn’t go to Qianqing Palace to pay my respects.”
”Besides, you’ve been very busy lately, so what’s here is only a small matter. It isn’t worth making you worry over it too.”
That considerate explanation sounded somewhat unpleasant to Kangxi. He glared at her with his long phoenix eyes, and his big hand landed on Cao Yue’s shoulder as he said in a low voice, “Nonsense. It concerns your body. How could it be a small matter?”
Cao Yue seemed startled. Her body trembled lightly, her face turned even paler, and her vision was also spinning in waves. It looked as if she could not even sit steady anymore.
Seeing this, Kangxi hurriedly pulled her into his arms and said urgently, “You’re uncomfortable again? Lie down and rest quickly. I’ve had Liang Jiugong summon the imperial physician. He’ll be here in a moment.”
As he spoke, Kangxi helped Cao Yue settle onto the bed and wrapped her tightly in the brocade quilt. After he finished everything, the imperial physician still had not arrived, and Kangxi grew somewhat impatient. Turning his head, he urged Liang Jiugong, “Why isn’t he here yet?”
Liang Jiugong wanted to cry but had no tears. The Imperial Medical Bureau was in the southwest corner, and Jingren Palace was in the northeast corner. Even if Wei Zhu’s pace were as fast as possible, a round trip would still take half an hour. How long had it even been?
But he couldn’t say that out loud, so he could only soothe Kangxi’s mood: “This servant will send someone to…”
Before he could finish, Wei Zhu’s panting voice came from outside the hall: “Here, here. Your Majesty, this servant has brought Imperial Physician Wang.”
”Hurry in and take Consort Zhao’s pulse.”
Seeing Imperial Physician Wang about to kneel, Kangxi hurriedly stopped him.
Imperial Physician Wang paused in his movements, carried his medicine box forward, knelt on the footstool, and reached out to place his hand on the wrist that had already been covered with a handkerchief.
About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea passed before Imperial Physician Wang withdrew his hand. Kangxi immediately asked, “How is it? Is there any serious problem?”
Imperial Physician Wang considered his words and reported with cupped hands, “Replying to Your Majesty, based on the pulse, Consort Zhao has no serious problem. She is only somewhat cold-natured and weak. With proper recuperation, there will be no issue.”
Hearing this, Cao Yue’s fingers outside the quilt curled slightly. Then An Ning voiced her doubt: “Imperial Physician, are you certain? If she is really fine, then why would Your Ladyship have symptoms of bodily weakness and dizziness? Even… even when her monthly flow came this month, it was much more uncomfortable than before.”
Being questioned like this by An Ning, Imperial Physician Wang’s goat beard trembled unconsciously. Then he stroked his beard as though nothing had happened and calmly explained to Kangxi, “Your Majesty, please allow this servant to explain. From what this young lady said, it can be seen that this servant’s diagnosis is not wrong. For women, coldness in the body will indeed cause difficult monthly affairs, and bodily weakness will also lead to symptoms such as fatigue.”
Imperial Physician Wang spoke with complete confidence, showing not the slightest trace of guilt: “Coldness in the body can be regulated with medicine, and in ordinary times one can also keep warm more often. As for bodily weakness, no matter how much medicine one takes, it is not as good as having Your Ladyship go out and walk around and move about more often. Staying cooped up in the palace all day, even if one isn’t ill, one will become ill from being stifled.”
For An Ning’s doubts, Imperial Physician Wang gave reasonable explanations for all of them. Kangxi seemed to believe it as well, though no one noticed the exchange of glances between Cao Yue and An Ning in the dark.
After sending Imperial Physician Wang to the side hall to write the prescription, Kangxi waved everyone in the sleeping hall away. He himself reached out and pinched Cao Yue’s nose, saying indulgently, “You, have you barely left the sleeping hall at all this month?”
Cao Yue felt somewhat guilty, her eyes darting away as she refused to look at Kangxi. “I, I just don’t really want to go out. When you’re not here, I’m alone no matter what, so it’s boring. Now that it’s cold, I don’t know what there is to do outside. Reading books and writing in the hall can still pass the time.”
Hearing the grievance in her words, Kangxi could not help pinching the bridge of his nose.
That was true. Consort Zhao was different from the women in the harem. If one had to compare them to flowers, the consorts and concubines in the harem were more like wild flowers and weeds with tenacious vitality. Whenever he happened to remember them and go over to water them a little, they could live very well.
But Consort Zhao was more like a delicate flower raised at home. Apart from watering, she also needed careful tending. Otherwise, if one was not careful, she would very easily wither.
Kangxi was very troubled. His identity determined that he could not keep constant attention on Consort Zhao in everything, so he fell silent for a moment.
Cao Yue also did not speak. She could see Kangxi’s conflicted thoughts, only she did not know what answer he would ultimately come up with.
Outside the hall, Liang Jiugong was shrinking his hands against the vermilion pillar as he asked Wei Zhu in a low voice, “How did summoning an imperial physician go so quickly today?”
Wei Zhu rubbed his cold hands and said thankfully, “This servant ran into him halfway. He had just finished taking the pulse for the Noble Consort and was on his way out.”
When he saw Imperial Physician Wang at that time, he thought that he could run less of a distance and the Emperor could also wait a little less, so he simply asked a few questions briefly and dragged the man over.
Liang Jiugong snorted through his nose and said nothing more.
At this time, An Shun personally came over carrying two bowls of ginger soup, smiling warmly. “Eunuch Liang and Little Eunuch Wei have worked hard. Have some ginger soup to drive away the cold.”
Looking at the ginger soup, Liang Jiugong could not help thinking of Consort Zhao’s first time serving in the bedroom. At that time, An Ning had also prepared ginger soup and pastries for him.
He narrowed his eyes and silently sighed. The servants of Jingren Palace all knew how to做人, how to handle themselves.
Wei Zhu was already freezing with cold hands and feet. Seeing the ginger soup, he practically wanted to tilt his head back and drink it all in one gulp. Unfortunately, Liang Jiugong had not moved, so he could not overstep Liang Jiugong.
Noticing Wei Zhu’s eager gaze, Liang Jiugong glanced sideways at him, picked up a bowl of ginger soup, and drank it slowly. Only then did Wei Zhu take the other bowl in his hands.
After the ginger soup went down, his whole body warmed up. Wei Zhu’s good impression of Jingren Palace increased a little more.
People like them, these servants, had lowly lives. They even dared not get sick. Once they did fall ill, servants with some standing before their masters could still beg for a favor from their master and go to the Imperial Medical Bureau to get a few doses of medicine. But if they were the lowest of the low servants, they would not even have medicine and could only grit their teeth and survive through it. If they could not make it through, they could only wait to die.
So at times like this, no matter how much silver they were given, it could not compare to a bowl of ginger soup that was more considerate.
Noticing Wei Zhu’s expression, An Shun’s gaze flickered. As expected, the Empress had not been wrong. Compared with Liang Jiugong, who was impervious to soft and hard persuasion, Wei Zhu, who was obviously younger and had not gone through as much, was much easier to manipulate.
In Zhongcui Palace, Noble Consort Hui was head down, dealing with the account books sent over by the Ministry of Internal Affairs when Chuixue lifted the curtain and came in to report, “Your Ladyship, someone from the Ministry of Internal Affairs just came to pass on a message. It is the Emperor’s oral decree that from now on, Jingren Palace’s hongluo charcoal will be doubled.”
”Doubled?”
Noble Consort Hui raised her head from the account book, very puzzled. “What happened?”
Chuixue lowered her brows and said, “This servant heard that not long ago the Emperor went to Jingren Palace, and then summoned an imperial physician, saying that Consort Zhao was unwell. This servant does not know the specifics either, only that after the Emperor came out of Jingren Palace, he issued this oral decree.”
Noble Consort Hui frowned. “Consort Zhao is unwell? When was this news? Why doesn’t this palace know?”
Since she had been ordered to assist the Noble Consort in managing the six palaces, if any of the consorts in the six palaces really had something wrong, there was no reason for her to know nothing at all.
Chuixue curled her lip. “For this entire month, the Noble Consort has been ill and exempt from paying respects, and Consort Zhao has not stepped out of Jingren Palace even once. How could we possibly know about Consort Zhao’s situation? Besides, in this servant’s view, Consort Zhao may not really be ill. Perhaps she is trying to curry favor.”
Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence? She was not sick earlier or later, but just when the Emperor summoned Consort Zhao to accompany him, Consort Zhao got delicately ill? Wasn’t it just to make the Emperor pity her?
Noble Consort Hui pressed her lips together. “Whether Consort Zhao is really ill or is using illness to curry favor, since this palace now knows, it would be hard not to go visit. First go to the Imperial Medical Bureau and bring back Consort Zhao’s pulse records, then prepare some medicinal herbs. Tomorrow we will go to Jingren Palace.”
The next day, when she arrived at Jingren Palace and saw that there were quite a few consorts and concubines sitting in Jingren Palace, Noble Consort Hui said in surprise, “Why are all you younger sisters here?”
Consort De smiled and said, “Is it only allowed for Elder Sister Hui to come, and not for us to come?”
As Noble Consort Hui walked inward, she lightly pressed on Cao Yue’s shoulder to stop her from getting up to pay respects, while replying, “This palace never said that. Consort De, don’t slander this palace.”
After giving Consort De a glance, she also called for the consorts and concubines who were greeting her to get up. Noble Consort Hui then sat down beside Cao Yue and had Chuixue bring over the medicinal herbs she had prepared for Cao Yue to look over: “I heard that Younger Sister was ill, so this palace specially prepared some excellent medicinal herbs. If you think they can be used, then use them. If not, it doesn’t matter to leave them in the storeroom.”
The words were polite and proper, and Cao Yue naturally gave Noble Consort Hui face as well, having An Ning accept them: “Many thanks to Elder Sister Hui for your trouble. This concubine is only suffering from a minor illness. It is instead troubling all of you younger sisters to make a trip in this freezing weather.”
Consort De was full of disagreement. “Younger Sister, why are you being so polite with us? In any case, it’s cold, and we’re bored in the palace too. Coming to your place to chat and relieve boredom is also good, so we don’t end up stifled to death.”
”Consort De is right.” Consort Rong pinched her handkerchief and echoed her, then said worriedly, “But is Younger Sister’s body really all right? I heard yesterday that an imperial physician was summoned to Jingren Palace. It made this palace worry for quite a while.”
Cao Yue shook her head lightly, and the earring swayed twice with it. “The imperial physician said I just have some coldness in the body. It’s not too serious.”
As soon as she said that, Noble Lady Guo suddenly spoke up. “Which imperial physician said that? It’s simply nonsense. For us women, coldness in the body is a huge matter. If it is not handled well, it may be hard to conceive. Consort Zhao, which quack physician diagnosed you? If he comes to take Fourth Gege’s routine pulse check later, this concubine does not want him.”
Cao Yue said in disbelief, “He should not… not be, right? Imperial Physician Wang was summoned by the Emperor. Besides, the routine pulse checks I’ve had since entering the palace were also done by Imperial Physician Wang. Nothing was wrong.”
As soon as they heard the three words Imperial Physician Wang, everyone’s expressions varied, especially Noble Lady Guo, whose face visibly turned ugly.
After a long while, Noble Consort Hui smiled and smoothed things over. “Imperial Physician Wang is the physician serving the Noble Consort. Although his medical skill cannot compare to Imperial Physician Sun’s, he still has some ability. Noble Lady Guo, you are overthinking it.”
”Yes, what Noble Consort Hui said is right. It was this concubine who thought too much.”
Noble Lady Guo awkwardly brushed back the loose hair by her ear and lowered her head with a faint smile.
Then the relaxed atmosphere in the hall became strange. Everyone sat a while longer. First Consort De took her leave, and afterward Noble Consort Hui and Consort Rong also left. The sleeping hall, which had originally been full of people, was instantly left with only Consort Cheng.
Seeing that Consort Cheng seemed to want to speak but was hesitating, Cao Yue felt puzzled and kept her expression unchanged: “Does Elder Sister Cheng have something to say?”
Only to see Consort Cheng nod, then point at her own ear and say softly, “At the New Year’s Eve feast, consorts of rank must wear formal festive dress. Three earrings in one ear is the rule.”
Cao Yue subconsciously touched her earlobe. Before she could say thanks, Consort Cheng had already stood up and left.
An Ning slapped her forehead hard on the side. “This servant overlooked that. Why don’t I have someone prepare things right now and get your ears pierced?”
”It’s probably too late to pierce them now. Better to have the Ministry of Internal Affairs think of a way to make the earrings into ear clips. That would also be more convenient.”
An Ning wrote the matter down in her heart and planned to go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs herself a little later to instruct them.
Cao Yue dismissed the second-rank palace maids serving in the hall, then called An Shun in. “Just now, among the Four Consorts, only Consort Yi did not come and merely sent Noble Lady Guo in her place to visit. Is there something going on over at Consort Yi’s place?”
As for what Noble Lady Guo said about Consort Yi needing to look after Ninth Aisin Gioro, who had a bit of a cough, she did not believe that at all.
An Shun thought carefully. “Other than having summoned an imperial physician once, this servant hasn’t heard of anything happening in Yikun Palace.”
”Forget it. Then tell me about Consort Cheng and Noble Lady Guo. This palace is rather curious about them.”
Cao Yue lightly tapped her lips, a trace of interest at the corners of her mouth.
An Ning tilted her head. “Noble Lady Guo is one thing, but that Consort Cheng, this servant doesn’t quite understand. She is clearly a consort, yet her temperament is so timid, not even as ostentatious as Noble Lady Guo.”
An Shun said with a smile, “Sister An Ning does not know this, but when Consort Cheng was favored, her temperament was also lively and sweet, and she treated us servants kindly. It was just that after giving birth to Seventh Prince, who had a leg ailment, Consort Cheng was blamed by the Emperor, and her days were no longer as good as before. Little by little, she became quiet in the harem, and her temperament naturally changed too.”
”So Consort Cheng is actually kind-hearted?”
An Shun waved his hands repeatedly. “This servant never received any kindness from Consort Cheng. These are just things I heard. Your Ladyship can listen to them just for amusement.”
”As for Noble Lady Guo, she was originally sent into the palace by the Guo Luo Luo clan to help Consort Yi maintain favor and bear a prince. Who knew that after Noble Lady Guo entered the palace, she did not become pregnant, but instead Consort Yi, who was still Noble Lady Yi at the time, got pregnant first with Fifth Prince. From then on, Noble Lady Guo could only forever remain beneath Consort Yi. Because of this matter, this servant originally thought the two Yi sisters would definitely turn against each other, but later their relationship unexpectedly became good.”
Cao Yue thought about it and felt that something was off. It was true that Noble Lady Guo and Consort Yi came from the same clan, but did Noble Lady Guo really just willingly stay under Consort Yi’s foot for her entire life?
Also just now, since the people in the harem knew that an imperial physician had been summoned to her palace, they must also know that Imperial Physician Wang came to examine her.
Almost the entire six palaces knew that Imperial Physician Wang was the Noble Consort’s man, and she naturally knew that too, which was why the incident of her being unwell happened yesterday. In front of the Emperor, she and An Ning deliberately tripped up Imperial Physician Wang together.
When later she exposed that she had been plotted against by someone, even if the Noble Consort could get away with it, she would still have to make the Noble Consort suffer greatly. Otherwise, would those dirty things she had suffered be in vain?
But why did Noble Lady Guo seem as if she knew nothing, with every word of hers full of provocation, aiming to stir up her hatred for the Noble Consort?
She did not think Noble Lady Guo was a brainless fool, but she also did not think Noble Lady Guo had the guts to act like this solely because she had Fourth Gege at her side.
The only explanation was that someone was backing her, or else someone was instructing her to do this.
Was this person actually Consort Yi, or Noble Consort Niohuru, or perhaps someone who was unhappy with her and the Noble Consort.
Then how was she able to make Noble Lady Guo listen so obediently?
”If this palace wanted to blackmail Noble Lady Guo and make her do things for this palace, what do you think this palace should use to blackmail her so that it would work?”
An Ning said without hesitation, “Naturally, it would be the thing she treasures most.”
That answer was basically the same as saying nothing. Cao Yue shot An Ning a displeased look, then looked at An Shun. “What do you think?”
Compared with An Ning, An Shun, who had entered the palace from a young age, knew more. “This servant heard that after Noble Lady Guo gave birth to Fourth Gege, the imperial physician diagnosed that Noble Lady Guo had damaged her body, and I’m afraid she would never be able to give birth again in the future.”
So for a person who could not bear children, the only child under her knees naturally became the thing a mother valued most.
Only, although Cao Yue seemed to accept An Shun’s words, she still had doubts in her heart. After all, not every mother was like Madam Sun, completely disregarding gains and losses and putting her children first.
Over at Noble Lady Guo’s place, it was still better to test her further before reaching a conclusion.
After this day, it was soon New Year’s Eve. The New Year’s Eve feast was held in Taihe Hall. The front hall was for civil and military ministers of the former court, and the back hall was for harem consorts and imperial clan wives.
Even the Noble Consort, who had been ill for many days, still forced herself to attend with her body not yet recovered.
In a formal festive outfit of dark red, with thick makeup on her face, she moved among the various imperial clan wives with a slight smile, truly carrying herself like the empress of the inner court.
At such a grand banquet, which concerned the dignity of the royal family, there were naturally no mishaps in the middle. Amid the laughter and chatter filling the hall, and in the harmony of ruler and ministers, the twenty-fourth year of Kangxi arrived as scheduled.