As Kangxi’s words fell, there were snowflakes drifting down in the air at some unknown point.
One flake after another, tiny to the extreme, swayed down onto people’s hair, landed on their shoulders, and finally turned into an extremely fine droplet of water, disappearing into their clothes.
The officials standing behind Kangxi, upon suddenly hearing that His Majesty was in the mood to joke with the Cao family’s girl, were already inwardly marveling at the Cao family’s imperial favor. Then, hearing His Majesty’s tone be so concerned, they could not help but secretly size up Cao Yue one by one.
With this look, their eyeballs were almost unable to turn anymore. They had long known that the Cao family had a young lady, only this young lady had been hidden by the Cao family as if she were a rare treasure. In Jiangning Prefecture on ordinary days, whenever some family’s madam held a banquet, the one who went was always Cao Yin’s wife, and the Cao family’s young lady had never even shown her face.
Therefore, it was only now that they learned that the Cao family’s young lady had unexpectedly grown into such an extraordinary beauty.
Cao Yue pretended not to notice everyone’s scrutiny, and only responded in a cool, indifferent manner: “Your Majesty saw wrongly. It was only the wind getting in my eyes.”
After saying that, she curtsied slightly, and without waiting for Kangxi to agree, she took her leave and departed on her own.
Cao Yin watched helplessly as Cao Yue left, then watched as the emperor’s expression went from quite pleased just now to expressionless now. Frightened, he thudded to his knees on the pebble path beneath his feet: “Please forgive me, Your Majesty. This servant’s younger sister has been spoiled by the family, and did not mean to offend Your Majesty.”
At this moment, Cao Yin was inwardly groaning endlessly. Accompanying a ruler is like accompanying a tiger; the emperor’s face is above everything. Yue’er had made His Majesty lose face in front of a group of officials. Based on the emperor’s petty nature, who knew what he was thinking now about how to deal with her.
Kangxi was indeed angered by Cao Yue’s behavior. He lowered the edges of his brows, the aura around him spreading slightly, and his thin lips pressed into a straight line: “Get up. I am not so petty as to bicker with a woman. However, this Miss Cao does indeed fall short somewhat in matters of etiquette.”
The turn in his words was so abrupt that Cao Yin, whose heart had just slightly settled, was lifted up again. In the weather of dancing snowflakes, fine cold sweat broke out at his temples: “What does Your Majesty mean…”
Kangxi did not bother with him, and called out, “Liang Jiugong, go find a mama and send her to Miss Cao.”
A beauty having a bit of temper was not impossible. If she threw a tantrum at him, he would take it as charm. But if this sort of temper was not changed, then when she entered the harem in the future, she would have plenty of hardship to suffer.
While she was still outside the palace, it would be good to temper her temper a bit.
Liang Jiugong accepted the order and left. Kangxi turned back to look at the officials, then lifted a foot and walked away. “You all may withdraw.”
The officials looked at one another, then cupped their hands and respectfully sent him off: “We respectfully see Your Majesty off.”
When they could no longer see Kangxi’s figure, the Jiangning Prefect smiled and stepped forward to touch Cao Yin’s shoulder, saying meaningfully, “Lord Cao really does have excellent fortune. With your younger sister here, the Cao family’s prospects are limitless, and the family’s elevation in banner status is just around the corner. When that time comes, Lord Cao must not forget to promote and support us colleagues.”
Cao Yin drew out the handkerchief tucked in his sleeve and wiped the cold sweat from his temples, then forced out two dry laughs: “Lord Luo is joking, joking indeed.”
Liang Jiugong was very efficient. Not long after Kangxi gave the order, less than half an hour later, he had brought to the West Garden the quiet, steady mama selected from among the accompanying mamas chosen this time from the Qianqing Palace.
Before even stepping into the West Garden, a burst of noisy qin music came out. The only one who could be playing the qin in the West Garden was Miss Cao.
Although Liang Jiugong could not play the qin, His Majesty could. Serving beside His Majesty, even if one could not play, one could still tell good from bad.
Yesterday in the peach grove, the qin music had been melodious and tranquil. At this moment, the music was completely different from yesterday’s. To describe it as off-key was not at all excessive. It could be seen that the person playing the qin was in extremely poor spirits.
After pausing briefly only outside the West Garden, Liang Jiugong led people inside.
The servants in the West Garden all knew that Liang Jiugong was the emperor’s trusted man, so not one dared to stop him, and none dared to rush in front of him to report before his eyes. They could only watch helplessly as Liang Jiugong and an elderly mama knocked twice on the young lady’s room door.
Not waiting for the voice from inside inviting them in, Liang Jiugong was not annoyed. He raised his voice outside and relayed Kangxi’s instructions in full.
The moment the words fell, the qin music suddenly stopped for a beat, and then, as if nothing had happened, continued plucking the strings.
A woman with such a temper and such a cool bearing. The entire harem would be hard-pressed to find a second like her.
This was the first time Liang Jiugong had encountered such a woman. It would have been one thing if he had not seen her face, but unexpectedly he did not even hear a word of response or thanks.
But he could not force his way in and compel Miss Cao to kneel and give thanks, so he could only give the teaching mama a look and then return to the East Courtyard to report.
Inside the room, the noisy qin music was still continuing, but it was not Cao Yue playing the qin. It was An Ning sitting before the jiaowei qin, plucking it haphazardly, while Cao Yue was sitting leisurely to the side, flipping through The Art of War.
An Ning played for quite a while. She really could not stand the noise she was making herself, so she tilted her body toward Cao Yue and whispered, “Miss, how much longer do I have to play? Don’t you feel uncomfortable hearing this?”
Cao Yue turned a page of the military book and smiled lightly. “If you can’t take it anymore, then stop.”
Anyway, the person who needed to hear it had already heard it.
An Ning let out a breath of relief, but did not stop immediately. Instead, borrowing the cover of the qin music, she asked softly, “Miss, treating the emperor like this, is it the ‘to lure the tiger away from the mountain’ that the books talk about?”
“You know that too?” Cao Yue closed the book, glanced at An Ning helplessly, and said, “But if you put it that way, that is not wrong either.”
Hearing this, An Ning knit her brows and worriedly said, “This servant is not doubting Miss. It is just that the emperor is, after all, the emperor. This servant is worried that if you are so distant with the emperor, he may feel displeased in his heart.”
After all, there was no one who did not care about face, and the emperor was especially so.
Cao Yue got up and walked to An Ning’s front, bending down to pluck the qin string, looking completely confident. “Don’t worry. If the emperor knew the reason why I am distant with the emperor, I’m afraid he would be too happy in his heart, so how could he be displeased?”
His harem concubines all entered the palace for the sake of family status, for the sake of giving birth to imperial sons and continuing the connection between the family and the Aisin Gioro clan, so their very existence was entangled with heavy layers of benefit.
If at this time there suddenly appeared a beauty of outstanding looks and considerable talent, who came not for fame or profit, only for him as a person, and even did not hope that he was an emperor, only hoping that he was an ordinary, plain young master, he should be moved, right?
An Ning suddenly came to a realization, then turned her head to look at the door. “Then the mama outside, should Miss call her in?”
Cao Yue exhaled a long breath. “Call her in.”
She believed that when she was careful, her manners would not give anyone anything to pick at, but that did not include court etiquette. This mama had been sent at just the right time.
Thus the teaching mama stood outside the room door for more than two ke, before she saw the room door open from inside.
Cao Yue adjusted the little moon-white front-opening jacket with fur trim she was wearing, slowly stood up from before the qin, and said with a slight bow, “It was I who was rude. Thank you for waiting outside for so long, Mama.”
On the way here, the teaching mama had heard a couple of things from Liang Jiugong about this young lady’s temper. When she learned that this young lady even dared to show the emperor a black face, she already knew that this was not a girl with a good temper. Therefore, even though she had waited outside the door for two ke and felt some dissatisfaction, she did not dare to show it.
The first glance she saw this young lady after entering made the teaching mama even more certain that her own thoughts had been correct.
She had spent many years immersed in the palace and seen all kinds of beauties. Even the one called the most beautiful woman in the harem, Concubine Wei Shuyi, could not compare to the Miss Cao before her. To curry favor was still not enough, so how could she put on a black face?
The teaching mama repeatedly said she did not dare. “This old servant has come on the emperor’s orders to teach Miss etiquette. I wonder whether it is convenient for Miss right now? Shall we begin now?”
Cao Yue nodded again, and the teaching mama began teaching the rules bit by bit.
It was not known whether Liang Jiugong had given instructions in advance, but the first thing the teaching mama taught was how to pay respects and greet when facing the emperor, and how to kneel in farewell and take one’s leave.
Kangxi’s southern tour this time had a very tight schedule. It was already rare that he could spare time to go out and relax yesterday for a day. Today, after dismissing the officials who had come to pay their morning respects, he took the guards and left the Cao residence, not returning until after he had eaten dinner outside.
Upon returning to the East Courtyard, he saw Sun Shi standing properly outside the courtyard in her court dress, her clothes slightly damp. One look made it clear she had been waiting for quite some time.
From afar, Sun Shi saw Kangxi return and knelt on the ground to pay respects without the slightest hesitation: “This old servant pays respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty be at peace.”
At this sight, Kangxi could not help but think of more than twenty years ago. At that time, he was not yet the supreme sovereign. He was only one of the imperial sons under the emperor’s father who was not valued. When he lived in the Aisin Gioro Prince’s Residence, most of the servants around him, because his mother and he were not favored, were quite negligent toward him. Only his wet nurse, Sun Shi, was very good to him and cared for him with greetings and concern.
Every time he returned from lessons at the Hall of Scholars, he could always see Sun Shi’s figure waiting for him outside the Prince’s Residence. That bit of warmth, he had only ever experienced from Sun Shi.
Later, when he ascended the throne and became emperor, there were countless people waiting respectfully for him outside the door, but in his heart there was no longer the same stirring he had felt back then in the Prince’s Residence.
His thoughts returning, Kangxi took two steps forward, personally bent down to help Sun Shi up, and even when he felt the icy coldness of Sun Shi’s clothes, he instructed someone to add a hand warmer for her: “It is freezing cold. Why is Mama standing outside?”
He did not think Liang Jiugong would be so lacking in tact as to not invite the person inside to wait.
Sun Shi’s eyes were full of tears, her face showing being flattered beyond measure: “This old servant only wanted to wait for Your Majesty to return.”
She had deliberately waited here for the sake of stirring up a little old affection deep in the emperor’s heart, and then the matter she wanted to handle next would be much easier.
Kangxi still did not know what Sun Shi was planning. After bringing her into the warm pavilion, he granted Sun Shi a seat and had hot tea brought up.
But Sun Shi did not sit down as instructed. Instead, she once again knelt on the ground and performed a grand bow, her forehead touching the ground: “Your Majesty, this old servant came today to plead guilty for this old servant’s unfilial daughter. Although Your Majesty did not blame her, this old servant cannot act as if nothing happened.”
Kangxi had not really taken this matter to heart in the first place. Besides, he had also sent a teaching mama over, so this matter could be considered over.
He glanced at Liang Jiugong. Seeing Liang Jiugong help the person up and seat her properly on a chair, he said gently, “Did I not already say that this matter is over? Why would Mama need to make a tiring trip for such a small matter?”
After the words fell, Sun Shi’s expression became a little troubled. Kangxi then knew that Sun Shi must have another request in coming here this time: “Mama, speak directly if you have something to say.”
“Yes.” Sun Shi gave a forced laugh, hesitated for a long time, then got up for the third time, knelt down again, and said through clenched teeth and closed eyes, “This old servant truly has one matter and wishes to ask for Your Majesty’s grace. This old servant wishes to ask Your Majesty to grant my younger daughter a marriage.”
With a whoosh, the teacup Kangxi had brought to his lips froze in place, and the smile faded away.