No one truly understood the Emperor’s thoughts, much like his unpredictable decision to leave the Kunning Palace after a private visit to the Empress that day.
Since then, the Emperor had been preoccupied with state affairs and the Revolt of the Three Feudatories. He simply did not think of visiting the inner palace. The imperial concubines complained and lamented, yet they knew the Emperor was busy with governance. As his consorts, they had to remain in the rear and behave themselves.
The Grand Empress Dowager had originally intended to advise the Emperor to spread his favor more evenly among his consorts. However, seeing her grandson dive headfirst into state affairs, she had to prioritize the political situation over her desire for more great-grandchildren. While she couldn’t control her grandson for the moment, she found time to deal with her granddaughter-in-law.
She lectured the Empress repeatedly on fulfilling her duties, reminding her that as the Mother of the Nation, she was responsible for the people of the world and the ladies of the inner palace. Li Mu’s ears grew calloused from listening, but she had no choice but to nod in agreement.
Li Mu couldn’t help but wonder if her initial plan had been flawed. Perhaps from the beginning, she shouldn’t have focused on gaining the Emperor’s favor, but should have instead “butterfly-effected” the Four Consorts out of existence. This would have cut off the “Nine Lords’ Dethronement” struggle at the root. However, doing so led back to her original fear: the Emperor would still have heirs by other concubines, and a new “Four Consorts” would simply emerge. The Emperor was, after all, the Emperor. If only she had a way to settle the matter once and for all.
Ultimately, she had too few methods available. Having become the high-ranking Empress, she felt she was doing far from enough. A desire to increase her power rose within Li Mu like never before. Being the Empress was too restrictive; it was no wonder so many Empresses harbored such immense resentment after death—they were supreme in status, yet never achieved their heart’s desires in life.
Yet, if she succeeded in a counterattack, the benefits would be the greatest—a qualitative leap far beyond the rewards for simply fulfilling a concubine’s wish.
Thus, she had to endure, planning every move carefully.
Before she could officially offer her counsel to the Emperor, he seemed to anticipate her move and went to the Grand Empress Dowager first. No one knew what was said that day, but that night, rumors spread from the Cining Palace that the Emperor and the Grand Empress Dowager had experienced a falling out. The Cining Palace went silent, and the Emperor did not seek out Li Mu.
The inner palace fell into a quiet lull for a period; no one dared to cause trouble at such a time.
Inside the Cining Palace, the Grand Empress Dowager repeatedly muttered, “A sin, a sin,” appearing unable to accept the facts as she kept her eyes tightly shut. The Empress Dowager sighed softly beside her. “Imperial Mother, you should let this go. Keeping it trapped in your heart will only harm your health.”
“How can I possibly accept this!” The Grand Empress Dowager truly could not. Her grandson, who possessed the aura of a wise ruler, had actually fallen in love just like his incompetent Imperial Father—and he had plunged in headfirst, without looking back.
“Why is it that every generation of the Aisin Gioro clan produces such fools for love? Taizong was obsessed with Harjol from beginning to end; Fulin only thought of Consort Donggo; and now even XuanYe has set his heart on the Empress?”
The Grand Empress Dowager did not understand what it felt like to have eyes only for a beloved, but she knew that a ruler of a nation should not be this way. The grandson she had painstakingly raised actually came to her—right after she had finished lecturing the Empress—to tell her he wanted to try living as a husband and wife with the Empress. If that wasn’t protecting her, what was?
At that moment, she was so angry she lost all the composure she had cultivated over the years and gave her grandson a harsh scolding. Yet, XuanYe maintained a facade of listening intently while his spirit likely remained with the Empress.
Heh, she wondered why XuanYe had suddenly become so busy that he couldn’t even enter the inner palace. It turned out his heart was entirely on the Empress. Was this still the grandson she was so proud of? This was sheer nonsense, a sin!
The Grand Empress Dowager sighed repeatedly. If the Heseri lady were not the Empress XuanYe had married through formal rites, she might have steeled her heart to give her poison. Why did it have to be Heseri? She was caught in a dilemma, both because of the Emperor and the Crown Prince.
The Empress Dowager, however, had a different perspective. “Imperial Mother, why worry? Is it not a fine story for the Emperor and Empress to live in harmony? Besides, youth is full of fleeting passions; feelings arise easily and fade just as fast. Perhaps one day the Emperor will lose interest in the Empress.”
It was better that it was the Empress; if it were any other concubine, it would be a true disaster.
“It will be difficult.” The Grand Empress Dowager kept her eyes closed. What she didn’t say was that even if XuanYe didn’t realize the Empress’s importance at first, he wouldn’t remain ignorant forever. She had seen her own husband pass away shortly after Harjol died, and her son lose his life not long after Consort Donggo passed. It was as if when one died, the other could not live alone.
Kekeli (the Empress Dowager) thought the Emperor was merely acting on a whim, but she knew her grandson never spoke idle words. Even if XuanYe were to change his mind one day, it would be many years later. The Empress’s position was already solidified. How could she convince herself that her grandson’s inner palace would ever be filled with various concubines and great-grandchildren?
Things were different now.
“Regardless, I simply cannot accept the Emperor’s line of thinking. For now, I shall treat it as if the Emperor truly cannot find the time. Out of sight, out of mind!”
“If the Empress brings the Crown Prince, tell her I am sleeping.”
“Imperial Mother, I wish to see the Crown Prince,” the Empress Dowager said longingly.
The Grand Empress Dowager looked at her lacking ambition, unable to even watch. She waved her hand, signaling her agreement. Since she didn’t want to see the Empress right now, if Kekeli wanted to, so be it.
So spineless!
The Grand Empress Dowager had been acting very strange lately.
Li Mu continued her routine: receiving the concubines’ morning greetings, inquiring about their movements, sending the Emperor soups she had “made herself,” and taking Yinreng to the Cining Palace to gain favor. However, the one who met her was always the Empress Dowager; the Grand Empress Dowager “hadn’t woken up yet.” Having interacted with her for so long, how could Li Mu not know her usual waking hour?
That was why she found it strange. She had a feeling the Grand Empress Dowager was avoiding her. When she asked the Empress Dowager, the latter remained secretive, making it difficult to press further.
She resolved once again that next time, she must take the initiative. Playing the emotional card was far too passive. Although she knew quite a bit now, she always felt stuck in the middle, hesitating with every step. That wasn’t like her at all.
Being in this state of limbo once was more than enough.
Yinreng had already started crawling. Li Mu allowed the child’s soft little face to rest on her knee. “Is the preparation for the Third Prince’s one-month feast ready?”
Nanny Zhou nodded. “With the delay of so many days, the Imperial Household Department has long since prepared everything.”
Li Mu nodded thoughtfully. “This time, the Emperor should be visiting the inner palace. The Third Prince’s banquet cannot lack his Imperial Father.” Setting aside her own motives, she was somewhat worried that the Emperor’s excessive workload would harm his health. Lately, she had been consulting the imperial physicians on ways to nourish the body.
The Emperor was in his prime, so he didn’t need heavy supplements—just something to restore his spent energy. She tried to follow the formulas provided by the Imperial Academy of Medicine in her courtyard. She wasn’t very good at cooking soups; in fact, she wasn’t skilled in anything related to the kitchen.
But she thought that since she was playing the role of his wife, she had to show proper care on the surface. Even if the Emperor didn’t know the extent of this care, she started learning from scratch—from being unable to even light a fire to eventually being able to skillfully keep track of the cooking time. This greatly satisfied her drive; she had actually learned to tell time in ancient times!
Joking aside, the Imperial Kitchen had likely passed her words of concern to the Emperor. She heard that the Emperor had finished all the soups she sent. Regardless of whether he drank what other concubines sent, at least he hadn’t wasted her efforts.
However, nourishing the body was one thing; being so busy that he couldn’t even visit the inner palace meant he was beyond normally busy.
Many concubines expressed their longing for the Emperor in front of her, their voices full of woe. She scolded them all away. She had no desire to be a “virtuous and kind” Empress. Whether the Emperor came to the inner palace had nothing to do with her. Could complaining to her bring him there? She repeatedly declared that she was not the housekeeper responsible for comforting these concubines.
Li Mu pondered that in her next mission, she would have to find a different way to live. She couldn’t let everyone think she was just a tireless workhorse.
“Your Majesty, the Third Prince’s one-month feast has been delayed for three whole months. Do you think the Emperor intends to name the Third Prince during the feast?” Xuelian’s eyes sparkled with excitement as the thought occurred to her.
“You’re right. The Eldest Prince also needs to be named.” This generation used the character “Yin” for their names. Arranged in order, they sounded quite nice.
“Your Majesty, you don’t understand my meaning at all!” Xuelian said happily. “What I meant was that the Emperor named the Crown Prince first, while even the Eldest Prince, who is several years older, remains unnamed. This shows how much the Emperor values our Crown Prince.”
Li Mu tilted her head, puzzled. “Is that very important? It’s all just giving names.”
“Oh, Your Majesty, you just don’t get it!” Xuelian paced around in excitement. This was the unique favor the Emperor showed her mistress and the Crown Prince!
In the Qianqing Palace, upon hearing of the Empress’s activities, Kangxi’s eyelids didn’t even twitch. He remained calm, his brush moving like a dancing dragon across the paper. Soon, a large character was finished.
Liang Jiugong, standing aside, was anxious for the Emperor. He felt the Emperor was becoming increasingly difficult to read. He clearly paid attention to every move of the Empress, yet he didn’t go to her side. Liang Jiugong was nervous just watching, yet the Emperor grew more composed.
It seemed he had everything calculated in his heart.
After a long while, Kangxi finally spoke. “What have the concubines been up to during this time?”
The Empress was staying obediently in the Kunning Palace, but none of the other concubines were being quiet.
Thinking of the inner palace’s activities, Kangxi’s brow furrowed. The good mood he had from hearing about the Empress’s movements largely dissipated.
In the past, he hadn’t paid much attention to the private dealings of the concubines. After all, his palace wasn’t like his Imperial Father’s time, where Mongolian consorts dominated. Before realizing their true natures, he had always assumed his concubines were gentle and submissive, and even if they had small schemes, they were harmless trifles.
But who knew they would all set their sights on the Empress? Whether it was the Ulanara lady or the Zhaojia lady, he had witnessed the hidden sharpness of his concubines—stabbing fiercely when the Empress wasn’t looking. His concubines had truly opened his eyes.
Liang Jiugong spoke truthfully. “Your Majesty, the newly titled concubines have begun to promote newcomers.”
“Oh? Tell me more.” Kangxi said, seemingly mild.
Liang Jiugong’s voice dropped even lower. “They think Your Majesty hasn’t visited the inner palace for a long time and might be tired of their looks. So, they intend to draw beautiful Booi women to their palaces and train them, hoping Your Majesty will favor them.”
And what benefit was there in promoting maids and letting these Booi women be favored? Liang Jiugong could guess with his eyes closed: if it wasn’t for heirs, what else could it be? Since they couldn’t easily conceive themselves, they thought to use the beautiful maids under them. This—how did they view the Emperor? As someone who would take anyone as long as they were pretty? Was the Emperor such a lecherous person?
“Anything else?” Kangxi’s voice came lightly.
Liang Jiugong paused, thought for a moment, and immediately replied: “Among them, the Booi maids of the Wuya and Joogiya clans are said to be the most beautiful, with exceptional figures. I heard that when they first entered the palace during the selection, many concubines had their eyes on them. After some competition, Consort Rong eventually secured the Wuya girl. The Joogiya girl didn’t go anywhere; she seems to have remained in Consort Niohuru’s palace to serve.”
“The Wuya clan… the Joogiya clan…” Kangxi’s voice was deep, his eyes sharp. He had long since overheard the Empress mention these two. The Empress wasn’t the type to care about the personalities of the concubines, let alone women who weren’t even consorts yet. But even so, the Empress had privately ordered people to look into them. This showed how much effort the families behind these two had put in, to the point where even the Empress in the deep palace noticed them.
Were they confident that the beauty of their daughters could make him, the sovereign, lose his soul? Or were they confident they could manipulate his heirs!
And his concubines, each more daring than the last, actually intended to use women to control him!
Kangxi slammed the inkstone onto the table with a muffled thud. Liang Jiugong held his breath, not daring to make a sound.
Fortunately, Mu’er was still in the palace. His Mu’er would never use such underhanded tactics. Her eyes were clear, and she always looked at him with the gentlest smile. Kangxi finally calmed down, recalling the scenes of being with the Empress, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
“The Third Prince’s one-month feast is approaching. Spread the word that I will attend this banquet.” He wanted to see what methods these concubines would use. “Tell the Empress that next time, I will watch her cook personally. Did she really think I didn’t know she made it herself? Her skills are truly terrible.”
“The only good thing is that her effort improves day by day.” The smile in his eyes grew deeper, though his words unhesitatingly mocked the Empress’s cooking. Liang Jiugong looked at the Emperor with a complex expression; he felt that His Majesty’s skill at being “duplicitous” had also improved.
Despite the complaints in his heart, he accepted the orders with fear and trepidation. He had a feeling that after this, he might not need to worry about the existence of the other concubines—the Empress and the Crown Prince alone were enough to occupy the Emperor’s mind.