On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the draft for the 43rd year of Emperor Kangxi's reign was scheduled to be held in the Tiyuan Hall. Emperor Kangxi, who was over the age of his destiny, together with Concubine Rong, Concubine Yi, and Concubine De, who had the highest status in the harem, selected beautiful women with both political integrity and talent to serve as candidates.
Back courtyard.
The show girls of the Eight Banners were divided into Manchu, Mongolian, and Han, and they were chosen separately. Those who liked the flower were given their names and kept for future use, which was called leaving a sign. Those who did not like the flower were given a flower and returned to their family, which was also called a pile of signs.
Of the more than a hundred showgirls who had dressed up carefully, only a dozen or so were able to retain their licenses. Each one of them was the best among them, as beautiful as a flower. Those who were chosen were overjoyed, while those who were not chosen were extremely disappointed. A few were even
He fainted due to excessive sadness.
It was already noon after watching the last group of beauties, and just as Concubine Rong and Concubine Yi, who had been worried, looked at each other and secretly breathed a sigh of relief, Kangxi's words made their hearts lift up in their throats again.
"How many beauties are there this time?" Kangxi, who was wearing a bright yellow satin embroidered with colorful clouds, bats, golden dragons and dragon robes, frowned and asked Li Dequan who was accompanying him.
Li Dequan said without hesitation: "If you go back to the emperor, there are a total of 176 beautiful women, but today there are only 175 beautiful women participating in the election." He had already guessed the reason why Kangxi asked this, after all, that day
Apart from Kangxi, he was the only one who knew about the incident.
"Why is there another person?" Kangxi narrowed his slender eyes, his face slightly gloomy.
Li Dequan carefully glanced at Kangxi and Concubine Rong who was a little restless next to him, and waved away the beautiful lady who was still in the palace, "Your Majesty, when the draft roster was handed over to me today, I found that someone had stolen Niu Hulu Lingruo's
Name from
She was crossed out from the list, and the beautiful lady who did not come should be her; later, the servant also asked Hongling, the steward of Zhongcui Palace, and she said that this was what Concubine Rong meant. Niu Hulu and Lingruo were also killed by Concubine Rong the night before.
Eunuch Lin from the palace took her away and has not returned yet."
Without waiting for Kangxi to ask, Concubine Rong hurriedly stood up from her chair, leaned forward and said: "It is indeed my concubine's intention to return to the emperor. I just learned last night that Niu Hulu Lingruo had misbehaved before running for the election, and even had sex with someone.
A man named Xu Rongyuan is having an affair. A woman who does not know how to love herself is not qualified to run for election, so I took it upon myself to remove her name from the list."
"Is there such a thing? It's just that the imperial concubine has lived in the harem for a long time, how could she know about things outside the palace?" The suspicion in Kangxi's words made the already frightened Concubine Rong even more panicked. She must not say that it was Shi who told her, otherwise with her
The relationship with Shi only made Kangxi more suspicious.
Just as she was thinking about how to answer, Hezhu came forward and knelt down and said: "To report to the emperor, I overheard this when I went out of the palace to visit my family a few days ago. I talked about it with my empress after returning to the palace.
The empress was still afraid that the people in the market would wrongly accuse Ling Ruo, so she specifically ordered the slave to leave the palace again to find out more about it."
"So, is this true?" Kangxi stared at He Zhu expressionlessly, showing no emotion or anger.
Hezhu's shoulders moved slightly, not daring to look directly at Kangxi. He stared down at his figure reflected on the gold bricks and said, "Yes, as the saying goes, there is no smoke without fire. After inquiring, I learned that the young master Ling Ruo was indeed having an affair with a man, and
We even made a private engagement, so in order to protect the harem Qing Ning, the empress had no choice but to cross out the name of my mistress Ling Ruo."
"Your Majesty, is it really what Hezhu said?" The winter snow has just begun, and the warm sunshine is shining from the clouds, making the Forbidden City with red walls and yellow tiles become more solemn and beautiful. Looking at the sunset, it looks like the human world.
wonderland.
Kangxi's gentle words cheered up Concubine Rong, and she hurriedly replied: "Exactly, the emperor has to take care of national affairs and take care of all kinds of things every day, so I don't dare to trouble the emperor for trivial matters. When the emperor originally allowed his concubine to take charge of the harem, it was because he wanted to
I have shared the emperor's worries and relieved his labors. Over the past few years, I dare not forget even a moment."
"Yes, Your Majesty, the imperial concubine sister has kept the harem in good order over the years. I believe that everything she did was for the sake of the peace of the harem." Concubine Yi said with a smile. She was also involved in what happened that day. If so,
If Fashion is deaf and mute and doesn't say a word, there's no guarantee that Concubine Rong won't be jealous, so it's better to sell her a favor.
Of the three concubines present, only Concubine De did not say a word. She just stood beside Kangxi with a calm and gentle expression. As smart as she had already discovered, the tranquility at the moment was just the tranquility before the storm. Talking too much at this time would only bring disaster.
It's unnecessary trouble, so she just needs to stand here quietly and watch the show.
Sure enough, just when Concubine Rong thought she could cover up the past, Kangxi suddenly became angry, his eyes as sharp as arrows, which made Concubine Rong and Concubine Yi feel cold and they quickly lowered their heads.
"What a person who cares about the peace of the harem." Kangxi sneered: "My concubine, let me ask you, there are 176 beautiful ladies selected this time. Do you know the name of every beautiful woman?
Otherwise, why would Hezhu, who happened to be out of the palace to visit relatives, know Niu Hulu Lingruo as soon as she heard her name?
Are you the show girl participating in this election? And you are so concerned about this matter that I will cross your name out of the book at once. My concubine, ask yourself, do you really have no selfish motives?" He has been on the throne for more than 40 years.
During the period of capturing Ao and defeating the three Tibetans, I don’t know how many things went through. How could I not hear a mere lie?
Kangxi's stormy rebuke completely shattered the last bit of luck in Concubine Rong's heart. She was so panicked that she quickly knelt down and said repeatedly: "I don't dare!"
She didn't understand why the absence of a mere beautiful girl made Kangxi so concerned. This kind of thing happened before. Even if she knew about it in the past, she would just ask. But she had never been so obsessed with her like this time.
"Really? I see you are all very brave." Kangxi snorted coldly and glanced at the restless Concubine Yi, "Are you also involved in this matter?"
Seeing Kangxi asking herself, Concubine Yi quickly cheered up and said: "Your Majesty is joking, you don't know that I am the most timid of all. Even if I borrow my courage, I would not dare to do anything to deceive the Holy Emperor.
And I believe that even the concubine and sister dare not, maybe there is some misunderstanding."
Concubine Yi's words made Kangxi blush slightly, but when he learned that Ling Ruo had been designated by Concubine Rong as the princess of Sibeile Yinzhen without authorization, he was furious. He picked up the tea bowl and threw it in front of Concubine Rong, causing the hot tea to splash.
Concubine Rong was dressed in a cold look and shouted angrily: "Absurd! It's really ridiculous!"
Both the third concubine and Li Dequan were old men who had accompanied him for many years. They had never seen Kangxi get so angry before. They knelt down in panic and asked Kangxi to calm down his anger. As for Concubine Rong, she was already trembling with fear and didn't know how to save herself.
Everything is good.
"Since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, there has never been a case where the daughter of a fourth-grade court official was given to my elder brother as a princess. My concubine, please tell me such a ridiculous thing. How should I explain it to the officials? Please tell me.
Me!" Kangxi almost shouted the last few words.
Concubine Rong was so frightened that she didn't dare to breathe for fear of irritating Kangxi even more. Concubine Yi wanted to help, but as soon as she opened her mouth, Kangxi stared back with fierce eyes.
"Gege"... this is a title that is almost like a prostitute. When he thinks of the woman who looks so much like her being treated so unfairly, he feels extremely heartbroken, and even the eyes he looks at Concubine Rong are filled with anger.
After a while, he calmed down his anger slightly and said coldly: "My concubine, you have been in the palace for more than thirty years, right?"
Concubine Rong didn't know what she meant, so she replied tremblingly: "As for the emperor, it has been thirty-four years since I entered the palace."
He nodded silently, showing a thoughtful look, "Thirty-four years... that was the palace that Kangxi entered in the ninth year. Was Queen Xiaochengren still there at that time?"
Concubine Rong's heart was shaken, and she carefully replied: "Yes, I was lucky enough to receive the Queen's teachings at that time, and I have used them throughout my life. I have always remembered the Queen's kindness in my heart, and I have never dared to forget it."
"I thought so at first, but now it seems I was wrong." In heavy disappointment, he passed over the people kneeling on the ground and walked step by step towards the closed palace door. Upon seeing this, Li Dequan quickly got up from the ground.
She quickly ran over and opened the door. When the sun shone on the Tiyuan Hall again, Concubine Rong heard the last words Kangxi said to her in this life.
"My concubine, you are not young anymore. It is better not to go out of Jingren Palace if you have nothing to do in the future. Concentrate on worshiping the Buddha. Let Concubine Yi and Concubine De take care of the affairs in the palace. As for Hezhu, she loves to gossip.
It’s not suitable for me to stay by your side any longer, so I’ll send him to Xinzheku.”
"No, Your Majesty, no! I know I'm wrong. Your Majesty, if you want to punish me, just punish me. Don't implicate He Zhu. She is already almost fifty. To ask her to go to Xinzheku now is to kill her."
, Your Majesty!" Concubine De burst into tears and knelt forward, trying to catch the bright yellow, but in the end she could only watch Kangxi go away without leaving any room.
Xiangxiu, Fang'er is actually gone. Even if someone who looks exactly like her enters the palace, I will not neglect you because of her. After all, you have been with me for more than thirty years. After all, you have given birth to children for me.
;It’s just that it’s too late now...
Kangxi didn't say a word during the whole journey from Tiyuan Hall to the Imperial Study. Li Dequan took the newly brewed Liu'an scented tablets from the young eunuch and held them in front of Kangxi who was sitting on the throne with a tired face and eyes closed, "Long live my tiredness."
It’s been a day, let’s drink tea to refresh ourselves.”
Li Dequan waited for a while, but still saw no answer from Kangxi, so he emboldened his courage and whispered: "Actually, if Long Live really likes the young master Ling Ruo, why not issue an imperial edict to summon her into the harem?"
Kangxi suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes were filled with coldness, and he sneered: "Li Dequan, you are becoming more and more promising in this job, and you actually dare to instigate me to steal my son's woman!"
Li Dequan hurriedly lifted up his clothes and knelt down. He kowtowed several times and said with fear and grievance: "Your Majesty, you have unjustly sentenced this slave to death. Your loyalty to your Majesty can be seen from the sun and the moon. You must not dare to do anything to disgrace your Majesty, otherwise you will teach me."
The slave will not die a good death, and his body will not be intact..."
Kangxi waved his hand impatiently, "Okay, don't do these nonsense. If it weren't for the fact that you are still loyal to me, I would have chopped you up alive based on what you just said! Get up.
Bar."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!" Li Dequan wiped the cold sweat from being frightened and stood up. Seeing Kangxi reaching out, he quickly handed over the Liu'an scented tablets.
Kangxi took the tea cup and slowly blew away the heat in the cup. He took a sip and said without raising his eyebrows: "Do you have anything else to say? Just say it. I don't blame you."
Li Dequan glanced at Kangxi quickly and saw that his face was quite calm. He swallowed and said cautiously: "Actually... Concubine Rong just gave the young master Lingruo to the fourth elder brother last night. According to the slave, maybe the fourth elder brother has not been here until now."
You don’t even know about this, let alone favor the young master Ling Ruo, the emperor
Even if you really summon the young master Ling Ruo into the palace, it won't be a big deal." Only he who served Kangxi since he was a child dared to say these words. Others would never dare to say it even if they thought about it.
When it comes to export, accompanying you is like accompanying a tiger - this sentence is by no means empty talk, if you are not careful, your head will fall to the ground.
Kangxi shook his head and said with a bit of a wry smile: "I am not Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty, so I dare not risk the world's public opinion. If this matter spreads, even one person's saliva will be enough to drown me. I still hope to do it."
He is a wise king."
"That's it, that's it." Kangxi looked up to the sky and sighed, and said with regret: "Everything is determined by heaven, and you can't force it. Li Dequan, you go to Baylor Mansion later to tell me what I want, so that the fourth brother can treat Niu Hulu well. Don't do it because of her.
Gege's status has been underestimated, and when there is a suitable opportunity in the future, she will be promoted to her position. Gege's position is really too unfair to her."
Li Dequan bowed and agreed. Seeing that Kangxi had no other instructions, he quietly withdrew.