The Virtuous Concubine

Xiao Si'er was very happy, jumping up and down and saying, "Books! Books! Books!"

Malu smiled and slapped his butt lightly: "Silly boy, when you have experienced the hardship of studying, it will be too late for you to regret it."

Kangxi laughed and shook his head. Although this Defei was smart, she was lazy. When she was a maid in front of the emperor, she was smart and would spend time thinking about things. Now, maybe she has been in a wealthy place for too long, and she has lost her spirit.

Although Kangxi looked disappointed, he was actually very satisfied. He was twisted like that, he didn't like people fighting for things, nor did he like people being stupid. He insisted that smart people act like they had no desires, and then he would reward them and see how grateful they were.

He would see how to deal with Xiao Si'er later. In his heart, Malu knew the limits and Xiao Si'er was talented.

If Xiao Si'er is still so smart and obedient when he grows up, he will be the prince's most capable right-hand man. If he develops ambitions that he shouldn't have, the prince will just need a whetstone.

How could Malu not know what Kangxi was up to? But she was not afraid. With the evilness of her own little Si'er, she could use him as a whetstone, so she didn't have to worry about the whetstone breaking the knife.

The emperor and his concubine, who each had their own ulterior motives, were still in a friendly mood. After looking at Xiao Si'er, they looked at the twins again. If Kangxi had some plans and intentions for Xiao Si'er, he looked at the twins out of pure love.

Twins, a boy and a girl! Although the children were born with great effort by Malu and were carefully cared for by the servants in the palace, Kangxi felt that this was a triple affirmation from Changshengtian for him as a man, a father and an emperor.

Kangxi's love for the twins, especially the little princess who looked exactly like him, reached an extreme level. His love for the little princess was almost as great as that for the crown prince - after all, she was a girl, so no matter how much he loved her, it would not affect the previous dynasty.

Seeing how much Kangxi loved the twins, Xiao Si'er couldn't help but reveal a trace of envy and desire. Although he was young, he could feel the imbalance. Kangxi claimed to be a person who valued balance, but in fact he was the most partial person, especially when it came to his children.

The prince is his treasure, and the other children are weeds.

Of course, Malu saw the look on Xiao Si'er's face, and immediately felt sorry for his eldest son. His mother had always favored his younger sister since he was young, and he had suffered so much, so he had also experienced many setbacks on his way to growing up.

If it wasn't a task, if she chose it herself, she would definitely only have one child and give him/her all her love!

She quickly squatted down and took Xiao Si'er's hand: "Come, Yinzhen, follow your father to see your brothers and sisters. From now on, your brothers and sisters will listen to you. As an older brother, you must take good care of them, teach them, and be their role model, understand?"

When Xiao Si'er heard Malu say this, he was a little surprised - in his mother's heart, the twins were not as important as himself. In his mother's heart, he was the eldest son who stood tall and proud? Instead of loving his younger brother more like the emperor's father?

Xiao Si'er still didn't quite believe it. He thought that as the eldest son, he should be the one who silently took on everything. But when he looked at Malu, he was touched by the loving expression on her face and couldn't help but nodded: "Take care of your brother, take care of your sister."

As if that was not enough, he said loudly: "Take care of mother, take care of father!"

Kangxi stood aside and was overjoyed when he heard what Xiao Si'er said. He looked at his son with a proud look in his eyes and said, "Our Xiao Si'er is such a sensible child. From now on, we will leave Yin Zuo and Wen Xian to you."

Malu also smiled and tapped his forehead: "You little flatterer, you are not even as tall as your knees, but you are already thinking about taking care of your mother and your father? Your father is in the prime of his life and in good health, there is no need for you to take care of him."

Yinzhen looked at his mother, and her gentle smile was like the sunshine of spring, illuminating every corner of his heart. He recalled the love and care his mother had given him in this life, and felt that all the love and hatred he had accumulated over the years, all the things he had been unable to obtain, had melted away.

He nodded heavily, and repeated firmly in a tone that could almost be called an oath: "I will take care of my brother, my sister, and my mother."

The Emperor is in his prime anyway, so he doesn’t need it.

Kangxi and Malu smiled at each other and asked the palace servants to take the three naughty children away. Now they wanted to be alone. Malu seemed very unceremonious, but she only ordered a table of very simple home-cooked dishes with Kangxi's portion.

Soon, a table of delicious food was presented to Kangxi and Malu. The table was filled with a variety of exquisite dishes. Malu's two favorite dishes were steamed sea bass with delicate fish meat and clear soup, which exuded the aroma of ginger and chopped green onions. The peanuts in the kung pao chicken were crispy and spicy with a hint of sweetness, which was very memorable.

Kangxi was about to ask Malu why she ate so simply and why she didn't eat something nourishing, after all, she had just given birth to twins, so she couldn't be careless. But when he saw Malu's attitude towards these dishes, he remembered that this was actually her daily eating style.

Kangxi said softly: "You are already one of the four concubines, and you just gave birth, why do you treat yourself so badly?" Although it was a question, he was actually very satisfied with Malu's behavior. He himself ate very simply (compared to other emperors, of course), and although he didn't care about the extravagant lives of other concubines, when he saw one living the same habits as himself, he couldn't help but appreciate it more.

Ma Lu smiled and replied, "Don't worry about your majesty laughing at you. I just love to eat these simple and plain dishes. I can also do the complicated steps in the imperial kitchen, but I think they are superfluous. An ordinary soup stock requires more than a dozen chickens and more than a dozen processes. How many children can be fed by ordinary people? I am in the palace, and I am supported by the world because of you. How can I feel at ease eating those extravagant dishes? Besides, the imperial physician said that eating this way is actually more healthy."

As she spoke, she personally picked up a piece of fish meat for Kangxi. Seeing Kangxi eat it, she continued, "When I used to dine with the emperor, I would order some dishes like shark's fin, cucumber, abalone and tripe to take care of the emperor's health. Now that I have become one of the four concubines, I don't need to pretend anymore, right?"

As she spoke, she blinked her eyes with a hint of playfulness. It was as if she had returned to the time when she was an 18-year-old girl in front of the emperor. She just wanted to establish a persona and let this man know that she had always been the most authentic self, without disguise or pretense.

Kangxi was once again moved by her frankness and sincerity at this moment, and couldn't help hugging her. He felt that his neglect of her during this period had hurt her and wronged himself. He was also very happy with her and could be the most authentic himself.

He hugged Malu and whispered in her ear: "Your authenticity is what I appreciate most. I like you just the way you are now."