The Virtuous Concubine

Nalan Rongruo was a very thoughtful person, and he often frequented places of entertainment, where he came into contact with many women with tragic life experiences. He was the most considerate of women, so he did not understand Kangxi's behavior of robbing Peter to pay Paul.

But he is a minister, and he still has to keep the official hat on his head. Moreover, if the Fourth Prince becomes the legitimate son... wouldn't the eldest prince supported by the Nalan family have another powerful opponent?

Nalan Rongruo had had contact with the Fourth Prince and knew that he was no ordinary man. His talent and bearing... Although he did not show any ambition now, after he became the legitimate son, it was hard to guarantee that he would not want to compete.

After a moment's silence, Nalan finally mustered up the courage, knelt down and kowtowed to Kangxi: "Your Majesty, as a subject, I think if Your Majesty wants to adopt me, it makes sense that it won't happen. After all, Concubine De will not and dare not really disobey your order."

Kangxi sneered, thinking that Nalan Rongruo really didn't understand Concubine De well enough: "Why can't she? Why doesn't she dare? She rejected me directly in person. Even though I told her about the preciousness of the legitimate son's status, she refused to give in and scolded me. She didn't even leave me any room for negotiation. She just claimed to be sick and closed herself off from the palace. She didn't care about the palace affairs and stayed with the child all day long."

Kangxi became angrier and angrier as he thought about it. He smashed a teacup and said angrily, "They even took down the sign and avoided me like a snake or scorpion! They even taught the Fourth Prince to avoid me when he saw me and not to talk to me in the study! There is a real bond between mother and son!!"

The more Kangxi spoke, the more he felt wronged: "Tell me, who am I doing this for?"

Nalan Rongruo knelt down, feeling both happy and worried, and somewhat speechless.

The Virtuous Consort is really a remarkable woman. Nalan was secretly delighted when he heard Kangxi say this. It turns out that the Virtuous Consort is so dignified and courageous. After this incident, does she like the Emperor less?

The worry is that if she does this, she will have a hard time making a living in the harem where people look down on the powerful and flatter the weak.

As for being speechless, of course it is directed at Kangxi... Who else could you be doing this for? Of course it is for yourself... Do you really want to support the Fourth Prince and the Crown Prince in a fight?

Nalan had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "But if I were to start from the perspective of a man with a sweetheart, without interfering with other things, I would only dare to remind the Emperor..."

Kangxi also calmed down at this time and asked Nalan Rongruo: "What do you want to remind me of?"

Nalan Rongruo kowtowed again before standing up, turning his head to point at the once stunning painting "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains". The mountains and rivers in the painting were magnificent, but also empty and lonely. He was filled with grief and regret, and slowly recited a poem: "It is useless to think of the mountains and rivers far away, it is better to cherish the people in front of you."

Kangxi was silent. He stood there, looking at the painting quietly without saying a word. Nalan Rongruo did not say anything else either. He knew that some words could only be mentioned briefly, and the rest needed to be experienced by the emperor himself.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment, and the only sounds in the hall were the breathing of the two people and the occasional sound of the wind. After a long time, Kangxi waved his hand and said in a hoarse voice: "You can go down."

Nalan Rongruo bowed respectfully and slowly left the hall. His figure gradually disappeared into the night outside the door, leaving Kangxi alone, facing the painting "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains".

After finishing his duty, he called the Nalan family's spies in the harem, and also called the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and asked them in detail about the major and minor events that had occurred in the harem during this period.

From the dystocia of Empress Tong that resulted in two deaths, to the news that Concubine Yi and Concubine Gui were about to give birth, to the rumor that Concubine De was confined to the palace due to illness... The turmoil in the palace never stopped, and all kinds of rumors spread quietly.

"Empress Hui is now in the limelight because everyone in the palace is saying that Empress De has lost the emperor's favor," a spy reported in a low voice, "Empress De has been confined to the palace, and the emperor has not set foot in Yonghe Palace for a long time."

All of them matched what the emperor had said. . . Nalan listened to their words and pondered the changing times and patterns of the palace guards.

He was really worried about Concubine De, so he wanted to visit Yonghe Palace tonight!

He wanted to see with his own eyes whether her life was really as difficult as the outside world said.

The guards of the Qing Dynasty were divided into six levels, namely, imperial guards, Qianqing Gate guards, first-class guards, second-class guards, third-class guards, and blue-feather guards.

Nalan himself was the highest-ranking first-class imperial guard, protecting the emperor's safety day and night, and was responsible for guarding the gates and interior of the inner palace.

The next in rank is the Qianqing Gate Guard, who is responsible for guarding the Qianqing Gate, the main gate to the inner court, which is the sleeping quarters of the emperor and empress as well as the living area where concubines, princes, etc. live.

Nalan knew the guard system very well. For example, he knew exactly who should be on duty inside and outside the palace, how many people should be on duty, how to divide the duties, who was responsible, etc. It was not difficult for him to find a loophole.

Moreover, his temporary residence was right next to the Qianqing Palace, and he had already passed the most heavily guarded area. He only needed to cross the Qianqing Gate during the guard change and avoid any possible patrols along the way.

Thinking of this, he asked the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to go back, and left a eunuch spy behind. He beat the man unconscious with a knife, then took away his badge and clothes, and had the eunuch dragged away.

Having said that, he hurried back to the palace with all these things, waiting for night to fall and the palace to be locked.

As he waited anxiously, night fell and the lights in the Forbidden City gradually went out. Nalan Rongruo changed into the eunuch's clothes and put on a nightgown on the outside, and his figure disappeared into the night.

He easily avoided the patrols and guards in the palace and approached Yonghe Palace quietly.

Yonghe Palace was quiet at this time, with only the occasional sound of wind and insects. Nalan Rongruo approached the palace cautiously, and through the gap in the window lattice, he saw that Empress Defei was... was... doing some strange movements.

Malu was wearing a white dress that was very close-fitting and thin, outlining her hot body curves.

There was a thick Persian carpet on the floor. She stretched her body, stretching her arms and bending her waist from time to time, sometimes standing, sometimes bending over, sometimes sitting cross-legged, with her hands clasped together, breathing deeply and rhythmically.

Nalan Rongruo had never seen such a scene before, and he couldn't help but watch it in fascination.

How strange! He thought to himself. These movements didn't seem like dancing, nor like the exercises that martial artists use to strengthen their muscles and bones. Instead, they seemed to be a kind of skill that he had never seen before.

Nalan Rongruo didn't know that this was modern yoga. Malu was using yoga to calm her mind and recuperate her body. The years in the palace were long, and she needed a lot of things to pass the time. Moreover, this was very good for her health, so she insisted on practicing it.

However, the system's warning function lit up a yellow light at this time, breaking Malu's peaceful and tranquil state of mind. Malu's heart tightened. This was the first time the light came on, but why was it yellow?

Shouldn't it be red?

The system already knew what was going on, but it couldn't tell it directly because it was against the rules... So it quietly explained to Malu: "It means there is a certain risk around you, but it is not a major risk that endangers life and property."

After hearing this, Malu felt relieved and continued to practice yoga as if nothing had happened.