The Virtuous Concubine

Everyone started spinning like a top. Time passed quietly in this busy and tense situation. It seemed that in the blink of an eye, it was the day when Emperor Kangxi set out on his tour to the south of the Yangtze River.

The servants shuttled back and forth, carrying various supplies and luggage. The sounds of horse hooves, footsteps and shouts were intertwined. They had been busy since early morning, and now they had finished when it was bright.

Kangxi was dressed in bright yellow imperial attire, looking dignified, deep and determined. He stood at the front of the team, his eyes slowly sweeping over the people getting ready to go and those seeing them off.

The princes were also in high spirits, dressed in gorgeous clothes, with majestic bearings, and each of them was in high spirits. The concubines who saw him off were all beautiful and charming.

Malu stood in a relatively forward position among the concubines who were seeing her off, pursed her lips slightly, and folded her hands lightly in front of her to protect her belly.

Rong Fei and Hui Fei, who were standing by, saw that she looked uninterested and felt the same way.

Huifei's eldest son and Rongfei's third son, but he is the only child. Even the two younger ones from Defei were taken away. It is normal for him to feel lonely.

After all, they have been in the palace for so many years, and nothing is new to them. Only children are their last hope.

Rong Fei asked first: "Sister, what happened today? You look listless, are you feeling unwell?"

Concubine Hui turned her gaze from her eldest son and said softly, "If you feel unwell, you should call the imperial physician as soon as possible. Don't force yourself to endure it."

After hearing what they said, Malu shook her head slightly, forced a faint smile, and whispered: "Thank you sisters for your concern, I'm fine, I just feel a little worried."

Several people stood there, waiting for Kangxi's order so that they could go back and lie down.

Unexpectedly, Kangxi brought the crown prince over and instructed the concubines who were in charge of the palace affairs.

Kangxi said solemnly: "During my southern tour, I will leave the affairs of the harem to you. You must do your best to maintain peace and order in the harem so that I don't have to worry about anything."

Several concubines hurriedly bowed respectfully and responded in unison: "Your Majesty, rest assured. We will take care of the palace affairs and wait for your return."

After saying these serious words, Kangxi smiled and reminded them to write to him more often to inform them of all matters in the palace, and he would also write to them.

After hearing this, the concubines also became active and began to respond. Some smiled and said that they would write all the interesting things in the palace into the letter, while others gently said that they would think about the emperor every day. For a while, the scene was very lively.

The prince stood by and saw that Malu was calm and composed, not participating in the conversation among the concubines. She also stood there with a big belly, looking so pitiful.

The prince touched the two sachets on his waist and couldn't help but say, "My dear mother, please take care of yourself."

This was the first time that the prince called Malu "De'e Niangniang" in front of everyone, instead of "Defei Niangniang"!

Normally, he would only address her like this when in front of Kangxi or Malu.

Malu also noticed this, but she didn't take it seriously. She just thought the prince was being lenient, so she smiled and earnestly advised: "Take care on your journey, go early and come back early."

After hearing what Malu said, the prince nodded solemnly and did not respond.

Rong Fei and Hui Fei looked at each other, with mixed feelings in their hearts. They said no more, but just stood quietly with Malu, watching Kangxi turn around and lead the prince and others to mount their horses.

The Fourth Prince and Yinzuo were also outside, and Wen Xian was in the carriage, so he did not see this scene.

Yinzuo wanted to rush over to say goodbye to his mother again, but was stopped by the Fourth Prince.

The Fourth Prince frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "Yinzuo, don't be reckless."

The prince was qualified because Kangxi led him.

He and Yinzuo were not qualified, even though Concubine De was his biological mother. Look at the eldest and third princes, aren't they standing in the team obediently?

Fearing that Yinzuo might cause trouble, the Fourth Prince sent Yinzuo to sit in the carriage with Wen Xian.

As the only princess accompanying her on this trip, Wen Xian had her own carriage.

Yinzuo still refused, but the Fourth Prince raised his eyebrows and said nothing. Yinzuo became cowardly: "Okay, Fourth Prince, I will go to accompany my sister. You must come up to see us."

The Fourth Prince then calmed down and threw Yinzuo into Wen Xianzai's carriage.

Following the order, the team slowly set off, the horses' hooves raising clouds of dust. The long team was like a winding dragon, gradually disappearing at the end of the palace gate alley.

In the carriage, when Yinzuo and Wen Xian were talking about their farewell in detail, their fourth brother stopped them and told them what they were doing.

Although Wen Xian was a princess, she was a bystander and saw things more clearly. She nodded and said, "Fortunately, Fourth Brother stopped you, otherwise you would definitely be punished today, and Mother would punish you."

Yinzuo was puzzled. He also relied on his mother: "What? Why can my second brother go?"

Wen Xian kicked him and told him to peel the walnuts on the carriage table, then told him: "You are such a fool. The second brother is the crown prince, and you are not. It would be filial for the crown prince to go, but it would be rude for you to go."

After hearing Wen Xian's words, Yin Zuo's frown relaxed a little, but he still muttered unwillingly: "But I just want to say goodbye to my mother again. Besides..."

Yinzuo felt that he was in the car anyway, and there were only his sister and himself inside, so he whispered, "Those of us who have mothers can't say goodbye to them. That's too unfair."

After hearing this, Wen Xian felt the same way.

Girls may be naturally more sensitive. She can keenly perceive that her mother likes her and Yinzuo more and is also good to the fourth brother, but not as close to him or as reassuring to him.

She could also see that her other sisters were not as happy as she was in Yonghe Palace. After all, it was because her mother treated her and Yinzuo as children, while other mothers divided their children into princesses and princes.

She could tell without even looking that her father liked the crown prince more, or even only liked the crown prince's second brother, and was extremely partial to him.

Wen Xian felt sorry for her fourth brother and Yinzuo. But Wen Xian also knew that if the prince was close to Yonghe Palace, it would benefit Yonghe Palace, so she worked with the fourth prince to suppress Yinzuo and make Yinzuo closer to the prince.

Of course, this is a story that happens after we set off.

Kangxi did it. During his southern tour, letters came from the south like snowflakes, along with letters from Yinzhen, Yinzuo, Wenxian, and occasionally the prince.

The letters almost flooded the Yonghe Palace, making Concubine Hui extremely envious.

My own son is such a rough guy!

Let alone asking him to write a letter like this, it's hard to even pass on a message. He looks like he's gone out to play and tells me not to contact him.

If it weren't for Kangxi's instructions and the fact that the other princes had written to her, Concubine Hui suspected that she might not have received a single word from the eldest prince.

Rong Fei did have letters, but to be honest, she didn't like to read them. Her son loved to write, and most of his letters were sour poems.

At the beginning, Rong Fei could still read a few words, and even took it out to force Hui Fei and De Fei to appreciate it. But later on, she became numb to it.

There are not so many hymns that need to be chanted!