The Virtuous Concubine

The days after the Forbidden City returned to its former tranquility.

The children grew up gradually amid the blooming and withering of flowers, and the high-ranking concubines watched coldly as the nobles below them often agreed to compete with each other for beauty, but no longer took action.

The high positions in the harem have been filled, and the emperor is getting older. As long as the old ladies in the harem don't make mistakes, the emperor will not deprive them of their titles.

Their children also grew up slowly, and they had to worry about food, clothing, housing, transportation, marriage and childbirth. Over the years, the concubines also found their own ways to pass the time.

Competing for favor is no longer the main concern of older concubines.

During this period, the Empress Dowager's illness became more and more serious. The matter of closing the Cining Palace was naturally left unresolved. Kangxi put aside state affairs and stayed by her side day and night, personally feeding her medicine.

In addition, he personally led the princes and ministers to walk to the Temple of Heaven and pray to God to shorten Kangxi's own life in order to extend his grandmother's life.

However, the Empress Dowager's condition did not improve despite Kangxi's filial piety - she was still thinking about Wen Xian.

Naturally, Malu tried to go out as little as possible, using the excuse that the Thirteenth Prince and the Fourteenth Prince were one weak and one young and needed care, and the Empress Dowager summoned her twice in person.

She couldn't refuse the first and second time, so she gritted her teeth and went, just pretending to be stupid in front of Xiaozhuang, not understanding any of her explicit or implicit hints.

Xiaozhuang herself was in poor health, and whenever there was a problem, Malu would scream and ask people to call the imperial physician, Taoist priests, and shamans, but she would never call Wen Xian.

The third time, Malu simply claimed to be sick and fainted in front of Su Malagu who came to invite people.

Doctor Gu naturally said that the Empress had given birth to children one after another and had just come out of confinement, so her body was very weak and she might need "double confinement". After that, it would be best for her to rest in bed and not walk around. It would also be inconvenient to take care of her when she was sick, for fear that the illness would be passed on to the Grand Empress Dowager.

She actually returned the words that Su Malagu had used to threaten Malu.

Malu was lying on the bed pretending to be unconscious, and almost laughed out loud when she heard what Doctor Gu said.

Doctor Gu is also a wonderful person.

Su Malagu understood in her heart, and she was so angry that she gritted her teeth and said, "If that's the case, then let the queen rest well."

That night, after visiting the Fourteenth Prince, Malu was about to go to bed when he suddenly heard a bell ringing outside.

"When-when-when-"

Ma Lu's face suddenly changed. He didn't have time to count whether it was twenty-seven. He hurriedly ordered Bai Fu: "Quick, go and pack up all the bright items in the palace. Check everyone's clothing expenses carefully. There must not be any violations."

Bai Fu followed the order and left, but Malu's heart tightened. She and Bai Xia had just changed into mourning clothes and were about to go out when they saw Wei Zhu coming to summon the concubines from the six palaces to the Cining Palace.

When they arrived at the Cining Palace, all the concubines were already there, and everyone looked solemn. Emperor Kangxi stood in front of the bed of the Empress Dowager with a face full of grief, and the atmosphere was extremely depressing. Malu knelt down with the concubines, silently praying in their hearts that nothing would happen today.

Of course, she had to use some means to cry - Wen Xian could finally stay by her side safely now!

The orders came like snowflakes.

Kangxi gave the deceased Empress Dowager the posthumous title of "Empress Xiaozhuang Renxuan Chengxian Gongyi Yitianqi Shengwen".

The emperor, princes, dukes, officials, princesses, wives of the royal family, daughters of the royal clan, assistant commanders, third-rank imperial guards, and women of rank and above, all men took off their crown tassels and cut their braids, and women removed their make-up and cut their hair.

Kangxi even cut off his own braids to mourn for Xiaozhuang. Even though Xiaozhuang had been dead for many days, Kangxi still couldn't bear to leave his grandmother, and even moved into the Cining Palace to guard Xiaozhuang's coffin.

After the small burial, the "big burial" ceremony would be carried out three days later, during which all officials below the rank of prince, officials with a formal hat and above, wives of the Heshuo family and above, and captains and wives of third-class guards and above were ordered to go to the Qianqing Palace gate to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager's remains. Princes and princesses who were close relatives also had to go to the Danbi inside the Qianqing Gate and follow the emperor to perform the "big burial ceremony" to the Empress Dowager.

Because of Nalan, after their marriage, Lu was conferred the title of Shuren and was included in the list of women from outside the imperial court who were required to enter the palace to mourn and participate in the ceremony.

She knelt outside obediently. The white mourning clothes that could be seen everywhere in the palace made her dare not act rashly. She could only pretend to cry and wipe her tears while looking at Concubine Hui in the distance in front of her.

Lu was shocked when she saw Concubine Hui's dignified and even somewhat stout figure, and her haggard face due to old age and frequent childbearing.

Ever since she knew that Nalan had a lover, she never gave up the idea of ​​finding out who that person was.

At first, because of the refusal and ambiguity of Nalan and his son, she thought she was a woman of humble origin.

But after checking, it was found that Nalan had not been to any suspicious brothels for a long time. Instead, he ran into the palace whenever he could not be found!

As the daughter of the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Lu had few connections in the palace. After all, she was a local governor, and it was difficult for her to deploy personnel in the capital and the palace.

But she didn't need any help, and she knew that ordinary first-class sword-bearing guards in front of the emperor would not be on duty for so many days.

Lu's suspicions grew stronger, and she began to pay more attention to Nalan's every move. Every time Nalan came back from the palace, she would carefully observe his expression, and even secretly check his clothes, trying to find some clues.

But Nalan always acted as if nothing had happened, leaving her with no idea where to start.

As the days passed, Nalan still treated her with coldness and did not touch her.

Mrs. Lu's anxiety was also growing. If she didn't smile... her mother-in-law, Mrs. Jueluo, would change her attitude towards her.

She decided not to wait and see, but to take the initiative. She began to frequently attend various banquets and events, hoping to find some clues in these occasions.

By chance, she discovered that according to the seniority between Concubine Hui and Rong Ruo, Concubine Hui should call Nalan Xingde her cousin!

Lu was shocked. She never thought that Concubine Hui and Rong Ruo had such a relationship. This discovery made her wonder if Nalan's sweetheart in the palace was Concubine Hui?

This incident touched her heart, but after all, it was such a dangerous matter. If she was not careful, her family would be destroyed and her property would be confiscated. She must not make any assumptions, let alone let the news leak out.

So when Mrs. Lu heard others flattering her, saying that the Nalan family had a glorious past and that they also held a high position in the harem, she just smiled gently and casually changed the subject.

But one day, she was rummaging in Nalan's study under the pretext of cleaning it and reprimanding the servant, and she suddenly discovered this heartfelt poem "Reduced-Character Mulan Flower".

"We met without speaking, like a lotus in the autumn rain. A little blush, a phoenix-like curls on her hair. She was about to call out to me, but I was afraid that my feelings would be seen. I wanted to tell my secret feelings, so I turned around and knocked on the jade hairpin..."

This clearly describes the situation where two people met in the palace but could not express their true feelings to each other.

A little blush, a phoenix raised, afraid of being seen, knocking the jade hairpin. Every word was like a sharp knife, cutting deep wounds in Lu's heart.