The Virtuous Concubine

Malu looked at the child in her arms, smiled and smoothed her hair, as if she was looking at a kitten baring its teeth and claws: "Okay, okay, everyone listen to our Wen Xian. You and your fourth brother really have the same temper. Don't you think that if others hear about this, they will not know how to make up stories about the two of you having violent tempers."

Wen Xian raised his chin and said stubbornly, "I'm not afraid of them making up stories any way they want. How can I be manipulated by others for some false reputation? As long as I don't care, others won't be able to coerce me. As long as those people don't dare to bully me again, it's better than anything else."

Ma Lu shook her head helplessly and said, "You are too stubborn, kid. Can't you learn from Yin Zuo?"

Then he pulled Yinzuo over and told him: "Go to your father later and tell him that Wen Xian was crying hard."

Malu was not going to let this group of servants go, nor was he going to let these princesses continue to enjoy the benefits given to them by Wen Xian while stepping on Wen Xian to highlight that they were the gentle and benevolent royal ladies.

She must put on some eye drops today.

But Yinzuo shook his head: "Mother, if you get involved, it will be different. Now my fourth brother has gone to find the emperor. If the emperor really blames us, it will be because we are young and ignorant."

"If you really get involved, will the other concubines who gave birth to princesses also suffer the same fate? You can scold Wen Xian now, punish her with confinement, and then go and teach Fourth Brother a lesson."

Malu was very surprised. She looked at Yinzuo with some disbelief in her eyes: "Did your fourth brother say that?"

Yinzuo smiled slightly and did not answer Malu directly: "Mother, let's see what's going on with Fourth Brother. Wenxian and the other sisters have suffered such a great injustice, the Emperor will definitely not sit idly by. It is unreasonable for a servant to climb over the head of the master."

What he didn't say was that if Fourth Brother took the opportunity to make a big deal out of this, a lot of people would be affected, and he couldn't let his mother be involved, otherwise he would be scolded to death by Fourth Brother.

I don’t know what Fourth Brother’s poisonous mouth will say about him.

Malu pondered for a while and nodded: "Okay, Bai Fu, go and get two handkerchiefs soaked in ginger juice. Let's go to the Qianqing Palace and have a good cry today!"

Wen Xian jumped up excitedly and waved his fists twice, his eyes sparkling. Bai Fu held back her laughter and brought two handkerchiefs. The mother and daughter changed into simple clothes and rushed to the Qianqing Palace aggressively.

When they arrived at the Qianqing Palace, Kangxi had just finished reading the memorials and was about to call a noble lady to give him a massage to relax, when he heard Liang Jiugong report that Concubine De and Princess Wenxian wanted to see him.

Before Kangxi could say anything, Liang Jiugong quietly gave him a brief account of what had happened in the study room today.

Kangxi couldn't help laughing: "Oh~ It seems that they are here to complain. Okay, let them in."

When the mother and daughter came in, Kangxi pretended not to know and just said, "You two are rare guests."

Malu had prepared a speech in his mind on the way here, but when he was about to speak, he failed to coordinate the process with Wen Xian, who cried out loudly and interrupted Malu's spell.

"Emperor——"

"Ow—"

Both of them stopped. Malu forgot what to say and Wen Xian forgot to cry. They looked at each other and couldn't help laughing.

Seeing the mother and daughter in such a state of confusion, Kangxi could not help but laugh: "You two are really stupid. You can't even make a clear complaint. I know everything. Wen Xian was wronged. I will deal with it later. Wen Xian, come here and massage my shoulders. De Fei, grind ink for me."

Malu and Wenxian quickly bowed and walked to Kangxi. Malu said carefully, "Your Majesty, you are joking. I really can't bear to see the princesses suffer such injustice, so I came to your majesty to plead my case. I am also afraid that Wenxian and the sisters may have misunderstandings and grudges, so I came to ask the emperor for advice."

Kangxi closed his eyes and suddenly reached out to take Wen Xian's handkerchief: "What is this?"

He put it to his nose and sniffed it: "Ginger?"

Wen Xian was not embarrassed at all by being caught, and snatched the handkerchief back with a smile: "Father Emperor! I just shed a few tears at the beginning, and I felt so wronged. Why didn't my sisters understand that this was a way for them to live a better life. Now, I am just angry and can't cry anymore, so I have to think of a solution."

Kangxi was not angry, and he didn't even open his eyes. He motioned Wen Xian to continue pressing his shoulders: "Who are you angry with?"

Wen Xian pouted slightly and said, "Father Emperor, I am angry at those servants who don't do their duty, and I am also angry..."

Malu said sternly, “Wen Xian!”

Kangxi waved his hand: "It's okay, continue."

Wen Xian looked at Malu, then at Kangxi, and mustered up the courage to continue, "Father, I am also angry at those ignorant sisters. Those servants were bold and reckless, stealing and deducting money under various pretexts, but they did not repent. And the sisters, some only cared about themselves and did not know how to unite, and some even pleaded for those servants, and were too deeply deceived."

Kangxi nodded slightly and said, "Wen Xian, I understand your intention. It is very good that you can take care of the sisters. But people's hearts are different. You can't force everyone to be strong and decisive as you think."

Wen Xian lowered his head, thought for a moment and then said: "Father, I understand. But I feel that as a princess, raised by the whole world, I should set an example for all women in the world..."

Kangxi opened his eyes when he heard this, looked at Malu and said, "Defei, you have taught your children well. Yinzhen and Wenxian are both excellent."

Malu bowed her head and said, "I am only following your majesty's instructions. How can there be any weak and incompetent people among the bloodline of Aisin-Gioro?"

Kangxi sneered: "Why not? Aren't those other ones the ones?!"

As he spoke, he picked up the pen and prepared to write an imperial edict. Kangxi's face was stern, and he wrote quickly. After a while, the imperial edict was finished.

He put down his pen, looked up at Malu and Wen Xian, and said, "This imperial decree is a punishment for those who don't know what's good for them. Are you relieved?"

Wen Xian leaned forward to take a look, but Kangxi pushed his head away and said, "You are so brave that you dare to peek at the imperial edict."

Wen Xian stuck out his tongue and stopped moving forward. Anyway, the imperial edict would be announced later, and he knew it.

Just as Malu was about to explain, the voices of the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince asking to see Kangxi were heard.

Kangxi nodded in agreement. Malu saw Wei Zhu next to him. Wei Zhu was holding a thick stack of papers in his hand. Could it be a confession?

The Fourth Prince was a little surprised to see his mother and sister were there, but he still gave them a wink.

Seeing this, Malu quickly pulled Wen Xian to a corner to the side, to prevent the Fourth Prince from getting angry and hurting innocent people.