The Virtuous Concubine

Malu quickly thanked him: "I thank the emperor for his grace."

Kangxi waved his hand and said, "Get up. You must be busy today. I will go to Yonghe Palace to see you tomorrow."

Malu got up and took his leave as he was told, and returned to Yonghe Palace with a large list of rewards.

On the way back, Malu felt a little dizzy - this promotion came so unexpectedly.

Fortunately, after getting on the sedan chair, Malu quickly came to her senses with the cool breeze. The matter of being named a noble concubine was actually the least important. Instead, it was the attitude of Concubine Wang in what Kangxi said to her, as well as the news that Xiao Tong was about to enter the palace, which were more worthy of careful consideration.

Moreover, the imperial edict for the title of imperial concubine clearly stated that the time for the ceremony was set after the army returned to the capital, so whether the title could be successfully obtained was still unknown.

Malu sat in the sedan chair, his thoughts churning. Bai Fu, on the other hand, was delighted and walked briskly.

The queen actually became a concubine! This is really a pleasant surprise.

When they arrived at Yonghe Palace, Malu whispered to Bai Fu, "Go and call the Fourth Prince. After the decree is issued, help me reward Yonghe Palace with the regular silver for the first and second half of the year. Then send a message to Imperial Physician Rong and ask what the Emperor and Concubine Wang said at the time."

Bai Fu's joy was completely extinguished by Malu's series of instructions, and she returned to her usual cautious attitude: "Yes..."

As she spoke, she looked at her own queen with worry. She was waiting outside at the time and really didn't know the whole story of how the queen was named a noble concubine. Seeing that the queen looked worried, she naturally knew that this matter was not as simple as it sounded.

The Fourth Prince came over very quickly. Although he guessed that something was not right, it was a great joy that his mother had been made a noble concubine. When he arrived, he saw that his mother was still wearing her coat for going out, and she had not even had time to take off her armor. She was pressing her forehead, as if she had a headache.

The Fourth Prince bowed solemnly to Malu and said, "Congratulations, mother, on being promoted to the position of Imperial Concubine."

Malu looked at the Fourth Prince, smiling slightly, but unable to hide the worry in her eyes. She pulled the Fourth Prince over and said softly, "There will be days when we need to perform rituals in the future. Let's help Mother figure out what's going on first."

As he spoke, he picked up what he could say to the Fourth Prince and told him everything about going to the Qianqing Palace to deliver soup today.

The Fourth Prince quickly grasped the key point: "So Wang is not completely obedient to her son. Instead, she wants to test and even harm my mother. Could it be that the Li and Cao families still have ulterior motives?"

The Fourth Prince thought for a moment and nodded: "Thank you, mother, for telling me. I will have someone investigate further."

As he spoke, he stroked the eighteen pieces in his hand.

"As for little Tong... mother, don't worry. I have investigated her and her character is nothing to be afraid of. The Tong family will also give me some face, and she will be obedient when the time comes."

Malu was relieved when she heard him say that. "What do you mean? Why would I want her to listen to me? As long as she doesn't cause any trouble in the palace, I don't care."

The Fourth Prince smiled and nodded: "Mother is already a noble concubine, don't you want to think about how to rule the six palaces? Then it will be perfect, one noble concubine for each of the six palaces in the east and west."

Ma Lu took a sip of tea and said, "The emperor is making room for Xiao Tong, so I am getting a bargain."

The Fourth Prince did not think so: "Little Tong is the concubine daughter of Tong Guowei, the uncle of Duke Cheng'en, and the half-sister of Empress Xiaoyiren... A concubine who enters the palace can only be treated as a concubine at most, and it is impossible for her to be ranked among the four concubines. The Emperor said this to you at the time just because he didn't want you to continue to refuse."

Malu frowned slightly and said thoughtfully, "What does the emperor mean? He also scheduled the enthronement ceremony after the army returns to the capital. Does he want to confer the title or not?"

The Fourth Prince smiled bitterly and said, "It's impossible to confer the title of Imperial Concubine before the army sets out. The timing is reasonable. Then when the time comes..."

He was just about to remind his mother to keep her mouth shut before the imperial edict came down, but Malu nodded slightly: "I was judging others by my own standards. Indeed, the time can only be arranged like this. If the emperor had not written the imperial edict and I had seen it saying that everything before the canonization should be treated as that of a noble concubine, I would have been unable to sleep well."

This is like a carrot hanging in front of your eyes, visible but uneatable. Malu's idea is that until the enthronement ceremony is completed, nothing counts. Moreover, even if the enthronement ceremony is completed, the crown prince can be re-established and deposed, isn't that the case?

The Fourth Prince was extremely surprised: "Since the Emperor's edict says so, then Mother can rest assured. As long as Mother does not make any serious mistakes, the Emperor will not go back on his word."

Not only was he surprised that the Emperor was so impatient and unwilling to wait for him to come back, but also allowed his mother to enjoy the treatment of a noble concubine in advance and let his mother watch him write the imperial edict in person!

After hearing what his son said, Malu showed some joy: "That's good. Have you packed your luggage for the trip?"

The Fourth Prince nodded, but before the two could say a few words, they were interrupted by Wen Xian and Yin Zuo who had learned of the decree. Seeing these two young ancestors, Ma Lu simply kept them to have dinner together.

There are many people here today, so it’s not too much to have a small celebration.

The Fourth Prince sat on the side, watching his younger brothers and sisters happy for their mother and wanting to drink, but his mother forced him to suppress her. He couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth slightly.

He stayed up late several times a few days ago to recall Galdan's battles and made a lot of preparations. He had planned to ask for the title of imperial concubine for his mother after he had made meritorious service, but he never expected that his mother would make this happen with a bowl of soup.

His title was conferred in Jiangnan, and unless he could capture the enemy leader alive, he would not make a big move. It would definitely take many years of accumulation to become a prince.

Merits are like this, they expire. So after hesitating for a long time between asking for a title for Yinzuo and asking for a title for his mother, he chose the latter.

In the palace, mothers and children support each other. A good mother must have a good family background, high status, and outstanding offspring; none of them can be missing.

The Emperor has already had the intention of suppressing Yinzuo, fearing that he would create another auspicious sign of a dragon appearing... Then it would be best if the credit could be given to my mother.

If Wen Xian hadn't been making trouble, he could have used this merit to get her married into the capital. Thinking of this, he gave Wen Xian, who was eating meat wantonly, a look with a little dissatisfaction.

He was so willful that he let his dogs bite people every day and caused chaos in the palace.

Wen Xian quickly noticed the look in Fourth Brother's eyes, and without asking why, he turned around and complained: "Mother, mother, Fourth Brother is glaring at me!"

Malu covered her mouth with one hand and laughed, and pushed away Wen Xian, who was covered in grease with his hands, with the other hand: "Stay away, don't rub your claws on me. I want to glare at you too! You train dogs all day long, and make the princess's house a mess. Today, the emperor asked me when your army will be formed, and he wants to inspect it in person."