The Virtuous Concubine

Malu was relieved after hearing his promise. Kangxi and the prince had special status and did not need to observe mourning for Wenxi.

Although he did not have to observe mourning for Wen Xi, who was of the same rank as him, he had to preside over the funeral ceremonies himself, and he could not go there with a mouth full of grease, or someone would gossip about him.

But as long as Kangxi approved it, everything would be fine.

What he said is the biggest rule in this palace.

After seeing Liang Jiugong off, Malu didn't even look at the luxurious chicken and abalone tart. She just picked up a piece of cracked red bean cake, wrapped it in a handkerchief and ate it carefully.

I make my bed under the red beans, and miss you every day.

She understood what the prince meant.

While he was eating, a ball of paper fell out.

Malu unfolded the paper and saw that it was clearly written:

I look for Xiao Lang in the old place of Liang Dynasty, red beans contain sorrow as she puts on her makeup in the evening.

Don't pick the unripe green branches, for fear of awakening the spring dream and causing long-lasting sorrow.

The prince may have just written these words inadvertently. To him, this was just an expression of his emotions at the time.

However, Malu knew very well how he ended up in history. How could she accept it so calmly?

In poetry and prose, "Xiao Lang" is mostly a woman's affectionate name for her lover, carrying endless love and attachment. If we trace back to history, this affectionate title first referred to the most perfect prince in all dynasties - Xiao Tong.

As the eldest son of Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, Xiao Tong's fate was strikingly similar to Yinreng's. Like Yinreng, Xiao Tong was canonized as the crown prince just one year after his birth. Like Yinreng, he was handsome and talented, but Xiao Tong died young before he succeeded to the throne, and was later called "Prince Zhaoming".

Later, Prince Zhaoming fell in love with a nun named Huiru. Although the two were in love, the gap between their status was like a chasm in Daliang, a city with strong Buddhist beliefs.

Xiao Tong was the prince of Daliang who shouldered the heavy responsibility of the country, while Huiru was a nun who should cut off her worldly ties. Etiquette and doctrine were like a mountain, standing between them. In the end, this pair of ill-fated lovers were ruthlessly separated.

When they parted, Huiru gave Xiao Tong a red bean. Not long after, Huiru died of lovesickness. Xiao Tong came to the thatched hut where the two had met, planted the red beans Huiru gave him, and named the hut "Hongdou Hut".

Wang Wei's poem "Lovesickness", which promotes the meaning of red beans and lovesickness, is about the red bean planted by Xiao Tong himself.

Because of this, when Malu saw that the poem sent by the prince used such an allusion and compared himself with Xiao Tong, his heart was instantly filled with fear.

She didn't dare to imagine, was this a hint from fate?

The irreversible trend of fate was cruelly revealed to Malu on such a small piece of paper.

Malu couldn't accept the possible prophecy hidden behind this. In a panic, she tore the small note into pieces with trembling hands, almost frantically.

Bai Xia, who was standing next to him, thought it was some big news and rushed over with a cry of surprise.

What happened to the Empress recently?

Seeing Bai Xia like this, Malu seemed to suddenly wake up from her panic. She carefully gathered the scraps of paper with both hands, as if she was protecting the most precious treasure in the world.

She smiled through her tears, but that smile was more heartbreaking than crying. She said softly, "Bai Xia, go and get me that ivory scented ball."

Soon, Bai Xia came back with an ivory incense ball. Malu took the incense ball, opened the mechanism, lit the incense inside, and gently threw the scraps of paper in his hand into the incense ball one by one, watching them burn to ashes intently.

Bai Xia said cautiously: "My queen, please let me do this kind of thing, so as not to let the smoke choke you."

Malu shook her head slightly, said nothing, and continued to watch the confetti burn intently.

The note was small and burned up in a short while. After all the scraps of paper turned to ashes, Malu gently closed the incense ball, as if sealing a thrilling secret forever inside.

She had completely calmed down by now. She wiped her tears and instructed Bai Xia, "Did you make a golden string a while ago? Put it on for me. I want to wear it every day from now on."

The only advantage of being a royal concubine now is that she can use golden yellow, which is very similar to bright yellow.

She would carry this incense ball with her every day to remind herself that besides having to go home, Yinreng's fate was also waiting for her to rewrite.

After Ma Lu dealt with the incense ball, she stood up and walked to the desk. She spread out the paper, ground the ink, and wrote a letter to Yinzhen and Wen Xian, telling them the news of Concubine Wenxi's death and asking them to pay attention to mourning in Jiangnan.

After doing all this, Malu seemed to have exhausted all his strength. He leaned back on the chaise longue and closed his eyes to rest.

It turned out that Malu couldn't understand why Kangxi closed his eyes to rest all day, and now he himself began to feel worried about it.

It was enough for me to make a mistake once. After that, I couldn't get entangled with the prince anymore.

Yinreng is not Xiao Tong, and Yinreng cannot be Xiao Tong. Xiao Tong's fate may be regrettable, but the current situation does not allow for any innocence or mercy. Yinreng's nature is not the gentle and kind-hearted Xiao Tong. History will not simply repeat itself.

If Malu wants to support the prince to ascend to the throne, Kangxi must die.

If Kangxi had died before the Fourth Prince had fully expanded his power and Yinreng, as the Crown Prince, had not yet broken up with Kangxi, Yinreng's own abilities and the legitimate status bestowed by the title of Crown Prince would have made it possible for him to successfully ascend the throne and stabilize the government.

But he still had a mission and had to go home. . . It was impossible for Yinreng to honor himself as the empress dowager when Empress Yuan was of a higher status.

Moreover, how could the Fourth Prince sit still and wait for death? He was a dormant beast that could launch a fatal attack on the Crown Prince at any time.

Malu suppressed the thought and decided to wait for the right time to make a decision.

What she needed to worry about most at the moment was Wen Xi's funeral. It had been a while since she had personally handled such a complex large-scale event, and in the past, Wen Xi was by her side, the two of them helped each other, and Wen Xian was also very capable, so she really didn't think that palace affairs were a difficult matter.

But now Huifei, Yifei, and Rongfei all have a bad attitude. They stay with their sons all day long and have given up competing for favor and power. I think they know that Malu is used to treating them equally and will not let them suffer any grievances. Even if they want to be competitive, Malu will not give them any preferential treatment.

At the same time, these people also clearly realized that their sons had an insurmountable gap compared with the crown prince and the fourth prince in terms of power, ability and status in Kangxi's heart. They seemed to have seen the outcome of this struggle, so they chose to retreat temporarily. As for whether they really wanted to keep the peace in front of them, it remained to be seen.