The Virtuous Concubine

Although Yipin was somewhat dissatisfied with Huipin's behavior and felt that she was too pretentious, both of them were veterans in the harem and knew when to advance and retreat. They even cooperated when trying to get information about Malu.

"Noble Lady Wuya, I heard that you have been feeling unwell recently. Have you asked the imperial physician to see you? Are you getting used to moving from the Qianqing Palace?" Huipin asked with concern.

After hearing this, the concubines remembered that Malu had used the excuse of being unwell to stay in the Qianqing Palace for so long, and the emperor actually agreed! They looked at Malu with a little more scrutiny and speculation.

Ma Lu smiled and replied, "Thank you for your concern, Concubine Hui. The most dangerous days have passed. The imperial physician said that as long as I take good care of myself, I will be back to normal soon."

Yipin followed up Huipin's words and asked curiously, "Sister, are you used to living in the Qianqing Palace? It's the emperor's residence, so it must be unusual. In the past, we only went to the West Warm Pavilion where the emperor slept, and we didn't dare to stay there, let alone wander around."

Malu still maintained a proper smile, her voice calm and humble: "At that time, I was only responsible for serving tea in front of the Emperor in the Qianqing Palace. It was an honor for me to serve the Emperor. In addition, the palace rules were strict, so I rarely went to other places."

After hearing Malu's answer, the concubines exchanged glances with each other, as if they were communicating something silently. They knew that Concubine Wuya was of humble origin, but they didn't expect her to be so frank about the past. They thought she would lose her composure after hearing this.

Seeing that she seemed invulnerable, Rongpin, who had been silent, could no longer hold back her anger and said in a teasing tone, "Then drinking tea is really good. It can bring out an unusual affection~"

Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere became lively for a moment, as if a room full of sisters were chatting warmly. In fact, Malu's heart was lifted by these words - this was to point out that she was a foxy woman who could seduce the master and even find a way to climb onto the dragon bed by serving tea.

"Empress Rong is joking. I am only doing my duty. In this palace, who doesn't do their job conscientiously and serve the emperor without any slackness? I can have where I am today only because of the grace of the emperor." Malu directly kicked the ball to Kangxi. She was able to enter the palace because of Kangxi's will. Who dared to question it?

Rongpin heard Malu's answer, and a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes. She did not expect Malu to respond in such a half-soft and half-hard way. She really could not and did not dare to publicly criticize whether Kangxi's decision was wrong.

Concubine Niohuru felt Malu's intelligence and decisiveness, and her smile, which had been watching the battle, was filled with a hint of genuine admiration.

Seeing this, Huipin also smiled and took over the topic: "Sister Malu is right. We are in this harem because of the grace of the emperor."

Concubine Niuhulu had heard enough. She knew that everyone could not make Concubine Wuya behave in a disrespectful manner, so she put an end to their thoughts and said gently, "You are such sharp-tongued people, please hold back. Don't scare the new sister."

As she spoke, she stood up, walked towards Malu, looked at her belly again, and continued, "Noble Lady Wuya has just arrived and is not familiar with us. In fact, the old ladies in the harem are very enthusiastic and sometimes they speak without restraint." She seemed to be a little weak, and took a breath before continuing, "They all have good hearts, you will slowly know."

She pulled Malu, who was about to salute, and glanced at the courtyard of Yonghe Palace outside with a smile: "I have lived in this Yonghe Palace for a while, and I have a connection with Noble Lady Wuya. This place is great, and you are great too. I hope you will abide by the virtues of a concubine and do a good job of expanding the royal family."

As she spoke, she turned around and glanced at everyone. Her eyes were like thunder and lightning, and her awe-inspiring demeanor intimidated everyone. Everyone stood up and bowed to Concubine Niuhulu, whether they were willing or not, and shouted, "I will remember your teachings. May your Majesty live a thousand years!"

Concubine Niuhulu nodded and calmly accepted the greetings from everyone, then turned to Malu and said, "Okay, let's stop here today. You just moved in, so you need to rest well. We will come to see you another day."

Malu smiled and nodded, then knelt on the ground, swung the silk handkerchief in her hand back three times, and kowtowed again. This was equivalent to her, a newcomer in the harem, giving Concubine Nianhulu a special gift of meeting the queen. Anyway, all the concubines had just tacitly agreed to bow to the queen, and this was the only way for her to show her humility.

As expected, this time Concubine Niuhulu did not stop her. After she finished her greetings, she took the group of girls away. Malu followed behind the group of people and watched them walk away before returning to the inner room and sitting down.

Malu exhaled deeply. She knew that her performance today was acceptable, but the struggle in the harem was far more complicated than she had imagined.

Bai Fu, who had been watching her, quickly brought her a glass of water so she could take a break. She waited for her to sit for a while before removing her hairpins and makeup. Malu just enjoyed Bai Fu's service without saying a word.

Seeing that she didn't look very tired, Bai Fu gave up the idea of ​​asking for a doctor for Malu. If it wasn't necessary, she wouldn't ask for one. If she asked for one today, people would definitely talk about it.

Seeing Bai Fu wiping her face seriously, Malu couldn't help but speak first: "Today is really... These people are talking to each other, seemingly caring about me, but everyone is trying to catch me in the act."

Bai Fu put away the towel she had used to wipe her face, stood still again, and then smiled and comforted Malu: "Your Excellency did a great job today, and made them return home disappointed."

Malu shook her head: "This is just the beginning. Look at the expressions on the faces of the people who came today."

Bai Fu lowered her eyes and replied, "I don't need to say much about those who talked a lot with the master. Concubine An beside them looked disdainful and unwilling, Concubine Duan and Concubine Jing had smiles on their faces the whole time, and Concubine Xi probably didn't come at all. Most of the other nobles and maids were not stable, only Noble Guo Luoluo and Noble Nara looked relatively calm."

Malu sighed. It turned out that those who left their names in history were not simple people. At this time, she could not distinguish between friends and enemies. She only knew that the later Concubine Min, her good friend Zhang Jiajingyi, had a good relationship with her. It was understandable that Hesheli did not come. She was the concubine sister of the Empress Yuan. Asking her to flatter Concubine Niuhulu, the successor, would be a disgrace to Hesheli.

So it's normal that she didn't come, but it can't be said that she is necessarily hostile to me.

Seeing that she didn't continue talking, Bai Fu suggested: "Master, why don't you lie down for a while? You are moving to the palace today, and the emperor may come. You should rest for a while, otherwise you may not have energy at night."

Malu thought what she said made sense, but she didn't expect Bai Fu to see that every time Kangxi came, she had to be alert to deal with his affairs. She reminded herself in her heart that she should not be too careless just because she was pregnant.

Otherwise, Kangxi would notice her condition sooner or later, and her image of being deeply in love would be ruined.

After Bai Fu finished everything, she went to the door and took the brocade that Bai Xia had almost finished making and started to do some work. Bai Fu was afraid that Bai Xia, this silly girl, would say something wrong and be sent away to collect the gifts sent by the concubines.