The Virtuous Concubine

When Malu saw Bai Xia Bai Fu walking away, he turned around, looked at Jing Yi with gentle eyes, and asked, "Jing Yi, do you have anything to say?"

Jingyi was slightly stunned, then she mustered up her courage and replied softly: "My lady, I...I didn't mean it today."

Malu did not answer her, but took her hand and looked at Jingyi's face carefully. Zhang Jia Jingyi, she really lived up to her name. She was gentle and reserved, and her facial features were like the outline of distant mountains, hazy and soft. Some people might dislike her appearance because it was a little bland, but if you look closely at her eyes, they were bright and clear like stars, which added a lot of color to her.

It can only be said that Kangxi really has a pair of discerning eyes. Although Malu kept looking at her, Jingyi felt that Malu's eyes were full of tenderness and understanding. She was not afraid and just let Malu look at her. After a while, she said softly: "Jingyi, I understand your feelings, and I know that you have no intention of climbing up the ladder. We have discussed this matter a long time ago. If you are willing, you can always tell me."

Jingyi felt the warmth of Malu's palm, and the tension and fear in her heart gradually dissipated. She raised her head with a hint of determination in her eyes: "My queen, I will be more careful and will not let such a thing happen again."

Malu couldn't help but sigh for her naivety, but she didn't want to destroy Jingyi's innocence, so she just reminded Jingyi: "If the emperor really likes you, this must and can only be your blessing."

Jingyi's expression changed slightly: "My lady, I...I don't want to betray you, and I can't..."

Malu gently patted the back of Jingyi's hand: "I understand, Jingyi. If the emperor doesn't pay attention to you again, then you can live a peaceful life. But the emperor...if you really want it, you can only give it to him."

There was a flash of despair in Jingyi's eyes, but she quickly calmed down and said firmly: "My lady, I know, I won't make things difficult for you."

Malu was slightly stunned. She looked at Jingyi seriously and said, "Jingyi, don't do anything stupid. At worst, just think of it as a dog bite."

Malu didn't finish her words, but Jingyi already understood what she meant. Jingyi took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. She said softly, "Your Majesty, I understand your painstaking efforts. If the emperor really likes me, I will try my best to adapt, but my heart will always be free."

Malu was deeply moved by Jingyi's determination. She knew how rare it was for Jingyi to be loyal and pure in the face of the temptations of imperial power and wealth. She comforted her softly, "Maybe we are just worrying too much. If that day really comes, I will do my best to protect you."

Jingyi looked at Malu gratefully: "Your Majesty, I will always remember your kindness in my heart. No matter what happens in the future, I will do my best to repay your kindness."

Malu shook her head, thinking that it was her fault that Jingyi was noticed by Kangxi. If Jingyi had not come to Yonghe Palace, would Kangxi not have seen her? Malu could not help but begin to doubt her own charm - she had nothing on her at the time, how could Kangxi pay attention to other women?

The system disagreed with Malu's idea: "How can you be blamed? Isn't the problem that Kangxi is a person who loves every girl he meets? If you and Jingyi were in each other's shoes, Kangxi would have been eager to favor you."

Malu heard it, yes! No matter how beautiful she is, she can't stop a man from being restless. Thinking of this, she shook her head: "Forget it, let's wait and see. Remind me after a week to see if it has implanted."

The system took note of this and urged Malu to go see the child. It would check on Yinzhen every day. Children nowadays behave differently every day, which is very interesting.

Malu also felt that it was time to see the child, so she asked Jingyi to call Dachun and the child over. Everyone in the room was having a great time watching Malu teasing the child, hoping that he would learn to hold his head up.

But this child was born quiet. No matter how I teased him, he closed his eyes as if he didn't hear anything. But judging from his breathing, he wasn't asleep. Malu was a little worried and even summoned the imperial physician. But after a long examination, the imperial physician came to the conclusion that "the little prince just doesn't like to talk to people."

This made the young girls blush. Malu could only send the doctor away and slap the fourth prince's butt hard: "Bad boy!"

The Fourth Prince then lazily turned over, holding his little butt towards everyone, as if to say, "Go ahead and hit me, I won't pay any attention to you."

Malu had no choice, maybe the child was a person with his own ideas, so he gave a few more instructions to Dachun and the wet nurse, and had the child taken away. This was the good thing about being a noble in ancient times, you didn't need to do such a laborious task as raising a child yourself, you could be considered a loving mother just by saying a few words.

Seeing that everyone had dispersed, Malu was about to order food when she heard someone in front saying that Liang Jiugong was coming. She had no choice but to put down the order and go to the front hall to meet Liang Jiugong. Liang Jiugong originally came to give a reward, and when he saw that Concubine De accepted the reward and thanked her, he smiled and took out two pictures.

One is the survey map of the Yonghe Palace, and the other is the survey map of the Imperial Garden.

When Malu saw the content of the picture, a smile spread across his face: "The emperor really took what I said to heart."

Liang Jiugong flattered, "That's because you are the most beloved person of the Emperor. Your Majesty, take a look, where should this small kitchen and the orchard be placed?"

Malu couldn't help but twitch her face when she heard this. She didn't expect that everyone would actually use the name she casually said. Would Kangxi write a plaque for her in the future? But it was too early to think about these things. She gently unfolded the two pictures and carefully thought about the best location for the small kitchen and the orchard.

"As for this small kitchen," Malu pondered for a moment and lightly tapped the map with his finger, "it is located in the side yard over here. It is convenient for getting water and is far away from the main hall, so there will be no smell of smoke."

Liang Jiugong nodded and said, "Your Majesty has considered it carefully."

Then, Malu looked at the picture of the Imperial Garden. Her eyes wandered around the garden and finally stopped at a quiet corner. "Let's set up the experimental field and experimental forest in the northeast corner of the Imperial Garden. Let's not talk about the soil quality and sunlight for now. There are not many people in the corners of Shanglin Garden and Taiye Lake. The sisters in the harem don't go there often, and my own affairs won't affect everyone."

Liang Jiugong smiled and said, "Your Majesty is really discerning and thoughtful. I will report to the Emperor first. If there are any changes, I will come and tell Your Majesty. Then the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs will come and go over the specific details with Your Majesty."

Ma Lu smiled with satisfaction, and she said to Liang Jiugong, "Then it's settled. Please go back and tell the emperor that I'm very happy. I'll go and thank the emperor when he's free."

Liang Jiugong quickly agreed: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will convey your wishes to the Emperor truthfully."

Malu nodded, and after a few more casual chats, Liang Jiugong withdrew and returned to the Qianqing Palace. She picked up the order form again, but in her mind she was thinking about the layout of the small kitchen and the orchard, as well as what to plant later. Now is spring, the season when everything comes back to life, which is the best time to plant.

But it will probably take until summer to finish the field, which also gives me time to search for seeds. Now I will plant some flowers to cover up my tracks. I can't give up the fields in Yonghe Palace either, the most important plants still have to be planted here. And if I want to plant the fields, I will need more eunuchs. It would be best to ask the Imperial Garden to borrow a few, so I don't have to live in Yonghe Palace...

After drawing for a long time, I finally had a rough outline.