This palace comes back in this life, only to be Nian Shilan

Chapter 28 Sour Bamboo Shoots and Duck Soup

Yongzheng, who was reviewing memorials in the Yangxin Palace, heard Zhuxi come to invite him to have dinner with the empress dowager in the evening. He became suspicious. Every time the empress dowager took the initiative to invite him to Shoukang Palace, it must be that someone in the harem was causing trouble again.

I just don’t know which evildoer has upset the Queen Mother this time.

Seeing that the snow was about to get heavier, Yongzheng simply asked Su Peisheng to call for a sedan chair, and went directly to Shoukang Palace with Zhuxi.

The floor heating in Shoukang Palace was burning very hot. The empress dowager was silently groping for an old red fox cloak in a daze. The voice of Su Peisheng outside brought the empress dowager back to her senses.

Yongzheng walked in and saw the empress dowager putting away a half-new red fox cloak for a palace maid.

"This dress is so old, why are you still wearing it? Is it because the Imperial Household Department is not doing its best? My son will go and tell the Queen that she will definitely punish those lazy people in the Imperial Household Department."

"I am just sorting out old things. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has already sent someone to deliver this year's new clothes. The Queen is the most diligent and frugal in managing the household affairs. She has just recovered from her headache, so don't bother her."

"Mother is right. I will follow your teachings." Yongzheng's gaze stayed on the red fox cloak for two seconds and then retracted.

On the way here, Su Peisheng asked Zhu Xi about what happened in Shoukang Palace.

Yongzheng was a little dissatisfied when he knew that Cao Qinmo came to the empress dowager to sue Xia. Cao Qinmo had been acting more and more unruly recently. First, she repaid kindness with enmity and falsely accused Concubine Hua of abusing Wen Yi, and then she said something about his favoritism to the palace concubines in front of the empress dowager. Now that the empress dowager knew about it, he could not avoid listening to the empress dowager's nagging.

As expected, putting aside the matter of the red fox cloak, the Queen Mother went straight to the point: "I heard that the Emperor has been favoring a concubine recently."

"Yes, Concubine Xia is lively and clever, which is different from the concubines in the palace who follow the rules. My son finds it very refreshing."

"Without rules, there will be no order. The emperor is now letting Xia Shi break the rules. If the concubines see this and follow suit, the atmosphere in the harem will be distorted. How can you let the empress manage it? In addition, Xia Shi told the concubines about the bed curtain incident to show off. If this matter spreads to the previous dynasty, where will the emperor put his face?"

Yongzheng knew that Xia was loud and bold, but when he heard Xia talking about everything that happened in the bed, his face turned red and he regretted that he had been acting too much and indulging himself too much recently.

"Mother, you are right. I know I am wrong." Yongzheng, a middle-aged man in his forties, is now as obedient as a three-year-old child in front of his old mother.

"I have already sentenced Xia to a hundred lashes of red robes. This woman who defiled the palace should have been beaten to death. But as the new year is coming, I shall spare her life." The empress dowager's anger subsided a little when she saw that her emperor sincerely admitted his mistake.

"Everything is up to the Empress Dowager." When Yongzheng heard that the Empress Dowager would punish Xia with a hundred lashes of red lice, he still felt it was a pity. Such a bold woman had brought him such a fresh and exciting experience, and Yongzheng was a little reluctant to let go. But when he thought that he was a wise ruler and must not be an emperor like Emperor Cheng of Han who was blinded by lust, Yongzheng put Xia aside.

The empress dowager had sharp ears and eyes, and she had a pair of sharp eyes. How could she not understand the emperor's thoughts? Lust was a man's nature. Fortunately, the emperor knew his limits, so she didn't need to advise him too much. So she talked about another matter.

"And Cao Qinmo, I heard that you gave Wen Yi to Jingpin to raise?"

"Yes, it was Concubine Hua who reminded me of this. She said that parents who love their children will make long-term plans for them. For Wen Yi's future, we still have to find a foster mother with a high status in the maternal family for Wen Yi."

The Queen Mother felt relieved after hearing this and started to think more highly of Concubine Hua.

"There are not many heirs in the palace. The third prince Hongshi is raised by Concubine Qi, and Linglong is raised by Concubine Xin. Their mothers' families are relatively well-established. Concubine Cao is indeed much poorer than them. You are right in your consideration."

The empress dowager thought about how Cao Qinmo had just slandered Concubine Hua and secretly sided with the empress, and how the empress had asked Cao Qinmo to instigate her to deal with Xia. She was dissatisfied with both the empress and Cao Qinmo, but the empress was her niece and the glory of the Ulanara family, so the empress dowager could only blame all her dissatisfaction on Concubine Cao.

"That Concubine Cao was originally Concubine Hua's person. She came to me just now but didn't say a single good word about her master. Such a traitor is definitely not suitable to teach Wen Yi."

Yongzheng saw that his own mother felt the same as he did, and the slight unhappiness he had just felt about the Empress Dowager's punishment of Xia immediately disappeared.

"Cao Qinmo is a thoughtful person. It was because of Concubine Hua's blessing that she was able to give birth to Wen Yi. But now she has no regard for our old friendship."

"The Concubine Hua has been acting more calmly recently, not as reckless as before." The Queen Mother thought about how the Concubine Hua did not listen to Concubine Cao's instigation, and she was somewhat satisfied with the Concubine Hua. "But although the Concubine Hua is thinking about Wen Yi's future, Concubine Cao still holds a grudge against her."

"In fact, my son knows that Shilan is not a bad person by nature. He was arrogant and did many reckless things before. It was all because of Cao Qinmo's conspiracy behind the scenes."

"Since the emperor thinks so, I also think it is better not to keep such an ungrateful person around, so as not to raise a tiger to harm. Now Hua Fei is calm and obedient. If she is instigated by Cao Qinmo to make the same mistake again, she will make a big mistake and it will be irreversible."

"It's just that Wen Yi is young, and my son always thinks that she is Wen Yi's biological mother." Yongzheng thought of himself being sent to the lap of Empress Xiaoyi Ren when he was young. At that time, he longed for his biological mother's care. Yongzheng hoped that his child would not experience the pain he had experienced in his childhood.

"Wen Yi is still breastfeeding and doesn't remember anything. I see that Concubine Jing treats Wen Yi as her own child. I heard that when Wen Yi was first brought to Xianfu Palace, she couldn't adapt, so Concubine Jing took Wen Yi to her side every day to coax her to sleep. Concubine Jing's care is no less than that of Concubine Cao, her biological mother."

The Queen Mother knew that she had brought up the Emperor's sorrow, so she tried to persuade him.

"Moreover, Concubine Cao is cunning and vicious. If Wen Yi grows up and Concubine Cao secretly teaches Wen Yi something, how will Concubine Jing cope with it? We, the royal children, cannot have such ungrateful people." Seeing that Yongzheng's mind had loosened, the empress dowager continued her efforts.

"What children will be like in the future depends on how their mothers teach them. Concubine Qi and the Third Prince are examples. Although the Third Prince is not talented, he is honest like his mother and would never think of harming others in a roundabout way."

Concubine Qi: Queen Mother, are you praising me or criticizing me?

"My son understands." Seeing that the emperor had made up his mind, the empress dowager did not say anything more.

It's not that she didn't want to keep Concubine Cao, but the empress dowager already knew that Concubine Cao had become the queen's knife. If such a vicious person was used by the queen, she was afraid that she would never have a grandson before she died. The execution of Concubine Cao was also a warning from the empress dowager to the queen.