The Concubine of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty

Chapter 422 The Queen Visits
When the empress arrived at Chengqian Palace in her sedan chair, she learned that the emperor was having a meal in a side hall. The empress said nothing and went to the side hall to pay her respects to Kangxi first.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you." Kangxi was served meals by Li Dequan, and the empress was helped into the house by servants.

"No need to be polite, Queen." Kangxi looked up, then said with a smile, "Has the Queen finished her meal? Let's have some together!" Kangxi and the Queen were naturally comfortable getting along with each other, and they were usually a respectful couple.

The queen saw it, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she stood up and replied with a smile: "I have already used it. I don't need it now."

The queen did not say much to persuade him, such as: Why did Kangxi eat at this time? She just speculated that Nara's situation in the morning was really dangerous and could not be told to outsiders.

The emperor ascended the throne at the age of eight. Even I was ill for a long time when I first ascended the throne. The imperial doctors took care of me, but they were helpless. There were also several princes and princesses.

What storms have they not experienced? The emperor allowed me to stay here with him, but he didn't need to do anything else except guarding. The servants naturally dared not not remind Kangxi to eat, but that would be his own anxiety, useless!
If the emperor was so anxious, the situation must have been bad. Otherwise, if it was a minor illness, the emperor would not be so anxious and would not have forgotten to eat.

The Queen sat down on a seat beside her and said gently, "I came to see Concubine Nara. She fell ill early in the morning. I thought it was a minor illness, but it has been several hours and she hasn't gotten better. I came to see her!"

The queen's words were beautiful! After all, the six palaces of concubines were under her jurisdiction and she ruled them. It was natural for the queen to come and see, but normally no one had the honor. The queen's so-called worry was just to send a doctor to come and see, and to order the doctor to treat well. It was already virtuous!
But no one could say anything bad about it. After all, she was just a concubine. Even if the queen didn't come, it wouldn't matter. But her coming showed the queen's favor. The emperor favored his concubine, so the queen was willing to care about her.

It shows that the emperor and empress are of one mind, so why not do it?

The Queen's words also meant that she only thought it was a minor illness and not a big deal. The imperial physician was here and could cure her. That's why the Queen didn't come to see her! She came here now because Concubine Nara had been unwell for a long time, and the Queen was worried, so she came to visit her.

"The Queen has taken great pains." Kangxi was also willing to believe it. He knew the Queen's character. The Emperor and the Queen were one, and that was never an empty statement. The Queen had always done so.

The Queen would naturally show some concern and care for the favored concubines. In the Queen's words, serving the Emperor was hard work, and that was what they deserved. As for the unfavored ones, it was reasonable to show a little less favoritism.

Otherwise, there are so many concubines in the harem, and the queen has to take care of them all, how can she take care of them all?

"It's okay." The Queen said, "This is what I should do." At this point, the Queen looked at the imperial meal, stood up and saluted. "Your Majesty, please trouble Eunuch Li to serve you first. I will go to see Concubine Nara first."

Otherwise, how can the queen remain in the harem? In addition to her family background, the most important thing is her extraordinary intelligence and sense of humor.

The Queen came to visit Qin Rou, even if this was not her main purpose, but since she had said it, she would do her best! Although Kangxi might not care too much even if she didn't do it, the Queen would not leave this possibility.

Kangxi would not think that the Queen's visit was just to visit the patient. She also had the purpose of admonishing the emperor. However, the Queen raised this banner and did not use it as a cover. She wanted to go and see in person, so Kangxi was naturally happier.

However, Kangxi replied nonchalantly: "Don't worry, she is sleeping right now, and there is still residual heat on her forehead. The imperial doctors and servants are waiting on her, the queen doesn't need to go and see her, that's all."

Kangxi would not force the empress to go and see the doctor. With servants and imperial doctors serving her, the empress could only go and see the doctor. She might not be able to see anything.

The queen didn't take Kangxi's words seriously, but smiled and said, "I'd better go and take a look myself, so I can feel more at ease! If I see it with my own eyes, I can also see if there are any omissions and fill them in."

Since the words had been spoken, the Queen had walked to Chengqian Palace on purpose. She didn't need to miss these few steps, so she had to go and take a look. Kangxi had already advised her, and since the Queen insisted on going, Kangxi would not say much, and told Li Dequan, who was serving the meal, "Go and lead the way for the Queen."

Li Dequan quickly put down the bowl and chopsticks for the meal and said, "Yes."

He gave another look to the young eunuch serving beside him, and the young eunuch immediately came forward and served another meal to Kangxi.

The Queen did not say anything when she saw this. The Emperor always hated people who dragged their feet and talked too much. The Queen would naturally not fall into such a trap.

Zhenshunzhai has three rooms in width, each of which is spacious, with a bedroom inside and a living room outside. Led by Li Dequan, the empress went all the way to the bedroom.

There were many servants serving in the palace, and even the servants from the Qianqing Palace were helping. Even if they could not serve Concubine Nara personally, they could help with odd jobs like carrying basins and changing water.

The furnishings in Zhenshunzhai were also quite novel, but they were all within the budget of a concubine. For example, the colors and patterns did not go beyond the rules. But judging from the quality, they were all good things. These were the ones on display, and I wonder what would happen to the ones stored in the storeroom?
Compared to the ordinary concubine's bedroom, it was a world of difference. Nara was poor, so she didn't bring anything with her when she entered the palace. Her mother's family didn't send anything, and she didn't contact them. She was a rare weirdo in the palace.

Unprecedented!

It has always been the case that only unfavored concubines are ignored, but which family would be willing to give up favored concubines and not cling to them tightly! Which concubine would not contact the family after being favored? Even if the family contacted them, they would stubbornly ignore them.

Don't care about the principle that everyone prospers together and everyone suffers together.

All in all, everything in this palace was subsidized by the emperor. Flowers are hard to come by in winter, mostly plum blossoms, and there is no shortage of them in Zhenshunzhai, in all colors. There are also some other uncommon flowers, such as hyacinth, oncidium, cyclamen, and longevity flowers...

The queen's expression remained unchanged, and resources were scarce, which were all for the concubines who were not favored. For the concubines who were favored, these were all trivial matters and details, and were only for viewing.

Entering the bedroom, it was even busier. Yuanyan and Aunt Chen were wiping Qinrou's forehead with a handkerchief to reduce the fever. The imperial doctors were waiting in the outer room. If they were needed, Aunt Chen and the others could just shout them in the room.

The outer room also has floor heating. Aunt Chen is a careful person. The imperial doctors are waiting and serving in Zhenshunzhai, so we can't be stingy and treat them badly over these small matters. That would be a loss of the big picture!

Along the way, the servants would bow to the queen first when they saw her.

After entering the inner hall, Aunt Chen, Xiaoman and others also hurriedly saluted. "Empress!"

The queen smiled gently and said, "No need to be so polite. I am worried about Concubine Nara, so I came here specially to check on her."

Only then did Aunt Chen and Xiaoman stand up.

The queen said casually: "How about Concubine Nara!"