The Concubine of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty

Chapter 446 Go to Kunning Palace to apologize
Qin Rou was worried, but she was not worried about Concubine Li. Instead, she was worried because the matter of Concubine Li involved her after all. Compared with others, she was more important after all.

There are five big mountains in the palace. Kangxi may not care about it. The Empress Dowager has never cared about things. Concubine Nianhulu never makes things difficult for others. Qinrou may be a little worried about these three people, but it is not that serious. There are only two people who are the most important. One is the Queen. The Queen is the master of the harem and directly governs the inner court. Every matter in the harem has to be handled by the Queen. As long as the Queen has no major faults, Kangxi will not interfere.

Wife means Qi; the face of the empress also represents the face of Kangxi. Not to mention that there have been many emperors in history who favored concubines and killed their wives, but the fact that the empress can sit in the position of empress represents a kind of ability that no one else can match. Hesheli is there, not just for show.

If Qin Rou remembered correctly, the twelfth year of Emperor Kangxi's reign was the beginning of the withdrawal of the Three Feudatories. Without mentioning anything else, Qin Rou also vaguely noticed some signs. After she and Concubine Ma Jia became pregnant one after another, especially during the period when she was diagnosed with pregnancy, no favorite concubine emerged in the palace, and Emperor Kangxi went to the Queen and Concubine Nianhulu more often.

Of course, some people may think that since the concubines in the palace are not favored, the old ones are just like that, and there are no new people in the palace, the concubines are not liked by the emperor, and it is normal for the emperor to visit the palaces of the empress and Concubine Niuhulu more often. Concubine Yehenala is obviously not favored. Since she came out of confinement, everyone has realized this and she fell out of the ranks of favored concubines early, but at least she still has the fifth prince to support her.

However, Concubine Ma Jia was still favored, and Concubine Li was still the same, but the Empress and Concubine Niuhulu were still gradually competing for glory.

Kangxi was an emperor who would make the best solution. He thought about war and eliminating diseases, so he had to calm the people and the army first, and then give orders to his ministers to achieve his goals.

Qin Rou closed her eyes, thinking about the future situation. Suo Etu was Kangxi's trusted minister, and he must stand on the same side as the emperor. With a powerful enemy at hand and a great plan ahead, as long as Suo Etu and the Hesheli clan did not change their positions, Kangxi would never lose his mind and replace Suo Etu at the last minute and suppress the Hesheli clan. It didn't matter who he used. For Kangxi, an emperor who was taught by the Empress Dowager, as long as he was useful!
As long as Soetu and Hesheli can maintain stability in the court, the empress's authority will only be greater than before, not to mention that the empress is the master of the central palace.

In addition to the Queen, Qinrou was even more worried about the Grand Empress Dowager. It was hard to say that the structure of Kangxi's harem was not influenced by the Grand Empress Dowager. The Grand Empress Dowager was probably the one who hated the favoritism of the first person in the harem the most. Qinrou was worried that she had stepped on a line without knowing it. If the Grand Empress Dowager was not happy, for Qinrou, it would be like a natural disaster, and she would not know how she died.

Qin Rou was wavering. Should she go to Kunning Palace to apologize? It was very difficult for her. She had to show her attitude. Going or not going was two different attitudes. Going to Kunning Palace to apologize, she had to do everything and prepare a gift for Concubine Li. It was a step back. On the contrary, she was scheming and thoughtful. But it would cause more trouble in the future. A thoughtful person would leave an indelible impression on others.

No one is perfect! Since Qin Rou is used to being aloof, she will be aloof to the end. After making up her mind, she stood up and ordered, "Go to Kunning Palace."

"Is the concubine going?" the servant asked tentatively?
"Please forgive me." Qin Rou said.

There were not many people to bring with them, just Aunt Chen, Madam Liu and Madam Ba, of whom Madam Liu was chosen, along with Qiao'er, Ling'er, and two eunuchs, a total of six servants. She was pregnant, so bringing such a small number of people was not a big deal, as the royal heir was the most important thing.

The palace maid led the way, followed by Aunt Chen and Madam Liu, and two eunuchs followed behind. They were stronger and could take the blame or stabilize Qin Rou, so this position was just right.

Arriving at Kunning Palace, Qinrou could not go in immediately. The palace servants of Kunning Palace went in to report, and Qinrou and others waited under the eaves. After a while, Huanyan came out and bowed, "The Queen wants to see you." The Queen had just returned for a while, and Qinrou was lucky to have several people waiting outside, so she only took Aunt Chen in. What could happen in the Queen's palace? If it really happened, it would only be God's will, and the final outcome would be the same. However, the Queen probably wouldn't be stupid enough to do this. It takes a long time to establish prestige, but it only takes a moment to destroy it. The Queen wouldn't hit the mouse and damage the jade bottle.

That’s right, she is the mouse and the queen is the jade bottle.

The Queen's bedroom was majestic and grand. It was the main residence of the queen. The Queen was sitting upright on the Luohan couch, dressed in the Queen's usual clothes, graceful and dignified. Qinrou was supported by Aunt Chen and bowed, saying, "Your servant greets the Queen. May the Queen be blessed with good health."

The queen smiled, and when she looked at her, there was no disgust, as if she really liked her. "Stand up," the queen ordered, and then ordered the servant beside her, "Give her a seat."

The Empress had some guesses about Nala's purpose of coming, but she also remembered that she was a pregnant woman, so she had to consider the safety of the royal heir.

The embroidery stool had not been moved yet, and Qin Rou did not beat around the bush, "The Queen is tired, and I don't want to disturb your rest time." After Qin Rou finished speaking, before she got up, she directly apologized, "The concubine Li's pregnancy is unstable. I know a little about the inside story. It has something to do with me. I have come here to apologize. Please punish me, Queen."

Qin Rou was too lazy to distinguish the merits and demerits, nor did she know how to distinguish them. She did not necessarily feel sorry. She came here just to show her attitude so as not to make the queen dissatisfied, and to avoid giving others something to find fault with her.

As expected by the Queen, she was gentle and dignified. She walked slowly and gently to help Qinrou up and said, "Four years ago, the angel came to my mother's house with the imperial decree to make me the Queen. In the same year, I entered the palace. It has been six or seven years since then." The Queen patted Qinrou's hand, then turned around and walked forward, continuing:
"There are dozens of concubines in the harem, and there are thousands of people with thousands of personalities. These dozens of people also have dozens of personalities. There may be some similarities among them, but there are more differences. These are not important. The important thing is to give birth to a royal heir for the emperor." The queen spoke softly and gently. At this point, she turned around and looked at Qin Rou, and continued: "I know that the matter of Concubine Li has nothing to do with you. Don't feel wronged. Concubine Li has a bad temper, but she has a royal heir in her belly, so I have to take her into consideration. Not for her, but for the royal heir in her belly."

The Queen said lightly, and then she comforted her, "You don't have to care about what little concubine Li said. I know you are innocent. She is talking nonsense, but her pregnancy is unstable and she is lying in bed to protect the fetus. I can't punish her at this time. You understand! No matter how bad she is, the emperor and his heir are the most important!"

In other words, what Little Concubine Li did was wrong and she should be punished, but Qinrou was innocent. However, Little Concubine Li was pregnant with an unstable heir, and the empress put the heir first. She would not punish her, but instead let her rest assured and take care of her baby.

Qin Rou immediately said, "It is precisely because Concubine Li is worried about the heir in her belly that I came to apologize."

She didn't care about Concubine Li. Even if Concubine Li died, Qin Rou would only feel a little regretful, sad that the world is unpredictable and that a new life has been lost.