The Concubine of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty

"Your Majesty usually needs to rest for a quarter of an hour. It is my fault for coming to pay my respects to Your Majesty and making Your Majesty get up early as well." The Empress's gentle words were filled with obvious guilt.

The Empress seemed to be serving her own mother rather than her mother-in-law, experiencing the discomfort of being pregnant for ten months.

On the other hand, what family treats its mother with such thoughtfulness and courtesy? "I went to bed half an hour early yesterday, but this morning I couldn't get up or sleep. Besides, I was thinking that I should take you to Cining Palace to pay our respects to the Empress Dowager, so I couldn't sleep either."

As they were talking, the Empress Dowager also sat on the phoenix throne in Ciren Palace. The Empress was the mother of the nation, but in Ciren Palace, she could only sit below the Empress Dowager.

After the Empress Dowager was seated, the Empress came down and began to greet her, saying, "May Your Majesty be blessed."

The Empress Dowager looked at the Empress with a kind and approachable expression and said, "The Empress is always too polite. Please rise."

Then the Empress Dowager looked at Consort Niohuru and Qinrou. No introduction was needed; Qinrou was the mistress, served by servants, and was seven months pregnant. It was too easy to recognize her.

However, the Empress Dowager treated Consort Niohuru and Consort Qinrou neither with affection nor warmth, but simply said in a casual tone, "You may both rise!"

In the end, they couldn't wait for the Empress to be close and warm towards them.

Consort Niohuru, with a gentle and mild expression, naturally didn't say much and, like Consort Niohuru, calmly accepted the situation.

"Thank you, Empress Dowager." The two thanked her together before rising.

After taking her seat, Qinrou sat in the position below the Empress.

The Empress rose and sat down. She then inquired about the Empress Dowager, making small talk, and asked, "The weather has turned cooler lately; is Your Majesty's appetite any better?"

During the sweltering summer, the Empress Dowager and the Grand Empress Dowager, like ordinary people, always had a poor appetite, but it would improve after autumn, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Following the Empress Dowager's usual practice, the Empress showed her concern.

"You're much better now, Your Majesty, there's no need to worry," said the Empress Dowager.

"If Your Majesty uses the fragrance, then I am relieved," the Empress said.

"Today, I brought Consort Rou here for Your Majesty to see. Look, isn't she pleasing to the eye?" The Empress smoothly steered the conversation toward Qin Rou.

The Empress Dowager had unique Mongolian habits. She preferred large amounts of meat, disliked vegetables and fruits, and her drinks were made primarily with the milk of various livestock.

Such dietary habits, over time, will inevitably lead to some minor health problems. The Empress was also aware of this, and after the Empress Dowager fell ill, the Empress often came to attend to her.

Therefore, the Empress often tried to get the Empress Dowager to eat more vegetables, but eating habits are hard to change!

The Empress wouldn't specifically mention it at such a time, as it would be seen as stepping on the Empress Dowager to gain power and establish authority! The Empress Dowager is also a person, not to mention that she has been noble for half her life and all the grievances she has suffered are due to the late Emperor and his beloved concubines.

Most of the unpleasant things in her life also came from the late emperor, the husband of the Empress Dowager.

The Empress dared not compare herself to the late Emperor. In any case, there were no Mongol concubines in the harem, let alone Mongol concubines holding high positions. The Empress preferred to devote more attention to the two venerable ancestors, the Empress Dowager and the Grand Empress Dowager.

When the Empress mentioned Consort Rou, the Empress Dowager also turned her gaze to Qin Rou and began to scrutinize her closely.

Qin Rou had already learned the etiquette, so upon hearing her name, she quickly stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Empress Dowager!"

Quiet and well-behaved, she possessed an added touch of gentleness during her seven-month pregnancy. Only her eyes, upon closer inspection, revealed a shrewdness and aggression beneath their tranquility.

The Empress Dowager gazed at Qinrou's protruding belly for a while longer. Children! And twins at that! No other concubine in the palace had such good fortune. However, despite her slender figure, her belly wasn't much different from that of a pregnant concubine.

The Empress Dowager had seen other concubines pregnant. Not to mention the previous emperor's eight princes and six princesses, the Empress Dowager had seen at least half of the imperial offspring born.

Some of the stronger ones have bellies that are about the same size as hers.

"In my opinion, he is a good child." The Empress Dowager would naturally not say anything bad or cold-hearted. The empress was in charge of the inner palace, so what did it have to do with her, the Empress Dowager?

Thinking about the political significance of Consort Rou's promotion to the rank of Consort, the Empress couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Politics! The empire! These things, once involved, become a tangled mess.

And then you drag 'love' into it! I wonder how many more innocent lives will be lost.

Thinking of the late emperor, the Empress Dowager, and then of Xuan Ye. The Empress Dowager had suffered more than one major setback in this matter, with her husband, son, and grandson all passing the torch.

The Empress Dowager considered herself not a smart person and preferred to live a peaceful life.

She could only watch from afar, content to be a respected and highly honored mascot during the Kangxi era. That was all she could do for the Khorchin.

"The Empress has done a good job in educating her!" After praising Qinrou, the Empress Dowager praised the Empress. She also needed to enjoy the Empress's filial piety, as for the Emperor's concubines such as Consort Niohuru and Consort Rou, the Empress Dowager watched from afar.

All the concubines and noblewomen in the palace were under the Empress's jurisdiction and instruction. In particular, the concubines in the inner palace were directly managed by the Empress, and whether they were good or bad was related to the Empress.

Even while praising Consort Rou, the Empress Dowager couldn't resist subtly praising the Empress. The Emperor, a man of deep thought, was even more wary of Mongol concubines than his predecessor. If the Empress Dowager were to become too close to a concubine, who knows what the Emperor would think!

Let's avoid trouble!

The Empress Dowager has her own way of surviving. The old lady can live very well within this comfort zone.

"Consort Rou is well-behaved and intelligent, so I didn't have to put in much effort," the Empress said modestly, chatting casually with the Empress Dowager.

"The Empress is blessed." Hearing the Empress's words, the Empress Dowager glanced at Qin Rou again, "The concubines are well-behaved, so the Empress can worry less."

"Yes, I think so too!" the Empress replied.

Qinrou acted as a mascot and a tool throughout the entire process.

"Hmm." The Empress Dowager nodded, and then said again, "I have seen them, so please kowtow to me, and I will take you to pay your respects to the Emperor."

The Empress Dowager wouldn't allow the Empress to manipulate the concubines in her palace. What did the power struggles in the harem have to do with her, an Empress Dowager who didn't concern herself with such matters?

As long as people don't make mistakes on her premises, even if there's a huge fight going on outside, the Empress Dowager won't care.

Firstly, the emperor was not her biological son, so why should the empress dowager worry so much?
Secondly, what about the Empress Dowager and the late Emperor's own mother and son? The Empress Dowager worried about everything, but she couldn't bring about a good ending.

The Empress Dowager understood that she and the Emperor didn't have that much of a mother-son bond to burn.

Upon hearing this, the Empress's eyelids twitched slightly, and she glanced at Qin Rou. Qin Rou immediately became proper and respectful, kowtowing and paying her respects. She said:

"Your Majesty, I, Consort Rou, of the Hadanara clan, wish you good health and happiness." (End of Chapter)