Chapter 41: House Arrest

  In June, the heat was getting more and more unbearable every day. It was supposed to be the season when cicadas were everywhere, but because they didn't want to disturb the masters' rest, inside the Forbidden City, you could see a group of little eunuchs sticking cicadas everywhere. Wang Wanqiang had been feeling a bit short of breath in front of Mingfei due to his adopted son's affairs and hadn't even gone bird-walking for a while, staying in the palace every day. Now he was busy getting several little eunuchs to stick cicadas.

  Also don't know if it's because of arguing with Minglan, Abao's words became more fluent, but insisted on not wearing open-crotch pants. Even in the hot summer, he had to cover his buttocks. Mingfei took him to the pavilion to cool off and saw Wang Wanqiang wanting to catch cicadas. She said to the servant fanning her: "Let him catch a few for Fourth Brother to play with, don't bother with the rest. If you can't hear the sound of cicadas in summer, what's the point of calling it summer? Don't bother with this anymore."

  The fan replied.

  Abao is playing with a puzzle, her chubby little face looking very serious, as if she doesn't care about anything else outside. Minfei smiled comfortingly and lowered her head to continue reading her book.

  Another servant, Pei Huan, walked over and said softly: "Master, I heard that Jingzhou has rebelled!"

  Mingfei was stunned, a riot in Jingzhou? Is this saying that Xinyue Gege is coming?

  She furrowed her brow and pondered for a moment: "Let's have the people in our palace live in peace for a while, don't provoke trouble, Empress Dowager, the Grand Empress Dowager, and His Majesty must be in a bad mood."

  "Still, Master is more thoughtful for us servants."

  Ming Fei smiled and glanced at her: "No other skills have grown, but the skill of flattering people has indeed improved. Alright, you can go now."

  Pei Huan smiled and backed away.

  Mingfei put down the book, stood up, and casually looked outside the pavilion. This selection seemed to be specifically for selecting Nalan Rongruo to enter the palace. Among the people who entered the palace, except for Nalan Rongruo, there were only two other Han military banner women. To put it bluntly, if not because of only selecting Nalan, which looked a bit too deliberate, these two might not have been able to enter the palace either.

  Niu Cui Lian entered the palace and lived in the main hall of Chengqian Palace, her treatment was already at the level of a concubine. This seemed to clearly indicate to everyone that Niu Cui Lian would not be below the rank of concubine in the future. The slaves in the palace were extremely clever, and only treated Niu Cui Lian with such special favoritism. There were countless people who privately tried to curry favor with her.

  Kangxi also favored Wei Ruxue, this time not immediately giving her any position or title, still serving in the Nurturing Heart Palace, but obviously greatly reducing the time spent with other consorts, provoking Xiaozhuang who rarely interfered with palace affairs to reprimand him several times. In the past half month, it has become even more extreme, not a single consort was favored.

  Ah Bao called out several times before Min Fei, who was lost in thought, finally returned to reality.

  Mingfei turned her head and saw Abao standing beside him, looking up at her: "Mother, Yin Zhen has finished his homework."

  Mingfei smiled and patted his head. This child didn't like his nickname because Minglan had teased him about it, so he emphasized his name every time he spoke.

  Mingfei pulled him back to the stool, looked at the picture of the shepherd boy playing the flute on the table, and didn't see anything wrong at first glance. After a closer look, he saw that two sheets were placed in reverse positions on the flute, and the distant mountains behind were even more incorrect.

  Mingfei held Abao in her arms, pointing one by one for him to see: "You're still young, it's already difficult to get this far, but you can still see that there are many places where you've made mistakes. The color of the mountain was originally deeper here, and the shape isn't like this either. Look at the original picture, is it the same as yours? And this part, if you look carefully, it's not the same either. This thing requires patience and calmness to do slowly, don't rush. You take a closer look yourself, find the places where you went wrong, correct them, and if you can all correct them, in a few days Mother will take you fishing, how about that?"

  Abao was delighted when he heard about fishing: "Yin Zhen will definitely change for the better, Mother should hurry up!"

  Mingfei patted him with a smile: "Alright, Mother won't bother you anymore. If your eyes get tired after a while, just get up and walk around."

  Abao nodded seriously, and Mingfei just reminded her that she would have to supervise later. Children don't really understand whether their eyes are tired or not.

  She was also sweating and wanted to go into the space to take a bath, but after walking only two steps, she heard that a small palace girl from Xiaozhuang Palace came to deliver a message, saying that Xiaozhuang called her over to talk, and asked if there were any others. The little palace girl said no one else was there.

  This is strange, what's the matter with finding her at this time? Thinking that she couldn't stop under her hands, she changed her clothes and combed her hair, and then went in the direction of Cining Palace in Hengzhou.

  I don't know if it's because the location of Cining Palace is far from the palace group, as soon as I entered Cining Palace, the heat on my body was gone, leaving only a refreshing coolness that can't be described. The room was filled with a faint scent of sandalwood, as if even my mind had calmed down. What kind of house has what kind of owner.

  Su Mo had just lifted the curtain and saw Ming Fei smiling and wanting to pay her respects. Ming Fei personally supported her: "Auntie, don't be polite." Kangxi always called you mom.

  Su Mo smiled: "The old ancestor is waiting for the imperial concubine, let's go in together with the imperial concubine and the slave."

  Filial and loyal sat quietly on the couch, twirling Buddhist beads, probably hearing the movement, slowly opening her eyes, facing Ming Fei: "Come, sit down."

  Mingfei vaguely felt that Xiaozhuang's emotions seemed off, and she sat down beside her obediently.

  After a while, Ci Xiang did not see Empress Dowager speaking, she was about to open her mouth when she heard the low and slow voice of Empress Dowager, like the lingering sound after beating a drum: "The affairs between the late Emperor and Imperial Noble Consort are known to all, I am the one who understands it best."

  Just after saying a couple of sentences, her emotions were already fluctuating: "Ah, my good fortune has arrived! It was always fine before, but since meeting the Imperial Noble Consort, it's as if he's been bewitched. He didn't care about anything and only wanted to marry her into the palace. At that time, I don't know how many times I argued with him. Later, she entered the palace, and I thought things would get better once she was in. Who could have predicted that he would become more and more muddled every day? He couldn't be away from his Imperial Noble Consort for a single day. For the sake of seeing her, my little Xuan Yan almost lost his life. The Imperial Noble Consort finally left, and I thought I could finally take a breather...

  Even the former emperor went along with them.

  Su Mo looked at Xiaozhuang excitedly and hurriedly helped her relieve her breath, then handed her a cup of tea.

  This was probably the deepest wound in Xiaozhuang's heart, but why did she need to tell her?

  After a while, Xiaozhuang let out another heavy sigh: "Do you know how I felt when I first saw Wei Ruxue?"

  Mei Fei shook her head: "I don't know."

  The Empress Dowager's voice suddenly became distant and gloomy: "I thought it was her who had returned."

  Mingfei took a while to realize that Xiaozhuang was referring to the late emperor's imperial noble consort.

  Isn't it true that these two people look very alike?

  Xiao Zhuang seemed to have understood what Ming Fei was thinking, and continued: "They don't look alike, not even a bit, but their aura is exactly the same, both are extremely enchanting! I was afraid in my heart at that time..."

  Mingfei suddenly understood the meaning of Xiaozhuang's summons, which was to persuade Kangxi not to indulge in sensual pleasures.

  She slightly lowered her head, and even Empress Dowager Ci Xi couldn't persuade her back, what could she do.

  Empress Dowager Ci Xiang glanced at her: "I won't say anything else, you should understand my intention. I have advised the Emperor several times, but there is no improvement. I want you to go and advise him as well."

  Empress Dowager Ci Xi said calmly, "If you can persuade the Emperor to change his mind, I will ensure that the position of Imperial Noble Consort is yours alone."

  Mingfei suddenly raised her head to look at Xiaozhuang, this was a warning from Ming to her. If she didn't go to persuade Kangxi, perhaps Nian Xialü would one day surpass her position and suppress her under her.

  In just an instant, her thoughts had changed a thousand times over.

  Mingfei's voice was devoid of any emotion: "Why did our ancestors decide on me?"

  Xiangzhuang's voice softened a bit: "You're different, you're Xuan Ye's cousin, this child has always valued family the most. Moreover, you are the Imperial Consort, and as his woman, it's even more different. Do you know that I was also afraid at first, but later gradually came to understand?"

  Mingfei wanted to ask Xiaozhuang what she had understood, but she remained silent.

  In Xiaozhuang's house, several painted eyebrows were raised. When no one spoke, the pleasant bird calls became clear.

  How can she possibly refuse?

  She rose and bowed to Xiaozhuang: "Your servant obeys the imperial edict of the Empress Dowager."

  Xiao Zhuang couldn't help but smile: "You're also a sly one, alright, you can go now, this matter will be taken care of soon."

  Mingfei bowed again and retreated a few steps, then heard Xiaozhuang say: "Right, bring that Ruo Xuan child in to stay for a few days, Su Mo misses her."

  Mingfei nodded again and then backed down.

  The world outside Cining Palace is scorching hot, as if there's nowhere to hide.

  The old woman asked anxiously: "What does Master plan to do?"

  She didn't think of what to do either: "Let's take it one step at a time."

  She didn't expect to run into Kangxi when she passed by the Imperial Garden, and there were almost no one around him. How could he still be so carefree with all the chaos in Jingzhou?

  Kangxi had three eunuchs and four palace maids by his side. Upon closer inspection, one of the palace maids was Wei Ruxue, who had transformed into a beautiful woman as lovely as a peach blossom. Although her body still exuded an inexplicable aura of sacredness that remained unchanged, it only intensified her enchanting charm, leaving even women mesmerized and stunned.

  The emperor wore a cyan robe, his tall and straight figure was like a pine tree, and when he walked with a fan, he looked as handsome and elegant as Lan Chi. The sharp facial features and the deep, dark eyes that swept over slightly made people involuntarily surrender.

  Mingfei bowed to Kangxi, and then waited for others to bow to her. She was about to turn around and leave, but Kangxi had other plans: "The breeze has blown a few times in the Yu Huayuan, it's still cool inside, let the Imperial Consort accompany me for a walk."

  She had no choice but to agree.

  It was June, and everything was in full bloom. The garden was lush and green, and Mingfei's mood lifted a bit as she looked around. Kangxi casually asked, "Have you just come from visiting our ancestors?"

  "In response to Your Majesty's words, I just went."

  "What's wrong, old ancestor?"

  Mingfei didn't want to say this at this time, so she just perfunctorily said: "The old ancestor entrusted me with a few words and then let me go."

  But Kangxi obviously made up his mind to know what Xiaozhuang said: "Oh? Tell me about it."

  Mingfei stopped in her tracks: "Your Majesty, may I take a step back and report?"

  Kangxi also stopped in his tracks: "If you don't say it, I'll know right now. You'd better speak up!"

  Mingfei looked up at Kangxi and then lowered her head again: "The old ancestor asked me to persuade the emperor not to indulge in beauty."

  Kangxi suddenly laughed twice and entered the pavilion in front of him.

  Ming Fei also followed him in.

  Kangxi sat down on the stone bench and looked at Mingfei standing there, saying: "Now, Imperial Consort, please advise me, I'm listening."

  Kangxi's tone was harsh, and everyone could hear it. But in Mingfei's mind, the things that had been vaguely visible for a long time suddenly became clear in an instant, and everything was bright!

  She suddenly straightened her back: "Even if Your Majesty allows me to speak, I will say a few words!"

  "For thirteen generations, the founding of our great Qing dynasty has been built on the flesh and blood of countless soldiers. From the Rebellion of the Three Feudatories to the troubles with Mongolia, even now each province and county still suffers from natural disasters and man-made calamities. For such a vast empire, there is only one thing that Your Majesty needs to do: be mindful of your words. Passing on the throne may seem like a big deal, but if it's not done properly, it will harm the imperial body and worry our ancestors. Looking back at history, whenever an emperor becomes infatuated with beauty, it is always a sign of a dynasty's downfall!"

  She spoke with great enthusiasm, but ignored Kangxi's increasingly dark face.

  Kangxi slammed his hand on the stone table: "How dare you!"

  Everyone was so frightened that they all knelt down.

  The chill of the blue brick floor slowly spread from her knees to her brain, suddenly making her more alert. She then realized that she had indeed spoken out of turn due to a momentary anger, and that impulsiveness was also one of her traits, wasn't this contrary to Kangxi's intention?

  Kangxi sternly said: "Can a single imperial noble consort like you utter such words?! Do your words imply that I, the Emperor, am not doing my job properly?! Am I unworthy of being the Emperor?!"

  He was somewhat angry and paced back and forth before turning around to add: "The Empress's virtues are lacking, she is forbidden from leaving her quarters... for eight days!"

  Mingfei knelt on the ground and kowtowed heavily, saying word by word: "Thank you, Master, for your great kindness!"

  Kangxi looked at Mingfei's appearance, and suddenly seemed to have realized something, and was stunned for a moment. He waved his hand: "Alright, withdraw, today is the first day."

  Pei Huan and Wang Ayi quickly stepped forward to help Ming Fei up.

  Kangxi stood still, looking at the gradually distant back of Mingfei, and suddenly felt that the back was unspeakably desolate and lonely. However, the slender back stood straight and proudly, stubbornly piercing his heart with a sharp pain.

  Kangxi involuntarily touched his chest, hearing Wei Ruxue calling him. When he turned to look, the originally heavenly appearance suddenly became ordinary, and even a little bit of what had attracted him was nowhere to be found. He just felt a slight ache and sourness in his heart, which was filled with other things.

  The author has something to say: The turning point of the two people's feelings appeared once, who can guess what Kangxi is planning to do, don't think too well or too badly of him, he is still good to Mingfei.