Concubine Wen Xi in Qing Dynasty

After October, the weather became colder day by day. An He asked Feiqing to go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to get this month's monthly schedule and winter clothes. The elephant trunk incense burner was in a daze.Only after she officially registered her name did she realize that managing the harem is not easy.Concubine Tong Guifei was seriously ill. The Empress Dowager handed over part of the power to assist the Sixth Palace to Anhe. During this time, she was so busy taking care of the affairs of the harem that she almost failed to take care of the affairs of the Qixiang Palace.

Fortunately, Madam Wanyan and Jinxiu can both help out. The Ministry of Internal Affairs also transferred a seasoned chief eunuch Zhuang Hai to lead Xiao Hezi and Xiao Luzi to take care of it inside and out. So as not to be in a hurry.

"Master, I brought back all the new clothes made by the House of Internal Affairs." Feiqing handed the monthly rules to Madam Wanyan, "Master said that he would embroider a gown for Sixth Brother and Tenth Brother, and the slaves brought it back from the House of Internal Affairs." When the four cloud satins came back, they all picked colors like sapphire blue and Buddha's head green according to the master's instructions."

"Leave it alone, I'll do it in the afternoon." An He handed the hand stove to Fei Hong, "It's getting cold, go and speed up the charcoal."

"Yes."

"My servant just heard something on the way back from the House of Internal Affairs. I don't know if I should tell the master." Mammy Wanyan arranged to go to the kitchen to stare at the stewed soup for An He, bit her lip and said in a low voice.

"What's the matter?" Seeing Feiqing's hesitation, An He asked, "Let's listen."

"I heard that the nanny serving the third princess deliberately deducted the salary of the third princess because Mrs. Zhaojia fell out of favor for many years." Feiqing whispered, "I don't know if it's true, but the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs say so. In a straight-forward manner, they also said that those nuns often went to the House of Internal Affairs to ask for bird's nests and silks because they were the third princess's nanny, and then asked someone to take them out of the palace to sell."

"Is that true?" An He frowned.Mrs. Zhaojia was the first group of old people to serve Kangxi, and his appearance can only be regarded as handsome, so after giving birth to the third princess, he gradually fell out of favor.And the third princess was not raised by the nobleman Zhaojia in the past, but was raised by the empress dowager until she was sent to the princess's house.It's just that the empress dowager has the eldest princess and the second princess from Concubine Rong, and the third princess with a dull personality doesn't get much favor. It's just that those nuns don't think much of the royal princess anymore. This is how you abuse the princess.

"Many people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs are discussing it." Feiqing replied.

"According to what you said, those who served the third princess did not do such a thing once or twice. Since everyone in the Ministry of Internal Affairs knows, why don't they know how to report to Concubine Tong, and let those nuns neglect Princess, don’t you even want your head?” An He stood up, “Bring me a cloak and ask someone to prepare the sedan chair, I’m going to Chengqian Palace.”

"Yes." Feiqing hurriedly brought a cloak of red silk and squirrel skin, put it on An He and tied it, and followed her to Chengqian Palace.

The smell of herbs lingered inside and outside the main hall of Chengqian Palace. An He wrinkled his nose slightly, retracted his cloak and walked in.Concubine Tong was sitting on the couch, covered with a pomegranate-red quilt made of vase-cut silk, and Xiao Tong was wearing a fragrant concubine-colored silk Ruyi cloud pattern dress, standing aside and feeding her medicine.

"How did my sister come here today?" Concubine Tong asked with a smile as she wiped off the medicinal juice from her lips with a handkerchief.

An He glanced at Xiao Tong who was on the side, and saw that she had bowed obediently and retreated before saying: "Today is the day to go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to receive the monthly order. I thought it was nothing important, but the slaves around me asked about it." This is why I hurried over to discuss with my sister, after all, it is also about the emperor's heir. Feiqing, tell Concubine Tong what you have heard today."

"Yes." Feiqing spoke slowly and methodically, and straightened Concubine Tong's face became serious, "I feel that the little eunuchs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs must have heard or witnessed it before, so I feel Then I notified the noble concubine and master immediately."

"How dare they talk about it in front of you?" Who in the palace doesn't know that Feiqing is a palace servant next to the noble concubine Niu Hulu, and the little eunuchs of the House of Internal Affairs dare to talk in front of her so brazenly, so they have to call Tong Guifei herself I also have some doubts.

"It wasn't discussed in front of the servants, but on the way back, the servants overheard three or two little eunuchs arguing. Some people said that they leaked something and let the servants listen." Feiqing said, "The one who said the leak just gave up a few words The words were covered and dragged away, so the slaves did not see clearly who they were."

"This is a serious matter, so I didn't dare to go directly to the princess's office to investigate, so I brought Feiqing to my sister to discuss it." An He said, "Whether it is true or not, there are such rumors circulating outside. It's better for us to ask someone to ask carefully first." Among the contacts Xiao Zhao left for her, there were very few people involved with the elder brother and the princess, so it was difficult for her to inquire about the news.

"Sister is right, the emperor's bloodline does not allow others to abuse it." In the past, such a thing did not happen when Empress Xiaozhao was here.Concubine Tong only thought that An He was giving her this face, and did not make a fuss to investigate thoroughly, so as not to make people feel that she had slackened in supervising the harem because of her illness during this period. "Thank you sister for telling me this time."

"Then I'll take my leave first." Seeing that she had already told the matter, An He didn't think about staying in Chengqian Palace any longer, so she nodded slightly to Concubine Tong Gui and left.

"Master, why didn't you take care of this matter yourself? The Empress Dowager also assigned the power of assisting the Sixth Palace to Master." Feiqing asked after returning to Qixiang Palace, "If Master came forward to punish those nuns? Nanny, it is equivalent to gaining prestige in the palace, others will naturally be more jealous of the master, and the emperor will treat the master differently."

"I don't need others to be more jealous." An He took a sip of Xinyang Maojian, "Yinzhen's closeness to the prince has already attracted the attention of many concubines, and the empress dowager gave me the right to assist the six palaces, so I was even called a person in the harem. Jealousy, if I take this opportunity to gain authority, I'm afraid it will make them feel even more uncomfortable. It's better to sell favors to Concubine Tong."

"It's just that we should tell Mrs. Zhaojia about this. After all, she is the biological mother of the third princess, and she is still living in Qixiang Palace." Feiqing said.

An He was silent for a moment before saying: "Find a suitable time to tell her, tell her to bear it for the time being, and don't rush to the princess office."

"Your servant understands." Fei Qing replied.

An He also sent people to inquire about the follow-up processing. Concubine Tong's actions were quick enough, and soon found out that there was indeed such a thing.I don't know if Concubine Tong was intentional or unintentional. When she brought these evidences to Kangxi, she didn't mention Anhe's credit for reporting the news. Qing muttered for a long time, saying that Concubine Tong Gui was a white-eyed wolf.

"Okay, stop muttering, it's not a big deal." An He said reassuringly.

"Obviously it was the master who reminded Concubine Tong of such a thing, and now she sold her a favor, but she turned her face and refused to recognize anyone, and took all the credit for herself, and saved a lot of good impressions in front of the Empress Dowager." Fei Qing muttered He said, "It's better for Mr. Zhaojia, knowing that the master must have worked hard in it, and someone sent something to the master."

It was Concubine Tong's ineffectiveness in monitoring the harem, so she didn't dare to tell others casually that she didn't discover this matter for the sake of face, otherwise where would she put her face?An He took a bite of his snack, and said: "The emperor ordered Yinxuan to go to elder brother's office after the spring, instead of caring about Concubine Tong, you might as well help Madam Wanyan pack up. I won't pursue it anymore." , don’t keep it in your heart, lest people think we are stingy and caressing.”

"Yes." Feiqing took a few deep breaths and then fell to the ground to calm down the dissatisfaction in her heart, "The emperor has decreed that the people around the third princess will be changed, and the original nuns will be sent to the Punishment Department. Anyone in the Ministry of Internal Affairs who knew about this matter but did not report it was demoted and questioned. The father of the Empress Dowager was also implicated in the removal of the position of the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs because of this incident. Plum."

"Master, Mother Chen who is beside the Empress Dowager is here." Feihong came in at this time to report.

"Please come in quickly." An He put the hand stove on the table, and said after Madam Chen finished her salute, "Why is Mama here at this time, it's still snowing outside."

"At the order of the Empress Dowager, I brought something to the imperial concubine." Chen Momo said with a slight smile, "The empress dowager knows in her heart that the imperial concubine is the first person to know about the three princesses, and it is the imperial concubine who is going to inform It’s just that the emperor has already praised Concubine Tong, and the Empress Dowager can’t say anything more, so she ordered the servants to bring something to the concubine.”

"I'm just talking about it, it's not worth the empress dowager's heart." Looking at the things sent by the empress dowager, "I will go with my mother to thank the empress dowager now."

"The empress dowager ordered that you don't have to thank me, the imperial concubine just accept it." Chen Momo took the purse from Feiqing, and the smile on her face deepened.No wonder the Empress Dowager likes Concubine Niu Hulu, she is gentle and doesn't like to fight, and she has two elder brothers by her side, and the rewards are generous. "The servant girl has conveyed the meaning of the Empress Dowager, and now I have to deliver things to Aunt Su Ma, before it's too late."

The "Aunt Su Ma" that Nanny Chen spoke of was Su Mo'er, the maidservant who served the Empress Dowager since she was a child.She instructed Feihong to say a few words: "When Yinxuan was studying with the emperor and the prince, he also heard the emperor talk about Aunt Su Ma, and the emperor also took Yinxuan to see Aunt Su Ma. Today I also have the cheek to invite Madam Helping me bring some things to Aunt Su Ma is also my way of thanking her."

Kangxi was enlightened by Lagu Su Ma when he was young, and Yinzuo was also educated when he went to visit her with Kangxi, so it is not an excuse for An He to say that he wants to thank her.Aunt Su Ma didn't take medicine or take a bath all year round, so Anhe didn't ask anyone to pack up herbal medicines for her health. She only asked people to prepare winter clothes, red bamboo charcoal, a few brocade quilts, and a hand-copied Buddhist scripture.

"It's not something expensive, it's just that the weather is really cold, so I sent some clothes and quilts over." An He said, "It's all too late."

"The imperial concubine has a heart." Chen Momo smiled, "The servants will leave first."

"Mommy, go slowly." After asking Feiqing to send Nanny Chen out, An He suddenly realized that in fact, the Empress Dowager took things seriously, and she deserved to be the person who assisted two generations of kings. It really is different.Concubine Tong Gui wanted to restore her impression in front of the Empress Dowager, did she screw it up this time?