Concubine Wen Xi in Qing Dynasty

"Master, the emperor is going to bring Sixth Brother and Tenth Brother over here." Seeing that An He's black hair was loose, Fei Hong said, "Your servant should comb Master's hair first."

The long hair that had just been washed and dried still smelled of sweet-scented osmanthus soap. Fei Hong quickly took the white jade inlaid lotus pattern flat square on the dressing table and fixed the long hair. A pair of cress-headed flowers and a gold-threaded phoenix-pinned pearl hairpin, and a pair of gold-threaded drop earrings for An He to wear.Originally, Feihong wanted to apply powder to An He's eyebrows, but An He waved her hand and refused. She took a piece of rouge and put it between her lips and licked it lightly, adding a little pink to her lips.

The emperor came to Qixiang Palace for the first time after returning to the palace, and the master was so careless.Feihong was anxious, and knew that her master would definitely not listen to her persuasion, so she could only worry on the sidelines.Speaking of which, the master often faces the emperor without a face, and the emperor seems to be quite resigned. Could this be the reason why the master is unwilling to wear makeup?

An He didn't know what Feihong was thinking, but said lightly: "Go and tell the people in the small kitchen to prepare some hot food. The emperor came back from Mongolia and was exposed to the sun and rain, so he will cook a ginseng chicken soup. Yinxuan and Yinxuan Er has been out with her for so long, and she must also miss the dishes in the capital very much, you know what the two of them like to eat, so just tell the cook to cook it."

"Yes." Feihong quickly recovered and replied.

Rather than saying that the soup was stewed for Kangxi, it might as well be that Anhe wanted to give it to his two sons out of selfish intentions.Seeing Yinxuan and Yin'e, who had never liked soup, both gulped down the soup that Feiqing brought up, An He was both happy and worried. What did the two brothers eat to live in Mongolia?

Kangxi paid attention to "eat without talking, sleep without talking", and after the food was withdrawn and served with hot tea and melons and fruits, Yin'e stuck to Anhe and talked about the matter of touring Mongolia.There are large flocks of sheep like white clouds, vigorous deer and sea dongqing flying with wings.Yin'e said with a look full of admiration: "The prince's brother even hunted a bear this time, it's so big."

"So powerful?" An He exclaimed with dignity, "It must be admired by the princes of Mongolia."

"That's right, the elder brother of the prince gave the bear skin to Khan Ama." Yin'e said, "When the son grows up, he will also hunt a bear for Erniang, and peel the bear skin to make a mat for Erniang."

An He glanced at him, saw that Kangxi was asking about Yinxuan's homework, and the tea in hand was getting cold, so he asked someone to serve hot tea again, and said: "The emperor just came back from Mongolia, it's better to take a rest. Slave servant Look, the emperor, Yinxuan and Yin'e are all tanned a lot, but they look more energetic."

"I often ride horses to hunt, there is no one who doesn't get tanned." Kangxi took a sip of tea, and then asked Yinxuan to take Yin'e down to review his homework.

An He knew that Kangxi sent the two children away on purpose, and probably wanted to tell her about the concubine Dong, so she also let Jinxiu and others who were waiting in the house go out to wait.Since receiving Kangxi's letter, An He has stopped asking about Concubine Duan's condition, but it doesn't mean she really does nothing.After beating around the bush and finding out from Yan Zhu that the Dong family is now relying on Mingzhu to build momentum for the elder brother, An He also understands why Kangxi wants to take action--there is nothing else to do for the time being, so let's use the Dong family to scare the chickens and monkeys first.

Concubine Duan is not a worry-free person either. Not only did she not reflect on herself but she hated the Empress Dowager after being deprived of her concubine's golden book and seal, she also secretly encouraged some nobles, often concubines and concubines to make trouble, if it weren't for those The concubine is timid and worried about offending others, so the harem might become a mess.

"Although I didn't tell you about the concubine's concubine, I still have to do it." It was probably the first time for Kangxi to explain to others the reason for such a move, so he was a little short of words, "This Just pretend you don’t know about it, and don’t casually tell others about it.”

"Yes." An He replied with a smile, "The emperor has his reasons for doing this, and everything is just according to the emperor's orders."

Kangxi was very satisfied with An He's knowledge and interest. He put down the teacup in his hand and said, "I still have some buckskins and roe deer skins. I'll ask Li Dequan to bring them to you tomorrow."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward."

After watching Kangxi go to court early the next morning, An He took a nice bath, put on a newly made summer dress, and went to the Palace of Compassion and Ning to pay his respects.The weather in August was still a bit sultry. As soon as she stepped into the main hall of the Compassionate Ning Palace, she felt piercing gazes from all directions. She glanced around and saw envy, jealousy, and anger in the eyes of all the concubines. have.

The first night Kangxi returned to the palace, he stayed in Qixiang Palace. No wonder these women disliked her so much. Concubine Tong Shu, who used to hide it well, also gave her a sour look. Later, it was Concubine Tong who gave her a cross look before she calmed down. .

The Empress Dowager also looked a lot tanned, a little thinner, and less energetic.Everyone thought that the Empress Dowager was a little tired because of the exhaustion of the boat, so they all greeted her well and left obediently.Before stepping out of the Compassionate Ning Palace, An He's eyelids twitched suddenly, and he suddenly had a bad premonition in his heart.This year is 26 years. Is the body of the Empress Dowager really as safe as she saw?

"Come back to your senses, you've been distracted for a long time." Seeing An He staring at the censer with green smoke floating in front of her eyes, Concubine Yi smiled and stretched out her hand in front of her eyes, "Fortunately, I missed you and wanted to bring you Some soil instruments from Mongolia. You are kind, just leave me alone like this."

"It's my fault." An He blinked and recovered, smiled and offered Yi Fei a cup of tea, "Sister, don't be angry."

Concubine Yi pretended to be serious and took the teacup from An He, took a sip of tea before saying, "What were you thinking just now?"

"Seeing that the Empress Dowager is tired behind her back, I'm just a little worried." An He rubbed the nine-bend plain silver bracelet on his wrist, "The Empress Dowager is also getting old, so you have to be more careful."

"You always like to think too much." Yifei picked up an apple and put it into her mouth, "The Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager have not returned to Horqin for a long time, and it is not easy to meet their family this time. During this time in Mongolia I think the Empress Dowager is happier with the Empress Dowager, and the Empress Dowager also said that if it wasn't for her poor health, she must compare her horse riding skills with those Fujins from Mongolia."

The Empress Dowager was a jewel in Horqin when she was young, and she was proficient in horseback riding and archery. However, after she married Taizong at the age of 13, she seldom set foot on the Mongolian grasslands, let alone ride horses with her relatives.An He sighed, and said: "It would be unhappy to see the family of the Horqin Borzigit family. Like us, if we can go out of the palace and go home for a walk, then we will be happy enough."

"Isn't it?" Concubine Yi said again, "But Prince Horqin originally wanted to send Gege to the palace to serve the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager, but later the Empress Dowager refused. I'm also sad about Gege, Eleven He looks like a two-year-old, wearing a bright red Mongolian robe, and looks pretty, and I heard that he is somewhat similar to the Empress Dowager when she was young." After saying that, he glanced at An He meaningfully.

Is it true that Mongolian Gege, who is eleven or twelve years old, is only serving the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager?An He glanced back with a smile, and they both understood each other.Although Horqin is the Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager's natal family, but now the elder brother of the Empress Dowager is no longer in charge.Apart from concubine Borjigit, there were no Mongolian concubines in Kangxi's harem. Horqin wanted to make an idea of ​​the prince this time, and it's no wonder the empress dowager resolutely refused.

It's just that in this way, the Empress Dowager is afraid that she will be sad.The Horqin Department wanted to reproduce the prosperity of the golden family in the emperor's harem, and even used the excuse of serving the empress dowager to send Xiao Gege into the palace. How can such a calculation not be chilling?The Empress Dowager is not the girl who had to marry Emperor Taizong for the sake of Horqin, and the Qing Dynasty is no longer the Qing Dynasty that needs Horqin's support.

Just after the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, news came from the Palace of Compassion and Ning that the Empress Dowager had contracted a cold and fell ill.When An He got the news, he was still doing needlework. With a little force on his hand, the silver needle stuck into his finger, and there was a little blood when he pulled it out.She put her finger in her mouth, and waited until the smell of blood dissipated before saying, "Changing clothes for me."

What she was worried about finally happened.

The Empress Dowager was the first to arrive at the Palace of Compassion, followed by An He and Concubine Tong.After Kangxi received the news, he also put down the court affairs and led the prince to arrive. The whole palace was filled with a tense atmosphere. After the doctor Wang gave the empress dowager a diagnosis and treatment, Kangxi asked sharply, "How is the empress dowager?"

"The wind and cold came suddenly this time. The empress dowager is already weak and she is quite old. I dare not take heavy medicine to disperse the wind and cold, so I can only prescribe mild medicine for the empress to take." Imperial Physician Wang Hastily replied.

"Go and prescribe the medicine." Kangxi asked Imperial Physician Wang to quickly prescribe the prescription and decoct the medicine, while he took one side of the handkerchief, soaked it in water, wrung it out, folded it, and placed it on the Empress Dowager's forehead.This time the cold was accompanied by a fever, the imperial physicians discussed and drew up a prescription for Kangxi to look at, and then went down to decoct the medicine, lest Kangxi would be angry if he was too late.

The concubines were sobbing outside, and Kangxi felt very unlucky, sitting beside the empress dowager's sick bed, his hands clenched into fists were bruised.An He took a step forward and said, "Let the people waiting outside go back to their respective palaces, lest they make noise and disturb the Empress Dowager's rest."

"Li Dequan, follow the concubine's orders and tell them not to come to the Palace of Compassion and Peace." Kangxi waved his hand impatiently.

"Hey." Not long after Li Dequan walked out, Yingyingyanyan's voice outside suddenly became much less.

Concubine Tong was about to persuade Kangxi to pay attention to the news and not get tired when she heard the Empress Dowager cough and woke up.Kangxi quickly helped the Empress Dowager up, and An He brought a big pillow for the Empress Dowager to lean on, but she was on the side but didn't know what to do, as if she was a superfluous character in the whole scene.

"Why is the emperor here? Have you finished dealing with the affairs in the court?" The empress dowager's voice was still a little hoarse, and An He asked someone to bring warm boiled water to Kangxi, and asked him to serve the empress dowager and drink it up.

"My ancestor is sick, so my grandson doesn't have the time to deal with government affairs." Kangxi handed the cup to Concubine Tong.

"Nonsense." The Empress Dowager said, "I'm just infected with the wind and cold. Is it worth the emperor leaving the business at hand?" Then he glanced at the prince who was watching her anxiously, "Yinfeng has to study tonight. Homework, you still have to explain to him the political affairs, go back."

"Grandson..."

"If the emperor trusts the servant girl, why not leave it to the servant girl and Concubine Niu Hulu." Concubine Tong Guifei interrupted at the right time, "The servant girl will take care of the empress dowager for the emperor's good life."

The relationship between Kangxi and the Empress Dowager cannot be explained clearly in a few words. He naturally hopes that he can serve the Empress Dowager himself. Concubine Tong's words did not have a good effect, but Kangxi frowned even more. .The Empress Dowager patted the back of Kangxi's hand, and whispered in Kangxi's ear: "This time the Mongolian Emperor got a lot of news from the Junggar tribe, so he has to go back and make preparations."

Kangxi struggled for a while, and finally agreed with the Empress Dowager, stood up and turned to An He and said, "The Empress Dowager will leave it to you, and take care of me for a good life. If there is any news, I will come back immediately."

"Yes."

Seeing that Kangxi didn't even look at her, Concubine Tong opened her mouth, not knowing what she did wrong.