The Eighteenth day of the first lunar month was the Wanshou Festival (Emperor’s birthday).
The major tribes of Beimeng and the people of Khorchin arrived at the post station half a month in advance.
The accompanying female relatives also sent posts to the palace, requesting an audience with the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager.
Without the reminder of the imperial physician, thinking of the hometown dialect and old acquaintances, Xiaozhuang ordered people to prepare the ceremonial guard and set off back to the palace with the Empress Dowager on the tenth day.
Fang He has always been with Su Mo’er, who taught her the Four Books for Women and needlework, and also practiced calligraphy based on the Four Books for Women.
In just a few days, she suddenly felt that it was actually quite good to be in front of the emperor.
At least she didn’t have to have her mind full of the three obediences and four virtues, endure the bursting frustration points, and write these things over and over again.
Not to mention needlework, Fang He only sewed socks in both lives.
As a post-95s, even if her parents didn’t care in her previous life, they basically wouldn’t let her wear tattered clothes, and the clothes handed down by her two step-sisters and younger sisters were more than enough.
Therefore, even with the memory and muscle memory of the original body, her needlework could at most be called barely neat, and it was impossible to be outstanding.
But Su Mo’er’s thin gold script and regular script were almost at the level of a copybook, and her double-sided embroidery skills had even participated in the customization of court costumes, which was completely out of Fang He’s reach.
This led to Fang He’s days being more tormenting than when she was taking the college entrance examination.
The eunuch Gu taught her at most to tell her what was not acceptable, what was not good, how to do it correctly, and if not, to assign more homework.
Kangxi taught her even more simply and brutally, directly circling the good and bad characters, and for the bad ones, just practice to death.
Su Mo’er didn’t.
No matter what Fang He’s writing or embroidery looked like, she could find the bright spots, speak softly and praise, and praise Fang He so much that she wanted to roll in the sunshine.
Then Su Mo’er would gently hold Fang He’s hand and teach her when Fang He’s vigilance was at its lowest, until Fang He could meet the set standards on her own.
As a result, Fang He’s writing and embroidery skills were much higher than before, and it is conceivable how much work she had to do.
The most tormenting thing is that Su Mo’er is too responsible, and she has no time to slack off at all!
If she had to choose between the emperor’s side and the Cining Palace, she felt that actually
Kang Shifu was also very kind and worth following.
On the way back, Fang He sat on the phoenix carriage.
Thinking of the cold wind when she came, and feeling the warm phoenix carriage with fire pots at all four corners, Fang He threw the false proposition out of her mind.
It’s still better to leave the palace.
There is no stingy boss outside the palace.
In the middle of winter, no one will care if you want to eat ice cream around the charcoal basin.
The palace is full of perverts!
After serving the Empress Dowager to have breakfast, take medicine, and sleep on the soft couch behind the screen, Fang He hesitated to approach Su Mo’er.
“Mo, after returning to the palace, should I go to the Cining Palace to serve or go back to the Qianqing Palace?”
Su Mo’er asked with a smile,
“Do you want to go back to the emperor’s side?”
She noticed from the beginning that this young girl was very lazy.
She would rather lie down than sit, and she would rather write less than one more drop of ink.
It’s just that she has some shadows of those cat ancestors on the palace wall, but her temperament is not quite the same.
What kind of children in the palace haven’t I seen?
Even the masters have times when they act like old children.
It’s not difficult for me to discipline them.
She didn’t fail to notice Fang He’s torment, but getting used to a way to calm down and kill time early is not a bad thing for Fang He.
Fang He lowered her eyes.
The water powder remade in the Xuan Ning Hall made her wheat-colored face show obvious shyness.
“Of course, I will only listen to what the masters order. I dare not have any thoughts.”
She slightly raised her eyes, but her watery eyes were full of the contradiction of wanting to go back but not daring to say it.
“I’m just curious.
His Majesty called you E Ni, so you must have taken care of him when he was young, right?”
Su Mo’er laughed, “Are you trying to find out about His Majesty from me?”
She didn’t mention the palace rules, which are just the rules to restrain ordinary palace people.
If you really enter the harem, naturally everything should be based on the emperor’s preferences, and it is normal to try every means to serve the master well.
Fang He blinked, “Although I followed the fifth prince to start school, the one who taught me the most was His Majesty. My admiration for the emperor is more endless than the Yellow River. I can’t help but…… just……”
She twisted her waist, lowered her eyes, and her shy and expectant appearance was very appropriate.
Su Mo’er still smiled kindly,
“So what do you want to know? I’m old and don’t remember many things.”
Fang He restrained her excitement and asked in a low voice,
“What did His Majesty like to do most outside of politics and studies when he was young? Is there anything he dislikes?”
Su Mo’er’s eyes flashed.
Does she want to please the emperor or make fun of him?
She smiled and said,
“The emperor likes riding, fishing, and playing tops… He has endless energy from a young age and is the most competitive. “As for dislikes, the emperor dislikes being deceived and dislikes others going against him.”
Fang He’s face remained unchanged.
She heard Su Mo’er’s warning, but she dared not deceive that master.
At most, she was a bit perfunctory.
“Oh, right, His Majesty doesn’t like sweets. If you go back to the emperor’s side, don’t break the taboo,” Su Mo’er added.
Fang He: “…………” No way, if she is so sweet, why does Kang Shifu still get angry?
But Fang He didn’t expect to find out any inside information from Su Mo’er.
It’s best to find out, but if not, just make a gesture to show her eagerness to return.
She didn’t ask, but Su Mo’er brought up the palace affairs instead.
“Since you care about His Majesty, I can’t hide it from you. His Majesty’s mood is probably not very good these days. You have to be careful when you return to the palace.”
Huh?
Fang He’s eyes brightened, “Why is His Majesty unhappy?”
Quickly say it out to make her happy.
Su Mo’er said, “The palace sent a message earlier, saying that the sixth prince was seriously ill and unconscious, and the imperial physicians were at a loss. When Empress De heard about it, she fainted from crying.”
Fang He pinched her fingers, feeling that something was missing, but still sighed very cooperatively.
“The Empress is not easy……”
Hui Fei and Rong Fei are not very favored now, but with the speed of De Fei’s promotion like a rocket, her favor and presence are no less than that of Yi Fei.
But De Fei gave birth to daughters in the twenty-first and twenty-second years, one of whom died young and the other was not very healthy, which made her a little more low-key.
And it was not without reason.
She said it was for the sixth prince, eating vegetarian food and praying in the small Buddhist hall of Yonghe Palace, praying for the royal family and the deceased child as well as the sixth prince.
Kangxi appreciated her maternal heart and often had meals in Yonghe Palace, and he would also be pushed to others by De Fei, earning enough of this master’s favor.
It was hard for the sixth prince to get better, get out of bed, and walk around in Yonghe Palace, but he fell into the water and was critically ill again.
Fang He felt suffocated just listening to it.
Su Mo’er’s smile remained unchanged.
Which woman in the palace is easy?
Some things, however, cannot be judged only by the surface.
As for the death of the eighth princess, how much of it was De Fei’s doing, they all had a vague idea.
Low-key, it was just the master’s warning, and also afraid that if the royal concubine didn’t live long, she would fight to the death.
She spoke slowly and deliberately,
“The sixth prince has not woken up, and Empress De also cries and can’t get out of bed. The emperor had no choice but to confine the newly delivered Tong Pin to her quarters, and the sixth princess she gave birth to was also sent to the royal concubine.”
Fang He was stunned for a moment, and a slight chill spread in her heart,
“Did Tong Pin hit the sixth prince?”
Su Mo’er shook her head, “The messenger didn’t say that. It is estimated that it was not found out. Falling into the water in the imperial garden, there are too many opportunities to do something with people coming and going.”
Fang He did not have the habit of pitying others.
She only pitied herself, but at this moment, her heart was inexplicably twisted in pain.
“If it can’t be found out, why was Tong Pin confined to her quarters?”
“And with Tong Pin’s status, even if she is confined to her quarters, she can still take care of the princess, right?”
Su Mo’er looked at Fang He gently:
“This is what I want to tell you.”
“The royal family is different from ordinary families. The emperor is not only their husband, but also the emperor of the entire Great Qing. What he has to consider is not only right and wrong, but also pros and cons.”
Confined Tong Pin, De Fei would be quiet, and Tong Pin could also recover well.
For Kangxi, it was a fair balance.
The sixth princess was recorded under the royal concubine’s name to prevent Tong Jia from always thinking about having a child.
Tong Jia also knew that this was the emperor’s warning to her……
Kangxi is a good emperor, but not a good husband.
Those honors and riches that outsiders envy, power and status, often have to be obtained through endurance.
If there is a choice, life outside the palace is actually easier.
The phoenix carriage was warm like spring, but Fang He’s heart was getting colder and colder.
Her peach blossom-like lips were tightly pursed, and she was silent.
She knew very well that Su Mo’er was not persuading her to leave the palace.
It was to let her understand in advance that since there was no choice, she had to learn to endure and be clear-headed, and not do what she should not do.
Su Mo’er didn’t say anything more.
She said these things because she saw that although Fang He was reluctant, she understood the principle of being a burden, pushed away the gold box given by Wu Yunzhu, knew her own unusual background, but never asked too many questions, and thought this girl was still clear-headed, so she gave a little reminder.
Xixiang.
Many things need to be figured out by Fang He herself, and if she understands clearly, life in the palace will be better.
If she can’t understand it, every day will be a torment, and the bitterness will not be the masters and the emperor, but herself.
After a long while, until entering the West City Gate, Fang He leaned against the curtain in the outer room, lifted a corner, and quietly looked at the busy people outside.
Just entering the outer city, the common people were not well-dressed, and most of their faces were dark and tanned.
They knelt on the ground, looking numb and lifeless, even more shocking than the lowest-ranking rough palace maids in the palace.
After entering the inner city, the common people also mostly wore hemp clothes, with few bright colors, and their expressions and actions of giving way and bowing all revealed the unique hardships of this world.
It is obvious that life outside is not that easy either.
But the more she understands the survival rules of the Forbidden City, the more Fang He can’t bear the thought of herself becoming a member like Tong Pin in the future.
She just wants to leave the palace!
Even if it means poverty…… well, never mind, the shoulders of a giant can at least help her live a slightly better life; being poor is out of the question.
Pfft, pfft, pfft!
Even if she has to worry and run around for firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea…… never mind, she can save some silver and probably hire a maid to take care of these things; she would just end up burning the kitchen.
As they approached the barrel river in front of the Shenwu Gate, Fang He, with an unchanging expression, lowered the curtain and steadied her nerves.
In any case, she clearly had another path to take; as long as she could be free, she had the ability to live a good life.
Why should she resign herself to fate?
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