Return (Part 2)
Good news always excites people.
The generals and soldiers who went to war thought about getting promoted and making a fortune, reuniting with their families. The women in the two western wings were like long-awaited sweet dew that was about to arrive, walking with wind under their feet, even the eunuchs seemed to have found their master's heart and smiled at everyone they met, beaming with joy.
Several princesses secretly rummaged through their rooms, selecting the brightest fabrics and accessories, planning to create new styles and adorn themselves, so that when Grandfather returned, he would notice them at a glance... Guo Mama quickly received the news.
Looking at her master's careless appearance, she helplessly instructed Suwen and the others to prepare the most beautiful clothes and jewelry for their master, lest those foxy women would capture the heart of Fourth Master.
Su Wen Ling Shu: "......"
Which piece of clothing or set of jewelry is not beautiful? She has always dressed up for her own pleasure, not for the sake of Beile Ye. What's more, when facing Gu Yehou and others who are thinking of their master, they can't even say that their master heard the news that Beile Ye was going to return to Beijing and only responded with a "got it" before retreating back into her room to play with her rewards.
For the master, Beile's return means more things to deal with in the backyard. However, it's also time for the master to pay attention and have a son of his own.
"Both of them said in unison: 'Don't worry, don't worry.'"
Madam Guo nodded and thought to herself that it was fortunate that Suwen and Lingzhu, the two maidservants, were aware of what was going on; otherwise, relying on their masters, her young masters would not know when they could come out.
Recently, Guwalgiya has also said a lot of such things when she entered the palace. Yunzhu is very clear about their thoughts. Unfortunately, after scanning Jingren Palace with her divine consciousness, the Empress Dowager won't last for a few more days. Will Hongli have to observe mourning rituals when he returns?
Little bun, there's still some left...
Still looking at the treasure in front of her, it's really "what you think is what you get". Her eyes shone brightly as she gazed at the jade tripod placed before her. Saying jade tripod was just a convenient way to refer to it, although it looked like it was carved from a single piece of sheep fat white jade, Yunzhu knew that its material wasn't jade stone the moment her hand touched it.
It looks like gold but isn't gold, it looks like jade but isn't jade. Although her spiritual awareness can't thoroughly distinguish its material, she can feel that it has a lot of energy. The luster on the surface is not so much a warm and delicate jade quality as a manifestation of an active power. This is a kind of mutual resonance between a cultivator and a spiritual instrument.
This jade tripod is about one foot long, wide and high, occupying nearly half of the space in the two-foot square gold-inlaid mother-of-pearl red lacquer box with a yellow lacquer bottom that Su Peisheng brought.
The jade tripod is slightly smaller at the top and bottom, with a flat round body in the middle, three legs, and a lid. At first glance, Yunzhu determined that it was not an ordinary hand warmer commonly found in wealthy families - she also had one of these small jade hand warmers, but this one was obviously too big to be used as a hand warmer, and it seemed somewhat suitable for use as an incense burner. However, looking at the raised body of the furnace, there were three fist-sized "windows", through which could be seen that in the center of the furnace there was a small jade ball about the size of three fists, spinning rapidly.
What truly made her realize that this was an alchemy furnace at a glance were the seals carved on the jade tripod and the jade ball inside, because she had begun to comprehend the primordial mark left by the Jade Orchid Tree. This made her clearly understand that in the ancient Primordial Era, there was no such thing as cultivation techniques or methods. Even when Hongjun lectured on the Dao, he spoke of his own insights; other cultivators could either learn from them or not. At that time, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was dense, and those who could attain the Great Dao were either those with a resolute and enlightened mind, or those with high spirituality and enlightenment, or perhaps those with great merit...
The emergence of Gongfa, Zhenfa, Yinjue and later Fu Lu is only to better absorb the gradually lost spiritual energy of heaven and earth into the body, refine the physical body, and nourish the yuan Shen. Or make the power of one's own magic more powerful - these are not necessary in ancient times, but now it is a good thing for Yunzhu to learn from. Once the cultivation reaches a certain level, one can naturally sense the five elements from nature, deduce techniques, respond to the heavenly way, and naturally understand the connections between things.
The patterns on the jade tripod are obviously to make the true fire heat more evenly and prevent the spiritual yuan from leaking out, fully integrating them together, as well as other different functions of layered arrays... all explain that its function is a medicine tripod or elixir tripod.
The lid of this tripod is impossible to lift with ordinary human strength, as there is a huge suction force inside the tripod that tightly holds it in place, making it seem like one body. The person who originally obtained it must have used many methods but still couldn't open it, otherwise it wouldn't have been classified by successive emperors as "rare and strange". According to Su Peisheng, this thing was probably obtained from the Ming dynasty's national treasury, possibly because Li Zicheng's fleeing subordinates thought it was too large to carry away.
The Cloud Pearl couldn't open the lid with its internal True Yuan power, so it thought for a moment and wondered if it needed to use its spiritual awareness. It decided to give it a try, but since it was daytime and there wasn't much time to research, it could only put it away in its spatial storage for now and deal with it later.
This medicine cauldron, apart from the lid that cannot be opened, has other strange aspects that are no longer verifiable. However, there is another known bamboo-root-carved twin-crane- holding-peach-bowl. When water is poured into the bowl, after a short while, it will emit a faint scent of bamboo. If wine is poured in, the flavor becomes even more rich and intense.
The modeling is not so exaggerated, the flying cranes on both ends of the bowl are only about one inch in size. Yunzhu's divine consciousness explored the pale green jade-like bowl and found a small cluster of light green bamboo essence inside, which made it endless, no wonder it can be poured into the bowl to get variation, I'm afraid this bamboo root is also quite legendary.
Su Peisheng did not read out what the emperor had bestowed, but in the box was a note recording the origin of these things. The pair of crane-mouthed peach bowls were tribute presented by the Governor of Sichuan in the 12th year of Kangxi's reign. After Kangxi played with it for a while and didn't find any other use for it, he discarded it.
Would you rather spend a year eating and drinking with it? She has another place where she can make the most of its remaining heat.
Think and do, Yunzhu brought a bowl to the right bank of the spiritual pool in space. The soil between the spiritual pool and the space wall has been expanded by more than three meters due to the continuous expansion of the space. The lush arrow bamboo, nan bamboo, and calabaza bamboo grew towards the spiritual pool with a thickness of over one meter or nearly two meters against the space wall. It was still Yunzhu who from time to time pulled out the bamboo shoots to eat, took out the grown bamboos to make bamboo tubes or built bamboo racks, consuming them without stopping.
She placed the bowl on the soil in front of the bamboo forest, scooped up a ladle of spiritual pool water and poured it down, then applied a simple Spring Breeze Rain technique. The small bowl trembled slightly, roots grew out from the bottom of the bowl and pierced into the ground, and a tender shoot sprouted from within... Done, afterwards there will be an additional type of spiritual bamboo in this space. Yunzhu smiled contentedly, flashed her body and returned to the house once more. Continuing to rummage through treasures.
Among these gifts, there were three fruit pits that made Yunzhu feel extremely interesting - this made her certain that the box of things sent by Su Peisheng was indeed intentional. The color of the fruit pits is golden yellow, and from the note it can be known that they were left by Su Ma Lai's wife. As for who ate the pulp, whether it was Xiaozhuang, Su Ma Lai's wife, Shunzhi or Kangxi, it is not clear, only knowing that the eunuchs in charge of the Lingzhi Garden in the palace could not grow them alive.
She looked a bit strange at the last sentence, did the emperor give it to himself thinking that he could plant it alive?
Spiritual energy detected, has vitality, can be planted. She casually planted them in the empty space she designated as an orchard, and watered them with spiritual pool water, wondering what kind of fruit would grow out of it.
The remaining thing is just a sea-blue-colored ball, which looks like something that kids play with, inside there are plastic small fish and a rubber ball that will emit light when thrown with force, making people feel a bit interesting. However, this ball, although crystal clear, has low transparency, you can't shatter it or deform it no matter how hard you throw it, nor does anything shiny appear... Something that can enter the imperial palace's treasure vault shouldn't be an ordinary item, Yunzhu picked it up with a hint of disappointment, her divine sense habitually probed inside, but was unexpectedly bounced back?!
"Isn't this some kind of treasure?" Her eyes lit up, the imperial palace really has a lot of good things, she's starting to look forward to the day when Hongli becomes emperor and she'll be in charge. Not to mention anything else, won't she be able to freely roam the inner treasury without spending any money?! Re-examining the ball in her hand, looking left and right, there's nothing particularly special about it, forget it, she'll study it again later, if not then it can be a toy for the kids in the future.
Look at the list, "Unknown spherical object? Knife and spear cannot penetrate, water and fire cannot invade?" It's indeed concise and to the point. In a certain year, in a certain place, an official made a report. It's really strange and unusual, if it weren't for encountering someone with spiritual awareness like myself, who else could recognize its extraordinariness?
Throw it into space as well.
There are still many things that are normal, such as this ivory warship, which is about a foot long and combines various techniques such as hollowing out and relief carving, can be placed in the house, exquisitely crafted like a work of art, even modern times may not find something comparable.
On the multi-layered shelf in the bedroom.
For example, this jade carving of fruit, flower basket, apple, pear, banana, and grapes, with a glossy finish, bright colors, and exquisite craftsmanship, is placed in the Ming Room. It not only attracts the attention of those who come to pay their respects but also lets others know what the emperor has bestowed upon her, saving them from guessing.
……
Chengqian Palace
The Empress learned that the Qing had won against Dzungar, and the army was about to return to the capital. She was overjoyed, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, and she beamed with delight, responding to the congratulations of the palace servants: "Congratulations, Your Majesty! The Fourth Prince will be back soon!"
"Wu A Ge returned to Kyoto and was promoted to Beile before the war was over, I wonder if Si A Ge will be promoted to Jun Wang or Qin Wang?"
"How can such great merit be rewarded with just a promotion to a duke of a commandery?"
"Alright, that's enough." Xi Fei lightly scolded, but her face showed a joyful expression. She looked towards the Qianqing Palace, thinking to herself: "Hong Li is still young, it's unlikely the Emperor will promote him to Prince of the First Rank. Becoming a Duke would be good too, and there's even more possibility he'll promote me to Noble Consort."
"Master, the fourth prince has returned. What about Miss Su? How do you plan to deal with her? If you're thinking of using next year's selection to marry her off to the fourth prince, High Consort's brow furrowed slightly, fearing that the Empress's illness might not last until next year, and by then, the Emperor might very likely postpone the selection. And Su Bao Rou would also be over the age limit for selection."
Madam Qin glanced at her, Fourth Master only came to entrust the master and mistress to take care of Su Shi, without any intention of bringing her into the inner courtyard. Was the mistress's proposal a bit too hasty?
"You say, how about changing her identity and entering the palace?"
"This——" Why would a good girl like Xiu Niang want to become a package cloth? Changing identities to enter the palace can only be done through small selections, which is different from the big selection that takes place every three years. Those who participate in the small selection are all package cloths under the banner. Gao Yatou, also a package cloth slave, didn't have the abnormal thought of wanting to turn others into package cloths just because she was one herself, and said: "In the future, if Su Niang gets Fourth Prince's favor and remembers this matter, I'm afraid she will harbor prejudices."
"You're right." She herself was looking for help, not enemies. Xi Fei nodded. However, time waits for no one. Among the three from the Western Palace, she didn't think much of any of them: one had a poor birth chart and an inauspicious hour, another was born to a servant and had a sly, flirtatious air like Consort Year, relying on currying favor with the Empress Dowager; and yet another was as dull as wood, without a shred of wit. "I'd better just ask the Emperor directly for his decree. Given her uncle's merit in saving Hongli's life, it wouldn't be excessive to grant her a princess title."
Gaoye didn't respond, she knew that Xi Fei didn't need her to answer either. She glanced at the silent Qin Ye and had no opinion on Si Furen, her existence was just to provide some ideas for her master and handle some shady matters.
At this time, the eunuch who transmitted the message from the Qianqing Palace came to inform that the Emperor was coming over for dinner. "Thank you, sir." Chunlan smiled and handed him a piece of silver as a reward. The eunuch who transmitted the message also did not dare to delay, politely said two sentences and then returned to the Qianqing Palace.
A faint joy appeared on Xi Fei's face, knowing that this favor came from her son who was still in the northwest. She said to Qin Mama: "Mama, you personally go to the small kitchen to see what ingredients are available and have them make more of the emperor's favorite dishes."
Qin's nanny was also beaming with joy and went down together with Gao's nanny to prepare.
Xi Fei then sat in front of the dressing mirror, where Xia He, who was the most skilled at it, styled her hair and applied makeup.
Recently, Yu Fei, who has been rising in power within the palace, also quickly received news of the great victory in the northwest and the emperor's dinner at Chongqian Palace. "Master, I heard that the emperor also granted a Su Gege to the fourth prince." Shi Ya continued to report back.
"Is this a gift from the Emperor or Consort Xi? Is it for Fourth Madame?"
"I've already ordered someone to investigate."
Yu Fei gave her a glance, "Be careful."
"Don't worry, Master." Shao's nanny smiled and accompanied him. How many years had passed and she still couldn't understand the master's temperament? However, when she heard about the great victory in the northwest, her heart also sank a little. This Empress Xi was going to suppress the master again.
If the northwest had lost, or the fourth brother had made a mistake on the battlefield, then everything would have been possible. Now nothing needs to be said. Yu Fei looked towards Cheng Qian Palace, originally also known as Ge Ge, also pregnant, also gave birth to Xiao A Ge, but was forever suppressed, not that she didn't care, just understood more clearly the intentions of Grandfather and Fu Jin... Forget it, everything is like this.
"Jinluo, prepare a gift for Chengqian Palace." She instructed the female official beside her calmly.
"Yes, milady." Jin Yu was a thoughtful person. After understanding the implicit meaning of her mistress's words, she prepared two copies. If Fourth Master returned, these congratulatory gifts would be indispensable for Qian Xi and Er Sao. Although it was said to avoid suspicion, not showing any intention at all was also unacceptable.
Jingren Palace
"Is it finally time to go back?" The queen, Ulanara, lit up her lifeless eyes, struggled to drink the ginseng soup brought by Chen's nanny, and closed them again. After surviving the earthquake disaster and avoiding a bad reputation, if she could, she would rather wait for Hongli to return... see him once, let him know that she was truly thinking of him.
But heaven didn't give her the time, she weakly crooked her finger, and spoke in a mosquito-like voice: "...Nanny, go...go tell the Emperor that I want to see him one last time..."
This good news let her hold a breath and relax more than half of it.
"Master's daughter——" Chen's nanny fell to the ground and wailed loudly.
The queen gazed weakly at the woman who had accompanied her for most of her life, a faint smile floating on her lips. Chen Nianhua, Hai Nianhua and Pinyin, she had already arranged everything that could be arranged for them, and there was nothing more to worry about. "Go."
Old lady Chen wiped her eyes and stood up to leave.
Soon after, Yongzheng hastily arrived.
When Empress Xiaojing passed away, Yongzheng was still reeling from the death of Prince Yi's son, Yunxiang. He had a heavy workload and was also dealing with the disappointing war situation against the Dzungars, not to mention his own physical ailments that often left him on the verge of collapse. As a result, he did not get to see the empress one last time before she passed away. Of course, there may have been other reasons that cannot be spoken of, but those are things that outsiders would not understand.
In short, after history had flapped its wings countless times like a butterfly, Yongzheng arrived.
"Empress." Holding her hand, Yongzheng looked at Ulanara who had accompanied him since his teens and didn't know what to say. Whether it was love, respect or hatred, he just couldn't help but feel a surge of sadness as she was about to leave forever.
“...Your Majesty.” The Empress suddenly felt she had to thank Yunzhu, if not for her Yulan fruit, she was afraid she still wouldn't have the courage to face him with a worn-out and long-ill face. "Yinzhen, call my name once more, okay?"
Yongzheng was taken aback, calling out her name? He had always addressed her as "Empress", and before that, it was "Fu Jin". Calling out her name seemed like something he did when they were newlyweds. At that time, he was overjoyed, the wedding represented that he could take on official duties, that he had become an adult, that from then on, he would have a wife to share his joys and sorrows with...
The queen's eyes misted over: "You still... won't forgive me?"
"Fugui." He involuntarily shouted it out, and then his heart felt a pang.
The queen smiled, and tears rolled down. Yes, Fugui, Chinese is auspicious jade, Manchu is beautiful and chaste green turquoise, this is the name given to her by her Ama personally, representing his ardent expectations for his daughter, but whether he himself has lived up to it in this life... No, otherwise, how could he not even protect his only son...
"Queen?"
She came to her senses, gazing intently at the man in front of her whom she had loved and respected for a lifetime, murmuring: "Yin Zhen, I'm so happy...to be married to you, I...am so happy..."
"Don't talk anymore, rest well. I'll get Yunzhu to cook some congee for you—" It's useless, even when she was ill, the Empress would rather eat beauty-enhancing Yulan fruit than stop eating health-enhancing Yulan fruit for three months. He didn't know how she and Xi Fei thought. Did health-enhancing Yulan fruit not have a beauty-enhancing effect? His hair wasn't much darker now? He could also feel it, his skin was more radiant and elastic than before.
"No, no need to... saved from illness, can't be saved from death. Won the battle, I'm so happy, you..." Because you're happy, I'm happy too. She tried to curve her lips, couldn't see anyone anymore, but still didn't close her eyes, "You... are you there?" Her hand moved slightly.
"As he looked at her gradually dispersing gaze, he closed his eyes and tightly grasped her hand."
"I... leave everything to... Yunzhu." She slowly closed her eyes, and her voice gradually faded away. If there really were gods, she wouldn't be an imperial daughter-in-law in the next life. If Yunzhu was a blessed person, she hoped that she wouldn't end up like herself, or like every empress before her in the Qing dynasty, living such a hard life. She hoped... that she would treat the Ula Nara family well.
What else can she have? Yongzheng's feelings faded away, and he slightly curled his lips. Weren't most of them given to the Ulanara family, given to that Ni Ma Yi?
……
After being in a coma for over ten days, Chen's nanny fed her hundred-year-old ginseng soup every day, but ultimately failed to save the empress's life.
In the seventh year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, on September 1st, the Empress passed away.
The news of the emperor's death spread, and Hongli and Fu Heng, Delu three people threw off the main force day and night, riding fast horses with whips, but still couldn't make it in time to see the emperor for the last time.
The weather is too hot, and the mourning cannot last for long. Moreover, Yongzheng does not want the empress's funeral to clash with the triumphant return of the northwest army, although due to national etiquette, this triumphal banquet also cannot be held.
The author has something to say: Recently discovered that the heroine in this "Clear Heart Tour" is written with a moe charm:)
The following is the main body of the text:
Good news always invigorates people.
The generals and soldiers who went to war thought about getting promoted and making a fortune, reuniting with their families. The women in the two western wings were like long-awaited sweet dew that was about to arrive, walking with wind under their feet, even the eunuchs seemed to have found their master's heart and smiled at everyone they met, beaming with joy.
Several princesses secretly rummaged through their rooms, selecting the brightest fabrics and accessories to create new styles and adorn themselves, so that when Grandfather returned, he would notice them at a glance... Guo Mama quickly received the news.
Looking at her master's careless appearance, she helplessly instructed Suwen and the others to prepare the most beautiful clothes and jewelry for their master, so as not to let those foxy women capture the heart of Fourth Brother.
Suwen Ling Shu: "......"
Which piece of clothing or set of jewelry is not beautiful? She has always dressed up for her own pleasure, not for the sake of Master Beile. What's more, when facing Gu Yehou and others who are thinking of their master with all their heart, they can't even say that when their master heard the news that Master Beile was going to return to Beijing, she just responded with a "got it" and then went back to her room to play with her rewards.
For the master, Beile's return means more things to worry about in the backyard. However, it's also time for the master to have a son.
"Both of them said in unison: 'Don't worry, don't worry.'"
Madam Guo nodded and thought to herself that it was fortunate that Suwen and Lingzhu, the two maidservants, were aware of what was going on; otherwise, relying on their masters, her young masters would not know when they could come out.
Recently, Guwalgiya has also said a lot of such things when she entered the palace. Yunzhu is very clear about their thoughts. Unfortunately, after scanning Jingren Palace with her divine consciousness, the Empress Dowager won't last for a few more days. Will Hongli have to observe mourning rituals when he returns?
Little bun, there's still some left...
Still looking at the treasure in front of her, it's really "what you think is what you get". Her eyes shone brightly as she gazed at the jade tripod placed before her. Saying jade tripod was just a convenient way to refer to it, although it looked like it was carved from a single piece of sheep fat white jade, Yunzhu knew that its material wasn't jade stone the moment her hand touched it.
It looks like gold but isn't gold, it looks like jade but isn't jade. Although her spiritual awareness can't thoroughly distinguish its material, she can feel that it has a lot of energy. The luster on the surface is not so much a warm and delicate jade quality as a manifestation of an active power. This is a kind of mutual resonance between a cultivator and a spiritual instrument.
This jade tripod is about one foot long, wide and high, occupying nearly half of the space in the two-foot square gold-inlaid mother-of-pearl red lacquer box with a yellow lacquer bottom that Su Peisheng brought.
The jade tripod is slightly smaller at the top and bottom, with a flat round body in the middle, three legs, and a lid. At first glance, Yunzhu determined that it was not an ordinary hand warmer commonly found in wealthy families - she also had one of these small jade hand warmers, but this one was obviously too big to be used as a hand warmer, and it seemed somewhat suitable for use as an incense burner. However, looking at the raised body of the furnace, there were three fist-sized "windows", through which could be seen that in the center of the furnace there was a small jade ball about the size of three fists, spinning rapidly.
What truly made her realize that this was an alchemy furnace at a glance were the seal marks carved on the jade tripod and the jade ball inside, because she had begun to comprehend the primordial mark left by the Jade Orchid Tree. This made her clearly understand that in the ancient Primordial Era, there was no such thing as cultivation techniques or methods. Even when Hongjun lectured on the Dao, he spoke of his own insights; other cultivators could either learn from them or not. At that time, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was dense, and those who could attain the Great Dao were either those with a resolute and enlightened mind, or those with high spiritual awareness, or perhaps those with great merit...
The emergence of Gongfa, Zhenfa, Yinjue and later Fu Lu is only to better absorb the gradually lost spiritual energy of heaven and earth into the body, refine the flesh, and nourish the yuan Shen. Or make the power of one's own magic more powerful - these are not necessary in ancient times, but now it is a good thing for Yunzhu to learn from. Once the cultivation reaches a certain level, one can naturally sense the five elements from nature, deduce techniques, respond to the heavenly way, and naturally understand the connections between things.
The patterns on the jade tripod are obviously to make the true fire heat more evenly and prevent the spiritual yuan from leaking out, fully integrating them together, as well as other different functions of layered arrays... all explain that its function is a medicine tripod or elixir tripod.
The lid of this tripod can't be opened with ordinary human hands and strength, as there is a huge suction force inside the tripod that tightly holds it in place, making it seem like one body. The person who originally obtained it must have used many methods to try and open it, but was unable to do so, which is why it was classified by successive emperors as "rare and strange". According to Su Peisheng, this thing was actually obtained from the Ming dynasty's national treasury, possibly because Li Zicheng's fleeing subordinates didn't bother to take it due to its large size.
The Cloud Pearl couldn't open the lid with its internal True Yuan power, so it thought for a moment and wondered if it needed to use its spiritual sense. It decided to give it a try, but since it was daytime and there wasn't much time to study, it could only put it away in its space for now and deal with it later.
This medicine cauldron, apart from the lid that cannot be opened, has other strange aspects that are no longer verifiable. However, there is another known bamboo-root-carved double-crane- holding-peach-bowl. When water is poured into the bowl, after a short while, it will emit a faint scent of bamboo. If wine is poured in, the flavor becomes even more rich and intense.
The modeling is not so exaggerated, the flying cranes on both ends of the bowl are only about one inch in size. Yunzhu's divine consciousness probed into the pale green jade-like bowl and found that it contained a small cluster of light green bamboo essence, which made it endless, no wonder it could be poured into the bowl to get variation, I'm afraid this bamboo root is also quite legendary.
Su Peisheng did not read out what the emperor had bestowed, but in the box was a note recording the origin of these things. The pair of crane-mouthed peach bowls were tribute presented by the Governor of Sichuan in the 12th year of Kangxi's reign. After Kangxi played with it for a while and didn't find any more use for it, he discarded it aside.
Would you rather spend a year eating and drinking with it? She has another place where she can make the most of its remaining heat.
Think and do, Yunzhu brought a bowl to the right bank of the spiritual pool in space. The soil between the spiritual pool and the space wall has been expanded by more than three meters due to the continuous expansion of the space. The lush arrow bamboo, nan bamboo, and calabaza bamboo grew towards the spiritual pool with a thickness of over one meter or nearly two meters against the space wall. It was still Yunzhu who from time to time pulled out the bamboo shoots to eat, took out the grown bamboo to make bamboo tubes or built bamboo racks, consuming them without stopping.
She placed the bowl on the soil in front of the bamboo forest, scooped up a ladle of spiritual pool water and poured it down, then cast a simple Spring Breeze Rain spell. The small bowl trembled slightly, roots grew out from the bottom of the bowl and into the ground, and a tender shoot sprouted from within... Done, afterwards there will be an additional type of spiritual bamboo in this space. Yunzhu smiled contentedly, flashed her body and returned to the house once more. Continuing to rummage through treasures.
Among these gifts, there were three fruit pits that made Yunzhu feel extremely interesting - this made her certain that the box of things sent by Su Peisheng was indeed intentional. The color of the fruit pits is golden yellow, and from the note it can be known that they were left by Su Ma Lai's wife. As for who ate the pulp, whether it was Xiaozhuang, Su Ma Lai's wife, Shunzhi or Kangxi, it is not clear, only knowing that the eunuchs in charge of the Lingzhi Garden in the palace could not grow them alive.
She looked a bit strange at the last sentence, could it be that the emperor sent it to himself thinking he could plant it alive?
Spiritual energy detected, has vitality, can be planted. She casually planted them in the empty space she designated as an orchard, and watered them with spiritual pool water, wondering what kind of fruit would grow out of it.
The remaining thing is just a sea-blue-colored ball, which looks very easy to think of as a toy that children play with, inside there are plastic small fish and a force-throwing ball that will emit light, making people feel a bit interesting. However, this ball, although crystal clear, has low transparency, you can't shatter it or deform it no matter how hard you throw it, nor does any shiny thing appear... Something that can enter the imperial palace treasury shouldn't be an ordinary object, Yunzhu picked it up with a hum, and her divine sense habitually probed inside, but was unexpectedly bounced back?!
"Isn't this some kind of treasure?" Her eyes lit up, the imperial palace really has a lot of good things, she's starting to look forward to the day when Hongli becomes emperor and she'll be in charge. Not to mention anything else, she can freely wander around the inner treasury without spending any money?! Re-examining the ball in her hand, looking left and right, it doesn't seem to have anything special about it, never mind, she'll study it again later, if not, she can just give it to her kids as a toy in the future.
Look at the list, "Unknown spherical object? Knife and spear cannot penetrate, water and fire cannot invade?" It's indeed concise and to the point. In a certain year, in a certain place, an official made a report. It's really strange and unusual, if it weren't for encountering someone with spiritual awareness like myself, who else could recognize its extraordinariness?
Throw it into space as well.
There are still many things that are normal, such as this ivory warship, which is about a foot long and combines various techniques such as hollow carving and relief carving. It can be placed in the house, exquisitely crafted like a work of art, and even modern times may not find anything comparable.
On the multi-layered shelf in the bedroom.
For example, this jade carved fruit platter, flower basket, apple, pear, banana, grape, with a glossy finish, bright colors, and exquisite craftsmanship, is placed in the main room. It not only attracts the attention of those who come to pay their respects but also lets others know what the emperor has bestowed upon her, saving them from wondering.
……
Chengqian Palace
The Empress learned that the Qing had defeated the Dzungars, and the army was about to return to the capital. She was overjoyed, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. With renewed energy, she responded to the congratulations of the palace servants: "Congratulations, Your Majesty! The Fourth Prince will be back soon!"
"Wu A Ge returned to Kyoto and was promoted to Beile before the war was over, I wonder if Si A Ge will be promoted to Jun Wang or Qin Wang?"
"How can such great merit be rewarded with just a promotion to a duke of a commandery?"
"Alright, that's enough." Xi Fei lightly scolded, but her face was filled with joy, looking up towards the Qianqing Palace. Hongli was still young, and it wasn't likely that the Emperor would promote him to Prince of the First Rank. Being a Prince of a Commandery wouldn't be bad either, and there was even more possibility of promoting herself to Noble Consort?
"Master, the fourth prince has returned. What about Miss Su? How do you plan to deal with her? If you're thinking of using next year's selection to marry her off to the fourth prince, High Consort's brow furrowed slightly, fearing that the Empress's illness might not last until next year, and by then, the Emperor might put off the selection. And Su Bao Rou would be over the age limit for selection as well."
Madam Qin glanced at her, Fourth Master only came to entrust the master and mistress to take care of Su Shi, without any intention of bringing her into the inner courtyard. Was the mistress's proposal a bit too hasty?
"You say, how about changing her identity and entering the palace?"
"This——" Why would a good girl like you want to become a palace maid? To enter the palace by changing identities can only be done through small selection, which is different from the big selection that takes place every three years. Those who participate in the small selection are all palace maids under the banner. Gao Yatou, also a palace maid slave, didn't have the abnormal thought of wanting to turn others into palace maids just because she was one herself, and said: "In the future, if Su Niang gets Fourth Prince's favor and remembers this matter, I'm afraid she will harbor prejudices."
"You're right." She herself was looking for help, not enemies. Xi Fei nodded. However, time waits for no one. Among the three from the Western Palace, she didn't think highly of any of them: one had a poor birth chart and an inauspicious hour, another was born to a low-ranking concubine and had a flirtatious air similar to that of Consort Yuan, relying on currying favor with the Empress. Another was as dull as wood, without a shred of cleverness. "I'd better just ask the Emperor directly for an edict; based on her uncle's merit in saving the life of Hongli, it wouldn't be excessive to grant her a princess title."
Gaoye didn't respond, she knew that Xi Fei didn't need her to answer either. She glanced at the silent Qin Ye, and had no opinion on Si Furen either. Her existence was just for the master to make some decisions and handle some shady things.
At this time, the eunuch who transmitted the message from the Qianqing Palace came to inform that the Emperor would be coming over for dinner. "Thank you, sir." Chunlan smiled and handed him a piece of silver as a reward. The eunuch did not dare to linger either, exchanged pleasantries for two sentences before returning to the Qianqing Palace.
A faint joy appeared on Xi Fei's face, knowing that this favor came from her son who was still in the northwest. She said to Qin Mama: "Mama, you personally go to the small kitchen to see what ingredients are available and have them make more of the Emperor's favorite dishes."
Qin nanny was also beaming with joy and went down together with Gao nanny to prepare.
Xi Fei then sat in front of the dressing mirror, where Xia He, who was the most skilled at it, styled her hair and applied makeup.
Recently, Yu Fei, who has been rising in power within the palace, also quickly received news of the great victory in the northwest and the emperor's dinner at Chongqian Palace. "Master, I heard that the emperor also granted a Su Gege to the fourth prince." Shi Ya continued to report back.
"Is this a gift from the Emperor or Consort Xi? Is it for Fourth Madame?"
"I've already ordered someone to investigate."
Yu Fei gave her a glance, "Be careful with what you're doing."
"Don't worry, Master." Shao's nanny smiled and accompanied him. After all these years, how could she not understand her master's temperament? However, when she heard about the great victory in the northwest, she also felt a pang of anxiety in her heart. This Empress Xi was going to suppress her master again.
If the northwest had lost, or the fourth brother had made a mistake on the battlefield, then everything would have been possible. Now nothing needs to be said. Yu Fei looked towards Cheng Qian Palace, originally also known as Ge Ge, also pregnant, also gave birth to Xiao A Ge, but was forever suppressed, not that she didn't care, just understood more clearly the intentions of Master and Fu Jin... Forget it, everything is like this.
"Jinluo, prepare a gift for Chengqian Palace." She instructed the female official beside her calmly.
"Yes, milady." Jin Yu was a thoughtful person. Once she understood the implicit meaning of her master's words, she prepared two copies. If Fourth Master returned, these congratulatory gifts would be indispensable for Qian Xi and Er Sao. Although it was said to avoid suspicion, not showing any intention at all wouldn't do either.
Jingren Palace
"Is it finally time to go back?" The queen, Ulanara, lit up her lifeless eyes, struggled to drink the ginseng soup brought by Chen's nanny, and closed them again. After surviving the earthquake disaster and avoiding a bad reputation, if she could, she would rather wait for Hongli to come back... see him once, let him know that she was truly thinking of him.
But heaven didn't give her the time, she weakly hooked her finger, and spoke in a mosquito-like voice: "...Nanny, go...go tell the Emperor that I want to see him one last time..."
This good news let her hold a breath and release half of it.
"Master's daughter——" Chen's nanny fell to the ground and wailed loudly.
The queen gazed weakly at the woman who had accompanied her for most of her life, a faint smile floating on her lips. Chen Nianhua, Hai Nianhua and Pinyin, she had already arranged everything that could be arranged for them, and there was nothing more to worry about. "Go."
Old lady Chen wiped her eyes and stood up to leave.
Soon after, Yongzheng hastily arrived.
When Empress Xiaojing passed away, Yongzheng was still reeling from the death of Prince Yi, Yunxiang. He had a heavy workload and the war with Dzungar was not going well, plus his own illness often left him on the verge of collapse, so he didn't get to see the empress one last time. Of course, there might be other reasons that cannot be spoken of, but that's something outsiders wouldn't know about.
In short, after history had flapped its wings countless times like a butterfly, Yongzheng arrived.
"Empress." Holding her hand, Yongzheng looked at Ulanara who had accompanied him since his teens and didn't know what to say. Whether it was love, respect or hatred, he just thought that she would be leaving forever, and his heart couldn't help but overflow with sorrow.
“...Your Majesty.” The Empress suddenly felt she had to thank Yunzhu, if not for her Yulan fruit, she feared she still wouldn't have the courage to face him with a worn-out and long-ill face. "Yinzhen, call my name once more, okay?"
Yongzheng was taken aback, calling out her name? He had always addressed her as "Empress", and before that, it was "Fu Jin". Calling out her name seemed like something he did when they were newlyweds, a time when he was overjoyed, for their wedding represented his coming of age, his ability to take on official duties, and the fact that from then on, he would have a wife with whom to share joys and sorrows...
The queen's eyes misted over: "You still... won't forgive me?"
"Fugui." He involuntarily shouted it out, and then his heart felt a pang.
The queen smiled, and tears rolled down. Yes, Fugui, Chinese is auspicious jade, Manchu is beautiful and chaste green turquoise, this was the name given to her by her father, representing his ardent hopes for his daughter, but did she live up to it in this lifetime? No, otherwise, how could she not even protect her only son...
"Queen?"
She came to her senses, gazing intently at the man in front of her whom she had loved and respected for a lifetime, murmuring: "Yin Zhen, I'm so happy...to be married to you, I...am so happy..."
"Don't talk anymore, rest well. I'll get Yunzhu to cook some congee for you—" It's useless, even when she was ill, the Empress would rather eat beauty-enhancing Yulan fruit than stop eating health-enhancing Yulan fruit for three months. He didn't know how she and Xi Fei thought. Did health-enhancing Yulan fruit not have a beauty-enhancing effect? His hair wasn't much darker? He could also feel it, his skin was more radiant and elastic than before.
"No, no need to... saved from illness, can't be saved from death. Won the battle, I'm so happy, you..." Because you're happy, I'm happy too. She tried to curve her lips, couldn't see anyone anymore, but still didn't close her eyes, "You... are you there?" Her hand moved slightly.
"As he looked at her gradually dispersing gaze, he closed his eyes and tightly grasped her hand."
"I... leave everything to Yunzhu." She slowly closed her eyes, and her voice gradually faded away. If there really were gods, she wouldn't be an imperial daughter-in-law in the next life. If Yunzhu was a blessed person, she hoped that she wouldn't end up like herself, or like every empress before her in the Qing dynasty, living such a hard life. She hoped that Yunzhu would treat the Ula Nara family well.
What else can she have? Yongzheng's feelings faded away, and he slightly curled his lips. Didn't most of it go to the Ula Nara family, to that Ni Ma Yi?
……
After being in a coma for over ten days, Chen's nanny fed her hundred-year-old ginseng soup every day, but ultimately failed to save the empress's life.
In the seventh year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, on September 1st, the Empress passed away.
News of the emperor's death spread, and Hongli and Fu Heng, Delu three people threw off the main force day and night, riding fast horses with whips, but still couldn't make it in time to see him for the last time.
The weather is too hot, and the mourning cannot last for long. Moreover, Yongzheng does not want the empress's funeral to clash with the triumphant return of the northwest army, although due to national etiquette, this triumphal banquet also cannot be held.
