4. Crossing into the Qing Dynasty (4)

"Is the Emperor busy?"

Wen Yao trotted a few steps and threw herself across the imperial desk, resting her elbows on the surface and craning her neck to look at the paper the little boy had just been drawing on.

The cinnabar red lines were chaotic, with some strokes even splayed, revealing the child's rather foul mood.

"Is the Emperor drawing a rooster?"

Unable to discern anything clearly, Wen Yao could only guess. She pointed a finger at a few of the lines: "Are these the tail feathers of a big rooster? Did I guess right?"

"Yes!"

Initially blushing at having his outlet for frustration seen by his cousin, Xuan Ye jumped off his chair to find an excuse, circled the table, took Wen Yao’s hand, and led her toward the West Warm Pavilion. "Come, I found something interesting. Let me show you, Cousin."

As he pulled her along, he signaled to Liang Jiugong with his eyes, instructing him to dispose of the drawing.

Wen Yao followed Xuan Ye into the West Warm Pavilion. Upon entering, she saw a display stand on the heated brick bed (kang). Resting on it was an unfolded ivory folding fan. The fan was delicate and exquisite, carved with peony patterns. The stand itself was also beautiful, designed like a miniature lady's boudoir, with the ivory fan slotted in the center.

It was clear at a glance that this ivory fan was intended for a woman.

"Look, Cousin." Xuan Ye took the fan, opened and closed it twice, and handed it to Wen Yao. "This is from the ivory brought as tribute from Siam at the beginning of the year. I specifically instructed the Imperial Household Department to take extra care with it to produce these few ivory fans. This is one of them. Do you think it’s nice, Cousin?"

"It is, of course, wonderful."

Wen Yao unfolded the fan. The ivory felt warm and smooth to the touch, with an excellent texture. She gently fanned her face and caught a breeze of fragrance. Looking closely, she discovered that the stamens of the carved flowers were hollow, allowing for scented powder to be placed inside, so that when she fanned herself, a burst of fragrance would greet her.

"Was this the Emperor's clever idea?" Wen Yao’s eyes sparkled, her face full of pleasant surprise.

Seeing this, Xuan Ye’s vanity swelled.

However, being an honest child, he shook his head: "I imagine it was the Imperial Household Department's idea."

"Whoever thought of this must be very clever."

"Do you like it, Cousin? There are four such fans in total, and I shall leave them all for you."

There was such a perk?

Wen Yao was instantly even more delighted and immediately curtsied: "This subject thanks the Emperor for the gift."

Xuan Ye’s face grew warm. He couldn't help but rub his ears, his eyes unable to stop wandering toward his cousin’s face.

Ever since he had discussed the matter of appointing an Empress with the Grand Empress Dowager, he seemed to have had an awakening. He finally began to view the women around him with the eyes of a man. The first to leave a mark on his heart was naturally his childhood sweetheart, his cousin Tong Wen Yao, followed by the Heseri and Niohuru ladies.

As for that disfigured Borjigit lady, he had never even spared her a glance.

Before his father passed away, he had taken his hand and earnestly instructed him never to allow Mongol blood to enter the inner palace again. As an obedient son, how could he defy his father's final wishes?

Wen Yao was two years his senior, and girls matured physically earlier than boys. Compared to Xuan Ye, who still looked like a child, Wen Yao already possessed the graceful posture of a young woman.

Young love.

In the past, Xuan Ye had truly treated Wen Yao as his cousin, but ever since the news of the "Four Women Competing for the Empress" spread and Wen Yao transformed from a cousin into an Empress candidate, his feelings naturally changed.

Especially seeing her again today, he realized that in just a short time, his cousin had become even more beautiful.

Xuan Ye reached up to rub his flushed earlobes and tentatively said, "By the end of the year, the Empress Dowager will likely decide on the Empress candidate. After the grand wedding next year, I can welcome you into the palace, Cousin. I was thinking... since you are used to living in the Jingren Palace, how about you reside there after entering the palace?"

Wen Yao was surprised: "Do I not need to avoid it for the sake of the late Empress?"

She lowered her head, her fingers playing continuously with the ivory fan, her voice tinged with loneliness: "I have accompanied the late Empress for many years; only the Jingren Palace allows me to cherish her memory. If I were to live there, I would certainly have to change the regulations of the palace. If the Emperor wishes to remember her in the future, where would you go to do so?"

"I... I miss her too..."

By the end, her eyes were slightly red.

Xuan Ye was stunned and sighed. He had only thought about making his cousin more comfortable upon entering the palace, forgetting about his mother.

"Then stay in the Jingren Palace for two years first, so that the late Empress's legacy may watch over you. I will grant you the status of a Consort, so that no one will dare to bully you."

Currently, the palace ranks were not yet finalized; other than the Empress, all were secondary consorts (shufei) with different allowances. This "Consort" allowance was already equivalent to a high-ranking concubine, meaning that after the official ranks were set, she would at least be a Noble Consort in the imperial edict.

"With the Consort allowance, you can keep all of the late Empress's old belongings. I will have the Chenqian Palace behind the Jingren Palace renovated. It is a large palace and is very close to both the Qianqing Palace and the Jingren Palace, making it convenient for me to visit you in the future."

A young mind works fast; in an instant, Xuan Ye had thought of a solution.

"The Jingren Palace shall be sealed as you said, kept for the two of us to remember the late Empress."

Xuan Ye sighed as he spoke, feeling a pang of sadness at the thought of his mother who died young.

Since he was a child, every time he went to the Jingren Palace to pay his respects, he saw her sickly and frail, her words filled with misery. Every time he heard her, his heart ached, and he relied entirely on his cousin to hold him and comfort him softly, smoothing over the pain in his heart.

"Very well." Having secured two large palaces, Wen Yao was finally satisfied.

Who would want to live in the Jingren Palace if they could live in the Chenqian Palace?

If she changed the layout of the main hall, people would say she was disrespectful to the Empress Dowager. If she didn't change it, even if she became an Imperial Noble Consort, she wouldn't be able to live in the main hall. It was better to go to the spacious Chenqian Palace and use the Jingren Palace as her own private garden.

She didn't believe that even if the little Emperor had many concubines, he would allow them to live in the side halls of his own mother’s palace.

Seeing Wen Yao nod obediently, Xuan Ye felt sweet but also filled with guilt: "Cousin, the Empress will likely be chosen from the Heseri or Niohuru clans."

Wen Yao was startled, then frowned, saying with deep concern: "My mother told me as much. I just don't know what kind of temperament these two have, and whether they will be easy to get along with in the future."

Seeing her only worried about the Empress's temperament, Xuan Ye felt a strange sense of irritation, though he didn't know where it came from.

"Don't you want to be Empress, Cousin?"

What was the use of wanting it? She couldn't be one!

Wen Yao rolled her eyes internally, but on the surface, she maintained her worried expression: "The Empress is the mother of the nation and the wife of the Emperor. She must not only manage palace affairs, oversee the concubines, and meet with noblewomen, but also bear legitimate sons and educate the princes and princesses. With such heavy responsibilities, one surely needs a robust constitution. I am frail and fear I cannot handle the heavy burden of being Empress."

She sighed lightly: "That I am alive at all is a blessing from the Heavens; how could I dare to covet so much?"

"After you enter the palace, I will have the imperial physicians care for your health."

The imperial physicians were the Emperor's exclusive doctors and generally did not treat the harem unless personally ordered by the Emperor.

Wen Yao pondered... the Kangxi era didn't seem to have any famous doctors.

Kangxi had spent a long time searching the Imperial Hospital to leave a mark in history, but the physicians of this era were truly mediocre. He couldn't create a "god of medicine," so he eventually had to posthumously confer the title of "Sage of Medicine" upon Wan Mizhai from the previous dynasty, which counted as a small achievement in that field.

But it worked out in her favor.

After she entered the palace, she would need to take health-preserving medicine, and she needed a famous doctor to provide cover.

"If someone bullies me..."

Wen Yao nodded, then as if remembering something, she turned to look at the little Emperor.

Xuan Ye wanted to say, "I will protect you," but before he could speak, he saw his cousin clench her fist and raise it: "I will definitely hit them back, regardless of whether they are the Emperor's favored concubines. Don't feel sorry for them when the time comes."

"I certainly won't feel sorry for them."

Xuan Ye promised without hesitation.

They were just favored concubines... at worst, he could just replace them.

This child had been led into a trap, but it showed that his nature was inherently cold and indifferent. Especially with the example of the late Emperor, he would never favor just one concubine.

So...

What on earth were those people in the web novels who traveled to the Qing Dynasty and insisted on having "true love" with the little Emperor thinking?

"Reporting to the Emperor, Lord Oboi requests an audience."

Liang Jiugong's voice rang out from outside.

Wen Yao watched as the smile vanished from the little Emperor's face, his irritation plain to see: "Understood, I am coming." When he turned back, the irritation was gone, leaving only a faint smile: "Cousin, there are books and other things in the warm pavilion; feel free to play with them."

So, all emperors are masters of changing faces, are they?

"The Emperor should hurry to his business."

Wen Yao immediately stood up, playing the role of a thoughtful older sister. She pulled Xuan Ye over to straighten his clothes. Looking at the short boy who was nearly a head shorter than her, Wen Yao's gaze became tender.

Xuan Ye did not feel uncomfortable at all; he was short because he was young, and he would naturally grow taller when he grew up.

Wen Yao smiled without a word.

She was really looking forward to seeing the two of them standing together wearing flower-pot shoes and head ornaments; it would certainly be a sight to behold.

She then thought that this was still the early Kangxi period; it wasn't certain if flower-pot shoes even existed yet, let alone the large "da la chi" headpieces that appeared in the late Qing Dynasty. What a pity, what a pity, she wouldn't be able to see the joke.

After the little Emperor left, Wen Yao flipped through the books on the antique shelf. Most were serious texts. She picked up a volume of the *Zizhi Tongjian* and leaned on the kang to read. Outside, the little Emperor was playing a double game with Oboi, his heart filled with irritation and anxiety, while his face remained one of forced intimacy.

Oboi's intent was naturally not just about these political matters, but about his foster daughter.

He desperately hoped the Emperor would appoint Niohuru as Empress, but the little Emperor had not yet matured and showed no reaction to matters between men and women. Among the four Empress candidates, the one he was most familiar with was the sickly Tong girl.

The Grand Empress Dowager's attitude was also ambiguous, making her hard to read.

However, with the position of Empress dangling, Xuan Ye clearly felt the atmosphere in the court had improved quite a bit recently. But... he could not be tempted by this good atmosphere and let Oboi run wild. Although he was young, his political acumen was not low.

He estimated that the Empress position would fall to the Heseri clan.

With Oboi's power, someone would have to step forward to counteract him.

Wen Yao couldn't care less about how the monarch and his subjects interacted outside. Right now, she was curiously staring at the few beautiful girls kneeling before her.

When the little Emperor went out, he had ordered Liang Jiugong to have the tea room bring snacks. Now, the little palace maids from the tea room had come in to serve tea, which immediately reminded Wen Yao of the famous "tea room selection" of the early Kangxi era.

The "Hui" and "Rong" consorts, two of the Four Consorts, both came from the tea room.

She just didn't know if the Magiya or Nara clans were among these pretty palace maids.