Chapter 220 Dark Cloud Pearl & New Moon (Part 2)

Xiaozhuang looked at him and said slowly: "Now, I don't want to interfere in politics. I just want to manage the harem. If I am still the Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty, I should have this right, right?"

This is already a heart-breaking statement. No matter how much Shunzhi disagrees with her, he can't deprive her of the rights of the Empress Dowager. Moreover, it is the best thing for him to manage the harem in exchange for "not interfering in politics". No one will point fingers at his decisions in the future, and he can really rule the country in person in the future...

Many years flashed through Shunzhi's mind. After all, he was the emperor. The joy of ruling the country overwhelmed the anger of not being promoted to Wu Yunzhu. He opened his mouth, but finally said nothing, and left with a cold face.

As soon as Shunzhi left, Xiaozhuang issued an imperial decree to Chenggan Palace to remove the green card of Concubine Dong E, ordering her to concentrate on nurturing the fetus in Chenggan Palace, exempting her from paying respects, and returning the Phoenix Seal to the Queen.

Wu Yunzhu looked at Su Moer's smiling face and gritted her teeth tightly. If someone else came to deliver the decree, she could still delay it and ask the emperor for help, but Su Moer was different. She was the empress dowager's first confidant, and even the emperor had never given her face.

Forcing a smile, Wu Yunzhu ordered the palace maid to hand over the phoenix seal and things related to the management of palace power to Su Moer, and said respectfully: "Please ask Madam Su to thank the empress dowager for her care on my behalf, but I have already prepared madams to serve here, these four madams..." She looked at the four people behind Su Moer with the same expression, and was alert in her heart.

Su Moer lowered her head slightly and replied: "To answer the words of the Concubine Xian, the four maids behind me are proficient in medicine, poisons and pharmacology, and are very good at taking care of pregnant women and children. They were specially sent by the Empress Dowager to take care of the Empress. The Emperor said that he cherishes the Empress's baby very much, so the Empress Dowager ordered that the Empress must be taken care of personally so that the little prince can be born safely."

Wu Yunzhu clutched the handkerchief, calmed down, and smiled: "In this case, thank the Empress Dowager for your trouble."

Su Moer watched her bow in the direction of the Cining Palace, and then she was satisfied and took people back to the Cining Palace.

Queen Naren sat beside Empress Xiaozhuang's bed and asked anxiously, "My Queen Mother, will this cause a rift between you and the Emperor? Actually, it doesn't matter to me." Empress Xiaozhuang half-lying on the bed, smiled bitterly and patted her hands, "Silly child, haven't I and the Emperor been at odds for a long time? The Emperor, now he calls himself 'I' in front of me, what else can I expect? As for you, now that Concubine Xian is pregnant, I have withdrawn her green card, you should seize the opportunity to get pregnant yourself." Naren lowered her head, stirred the handkerchief in her hand, and replied in a low voice, "Yes, I know." Empress Xiaozhuang had already checked Naren's pulse before, and her body was a little cold, and the conditioning method was not right, but it was not a big problem, and she would be well soon after taking her medicine. Although sixteen years old is still young, how many years can be wasted in this harem? The harem had been too lonely for decades. If she protected Naren and had a child, Naren would have something to rely on and would no longer be hurt by Shunzhi's willful behavior.

She shook her head and called a Nanny Chen, and smiled at Naren: "This is Nanny Chen, who once served the favorite concubine of the previous dynasty. She not only knows how to compete for favor, but also knows how to manage palace affairs. Mother gave her to you today, and she is yours. You can use her with confidence. Naren, you know the emperor's character. I don't ask how much the emperor favors you. As long as I can stay in your palace a few times a month, it will be your luck to get pregnant."

Nanny Chen took two steps forward and bowed to Naren, saying: "The servant kowtows to the master."

Naren was shocked , then she realized that Xiaozhuang was really thinking about her, and hurriedly stood up and helped Chen Mama up, turned to look at Xiaozhuang and smiled: "I thank the Queen Mother, you have planned so much for me, I will not let you down."

Xiaozhuang nodded, "You have done all the palace affairs, if you have any difficulties or don't understand something, come and ask the Queen Mother, this is something you will deal with every day in the future, and it is also the power you can hold in your own hands, do it with your heart, don't let others take advantage of it."

Naren took Chen Mama away After that, Su Moer hesitated for a moment and said, "Princess, the imperial decree was so decisive this time, I'm afraid the emperor will feel uncomfortable."

Xiaozhuang supported her hand and walked to the window, looking at the plum blossoms outside the window, sighed, and said, "Su Ma, do you think the emperor was worried after I fainted this time? I married the late emperor at the age of thirteen, and I used all means to ensure that he grew up safely in the harem, but the emperor hoped that his mother was a kind and merciful person. How naive and ridiculous? Since ancient times, emperors have to go through a dark tide when they take power. "But our emperor is not refuting me for the sake of the world, but to oppose me. My heart is very painful!" She waved her hand to stop Su Moer from persuading her, "Su Ma, we have gone through decades of ups and downs, and how much suffering we have endured, outsiders will never understand. Now I am finally standing at this high place, I want to live for myself." If you want to say who loves Xiaozhuang the most in the world, it must be Su Moer. She accompanied Xiaozhuang step by step to the top of the harem, and the effort she put in is incalculable. She just smiled with relief, stopped persuading Xiaozhuang, and said firmly: "No matter what the princess wants to do, Su Moer will always support you!"

Xiaozhuang laughed when she heard this. The resources left by the original owner were really rich. She had her confidants in the previous dynasty and the harem. When she was no longer tolerant and soft-hearted towards Shunzhi, what bargaining chips did Shunzhi have to fight against her? All he relied on in the past was his mother's love for him!

Xiaozhuang rested for a few more days and pretended to recover slowly. Shunzhi didn't come to pay respects, and she didn't interfere in Shunzhi's affairs again.

After Shunzhi left the court that day, he went to Chenggan Palace to relax, but was disturbed by four maids. The maids said that the pregnancy of Concubine Xian was unstable and he couldn't stay overnight. He wanted to get angry, but the old woman's words were reasonable. Everything was based on the fetus, so he couldn't vent.

He left Chenggan Palace and strolled in the Imperial Garden. Thinking about Concubine Xian's pregnancy, he had no one to confide in, and he was irritable. Then he thought that his decrees in the court were executed smoothly recently, and the Empress Dowager did stop interfering in politics as she said, and he felt comfortable physically and mentally.

As he was walking, he suddenly heard voices in the pavilion on the left. He turned his head and looked through the gap between the branches. He saw a woman in palace dress playing chess with herself with her back to him. While playing, she compared the chess records in the book and muttered something.

The little maid next to the woman advised: "Empress, it's windy, let's go back?"

The woman stared at the chessboard and shook her head, "Wait a little longer, the result will be out soon."

Shunzhi was interested. Hearing the little maid call her "Empress", she should be his concubine. How come he didn't know that he had a concubine who could play chess? Wu Liangfu rolled his eyes, stepped forward and shouted: "The emperor is here!"

The woman and the little maid were startled and immediately turned around to salute Shunzhi. The woman lowered her head too quickly, and Shunzhi didn't see who it was, so he walked up and whispered: "Raise your head, let me see."

The woman pursed her lips and slowly raised her head.

"Naren? How could it be you!" After seeing the woman's face clearly, Shunzhi's eyes flashed with surprise, but more of it was surprise. He looked her up and down and felt that Naren was particularly beautiful today. The pink palace dress made her look more delicate and feminine, and the smile on her face seemed to be more gentle than usual.

Naren glanced at the chessboard on the table, smiled and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me for making fun of you. Today, I saw a chess book in the study room and was quite interested in the chess game drawn on it. I thought it was boring in the room, so I went to the imperial garden to set up the chess and enjoy the scenery."

Xiaozhuang no longer interfered with his decisions, and he was more patient with the queen who came from Khorchin. She followed Naren's eyes and unexpectedly found that Naren's chess skills were not bad. "Naren can play chess? Why don't you play a game with me?"

Naren smiled and sat down opposite him. She reached out to put away the black and white chess pieces and smiled, "I am not very good at learning. Your Majesty should let me go a little."

The two of them played chess back and forth. Shunzhi loved Sinology, but there were not many concubines in the harem who could speak Chinese. He thought that no one except Wu Yunzhu could discuss Sinology with him. Unexpectedly, his queen could speak Chinese and play Go. "Does Naren know how to write poems?"

"Naren doesn't know much about poetry. She remembers some famous lines, but she can't write poems herself."

"Oh? Naren, read some poems for me to hear."

While playing chess, Naren softly recited the poems she had memorized. These days, she has been taught by Nanny Chen, and her voice and tone of voice have changed, as well as her posture. Nanny Chen analyzed Shunzhi's preferences in detail for her, and combined the experience of the previous favorite concubine and the situation in Shunzhi's harem, she arranged today's game. Naren worked hard. She had tasted enough of the loneliness of the empty boudoir. In order to have a child, she could do any difficult request.

After playing a game of chess, Naren leaned over to pour tea for Shunzhi, and suddenly the earring on her left ear fell at Shunzhi's feet.

Shunzhi picked up the earrings and put them on her, praising her, "Naren, you look beautiful in this outfit today."

Naren's cheeks suddenly flushed, and she lowered her head shyly, revealing a beautiful neck like white jade.

The beauty was like a painting, Shunzhi moved his fingers, and resisted the urge to hold her in his arms. He turned his eyes away, thinking of the memories of his time with Naren and the grievance of Wu Yunzhu being imprisoned in Chenggan Palace by Xiaozhuang, so he did not stay any longer. He coughed lightly, stood up and said, "It's getting late, Naren, please go back to the palace early. I still have to review memorials, so I won't accompany you."

Naren's eyes darkened at the right time, showing a hint of disappointment, lowered her head and whispered, "Yes, Your Majesty, please take care of yourself."

Shunzhi paused, and still took Wu Liangfu back to the Qianqing Palace. In his memory, Naren has always had the childish and timid face of the wedding. Later, when Naren grew up, he always thought she had a wooden face, no expression, no femininity. Unexpectedly, his queen also had such a gentle side, which was completely different from those Mongolian concubines in his palace.

Wu Liangfu has always been very smart. When he saw Shunzhi was interested in the queen, he started to think about it. In the past, the emperor had the virtuous concubine to entertain himself. Since the virtuous concubine became pregnant, the emperor had no close friends around him and was often bored. Now, judging from the queen's performance, she must want to compete for favor. The queen is a member of the queen mother's family. If he secretly helps the queen, maybe the queen mother will not have such a big opinion of him! It doesn't matter to him who the emperor favors, but if the emperor, the queen mother and the queen are all happy, then his position will be more stable and the rewards will not be less!

Naren returned to the bedroom and said to Nanny Chen with some concern: "Is this really possible? The emperor does seem very happy, but he has no intention of coming to Chuxiu Palace."

Nanny Chen came forward and whispered: "Master, don't worry, as long as you please the emperor and make an impression on him, he will think of you first when he is free."