The Winning Life of Consort Hui in Kangxi's Reign

Advance notice: After Transmigrating into Imperial Noble Consort Wenxi, I Settled Down to Enjoy Retirement. It has some similarities to this story, but also its own fresh ideas. Click the first title under "Coming Up" in my collection to read the blurb, which is at the end of this one. From a Borjigit girl raised in the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility to Emperor Kangxi's Noble Consort Hui, with a place in Yongshou Palace: for over a decade, everyone thought she was constantly walking on eggshells, terrified of making a misstep. But only she knew the truth: she was just passing the time! After transmigrating, she got free housing (inside the Forbidden City, in one of the twelve eastern and western palaces, with luxurious furnishings); a whole crowd of servants (Yongshou Palace all to herself, with enough maids and eunuchs to field a basketball team and play against themselves); a personal chef (the Imperial Kitchen plus a private kitchen, so she could eat whatever she wanted); and a steady salary with generous bonuses (her stipend always went up, her working hours were few and far between, and rewards kept coming). The working conditions were excellent! Every consort in the palace knew that the one person they must never provoke was the Borjigit woman of Yongshou Palace. No matter how fiercely they fought for the emperor's favor, they must never set their sights on Yongshou Palace. As a symbol of the Manchu-Mongolian marriage alliance, a Mongolian girl raised by the Grand Empress Dowager and a heroine who had once saved the emperor, Borjigit Naren could enjoy a life of wealth and comfort, free of worry, even if she never competed for favor and had no children. And besides, she and the emperor had shared both hardships and good times. Naren's account: When I first transmigrated and learned I would become the short-lived future Consort Hui from history, I had just two thoughts: take care of my health! Find a powerful protector! From then on, goji berries steeped in a white porcelain cup, mugwort added to my foot bath. Those happy days of drinking iced cola and dancing at clubs were gone for good. Destined to spend my whole life trapped in the imperial palace? Great. After spending four or five years exhausting myself to boost the prospects and GDP of my workplace, I never want to work hard again. She was treated generously in life, posthumously elevated to empress, and the new emperor was told to treat her well. Emperor Kangxi upheld to the end of his life the vow he had made beneath the bright spring sun of his youth: "In this life, I will make sure my elder sister never has to worry." This isn't a romance! The heroine is an emotionless slacker machine. She gets along well with most of the women in the harem, and palace intrigue barely touches her. After Transmigrating into Imperial Noble Consort Wenxi, I Settled Down to Enjoy Retirement The current Noble Consort Niu Hulu Minruo's life goals: raise her children well, take good care of her health, and outlive Kangxi! Kangxi's Noble Consort Wenxi was the daughter of a high minister, descended from a founding general, and the younger sister of Empress Xiaozhao. She entered the palace as a consort and was promoted to noble consort the following year. With a distinguished family and a life full of honor, she seemed to have a perfect start from the start. Her life was just a little short, but that was all right. In her previous life, Minruo had transmigrated into a palace maid who could be bullied by anyone, spending years on edge and treading carefully. She smacked her lips and vowed that in this life, she would brook no interference with her health and longevity. If she couldn't live peacefully to a hundred and enjoy all this wealth and glory, then all the skills she'd painstakingly honed while fighting for survival in the palace in her previous life would have been wasted. Many years later, Prince Dun Yin'e, regarded by Emperor Yongzheng as a trusted brother and pillar of state: "Every day, I ask myself three questions: Did I pay my respects to Mother today? Did I make her happy today? Did she hit me today?" Princess Gurun Chengyi Jiahui, who conquered the Mongolian grasslands with her cracking whip: "Every day, I ask myself three questions: Was my husband obedient today? Did I write to Mother today? Did I win my sparring match today?" Emperor Kangxi praised Noble Consort Niu Hulu: "She is gentle and gracious, kind and virtuous, and on good terms with the women of the harem. She raised my tenth son to be kind and honest, and my seventh child by rank, Princess Jiahui, to be sweet-natured and pure-hearted. She is truly a model for the women of the harem." Emperor Yongzheng praised the noble consort: "Mother Noble Consort is loving and gentle. She does not favor princes according to whether they are her own children or favored by the emperor. She cherishes the young and protects the vulnerable, possessing the heart of a sage. My tenth brother is kind and honest, talented without showing off, and indifferent to fame and fortune. He is truly my right-hand man." Minruo: I didn't even compete. I just won. That old dog of a man said in his later years that, among the many women in the harem, I was the only one who had never loved him. Honestly, I was just thinking: Can you be money for me to spend, or make me happy like my children do? You can't do either. I kept my distance, and you respected me as your elder sister and valued my family background. That naturally made my life in the palace easier. You say I don't like you. If I did, I'd be lowering myself into the dirt, competing with a crowd of people. That would only put me at a disadvantage and cost me my head start and natural leverage. I'm not stupid. Why would I do that? I don't compete or fight for favor, but that doesn't mean I'm weak or helpless. I can make a good life for myself, protect my children, keep my family in line so they won't try to use me as a pawn, and make them see reason so they don't fight for a position that would leave my children battered and bruised. Isn't that enough? A peaceful, comfortable life, a bowl of hot soup in the morning, good friends to play cards and chat with when I'm free, and children and grandchildren around me in my later years: isn't that a thousand times better than fighting tooth and nail for the so-called favor of the emperor? I'll smile quietly and enjoy the flowers over a cup of tea. And... I really don't want to work hard anymore! A peaceful life is wonderful, and hot pot with lamb is delicious! The other consorts: How infuriating! Simply infuriating! Note: Due to an issue with the site's filters, the Tenth Prince's name is written as "Yin'e" throughout this story. If his full name is typed, it gets changed to "Yin??". Theme: I cannot change the times I live in, so I can only do my best to make sure they don't change me.