Queen Xiaozhuang's personal maid: Su Malagu

Chapter 57

(1)

On the 18th day of the first lunar month in the 1661th year of Shunzhi (February 2, 17), seven-year-old Aixinjueluo Xuanye succeeded to the throne with the reign name Kangxi.Soni, Suksaha, Ebilong, and Aoboi, the four noble ministers of the opposite sex, assisted the government.

Bumbutai, Su Mo'er, and Lu Qingyi had also considered the reason why these four men of the opposite sex were allowed to assist the government.These four are neither clans nor Jueluo, so there is no worry about competing for the throne.At the same time, these people are the descendants of the founding fathers, all have military exploits, status and military power, and they are an important force of military nobles with different surnames.Of course, the most important thing is that they have the strength, influence, and ability to assist the young emperor.And since these four were all excluded by Prince Rui Dorgon, and finally employed by Emperor Shunzhi, they should also try their best to assist the son of Emperor Shunzhi who has the kindness of knowing him.

……

Spring is yet to come, the mountains are desolate, and the cold wind is blowing. Su Moer and Lu Qingyi, each leading a horse, walked slowly on the path.

"Looks like I'm going to lose you again." Su Mo'er spoke first.

"I've been able to see you every day for the past five years. I'm already very satisfied." Lu Qingyi coughed a few times and said.

"Take the traditional Chinese medicine I gave you yesterday, and pay more attention to your body." Su Mo'er stopped, looked at Lu Qingyi whose temples were already graying, and said distressedly.

"You have to pay more attention to your body. You have to take care of the Empress Dowager and the Pope. You have to work harder." Lu Qingyi stared at Su Mo'er, who had obvious wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, feeling even more distressed.

"I'm not tired. With your help, I'm not tired at all. All these years, thanks to you, the emperor would not be so good without you." Su Mo'er said these words not only for herself, but also for Bumu What Butai said was even more for Kangxi.

"You paid more for the emperor. Manchu, Mongolian, calligraphy, and being a man are all taught by your precepts and deeds. Mo'er, I didn't expect that you are so talented."

Lu Qingyi's "Mo'er" already made Su Mo'er blush; Lu Qingyi's words of praise made her wave her hands embarrassingly.

"No, no, you taught him more. If you hadn't taught him the Four Books and Five Classics, how could he know the past and the present?" After Su Mo'er finished speaking, the two of them laughed together.

"It seems that the two of us are asking for credit for each other." Lu Qing finished with a smile, paused for a while and then continued: "The emperor has been strong-willed and patient since he was a child. , have to recite more than 100 times, recite more than 100 times, until you know it well and get it in your heart, it’s not easy. It’s not easy for a child to go through this.”

Su Mo'er nodded.When she thought of Emperor Kangxi, she still remembered the child who had acne at the age of three and was sent out of the palace to be taken care of by her, and was inseparable from her; Wen, calligraphy, and a little boy who rides a horse and shoots arrows with her.

There is a feeling between Su Moer and Kangxi that is not relatives, but better than relatives.Five years ago, the conflict between Bumbutai and Shunzhi escalated. Fearing that the future power would fall into the hands of the Han people, Bumbutai began to look for a successor among the three princes of Shunzhi.

When Su Mo'er accompanied Bumbutai to visit the princes, the childish and sweet smile of the third prince Xuan Ye immediately attracted Su Mo'er.When Bumbutai asked her which prince looked the most like a king, Su Moer mentioned the third prince Xuanye.

"Oh?" Bumbutai thought for a while.

"This child is not bad, but he is a little young." Bumbutai is always worried about changes in the current situation. Once someone needs to succeed him, how can a child who has just turned two years old convince the public?

"It is precisely because he is still young that the empress can focus on training him. If he grows up, I am afraid that he will develop a rebellious mentality and disappoint the empress." Su Mo'er whispered.

Bumbutai nodded, agreeing with Su Moer's statement.Shunzhi disappointed her so much, and Bumbutai felt that this disappointment was related to not receiving a good education since childhood.If strict training and education are given to the prince who will inherit the throne in the future, he will no longer be like Shunzhi, who opposes her everywhere, indulges in feelings all day long, and ignores state affairs.

After Bumbutai thought about it, she immediately made a decision that she would personally choose a teacher for the future prince who would inherit the throne.Since Su Mo'er mentioned the third prince Xuanye, and Bumbutai agrees, what kind of teacher should I choose?
Bumbutai had a headache for a while. She even recruited the teachers of the former pope's sons and selected them layer by layer, but finally found that none of them met her requirements.Either her abilities are not comprehensive, or her ideas are very different from hers, or she is too old, and some of them make her feel that she is not loyal enough to the Qing Dynasty.

Once, Bumbutai accidentally saw Xiao Xuanye learning Mongolian with Su Moer. Su Moer was patient and gentle, and Xuanye was serious and happy in learning.She felt excited. Isn't this Su Mo'er Xuan Ye's best teacher?
Since Su Mo'er came to Shengjing and Beijing with her, she never gave up her studies. Her Mongolian, Manchu, Chinese and calligraphy are better than those of the Taifu, and she is fully qualified to be Xuan Ye's teacher.

(2)

After Su Mo'er knew that Bumbutai asked her to be Xuan Ye's teacher, she was taken aback, and said, "No way! The servant is just a servant, how can he be the prince's tutor?"

Bumbutai knew that Su Mo'er would have such a reaction, and she calmly reviewed with Su Mo'er what they had experienced after they entered the palace.

"In such a big palace, who can I rely on? The relatives around me have left me one by one, and now even the emperor..." Bumbutai began to choke up when he mentioned Shunzhi.

"He is my only son, but he regards me as an enemy. Not only is he unwilling to listen to my advice, he even wants to give up the Qing Dynasty. Whose world is the court now? Is it the emperor's world?" Bu Mubutai shook his head: "No, although Emperor Shunzhi is sitting on the throne, how many people are staring at the throne? The throne is always..."

Bumbutai sighed and looked at Su Mo'er.

"Since you came to me, I have never treated you as a servant. I used to be my sister, but now you are my support and my strength."

"My lady, thank you!" Su Mo'er's nose soured, and her voice began to choke.

"I thought about it, and there is no one more suitable than you to be the teacher of the third prince. You are a "talented woman" conferred by the former emperor. Your knowledge and talent are no worse than any Taifu. Wisdom, these are the things that future emperors must possess. More importantly, I believe in your loyalty to the Qing Dynasty and to me."

After Bumbutai finished speaking, tears were streaming down his face.She held Su Mo'er's hand and said emotionally: "We have had a hard time these years. You accompanied me through every hurdle. Educating the future emperor is more important than anything else. Everything matters."

"Your Majesty, thank you Majesty for trusting your servant. The servant is grateful, and the slave is willing to do his best..." Su Mo'er really couldn't say the word "teach".

"But..." Su Mo'er paused, swallowed, and continued: "The servant is willing to teach the third prince, but is the emperor willing? Are the other kings willing? The servant does not want to let the empress and the emperor because of this matter." The contradiction between the two is intensified, and I don't want other kings to use this as an excuse to hurt the empress."

Bumbutai nodded.

"I've thought about this issue, and I'll talk to the emperor and other kings."

"But……"

Before Su Mo'er could finish speaking, Bumbutai interrupted her with a wave of her hand: "You don't need to say any more, I have already made up my mind! I have my own way to convince the emperor and other kings."

As Su Moer expected, Bumbutai and Shunzhi just mentioned it, but he rejected it.

"The harem cannot participate in politics. This has been a rule since ancient times. Let a woman be the prince's teacher, and she is also a maid, absolutely not! We can't break the royal rules."

Bumbutai was waiting for Shunzhi's words. She said slowly: "The emperor is very right. The royal rule is that women cannot participate in politics, and no woman in the harem participates in politics. Aijia just wants Su Mo'er to teach the third prince. Besides, since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, there has been a rule that Han people cannot enter the palace as concubines. Didn’t the emperor also appoint Concubine Dong E? Also, Su Mo’er is not just a maid , she is a female scholar bestowed by the former emperor."

Shunzhi was dumbfounded when he heard that, he thought, could it be that the queen mother did such absurd behavior on purpose to drive away Concubine Dong E?So he said: "Su Mo'er, who is next to my mother, has read poetry and books, and has profound knowledge. Since my mother thinks that she is suitable to be the third prince's tutor, my child also agrees, but what should I do if the other kings are firmly opposed?"

"Aijia from other kings can go and talk, as long as the emperor agrees." After Bumbutai finished speaking, he got up and was about to leave.Shunzhi suddenly said: "Mother, there is one thing I don't know about my son. The mother asked Su Mo'er to be the tutor, so why only be the third prince's tutor?"

"It's just because the Ai family likes the third prince. Seeing the third prince, the Ai family remembered the emperor when he was a child. At that time, the emperor was as smart and likable as the third prince today." Bumbutai finished speaking and took a look. Shunzhi, turned around and left.

Looking at the back of Bumbutai going away, Shunzhi thought, does she want the third prince to inherit the throne?

It was precisely because of this that Shunzhi thought of this, so after Concubine Dong E gave birth to the fourth prince, before he was named, he was the first to make him the crown prince.Apart from loving the house and Wu and liking the fourth prince born to him and Concubine Dong E, the purpose is also that he is unwilling to be at the mercy of Bumbutai.

(3)

When the kings heard that a maid was appointed as the prince's tutor, they immediately became overwhelmed, and some even threatened to abdicate, which made Shunzhi secretly happy.Although Bumbutai failed to get the support of the emperor and the kings, her desire to let Su Moer educate the third prince became stronger and stronger.

"The more the emperor and the kings disagree, the more I will insist." Bumbutai thought.

Bumbutai's insistence made Su Mo'er very embarrassed.She didn't want to see Bumbutai being said by the emperor and the kings as wanting to interfere in the government, and she didn't want Bumbutai to be left alone and helpless, but she couldn't persuade Bumbutai to withdraw and let her be the third prince's tutor idea.

When Su Mo'er was at a loss, she naturally thought of Lu Qingyi again, so she went to discuss with Lu Qingyi.

When Lu Qing saw her one by one, before she could speak, he talked about the third prince and grand tutor.

"You also know?" Su Mo'er asked in surprise.

"The whole court is discussing this matter, and I'm worried about it." As soon as Lu Qing heard about it, he knew that this would push Bumbutai and Su Mo'er to the forefront.

"I can't persuade my mother to change my mind, and I understand why my mother did this. I want to help my mother, but I don't know how to help." Su Mo'er said distressedly.

"Although the empress dowager's decision sounds absurd, it is wise." Lu Qingyi said.

"What? Smart?" Su Mo'er was puzzled.

"Although you are a maid, you have a wisdom different from that of a maid, and even more talent that is no less than that of the Taifu, not to mention that you are a female scholar named by the former emperor. The decision of the Empress Dowager is undoubtedly correct." Lu Qingyi said.

Su Mo'er blushed after being praised by Lu Qingyi, and said coyly: "Your servant only knows how to serve people, but doesn't know how to be a prince."

"You can! Remember when you designed clothes for the imperial court? At that time, you must have never imagined that you could design so well. At that time, many people also felt that the emperor, queen, concubine, and official clothes were entrusted to you to design. It's ridiculous, but what happened? At the insistence of Prince Rui at that time, you designed it, and the design was excellent, didn't you?" Lu Qingyi encouraged her.

Su Mo'er was moved by Lu Qingyi's words.

"Can I really?" she asked.

"It's absolutely fine, you will be a very good teacher." Lu Qingyi said seriously.

"But... But the emperor and the kings will not agree." Su Mo'er sighed.

Lu Qing thought for a while and said: "If you don't have the name of Taifu, are you still willing to teach the third prince?"

"Of course I would! I definitely don't do it for the name of the grand tutor. I don't want any name. It's just that if the third prince has another grand tutor, I won't have the chance to teach him." Su Mo'er said hastily.

"I have an idea. I don't know if the empress dowager and the emperor agree!" Lu Qingyi said.

"What way?" Su Mo'er asked.

"Let me be the third prince's tutor in name, and you can be the actual teacher." Lu Qingyi said.

Su Mo'er opened her eyes wide, overjoyed.Because if this is the case, not only will the problem of the third prince and Tai Tuo be solved, but he will also be able to meet with Lu Qingyi often.

"I'll go back and tell my mother right away!" Su Mo'er said excitedly.

After Su Mo'er went back, she told Lu Qingyi's idea, and Bumbutai was also very happy: "Yes, this is a good idea, it not only blocked their mouths, but also achieved the goal, let's do this. "

After Bumbutai finished speaking, seeing Su Moer's eyes brightened with excitement, he added another sentence: "In this way, two lovers can meet often."

When Su Mo'er heard this, she covered her face in shame.

Bumbutai immediately put forward Lu Qingyi's opinion to be the third prince's tutor to the emperor and the kings, and the emperor and the kings stopped talking.Although they were still somewhat dissatisfied in their hearts, since they did not violate the rules, and Lu Qingyi's uncle Lu Shan had also been a grand tutor, they didn't say anything more.

In this way, the nominal tutor of the third prince Xuanye is Lu Qingyi, but in fact it is Lu Qingyi and Su Mo'er.

(4)

Xuan Ye has been studying systematically and purposefully with Lu Qingyi and Su Mo'er since he was two years old, and he usually accepts Su Mo'er and Bumbutai's precepts and deeds.Xuan Ye, who lived separately from his biological mother Concubine Tong since childhood, got a long-lost maternal love from Su Mo'er, relied on her very much, and called her "Ernie" (mother).

Su Mo'er also devoted all her efforts to Kangxi, from teaching him Mongolian and Manchu to taking care of his daily life.

However, when Su Mo'er and Lu Qingyi were trying their best to build a good emperor in the future, Xuan Ye, who was only three years old, fell ill, and suffered from the smallpox that the court talked about "acne".

The Manchurians and Mongolians who had been living in the mountains and grasslands were particularly susceptible to "smallpox" after arriving in the Central Plains.Since there was no specific medicine for this disease at that time, it was also called "nine deaths and one disease".

When Bumbutai learned that Xuanye had smallpox, he immediately fell into a chair.The heir to the throne she had carefully selected had a narrow escape from smallpox, which made her sigh: Is the sky going to destroy the Qing Dynasty?

During this period, Concubine Dong E gave birth to the fourth prince for Shunzhi.The fourth prince was called "My First Son" by Shunzhi from the moment he was born, and he was regarded as the heir to the throne. Bumbutai also thought it was God's will.For fear of infecting other people in the palace, Bumbutai and Shunzhi immediately asked Xuan Ye to move out of the palace and move to a residence outside the west wall of the palace.

The residence is separated from the palace by a river.

Looking at Xuan Ye who had a high fever, both Bumbutai and Shunzhi felt that he would not survive, so they gave up and let his wet nurse and court lady take care of him.

Su Moer, who already had a deep relationship with Xuan Ye, felt distressed seeing Xuan Ye who was tortured to death by fever and pain, and insisted on going there to take care of Xuan Ye.

"It's an infectious disease, and it's easily contagious." Bumbutai also had a sisterly affection for Su Mo'er, and he didn't want her to take risks.

"Don't be afraid, servant! Since the empress handed over the third prince to the servant, the servant has the responsibility to take care of him and heal his illness, and the servant believes that he will be cured! The servant believes!" Su Mo'er said with tears.

"Hey! Well, then you go!" Bumbutai thought for a while and agreed.

So, Su Mo'er and Xuan Ye lived in that house, taking care of him meticulously.At the same time, Lu Qingyi also searched for folk remedies everywhere, brewing various herbal medicines for Xuan Ye to drink.During those most painful days, Xuan Ye didn't feel abandoned because of having Su Mo'er and Lu Qingyi, and also felt the warmth of relatives from them.

In order to improve his physical resistance, Su Moer often accompanies him to go for walks, play games, and exercise. She also tells him stories about her childhood and tells him to be strong no matter what she encounters.

"As long as you believe that nothing can bring you down, you will definitely get better. The same is true for illness. As long as you are not afraid of illness, illness will shrink back." Su Mo'er encouraged Xuanye over and over again.

Because of Su Mo'er's patient and meticulous care, and because of the herbal medicine Lu Qingyi searched and found, the little Xuanye actually overcame the difficulty, and his body began to gradually improve.

After the death of Concubine Dong E's fourth prince, Bumbutai placed her hope on Xuan Ye who was recovering gradually.It was not until then that Bumbutai, Shunzhi and Xuanye's biological mother Concubine Tong began to visit him in the courtyard outside the palace.

However, although he recovered from his illness, Xuanye still stayed in the courtyard in order to prevent the disease from recurring.In addition to taking good care of him, Su Mo'er also taught him the Four Books and Five Classics together with Lu Qingyi, and cultivated his knowledge, ability, personality and conduct, as well as literary and military strategies, and at the same time set rules for his speech and behavior. Severe criticism will be given if there is a slight overstepping, and no tolerance will be given.

Although Xuan Ye is young, he can deeply understand Su Mo'er's hard work and earnest expectations, and he can do everything well.

At the same time, Su Mo'er's frugality in her daily life also exerted a subtle influence on Xuan Ye, which she could not feel in the palace.

During that time, it became the most important period for Xuan Ye, Su Mo'er, and Lu Qingyi.During that time, Xuanye honed his willpower and realized the impermanence of life, so he worked harder in his future studies and life.And the days in the house became the warmest and happiest time for Su Moer and Lu Qing.

At that time, Su Mo'er, who was already forty years old, often worked tirelessly between the Palace of Compassion and Xuanye's acne shelter, leaving countless figures of her on Beichang Street.

After more than a year, Xuan Ye, who was already over four years old, returned to the palace after confirming that there would be no recurrence.The house where Xuanye avoided acne was also rebuilt in the first year of Yongzheng, and was named Fuyou Palace.After Hongli ascended the throne, he changed its name to Fuyou Temple and became a temple.

(End of this chapter)