After Qinghe finished recounting what had happened, she stepped aside and waited quietly.

Di Jingcheng held a handkerchief in one hand and wiped away her tears, then buried Azi's little head in his chest and gently comforted her for a while.

Consort Shu and the others were consumed by jealousy, but there was nothing they could do.

Prince Yuan originally intended to speak up to ease the awkward and silent atmosphere, but when he thought of the delicate and innocent girl being bullied by this group of women, his usual gentle demeanor changed, and he now revealed a hint of gloom.

Everyone was insecure and no one knew the right way.

The emperor broke the silence, but her words shocked everyone. She looked tenderly at the girl in her arms, yet uttered cold, indifferent words.

"Why isn't Physician Li staying at the Imperial Hospital? What is he doing here?"

Upon hearing this, Imperial Physician Li was somewhat bewildered. Looking around, he could only see that Consort Shu, who was leaning against a maid, was injured. Judging from the Emperor's words, he was also unsure of his own purpose in coming here.

But he still quickly stepped forward to reply: "Your Majesty, a eunuch said that someone has been injured in the Imperial Garden and has specially sent me to treat him."

Upon hearing this, Consort Shu's eyes widened in disbelief. She rarely showed such a ferocious expression in front of outsiders, and was clearly enraged by what Physician Li had said.

Physician Li completely absolved himself of any responsibility, showing no concern for Consort Shu's life or death, and only thinking about flattering the Emperor.

Emperor Jingcheng grunted in acknowledgment, then said casually, "I don't see anyone here who looks like they've been wronged or injured. But the Empress seems to have been quite frightened. Come and take her pulse."

Physician Li hurried forward and felt Azi's pulse; it was strong and vigorous, without any signs of illness. What should he say?

Seeing the complicated expression on his face, Di Jingcheng really thought there was something wrong with Azi, and his expression became even more serious: "How is it?"

He suddenly spoke, startling the imperial physician, who quickly stepped back: "Your Majesty, the Empress is physically fine, but she has been frightened and her mind is disturbed. She needs to rest well."

Di Jingcheng nodded: "Very well, you may leave now."

Upon hearing the emperor dismiss the imperial physicians, Caiyue, who was standing nearby, hurriedly crawled forward on her knees. In a panic, she pleaded, "Your Majesty, Consort Shu has suffered serious injuries. Please allow the imperial physicians to treat her."

Consort Shu leaned against another palace maid, her eyes filled with pain and weakness as she looked at the emperor, softly calling out, "Your Majesty..."

Upon hearing this, Di Jingcheng remained silent. Seeing that Caiyue was about to pounce on him, Zheng San and Qinghe immediately stepped forward to stop her.

Upon seeing this, Prince Yuan said calmly, "What's going on? My sister-in-law was clearly frightened, and even the imperial physician said she needs to rest. Does Consort Shu want to distort the truth?"

Consort Shu was so angry that she spat out a mouthful of blood, glared at Prince Yuan, and then fainted.

Di Jingcheng looked at the person in his arms. Good, he hadn't seen such a bloody scene.

"Alright, Jingyuan, Consort Shu has been suffering from internal heat lately. Let Physician Li take a look." Emperor Jingcheng glanced at Physician Li, who immediately stepped forward.

Imperial Physician Li was ashamed; he was in a bad mood! Only the Emperor could say that Consort Shu had suffered serious internal injuries, but ultimately her life was not in danger.

After examining her carefully, Imperial Physician Li replied, "Your Majesty, as Your Majesty said, Consort Shu's vomiting of blood is simply due to internal heat, and the amount of blood she vomited is not excessive. I will prescribe some medicine to reduce the heat, and Consort Shu will be fine after taking it."

Prince Yuan couldn't help but chuckle as he listened to Physician Li's serious-sounding nonsense.

The crowd's puzzled gazes shifted to him, a slight smile playing on his lips as he stole a glance before quickly looking down.

Emperor Jingcheng nodded in satisfaction: "It seems that Qinghe, a maid who is powerless, is loyal to her mistress. It is not a big deal that she kicked Consort Shu in a moment of panic. However, Consort Shu has committed insubordination. For the sake of your father, I will spare your life, demote you to the rank of concubine, and reduce your salary for one year."

After saying that, Emperor Jingcheng seemed to remember something else: "The maidservant beside Consort Shu spoke rudely, causing the Empress distress and worry, so she was beaten to death."

Upon hearing the emperor's verdict, Caiyue burst into tears, crying out, "Your Majesty, I didn't! Your Majesty, please spare me! Your Majesty!" Just as the eunuchs were about to drag her away, she remembered Consort Shu: "Consort Shu, please save me, Your Majesty..."

Consort Shu looked away, she was furious. She had been publicly humiliated by a group of people and demoted by the emperor. She no longer cared about the past relationship between master and servant, and even thought that Caiyue was utterly useless and would only drag her down.

Consort Li and Consort Liu were already half-dead with fright. Watching Caiyue being dragged away, Consort Li swallowed hard with fear, knelt on the ground with her head down, her eyes darting around in a panic, and she was trembling slightly.

As expected, the emperor would not let them off the hook.

"You two, in league with Consort Shu, have disrupted the inner palace. You are hereby fined one year's salary and given twenty slaps to the face. Get out!" Emperor Jingcheng had no idea who these two people were.

"Yes, yes, thank you, Your Majesty. We will take our leave." The two immediately stepped aside to avoid being exposed to the emperor.

Seeing that things were mostly settled, Emperor Jingcheng left with the person in his arms, and everyone hurriedly saw him off.

Di Jingyuan did not follow. He straightened up and looked at the large group of people kneeling.

"Send all the ladies back to their palaces. In the future, when you see the Empress, you must observe the proper etiquette in the palace." After saying this, Prince Yuan walked towards his palace.

The crowd dispersed. Consort Shu, no! She should be called Consort Wu now, was carried back by palace maids. They went to the Imperial Hospital and invited many imperial physicians to see her. They all said it was caused by internal heat and only prescribed some medicine to reduce the heat.

Fortunately, Qinghe's kick wasn't too forceful, so she wasn't seriously injured, but she'll inevitably need a long recovery period.

Prince Yuan returned to his palace, the place where he had lived while in the palace. He also had his own residence outside the palace.

However, the three siblings had a very good relationship and all of them said one after another that they were born of the same mother. So he and the third princess, Di Jinghan, opened a residence outside the palace and also kept a residence in the palace.

As for the other two imperial brothers born out of wedlock and one imperial sister, they all went to their respective fiefdoms.

Emperor Jingyuan returned to his palace, Zhaohe Hall. Several eunuchs and maids were cleaning the courtyard. Upon seeing him return, they all bowed.

He returned to his bedchamber, which was warm, spacious, and luxurious, but he was the only one living there. His personal eunuch, Fu Zi, immediately stepped forward and took off his cloak: "Your Highness, please rest."

Di Jingyuan nodded: "Fuzi, bring those memorials over."

"Your Highness, you've been reading memorials these days, please take care of your health."

"My brother has been busy lately, so I must help him out." Emperor Jingyuan needs to quickly familiarize himself with the affairs of the court. In about ten days, his brother will be leaving the palace, and he will have to guard the court for him.

Fu Zi's attempts to dissuade him failed, so she had no choice but to bring the memorial to the table, light a few more lamps in the room, and serve hot tea before quietly grinding ink in the room.

Emperor Jingyuan was multitasking; while looking at the memorials, his mind was also preoccupied with other things.