The bird's nest was brought by Xu Zhiyan.

For this reason, Wei Yingzi held the Xie family accountable, wanting to frame Xu Zhiyan and Xie Anfeng for the crime of harming the imperial heir and imprison them.

"I have lost my child and now I am implicated in the death of my brother and sister-in-law. My mother and sister-in-law are speechless and unable to defend themselves. His Majesty is furious and the Xie family is in imminent danger."

"Your Majesty, I am the greatest victim, and I have not been able to rest for even a day. I kneel day and night begging Your Majesty to calm your anger and to beg Lady Wei to spare the Xie family..."

Empress Xie smiled coldly and said, "It's ridiculous that I'm the one who's most terrified after losing my child."

The first child was lost just like that.

She was clearly the victim, yet she ended up being the one who bore the brunt of the anger.

Because of the child's death, Emperor Hui did not visit her once for three whole months.

The palace has always been a place of fawning on the powerful and belittling the weak. During those three months, the gifts that were originally given to them were taken away one by one, and the supplies that should have been provided were treated differently.

It was Xu Zhiyan who, upon entering the palace again and learning of her hardships, returned and told Xie Anfeng. Coincidentally, there was a drought in the northwest, and the Xie family donated 50,000 shi of grain to the court, which restored Consort Xi's favor.

Then, she became pregnant with her second child.

This time she was very careful, not only keeping a low profile herself, but also being cautious about her diet, accessories, and actions. In the end, she still lost the baby at three months.

This happened during a palace banquet; after the banquet ended, the child was gone.

Emperor Hui was furious and ordered the Imperial City Guard to investigate thoroughly.

Upon investigation, it seems there are still many connections with the Xie family—all the women of the Xie household were present, and they even sat with Consort Xi for a while after the palace banquet.

Consort Xi didn't believe it, but every piece of evidence pointed to Xu Zhiyan.

Xu Zhiyan was indignant. Both miscarriages pointed to her, and there must be someone behind it.

After analyzing the situation with Xie Anfeng, Xie Anfeng also felt that there must be a problem. So Xie Anfeng went to the palace again and told Emperor Hui about the suspicious points, pleading with Emperor Hui to investigate thoroughly.

Following Xie Anfeng's advice, Emperor Hui conducted a thorough investigation and indeed discovered that the eunuchs under Consort Xi were actually from the Wei family.

The eunuch was killed, and Xu Zhiyan was exonerated. However, Xu Zhiyan was frightened and dared not enter the palace again, nor dared to come to Xingning Palace again.

At that time, Xu Zhiyan was pregnant with Xie Yu, and under the pretext of resting during her pregnancy, she did not enter the palace again for a year.

To comfort Consort Xi, Emperor Hui promoted her rank despite her childlessness, bestowing upon her the title of Noble Consort Xi and granting her residence in Xingning Palace.

Just then, Johor presented several pairs of beautiful phoenixes as tribute, and Emperor Hui bestowed them all upon Consort Xi.

However, she was not the only one to be granted titles at the same time; more than a dozen titles were conferred, including Consort, Concubine, and Zhaoyi.

The emperor is busy. After finishing the affairs of the court, he is busy with the harem. There are more than a dozen newly appointed concubines, along with dozens of old ones. One concubine is appointed every day. It will be a month before Consort Xi is favored.

Not to mention, without fail, on the first and fifteenth of the month, Emperor Hui had to stay with the Empress. Even if he didn't go to the Empress's place, he wouldn't summon any concubines to his bedchamber.

Every day was spent waiting for the emperor's favor. During those days, besides feeding the phoenix, he would look at the sky in the four corners of the courtyard and count the bricks on the surrounding walls.

The twelve-story tower is adorned with morning makeup, while those atop the Immortal-Gazing Tower gaze upon the emperor.

The golden beast with its chain is cold and interlocking, while the bronze dragon drips water, making the daytime long.

She stopped combing her hair and looked in the mirror; she wanted to change her silk robes and added more fragrance.

Peering from afar at the open curtains of the main hall, one sees palace maids in robes sweeping the imperial bed.

During the endless wait, Old Master Xie passed away. She returned to the Xie residence with Emperor Hui to pay her respects and see her father one last time.

Unexpectedly, after returning to the palace from the Xie residence, she suffered unbearable abdominal pain, which was excruciating, and later she bled profusely.

Only after summoning the imperial physician did she learn that her third pregnancy had been terminated without her even realizing it!

This time, she didn't cry, didn't make a fuss, and didn't have anyone investigate.

Liuli handed her the final investigation results, and she burst into laughter after reading them.

It turns out that Xie Anfeng and Emperor Hui had made an agreement that Emperor Hui would guarantee the Xie family's prosperity, and the Xie family would tacitly agree that Consort Xi would not leave any children for the rest of her life.

Both sides promised Consort Xi a lifetime of honor, that no one could harm her, and that she could live out her days in peace.

Who wants to grow old in such despair?

She hated it, she hated the Xie family and Emperor Hui to the core.

Is this the splendor and wealth of Xingning Palace?

Is wealth and luxury just about wearing fine silks and satins for one person to see?

"Is my life just a prison for the Xie family's wealth and power? I stopped caring about wealth and power the day I lost my third child. You want wealth and power? Dream on!"

Consort Xi smiled, "I've known for a long time that Wei Yingzi and Xu Yingrong, the illegitimate daughter of the Xu family, are very close. During my investigation, I also discovered that Wei Yingzi colluded with the Xu family to frame Xu Zhiyan, so..."

Xie Anfeng and Madam Xie both looked up sharply at Empress Xie.

"So, I went along with it and gave it a push. Doesn't Xu Yingrong like my brother? Wei Yingzi wants to arrange for Xu Yingrong to be by my brother's side, so I, as her younger sister, will help her make her wish come true!"

So at the palace banquet, Consort Xi stepped forward and toasted her brother, watching as Xie Anfeng drank the wine that Xu Yingrong had drugged with his own medicine. Consort Xi coldly watched as Wei Yingzi arranged for Xie Anfeng to rest in a side hall of the palace, allowing Xu Yingrong to take care of him, even taking him to bed.

Finally, Wei Yingzi led her men to catch her brother-in-law sleeping with his sister-in-law. She then revealed the news to Xu Zhiyan and suggested that Xu Zhiyan take Xu Yingrong as Xie Anfeng's concubine.

Xu Zhiyan was pregnant with her second child at the time and had no choice but to accept Xu Yingrong. During her pregnancy, she was disappointed and depressed. Xu Yingrong always acted humble, pitiful, and weak.

Seeing Xu Zhiyan angry and suspicious of Xie Anfeng, Consort Xi felt a sense of vengeful pleasure that made her otherwise boring days in the palace much happier.

"Xie Chunxi, you, you are so vicious!" Xie Anfeng was furious. "Yan'er was so good to you, she was so kind and benevolent, she never wronged you in the slightest, why did you have to hurt her like that?"

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