Consort De offended the Emperor and was punished by being confined to her quarters and demoted to the rank of Attendant, instantly becoming the laughingstock of the palace.

Because of her low birth, she was promoted to a noble lady after giving birth to a prince, which made her quite hated. If a lowly palace maid could do this, how could the Manchu and Mongol noble ladies who were selected through the imperial concubine selection bear it?

They all felt they were of noble birth, and how could they be happy to be trampled underfoot by a palace maid as soon as they entered the palace?

Now that he's been demoted all of a sudden, everyone can take a jab at him.

If my father were still the head of the Imperial Household Department, the situation wouldn't be this bad. Although he was hated by the women in the palace, he still had everything he needed in terms of food, clothing, housing, and transportation.

Lady Uya would also stuff some good things into her palace, so even though she was being targeted, the Imperial Household Department's provisions for her were never lacking!

But now the Imperial Household Department is no longer under the control of the Uya family, so things are completely different!

The first thing that showed was that the fabrics she received in her palace this month were all old, unrecognizable fabrics from who-knows-when, with no fresh designs whatsoever.

How could someone like Consort De, who still wants to seize the opportunity to compete for favor, possibly be willing to accept this?

But just as she was about to fly into a rage, she remembered that her father was still imprisoned. Now was not the time to let her be willful!

And those days are yet to come; Lord Uya won't be able to come out and support her anytime soon.

In fact, Emperor Kangxi was quite lenient, because Lady Uya had given birth to two children, in addition to the one who had died young. The emperor still remembered the past relationship between the two of them and her contribution in giving birth to princes, so he did not punish her for interfering in politics in the harem.

Otherwise, she would be completely ruined and would never have a chance to turn things around.

******

Within the layers of bed curtains, Consort Tongjia's outstretched hand was just the right moment for a palace maid to reach out her own hand. A pair of fair, slender hands emerged. "How is the Fourth Prince?" she asked wearily as she opened her eyes.

"Your Majesty, the Fourth Prince is fine now. He was treated with medicated oil when he was injured, and a palace maid just applied it again. The imperial physician said the swelling should subside in two or three days, and he should avoid strenuous activity." The palace maid replied with her head bowed.

"Keep an eye on Yinzhen. Tell him not to run around these next two days. If he's still feeling unwell, he should go to the study and ask for two days off."

The old woman agreed.

Two days is probably the maximum that can be granted. Emperor Kangxi attached great importance to the education of his princes and basically did not allow the empresses to interfere. This time, Emperor Kangxi was considerate and might allow leave, but two days is the most he could ask for.

"Bring over today's herbal medicine."

Consort Tongjia took it. The nauseating taste was something she had been drinking since she was a teenager, a faint medicinal smell that seemed to have seeped into her body, making Consort Tongjia extremely disgusted.

But I can't skip taking this medicine!

She touched her stomach.

She hadn't really fallen asleep; her consciousness was always hazy. She heard most of the noise outside.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, the Emperor has already punished the Consort. Physician Huang's mouth has also been shut up..." the nanny said in a low voice. She was very capable and always handled the Empress's behind-the-scenes affairs.

"Hmm." Consort Tongjia's eyes were complicated. This time, she didn't really take advantage of anyone. She just took advantage of the opportunity when Yinzhen fell and got injured to "just in time" have a miscarriage, and just in time be unable to manage the affairs of Chengqian Palace. The at-a-time nanny went to Qianqing Palace and invited the Emperor over.

Then she could naturally escalate the matter and get the emperor to back her up.

After learning about this, Consort Tongjia thought about how to properly punish Consort De. However, although she was in a high position, it would have been easy for her to make things difficult for Consort De or punish her.

She was just a pregnant and frail Consort Tongjia!

But she couldn't compete with Consort De!

Because she was raising Consort De's child, everyone in the palace thought she was in the wrong. If she acted too aggressively, it would be unseemly.

There was no way around it... In everyone's eyes, Consort De's raising Yinzhen by Consort Tongjia's side made it seem as if Consort Tongjia owed her something, and no matter what she said, she was always inferior.

"Thanks to Your Highness's quick thinking... you managed to avoid them. If you had actually faced them, even if the Emperor punished Consort De, it would have certainly damaged Your Highness's image in the Emperor's eyes!" the nanny said with a smile.

This was a case of quick thinking in a crisis; things were arranged in a very short time, which shows the competence of everyone in Chengqian Palace.

Many of the people in Chengqian Palace were veterans who had stayed since the time of the previous Empress Tong. They were extremely loyal to the Tongjia clan, which allowed Consort Tongjia to quickly establish herself after entering the palace.

Consort Tongjia twitched the corner of her mouth. That was indeed the case. In the Emperor's eyes, she had always been a gentle cousin. If she were to clash with Consort De, wouldn't that be too beneath her dignity?

This is why Consort Tongjia has always maintained a high and mighty demeanor and has never tried to cause trouble for Consort De.

Because Nobleman De is unworthy... unworthy to sacrifice his imagination and do those shady things.

If she hadn't gone too far this time, Consort Tongjia wouldn't have planned to do anything to her.

The old woman spat.

Given her background as Consort De, even if she hadn't been raised by Consort Tong, she would have been another consort in another palace.

However, the other concubines in the palace did not have as high a rank as her, and they might have their own children to raise, so they would not be as devoted to Yinzhen as her.

But she did it right, getting the better deal and then acting all innocent, putting on that pitiful act! Who knows how much she secretly profited from it all!

It's been many years, but the emperor still falls for her tricks.

As a long-time servant of Consort Tongjia, she had always disliked Consort De, but her mistress hadn't said anything. She felt that these people were being too hostile.

However, Consort Tongjia was indeed feeling a bit unwell in her stomach. She frowned and lay down again. "I'll lie down a little longer. Remember to wake me up so I can have dinner with Yinzhen."

Yinzhen… Consort Tongjia knew that she had frightened him this time, but only by doing this could she anger the Emperor and punish Consort De.