Kangxi frowned as Xu Lejin spoke in a low voice.

Consort Nara's face turned pale, and she staggered. Fortunately, the palace maid beside her caught her in time, preventing her from falling to the ground in a disheveled state.

The Empress sighed, looked at Consort Nara, and said in a deep voice, "Consort Nara, things have come to this, what else do you have to say? Although you are the birth mother of the fifth prince, Consort Xu's service to the emperor was personally selected by the emperor himself. You are an old hand in the palace and know the rules."

"Your Majesty, this humble servant..."

Consort Nara looked at the Empress with pleading eyes, filled with remorse.

If she had known things would turn out this way, she shouldn't have acted impulsively last night, stopping Feng Luan Chun En's carriage and spouting nonsense. Now...

It would be one thing if I were punished by the Emperor and Empress, but it would be another if Baoqing were implicated because of it.

What should we do then?

Xu Lejin hesitated for a moment, about to say something, but the Empress stopped her before she could speak.

The Empress glanced at Consort Nara with a pained expression, then looked at Emperor Kangxi and said with a guilty look, "Your Majesty, it is my fault. As the Empress and the head of the harem, I failed to restrain and discipline Consort Nara, which led to her audacity last night in blocking the Phoenix Spring Grace Carriage."

"Your Majesty, I know my crime and beg for punishment!"

After speaking, the Empress, supported by her maids Yun Cui and Nong Yu, bowed and knelt down with her head down.

The Empress knelt down, and Xu Lejin, Consort Zhaojia, Consort Dong, and others followed suit, lowering their eyes and staring at their toes in silence.

Emperor Kangxi pondered for a moment, then sighed, “Empress, please rise. Lady Nara knew the rules of the palace, yet she still blocked the Phoenix Spring Grace Carriage. This matter has nothing to do with you, Empress, so you need not blame yourself too much.”

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

A cold smile flashed across the Empress's eyes. She glanced apologetically at the kneeling Consort Nara, then stood up with the help of Yun Cui and Nong Yu.

Xu Lejin and the others also stood up.

After a moment of contemplation, Kangxi said coldly, "Nara is ignorant of the rules. She is confined to Yanxi Palace for six months and her salary is reduced by three months. The palace maids and eunuchs around Nara are to be flogged twenty times and expelled from the palace..."

Nara, the concubine, looked terrified and stunned.

"Your Majesty, spare my life! Your Majesty the Empress, spare my life!"

The palace maids around Consort Nara were pale-faced and knelt on the ground, kowtowing and begging for mercy.

Xu Lejin couldn't bear it, so she turned her head away, pretending not to have seen anything. Consort Zhaojia and Consort Dong, still shaken, glanced at Xu Lejin with apprehension and then awkwardly shut their mouths.

Half an hour later, Xu Lejin returned to the west side hall of Yikun Palace.

Still feeling uneasy, Xu Lejin sat on the soft couch, staring blankly at the bright sunlight outside, thinking to herself, "The ancients said, 'Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger,' and it is indeed true."

As an emperor, Kangxi could either spoil a concubine to the heavens or plunge her into the abyss.

Although Consort Nara had never received much favor from the emperor, he was overjoyed when she became pregnant twice and treated her with great care. But now…

Although Consort Nara was wrong, she should be treated leniently in consideration of the Fifth Prince's reputation.

Instead of openly humiliating Consort Nara by confining her to Yanxi Palace for six months and deducting three months' salary, they did not.

Yingchun carefully chose her words and spoke softly, “Your Highness need not blame yourself too much. Consort Nara deserves to be punished. Last night, the Emperor summoned Your Highness to serve him. If it was because Consort Nara obstructed you and caused a delay, Your Highness would also be held responsible for the Emperor’s punishment.”

"His Majesty's punishment of Consort Nara, confining her to Yanxi Palace for six months and deducting her salary for three months, is also for the sake of peace and tranquility in the harem."

Xu Lejin remained silent.

Yingchun paused, then lowered her voice and continued, "Your Highness, I must say something I shouldn't. Because of Consort Ma Jia's miscarriage, you have been confined to your quarters for a month by the Emperor."

"A month is not a long time, but a lot can happen in a month. Your Highness has just received the Emperor's favor, unlike Consort Nara who has five sons. After Your Highness's confinement ends, I'm afraid the harem will be in turmoil..."

Sighing, Yingchun hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

Xu Lejin raised her eyes, glanced at Yingchun, and smiled.

"Yingchun, there's no need to worry too much. Being confined to Yikun Palace for a month might actually be a good thing for me. After all, although I'm confined, this month will be a rare period of peace and quiet."

With a gentle smile, Xu Lejin murmured softly in a voice only she and Yingchun could hear, "If I could, I would be willing to be confined to Yikun Palace for half a year like Consort Nara."

"My lord?"

Yingchun was completely baffled and looked at Xu Lejin with no idea what was going on.

Xu Lejin smiled gently and gave Yingchun a reassuring look. Although Yingchun was curious, like a cat scratching at her, she chose to shut up and swallow the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

The news that Consort Nara and Consort Xu Lejin had been confined to their quarters reached Chengqian Palace.

Consort Tongjia, her eyes filled with schadenfreude, laughed and said, "His Majesty is wise to confine those two lowly women, Nara and Xu. Nara, relying on being the birth mother of the Fifth Prince, is arrogant and disdainful of everyone. I've disliked her for a long time!"

"As for Xu, she is a lowly palace maid. I didn't need to pay her any attention. However, she had just been made a concubine when I was punished by my cousin, the Emperor, and confined to Chengqian Palace."

The two palace maids, Xiuqin and Xiuhe, exchanged a glance, then lowered their heads and remained silent.

Tongjia sneered, then said, "The favor in the harem changes in an instant. Although Nara has the fifth prince, after being confined for half a year, the harem has already been turned upside down!"

"As for Lady Xu, she was only formally served the emperor for the first time yesterday after being made a concubine, and today she has been confined to her quarters. It is clear that the emperor has no affection for Lady Xu. After Lady Xu has been confined for a month, she will have no place in the harem."

With a crisp laugh, Tongjia Shi wore a look of disdain.

"That's great! That's really satisfying!"

Xiuqin lowered her head, pondered for a moment, and then smiled and said, "Yes, Your Majesty is right. In the harem, Your Majesty is of noble birth as a member of the imperial clan."

“Nara Concubine and Xu Concubine do not have Your Majesty’s family background, nor Your Majesty’s affection for the Emperor. Without Your Majesty’s favor, they will live in the palace worse than even a palace maid like me.”

Another palace maid, Xiuhe, echoed her sentiments.

With a cold laugh, Tongjia said, "Nala and Xu, although you are concubines, in my Chengqian Palace, I allow you to call them Nara and Xu in private."

"Yes, Your Highness, we will obey your orders."

Xiuqin and Xiuhe smiled and agreed.

Meanwhile, inside Kunning Palace, since returning to Kunning Palace, the Empress has been sitting on the Empress's throne with a gloomy face and a sinister look in her eyes. She exudes an aura that says, "I am very angry, and no one should provoke me."

Yun Cui and Nong Yu lowered their heads, not daring to utter a sound.