Xu Lejin ultimately could not defy Emperor Kangxi, so the seventh princess, Ushiha, was granted the title of Princess Gulun with the honorary title of Hengshu, and married into the Guarjia clan on the 26th of July.

Emperor Kangxi's imperial edict reached the inner palace.

Xu Lejin slightly curved her lips into a faint smile and said, "Everything is as expected. I am the Imperial Noble Consort, with a rank equivalent to the Empress. Ushiha is my daughter and should be granted the title of Princess Gulun."

Ruhua and Nongying lowered their heads slightly, thinking to themselves that their mistress nowadays preferred to use the tactic of retreating to advance.

The Emperor's original intention was to bestow upon the Seventh Princess the title of Princess Gulun Hengjing, but the Empress declined. Now, the Seventh Princess's title is Princess Gulun Hengshu, and the character "Shu" is much better than "Jing".

Among the four virtues, "virtuous, gentle, and wise" is the second most important, even more so than "virtuous" and "wise."

Yanxi Palace

Consort Hui's old face was so gloomy it seemed like it could drip water. She said coldly, "Princess Gulun Hengshu? Being a Princess Gulun is fine; she holds the same rank as the Empress Dowager, and as the daughter of an Imperial Noble Consort, it's reasonable for her to be granted the title of Princess Gulun. But the word 'Hengshu'..."

“My second prince is still a bald prince, and the seventh princess, a mere maid, has actually received such a noble title.”

Cunxin and Peixin lowered their heads and remained silent.

Consort Hui then added, "The titles of His Majesty's princesses, such as Princess Chunxi and Princess Chunhui, are rather ordinary, and the titles of the other Heshuo princesses are even less remarkable. Only..."

"Princess Hengshu, the Emperor's treatment of the Imperial Noble Consort is truly special, and Princess Hengshu has also gained the Emperor's favor as a result."

Cunxin gently raised her head and quickly glanced at Consort Hui.

After careful consideration, Cunxin lowered her voice and spoke softly, "Your Majesty, even though Princess Hengshu has a noble title, being a Gulun Princess, she still cannot compare to the Second Prince."

“Your Majesty, please think about it. Princess Hengshu is just a princess who is to be married off, while our Second Prince is a prince.”

Consort Hui nodded slightly, her expression thoughtful.

After a moment, Consort Hui, her expression serious, said, "Yinti has been recuperating outside the palace since last October. How is his health now? What about before?"

Have the previous losses been recovered?

When the topic of her son Yinqi's poor health came up, Consort Hui blushed, and at the same time, her hatred for the Second Prince Consort, Borjigit, grew even stronger.

Her perfectly healthy son had finally gotten married, but that cruel woman, Borjigit, had ruined him like that. As his mother, it broke her heart to see him like that.

If only I had known it would turn out this way, I would have followed the trajectory of my previous life and let my son marry Hilkun's daughter.

Although in her previous life, after marrying Yinti, the daughter of Xierkun, Yiergenjueluo, she gave birth to four daughters before finally having a son, it was still better than nothing.

Now, Yinti is over twenty years old, yet he doesn't even have a child.

Consort Hui deeply regretted her actions!

Cunxin blushed slightly and replied softly, "Your Majesty, the Second Prince is doing well outside the palace. The imperial physician who is treating him says that his health is quite depleted and he needs several more months of recuperation."

"The imperial physician also said that the Second Prince's health might make it difficult for him to have children."

Upon hearing this, Consort Hui's vision went completely black, and she fainted.

After a chaotic scene at Yanxi Palace, Consort Hui lay on the couch, utterly dejected, staring blankly out of the palace, muttering, "What a tragedy, what a tragedy!"

"Yinti is only twenty-two years old, and he is already having difficulty conceiving. What will we do in the future? What will we do? That vile woman from the Borjigit clan has ruined my Yinti."

Consort Hui nearly ground her teeth to powder; she hated the Second Prince's wife to the core.

The news of what happened inside Yanxi Palace reached Xu Lejin's ears.

Xu Lejin narrowed her eyes slightly, a cold glint flashing across them. She muttered to herself, "The sins Consort Hui committed will be punished entirely on the Second Prince."

In order to secure her favor, Consort Hui recommended young concubines such as Consort Li and Consort Yue.

In the preceding years, the Second Prince had yet to conceive, while the First Prince already had a son and a daughter. Therefore, Consort Hui ruthlessly administered a potion to the First Prince to prevent him from having children.

Eldest Prince, barring any unforeseen circumstances, you will only have that one son and one daughter in your lifetime.

Emperor Kangxi was unaware that Consort Hui had bribed palace servants to poison the eldest prince, thus preventing him from having any offspring. Xu Lejin discovered this by chance.

Three months later

The Second Prince has returned to the palace. Last September, when he was ordered to leave the palace on official business, he was thin and frail, his steps unsteady. Now, he has returned much stronger, but…

After this ordeal, the Second Prince proved to be all bark and no bite.

Gan Dong Er Suo Li

The Second Prince's concubines, including Lady Irgen Gioro, the princesses, and his maids, had been tormented by the Second Prince's wife for the past six months. Some of them did not survive and passed away.

It wasn't until half a month before the Second Prince returned to the palace that the Second Prince's wife fell ill and was bedridden. Only then did the concubines, including Lady Irgen Gioro, temporarily escape the Second Prince's clutches.

"My lord, you're finally back! If you hadn't returned, I fear I would never have seen you again."

"My lord, you must stand up for us!"

"Master..."

Upon seeing the Second Prince, the concubines and other women felt as if they had found their pillar of support.

A few days later

Consort Que vividly recounted what had happened in the Second Prince's courtyard.

The Second Prince's wife was bedridden. In order to take revenge on her, the Second Prince took advantage of her dowry maid right in front of her. She was a small girl who looked like she had been mistreated by the Second Prince's wife for a long time.

The second wife lay on the bed, unable to move, and began to curse loudly, hurling all sorts of vile insults.

The Second Prince's wife, still seething with anger, wanted to write a letter back to Khorchin, but the Second Prince forcefully suppressed her. Except for the maid who was favored by the Second Prince, all of the Second Prince's dowry maids were sent to do hard labor.

The second wife was all alone, and now it was finally quiet!

Upon hearing this, Xu Lejin sighed softly and said, "When the Second Prince's wife first married him, she did indeed go too far, causing him to harm his health and making it difficult for him to have children in the future."

"There's a reason why the Emperor chose to turn a blind eye to Consort Hui's actions, which caused the Second Prince's wife to fall ill in bed."

Consort Que nodded in agreement.

Xu Lejin paused for a moment, then continued, "Now I only hope that Consort Hui and the Second Prince will consider the bigger picture and spare the Second Princess's life. Second Princess..."

"In the end, the Second Princess Consort didn't have any bad intentions. She was just a bit more assertive and had a stronger obsession with having children."

Consort Que pursed her lips and remained silent.

After a short while, Xu Lejin continued, "Among the Khorchin women who married into the Qing Dynasty, Consort Xuanyi, Consort Wan, and Consort Ning all had no biological children. The wives of Prince Gong and others outside the palace also had no children."

"When the Second Princess was in Khorchin, she was constantly reminded by her mother and sisters-in-law, which instilled in her a strong obsession."

Consort Que nodded slightly and said softly, "Yes!"

"The Second Princess Consort's methods were just a bit too extreme..."