The next day, when Qianlong left, he was visibly happy.

Not long after Ji Huan woke up, a large number of gifts followed, including a purple jade grape ornament.

Ji Huan: ...

Well, it wasn't that surprising.

"The fragrance of books, the purple grape ornament is placed in a prominent place in the study."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

As for why it was the study, Ji Huan had already figured it out. For Qianlong, scholarship was important, but in fact, he seemed to prefer something a little more playful.

The study—at least, she hadn't dared to try it.

She placed the purple grapes in the study, thinking that with Qianlong's pretentious attitude, she could probably give it a try next time.

Putting everything else aside, Emperor Qianlong was actually quite good in bed. Regardless of his physical appearance, his refined demeanor, cultivated by his privileged upbringing, made him a decent bed partner.

Ji Huan's promotion made Consort Chun feel unlucky, as if she had been schemed against. The most unhappy person was Consort Ling.

Although Consort Chun was still favored, she had given birth to two sons and a daughter. She was also one of the first people to serve in the Prince's residence, and strictly speaking, she had already passed her prime.

In the current harem, Consort Ling is the most powerful. Although Ji Huan's promotion speed is full of chance, it still makes Consort Ling feel threatened.

Consort Ling's ability to gain favor clearly shows that she understood Emperor Qianlong. Although she suffered injustice in the "ice custom" incident, as a consort, she was not treated so generously by Emperor Qianlong unless he had some affection for her.

It is true that Consort Ling is a few years older than Ji Huan, but the time when they were favored by the emperor almost completely overlapped. Inevitably, they would become each other's biggest rivals.

"I underestimated Consort Rou before. A woman who can make the Emperor make an exception is indeed not to be underestimated."

The exception she was referring to was that Ji Huan was too young, which did not suit Qianlong's tastes.

"Your Highness, is there anything I can do for you?"

For example, disfigurement or something...

With careful planning, this kind of thing is not impossible to accomplish.

Consort Ling shook her head: "No, this Consort Rou is quite lucky. If we act rashly, we might hurt ourselves. If we can't hit her with one blow, we shouldn't attack her. We should wait. There are still many days ahead! Whoever has the patience will have the last laugh."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"However, I will assign more people to keep an eye on her movements. I didn't pay enough attention to her before, but I won't do that again."

In fact, Consort Ling already valued Ji Huan highly, but Ji Huan's rapid promotion and the extent of her favor with the emperor still exceeded her expectations, forcing her to pay even more attention to her.

On the other hand, Consort Chun investigated for a long time and finally found out the reason why the First Prince misappropriated the Jihuan Ice allowance. In fact, it had little to do with the Qianlong harem; it was a mess that the First Prince's harem had caused.

The eldest prince's concubine, Lady Irgen Gioro, felt that there wasn't enough ice. Being pregnant, her mind wasn't quite sharp. She listened to the instigation of those around her and, relying on the emperor's favor and her pregnancy, diverted the ice allowance of Ji Huan, a newcomer who had only entered the palace this year.

Of course, a small portion of this was the work of the First Prince's wife, Lady Ilari. After all, the concubine was favored, and her pregnancy occurred around the same time as the First Prince's, which made the First Princess very uneasy.

Well, after hearing this, Consort Chun felt like she was going to vomit blood. She thought it was some rival in the harem trying to trip her up, but she never expected it was just the eldest prince's jealousy and rivalry in the inner quarters.

She felt wronged.

Unfortunately, the eldest prince was not her biological son, so she couldn't call him over to reprimand him. As the imperial concubine in charge of palace affairs, she had more ice than she could use from her own sons, but not enough for her adopted son. To put it simply, it was a momentary oversight on her part; to put it more bluntly, it could be said that she was "unkind as a mother" and showed excessive favoritism.

She could only swallow her anger.

"After the First Prince's wife and the Second Prince's wife give birth, don't forget to remind me that it's time for them to learn proper manners. I was wrong before; I always thought they were well-mannered and wouldn't do anything out of line. It seems I overestimated them."

Consort Chun thought they were really stupid. It's one thing to be jealous, but to involve the concubines in the harem is just plain stupid.

She didn't fare well in this matter, and the eldest prince will probably also be seen as incompetent by Emperor Qianlong.

The eldest prince is already married and has children, yet he still can't manage his servants. In any case, it's true that he has a problem with his abilities.

Just as Consort Chun was furious, Consort Xian was in a rare good mood. Consort Chun was suffering, and she felt much better. But that wasn't enough; she also wanted Consort Chun to experience the pain of losing a child.

I heard that Consort Chun cherishes her sixth prince the most.

If the Sixth Prince were to die or be ruined, Consort Chun would probably be heartbroken! Take it slow, Consort Xian is no longer in a hurry; she wants Consort Chun to lose what she has little by little.

Pampering, children, power... until she had nothing left, and then death.

After Ji Huan was promoted, her life became very mundane. She no longer had to pay her respects every day, and in the sweltering heat, few people liked to go out. Except for the occasional evening when Qianlong would come out, he would mostly summon his concubines to the Jiuzhou Qingyan Palace to serve him, and they would naturally stay overnight.

Without gathering together, there are far fewer conflicts, and Ji Huan becomes even more favored.

That bunch of purple jade grapes played a significant role, leaving many traces in her study and in Emperor Qianlong's study.

Time flies, summer has passed in the blink of an eye, and autumn has arrived, but Emperor Qianlong still has no intention of returning home.

In fact, if it were her, she wouldn't want to go back to the Forbidden City either. The Yuanmingyuan was large and spacious, while the Forbidden City was square and orderly. Emperor Qianlong preferred to stay in the Yuanmingyuan.

Therefore, Emperor Qianlong decided to wait until the weather got cold before returning, as the rooms in the Yuanmingyuan Garden were larger and heating was not as convenient as in the Forbidden City.

As the weather gets colder, there are more banquets in the palace, and some of these banquets must be held in the Forbidden City, as the Yuanmingyuan Garden is not up to standard.

Just then, Qingyin rushed in and reported, "Your Highness, the Sixth Prince has fallen into the water, and his condition is probably not good."

"The Sixth Prince fell into the water! Where did he fall into the water?"

Although the Yuanmingyuan Garden had no shortage of places with water, the Sixth Prince was born in the eighth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign. According to the Qing Dynasty's calculation method, he was already five years old. Children in the palace were relatively precocious, and he was surrounded by a group of servants. Logically speaking, the possibility of him falling into the water was very low.

Ji Huan was certain that someone had deliberately caused the Sixth Prince to fall into the water, and the most likely person to do so was Consort Xian.

Qingyin replied, "Near Tongleyuan."

"Tongle Garden! That place is unlucky. Consort Xian lost her baby there, and the Sixth Prince fell into the water nearby. It seems best to avoid that place in the future. The water is cold in autumn, and children who fall into it may catch a cold! The Emperor probably knows about it too. Take some medicine and go visit him!"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Qingyin prepared the medicinal herbs and then went to Consort Chun's place.

Her residence was some distance from the one where Consort Chun lived. When she arrived, quite a few people had already come, including Emperor Qianlong and Empress Fucha.

After Ji Huan bowed, she asked Consort Qing with concern in a low voice, "How did the Sixth Prince fall into the water?"

Consort Qing whispered to her, "The Sixth Prince has recently taken a liking to acrobatics. He went to Tongleyuan to watch acrobatics, and on the way back, he wanted to play hide-and-seek with the palace servants. He accidentally fell into the water, and by the time he was found, he had been in the water for a while. The imperial physicians are treating him in there now!"

Ji Huan said, "May God protect the Sixth Prince and ensure his safety."