Emperor Qianlong returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation and remained silent in his study for a long time.

In fact, Ji Huan hadn't done anything during this time, and Qianlong suspected that she knew something. This eavesdropping was also intentional.

I never expected to hear such words.

The confident Emperor Qianlong did not believe that Ji Huan would lie in private. He was very confident in his charm, so he thought that Ji Huan was madly in love with him.

He only asked that she be in his heart; what deep affection that is!

Faced with such deep affection, and with her being so beautiful, talented, and meeting all his requirements for a woman, and with the two being very harmonious in bed.

This moved even Emperor Qianlong.

"Consort Rou is truly a rare gem in my harem; even Consort Ling is far superior to her!"

"Consort Rou is indeed deeply in love with the Emperor."

"Yes, I shouldn't have let her down."

Although Emperor Qianlong neglected Consort Ling, she was indeed in his heart. During this secret investigation, he found no evidence that Consort Ling had done anything too outrageous, but it was hard to say that she was completely innocent.

Even if this weren't true, Ji Huan had already decided to promote him to the rank of concubine.

After hearing Ji Huan's words, Qianlong felt that Consort Ling's affection for him was not enough. He had been hesitant about whether to add Consort Ling's name to the promotion list, but now he no longer hesitated. Consort Ling should wait! We'll talk about it when she gives birth to a prince.

This time, he doesn't plan to give a large number of promotions; he intends to give a few as appropriate.

By July, Jiafei had taken a lot of fertility-enhancing medicine, but she still hadn't conceived.

The imperial edict of Emperor Qianlong's investiture was issued.

Consort Xian became Imperial Noble Consort.

Consort Shu became Imperial Consort Shu.

Ji Huan, the former concubine, became the Imperial Concubine Rou.

Even Consort Li received a favor and became Consort Li.

Noble Lady Qing became Consort Qing.

That's basically it.

In this investiture ceremony, it can be said that Ji Huan and Consort Shu, no, Consort Shu, were the biggest winners.

It was not unexpected that the Imperial Noble Consort was conferred the title, since Consort Shu was conferred the title without having a son.

As for Ji Huan, needless to say, not only was she childless and unable to be made a concubine, but more importantly, she only entered the palace last year.

As for Consort Qing, she has received some favor over the years, but she has no children, so her seniority is already sufficient.

Upon her return from her official post, Ji Huan, dressed in natural beauty, was greeted with joy by the palace servants, who all exclaimed, "Congratulations, Your Highness!"

"Get up, all of you. Today is a special day for me. Qingyin, each of you will be given three months' wages. After we return to the palace, we will also make up the wages for those who stayed behind."

"Thank you for your generous gift, Your Majesty."

Qingyin: "Yes, Your Majesty."

The natural scene was filled with joy and harmony, while the places of Consort Jia and Consort Ling were deathly silent.

Consort Ling, who was usually calm and composed, rarely showed signs of anxiety and irritability.

Is it possible to get close to Consort Rou?

“This servant is incompetent; I cannot bribe the people around Consort Rou.”

Consort Ling sighed, "It's not your fault. She's been in the palace for just over a year, rising from a lowly concubine to Consort Rou. She's no ordinary person. If I investigate her outside the palace, I don't believe that Consort Rou is a pure and innocent person."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

On the other side, Ji Huan actually sensed someone approaching, so she checked the people around her again, and her safety became more and more assured.

She also guessed that the person behind this wouldn't let it go, so her solution was...

"Shuxiang, send a message to Consort Wang. Things may not be peaceful at home recently. If anyone tries to bribe me to slander me, ask Consort Wang to help me handle the situation."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

In the fourteenth year of Qianlong's reign, Ji Huan turned seventeen. She had collected enough high-quality "seeds." Although she was not yet able to bear children, she felt she had to do something because of Qianlong's longevity.

Knowing that the system had a potion that could reduce the quality of "seeds" to increase the duration of endurance, she decisively gave it to Qianlong.

Of course, it's hard to say whether the duration will lead to any adverse consequences, since it's a defective drug.

She has collected several hundred high-quality seeds over the past two years, all of which are usable and sufficient.

Several months later, Consort Shu finally became pregnant, and Consort Jia followed suit.

The Imperial Noble Consort actively took care of her health, hoping to conceive.

Consort Ling, who was never in a hurry before, now looks at the vacant position of Consort and hopes to have a child so that she can be promoted.

Thus, the imperial harem fell into a new round of vying for favor.

Ji Huan also disappeared without a trace. It wasn't that she was out of favor, but Qianlong was a man who always had new favorites. To her, Qianlong was more of a seed-providing person.

Now that enough seeds have been collected, the rest will take time.

As for Consort Ling's investigation of her, she also learned about it from Aunt Wang. However, Consort Ling did not find anything useful, unless she framed someone, which would be very risky and costly. Unless she was pushed to the limit, she probably wouldn't do something like framing someone.

Under Emperor Qianlong's relatively strong control, the harem continued to vie for his favor, but the infighting was indeed less intense.

Qianlong's methods were not foolish to the bondservant officials, who belatedly realized that their actions had gone too far and aroused suspicion.

The imperial harem today is more peaceful than it was when Empress Fucha was alive; at least there are almost no concubines who "died in despair."

In the fifteenth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign, Consort Shu gave birth to the Tenth Prince. However, the Tenth Prince was in poor health and was weak. The Qianlong Emperor and Consort Shu examined him repeatedly, but found no problem. The imperial physician said it was because Consort Shu had previously harmed her health, which made Consort Shu even angrier.

Immediately afterwards, Consort Jia gave birth to the eleventh prince safely.

Whenever Consort Shu and Consort Jia sat in the same room again, they would always be at odds.

At this time, news came that Consort Ling was pregnant.

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