Not counting the children lost due to miscarriage, Consort Nian has lost three sons and one daughter over the years. As a result of losing her children time and time again, she has withered away like a flower that has lost its water.

In the tenth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, Consort Nian passed away.

In the same year, Consort Nian's brother, Nian Gengyao, was convicted and executed.

In the eleventh year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, the Fourth Prince and the Third Prince got into a fight. The Fourth Prince was disfigured, and the Third Prince was reprimanded for being useless. In his despair, the Third Prince was tricked by the Fourth Prince into humiliating a concubine in the harem.

After the incident, Yinzhen immediately thought of the deposed crown prince during the Kangxi era. Enraged, he adopted the third prince to his son-less twelfth brother. Later, it was discovered that the fourth prince had orchestrated the scheme, so Yinzhen then adopted the fourth prince out as well.

He adopted the Fourth Prince to his former nemesis, the Eighth Prince.

The two never reached a life-or-death situation in their lives. Although Lao Ba was not given important responsibilities, he still had a leisurely and wealthy life.

Yinzhen didn't have many sons to begin with, and after adopting two of them, he was lenient with the remaining Fifth Prince, Hongzhou, but that was all.

Then there were the two princes born in Jia Yue.

It's quite obvious where the Emperor's heart lies.

In the thirteenth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, Jia Yue became the Noble Consort Jing.

Since Consort Nian passed away, Yinzhen never selected any more concubines. He showed the most favor to Jiayue, and later she became his sole favorite. This special favor came suddenly, and Jiayue did not understand why.

But she remained the same as always.

The Empress Dowager passed away in the fifteenth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign.

The empress died in the same year.

Yinzhen's health began to deteriorate in the winter of the twenty-first year of Yongzheng's reign.

Jia Yue had become an Imperial Noble Consort, and she spent almost the entire winter living in the Hall of Mental Cultivation to take care of him.

Yinzhen survived that winter, and in the spring of the following year, he issued an edict to make her Empress.

The day after her investiture ceremony, Yinzhen fell seriously ill.

He summoned his son, concubines, and court officials. The heir was naturally Hongzhao. After arranging his affairs, he left only Jiayue by his side.

"My life is coming to an end."

Jia Yue was unusually sentimental; after all, they had been together for many years, and it wasn't that she was without feelings for them.

"emperor……"

"Jiayue, aren't you wondering why I left you alone to keep me company?"

"The Emperor has his reasons."

"You, like your title, are always so quiet. The affairs of the court are busy, and I don't want to go into the harem to hear those noisy sounds, so I like to go to your place. As time goes by, I've gotten more and more used to it. Once a person gets used to something, they can't change it..."

Yinzhen talked on and on.

His life was almost entirely filled with struggle, and he was always surrounded by struggles—struggling with his brothers, with Emperor Kangxi, and with court officials.

Jia Yue is like water, very quiet, and as she gets older, she prefers quiet even more.

As he spoke, Yinzhen fell silent. Jia Yue's cries came from inside the room. People came in from outside, and soon, the funeral bell tolled.

Jia Yue watched as Yinzhen was buried, feeling only sorrow in her heart.

After her initial disappointment, Jia Yue cheered up. She could finally leave the Forbidden City, which had confined her for far too long.

She devised a plan to create some miracles, obtained some carefully selected books for Hongzhao, and after confirming that Hongzhao believed and worked hard for them, she used the pretext of worshipping Buddha to leave the palace for a trip.

(over)