There were no major conflicts.

Wu Lingzhu lived like this for three years.

That year, Wu Lingzhu turned seventeen, and as she grew older, her appearance became increasingly beautiful.

In the main hall of Chuxiu Palace, Chunying brought over a bowl of medicine for inducing pregnancy. Wulingzhu skillfully poured it into a spittoon, letting Chunying clean it up.

Despite being favored for several years, Wu Lingzhu's belly remained flat. Now, she appropriately showed her eagerness and arranged for the fertility-enhancing medicine to be given to her. Of course, she didn't drink a single drop of the medicine.

"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager is ill again."

"The weather is getting colder and colder. This winter will probably be hard to endure. Tell the people in Chuxiu Palace to keep quiet and prepare simple clothes. Also, take all the scriptures I copied and put them up for worship."

She knew that the Empress Dowager had not survived the winter.

"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager..."

"Let's prepare first! The Emperor and the Empress Dowager have a deep relationship. As a concubine in the harem, I must show the proper attitude. Besides, the Empress Dowager has been very good to me over the years."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Wu Lingzhu had a good relationship with the Empress Dowager, but she didn't have much interaction with the Grand Empress Dowager. Dealing with someone like the Grand Empress Dowager was too tiring.

A month later, the Empress Dowager passed away, and Emperor Kangxi was so grief-stricken that he fell ill.

This was just a common illness; Emperor Kangxi was in good health! However, after Wu Lingzhu summoned Chunying and gave her some instructions, soon, Wang Mama and the others from Yuqing Palace began to cause trouble behind the Crown Prince's back.

Wu Lingzhu only gave them some false information, making them briefly believe that Kangxi was not in good health. To be honest, if they had investigated more thoroughly, they would have known that the news was false, but they didn't.

Liang Jiugong then discovered the unusual nature of Yuqing Palace and was immediately bewildered.

No, the Emperor is just sick, not dead. If he wants the Crown Prince to ascend the throne, he should at least wait a while!

He dared not hide this from the emperor and immediately told the ailing Emperor Kangxi. Upon hearing this, Kangxi's condition worsened.

Liang Jiugong summoned all the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Academy to the Qianqing Palace and suppressed the news.

Good heavens, now not only those few dim-witted people in Yuqing Palace think Kangxi is bad, but the Crown Prince, the First Prince, and even the concubines in the harem have started to think so.

The Imperial Medical Academy mobilized its entire staff, and news was blocked from the Qianqing Palace; something must have happened to Emperor Kangxi.