"Your Majesty, I have thought about it! But I am just a woman, and the Hesheli clan is a large family. How could I possibly fight against them? I have no choice but to find another way!"

Consort Xi also had deep affection for her parents; otherwise, she wouldn't have harbored hatred out of love and wanted to destroy them. In fact, her main goal was to destroy the hopes of those self-righteous masters.

"That's no reason for you to harm the Crown Prince!" When Kangxi saw the child he had raised with his own hands lying there motionless, his heart ached so much he could hardly breathe. He thought that it wouldn't be too much to have the entire Hesheli clan executed by slow slicing.

"They harmed me first, otherwise I wouldn't be so hateful. I'm a good girl! I listened to everything they said!" It's just that they ruined her feelings for them.

"Guards! Consort Xi has plotted to murder the Crown Prince. Take her away and execute her by slow slicing. Furthermore, the three generations of the Hesheli clan shall be exiled, and all other servants involved shall be put to death and their entire families executed." With these cold words, Kangxi decided to execute Consort Xi, who was in the prime of her life.

"This butterfly looks very beautiful!"

A month has passed since the Crown Prince was murdered, and Kangxi has not set foot in the inner palace. Because of the previous incident, several people in the inner palace fell ill the day after the gathering. Apart from mourning the Crown Prince, they all stayed quietly in the palace, afraid of doing anything that might offend Kangxi. It is said that Kangxi had a fit of anger towards several officials in the court.

"If you like, Master, I'll go to the Imperial Garden and catch more!" Furong said quickly, seeing that her mistress had finally shown a smile after so many days.

"No, the Crown Prince has just passed away. If we were to chase after flowers and admire butterflies now, it would inevitably give others cause for gossip. However, I have heard that butterflies can be trained to come and go with a wave of the hand!"

Wanyi looked at the butterfly on her fingertip, its wings opening and closing, and her mood lightened considerably. Her plans were slowly coming to fruition.

"Yes, there is such a thing, but it can be summoned with a wave of the hand. It's just a legend. I heard that it's cultivated with fragrance, and once released, it can be summoned back," Furong said after thinking for a moment, though she only knew a little about it.

"Then practice some! Just be careful not to let anyone find out!" Wanyi chased away the butterflies in her hand before speaking to Furong.

"Yes, I understand!" Although she didn't know what her master wanted to do, it didn't affect her actions.

"Your Highness, the flower room has sent some flowers, saying they have a calming effect!" Ye Ming said to Wan Yi, accompanied by two palace maids carrying flowers.

"Only I have it?" Wanyi looked at the flower and forced a smile. The mimosa flower, that's for calming the mind. Only a fool like Ye Ming wouldn't know that. The mimosa flower does look somewhat like the Albizia julibrissin flower.

"I heard that each palace has different flowers!" Ye Ming explained, otherwise she wouldn't have accepted the flower.

"I find the fragrance of these flowers overwhelming. Please put them in the outer corridor for me!"

Smelling the jasmine flower for too long can cause unusual physical urges, such as a desire for intercourse. If a pregnant woman frequently feels this urge, wouldn't that easily lead to miscarriage? If this isn't noticed, it can escalate, and premature birth is only a matter of time.

"Yes!" Ye Ming directed them to place the flowers far away.

"When the Emperor arrives, put the flower inside and sprinkle some water on the petals. Also, find out who sent the flower in," Wanyi said to Furong beside her after Ye Ming left.

"Yes, Master, is there something wrong with the flower?" Hibiscus asked, puzzled.

“Anyway, it’s not a good thing…” Wanyi explained to Furong.

"They're so vicious! The Crown Prince Minghui has only been gone for a month and a half, and they already dare to..." It's only been a month and a half! Have they forgotten that scene so quickly?

"What's the big deal? Surviving in the harem means fighting. If you stop, either they won't dare to take a high position, or you'll be dead!"

Even someone as selfless as the Empress Dowager had a concubine arranged by Kangxi's side, didn't she?

Chengqian Palace

"Is His Majesty still unwilling to enter the harem?"

The Imperial Noble Consort, who had just returned from paying her respects at Yongshou Palace, sighed and said that the Empress Dowager was implying that although she was a co-Empress, she was still fulfilling the duties of an Empress. The Crown Prince had passed away, which could not be changed, but the harem was not short of concubines who could bear children. She was told to persuade Kangxi to enter the harem.

"No, I've already taken the soup over. It's the same as always; Eunuch Liang took it away!"

Several days have passed. The Imperial Noble Consort instructed Ningdong to send the soup to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, ensuring it was delivered three times a day without fail, but it was as if the soup had sunk into the sea, with no news whatsoever.

"Send it over with dinner! I'll go myself." There was no other way; that's the downside of being an Imperial Noble Consort—you never get the good stuff, you're always dealing with the bad.

After much persuasion from the Imperial Noble Consort, Kangxi finally entered the inner palace half a month later. However, because Consort Wan sent him a sachet, the Imperial Noble Consort did not recognize that it was Consort Chen who invited Kangxi into the inner palace.

"Your Majesty, I greet you!" Wanyi hadn't expected that Kangxi would come to see her first as soon as he entered the palace.

"No need for formalities. Are you feeling better? I've been busy with court affairs lately, so I haven't been able to visit you often!" Kangxi made an excuse for not coming to see her.

"It's much better now. State affairs are important, and His Majesty is concerned about them. I can feel it, and he knows it too." Wanyi took Kangxi's hand and stroked his swollen belly.

The belly, which had been quiet, suddenly started moving, as if greeting Kangxi.

"Hey, she moved!" Although Kangxi had already tried it, he was still amazed to feel it again.

"Yes! She's greeting her father!" Wanyi smiled, feeling slightly relieved when she saw that Kangxi wasn't so serious.

"In the end, I still failed to protect him!" Kangxi suddenly thought of something. He secluded himself in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, partly to handle state affairs, but more like to escape. He was unwilling to admit that he couldn't even protect his own child.

"Your Majesty, this is not your fault, it is Hesheli's fault. People's hearts are unpredictable. Your Majesty, you still have us! You still have Yinzhen, and I still have the child in my womb!" Wanyi said gently, looking at Kangxi with tender eyes.

"If that day comes, will you harm me?" Kangxi was somewhat moved, but he still couldn't help asking another question.

"No, Your Majesty, I, Consort Wan of the Sozhuolun clan, swear to the heavens that I will never harm Your Majesty, or may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death."

Wanyi thought to herself that if things came to a last resort, she would not harm Kangxi herself, but would let someone else do it, so it wouldn't be considered that she was the one who harmed him.

"Wan'er~" Kangxi looked at Wanyi, who was so kind to him, and realized that he had been suspicious of her. He felt he shouldn't have done that, so he gently hugged Wanyi into his arms.

"I want to make Wan'er my empress, and I want her to stay with me on this deserted mountaintop. Is that alright?" Kangxi didn't know if he was testing the waters or if he was being sincere.

"Your Majesty, it doesn't matter who becomes Empress. I only wish that Your Majesty is well, happy, and healthy every day. Even though I am just a lowly concubine, I am still Your Majesty's woman and will always be by your side!"

Even though the Imperial Noble Consort did not establish an empress, Wanyi was not so easily swayed by Kangxi's words and forgot where she stood.