Consort De was initially overjoyed, but after hearing Li Dequan's account, she felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

Her initial joy at the return of Yinzhen to her side has now become extremely complicated.

"Please convey to His Majesty, Eunuch Li, that I will certainly obey His Majesty's decree!"

Consort De was resentful. Everyone who entered the harem wanted their son to ascend to that position. If she couldn't be the Empress, couldn't she be the Empress Dowager?

But now, the Emperor's mention of a secret guard has chilled her to the bone. Forget about ascending to that high position; if she even harbors any ambition to compete with Yinzhen and Yinzuo for the crown prince position, not only will she not be able to sit on that throne, but she might even lose her son.

Seeing the change in Consort De's expression, Li Dequan couldn't help but say, "Your Highness, the Fourth Prince's jade tablet has always been with you. Now you have two princes by your side. I wonder how many people will envy you!"

Li Dequan stopped there, after all, Yinzhen had once accompanied Yinreng to the Qianqing Palace and had politely addressed him as Eunuch Li. So, looking at Consort De, whose expression had just changed, he reminded her that none of this was Yinzhen's fault.

That was enough. As for whether Consort De could truly understand the reasons behind this, that depended on the purity of her heart. Only those with impure motives would blame others. Without that kind of intention, nothing could compare to having one's own flesh and blood by one's side.

And to put it bluntly, it was one thing before, but now that Consort Kang is around, even if the Emperor were to change the Crown Prince, it couldn't be their child. If anyone in the harem can't even grasp this simple truth, then they can only wait for a miserable end!

Consort De was in a state of confusion, so she didn't understand Li Dequan's words for a moment, but she still smiled and saw him off!

[Alas! The Uya clan, you must not be so clever as to think you can be so clever, for you will reap what you sow!]

After leaving Yonghe Palace, Li Dequan glanced back at the plaque and thought to himself: The Emperor dared to touch even his own mother's brother for the sake of that ancestor, let alone a bondservant family.

......

"Your Majesty! Consort Jin requests an audience!"

Li Dequan should be with Consort De at this moment, so the newly promoted eunuch was sent to announce his arrival.

Every time Lady Tongjia heard the name Consort Jin, her heart ached a little more. What could have possibly led her and her cousin to this point?

"Let her in!"

Lady Tongjia gazed at Emperor Kangxi, who sat at the head of the table, her eyes filled with infatuation. Although she had harbored resentment before, she still longed to win his heart back. At this moment, she couldn't wait to kill that vile woman. Would their good days finally arrive if that woman died?

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects! Long live the Emperor!"

Tongjia knelt on the ground, hoping to make Kangxi feel sorry for her in this way, but she did not expect that he would not only let her perform the full curtsy, but also did not tell her to get up.

"cousin!"

Tongjia was actually a beauty, and she knew from a young age that she would enter the palace to serve the emperor. So she not only took good care of herself, but also received strict upbringing in every word and deed!

"What business does Lady Tongjia have with me?"

Kangxi asked the question knowing the answer already; he wanted to know what kind of outlandish stories this woman could come up with.

"Cousin, I beg you, please return Xiao Si to me, I beg you!"

Now, Lady Tongjia has no chance to talk about love and romance; Yinzhen is the most important person! Although Yinzhen's jade tablet was not under her name before, at least he called her "Mother," so Lady Tongjia's people had something to strive for.

But if she couldn't even keep one child by her side, she believed her father would definitely abandon her, and then there might be another concubine from the Tongjia clan in the palace!

At this moment, none of them considered that no more women would enter the harem, or that the Emperor intended to be with Harigana for life.

It can only be said that they may have guessed it, but since it involved their own interests, they were just deceiving themselves and not wanting to admit the truth.

"Your Majesty, I have already issued an imperial decree. This matter should not be mentioned again! Moreover, I have not investigated how Yinzhen came here. Do not have any inappropriate thoughts now."

Consort Jin, I am the Emperor! There are some things I have never said that I did only because you belong to the Tongjia clan.

If you still show no remorse and do anything in private to anger me, I won't hesitate to make the entire Tongjia clan bear the consequences of your actions.

Lady Tongjia stared blankly at Emperor Kangxi, never expecting him to say such a thing. She had been so discreet about those matters; how did the Emperor know?

Before Consort Tongjia could answer, Emperor Kangxi's voice rang out again: "Consort Jin, if you had behaved properly and done nothing wrong during the inspection tour, I would not have humiliated Consort Tongjia like this."

So this is just a warning. If you do anything again that displeases me, don't blame me for showing you no mercy!

After Kangxi finished speaking, he threw Longkodo's memorial on the ground. Although it didn't hit Tongjia, it was almost the same.

"Take a look! After you've read it, I grant you permission to leave the palace and return to the Tong family. Ask Longkodo and Tong Guowei properly whether, in the eyes of your Tongjia clan, I am the Son of Heaven, the Emperor, the master of this world, or just a commoner whom your Tongjia clan wants to question!"

Tongjia Shi tremblingly picked up the memorial from the ground. Looking at the questions and accusations against that lowly woman from the Borchijin tribe, she suddenly realized that the Emperor truly cared about that woman.

Longkodo had submitted similar memorials before, but at that time the Emperor had told her: Longkodo is really spoiled! How dare she question me like this? Fortunately, she is my cousin, otherwise I would definitely hold her accountable.

But now, the words are the same as before, the tone is the same as before, only now there are more words saying that the emperor is unworthy of his position, and he has even decided to kill him.

"Cousin! Have you never loved me at all?"

Kangxi didn't speak. Did he like it? Before, he saw everyone the same!

He only showed extra concern for Tongjia because she was his cousin. As for the others, they were simply people who had something that attracted him.

If he hadn't met Harigana, he might never have known what liking someone truly meant!

"Cousin! I love you. I've known since I was little that I wanted to enter the palace to be with you. Do you know how much I suffered to get into the palace?"

Why, after all these years of hard work, am I inferior to a lowly woman from the insignificant Borchigold tribe!

"How dare you!"