Chapter 62 is all just verbal sparring, nothing to worry about.

At this moment, Wanyan was so desperate to save her life that she didn't care about anything else and immediately started crying and screaming like beans spilling from a bamboo tube.

"Yes, it was Her Majesty the Empress. It was Her Majesty the Empress who told me to say this. She promised me that as long as I did as she said and brought down Consort Jin, she would promote me to a concubine and let me serve her in bed. I was blinded by greed and slandered Consort Jin. I know I was wrong. Please forgive me, Consort Jin."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Nan raised an eyebrow, looked at the Empress whose face had turned from white to green, and sneered.

"That's it? An empty promise? That won't save your life."

Upon hearing this, Wanyan panicked even more, as if she had remembered something, and screamed.

"And also, Her Majesty the Empress was afraid that I would become uncontrollable in the future, so she gave me a sterilization medicine. She said that this way I would have no choice but to follow her wholeheartedly and serve her with my life. I was forced to do this, Your Majesty."

"What?"

These words shocked the entire hall.

Even the usually composed Consort Niohuru suddenly raised her head, her eyes flashing with a terrifying cold light.

The other concubines were so frightened that they gasped in shock.

Sterilization drugs?

The empress actually gave her subordinates sterilization drugs.

Jiang Nan wore an extremely exaggerated, sarcastic smile.

The voice rose even higher, filled with undisguised shock and inflammatory rhetoric.

"Wow, this is incredible, truly incredible! Everyone, listen to this, everyone, listen to this."

She pointed at the pale-faced empress and spoke loudly to the concubines.

"Our Empress is truly ruthless. To prevent her underlings from disobeying, she struck first and severed their manhood, ensuring they can never be a subservient dog again."

Her gaze was like a knife, sweeping across the pale, terrified faces of every concubine.

"Today she can force-feed Wanyan a sterilization drug, tomorrow if she doesn't like someone or thinks someone is a threat, can she just casually give you a bowl of tonic? So this is how an empress is? Why are there so few children in the harem? Now you all understand, right? The root of the problem lies with our virtuous empress."

She finally fixed her gaze on the crumbling empress, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Your Majesty, I finally understand. The biggest expense in your Kunning Palace is probably not cosmetics, but... the money for brewing medicinal soup, isn't it? Oh, that makes sense. Who told you, Hesheli, to be so wealthy and not short of money? Of course, there's plenty of medicinal soup. As many ladies-in-waiting come to the harem, you can arrange as many bowls of medicinal soup as there are, right?"

"puff--"

Empress Hesheli was met with a barrage of sarcastic and scathing remarks.

Enraged, his blood rushed to his head, and a sweet taste rose in his throat. He actually spat out a mouthful of blood.

Everything went black, and I fell straight backward.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

The maids and servants of Kunning Palace were terrified.

Crying and shouting, they rushed forward to help him and pinched his philtrum, and the hall instantly descended into chaos.

Jiang Nan watched the chaotic scene with a cold eye, her face expressionless.

She glanced at Wanyan, who was slumped on the ground, her eyes pleading for her life, and gave Zhao Deyi a casual instruction.

"Zhao Deyi, that vile servant, slandered the Empress, and her crime deserves to be punished. Her so-called grievances cannot absolve her of her sins. Take her away; I never want to see this person again."

"Yes, sir."

Zhao Deyi understood immediately, and with a wave of his hand, the eunuchs stepped forward again.

This time, without any mercy, they tightly covered Wanyan's mouth, ignoring her last struggles.

They roughly dragged her out of the main hall; her fate was sealed.

Ignoring the chaos and cries behind her in Kunning Palace, Jiang Nan turned around and walked straight out of the hall.

As she reached the door, she suddenly stopped and turned back to look at the concubines inside the hall who were terrified and at a loss for what to do.

He chuckled softly, his voice carrying clearly throughout the hall.

"Ha! What are you all still sitting there waiting for? Are you waiting for something to happen to the Empress's unborn child so she can have a reason to smear you?"

These words struck like a final thunderbolt, waking everyone up.

The concubines, as if waking from a dream, rose in panic and scrambled to escape this place of trouble.

After Jiang Nan finished speaking, she didn't linger and walked out of Kunning Palace.

The morning sunlight was dazzling, and she squinted slightly.

Wang and Daijia hurriedly followed.

Dai Jia looked at Jiang Nan's back with eyes filled with almost fanatical worship and awe.

Wang looked worried and whispered.

"Sister, today's matter... has gone too far. The Empress's unborn child must not be harmed."

Jiang Nan did not stop walking, her gaze calmly fixed on the direction of the Qianqing Palace, her tone indifferent.

"Whether it's alright or not, what does it have to do with me? I only said a few words and didn't lay a hand on the Empress. All the concubines in the harem saw it and can testify for me. As for whether her unborn child is alright, that's the imperial physicians' business. Let's go back. I need to go back and take a nap."

She was already telling Boss Kang that she had reported everything to him.

Anyway, Boss Kang said that as long as there's no physical fight, it's just a verbal dispute, so it's not a big deal.

Regardless, I am an innocent victim.

I had warned Kangxi long ago that I was about to go too far, but he didn't take it seriously.

That's not her fault.

————————

The inner hall of Kunning Palace was filled with the smell of medicine.

The news of Empress Hesheli vomiting blood and fainting spread like a stone thrown into a still lake, quickly reaching the court.

Emperor Kangxi was discussing matters with his ministers in the Hall of Mental Cultivation when he heard Liang Jiugong whispering in a panic, and his face darkened.

He immediately dismissed the court session and rushed to Kunning Palace.

Upon entering the inner hall, one sees Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang already seated in the main seat.

He held a string of sandalwood prayer beads in his hand, his expression serene.

Only a trace of weariness flashed across the depths of her eyes as Su Mala leaned down and whispered in her ear.

He recounted in detail the thrilling conflict that occurred during the morning's inspection.

When Empress Xiaozhuang heard the words "sterilization drug," her fingers, which were twirling the Buddhist prayer beads, paused almost imperceptibly.

My heart was in turmoil.

Hershey... was utterly foolish.

How could they possibly take such a self-destructive step?

This is no longer a simple competition for favor; it is putting the face of the imperial family and the glory of the entire Hesheli clan on the hottest flames.

Songgotu was already a prominent figure in the previous dynasty, and this incident only exacerbated his already troubled situation.

Those political enemies who were eyeing the situation would not let go of such a perfect handle.

The balance of power in the court is likely to be broken, and turmoil is inevitable.

Her gaze swept across the layers of curtains, as if she could see her good-for-nothing granddaughter-in-law on the phoenix bed.

Ultimately, they were too young, impatient, and their methods were so crude and unacceptable.

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang had even more mixed feelings about Consort Jin, who had caused the storm.

Consort Jin is like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath, her edge fully revealed. This time, she has the upper hand and delivers a fatal blow.

But the sword is too sharp; it could easily injure oneself...

She admired this unrestrained yet wise attitude, but she also knew that what was sometimes needed by the emperor's side was a jade disc that concealed its sharpness.

This is an opportunity to give her a good talking-to and teach her the meaning of propriety.