"Oh dear, why has Consort Shu left?"
Nara suddenly said something, while looking at Xiuning beside her with a puzzled expression.
Xiuning: ……
She had no idea why Consort Shu had left. She blinked innocently. Xiu Ning looked ahead and realized that the crowd had dispersed at some point, and even Consort Shu was being carried out of the palace.
"It's probably nothing serious. Perhaps Consort Shu wants to return to the palace."
Or perhaps she feared the Empress would harm her, and felt that returning to the palace at this time was the safest option.
Nara curled her lip upon hearing this, "Consort Shu is truly judging others by her own petty standards. If something happens on the way back to the palace, she'll probably regret it to death."
Even if the Empress is incredibly stupid, she wouldn't allow Consort Shu to actually get into trouble in Kunning Palace; that would be ruining her own reputation.
Xiuning looked at Nara with surprise; she hadn't expected her to say that.
However, this statement makes a lot of sense. Although Consort Shu fell in the courtyard of Kunning Palace, it was purely due to her own carelessness. The system's retelling included the scene of how Consort Shu fell. Otherwise, if they could have caught the Empress, how could Consort Shu have left so quietly as she is now?
"The Consort Shu is surrounded by her own people, and she also comes from the Niohuru clan." If she couldn't even control the people around her, she would truly be disgracing the clan.
Although this person was a transmigrator who arrived halfway through his journey, he was not so incompetent as to not even know how to manage people.
Xiuning muttered to herself, then went out with Daliuer and left.
After watching the concubines leave, Hesheli Fangyi, with Li Mama by her side, turned and went back to the main hall.
"Your Majesty, it's time for us to go to Cining Palace."
Tan Yun's earlier reminder was not just empty talk; there really was such a thing waiting for Hesheli Fangyi.
"Yes, help me with my hair and makeup."
Hesheli Fangyi walked to the bronze mirror and sat down, her expression as calm as before.
After the hair bun was loosened, it was put back up, and the hair ornaments that had been taken off were put back in one by one.
Hesheli Fangyi swayed from side to side, "Granny, where do you think Consort Shu should be right now?"
Granny Li was taken aback, then replied, "They should be almost at the outskirts of Yongshou Palace."
Kunning Palace is not far from Yongshou Palace, and since Consort Shu came by sedan chair, if they had traveled faster at this time, they might have already returned to the palace and been resting in bed.
Hesheli Fangyi smiled slightly, "It's a pity that I won't be able to see such a good show."
"Granny, if the Empress Dowager knew that Yonghe Palace was behind this, would she still consider handling it fairly?"
Granny Li shook her head. "People have varying degrees of closeness and distance. The Empress Dowager has always valued the interests of Mongolia. It's not appropriate for the Empress Dowager to interfere too much in the case of the Borjigit concubine seeking revenge for her son."
Upon hearing this, Hesheli Fangyi smiled slightly. Yes, this was just a story of a pitiful mother wanting to avenge her miscarried child. As an onlooker, she had only provided a slight opportunity. Whether Consort Borjigit could seize it was none of her business.
Thud—
After tucking a beautiful phoenix-tail hair ornament into her hair, Hesheli Fangyi rose and walked gracefully out of the hall. "We should go to Cining Palace now."
On the other side, Consort Shu, whom Hesheli Fangyi had mentioned, was lying at the entrance of Yongshou Palace, clutching her belly and looking pained.
Just moments before the palanquin was about to hit the ground, Consort Shu fell directly off it.
There was no cushioning beneath him, and even the crossbars carrying the sedan chair scattered in all directions.
"Your Majesty, what's wrong?"
"Your Majesty, are you alright?"
"Cuizhi, quick, quick, call the imperial physician! My stomach hurts so much..."
In her panic, Consort Shu grabbed a section of her sleeve, spoke, and then fainted.
...
Chuxiu Palace East Side Hall
Xiuning and Nara sat on either side of the couch, chatting casually.
Life in the harem was even more boring than imagined. Unlike the empress and others, these low-ranking concubines did not have palace affairs or other matters to attend to. Apart from waiting for the emperor's summons, which was only a few times a month, they spent most of their time in their rooms.
In the early years of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, the Manchu banner women were mostly trained in housekeeping, horsemanship, and archery. They were not very sensitive to Han Chinese poetry and songs, and their needlework skills were mediocre. They had almost no skills to pass the time in their daily lives.
So, when Nara invited Xiuning, even though Xiuning knew that the two would become rivals in the future, it did not affect her friendship with her.
On the surface, it's just two bored people huddling together for warmth; this kind of situation is very common in the imperial harem.
"My sister is really patient. To be honest, the person living next door to my sister always makes a fuss every now and then, which is really annoying."
Nara waved her hand, her mouth full of complaints.
Xiu Ning smiled shyly, her tone full of helplessness, "She is a concubine, while I am just a lowly concubine. Besides, the imperial heir in my womb is more important, so I can't say much."
Consort Shu is used to doing things her own way; would she care about other people's feelings? Certainly not.
Xiu Ning thought about how she lived in Qixiang Palace while there were frequent disturbances in Yongshou Palace next door. She smiled on the outside but cursed inwardly.
Upon hearing this, Nara and Xiuning exchanged a bitter smile. Not to mention other matters, they were probably both feeling equally troubled at the moment.
Just then, another commotion came from outside. Xiuning glanced over and heard Nala say, "It must be that the imperial physician has been summoned from Xianfu Palace. Sister, you'll get used to it. I'm afraid you're scared because you saw Consort Shu in trouble today."
Empress Nara looked down on Consort Zhang's timidity in the slightest. She was always making a fuss and thought she was really incompetent. How could someone like her get pregnant?
Empress Nara couldn't understand it, and she was also angry that the Empress hadn't gotten pregnant yet, as she wanted to have a child.
"Is Consort Zhang always like this?"
That's certainly cowardly. Today, when Consort Shu came out of Kunning Palace, she was clearly unharmed.
"Yes, Zhang Shu."
Before Lady Nara could finish speaking, a palace maid suddenly announced from the doorway, "Your Highness, something has happened at Yongshou Palace."
Well, one sentence left Nara and Xiuning speechless. The two looked at each other blankly, and it was only after Nara called someone over that they found out what had happened.
It turns out that the commotion just now did come from the neighboring Xianfu Palace, but it wasn't the imperial physician coming over; rather, the imperial physician was being taken to Yongshou Palace.
"How is Consort Shu?"
Empress Nara's eyes gleamed, clearly hoping that Consort Shu would get into trouble.
The palace maid shook her head. "This servant does not know, but I heard that Consort Shu fell from her sedan chair, and it must be very serious."
The fall occurred right at the entrance of Yongshou Palace, and there were other people's spies around, so they were able to find out this much. As for deeper inside information, we can only wait for Yongshou Palace to release the information itself.
Nara turned to look at Xiuning, "Sister, what do you think about us?"
"Sister, please don't rush. Yongshou Palace is probably in a complete mess right now. Let's stay and wait for news."
To dare to approach at this point would be suicidal.
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