Chapter 7 Punishment
We can't let them die a quick and easy death.
"There is a branch of the Chen family that is marrying off several daughters this year, and this matter is caused by them," Kangxi suddenly said.
For a long time, a person's life or death has been nothing compared to the reputation of their family, but hearing his explanation of the whole story still chilled me to the bone.
The Chen family in the capital was the main branch and the most successful branch. Even so, he was only a second-class imperial guard, which was a minor official of the fourth rank. Being able to accompany the emperor on a military expedition was already a very fortunate thing.
That's why they later offered up their own daughter. No one knows how that decision was made; all that's known is that they were gambling.
The result was obvious: they lost the bet. The fact that the Chen family's daughter was pregnant was also due to their own shortcomings. They had someone the Chen family was on good terms with send her back, but she ended up being murdered.
How terrified Chen's daughter was after returning home, and why she didn't reveal the man's name after being found out she was pregnant, are all unknown. Perhaps she did reveal it, but everyone pretended not to hear. In the end, when punishment had to be imposed, she was driven out of the house and died outside.
A girl who had been raised in seclusion since childhood died on the night of the first day of the ninth lunar month, after the Mid-Autumn Festival.
What's even more heartbreaking is that she didn't slip and fall into the water on her own, but was strangled to death with a thin rope by someone from a collateral branch of the Chen family who was getting married this year.
The Chen family knew what she would suffer after being kicked out—whether she was drowned in a pig cage or died outside, it was all the same death. But to appease others' anger, they let their daughter die in fear and anxiety, yet with hope.
"This matter is the fault of the Chen family. How do you intend to punish them?" Kangxi was not particularly concerned about this kind of thing, because too many things had happened in the world. It was only because she cared that she was particularly concerned.
Chen Guanxue chuckled, "Why punish them? Now that I am a daughter of the Chen family, I should reward them and let them know that a daughter of the Chen family has survived a great calamity and entered the palace, becoming the emperor's darling."
Ordinary punishments are not enough to make them fear and regret. Whatever the reason for their regret, they should be made to regret it to the point of being heartbroken.
What they couldn't achieve even with their best efforts, she accomplished effortlessly. From now on, they'll be thankful that the Chen family girl is still alive. But in the end, they'll wish they could expose her now, because they'll all die.
She had already said that she was not a good person. Whoever she took a liking to would be blessed with a lifetime of peace and wealth, while whoever she disliked would be left with nothing.
Runxi was someone she liked. After serving her for a few years, if she wanted to leave the palace and get married, she could choose any unmarried young man in the court. Even if she didn't want to leave the palace, she could still live a respectable life there. Whether she was tired or not when she was young, she would at least live a more comfortable life than the concubines when she got old.
The Chen family was the ones she disliked. The best way to deal with them was to let them get what they wanted, and then let them lose it in fear and anxiety.
"Then I will reward them with some things tomorrow. It's best if you don't see them."
Kangxi did not want others to occupies her view, and the Chen family should not even think about getting close to her. They could even harm their own relatives, so what kind of good people could they be? Wouldn't it be a waste to see them?
"I never intended to see them, so why be nervous?" Chen Guanxue said softly, without expressing her disagreement.
After all, now was not a good time to meet them according to her plan. She had to walk up to them when they were happiest and tell them with the facts that she was not the real Chen family girl.
Whether it was Consort Yi's incident that served as a warning to the concubines, or whether Emperor Kangxi intervened, no one was allowed to approach her again. Apart from Consort Yi, she didn't see anyone else at all.
However, she was lazy and didn't like to go out, so she didn't have the chance to meet other people outside.
Chen Guanxue even suspected that Kangxi had calculated this as well. She didn't go out and see anyone, so she could only keep her eyes on him, because after the group of palace maids were sent over, she found that these people were not good-looking.
Whether by coincidence or design, they each possessed their own unique beauty, yet none of them were strikingly beautiful at first glance.
After she made her decision, Emperor Kangxi rewarded the Chen family with gifts, but they were all decorative items with special markings, none of them were practical.
The palace took this reward very seriously, and with the information revealed by Kangxi and Yinzhen, everyone knew that the person in the East Warm Pavilion of Qianqing Palace was a woman from the Chen family.
The Chen family were Han bannermen bondservants, not of high social standing, and were not considered a significant threat by the concubines. Even if Emperor Kangxi favored her, he would not break his own rules. Women from the Chen family could not become concubines, nor could they threaten their status.
Regardless of which conferment of titles upon concubines or imperial consorts, Emperor Kangxi always had his own criteria: either they were of noble birth, had given birth several times, or had been in the palace for a long time.
The Chen family woman didn't possess any of these qualities, so naturally she didn't see her as a threat.
Indeed, apart from those who served her, only Yinzhen and the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture knew about her pregnancy. Both of them had been informed and naturally dared not spread the news.
It didn't matter that the people in the palace knew she was pregnant; the important thing was that the Chen family outside the palace didn't know on the surface, but they knew in private.
All the capable men in the Chen family gathered together to discuss the matter.
"Those who survive a great calamity are bound to have good fortune in the future. Your good fortune has only just begun, eldest brother," the third son of the Chen family said happily to the eldest son.
Isn't this a joyous occasion? They weren't entirely sure whether his daughter had ever served the Emperor, because the person was brought there unconscious and returned unconscious as well.
As for the claim that the pregnancy was due to the Liu family's son, they felt it was probably true.
Even if a woman had only slept with the emperor once, it would be recorded. Even if she wasn't taken into the palace, she would be kept under surveillance for the rest of her life. That's why they discussed letting her die outside.
As for what's going on now, they have no idea.
People are only willing to believe what is in their own interest, so they believed that Emperor Kangxi had indeed favored her, but had reprimanded them to save face.
She's already entered the palace; the child in her womb isn't Kangxi's, so why would she be allowed to stay?
Don't say the child is gone. If the child is gone, wouldn't the imperial physician be able to diagnose it?
No one will ever tell anyone what the Liu family boy did, because those who knew, except for the people inside the house, have long since passed away and will never speak of it again in this lifetime.
Ambitious people are willing to do anything, even things that could potentially confuse the royal bloodline. They will cover it up for their own benefit.
Chen Laosan was the first to make this decision because he had an unmarried daughter who had married a cousin who had become a concubine. This would allow his daughter to marry someone of even higher status. Ultimately, it was all for their own benefit.
The Chen family were like rats in the shadows, plotting to seize food that didn't belong to them, yet they dared not come out openly.
Even Emperor Kangxi, looking at this den of rats, couldn't help but click his tongue a few times after two people from the Liu family died.
"He is indeed ambitious and ruthless. If he hadn't offended Guan Guan, I really wouldn't have been willing to kill these talented people." He's a madman; the more despised someone is, the more he approves of them.
Liang Jiugong stood to the side, not even raising his head, thinking: If it weren't for Master Chen, these people might have actually become people favored by the Emperor, and then, after being used, their deeds would be exposed and they would be beheaded. Perhaps it's just bad luck; now they don't even have a chance to prove themselves, and they can't even die a peaceful death.
For half a month, it wasn't that no one inquired about the situation in the East Warm Pavilion of Qianqing Palace, but they were all punished, with Consort Hui being the most severely punished.
She didn't know who had instigated her, but she went to Emperor Kangxi to ask what status Chen Guanxue should be given, even if she was just a guest from outside the palace, she should still have a proper title after staying in the Qianqing Palace for so many days.
Liang Jiugong looked at her as if she were a fool. Then Kangxi said, "You've been busy managing palace affairs these past few years and haven't had much time to talk to Yinti. In a few days, Yinti will no longer accompany me out. Stay and keep you company."
Not letting the prince go out with her was tantamount to preventing him from earning merit. Consort Hui's face turned pale immediately, and then she heard Kangxi say the words she wanted to regret.
"The East Warm Pavilion belongs to the Qianqing Palace, and so does the person. It's none of your business to interfere. Just know that she doesn't have to kneel or bow to you."
Although she wouldn't go out, she still had to say something, otherwise if she encountered Chen Guanxue that day and he suffered injustice, it would be him who would suffer.
They all knew the Chen family girl's status; she couldn't possibly be of higher status than them. Therefore, he wanted to make her the most special person in the palace, someone who, despite having no official rank, didn't need to bow to them when she saw them.
The Qianqing Palace was his domain, and he also kept her under his wing, ensuring they could neither touch nor see her.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Only then did Consort Hui realize why Consort Yi had been confined to her quarters for so long, just to see who was more miserable than her.
You have to accept it whether you want to or not, otherwise the punishment will be even more severe.
After she left, Kangxi sighed, "They're all so carefree."
Liang Jiugong didn't reply, because this wasn't meant for him. Then he heard him say, "Have you prepared everything I asked you to?"
Chen Guanxue was incredibly lazy. Even her daily walks were timed precisely according to the imperial physician's instructions. She wouldn't take an extra step inside the house, preferring to sit or lie down. She also wouldn't be willing to accompany him on his imperial expeditions.
"Your Majesty, we have summoned the most skilled craftsmen. The wheels have been wrapped with glue and cloth, and thick leather has been placed inside the carriage so that Master Chen will not be jostled and cold."
Chen Guanxue was carried here by him this morning and slept for half a day in the back. When she woke up and went for a walk, she heard this sentence.
"Where is Your Majesty taking me?" His eyes held a warning and an impending burst of anger. She didn't want to go out, and he'd learned to force her?!
Once he came to his senses, it wasn't some newly learned form of coercion; for her, those two words were etched into his very bones.
Kangxi paused for a moment, then turned to her with a fawning smile. Seeing that she was still staring at him, he knew he couldn't fool her, so he quietly turned the ring on his hand.
“I can’t bear to see you even for a day when you’re on a personal campaign. Besides, you’ve been in the palace for months. What if someone tries to harm you?”
[Author's Note]
Starting tomorrow, I'll resume 3000-word updates per day, and there will be more updates after the VIP chapters.
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