Chapter Seventy-Seven: The Legend of Zhen Huan, Nian Shilan 15
Consort Tian took out her face powder box, and Consort Jing took it and compared it with the one in Consort Xin's hand. Fearing that it might harm the fetus, they wouldn't let Consort Tian and Consort Min touch it.
Consort Jing and Consort Xin exchanged a glance, nodded, and said with certainty, "It's not just similar, it's exactly the same."
"Xin Changzai, put the perfume box over there." Nian Shilan raised her chin, gesturing to a spot where no one was around.
After Xin Chang did as instructed, Nian Shilan placed the pine nuts next to the perfume box and returned to her room.
A short while later, Songzi went berserk again, howling at the powder box and lunging around. The case was solved; with the evidence, no one believed that it wasn't An Changzai who did it.
In the end, Consort An was confined to her quarters by the Empress, to be dealt with after the Emperor returned from Hebei. The Empress would make Consort An take the blame for all the crimes, since she had An Bihai and Lady Lin as threats.
The Empress originally intended to send Songzi back to the Imperial Garden, since after what had happened, she could no longer keep Songzi.
After the Emperor returned to the palace, Consort An was demoted to a commoner and forced to commit suicide, while Songzi was taken from the Imperial Garden by Nian Shilan.
After all, the Empress had raised her before, so she couldn't just bring her back to Yikun Palace, but with the Emperor's decree, it was fine.
Later, Consort Wan was found to be pregnant, and the Emperor promoted her to Consort Wan and moved her to Yonghe Palace.
It was the Empress Dowager who suggested that Consort Wan move into Yonghe Palace, since she knew that the Empress did not want anyone to live in Chengqian Palace.
Yikun Palace —
Nian Shilan, dressed in a purple qipao embroidered with roses, rested her head on the couch with one hand, closing her eyes for a short nap.
Her posture was languid and alluring, her skin was fair and delicate, her temperament was aloof, and her tempting red lips made people want to kiss her.
"Your Majesty." Songzhi entered the room and woke Nian Shilan.
"What's wrong?" Nian Shilan asked with a hint of displeasure. She had only just fallen asleep.
"Your Majesty, Consort Duan has passed away." Songzhi's face still carried a hint of satisfaction. The enemy who killed the young prince was finally gone, which allowed her to live a few more days.
"Oh." Nian Shilan replied calmly, as if it were expected.
Consort Duan could not bear the torment and also felt that it was retribution.
Unable to contain herself, she said in the Yanqing Palace, "It wasn't her who harmed the young prince; it was the young prince's maternal grandmother, imperial father, and imperial mother who didn't want him to be born. I'm just taking the blame."
Since there were people in Yanqing Palace who were close to the Emperor, they naturally informed him. The Emperor then poisoned Consort Duan to make her mute and secretly executed the palace servant who overheard the incident.
The subsequent medication further weakened Consort Duan, and she passed away within a few days.
Songzhi: "Moreover, Consort Duan was not posthumously granted a title!"
Generally, concubines would be posthumously honored after their death, unless they were convicted of a crime.
Although it's not a happy thing that Consort Duan wasn't posthumously honored, since she was already the highest-ranking consort, it's still better than being posthumously honored.
"Heh." Nian Shilan gave a cold laugh. "Luckily, she wasn't posthumously honored. If she had, I would have smashed her funeral and made sure she couldn't rest in peace even in death."
Incidentally, let the emperor be plagued by nightmares, with all the dead children appearing in his dreams and devouring him.
Songzhi twitched her lips, unsure whether she should be glad that Consort Duan was not posthumously honored, or regretful that she could not cause a scene at the funeral and prevent Consort Duan from finding peace even in death.
The fact that Consort Duan was not posthumously honored after her death did not surprise the other concubines, since they all knew that she had caused Consort Hua to miscarry.
In their eyes, being able to live to become the highest-ranking imperial concubine was already a great favor, so it's perfectly normal that they haven't been posthumously granted a title.
Everyone except Nian Shilan and the Emperor attended Consort Duan's funeral.
It was all just for show; they lit incense, but few were truly saddened for Consort Duan. They just felt it was a case of karma.
Since the flower-viewing incident, Consort Tian and Consort Min have been sending gifts to Nian Shilan frequently, and occasionally they have come to Yikun Palace to try and build a relationship with her.
As for the reasons, one was to express gratitude, and the other was to seek protection, since Consort Min had previously bullied Consort An and the Empress had come to her rescue.
Consort Min thought that Consort An was the Empress's person back then, and this time it was Consort An who wanted to harm their two children, and it happened in Jingren Palace.
Who would believe that it had nothing to do with the Empress? She certainly didn't.
Because Consort Min and Consort Tian had lived in Yanxi Palace together for a year, they got along well and became good friends. After discussing it, they decided to seek protection from Consort Hua.
After all, the person in the palace least likely to harm their children was Consort Hua. As for the reason, if Consort Hua wanted to harm them, she wouldn't even need to lift a finger; she could simply not save the two of them that day.
After persistently bothering Nian Shilan several times, she finally agreed to help them with the pregnancy, but refused to let them rely on her.
Although disappointed, the two were also very happy. Their emotions were no longer tense, and they could eat and drink to their hearts' content again.
With three pregnant women in the palace, there were fewer women available to serve the emperor, but apart from Nian Shilan, no one felt it was a bad thing.
Several of the favored concubines became pregnant, which meant they got more time to serve the emperor, and some people were secretly happy about their pregnancies.
During this time, Consort Xin was promoted to Noble Lady Xin.
Meanwhile, the Emperor also happened to meet Consort Fang Jia flying a kite in the Imperial Garden. Consort Fang Jia, who had reached the age of marriage, became a favorite concubine after her first night with the Emperor.
Her innocent appearance won the emperor's favor, and within a few days, the emperor bestowed upon her the title of Ying, making her a concubine.
Consort Wan's birthday banquet was not a grand affair. Not only was the Emperor not as fond of her as he was in the original drama, but there were also three pregnant concubines at the same time, so it wasn't appropriate to hold a large celebration just for her.
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