Chapter 80 "Your Majesty, this is not your concubine..."
"Your Majesty, this was not written by me!" Consort De immediately denied it. If this were proven true, it would be even harder for her to recover than Consort Yi's plot to harm the imperial heir.
Consort Yi: "This is clearly Consort De's handwriting, and it was even found on your personal maid. How dare you try to deny it!"
Consort Yi knelt before Emperor Kangxi, her eyes blurry with tears: "Your Majesty, I do not know where I have offended Consort De, who would use the Seventh Princess's life to frame me. I beg Your Majesty to investigate and clear my name."
Consort Tong helped Consort Yi up: "Consort Yi, please don't worry. His Majesty has already summoned the imperial physician."
"Sister Defei has just lost her daughter and is still grieving. Please take a break."
Consort Tong handled the water fairly evenly, serving both sides equally.
The Crown Prince rolled his eyes and stepped forward, saying, "Father, since this is a matter concerning the inner palace, it is inconvenient for us to remain here. We shall take our leave now."
Now, not only does he have to leave, but he also has to take Yinzhen and Yinsi away from Yonghe Palace. Although there is no evidence, he has a feeling that Yinsi may have outmaneuvered him again. The Ninth Prince has always been on good terms with Yinsi, so it is highly likely that Yinsi intervened to turn the tide.
Unexpectedly, Kangxi, who had just felt things were in chaos and wanted to send the princes away, suddenly calmed down.
"This matter is no longer considered an inner palace affair; it involves the imperial heir and is therefore a matter of state affairs. Since you're here, let's listen to what's on your mind."
Wen Shan glanced into the inner hall and sighed softly. The Seventh Princess's body was still warm inside, and yet there was such a commotion outside. Such a small child suffered from illness in life, and even in death, she could not find peace.
"Your Majesty, perhaps we should investigate elsewhere. The Seventh Princess has just passed away; out of respect for the dead, let her rest in peace," Wen Shan said softly.
Emperor Kangxi glanced into the inner hall, but ultimately couldn't bear it.
"The funeral arrangements for the Seventh Princess will be handled by Consort Tong. Yonghe Palace will be temporarily sealed off, and no one is allowed to leave."
Consort Tong rose and agreed, staying at Yonghe Palace to handle the funeral arrangements for the Seventh Princess, while the others went to Qianqing Palace.
Wen Shan led Yinxiang by the hand, with Yinzhen and Yinsi beside them. Kangxi did not order a sedan chair, nor did anyone dare to. They all walked obediently to the Qianqing Palace.
Wenshan estimated that it was almost 7 PM. Although it wasn't too late, it was the first time she had ever had such a large group of people conducting a case hearing at night.
"Yinxiang, are you sleepy?" Wenshan asked with concern.
Normally, by this time, Yinxiang would have already finished chatting with her, tidied up, and gone to bed.
Wen Shan instilled in them the idea that going to bed early and getting up early is the key to growing taller. Yinxiang, the shortest of the three brothers, resolutely practiced this idea and never stayed up late with Yinzhen and Yinsi.
Of course, there's also the suspicion of laziness.
Yinxiang shook his head: "It's alright, Mother."
Although his eyelids were drooping a bit, tonight's show was just too exciting. To push someone as proud as the Emperor to this point, it has to be said that Consort De and Consort Hui were really going all out.
Now, even the Emperor himself is no longer hiding anything and is determined to thoroughly investigate this matter, even late at night. He's really going all out.
Yinzhen and Yinsi were whispering to each other.
"Fourth Brother, I didn't tell you about this beforehand." Yinzhi readily admitted his mistake.
He didn't inform Yinzhen about the matter between Consort De and the Seventh Princess because he was worried that Yinzhen would feel awkward. Even though Yinzhen's imperial genealogy had been changed to Wenshan's name, Consort De was still his birth mother after all. Given the blood relationship, Yinzhen couldn't really treat Consort De as an ordinary concubine.
This is only human nature, there's nothing to say about it.
Especially since this matter involved Consort De harming her own daughter, Yinzhi was worried that Yinzhen would project his own painful memories onto him, so he didn't tell Yinzhen.
Even Yinzhi did not expect that Consort De would be so ruthless.
Yinzhen understood Yinsi's intentions and didn't mind, only asking, "Was the finishing touches done smoothly?"
How to handle this matter originally rested entirely on the Emperor's decision.
It weighs less than two ounces without being weighed, but it weighs over a thousand pounds without being weighed.
If it weren't for Consort De and Consort Hui persisting in their pursuit, given Emperor Kangxi's tendency to keep family scandals private, it's highly likely that, just like when Consort Rong's plot to harm the imperial heir was exposed, the matter would have been dealt with lightly and simply let bygones be bygones.
But now it's obviously on the scale.
Regardless of who wins or loses, the consequences could be unbearable.
Yinzhi nodded slightly: "Don't worry, Fourth Brother, it's very clean."
Consort De thought she had Consort Yi's spy in Yonghe Palace under her control, but she was completely unaware that Yinzhi had also planted a spy by her side.
When they arrived at the Qianqing Palace, several imperial physicians had already been brought over from the Imperial Hospital.
The imperial physicians were already terrified because of the problems with the Seventh Princess's medicine and her sudden death. They were scared half to death when they were summoned to the Qianqing Palace after finally leaving Yonghe Palace.
Consort De never expected to be betrayed by Ruizhu at this time. Ruizhu had been with her for more than ten years, serving Yinzhu since Yinzhu was still alive. Later, she also took care of the Seventh Princess. Although she was not as good as Xia Yun, she was still considered her confidante. Otherwise, she would not have entrusted the prince and princess to her care.
That's why she entrusted Ruizhu with the task of performing the ritual for the Seventh Princess.
If Ruizhu was, from the very beginning, someone else's spy planted next to her...
A chill ran down Consort De's spine, and she dared not think any further.
Then wouldn't everyone know everything about her Yonghe Palace and everything she's done over the years?
Who could this person be?
Consort Yi, Consort Rong, or Noble Consort Xuan?
Even the deceased Consort Wenxi?
Consort De was in a state of utter confusion. Although the outcome was still uncertain, she had already sensed that defeat was inevitable.
Ruizhu was also escorted to the Qianqing Palace, where several eunuchs forced her to kneel and prevented her from making a sound.
Physician Zhang, along with five or six other physicians, knelt below. Emperor Kangxi twirled the thumb ring on his thumb and asked, "Was the Seventh Princess's sudden death due to your inadequate medical care?"
Kangxi's tone was calm and unchanging, but the imperial physicians were so frightened that they broke out in a cold sweat. They looked at each other, puzzled as to why the emperor was now settling scores with them again so soon after they had just been scolded at Yonghe Palace.
Consort Hui looked at Consort De's tense expression and thought to herself, "This is bad. Could it be that Consort De has really gone against the world's opinion and attacked my daughter?"
She and Consort De only discussed reducing the Seventh Princess's dosage and framing Consort Yi; they never mentioned killing the Seventh Princess outright.
Just now she thought it was just a coincidence that things happened suddenly, after all, the Seventh Princess was indeed terminally ill and it would be normal for her to die at any time.
But now... Consort Hui could only curse Consort De in her heart for being crazy.
Physician Zhang, as the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, responded to Emperor Kangxi's words.
"Your Majesty, we have done our utmost to treat the Seventh Princess, but her illness has already penetrated her lungs and is truly beyond saving. Her condition had stabilized somewhat after the acupuncture treatment this afternoon, but she suddenly passed away this evening, leaving us completely unprepared."
Kangxi: "Oh? The Seventh Princess has improved somewhat by noon?"
Consort De took a deep breath and tightly gripped the handkerchief in her hand.
The imperial physicians exchanged glances and said, "Although it's not exactly an improvement, the condition has indeed eased somewhat. We had originally discussed that if we administered acupuncture and medicine daily, we could keep the Seventh Princess alive for more than three months."
Physician Zhang said, "It's just that the Seventh Princess is indeed terminally ill, and given her weak constitution, it's normal for her condition to relapse."
Several imperial physicians also agreed.
The imperial physicians had no evidence and dared not speak recklessly, so they could only give vague answers to avoid offending either side. However, as soon as Kangxi heard this, he knew that there was a real reason behind the Seventh Princess's sudden death.
Fortunately, Emperor Kangxi did not make things difficult for the imperial physicians. After asking them a few questions, he told them to wait outside the palace so that he could be summoned if needed.
Now, the only thing we can pry out of her mouth is Ruizhu.
Consort De insisted that she had never written these things and that someone was deliberately framing her. Ruizhu stood trembling to the side, unable to speak. Kangxi gave her a few gloomy looks.
“Framing a concubine to harm the imperial heir is a capital offense punishable by the extermination of nine generations of her family.” Kangxi said slowly, “If you do not speak up, drag her away and beat her to death, and your entire family will be punished.”
Upon hearing this, Ruizhu suddenly raised her head and hurriedly kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me! This servant knows nothing! I was just following Consort De's orders! This servant really knows nothing!"
Consort De closed her eyes briefly, realizing that all was lost.
No matter how much they planned, they never expected that there would be a spy right next to them.
Consort Yi quickly seized on the loophole in Ruizhu's words and pressed her for an answer: "What were Consort De's orders? If you, a mere servant, continue to spout nonsense, no one can save you!"
The Ninth Prince gritted his teeth and said, "Hurry up and spit it all out!"
"The Empress Dowager has arrived!"
Emperor Kangxi frowned slightly as the Fifth Prince, supporting the Empress Dowager, entered through the door.
"Your Majesty, what brings you here?"
Emperor Kangxi, along with his concubines and princes, paid their respects to the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager waved her hand and said, "I heard that the Seventh Princess has passed away?"
Kangxi nodded.
The Empress Dowager sighed, "That child has been frail since childhood, so Your Majesty should not be too sad."
After saying that, he looked at the bustling crowd in the Qianqing Palace and asked, "It's so late at night, why are so many people gathered here?"
When Kangxi saw the Fifth Prince accompanying the Empress Dowager, he knew that the Empress Dowager had specially gone to fetch reinforcements. Even though the Empress Dowager had not wanted the Fifth Prince to be too close to Consort Yi in earlier years, Consort Yi was still the Fifth Prince's biological mother. If something happened to Consort Yi, it would also implicate the Fifth Prince, so the Empress Dowager would not sit idly by.
Emperor Kangxi helped the Empress Dowager to sit at the head of the table and spoke in a low voice about the current situation.
"This is utterly audacious!" the Empress Dowager shouted sternly. "Who is that palace maid? Explain yourself clearly at once!"
Ruizhu was already terrified by Kangxi's words about exterminating nine generations of her family. When the Empress Dowager arrived, she told her everything she knew.
"Her Highness Consort De only instructed me to pack some of the Seventh Princess's belongings and send them over...send them over..."
"Where are you sending it? Tell me now!" Consort Yi snapped.
Ruizhu looked up at Consort De and said, "Send it to Baohua Hall and ask a master to perform a ritual for the deceased."
"A ritual for the deceased... This..." Consort Yi looked at Emperor Kangxi, "Your Majesty, if the Seventh Princess is merely seriously ill and incurable, why would she need a ritual for the deceased!"
Emperor Kangxi narrowed his eyes: "Consort De, what is your explanation?"
Until the very last moment, Consort De would never admit to murdering the Seventh Princess.
"Your Majesty, I truly only instructed Ruizhu to pack some of the Seventh Princess's clothes for remembrance; I never said anything about taking them to Baohua Palace for a memorial service!"
Seeing that Consort De did not admit it, Ruizhu quickly said, "Your Majesty, Master Miaofa of Baohua Palace can be a witness. Consort De discussed it with him a few days ago!"
"Moreover...moreover, this blood letter was written by Consort De herself. If Your Majesty does not believe it, you can look at the scar on the Consort's index finger."
The wound couldn't be faked. Consort De did indeed have a wound on her right index finger, and it looked like it had healed slightly, so it must have been cut two or three days ago.
“Your Majesty, Consort De stopped the Seventh Princess’s medicine and prepared these things three days ago. I was just following my mistress’s orders. Please spare my family!” Ruizhu cried out.
Consort De had no way to defend herself. Emperor Kangxi sneered and said, "The dosage has been reduced. Ha, it turns out that it was you, her own mother, who cut off Xiao Qi's medicine!"
The Empress Dowager chanted "Amitabha Buddha" a few times.
"I am so sorry, Consort De, how could you be so cruel as to harm your own daughter?"
At this moment, Consort Yi stood up completely, knelt down with a thud, and said, "Your Majesty, I don't know where I offended Consort De, who actually used the Seventh Princess's life to frame me. If this servant hadn't been caught today, the Seventh Princess would probably not be able to rest in peace even in the afterlife!"
Taking advantage of the chaos, the Crown Prince whispered a few words to the Third Prince.
"Third brother, look at the faces of eldest brother and fourteenth brother, they look terrible."
The Third Prince also said, "Today's trip was not in vain."
Whether it was Consort De and Consort Hui's incidents that implicated the First Prince and the Fourteenth Prince, or Consort Yi's incidents that implicated the Ninth Prince, they were all sitting on the sidelines watching the tigers fight.
"Consort De... do you deserve this title?" Kangxi said coldly, "Consort De is immoral, arrogant and unrestrained, and vicious. Her title is hereby revoked and she is demoted to a low-ranking concubine and confined to Yonghe Palace."
For the crime of murdering her own daughter, this was already considered a lenient punishment. It was only because Consort De had given birth to three sons and three daughters, and one son and one daughter had died young, that Emperor Kangxi did not go so far as to exterminate them all.
Wen Shan glanced at Consort De, and whether she had expected it or was due to her strong will, she seemed to be holding on.
The Fourteenth Prince wanted to plead for Consort De, but Consort De stopped him.
As for the Seventh Princess dying at the hands of her own mother, Emperor Kangxi was truly heartbroken for this daughter. He changed her imperial genealogy to that of Consort Wenxi and, breaking with precedent, posthumously conferred upon her the title of Princess Gulun before burial.
Yinzhen didn't say a word all night. His position was indeed awkward, and it wouldn't be appropriate for him to say anything. He could only watch coldly as his birth mother fell from a high place and could never rise again.
In the end, Consort De could only plead for the Fourteenth Prince, hoping that Emperor Kangxi would not implicate him.
After watching the commotion for a while, Consort Rong glanced at Consort Hui, who was standing to the side with her head down, and said, "It seems that Consort Hui and Consort Wuya are also quite close."
After all, the reason Consort Yi was implicated was Consort Hui's suggestion to release a group of palace maids from the palace, and tonight she has been jumping around and standing on Consort De's side.
Kangxi naturally knew that Consort Hui was probably conspiring with Consort De, but he was too lazy to investigate further because of the eldest prince. Tonight was already enough to exhaust him.
Emperor Kangxi rested alone in the Qianqing Palace and dismissed everyone else.
Consort Yi, feeling quite pleased with herself, came to thank Wen Shan and Yin Si, and then took the Fifth Prince and Ninth Prince, who had been quite frightened, back to Yikun Palace.
As Yinzhen watched the Crown Prince and the Third Prince leave, he felt something was amiss.
The eldest prince and the fourteenth prince came to Chonghua Palace tonight to watch this good show, but what is the reason for the crown prince's sudden visit?
Wen Shan took her three children back to Xianfu Palace. After sitting there all night, Wen Shan was feeling restless and hurriedly asked Yin Si what was going on.
“Ruizhu is indeed my person. Over the years, I have never asked her to pass on any messages or do any tasks. She has only served Consort De wholeheartedly,” Yinzhi said. “So Consort De would never have imagined that Ruizhu would betray her.”
The fact that Consort De allowed Ruizhu to handle such an important matter shows that Ruizhu had gained her trust.
"It takes a thousand days to train an army for one day to use it." Yinxiang exclaimed in admiration. "Consort De and Consort Hui took advantage of the winter month, but they never expected that they also had a spies by their side."
"It's just a pity about Ruizhu... She was indeed a loyal servant. I will take good care of her family," Yinzhi said.
Ruizhu naturally did not survive, but her family was not implicated.
Yinzhen sat on the couch, seemingly lost in thought. Wenshan stepped forward and asked softly, "Yinzhen, what are you thinking about?"
Yinzhen seemed to wake from a dream, pursed his lips and said, "It's nothing. I was just wondering if, apart from my sixth brother and fourteenth brother De... I don't care about Consort Wuya at all."
“That’s right.” Yinzhi sat down next to Yinzhen and said, “So Fourth Brother has nothing to do with you. Wuya is just such a ruthless person.”
After all, she was his birth mother, and after going through this ordeal, Yinzhen still felt a sense of loss that he couldn't quite explain.
Just then, Empress Fucha, seeing that it was getting late, sent someone to ask Yinzhen where he would be resting that night. Wenshan then took the opportunity to let him return to Chonghua Palace to rest.
Before leaving, Yinzhen was still a little worried about the Crown Prince. Yinsi patted his chest and assured him that nothing would happen, and told him to go back and rest in peace.
After watching Yinzhen leave, Yinsi and Yinxiang both sighed.
Wen Shan laughed, ruffled each of their hair, and asked, "Aren't you two going back to rest?"
"I can't sleep, Mother." Yinzhi lay down on the couch with a carefree attitude. He had been working himself to the bone tonight and was almost exhausted.
Yinxiang crawled over and poked Yinsi: "Eighth Brother, you were the one who came up with that so-called 'salvation ritual,' weren't you?"
Yinzhi glanced at him, thinking, "Isn't that obvious?"
We must not allow Consort De to leave any evidence against her.
Wenshan sighed as she thought of this.
"In the end, it was because Consort De felt guilty towards the Seventh Princess that she left behind the evidence."
If she were to become even more ruthless and disregard the affairs of the Seventh Princess before and after her death, things would become quite difficult.
She was, after all, a daughter she had carried for ten months and raised for nine years.
But since the person has passed away, there's really nothing more to say.
The Crown Prince and the Third Prince breathed a sigh of relief upon returning to Yuqing Palace.
"Luckily we didn't make a move tonight." The Crown Prince paced back and forth. "Who would have thought we'd run into our eldest brother and his group targeting our eighth and ninth brothers?"
If they had acted as originally planned and attacked the fourth brother again, the Emperor's keen perception would have immediately detected the clues.
“However, we can also say that we have benefited from today’s events.” The Third Prince said, “Now the eldest brother only has the fourteenth brother by his side. With Uya’s crime and demotion, the fourteenth brother has no chance at all. There is no use for him to stay by the eldest brother’s side.”
The crown prince thought about it and also felt that this was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.
"We need to think about this matter again. We absolutely cannot let our guard down like our brother did tonight."
The crown prince scoffed, "You've shot yourself in the foot, you fool."
The next day, Tong Fei came to see Wen Shan.
The Seventh Princess's sudden change of her imperial genealogy and her burial with the standards of a Gulun Princess caught Consort Tong off guard, so she came to Wen Shan to discuss it.
Because no princess in the Kangxi era had been buried with the rites due to a Gulun princess, and because Kangxi clearly felt great pity for this poor daughter, Consort Tong did not know how to make the arrangements.
Wen Shan could only discuss with her the precedents of the previous dynasty and add three extra points, which would be done after Kangxi had seen them.
"The Seventh Princess is also pitiful, so young..." Consort Tong sighed.
Wen Shan was also filled with mixed feelings. She and Tong Fei were not very familiar with each other, and Tong Fei did not stay long before leaving after discussing the matter.
Not long after, Consort Yi also came. The parting last night was hasty, and this time she came to sincerely thank Wen Shan and Yin Si. After the Ninth Prince returned, he told Consort Yi everything. Consort Yi was not stupid. After thinking for a moment, she knew that Yin Si, who had been watching her silently and doing nothing, had arranged all of this last night.
"I have heard that His Majesty has already chosen Lady Guoluo as the primary consort for the Eighth Prince?" Consort Yi asked.
Wen Shan nodded: "She is the granddaughter of Prince An, Yue Le."
Although Consort Yi was also from the Guoluo clan, she was not from the same clan as Yinzhi's consorts.
However, they are not beyond the fifth degree of kinship.
"I have met her mother, Princess Huading, and I call her my cousin," Consort Yi said with a smile. "The An Prince's family are all honest people, so I imagine their daughter will be just as good."
Consort Yi brought many gifts as a wedding present for Yinzhi, and Wenshan accepted them after much refusal.
"Your Highness, rest assured, no one knows about these things," Consort Yi said.
Given the huge incident that happened just yesterday, it was quite eye-catching for her to come to Xianfu Palace with such a grand procession to deliver gifts the very next day. Therefore, Consort Yi brought only small trinkets, as well as some silver notes and land deeds.
These things were originally saved up for her three sons, but after this incident, Consort Yi realized that it was useless to just save money for her sons. The reason why Consort De and Consort Hui went to such lengths, even risking the life of the Seventh Princess, to bring her down was because Yinqi and Yintang were close to the Eighth Prince.
As princes, they had no other choice.
So it would be better to help the Eighth Prince. If the Eighth Prince were to actually sit on that throne one day, her three children would be worry-free for life.
Not long after Consort Yi left, Yinzhen, Yinsi, and Yinxiang returned.
Wenshan stuffed the pile of silver notes and land deeds into Yinzhi's hands.
Yinzhi raised an eyebrow: "Was this a gift from Consort Yi?"
Wen Shan even wanted to call Yin Si a diviner.
There's practically nothing he can't guess.
Yinzhi was not interested in these things, firstly because he did not lack them, and secondly because he had not yet officially entered the court and it was inconvenient for him to travel around. Therefore, he directly handed them over to Yinzhen.
Yinzhen put aside and chatted with Wenshan: "Mother, it is inconvenient for us to go out these days due to the funeral of our seventh sister. It also happens to be the anniversary of the death of Mother Wuku, so my eighth brother and I are thinking of asking Father Emperor for permission to go and pay our respects to Mother Wuku for a few days."
Wen Shan nodded: "Of course, the Empress Dowager will naturally be happy to see you."
Yinxiang originally wanted to go, but he was too young and the Empress Dowager had passed away shortly after his birth, so it wouldn't be right to say that he had any close relationship with her. So he stayed in the palace to accompany Wenshan.
Naturally, Yinzhen and Yinsi chose to leave the Forbidden City at this time with the intention of luring the Crown Prince out of his hole once again.
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