Standing beside Consort Ruan was a woman dressed in gray, with her headdress simple and unadorned. The only thing that caught the eye was the string of Buddhist prayer beads on her wrist.
Could this person be...?
"Greetings, Consort Jing. May Consort Jing enjoy boundless blessings and peace."
Consort Jing looked up upon hearing this, slightly surprised. "How do you know me? I don't seem to remember ever seeing you before."
Qin Qi breathed a sigh of relief. Whew, if he had guessed wrong, he would have been doomed.
She raised her eyes and smiled slightly, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty was very charitable a few years ago. I admired Your Majesty's beauty and kept it in my heart, thinking that when I grew up I would become a kind and beautiful person like Your Majesty."
A few years ago, when Consort Jing was enjoying great favor, she did indeed pay out of her own pocket to distribute porridge on the street, wanting to accumulate good deeds.
At the time, other concubines said that she was extravagant and wasteful, which displeased Emperor Yuming. However, when he heard that she was using her own salary, he didn't say anything.
However, she was staying at home at that time and did not go out.
Although Consort Jing did not say that she was a concubine in the palace, the news was still leaked for some reason.
The common people had never seen a concubine in the palace before. When they heard that this was the emperor's woman, they all excitedly crowded around to see, and suddenly the order was disrupted.
Consort Jing had not anticipated this situation and had only brought eight guards. In the ensuing shoving and pushing by the crowd, Consort Jing was knocked to the ground, and she immediately bled.
It was only then that everyone realized that Consort Jing was already more than two months pregnant.
Consort Jing herself was also shocked. The imperial physicians often came to check her pulse, but they had never mentioned that she was pregnant. Although her period was delayed, she was weak and this happened often. In addition, the imperial physicians were so confident that she believed them.
She later realized with shock that she had been set up.
Emperor Yuming was furious and thoroughly investigated the Imperial Medical Academy, only to find that the imperial physician who had examined Consort Jing had already fallen into the well in the Imperial Garden and died without any evidence.
Because of this incident, Emperor Yuming neglected Consort Jing for several months. Consort Jing never left the palace again, spending her days eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist prayers to accumulate good karma.
However, this matter remained hidden within the palace, and no one spoke of it. If Prime Minister Qin hadn't informed her, Qin Xi wouldn't have known either. She was secretly relieved; if Prime Minister Qin hadn't prevented her from leaving the palace, she feared she would have been embroiled in this mess.
Therefore, she didn't recognize Consort Jing because she had seen her before, but because of the string of Buddhist beads.
There were quite a few concubines in the palace who chanted Buddhist prayers, but most of them were just pretending to be virtuous in order to win Emperor Yuming's favor. Therefore, even though they worshipped Buddha in the palace, they still wore bracelets and other ornaments on their wrists, and dressed in flamboyant clothes.
Only Consort Jing was dressed like a nun in a temple, wearing Buddhist beads, but her black hair was tied up, giving her a more down-to-earth air than a nun.
To her surprise, Consort Jing was on good terms with Consort Ruan, which was completely unexpected. Presumably, the guards at the gate were also removed by Consort Jing's orders.
Consort Jing was taken aback upon hearing this, and quickly lowered her head. "I see. Please come in quickly."
"No need, Your Highness, I..." Qin Xi hurriedly waved her hand, wanting to say that she wouldn't go, but seeing that Consort Ruan was glaring at her, she silently swallowed the words she hadn't finished saying and changed her words to, "Then thank you both, Your Highnesses."
Consort Jing nodded slightly, and Consort Ruan also looked away.
Qin Xi cautiously followed them inside. In fact, she was very reluctant, but it seemed to have no effect. She could only hope that Lu Huai's people were reliable enough to protect her in time.
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