Chapter 131 It wasn't that he wanted to go, it was all because she wanted to.
That very night, Eunuch Qian was taken to the Censorate.
When the news reached Kunning Palace, the Empress leaned against the soft pillows and listened to Granny Sun report the news. She said calmly, "His Majesty is merciful. He will punish him but not take his life... Granny, do not go to the Ministry of Punishments to have any contact with him during this period."
"yes."
Granny Sun nodded, looking at the Empress's slightly worried expression with concern.
Consort Jin has only been out of favor for a few days, how come she seems to be making a comeback?
The empress rested her head on her hand, seemingly closing her eyes to rest. The candlelight cast two distinct shadows on her profile, clearly separating them.
"Granny, I haven't been feeling well lately. Bring me another bowl of herbal medicine to help me recover."
She didn't open her eyes, and suddenly whispered.
The empress's words were hushed, sounding like a long sigh.
Granny Sun didn't move. She wanted to dissuade him, "Your Majesty, the Emperor must only care about her belly... It's strange, how come the Emperor has been childless for so long, yet she is the only one who can conceive a royal heir?"
"abdomen?"
The Empress slowly opened her eyes, her gaze slightly hazy, recalling Emperor Zhaoheng's attitude towards Narcissus this morning.
“Granny, you didn’t see the Emperor’s expression back then. He wouldn’t show that look when he saw a pregnant belly.”
There was no one else in the inner chamber of Kunning Palace, only Granny Sun serving her. The Empress spoke a sentence in a very soft voice.
"I can accommodate three thousand beauties, but I cannot accommodate the one I love."
"Go, Granny, bring me the medicine."
Seeing that she could no longer persuade her, Granny Sun silently turned around, lowered her head, and left.
Two hours later, she brought over the prepared medicine.
The medicinal liquid smelled extremely bitter, and it emitted a white mist when it was exposed to sunlight.
The Empress took the bowl of medicine and, with practiced ease, drank it all.
Granny Sun stood by helplessly, and finally handed over a candied fruit.
The medicine was bitter, and she couldn't persuade the Empress. Now, offering this candied fruit was the only thing she could do.
——
Since the day Narcissus requested to be confined to her quarters, Emperor Zhaoheng did not visit her at Lihe Palace for three consecutive days.
The limit for an emperor is that he can refrain from taking his anger out on her cold words.
But every time I think of going there, I always remember the aloof look on Narcissus's face that day.
Each time, Emperor Zhaoheng couldn't bring himself to take that step.
Although he is still nominally under house arrest, he does not lack the allowances for the Lihe Palace. Emperor Zhaoheng has even ordered that Pei Jichuan be one of the two imperial physicians who come to take his pulse every day.
He thought that if Pei Jichuan were to resume serving this child, Shui Xian would likely be able to sense his goodwill and complete trust in her.
Yinzhu was imprisoned in the Shenxing Division for poisoning. Before the truth of the matter was revealed, Emperor Zhaoheng could not allow the Shenxing Division to release her.
But even though he knew that Pei Jichuan had served in her palace, he still let Pei Jichuan take care of her pregnancy, which clearly showed that he trusted her a lot.
Emperor Zhaoheng was not in a hurry; he only hoped that Shui Xian could figure things out little by little on her own.
Every day, after examining Ping An's pulse, Pei Jichuan would come to the Qianqing Palace to report to Emperor Zhaoheng alone.
The same applies today.
Emperor Zhaoheng was writing his comments on the memorial in red ink, listening to Pei Jichuan bowing and reporting to him.
"Your Majesty's pulse is generally stable and strong during the twin pregnancies, however..."
Pei Jichuan seemed to hesitate. Emperor Zhaoheng put down his vermilion brush, raised his eyes and asked, "But what is it? Speak freely."
"Your Majesty's recent spotting was initially due to her recent overwork in managing the six palaces. I have inquired with Your Majesty in detail, and occasional spotting is not a serious matter."
"However, the bleeding that occurred after Her Majesty took the pregnancy-preserving medicine was somewhat unusual."
Pei Jichuan explained everything in detail, "To be honest, Your Majesty, I once prescribed a pregnancy-stabilizing pill for Consort Jin. The prescription is similar to the hemostatic medicine that Your Highness used when she had postpartum hemorrhage."
“When the Empress took hemostatic drugs during childbirth before, her hemorrhage worsened, and the source could not be found from beginning to end. Now it seems that this bleeding is too coincidental with the Empress’s hemorrhage during childbirth before.”
Emperor Zhaoheng pondered for a long time, then said in a deep voice, "Are you sure?"
"Your subject is certain."
Pei Jichuan bowed slightly and reported with utmost respect: "Since Your Majesty suffered a hemorrhage during childbirth, I have spent several months researching and finally discovered that one of the ingredients in the hemostatic formula reacts with another ingredient called You Tan Hua, causing the hemorrhage to continue."
"Since Her Majesty became pregnant for the second time, everyone in the Lihe Palace has been careful not to use any incense."
"It was moved from Yongle Palace to Lihe Palace. If that epiphyllum is still by the Empress's side, it may be detrimental to the Empress's second childbirth."
After saying what he needed to say, Pei Jichuan did not raise his head. After finishing, he bowed deeply, awaiting the emperor's instructions.
First, Yongning was poisoned, then the remaining poison around Shuixian was not cleared, and it was even threatening her and the imperial heir in her womb.
Emperor Zhaoheng's eyes were deep and cold as he said:
"Pei Jichuan, since you have doubts, investigate this matter thoroughly for me!"
"From this day forward, all of Consort Jin's food, medicine, clothing, utensils, and even every brick and tile of the Lihe Palace shall be thoroughly investigated by me! Report any suspicious items immediately!"
"I obey the decree!"
Pei Jichuan solemnly accepted the order.
After saying what Consort Jin had asked him to say, Pei Jichuan seemed to have completed some task, and his shoulders relaxed almost imperceptibly.
Although he did not understand Consort Jin's scheme, he obeyed her.
The Empress Dowager said that when reporting to the Emperor each day, one must not mention anything about her recent situation other than her physical condition.
If he asks, I will give him a vague answer and not go into details.
The rest was a reminder to the Emperor that his recent spotting was similar to her postpartum hemorrhage.
After doing all this, Pei Jichuan quickly lowered his head and left without lingering.
After Pei Jichuan left, Emperor Zhaoheng turned his attention back to the memorials on the table.
However, at this moment he couldn't see anything. He only felt that the red ink marks were like the blood that was carried out in basins when she gave birth that night. This association made him uneasy.
Knowing that Pei Jichuan had already investigated, Emperor Zhaoheng still felt it wasn't enough. He immediately summoned the head of the secret guards and whispered, "Take a team of absolutely reliable people and secretly search Lihe Palace for me! In particular, thoroughly examine the old items that Consort Jin brought from Yongle Palace!"
The secret guards, who obeyed only the Emperor, left upon receiving their orders.
Feng Shunxiang, who was guarding outside the study, saw everything clearly. He vaguely heard the sound of picking up the vermilion brush again inside, and he understood what was going on.
Feng Shunxiang casually summoned a young eunuch, recalling the coldness shown by Consort Jin last time, and said:
"Go and tell Consort Jin of Heli Palace that His Majesty was busy with state affairs today and did not have lunch on time."
Feng Shunxiang was close by and could see clearly.
He was also aware of the rumors circulating in the palace, some saying that Consort Jin came from a lowly background and was now being abandoned after enjoying great favor.
But Feng Shunxiang didn't think so. Putting aside the Emperor's troubled mind today, just the fact that Consort Jin was pregnant made Feng Shunxiang know that Consort Jin definitely had a place in the harem.
He watched the eunuch's departing figure, glanced up at the fading sunlight, and wearily closed his eyes.
Neither master wanted to bow down, so the servants were the ones who had to.
However, this time, even Feng Shunxiang didn't expect Narcissus to do this.
She didn't want to take the initiative at all.
This time, it seemed like she had suddenly changed her personality. Not only did she stop fawning over the Emperor, but Pei Jichuan, who reported to her daily, said that since Consort Jin was confined to her quarters, she had been listless all day, as if she couldn't muster the energy to do anything.
Initially, Emperor Zhaoheng, because of Shui Xian's refusal to submit, deliberately ignored her news except for Pei Jichuan's daily pulse diagnosis records.
Isn't it just a matter of wasting time?
He truly didn't understand. Yinzhu was someone he had begged him to send there, and now that dregs of medicine had been found in Yinzhu's room, and according to the rules, Yinzhu should be sent to the Censorate, how come it was as if he was the one who was wrong?!
As an emperor, he would naturally not bow down to a mere woman.
Emperor Zhaoheng deliberately ignored Shuixian for ten to fifteen days, hoping to see her care for him again and become dependent on him again.
However, no matter which palace he went to, the guards sent to watch over her said they never saw her show any particular expression.
Sometimes, Emperor Zhaoheng couldn't help but think recklessly that since everyone inside and outside the Lihe Palace was now his people, it would be perfectly safe for her to have her pregnancy there.
If she wants to be confined, let her be!
On this day, after hearing the report from his secret guards, Emperor Zhaoheng smashed a cup in the Qianqing Palace.
"Epiphyllum oxypetalum! I've searched the entire Lihe Palace, but I can't find this damn Epiphyllum oxypetalum!"
Emperor Zhaoheng's chest heaved, as if he was angry about something.
The leader of the secret guards stood loyally with his brows furrowed, and Feng Shunxiang quickly poured him a cup of tea.
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger."
Feng Shunxiang specifically asked the leader of the secret guards, "How could you not find it? There must be some oversight. Think carefully and figure out where you missed it!"
After thinking for a moment, the head of the secret guards reported, "Some of the imperial gifts were placed separately by Consort Jin on the antique shelf in her inner room. Those items are cleaned every day, so there shouldn't be anything hidden there."
That means it wasn't checked.
When Emperor Zhaoheng heard that the imperial gift had been placed alone on the antique shelf in the inner room by Shui Xian, his hardened defenses suddenly softened for a moment.
"Go check."
Emperor Zhaoheng waved to the leader of the secret guards, who then quietly left.
Soon after, he put down his vermilion brush again and suddenly asked Feng Shunxiang out of the blue, "How has she been lately?"
she.
If Feng Shunxiang didn't know, how could he possibly be the chief eunuch in charge of the emperor's court?
During this time, the Emperor deliberately avoided mentioning her, and even listened silently to Pei Jichuan's daily reports.
Upon hearing this, Feng Shunxiang respectfully replied, "This servant also sent a few clever servants to attend to her. According to their report, Consort Jin's health is gradually improving, and under the careful care of several imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital, she has stopped bleeding."
"However, the body can be treated by the imperial physician, but the heart cannot be healed."
Seeing that Emperor Zhaoheng did not refute him, Feng Shunxiang raised his voice and said, "I just heard that Consort Jin has placed the few items bestowed by the Emperor on the antique shelf in her inner room and looks at them every day. She must miss the Emperor very much."
His words were brief and to the point.
Having been by his side for so many years, Feng Shunxiang naturally knew what the emperor wanted to hear.
Immediately, Emperor Zhaoheng's expression softened slightly, as if he were giving himself a way out.
"Since she misses me, I will go to Lihe Palace tonight."
It wasn't that he wanted to go; it was all because she had been thinking about it.
Feng Shunxiang smiled and said, "Yes."
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