Liu Shushu feigned illness again, thus exempting the palace concubines from their morning and evening greetings.
Meanwhile, Wei Huaixu promoted Du Jieyu's father to a higher official rank as a gesture of consolation, and several palace concubines who were acquainted with him came to offer their congratulations.
Consort Jiang said, "As the saying goes, 'a loss may turn out to be a blessing in disguise,' and you have turned misfortune into blessing, sister."
Consort Du sighed, her face full of sorrow: "I would rather not have this blessing, I just want to get back my poor unborn child."
"Oh dear, I'm so bad at talking." Consort Jiang pretended to slap her mouth twice and said, "I meant to comfort my sister, but I've only made her sad instead."
"It's alright, I understand what you mean. You are my close sister, and I certainly won't hold these things against you."
Li Xiuyi, standing to the side, took a sip of tea and smiled as she comforted her, "You are in the prime of your life, with a beautiful face and a healthy body. You will have another child eventually, so don't be too sad."
"Don't talk about me." Du Jieyu waved her hand, looked to the other side, and said, "Let's talk about Sister Wan."
Xie Shiyu pointed at herself, looking completely bewildered. "Me? What do I have to say?"
"I haven't been feeling well since my miscarriage a few days ago, so I haven't been able to congratulate my sister yet."
Consort Jiang immediately said, "Recently, the Empress and the Noble Consort have fallen ill one after another, so many affairs in the palace have been managed by you, Consort Zhaoyi. The Emperor also often visits your palace, which shows that you are favored by the Emperor. We should indeed congratulate you."
"Yes, among those of us who came to the palace together, you, sister, have the highest rank and are the most favored. Now that you are assisting in the management of the harem, it's only a matter of time before you are promoted to the rank of one of the Four Consorts."
Xie Shiyu smoothed her hair and smiled modestly, "It's just temporarily handling some trivial matters. It's nothing. Once Her Majesty the Empress has fully recovered, I will return everything to her."
"It's quite strange, really. It's not surprising that the Imperial Concubine is sick, since she's in poor health. But the Empress was perfectly fine just a few days ago, so why did she suddenly fall ill as well?" Consort Li suddenly changed the subject.
Xie Shiyu glanced at her sideways without changing her expression, her smile fading slightly. "What's so strange about it? Maybe she caught a chill from the wind at night."
Consort Jiang: "Yes, illness often strikes like a landslide, and who can say for sure?"
“Ever since I entered the palace, the Imperial Concubine has never been well. Yet when I first met her, her complexion was rosy and her gait graceful. She just looked a little thin, but you couldn’t tell she was sick at all,” said Consort Han, who had been sitting silently in the corner.
Consort Li glanced at her sideways and said, "Sister, you are not from the capital, so you naturally don't know that our Noble Consort has been a woman who grew up in a medicine pot since childhood, but she was blessed by heaven and was born with a beautiful face, which has attracted countless young men and talents to fall in love with her. Everyone says that she is the reincarnation of the sickly Xi Shi."
Her words sounded somewhat sarcastic, and Xie Shiyu couldn't help but scoff softly from the side.
"What do you mean?" Li Xiuyi frowned and glared at her.
"It's nothing special." She yawned lazily.
It really wasn't very interesting. If she weren't afraid of these gossipy women spreading rumors behind her back, she wouldn't have left behind a pile of unfinished business to come here and listen to their idle chatter.
Consort Jiang tugged at Consort Li's sleeve and said with a smile, "Our Noble Consort is absolutely beautiful, and she certainly caused quite a few interesting incidents back then."
Li Xiuyi immediately understood and followed her words, saying, "That's right, this matter of being so angry for a woman... was known throughout the whole city back then."
"Isn't Consort Li afraid that such slander against the Empress will reach His Majesty's ears?" Xie Shiyu said coldly.
"Oh dear, Consort Wan, you've wronged me. I didn't utter a single word that I shouldn't have said."
Their eyes met, and a sudden, intense exchange ensued, as if sparks were flying around them. Du Jieyu coughed at the opportune moment, had someone help her to her feet, and said, "I suddenly have a headache; perhaps it's because I haven't had enough rest after my miscarriage. If you ladies are alright..."
Xie Shiyu immediately stood up and offered a perfunctory word of comfort: "My sister has just suffered so much and hasn't recovered yet. She should rest well. I won't bother you any longer."
"Take care, sister." Du Jieyu bowed to her.
Seeing this, the others also got up and took their leave.
Han Meiren was extremely curious about what Li Xiuyi had said about keeping things hidden. After returning to her palace, she immediately spent some money to send someone to inquire about the matter, and soon learned the whole story.
The love-hate entanglement between the Emperor, Empress, and Imperial Concubine was the talk of the town back then, and it was hardly a secret. Anyone could find out about it with just a little inquiry.
The personal maid beside him was completely bewildered. "Since His Majesty had already taken the initiative to break off the engagement and marry the Empress, why did he choose to offend Prince Yu and bear the infamy after ascending the throne in order to forcibly bring the Consort into the harem?"
This palace maid came from Jinling and naturally knew nothing about what was happening in the capital.
"He sought to marry the Empress for power, and forcibly took in the Imperial Concubine for...love?" Consort Han couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Our heartless and ruthless emperor actually loves a woman?"
She recalled the first time she was chosen by the emperor, feeling nervous and shy. She waited expectantly for several hours, only to be met with his cold and aloof order for her to stand in the palace courtyard all night, simply because her hand trembled and she accidentally spilled a drop of tea while pouring it.
From then on, he never chose her again, and she became the laughing stock of the harem because she displeased the emperor on her first night with him.
The Han family of Jinling has made great contributions to Wei Huaixu's current high position. Her father was only a member of a collateral branch of the Han family, but he sacrificed his life during the palace coup. Yet he showed no mercy and humiliated her like this!
Han Meiren closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, her eyes were clear again. "You just said that Grand Tutor Jin has remained unmarried because of her? Is this news reliable?"
"The information that I obtained from some important places should be true."
"Okay, you can go now."
"yes."
She stared ahead, a wicked smile playing on her lips. "I really want to see what he looks like when he loses his beloved. That would be very interesting."
"I've heard that the Imperial Concubine has been ill for so many years, and her body is very weak. Some doctors have even predicted that she won't live past the age of twenty."
"Twenty? That's too long. I don't have that much patience."
Han Meiren stood up and slowly walked towards the inner room.
"We need to help her speed up."
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