It would have been better if the topic of having children hadn't been brought up. But as soon as it was mentioned, Niohuru was reminded of how the Empress had ruined her health. She was furious. The Empress was rubbing salt into her heart and stabbing her lungs!
Consort Niu was not the kind of person to swallow her anger. Since she couldn't even have children anymore, she wasn't afraid of anything!
Consort Niu: "Your Majesty is right. However, as Your Majesty knows about my condition, I don't know if I'll have the luck. But it's just as well. Four beautiful young ladies have recently arrived. I expect we'll hear from them soon! This will help ease Your Majesty's burden!"
Niohuru knew something about Prince Chenghu's health, and given how hastily Empress Hesheli sent a princess into the palace, Niohuru was even more convinced that Prince Chenghu was in poor health! That's why she said that the newly arrived concubine should relieve the Empress's worries and preferably give birth to several more children!
When Consort Rong and Consort Hui were pregnant, the Empress appeared magnanimous, but she had heard that quite a few pieces of porcelain had been replaced in the Empress's palace! She wondered if the Empress would be furious now that the new concubines were all pregnant!
The Empress was extremely displeased with Niohuru's words, but she still had to smile virtuously: "What Consort Niu said is right. The job of a concubine is to produce offspring for the royal family. All of you sisters should work hard so that you can give Chenghu a few more brothers and sisters!"
As the Empress's old rival, Niohuru knew the Empress's character best. Seeing her feigning virtue, she felt only satisfaction!
Niohuru smiled sincerely this time and said, "As expected of the Empress, you are truly a virtuous woman!"
The Empress and Empress Niohuru were exchanging words back and forth, creating quite a lively scene! The others, fearing they might be implicated, dared not utter a sound! They all lowered their heads and pretended to drink tea!
Seeing that she couldn't get anything good from Niohuru, the Empress gave up. Then she gave a lecture: "The new ladies may not be familiar with life in the palace, but I hope you will all abide by the palace rules... and bear children for the Emperor!"
After the Empress finished speaking, she probably found it a bit boring, so she sent everyone back! Only her younger sister, Consort Xi, remained, saying that she wanted to have a chat!
Yunrong has a father who is the Minister of Revenue. The Ministry of Revenue is in charge of the flow of silver and grain throughout the country and is one of the most important institutions in the country. As the head of the Ministry of Revenue, the Minister of Revenue can only be appointed if he is a confidant of the emperor!
Yunrong has a father who is the Minister of Revenue, so in terms of status, she is no less than the Empress or Consort Niu! Therefore, no one would think of trying to win over someone who is superior to them in every way. Winning someone over would be like finding an ancestor for oneself, and one would have to fawn over them!
So Yunrong left Jingren Palace and returned with Consort Chen! She ran into other people along the way, exchanged a few polite words, and then nothing more. It was clear that no one wanted to join her faction or try to win her over for the time being!
Yunrong was quite content. At this moment, she realized how good Yongshou Palace was. She was the only one in charge of the Western Six Palaces, and she felt very comfortable! There was also much less trouble!
Inside Jingren Palace, the Empress smiled gently at her younger sister, with whom she had hardly ever spent time since childhood: "How are Father and Mother at home? Are they in good health? And what do they like to do? I entered the palace early and haven't been able to properly serve Father and Mother, which I always feel is somewhat unfilial!"
Consort Xi was also good at talking, and said with a smile, "Sister, don't worry, Father and Mother are in good health! They just miss you and Prince Chenghu a little. Mother said that as long as you are well, she feels well too! I usually just read a few books to pass the time, and I don't particularly like to do anything!"
Empress: "Father and Mother, I'm relieved. Since you enjoy reading, I happen to have quite a few books here. Take some back with you! His Majesty also appreciates talented women, so it's good for you to read more!"
Consort Xi knew that the Empress was indirectly telling her the Emperor's preferences!
Consort Xi blushed and said shyly, "I understand, sister! Thank you for your guidance, elder sister!"
Then the Empress invited Consort Xi to stay for dinner, subtly revealing much about the Emperor's favor. Of course, she didn't tell her everything, only some superficial details. After all, she was his sister, and although they were blood relatives, they hadn't grown up together, so the Empress certainly wouldn't go to great lengths for her.
The Empress is indeed quite shrewd. In any case, Consort Xi, having received the Empress's favor, felt that her elder sister, the Empress, was somewhat kind to her!
Of course, this did not stop her from harboring resentment towards her elder sister, the Empress, or from feeling unwilling to accept her fate!
When Yunrong returned to her palace, Changyin was reprimanding the palace maids and eunuchs!
Yunrong knew that Changyin and Qin'er knew each other. She said that when Changyin was working for the Dowager Consort, Qin'er had only been in the palace for a short time. She was young and had a soft personality. Changyin had once helped her out. Later, Qin'er was assigned by the Imperial Household Department to Yongshou Palace as a cleaning maid!
In reality, Changyin and Qin'er do know each other, but these are the people the least likely to be recognized in the palace. The reason why Qin'er is considered trustworthy is simply because Qin'er is also one of Yinzhen's people!
Not only Qin'er, but also Hong'er and all the palace maids and eunuchs of Yongshou Palace, except for the two palace maids and one nanny that Chen Changzai brought with him, the rest were all people sent by Yinzhen!
These people are directly loyal to him, not through a third party or by sending subordinates to give orders!
Knowing Yunrong's secret, he naturally wanted to keep a close watch on Yongshou Palace! If it weren't for the fact that only Yunrong lived in Yongshou Palace, which would be too conspicuous, Yinzhen would have even wanted to keep the entire Yongshou Palace under his control, so that only she could live there!
What Yunrong didn't know was that she thought her script was about a domineering emperor and his white moonlight substitute's heart-wrenching daily life, and that her days would definitely be full of ups and downs. Unexpectedly, her days were actually quite peaceful!
It's not that there weren't any plots targeting her, but rather that these plots were usually dealt with before they even reached her!
Even when bored, you can listen to some gossip to pass the time! Life is pretty comfortable!
Ten days or so passed, and the Emperor still hadn't summoned any new concubines. The Empress couldn't sit still any longer! She ordered the kitchen to prepare a meal, had Consort Xi come over to talk to her, and then sent someone to the Qianqing Palace to invite the Emperor over!
The Empress has invited her, and Yinzhen has just received news that Consort Xi has just obtained some aphrodisiacs. Yinzhen thinks he should take this opportunity to make the Empress behave for a few days. She is about to lose her child, yet she still has the mind to scheme so much!
There's a reason why Consort Xi hated that aphrodisiac. She sent people to inquire in the palace and heard that the Emperor rarely visited the harem or summoned his concubines. Ever since Consort Rong gave birth to a weak prince in the eleventh year of Kangxi's reign, there had been no news from the harem!
That's why Consort Xi put her master on the aphrodisiac. She had inquired about it and found that the aphrodisiac was very secretive. Most people who were drugged would only think that it was their own desire and would not suspect anything else!
Consort Xi thought the medicine was a good thing, so she didn't tell her sister, the Empress!
Yinzhen arrived at the Empress's Jingren Palace as promised, and then saw the Empress's younger sister, Consort Xi!
Yinzhen pretended not to know: "Why is Consort Xi here today?"
The Empress smiled and said, "I haven't seen my father and mother for a long time, so I called my sister over to chat. It's all my fault for getting so engrossed in our conversation that I didn't notice the time!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
