The ministers were astonished when they heard this. Recalling what Cui Niang had just said, they found it utterly shocking. "Firstly, in the 52nd year of Kangxi's reign, two years after Honghui's death, Consort Li was forced to commit suicide by the current Empress. Secondly, Lady Yin became pregnant but 'accidentally' miscarried in less than three months, using this to frame the then-Prince Consort who was only a princess. Thirdly, those concubines and princesses whose names were not recorded were all meticulously plotted against by the current Empress. Furthermore, the Empress herself killed several of the Emperor's children. How can such a person be worthy of being Empress? How can she be the Empress of the Central Palace?"
But since these ministers came to force the emperor to abdicate, they would not easily show weakness. Shocked as they were, they had seen this kind of scene in the court over the years. If they were to be scared off by a palace maid's words, wouldn't that be a loss of face for them?
Then someone else stepped forward and said, "How can we believe you based on your one-sided account? Without solid evidence, wouldn't we be seen as gullible people?"
Despite all this, the ministers remained relentless. Lanqin knew they wouldn't easily believe her, so she said, "Ultimately, this matter should be handled by His Majesty. Since His Majesty is not here, we will make a decision when he returns. Your trespassing into the inner palace has already overstepped your bounds as ministers. Continuing to hold this stalemate is not a solution. It would be better if all ministers dispersed and let His Majesty decide."
Seeing this, Qin Mo stepped forward to lend a helping hand, "Now that the Emperor is away, if he knew that you ministers were pressuring the Imperial Concubine like this, he would be deeply disappointed in you."
After much deliberation, the old minister decided that it would be best to release the Empress first. Now that the Empress was in the hands of Consort Xi, who knew what might happen to her? If the Emperor returned and found out that the Empress had done something wrong, he would certainly not let them off easily. So he said to Lanqin, "We must rescue the Empress today. Please release the Empress immediately, Consort Xi, or we will not leave." As he spoke, the old minister flicked his sleeves.
No matter how much she pleaded, these self-proclaimed learned ministers remained relentless. Lanqin was truly helpless. She had only imprisoned Empress Ulanara out of necessity, and now she needed a delaying tactic. Suddenly, Lanqin remembered that Hongzhou had mentioned that Empress Fucha's father was currently under the control of the Prefect of the Capital. Therefore, she addressed the ministers: "Ministers, listen to me. I will give you an explanation in three days. Please disperse now, so as not to disrupt the normal operation of the court. I guarantee that if I cannot give you an explanation in three days, I will personally go to the Emperor to apologize."
When the ministers who had been trying to force the emperor to abdicate heard that there was a three-day limit, they couldn't push too hard, since the woman was the emperor's concubine. The old minister then compromised and said, "Then we will come again in three days. We ask that Your Highness Consort Xi give us an explanation then! This old minister will now take his leave."
Seeing that the old minister had spoken, everyone bowed and withdrew. Lanqin also returned to the room with a group of palace maids and ordered someone to immediately invite Hongzhou.
After the farce, past noon, Hongzhou arrived and was very annoyed to hear that someone had come to force the emperor to abdicate again. He told Lanqin that he was busy collecting grain and had not been able to stop them in time.
Lanqin did not blame him, saying that the matter of collecting grain was of utmost importance.
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