About half an hour passed, and "Baoyue" on the bed did not move at all. The longer Granny Ai waited, the more uncertain she felt.
"Wake Princess Baoyue up immediately! Who knows how long she'll sleep like this?" Granny Ai finally lost her patience. She immediately said to the Mongolian girls, feeling that she had overlooked something.
"Where is Zhuoma?" Granny Ai suddenly realized that Zhuoma was not there; she hadn't seen Zhuoma since she came in.
The Mongolian girls remained silent and refused to wake the person in bed. At this moment, Granny Ai realized something was wrong. She had spoken to her, yet "Princess Baoyue" on the bed showed no sign of waking up. Surely, if she were disturbed, she would at least turn over.
Granny Ai was startled and quickly went to the blue gauze curtain with the diamond pattern. She lifted the curtain and untied the quilt. Suddenly, several pillows were found under the quilt. There was no one there.
"Tell me quickly, where did Princess Baoyue go?" Granny Ai was so frightened that she broke out in a cold sweat. Princess Baoyue had disappeared without a trace, taking the emperor's child with her. How was she going to explain this to Emperor Kangxi?
Several Mongolian girls seemed not to understand what Granny Ai was saying, and just stood there shaking their heads.
"Aren't you all afraid of death? If I report this to the Emperor, you might all be sentenced to death." Granny Ai hoped that intimidation would force the girls to talk. She knew that if she went back and reported, she could portray them as accomplices, or she could claim they knew nothing.
The Mongolian girls still looked completely bewildered. They didn't speak much Chinese to begin with, only a few basic phrases. Now, seeing Granny Ai shouting and yelling, they were even less likely to understand what she was saying.
"Granny, let's hurry and report to the Emperor," Guihua said hastily.
Seeing that the girls looked completely bewildered, Granny Ai stomped her foot angrily and hurriedly ran out of the tent with Guihua.
Emperor Kangxi was speaking with several princes in his imperial tent, including Prince Zhi. Liang Jiugong was guarding the door when he saw Granny Ai rushing over, and knew that something must have happened to Baoyue.
"Father-in-law!" When Granny Ai saw Liang Jiugong standing at the entrance of the imperial tent, she immediately looked like she had seen a savior. You see, if Emperor Kangxi found out that she hadn't made Baoyue drink the abortifacient in time, and had been fooled into waiting for several hours, he might kill her in a fit of rage.
"Granny Ai, why haven't you come to report to the Emperor yet? Is it because Princess Baoyue refuses to take her medicine?" Liang Jiugong asked.
"No, no. Princess Baoyue, she... she ran away," Granny Ai said hurriedly.
Liang Jiugong looked at Granny Ai in surprise, grabbed her arm, and walked her a little away from the imperial tent before letting go. He said, "What exactly happened? Tell me in detail."
Granny Ai then clearly explained how she had initially brought the abortion medicine to Baoyue, and how she eventually discovered that there was only a pile of pillows lying on the bed.
Liang Jiugong frowned and said, "So you're saying you weren't even sure from the beginning that the person on the bed was Princess Baoyue?"
Granny Ai nodded, looking as if she were facing a great calamity, and pleaded, "Father-in-law, please have mercy and save this old servant. I don't know exactly when Princess Baoyue stopped being in that bed. But the first time I brought the abortion medicine, Zhuoma was in the tent, and it was she who told me to wait for the princess to wake up."
Liang Jiugong sighed and said, "When did you become so reckless? Alas, we still have to report to the Emperor. Let's go, I will plead for you."
Knowing that she would eventually have to report back to the Emperor herself, Granny Ai could only walk behind Liang Jiugong, her heart pounding with fear.
When the two of them entered the tent, Kangxi was talking with several princes.
Emperor Kangxi glanced at Granny Ai behind Liang Jiugong and said in a deep voice, "I have been waiting for your reply. Why are you only coming now?"
None of the princes knew what Kangxi meant, except for Prince Zhi.
He glanced at Granny Ai, then looked at Kangxi as if he didn't know what had happened.
Seeing that she couldn't avoid it, Granny Ai had no choice but to walk up to Emperor Kangxi, bow deeply, and say, "Your Majesty, Princess Baoyue has run away. I have been looking for her for a long time, but I can't find her. Her maid, Zhuoma, has also disappeared without a trace!"
These words shocked everyone present. Prince Zhi, like the others, seemed to have just learned of this matter.
Kangxi looked at Liang Jiugong with a gloomy face, and heard him say, "This servant has already inquired, and Princess Baoyue and Zhuoma disappeared an hour ago. Her personal maids are still here, only Zhuoma is not."
Upon hearing this, the Third Prince asked Kangxi curiously, "Father, why did Princess Baoyue flee, and why did she only take one maid with her? Her maternal clan has been wiped out by Galdan, so where could she possibly escape to? Furthermore, she is already a noble lady of Father's, so why would she flee?"
The Third Prince's words expressed the thoughts of everyone who was unaware of the situation, and they all looked at Granny Ai.
"Baoyue became pregnant without my permission, and I do not intend to let her give birth. This woman offered herself to me hoping I would wipe out Galdan's Dzungar tribe and avenge her. Not only that, she also wanted to become the female Khan of the Miermi tribe. Her ambition is truly considerable. If she were to give birth to my prince, she would likely become a scourge to my harem. Hmph, I never expected this woman to run away, simply to give birth to a prince and then use that child to blackmail me. I will not allow this to happen," Kangxi said angrily. These words clearly explained why he did not allow Baoyue to give birth.
When Granny Ai saw that the emperor did not seem to blame her, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Granny Ai, you've been serving Liang Jiugong for a long time, haven't you? For his sake, I'll give you a cup of poisoned wine. Go and receive your reward yourself," Kangxi said calmly.
Liang Jiugong originally wanted to plead for Granny Ai, but Kangxi had already sealed his fate, and he couldn't find a way to intercede on her behalf. Baoyue was pregnant right under Granny Ai's nose, and now, still under her watchful eye, she had been lost again; there was simply no reason to plead for her.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me! Your Majesty, please forgive me! Spare this old servant!" Granny Ai was so frightened that she trembled like a leaf. She never thought she would die here.
Kangxi looked displeased at the prostrate old servant below, then turned to Liang Jiugong. The latter understood, stepped forward, grabbed Granny Ai, and dragged her outside. Granny Ai barely knew how she got out.
None of the princes felt that Kangxi's punishment of an old servant was of any interest.
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