Consort Hui's expression shifted. She knew that Kangxi still cared about the fact that Yinti was his eldest son, which was why he was considering the child in Lady Jueluo's womb.
"The Crown Prince is the son of Empress Hesheli. I witnessed his birth. It is all my fault that the First Prince had such inappropriate thoughts. Please punish him severely, Your Majesty!" Consort Hui said.
When Hesheli was mentioned, Kangxi did not blame Yinti as much. When Hesheli gave birth to her second child, she had a difficult labor. When the imperial physician asked the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang whether to save the mother or the child, she resolutely said "save the descendants of the Qing Dynasty." Hesheli died from massive bleeding.
As she breathed her last, Kangxi held her hand and said, "Make the Second Prince the Crown Prince!" This prevented her from leaving with regrets.
Therefore, it was unfair to the eldest prince that Kangxi hastily established the crown prince at that time.
"Let Yinti in!" Kangxi said to Liang Jiugong, having thought of this.
Consort Hui then stood up and sat down at the dining table with Emperor Kangxi. A short while later, Yinti followed Liang Jiugong in.
"Your subject greets Your Majesty, may Your Majesty be blessed with ten thousand years of happiness and peace!" Yinti knelt down with a thud and bowed to Emperor Kangxi.
"What crime have you committed that you wish to see me?" Kangxi asked, his face still cold. But when he saw that Yinti's forehead was bleeding from kowtowing and that there was still the handprint of Consort Hui on his face, his heart tightened.
Emperor Kangxi was still satisfied with his eldest son, Yinti, even though he lacked the intelligence to sit on the throne. He was a rare military general.
"Father, I shouldn't have, I shouldn't have used witchcraft against the Crown Prince!" Yinti quickly kowtowed.
Hearing Yinqi admit it to himself was like another cruel blow to Kangxi's heart.
"You scoundrel! He's your second brother! How could you do this to him?" Kangxi grabbed a cup from the table and smashed it across Yinti's face.
Yinqi, whose head was already bleeding from kowtowing, had a bloody hole immediately smashed into his forehead. These were all genuine ceramic pieces, and since they were for the emperor, their quality was top-notch.
Yinti felt dizzy from being hit, and a stream of hot red liquid flowed down his forehead and onto his eyes.
Seeing him smashed like that, Consort Hui immediately stood up from her seat and knelt down as well, trembling as she said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me! It's all my fault!"
As Kangxi watched the crimson blood gushing from the bloody hole on Yinti's forehead, the anger in his heart gradually subsided.
"Bandage him up!" Kangxi finally couldn't bear to watch any longer.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Consort Hui said, trembling.
"Thank you, Father Emperor!" Yinti immediately kowtowed.
"I told you not to argue, I told you not to make a scene, why won't you listen! Hesheli risked her life to give birth to the Crown Prince, and I made the Second Prince the Crown Prince in front of her. Don't you know that? Isn't a Prince of Heshuo noble? If you and your son can behave yourselves, I will promote you to the rank of Imperial Prince. Hereditary succession, forever enjoying wealth and honor!" Kangxi said through gritted teeth.
Consort Hui heard every word and became even more panicked. She thought that Kangxi was unaware of her little schemes behind Yinti's back, but these words clearly showed that he knew!
After the palace maids had wrapped up Yinti's forehead, Kangxi said, "Do you really think you can sit on that throne? Today, I'll tell you, I never intended for you to inherit the Qing Dynasty. Even without a crown prince, you would never be the crown prince."
Yinti knelt on the ground, staring blankly at Kangxi, at the unwavering determination hidden in his calm eyes. Those words had just spoken straight to his heart.
Consort Hui closed her eyes and said, "Yinti, hurry up and apologize to your father. You have harbored improper thoughts and are now plotting to harm the Crown Prince. This is a serious crime. If outsiders find out, even if your father wants to protect you, he won't be able to."
Although Consort Hui was sometimes a little temperamental, and she wasn't as composed as Consort De, as clever and funny as Consort Yi, or as elegant as Consort Rong, she was still clear-headed in such situations.
Emperor Kangxi stared intently at Yinti, weighing in his mind how to deal with his eldest son.
"It's all my fault, I deserve to die. Please, Father Emperor, don't implicate Mother," Yinti immediately prostrated himself on the ground.
Liang Jiugong watched as two members of this family knelt down, some crying, others begging. He sighed, thinking, "Why did they have to fight for that position when they could have been princes?"
"Prince Yinti of the First Rank has shown no gratitude to the Emperor, nor any regard for his brothers. He shall immediately confine himself to the Prince Yinti's Residence. Without my decree, no one may enter or leave. Go!" Kangxi said.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"Thank you, Father Emperor!"
Yinti and his primary consort were escorted back to the Prince Heshuo's residence. Their actions at the Qianqing Palace gate that day naturally did not escape the notice of the other palace staff. No one pleaded for the Prince Heshuo; plotting to murder the Crown Prince was a capital offense. At this time, no one dared to provoke Kangxi; they simply waited quietly to see the Prince Heshuo's fate.
After returning to Zhongcui Palace, Consort Hui's hatred for Consort Rong intensified when she thought about how Prince Yi had reported Yinqi to the Emperor. In their youth, they had been rivals. Consort Hui was radiant, while Consort Rong was elegant and refined; both were favored by Emperor Kangxi. These two had fought countless times under Hesheli's rule, each gaining an advantage.
"Ma Jia, I will never let you get away with this!" Consort Hui slammed the flowerpot off the high table.
Several palace maids hurriedly and frantically went to pick up the flowerpots that had been smashed to pieces.
"Your Majesty, Consort Rong has arrived." At this moment, a palace maid came in to report.
"What? What is she doing here? Is she here to laugh at me?" Consort Hui said angrily.
"Sister, your younger sister is here!" Consort Rong, Ma Jia, who rarely went out and was dressed in a light apricot palace dress, had already walked to the entrance of the main hall of Zhongcui Palace with the help of a palace maid.
"Oh, so it's my sister! Please come in!" Consort Hui put away her disgust and quickly put on a smiling face.
"Can you still smile now, sister? The Emperor has confined Prince Heshuo to his residence. I'm afraid you're not in a good mood right now," Consort Rong said.
"Are you here to make a fool of myself?" Consort Hui raised an eyebrow.
“No, I’ve come to talk to you, my sister. There are some things I wanted to say many years ago, but I never had the chance. Now it’s time to say them,” said Consort Rong.
Seeing that Consort Rong did not seem to be mocking her, Consort De said to the palace maids, "You can stay here. If my sister wants to talk, why don't you come with me to the small garden in the back?"
"My sister is more than happy to do so!" Consort Rong also left her personal maid behind, while she went alone with Consort Hui to the small garden behind the main hall of Zhongcui Palace.
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