Chapter 171 The Hidden Secrets of Child Rearing: Seeing Through the Emperor
Although Consort De did not gain any benefit, Consort Tong was happy to see blood coming out, and it is said that she seduced the Emperor that very night.
Such struggles increased, and Fanghua, hiding in Kunning Palace, watched with great amusement, even imitating the Imperial Concubine in explaining to her son the power of women.
So that they won't look down on women in the future.
Chenghu was also a studious person who would ask questions whenever he didn't understand something.
"Empress Mother, doesn't Father know they're vying for the Emperor's favor?" He couldn't understand why Father would let them act so recklessly in such a blatant attempt to win his father's affections.
“Of course he knows.” Fanghua lovingly patted her son’s head. “It is precisely because he knows that he indulges him. Otherwise, how could he balance the various forces in the harem?”
In the imperial harem, it's either the east wind prevails over the west wind, or the west wind prevails over the east wind.
How could an emperor not see through these women's schemes? It's just that some things needed these women to maintain, so he let them be.
"That's the art of balancing for emperors. Don't ask your father who he likes; his favorite person is himself," Fanghua said, as if she could read her son's mind.
Cheng Hu swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue, "Being an emperor is really tiring, Mother. Will my younger brother be like this in the future?"
Fanghua smiled and looked at her simple-minded son, then said earnestly, "Your brother is better than you in this respect. He won't be led by the nose by women. But if he wants to like someone as he pleases, he still has a long way to go. Otherwise, after he ascends the throne, he will be like your father, balancing the court and the harem."
"Fortunately, my son refused the position of crown prince back then. He couldn't have endured such hardship," Chenghu said with a look of relief.
"You, don't let your brother hear what you're saying, or he might cause you trouble later. Your brother is petty."
Fanghua was right; the Aisin Gioro clan members are all petty-minded.
They both desire to live for love and desire to die for hate.
Seemingly affectionate, yet actually the most heartless.
"Then, Mother, please don't tell my brother." My brother is already taking advantage of me all the time; what will happen when he grows up? It's better for me to leave early and save myself the trouble.
"By the way, Your Majesty, was it really Consort De who did what Consort Tong did?" Cheng Hu asked, voicing the question that had been bothering him.
"Of course not."
Seeing the astonished expression on her son's face, Fanghua laughed unkindly, "What, can't figure it out?"
Chenghu nodded. "Since she didn't do it, why is she confronting Consort Tong at this time?" If it were him, he would naturally avoid it if possible, so as not to step forward and arouse suspicion.
Murdering a royal heir is a serious crime; Consort De is far too inconsiderate of herself.
Chenghu is still young, and everything is written on his face. Fanghua knows what he's thinking without even asking.
"You," she said, tapping his forehead hard with her finger, "Consort De did this partly to vie for the Emperor's favor, and partly to clear herself of suspicion. Do you really think your Emperor father is oblivious to everything?"
It's no secret that Consort Tong took a fertility formula, and this pregnancy was conceived after she took the medicine, so some unexpected events are to be expected.
Although it was someone who sabotaged Consort Tong's bleeding and threatened miscarriage, that person was not necessarily Consort De.
Consort De's enemies were never other concubines of the same rank as her.
She's incredibly magnanimous, and the position she's eyeing is far from ordinary, so she won't take action against Consort Tong.
Since she hasn't done anything wrong, she's not lying, so her vying for favor is the best proof of that.
If she doesn't make a move under these circumstances, then it would be suspicious.
“Your father knows this very well.”
Fanghua felt that there were some things Chenghu should know, so she leaned down and whispered in his ear, telling him in a few words about the emperor's injury.
"So now you know why the harem has had no offspring for several years."
After Fanghua finished speaking, she looked at Chenghu, who was stunned, with a smile on her face.
It took Chenghu a while to come to his senses. "Empress Mother, has Father's injury healed?" Now that a concubine in the harem is pregnant, there is only one possibility: Father's injury has healed.
Fanghua nodded and then shook her head.
"Don't ask about this anymore. Just know that no more children will be born safely in the harem after Chengren." She wouldn't allow it either.
“Empress Mother.” Cheng Hu’s eyes were filled with worry upon hearing this.
"Don't worry, your Empress Mother wouldn't do anything stupid. Your Empress Mother still has you all and won't ruin your future."
Fanghua was very pleased.
"That's not what I meant, son." Chenghu's face turned slightly red, as if he was embarrassed. "I was just afraid that Father Emperor would take his anger out on Mother Emperor."
"He dares."
If the emperor dares to touch her now, she dares to overturn the table, after all, she now has the power to do so.
At most, it will be a bit more hard work for me, but it will help Chengren secure his throne.
"Alright, stop overthinking. With you all here, Your Majesty will not do anything to damage your reputation."
Compared to the life of raising children in Kunning Palace and Yongshou Palace, the masters in the other palaces were not so idle, and each of them tried their best to have a son or daughter.
The scene of a hundred flowers blooming in competition was recreated, leaving even Fanghua, the mistress of the harem, dazzled.
Consort Tong's unborn child ultimately could not be saved. After all, she had taken medicine first, and the Emperor had taken medicine afterward. How could she possibly conceive a healthy child under the combined effects of these medications?
Emperor Kangxi was furious about Consort Tong's miscarriage.
Not only were the people in Chengqian Palace punished, but Fanghua was also implicated, accused of dereliction of duty.
Fanghua did not argue and accepted the punishment directly, but Tongfei's child had already been miscarried, so no amount of punishment would be of any use.
The child will never come back.
After her miscarriage, Consort Tong became mentally unstable. She suspected everyone and kept demanding that Emperor Kangxi avenge her child.
The inner palace was a complex and intertwined place; how could Emperor Kangxi risk disrupting the foundation for the sake of a child who had not yet been born?
The only recourse was to appease Consort Tong, and so she was promoted to Imperial Noble Consort.
Once she has finished her postpartum confinement, the Ministry of Rites will arrange her promotion ceremony.
The most dissatisfied among them was Niohuru, who was now on equal footing with Tongjia.
Despite her dissatisfaction, she couldn't persuade the emperor not to bestow the title of Consort on Tongjia.
All we can do is pray that the heir apparent will ascend the throne soon.
Before long, Fanghua noticed something was wrong: the Niohuru clan in the previous dynasty was slowly moving closer to the Hesheli clan.
She was very puzzled, so she summoned the Imperial Concubine to ask her.
Fanghua felt helpless after learning her reason.
“Even so, you shouldn’t have made Niohuru choose sides so openly. Our emperor is not a magnanimous person.”
When the Empress heard this, the Consort cursed her as a coward, then said with a serious expression, "Hmph, I was just planning ahead. If His Majesty can give my Niohuru clan a fair chance, I will do much more than this."
What she said was true. If Kangxi had put aside what had happened before, Niohuru would have been the most loyal supporters of the emperor. Unfortunately, Kangxi was petty and felt that Niohuru had betrayed him before, so he was unwilling to give them a chance to redeem themselves.
They gave them the hardest and most tiring work, but they kept the sons of the Niohuru clan from being promoted.
Everyone has a temper, and Niohuru's ability to endure it for so long is quite remarkable.
Well, they couldn't bear it, but there was nothing they could do, since they couldn't overthrow the imperial power.
"You'd better keep these words to yourself. If anyone hears them, not only will the Niohuru clan suffer, but you won't have a good ending either." This person really dares to say anything.
"If Your Majesty thinks I have done something wrong, please feel free to tell me. However, I trust Your Majesty and you will never betray me."
Fanghua felt a toothache just looking at her confident and domineering expression.
"You really think you've got me cornered."
"That's right. I don't ask for much, I just want peace and stability. Besides, Niohuru is quite capable, it's easy for her to help the Crown Prince with some small favors."
This person has said both the nice and the ugly things.
The Niohuru clan has a complex and intertwined network of in-laws, so if the heir were to receive their assistance, it would be a great help.
In her previous life, Niohuru helped the Eighth Prince because of the Tenth Prince, which made the Eighth Prince very powerful.
Unfortunately, with the Tenth Prince in charge, even if there was some help, it wouldn't be much, and Lady Niohuru wouldn't really give it her all.
Thus, they escaped the purge. Although they were not favored by Emperor Yongzheng afterward, they managed to preserve their entire family.
It's important to know that none of the maternal families of the Eighth and Ninth Princes had a good ending, and even their in-laws suffered greatly.
"Alright, I will make sure the Crown Prince remembers the Consort's kindness. However, the Crown Prince is still young and does not need too much help for the time being."
Having said all that, she believed the Imperial Concubine would understand her unspoken meaning.
The Imperial Concubine smiled and said, "I understand. I will have my family members behave themselves." What they do in private is none of anyone's business.
"Well, it's good that you understand. The Emperor is in his prime, so he can't possibly have a prince who is stronger than him." Fanghua reminded him again, still worried.
"I know, I know. I will give my family a good talking-to. In the future, as long as the Crown Prince needs me, I, Niohuru, will go through fire and water for him."
The Imperial Concubine left Kunning Palace with a furious expression.
Those spies outside saw this and went to inquire. Naturally, some people from Kunning Palace also tried to get in, but Qiaoling stopped them all. The information she provided was deliberately leaked by Fanghua.
Whether others believe it or not, that's how things are.
The same applies to Yongshou Palace. As the legitimate daughter of the Niohuru clan, the Consort was naturally very capable, and the information that those people found out was obviously deliberately released by her.
Anyway, it's clear that the Imperial Concubine and the Empress don't get along, and even the Emperor thinks they're at odds.
Before Consort Tong had even finished her postpartum confinement, news of her pregnancy spread from Jingyang Palace.
This made Consort Tong faint from anger.
Before even entering Jingyang Palace, the Emperor turned and went to Chengqian Palace.
This infuriated Consort De.
She didn't have much hatred for Consort Tong originally, but after this incident, Consort De came to hate Consort Tong.
She completely forgot how she had previously stolen Consort Tong's favor.
Fanghua was quite surprised when she received the letter.
Putting aside the fact that the Emperor had the medicine prescribed by Wu Ming, Consort De had given her a sterilization drug, so how could she possibly get pregnant?
So she immediately sent someone to investigate.
The results she found shocked her.
"Go and call the Crown Prince back."
Looking at the news in her hand, Fanghua couldn't believe it. The fact that Consort De was pregnant was actually Chengren's doing.
What is he trying to do?
He actually extended his reach into the harem! Doesn't this child know that men shouldn't be confined to the small world of the harem?
Soon Chengren returned to Kunning Palace.
He naturally knew why his mother had summoned him.
"Your Majesty, I did it." He confessed without waiting for the Empress to ask.
Fanghua was completely bewildered by him. "What are you trying to do, brat?" This brat, she hadn't kept an eye on him for a few days and he had caused such a big mess. "Don't you know that the Yehenara clan is special?"
She was kind before, allowing her to safely give birth to twins, which is an auspicious sign. Now she feels somewhat constrained in her actions, which is really inconvenient.
"My son knows, but so what? Who says next time is definitely possible?" He rolled his eyes, not thinking twins were anything auspicious, since they weren't a boy and a girl.
If they were twins, his mother would be the first to not let Consort De off the hook.
"Empress Mother," Chengren said sweetly to his mother, "I just wanted to try out my medicine, and I never expected it to be so effective."
This is something Fanghua didn't know.
"What kind of medicine are you making?" Fanghua asked, not understanding.
"Fake pregnancy pills, huh? The tricks used in the harem to scheme against people are limited. I think if these fake pregnancy pills are used well, they can help me a lot in the future."
If he wants to win over a certain faction, he can get their children pregnant, and then those children will have no choice but to help him because of the unborn child.
Fanghua guessed his idea perfectly. "You know, be careful not to go too far. The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment."
This child has really changed a lot; he's lost some of his maturity and gained more childlike innocence.
"If the outcome is not what those people want, how long do you think they can hold their tongues?"
Chengren naturally understood this principle. "Son doesn't need to hold on for too long. Just achieve the goal. If he needs it again, we can give it to him again." He didn't think there was anything wrong with this.
Fanghua felt a headache coming on when she heard his words.
"Chengreng, did you really not have a single girl you liked in your previous life?" In her previous life, she watched him favor one woman after another in his harem, and have one child after another.
Although not as many as Yinzhi, they were still quite a lot.
Is there not a single one he likes?
"Like?" Chengren thought for a while and then shook his head and said, "The Crown Princess is alright, but unfortunately she values Father Emperor's attitude too much. If she had to choose between her son and Father Emperor, I think she would choose Father Emperor. So, it can't be said that she likes him."
Although Shi Jia was a very good Crown Princess in her previous life, it was just that she was too good, and he always had the illusion that he was not good enough for her.
Although he knew that his father, the Emperor, was involved, he felt that his wife should always put him first and consider him the most important thing in everything.
When facing hardship, they should stand together against external forces. As for his Crown Princess, well, she cares more about the title of Crown Princess.
"And what about Li Jiashi?" Fanghua asked, mentioning another name.
“Her.” Chengren’s eyes were full of mockery. “She is Father’s person. She entered the son’s harem to counterbalance the Crown Princess. Otherwise, why would the son ask the harem to keep their children away, and why would she be able to get pregnant with Hongxi?”
It is said that he did this to compete with his elder brother for the title of the eldest son, and did not want the title of the eldest son to fall on his elder brother's shoulders.
But he himself was the legitimate son; how could a mere eldest son possibly tempt him?
He has always wanted a legitimate son.
However, the Crown Princess's health deteriorated after childbirth, and she was unable to give birth to a legitimate son. Moreover, she maintained good relations with the concubines in the harem.
The Emperor's harem has no Empress. She, the Crown Princess, is more noble than any of the other concubines. Yet, she always yields to him as a junior and shows no regard for his dignity as the Crown Prince.
If she ever thought of herself, she would try to claim the title of filial piety.
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