Chapter 169 The Three Feudatories Win, the Emperor Suspicious
Chenghu also started making grand promises to his younger brother, but unfortunately, not everyone could afford to take them.
"Come on, big brother, stop trying to fool me. Long Ling said that you have to leave once you complete your mission. At that time, let alone me abdicating, I'm afraid it will be difficult to even see you."
When these things were mentioned, Chengren, who had been reborn, became dejected.
He hated himself for not being able to cultivate himself and stay with his family forever.
"Alright, you're all so young. That's something for the future. We'll talk about it later. Besides, life isn't just about living a long life. As long as you're by my side, I'm happy."
This is the happiness she has been praying for for two lifetimes.
"The Queen's Mother."
The two of them nestled into the arms of their Empress Dowager.
Emperor Kangxi killed many people, but he didn't kill the ones who deserved to die the most. This caused rifts between him and his wife, and between him and his son, though he himself was unaware of it.
On the contrary, because of Chenghu's injury, Kangxi valued his offspring even more. He not only cared about those who were alive, but also wanted to have more outstanding sons so that no matter what unexpected things happened in the future, the Qing dynasty would not be interrupted.
Unfortunately, while the idea was appealing, reality was harsh; given his current physical condition, it would be extremely difficult for him to get his concubines pregnant.
Of course, Consort Tong's pregnancy was just the beginning and also his hope. That's why he called Wu Ming over to inquire about the prescription.
"Imperial Physician Wu, how is my health?" After Wu Ming examined him, Kangxi asked anxiously.
Wu Ming smiled. He had just examined the Emperor's pulse and found that his health had indeed improved. The prescription given by the Empress was truly effective.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty's health is improving. I believe it will be fully recovered soon. However, I think we should wait a little longer before increasing the dosage of the medicine."
The Emperor had previously mentioned adjusting the prescription to him, but he dared not take the risk. Now that there was progress, he was even less willing to take the risk.
If things go as planned, that's fine, but if something unexpected happens, even ten lives wouldn't be enough to compensate.
"Wu, I believe in your abilities. I urgently need to increase my offspring. You are probably aware of the matter concerning the First Prince. The Crown Prince is still young, and there are too many unforeseen events in a child's growth. I cannot afford to gamble. Therefore, I wish to have more children."
Kangxi's act of treating Wu Ming as a confidant was too deceptive. If Wu Ming were a little more sober, he would have realized that serving an emperor is like walking on thin ice, and one wrong step could lead to utter ruin. Unfortunately, sometimes fame and fortune are too tempting, and not everyone can resist them.
For example, right now, Kangxi promised Chengyan: "As long as my health recovers, I will bestow upon you the title of Duke Cheng'en, which will be hereditary."
Such temptations would be irresistible even to a noble family official like Wu Ming, a physician from a commoner background.
Wu Ming knelt down to express his gratitude, "Yes, Your Majesty, this servant will certainly live up to Your Majesty's grace and will definitely research a way to help Your Majesty recover as soon as possible."
"Haha, good, good, good! This is truly my trusted minister, Minister Wu. I have high hopes for you."
From then on, Wu Ming began to study ways to restore the emperor's offspring. Whether it was a blessing from heaven or not, he actually managed to improve upon the original formula and create a new one.
Not only can it restore the emperor's former power, but it can also help his offspring. Its only drawback is its strong desires.
Fanghua had been keeping an eye on Wu Ming, and upon learning of this, she smiled sinisterly, "He has such audacity." She had been prepared for Wu Ming to betray her, but she hadn't expected him to actually come up with something so good.
"Your Majesty, should we take action?" As a trusted confidante of the Empress, Qiaoling naturally knew some things.
Of course, apart from her, the others didn't know. It wasn't that Fanghua didn't trust them, but rather that she was leaving them a way out.
Being a favorite of the Empress is no easy task.
"No need. Go get the prescription. I want to see how well he's done his research." Fanghua had been waiting for Wu Ming to come begging to her again, but she hadn't expected him to be so capable. He wanted to break away from her? No way.
Everyone knows that the Empress has been in a bad mood lately. With the First Prince crippled, it's no wonder the Empress is unhappy.
During the greetings, everyone tried to remain quiet, and no one dared to act out in front of the Empress.
On this particular day, when paying her respects, Consort Tong actually came out and started acting strangely, perhaps thinking that because she was pregnant, she could now be above the Empress.
"Your Majesty, the eldest prince is already of age to serve as a tutor outside the palace. It may not be appropriate for him to stay in the inner palace all the time. After all, this inner palace belongs to all the sisters. Your Majesty cannot disregard the sisters' feelings."
Consort Tong's belly wasn't showing yet, but she made such a dramatic gesture that anyone who didn't know better would think she was about to give birth.
Fanghua didn't usually care about her underhanded tricks, but now that she dared to do it in front of her, she wouldn't hold back.
"Oh, Chenghu is still recovering from his serious injuries. His Majesty has granted him permission to stay in my palace to recuperate. Does Consort Tong intend to disobey the imperial decree?"
"If anyone dares to gossip about Chenghu, then don't blame me for being ruthless. Does Consort Tong think that my Chenghu is easy to bully because he is injured?" After saying that, Fanghua slammed her hand heavily on the tea table next to her. "Let me tell you, it is none of your business to talk about my son. If anyone dares to talk about my eldest son again, don't blame me for being merciless."
At this moment, the Empress was no longer the kind and gentle woman she once was; all she had was the protective instinct of a mother.
"Consort Tong." Fanghua stood up and slowly walked up to her. "Or do you think that because you are pregnant, you can take the place of my child?" As she spoke, she grabbed her chin. "Hmph, as long as I live, you will never harm my child."
After saying that, she threw herself down forcefully, showing no regard for whether she was pregnant or not.
Does anyone have any objections?
Seeing the Empress so angry, everyone quickly stood up and bowed, saying, "We dare not."
"That's right, don't take my usual kindness for granted and use it as an excuse to bully my children. When I don't give you face, you're nothing but concubines. How dare you bully the legitimate son? Who gave you the guts?"
Fanghua glared angrily at Consort Tong, "Consort Tong, are you sure you understand?"
Empress Tongjia had never seen an empress like this before. In the past, the empress was always kind and virtuous. When had she ever been so fierce? It really made her lose her composure.
"Your Majesty, I have misspoke. Please forgive me." Consort Tong was terrified and immediately knelt down to beg for forgiveness.
Fanghua didn't wake her up because she was pregnant, but made her kneel there. "Forgive me, humph, I think you don't know you're wrong, but you're afraid. Consort Tong, I'm only giving you face because of the Emperor and the child in your womb. Don't really think I'm afraid of you."
Fanghua sat down at the head of the table and stared intently at Consort Tong kneeling below her. "As long as I am alive, you can only serve me tea and water. Don't forget your place."
Having vented her anger, Fanghua's resentment subsided considerably. "Get up. You don't need to come to pay your respects to me anymore. Wait until you have safely given birth to the imperial heir before you come to see me again."
After saying that, the Empress waved her hand to shoo them away, as if Consort Tong kneeling below her was something dirty.
Was Consort Tong angry?
She was furious, but what could she do?
She dared not refute the Empress, because she was the Empress. Regardless of whether she was right or wrong, disciplining the concubines was the Empress's power and duty. Even the Emperor could not say a single wrong about the Empress.
Not to mention that he provoked them first.
"Your Majesty, I take my leave."
After Consort Tong left, Fanghua looked at everyone and said, "I don't care what you're thinking. Either keep it to yourself, or if you dare to reveal even a little bit, I won't hesitate to show you what the Empress's wrath is."
It seems she's been too lenient with them, daring to provoke her at this time. Humph.
"Get out of my sight! As long as the First Prince is not fully recovered, none of you are allowed to set foot in Kunning Palace."
After saying that, she got up and went back to the inner palace.
Fanghua was heartbroken; what mother would want to see her son so disliked?
Even the child's biological father was not allowed, let alone these concubines.
The matter at Kunning Palace could not be kept secret, and it was soon reported to Emperor Kangxi.
Upon learning this, Emperor Kangxi sighed, "Chenghu has suffered. Wei Zhong, go to the Martial Arts Pavilion and fetch a few first-class martial arts manuals to send to Kunning Palace. Chenghu has always loved martial arts, so he can take advantage of his recuperation time to practice these manuals."
In this way, Chenghu will have the ability to protect himself, and his father, the Emperor, can rest assured.
Wei Zhong was startled. Giving the Imperial Martial Arts Manual to the First Prince was a privilege reserved only for the Crown Prince.
Even the Crown Prince hasn't received a manual yet, and the Emperor has bestowed it upon the First Prince like this, such favoritism makes his heart tremble.
"Yes, this servant will go right away."
···
When Chenghu received the reward from his father, the Emperor, he was completely bewildered. "Empress Mother, this kind of mental cultivation technique is useless to me. Why did Father think of giving me this technique?"
He knew about the Royal Martial Arts Pavilion. It wasn't a place anyone could go to. It was guarded by royal grandmasters, and royal offspring could only learn from it through rewards, which were all unranked martial arts techniques.
And now, the Emperor is actually giving him a first-grade martial arts technique. Is the Emperor trying to compensate him?
Seeing her son's puzzled look, Fanghua patted his little hand tenderly. "Your father is apologizing to you. His beloved Consort Tong wanted to drive you away from Kunning Palace, but I scolded her."
Thinking about this incident filled her with resentment and frustration. It was truly an insult to Consort Tong, making her forget her place.
You want to have children, huh? Well, that depends on whether I'm willing or not.
She was never one to lay a hand on her child, but Consort Tong was an exception. So what if she was pregnant? Giving birth was the only thing that mattered.
"I've wronged my mother." During his recovery, he knew how much gossip his mother and brother had endured, and how he had become a laughingstock because of his disability.
well.
It's because he's useless. If he were stronger, he wouldn't have let his mother suffer such injustice.
“Your Majesty’s mother is not wronged; it is you who are wronged. Because Your Majesty’s mother is not powerful enough, she can only make you back down. Chenghu, don’t worry, your and Chengren’s back down will not last long.”
Since the Emperor is heartless, she naturally has no interest in him either.
Chenghu opened his mouth, wanting to say it was okay, but he swallowed the words, because he couldn't ignore the sense of loss in his heart.
In the Emperor's heart, he was not as good as Consort Tong.
"I have my Empress Mother, that's enough." Chenghu hugged his Empress Mother and acted spoiled, just like when he was a child.
Fanghua was overjoyed because her child had rarely been so close to her since he grew up.
"Good children, your mother is content with you all."
After the incident involving Consort Tong, the women in the inner palace became very reluctant to discuss Cheng Hu's injury. It wasn't that they didn't want to talk about it, but they all knew that if they continued to discuss it, the Empress would not let them off the hook.
No one dared to truly offend the Empress. The fact that the Empress had remained in power in the harem for so many years must mean she possessed exceptional abilities.
There's no need for them to offend the Empress over trivial matters; it would be a losing proposition for them.
With that energy, she'd be better off spending more time getting closer to the Emperor. Maybe she could even have another child.
In order to balance the power between the court and the harem, and with the Three Feudatories War nearing its end, Emperor Kangxi showed great favor to Lady Li, Lady Nara, and Lady An.
His favor was almost surpassing that of Consort Tong, who was already a favored concubine.
However, those in the know understand the reasons behind this, but there are also those who don't understand, such as Consort De, who is pregnant with twins.
She had finally been promoted to the rank of concubine, but since giving birth to twin princesses, her belly had not shown any signs of pregnancy. Naturally, she wanted to have another child, and the emperor doted on her quite a bit, but there was still no sign of pregnancy.
So, upon learning that Consort Tong had conceived the imperial heir using a secret formula for having a child, she began to have designs on him.
Of course, this didn't stop her from vying for favor with Li and others.
The harem was thrown into chaos because of the emperor's actions. Fanghua, under the pretext of taking care of Chenghu, ignored the jealousy and rivalry among the concubines and devoted all her attention to Chenghu.
Emperor Kangxi was no fool, and naturally he discovered the matter. He came to Kunning Palace, which was the first time he had entered Kunning Palace since the incident involving Consort Tong.
Fanghua no longer cared who he favored now. Upon learning of the Emperor's arrival, she naturally went to greet him according to protocol.
"Greetings, Your Majesty. May Your Majesty be well." Fanghua and her servants respectfully greeted the Emperor.
Kangxi did not immediately tell him to rise, but instead strode over to the head seat and sat down before saying "Rise."
Fanghua didn't care. Anyway, the emperor was unpredictable, and she was used to it.
"Please come and sit down, Your Majesty." Kangxi patted the seat beside him and invited the Empress with a smile, saying, "I have come today to discuss something with you, Your Majesty."
Although I don't know why he came, judging from his attitude just now, things probably weren't very amicable.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will obey all your orders." Fanghua replied respectfully, then obediently sat down beside him.
Seeing the Empress's appearance, Kangxi understood that she was still angry. "Empress, how is Chenghu's injury lately?"
Upon hearing his question, Fanghua understood that the Emperor wanted Chenghu to leave Kunning Palace.
But what gives him the right?
"Your Majesty, Chenghu's injuries have improved somewhat, but the imperial physician says he will have to rely on wooden wheels for all his future travels. Your Majesty, Chenghu shouldn't be like this."
She was filled with sorrow at the thought that her son would have to walk on wooden wheels in the future.
If she could, she would prefer the injury to be on the person in front of her.
Although Chenghu's injury was fake, she just couldn't bear to see him treat her son like that.
Such a person is not fit to be a father; he should be childless and have no descendants.
snort,.
He also wants a large harem of offspring, but that depends on whether she agrees.
Xiao Feng's poison is not so easy to cure.
The power of a grandmaster cannot be eliminated in that way; what he possesses now will only cause him to lose more.
Let's start with Consort Tong.
"Alas, this is an accident. Since it is irreversible, I still hope that the Empress will not forget her duties as Empress. If the Empress has no interest in the affairs of the harem, then she should hand over the Phoenix Seal."
It would be a lie to say I wasn't heartbroken by his heartless words.
But she quickly regained her composure.
She never forgot that the imperial family is the most ruthless place.
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