Chapter 1 Returning with Resentment
Chapter One: Returning in Hatred
The sleeping quarters of Kunning Palace.
Lying on an incredibly spacious, gold-inlaid, jade-embroidered nanmu canopy bed was a beautiful woman who appeared to be of noble bearing. Her eyes were closed, and her delicate eyebrows were tightly furrowed, which directly ruined the beauty of her appearance.
Her cherry-like lips opened and closed, uttering words that were difficult to hear.
The bed is like a finely crafted little room, with the canopy, door frame, and pillars covered with extremely intricate auspicious patterns such as flowers, phoenixes, and magpies on plum blossoms, either carved or inlaid with mother-of-pearl, jade, and tortoiseshell.
Layers of curtains hung down from the ceiling, the outer layer being a hazy, gossamer-like gauze, and the inner layer being a heavy, bright yellow silk. The edges of the curtains were decorated with ornate tassels and pearl tassels.
The bed was covered with the finest Suzhou embroidered dragon and phoenix quilt, which was silky smooth to the touch and brightly colored.
The beauty's pale skin was accentuated by the bright bedding; any outsider who saw this scene would surely be startled.
After all, no normal person would be as pale as she is.
"No, no, my son, my son, Your Majesty, how could you be so cruel, so heartless?"
The words came out intermittently, and the beauty's forehead began to be covered in sweat, which soaked her beautiful hair and dripped onto the white jade pillow.
The beads of sweat were so clear and bright that, if one hadn't seen them with their own eyes, they might have mistaken them for water droplets dripping from someone.
The beautiful woman was consumed by nightmares, as if trapped, as if she were being rescued in a dream.
Swish.
The beauty opened her eyes.
Her eyes were bloodshot, making her look like a man-eating demon. Her beautiful face was ruined, and she looked quite frightening.
She looked around, and after a while, she covered her eyes and smiled, "The Eternal Heaven has been kind to me."
The beautiful woman trapped in the dream was none other than the youngest empress of the Qing Dynasty, Hesheli Fanghua.
She was born into a noble family, and her grandfather was the head of the four regents of the Qing Dynasty. When the emperor was young, the late emperor personally appointed Heshelisoni as the regent for the young emperor before his death.
With the many years of meritorious service of the Hesheli clan, the only people in the entire Qing Dynasty who could be compared to them, apart from the imperial family, were probably the likes of Aobai.
Her noble birth made her the perfect candidate for empress, since the emperor was young and needed a marriage alliance to rule in his own right.
Although her marriage to the emperor was arranged, they developed genuine feelings for each other over time, at least in her opinion.
However, deep affection has always been fleeting, while scheming can grant immortality.
She was one of the pitiful women who were schemed against by the royal family.
If things had continued this way, her youthful days as Hesheli might not have been filled with such hatred, resentment, and sorrow as she dreamt.
But things often don't go as planned.
"Good, good, good, what a wife who understands him best, haha, haha, how pitiful and lamentable."
At this time, Hesheli Fanghua appeared quite insane.
Her outburst also alerted the servants who were guarding outside.
The first person to enter was her wet nurse, Granny Zhang.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, are you having a nightmare?"
Granny Zhang nervously pulled back the bed curtains.
The scene that greeted her nearly scared her to death.
"My lady, what has frightened you? Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, your nanny is here, your nanny is here."
Zhang Mama was the Empress's wet nurse, serving her since childhood. The bond between them was unparalleled.
Only she dared to get so close to the Empress; anyone else would probably be a dead soul under Hesheli Fanghua's command by now.
Looking at the much younger wet nurse, Hesheli Fanghua could no longer hold back her tears.
"Granny," she called out, her voice filled with grievance.
The other palace servants, who had been disturbed, withdrew from the room after seeing that the Empress had been startled from her dream.
Only a head maid was left outside to keep watch, in case anyone overheard something they shouldn't have.
"Your Majesty, don't be afraid, this old servant is here." Zhang Mama gently patted her mistress's back, just like when she was a child, to comfort her.
Reassured by familiar people, Hesheli Fanghua quickly regained her senses.
After all, Heaven has given her a second chance at life, so she must cherish it and not let her tears dampen her son's path to heaven.
"Granny, I'm fine now. I just had a nightmare. Please stay outside and keep watch. I'll rest a bit more to calm myself down."
She needs to sort out her current feelings.
After her death, she stayed by the side of the son she had risked her life to protect.
Seeing him receive so much love and favor, she felt very gratified, thinking that the Emperor had not betrayed their true feelings.
Can.
"Your Majesty's clothes are wet. This old servant will have someone prepare hot water right away. Your Majesty is pregnant now, so you must not catch a cold."
Zhang Mama was very worried. In the past, she would have always obeyed the Empress's wishes, but now it was different. The Empress was pregnant, and there could be no mistakes.
Upon hearing this, Fanghua touched her stomach and realized that it was slightly protruding. The hatred and resentment in her eyes dissipated.
“The old woman is right. I cannot harm the child. Send someone to fetch water.”
She can organize her memories anytime she wants, but neither of her two children can be harmed.
Seeing that the Empress was still willing to listen to advice, Granny Zhang felt somewhat relieved.
"yes."
Soon, things started moving outside, and before long, Fanghua entered the bathtub, enveloped in hot water, and her cold heart felt warm again.
"Granny, tell me what happened recently." I've just returned and am still a bit confused about many things, so I need Granny to explain them to me.
Zhang Mama didn't think much of it. Since her mistress became pregnant, she had been focusing on her pregnancy and rarely interfered in the affairs of the inner palace.
If it weren't for the Empress Dowager and the Emperor occasionally coming to inquire, the Empress would probably never even see a stranger.
She devoted all her attention to her young master.
After listening to the old woman's words, Fanghua realized that she had returned to the time when she was five months pregnant with Chenghu.
She remembered that it was the Ghost Festival in the eighth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign when she inexplicably fell seriously ill. After that, her unborn child was not doing well, and she also experienced occasional bleeding.
At that time, she didn't think anything of it, only that she might have offended someone, so she went to her family home to ask them to help her find a lama to remove the bad luck.
Unexpectedly, it was precisely because of her carelessness that her son was born weak, and in February of the eleventh year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, a cold took her son away.
The more she recalled everything, the deeper her resentment grew.
She only came to her senses when Granny Zhang called her.
In this life, she is determined to protect her two children and ensure that they receive what they desire.
"Your Highness, it seems that Consort Nara is pregnant. I heard that she hasn't changed her clothes for two months."
Although the Empress did not leave Kunning Palace to rest during her pregnancy, these servants served as her eyes and ears every day.
Fanghua suppressed her anger and smiled slightly. "It's alright. There are people who are more anxious than me."
She was the Empress, and with her past achievements, she naturally didn't care about a mere concubine.
Yes, Consort Hui, who was once one of the four favored concubines in the harem, is now just a concubine of lower rank.
A concubine, to put it nicely, has the title of "concubine," but to put it bluntly, she is a servant of all the masters in the palace.
It was July of the eighth year of Kangxi's reign, not long after Kangxi had removed Oboi. At this time, the emperor was in high spirits and the power was concentrated. This time, Hesheli had made a great contribution. It was just a concubine who was pregnant, so he really didn't care.
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