Originally, Emperor Qianlong did not pay attention to Niohuru's words, because Consort Wei had already told him about these things beforehand.
But Niohuru's next words left him speechless.
How could Wei be that kind of person?
"Stop slandering others. How could Lady Wei be like that? You are truly unrepentant. Even after all this, you still want to drag Lady Wei into this."
Seeing that Emperor Qianlong seemed to be angry, Niohuru quickly shouted, "Your Majesty, what I said is absolutely true. If you don't believe me, I have evidence."
Although Emperor Qianlong did not believe it, for some reason he still wanted to see what Niohuru was up to and what evidence she wanted to produce.
As Niohuru entered the inner palace, I watched as she took a small box from under the bed and unlocked several locks.
Empress Dowager Niohuru's appearance made Emperor Qianlong's heart skip a beat. Could it be that Empress Wei really...?
With a mix of excitement and nervousness, I opened the box, and sure enough, there was a small longevity lock inside.
"Your Majesty, look, this is my evidence. You can take this and ask her. This is something that Consort Wei has brought with her since she was a child."
Emperor Qianlong was not in a good mood at the time. He took the longevity lock and went straight out to Chengqian Palace, ignoring Niohuru.
They hurried to Chengqian Palace. Emperor Qianlong's face was gloomy, which made Li Yu, who was following beside him, tremble with fear.
What did His Majesty say to Consort Niohuru inside? Why does he look so unwell?
Upon arriving at Chengqian Palace, Emperor Qianlong did not visit Empress Nara in the main hall, but went directly to the side hall where Consort Wei resided.
Wei Shuyan knew that Qianlong would come, so she wasn't flustered at all.
Faced with Qianlong's questioning, Wei Shuyan looked bewildered: "Your Majesty, this longevity lock is indeed something I've worn since childhood, but it was still in my jewelry box, how could it be..."
At this point, Wei Shuyan paused before continuing, "How could you have an identical longevity lock in your hands?"
Hearing Consort Wei say this, Emperor Qianlong calmed down a bit and realized that he had been too impulsive.
After Wei Shuyan finished speaking, she apologized to Qianlong for her rudeness, walked to the dressing table, and took out a small box from the bottom drawer.
Open the small box; inside is a piece of red cloth, wrapping something.
Wei Shuyan gently lifted the red cloth, revealing the longevity lock inside, exactly the same as the one Qianlong had just taken out.
This left Emperor Qianlong speechless.
Seemingly sensing Qianlong's inner thoughts and his predicament, Wei Shuyan continued to speak.
“Your Majesty, this longevity lock was specially made by my father when I was born. I have worn it since I was a child, and I only took it off and put it away after I became a concubine.”
Emperor Qianlong understood what Consort Wei meant: if she had always carried it with her, then many people would have seen it, making it easy to make a replica.
“Your Majesty, I have something else to say. Because this longevity lock was made by my father, the workmanship is not very good. There are also small characters engraved on it by my father, which can prove it.”
Upon hearing this, Emperor Qianlong took the two longevity locks and examined them closely, and indeed found them to be different.
The Niohuru one is indeed more exquisitely crafted, while the Wei one is rougher.
Upon closer inspection, Emperor Qianlong noticed a small character "Yao" carved inside. Had it not been for Lady Wei's mention of the carving, he would never have discovered it.
Wei Shuyan kept her eyes on Qianlong's expression. When she saw that he had noticed the inscription, she said something seemingly unintentionally.
“Your Majesty, this longevity lock was almost lost. Fortunately, I had a similar one. That one was stolen, but this one was not lost and I still have it.”
Now it became clear that this was another of Niohuru's plans; she had sent someone to steal Wei's longevity lock in an attempt to frame her.
However, Niohuru was unaware that Wei's longevity lock had distinctive features, and that the one she stole was a fake, so the plan failed.
After all that, it turned out to be a misunderstanding. Emperor Qianlong comforted Lady Wei for a while before getting up and leaving.
On the same day, Emperor Qianlong issued an imperial edict, declaring that Niohuru Changzai had attempted to murder the imperial heir and frame a palace concubine. She was stripped of her title and banished to the Cold Palace.
Niohuru was sent to the Cold Palace and could no longer cause any trouble, but just in case, Yunyi still managed to give her some medicine through Wei.
With the scheming Niohuru no longer around, the harem returned to peace.
With the Empress pregnant, palace affairs are temporarily managed by Consort Chun, Consort Jia, and Consort Rui.
Ten months of pregnancy, one day of childbirth.
In May of the seventeenth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign, the Empress gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, in the Chengqian Palace. The boy was the third son of the Qianlong Emperor, and the girl was the twelfth princess of the Qianlong Emperor.
This ranking also shows how significant this child was to Emperor Qianlong.
The birth of a legitimate son by the Empress was a momentous event that brought joy to the entire nation. Emperor Qianlong issued a general amnesty and bestowed titles upon his concubines, wanting to share his happiness with everyone.
Consort Chun was promoted to Imperial Noble Consort Chun, Consort Jia was promoted to Consort Jia, and Consort Rui was promoted to Consort Rui.
Consort Wei was promoted to Consort Ling, and the Empress Dowager was happy about the birth of her grandson and did not object.
The Third Prince was born just two days ago, and Emperor Qianlong bestowed upon him the name Yongcong, while the Twelfth Princess was named Geludai.
The character "琮" (cong) is a jade artifact used in sacrificial rites. It has the same meaning as the character "琏" (lian) in the name of Yonglian, the second son of the late Crown Prince Duanhui, both implying the hope of inheriting the throne.
The fact that Emperor Qianlong gave his youngest son this name is enough to prove his intention.
The twelfth princess's name means phoenix. As the legitimate daughter born to the empress, it is appropriate to give her this name.
At this time, Emperor Qianlong was already 42 years old, but he only had two sons.
The eldest prince was excluded from the list of heirs when there were no other princes in his early years. Now that the legitimate son has been born, there is no possibility that he will ascend the throne.
A month later, the two children celebrated their one-month birthday.
The palace held a grand celebration for the twins' one-month birthday. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor each held one of the children, beaming with joy.
Emperor Qianlong also issued an imperial edict on the spot, bestowing a title upon his youngest daughter, the twelfth princess, who was only one month old, and named her Princess Gulun Herui.
Princesses usually receive a title upon marriage. This was the case with the fourth princess born to Consort Chun, who married last year. She was granted the title of Princess Heshuo Hewan before her marriage.
The only exception was Empress Xiaoxian's legitimate daughter. As soon as Emperor Qianlong ascended the throne, he bestowed upon his daughter the title of Princess Gulun Hejing, who was the only princess in the palace with a title at that time.
Hejing was also present at today's full moon celebration. When she saw her father bestow a title upon her little sister, she showed no anger or unusual emotions. Instead, she smiled as she looked at her sister in her mother's arms.
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