As someone exclaimed in surprise, everyone around was drawn to the sight and realized that the Princess Consort of Prince Yong had fallen into the lake.
After Yunyi fell, she pretended to struggle a few times before sinking underwater. In the meantime, she fiddled with her face and created a bright red, swollen handprint.
Consort De didn't actually hit her, but she still wanted to create this illusion, so Yunyi had to make a handprint herself, and the more terrifying the better, so as to accuse Consort De of being ruthless.
Yinzhen was already walking this way when he watched as Consort De slapped the Fujin and then watched as the Fujin fell into the water.
In that instant, his heart leaped into his throat. His wife was pregnant, and it was October, at night. If a pregnant woman fell down, wouldn't her chances of survival be extremely slim?
With this thought in mind, Yinzhen decisively jumped into the water, swam quickly to his wife's side, and pulled her out of the "unconscious" state.
Because of falling into the water, Yunyi's face was extremely pale, which made the bright red handprint look even more terrifying and obvious.
Anyone who was close could see that the handprint on the face of the Princess Consort of Yongjun was very bright red and swollen.
Borjigit was a straightforward woman, and upon seeing her fourth sister-in-law's face, she couldn't help but exclaim, "This, this slap mark is too severe!"
Consort Wenxi wanted to cover her forehead in exasperation. Her daughter-in-law was good in every way, but she hadn't grown up in the capital and had been raised too naively by her parents.
Everyone else saw it but didn't say anything, but you stupidly blurted it out.
Of course, Consort Wenxi wasn't angry. She also looked down on Consort De's behavior, so she didn't stop her daughter-in-law from speaking, but just felt a little helpless.
Borjigit was not one of the delicate girls in the capital. Surprised, she spoke loudly, and even Emperor Kangxi and others nearby heard her.
Because the matter was quite serious, Kangxi could not ignore it. However, out of a desire to avoid suspicion, he waited until his son had rescued Ulanara and put on a cloak before walking over with his hands behind his back.
Honghui was extremely anxious when he saw his mother fall into the water, but he was relieved when he saw his father jump into the water and rescue his mother.
Everyone had just heard Borjigit's exclamation, so when Kangxi looked at Ulanara, his eyes couldn't help but glance at her face.
Sure enough, the red handprint was indeed very swollen and red, and it was a terrifying sight on Ulanara's face.
Honghui was the same; he didn't need to avoid suspicion and could stare directly at her.
The slap mark on his mother's face pierced his heart deeply. Honghui, who was usually very stable in his emotions, clenched his little fists and was furious.
Kangxi looked at the instigator, Uya, on the other side, his face dark and his eyes filled with extreme displeasure.
Consort De was dumbfounded. Had she really hit Ulanara? Why didn't she feel anything?
Moreover, she felt that she hadn't exerted much effort, so how did Ulanara fall into the water?
Consort De was completely baffled and couldn't understand why things had turned out this way. Her motionless stance appeared to others as a sign of utter lack of compassion.
Soon the imperial physician rushed over, examined Yunyi, and said that there was nothing seriously wrong, which relieved many people present.
With the imperial physician's permission, Lady Tongjia instructed the strong nannies to carry Lady Ulanara back to her Chengqian Palace to rest temporarily, and then send her back to her residence after she woke up.
Those who knew better quickly excused themselves, knowing that things were about to get out of hand, and decided to go back and avoid the commotion. Not everyone could afford to watch such a spectacle.
Once all the unrelated people had left, the Ninth Prince's wife could only suppress the worry in her eyes and leave with Consort Yi.
The Tenth Prince's wife, Lady Borjigit, seemed not to understand what everyone was saying and didn't really want to leave, but was pulled away by Consort Wenxi.
The three brothers, Yinzhen, Yinxiang, and Yintang, didn't really want to leave, but Yinzhen gave them a look that signaled them to leave and not stay there, as this matter had nothing to do with them and they shouldn't get involved.
After all these years of getting along, the three brothers were very obedient to Yinzhen. With just a glance, they would put away their resentment and obediently leave.
The once bustling and noisy Imperial Garden was now empty except for Emperor Kangxi, Consort De, and their respective maids and eunuchs.
Consort De finally realized what was happening, and knelt on the ground with tears streaming down her face, repeatedly saying that she was innocent and that she had no intention of making Ulanara fall into the water.
The more Kangxi listened, the angrier he became. How could Consort De have the audacity to claim innocence after doing such a thing in front of everyone? If she was innocent, then who was guilty?
Besides, so many people there saw what just happened. Are you saying everyone else was blind and saw it wrong?
Emperor Kangxi was also unaware that Consort De was so dull-witted; it seems that her previous intelligence and wit were all a facade.
He felt as if another layer of Consort De's skin had been torn away, and Kangxi's affection and patience for Consort De were becoming increasingly exhausted.
Seeing the disappointment and disgust in Kangxi's eyes, Uya felt a chill in her heart and, in a moment of anger, loudly condemned Tongjia's faults.
They said she adopted his child and wouldn't let him see her, causing Yinzhen to drift apart from her, and now mother and son are estranged...
"Enough! So you're blaming me for letting the Imperial Noble Consort adopt your child back then."
Kangxi snorted coldly, and then suddenly realized that Uya had always harbored resentment towards him and his cousin, and therefore had taken it out on the innocent Yinzhen and Ulanara.
He stared at Wuya on the ground and said coldly, "Heh, don't you think about it? Back then, you were the one who willingly gave Yinzhen to the Imperial Noble Consort to raise, to comfort her pain of being childless."
"That's why I think you are kind and generous, and very loyal to your former master. It is also because of this that I understand that you lost your child and made an exception to grant you the rank of concubine. After you gave birth to the sixth child, I promoted you to the rank of imperial consort during the grand conferment of titles in the harem."
Kangxi's cold words reached Uya's ears, revealing her wretched and lowly past.
Seeing Uya's unbearable pain, Kangxi did not stop and continued.
"Now that you show no gratitude whatsoever, I shall grant your wish." Kangxi looked at Liang Jiugong, his words causing Wuya Shi to collapse even more than before.
"Liang Jiugong, convey my decree: Consort De, of the Uya clan, has acted improperly before the Emperor, and has committed an act of disrespect. She is hereby stripped of her title, demoted to the rank of Noble Lady, and confined to Yonghe Palace. She is not to leave without an imperial edict."
"The word 'virtue' is the noblest and has always been the best praise for others. I gave you this word as a title back then, but now I think you are not worthy of it!"
Finally, Kangxi gave Wuya a cold look, then turned and left, unwilling to see this woman again.
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