The Empress took a deep breath and smiled dignifiedly, "I was frightened during my pregnancy and am not feeling well. I need to rest in bed. I was unable to see my sisters for the past few days and made them wait for a long time. It was my fault."
"Your humble servants (or concubines) dare not."
Consort Niohuru lowered her eyes slightly and remained quiet.
The Empress paused for a moment, then said, "With the year drawing to a close, there are many affairs in the palace. I am taking time to rest and recuperate during my pregnancy. All of you sisters must keep a close eye on the servants in your respective palaces."
Niohuru paused for a moment, a cold glint flashing in her eyes. "Yes, Your Majesty the Empress will obey your decree and will certainly keep the palace servants of my Chuxiu Palace in check."
Xu Lejin smiled faintly and lowered her head in thought.
The Empress's words today were deliberate.
She deliberately flaunted to the concubines in the harem that even though she was pregnant with the emperor's child and had a miscarriage and needed to rest in bed, she still held the reins of power in the palace. This was a veiled warning to the concubines to behave themselves and not to covet what did not belong to them.
The Empress smiled slightly and glanced outside Kunning Palace.
"My dear sisters, I am pregnant and cannot serve the Emperor. However, according to custom, the Emperor stays in my Kunning Palace on the first and fifteenth of each month."
"In addition, among the concubines in the harem, Consort Zhang, Consort Ma, and Consort Zhao are pregnant, Sister Tongjia is confined to Chengqian Palace, and Consort Wanyan needs to recuperate. There are not many people who can serve the Emperor, so I selected two from the palace maids, Shangjia and Fanjia."
"Shangjia and Fanjia are both fifteen or sixteen years old, in the prime of their lives. I hope that in the future, all my younger sisters can get along well with Shangjia and Fanjia, serve His Majesty together, and produce heirs for him as soon as possible..."
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