Tong Jiaxianyu's blunt words immediately made the most shy concubines blush.
Consort Xuan looked angry and glared at Tong Jia Xianyu.
Xu Lejin gave Xuan Pin a wink, signaling her to calm down.
Immediately afterwards, Xu Lejin turned her head to look at Tong Jiaxianyu and said softly, "Your Highness is joking. His Majesty stayed in my palace last night. Considering my hardship while carrying the imperial child, he did not engage in any sexual relations with me."
"Your Highness, Consort Tong, may inquire about this matter with the Imperial Household Department."
Upon hearing this, Tong Jiaxianyu's face turned from white to green, and she glared fiercely at Xu Lejin.
"I have always heard that Consort Yu is eloquent and quick-witted, and today I have witnessed it firsthand."
Immediately afterwards, Tong Jiaxianyu turned her head, looked at Consort Zhao with her beautiful eyes, and said in a deep voice, "Sister Consort Zhao, the atmosphere in the palace is becoming more and more improper."
"Consort Yu is so eloquent and flattering. She used her pregnancy and cold as excuses to avoid paying her respects to Consort Zhao. If this continues, all the concubines in the palace will follow suit. Where will Consort Zhao's authority be?"
"Please punish Consort Yu, Sister Zhao, to serve as a warning to others and to uphold the discipline of the inner palace."
After speaking, Tong Jiaxianyu, supported by a palace maid, knelt down with a sincere expression on her face.
Xu Lejin slightly raised her eyes, glanced at Consort Zhao sitting in the main seat, and then looked at Tong Jia Xianyu. Where no one could see, she quickly rolled her eyes.
Tong Jiaxianyu, that idiot, is really hypocritical!
She herself arrives late every day to pay her respects, making all sorts of excuses to delay and postpone, and now she's actually blaming her with such high-sounding authority, even asking Consort Zhao to punish her.
Consort Zhao was not yet the Empress, yet she demanded that the concubines in the harem pay their respects to her morning and evening. This was already coercion and an abuse of palace power.
Although Emperor Kangxi and the Empress Dowager trusted and relied on her, allowing her to wield power in the palace, as long as she was not the Empress, her position was not legitimate and she could not rightfully use the imperial edicts.
Consort Zhao pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "Sister Consort Tong, you've put me in a difficult position. It is His Majesty's decree to exempt Sister Consort Yu from the morning and evening greetings for a period of time."
"His Majesty is the Son of Heaven, and the Son of Heaven's word is law. Although I hold the power in the palace, I cannot fulfill Consort Tong's request today."
Consort Tong, burning with resentment, reluctantly stood up with the help of her maid.
Half an hour later, Xu Lejin and Consort Xuan walked together on the long street.
Behind her came Tong Jiaxianyu's sarcastic voice. "Relying on her pregnancy, Consort Yu has become increasingly arrogant and domineering."
"Consort Yu has probably long forgotten the days when she bowed and scraped before the Empress, serving her tea and water. Now that she has gained power, even her chickens and dogs have risen to heaven, and the palace is becoming more and more chaotic and disorderly."
Xu Lejin and Consort Xuan stopped and turned to look at Tong Jiaxianyu.
"I will keep Consort Tong's teachings in mind. I am blessed to have given birth to the imperial heir. In the palace, those who are blessed are not distinguished by rank; fortunes change every thirty years."
"I was indeed a palace maid serving the Empress, but now I am the birth mother of princes and princesses, and I am Yu Pin, personally appointed by the Emperor. Is Consort Tong making veiled accusations because she is dissatisfied with the Emperor's decision?"
With a sharp look in her eyes, Xu Lejin stared intently at Tong Jiaxianyu. Under Tong Jiaxianyu's astonished expression, she said sternly, "It is still Consort Tong who believes that the Emperor's choice of whom to favor and whom to bestow titles upon the concubines in the palace should be decided by Consort Tong."
"Consort Yu, you..."
Tong Jiaxianyu's delicate face turned a deep purplish-red.
Xu Lejin glanced at Consort Tong with disdain and curtsied, "Your Highness Consort Tong, this concubine takes her leave."
"This concubine takes her leave."
Consort Xuan was stunned. Reminded by a palace maid, she quickly bowed to Consort Tong and followed Xu Lejin's steps.
Back at Yikun Palace, Consort Xuan gulped down three cups of tea before recovering. She looked at Xu Lejin with admiration and said, "Sister Consort Yu, you were so impressive just now. Consort Tong was completely stunned by you."
Xu Lejin smiled gently.
"I'm just telling the truth. Although Consort Tong is the Emperor's cousin and Empress Xiaokangzhang's niece, now that she's entered the palace, she's the Emperor's concubine. Apart from her rank, she's the same as us."
"The harem must not interfere in politics. No matter how much the emperor favors Consort Tong, he will not allow her to influence the conferment and favor of other concubines."
Consort Xuan pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized.
In the afternoon, at the Qianqing Palace
With his eyes lowered, Liang Jiugong respectfully reported the affairs of the inner palace to Emperor Kangxi. Upon hearing this, Emperor Kangxi's expression turned solemn.
"What Consort Yu said may be presumptuous, but it is not without reason. I am the emperor, and Consort Tong is a concubine in the harem. My decisions, preferences, and favors have never been something that Consort Tong can control."
Liang Jiugong lowered his head, not daring to utter a sound.
After pondering for a long time, Kangxi said in a cold voice, "Liang Jiugong, prepare pen and ink."
"twitter."
A moment later, Emperor Kangxi, holding his imperial brush, frowned slightly and wrote the four characters "谨言慎行" (be cautious in speech and conduct) on the clean white Xuan paper with a flourish.
"Liang Jiugong, have the Imperial Household Department mount the frame and send it to Consort Tong's palace."
The next afternoon
Emperor Kangxi arrived at Cining Palace and paid his respects to the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager, with a kind and gentle expression, smiled and said, "I heard that the Emperor bestowed a calligraphy piece upon Consort Tong yesterday? Consort Tong is young and new to the palace; she should indeed learn the palace etiquette properly."
"Your Majesty's teachings are correct."
Kangxi nodded slightly, and then said, "I have come to my grandmother's place today for two reasons: first, to inform her of Lady Wang's entry into the palace, and second, to address the matter of Consort Tong's inappropriate remarks."
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