In the afternoon, at Cining Palace
The Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager sat kneeling solemnly in the Buddhist hall.
"Su Ma, has the imperial edict issued today, bestowing the title of Consort Gong upon Lady Tongjia, the title of Consort Yu upon Lady Yu, and the title of Consort Xuan upon Lady Xuan, been communicated to the six palaces by now?"
The Empress Dowager spoke in a frail and aged manner.
Sumalagu replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, the Emperor has already announced it to the world. The concubines in the palace and the Manchu and Mongol noble families outside the palace will all know in a little while."
"Um."
The Empress Dowager responded, pondered for a moment, and then said, "I expected Consort Yu to be promoted to the rank of Imperial Concubine, after all, Consort Yu gave birth to auspicious triplets of dragon and phoenix, and now she has given birth to a daughter."
"The Emperor's decision to elevate Consort Xuan to the rank of Imperial Concubine is beyond my expectations. However, such a title is extremely beneficial for both me and the Khorchin people. It's just that the Tongjia clan..."
After a moment's hesitation, the Empress Dowager's expression darkened.
"The Emperor's original intention was to make Tongjia a Noble Consort, but after being persuaded by the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager, he compromised and made her a Consort Gong."
"The Tongjia clan is arrogant and domineering. Relying on being the emperor's direct cousin, she is spoiled and arrogant. Where is her respect and obedience? Ha."
The Empress Dowager's old face was full of disdain and contempt.
The Empress Dowager spoke softly, her expression gentle, "What Your Majesty says is quite right. The Emperor's conferment of the title of Consort Gong upon Lady Tongjia is probably an expectation that Consort Gong will be respectful and courteous."
"I remember that the Empress Dowager bestowed Granny Peiqi upon Consort Gong before. Now that I think about it, Consort Gong must have learned the rules quite well."
The Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly.
Night falls
The Empress returned to Chuxiu Palace and sat blankly on her throne, her face ashen and pale.
"You vile woman, you vile woman! Lady Tongjia was never made a Noble Consort, but Consort Yu and Consort Xuan were made Consorts. Consort Xuan is one thing, although she has the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager to rely on, but she has no children. But Consort Yu?"
"Does His Majesty truly favor that vile Consort Yu?"
The Empress was furious. With a 'smash,' she smashed the teacup beside her on the ground. Caiyue, Lianxing, and the others served her carefully, not daring to utter a sound.
The Empress then added, "Although I am wary of Consort Gong, she has no children and is frequently confined to her quarters, so she can't cause much trouble. But Consort Yu..."
"Consort Yu has both a son and a daughter, and is deeply favored by the Emperor, and trusted and relied upon by the Empress Dowager and the Grand Empress Dowager. If I allow Consort Yu to grow too powerful, how can I, as the Empress, have a place in the harem?"
Lianxing looked up, glanced quickly at the Empress, and then lowered her head to softly offer words of comfort.
“Your Majesty, although Consort Yu has been granted the title of Consort, she comes from a humble background. Your Majesty is the Empress, personally appointed by the Emperor, and you are the mother of the nation. There is no need for you to be so petty as to argue with Consort Yu.”
"As for Consort Yu, who has both a son and a daughter, Your Highness is in the prime of your life. Given time, you will surely be able to bear a prince for the Emperor. Consort Yu's sixth son is just a son born out of wedlock. How can he be compared with the legitimate son of the Empress, who was born to Your Highness?"
Upon hearing Lianxing's words, the Empress felt much more at ease.
However, the conversation between the master and servants in the main hall of Chuxiu Palace was overheard by a young eunuch sweeping outside. The eunuch's eyes darted around, and he found an excuse to leave Chuxiu Palace.
Five days have passed in the blink of an eye.
In the afternoon, Emperor Kangxi passed through the Imperial Garden and overheard two eunuchs whispering among the flowers.
"Did Her Majesty really say that?"
The slightly taller eunuch, with a shrill voice, said, "This is what the sixth eunuch in the Empress's palace told me personally. The Empress said that the prince she gave birth to is the legitimate son of the Empress, while the princes born to the other ladies and concubines in the palace are sons born to concubines."
"Little Fifth Prince, I remember that our Emperor was also born to a concubine, and was also the late Emperor's son born out of wedlock?"
The short eunuch, head bowed, looked as if he were ready to die.
Although the sound was not loud, it clearly reached Kangxi's ears. Liang Jiugong's eyes darted around, and he opened his mouth to reprimand him, but Kangxi stopped him.
Amidst the flowers, the conversation between the two young eunuchs grew increasingly inappropriate.
In the end, they even directly said that Empress Niohuru looked down on the Emperor because he was the late Emperor's son by a concubine, which is why she said those words in Chuxiu Palace.
Kangxi's face was so gloomy it looked like it could drip water.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Liang Jiugong immediately spoke in a cold voice, "Who's lurking around there? Come out now! What kind of behavior is this, talking about our master behind his back?"
Two young eunuchs came out tremblingly and knelt down with a thud.
"You two, what are your names? How dare you speak ill of the Emperor and Empress? This is a capital offense, and your families will be implicated as well."
After Liang Jiugong gave a stern rebuke, he winked at the two eunuchs when no one was looking.
The tall, short eunuch, his face filled with fear, stammered, "This servant deserves to die, this servant deserves to die, this servant shouldn't have talked about his master behind his back, this servant—"
“Your Majesty, I am telling the truth. The sixth son in the Empress’s palace had a few too many drinks and told me this himself. I swear to heaven that there is not a single lie in his words.”
"You lackey, you lackey are willing to die to prove your loyalty."
After saying this, the tall eunuch rammed his head against a pillar. The short eunuch glanced at Liang Jiugong expectantly, and after receiving a barely perceptible nod from Liang Jiugong, he also rammed his head against the pillar.
The incident happened in an instant. Kangxi had no time to stop it and watched helplessly as the two eunuchs died in front of him.
The events that occurred in the Imperial Garden quickly spread throughout the inner palace.
Upon learning this, the Empress's expression changed drastically. She hurriedly went to the Qianqing Palace to apologize to Emperor Kangxi, but she couldn't even enter the palace gates and could only kneel alone outside.
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