The atmosphere in Kunning Palace was somber.
After a long while, Yun Cui mustered her courage and carefully chose her voice to gently comfort her: "Your Majesty, you are pregnant and should prioritize the little prince in your womb. His Majesty is considerate of the hardships you are going through while carrying the imperial heir, which is why he has allowed Consort Chuxiu to share some of the palace affairs with you."
Yun Cui took a deep breath and then spoke.
"Your Majesty, you are the Empress whom the Emperor formally married, welcomed into the palace through the Great Qing Gate, and personally bestowed upon you. You are the mistress of the harem. As for the Consort of Chuxiu Palace, she is merely a concubine. It is the Emperor and Your Majesty who have honored her by assisting you in managing palace affairs."
"Your Majesty, you are carrying the little prince. Once the little prince is born, the Emperor will surely take back the palace power held by the Consort of Chuxiu Palace. Your Majesty's most important task right now is to focus on your pregnancy and not to do what the other consorts and concubines in the harem want..."
The Empress pondered for a moment, then smiled.
“What you say makes sense. I am currently pregnant with the Emperor’s son, and my status is very high. Even if Niohuru has the Emperor’s permission to assist in managing the six palaces, she is still just a concubine. She is merely helping me with palace affairs.”
With a smile, the Empress continued, "Niohuru and I entered the palace one after the other and have served the Emperor for many years, but neither of us has had a child, not even a child."
"Now, even if she has gained the power to assist in managing the six palaces, so what? A concubine who cannot bear children and has no offspring is not worth fearing at all."
Yun Cui and Nong Yu nodded with smiles.
The Empress lowered her head slightly, stroking her belly which was beginning to show, her face full of love. "My child, my child, my good child, you must be a son! All my hopes are pinned on you."
"Your Majesty, please rest assured. Physician Jiang examined your pulse this morning and diagnosed it as a strong and healthy young prince. Your Majesty, all you need to do now is to keep a cheerful mood so that the young prince can grow up healthily."
Yun Cui smiled and complimented her.
The Empress's face was kind, but the image of Xu Lejin flashed through her mind. She sneered and said, "Although Xu was somewhat intelligent before, she was timid. Now that she has been made a concubine and has been allowed to serve the Emperor, she has become audacious and disobedient to me."
"Truly, appearances can be deceiving. Xu Shi has been confined to Yikun Palace for a month. I do not wish for Xu Shi to remain in the harem after a month..."
"Yuncui, you know what to do, right?"
Yun Cui was taken aback for a moment, then respectfully replied, "Yes."
Nongyu, standing to the side, lowered her eyes and brows, a fleeting look of fear and lingering apprehension flashing across them, and she lowered her head even further!
"Your Majesty, please have some tea."
The palace maid Chu Qiao humbly and respectfully served warm tea and placed it beside the Empress.
"Um."
The Empress took a small sip of tea and put down the teacup.
"Among the concubines in the harem, the Tongjia clan is confined to their quarters, the Nara clan is confined to their quarters, the Xu clan is confined to their quarters, and I, the Majia clan, the Zhang clan, and the Zhaojia clan are pregnant. The Wanyan clan suffered a miscarriage and damaged her health, so she cannot conceive again. The only ones who can serve the Emperor are the Li clan, the Dong clan, the Hesheli clan, as well as the Shangjia clan and the Fanjia clan whom I have promoted."
After a pause, the Empress said solemnly, "Yuncui, do you understand what I mean? Before I give birth to the imperial heir, I do not wish for any of the concubines in the harem to become pregnant..."
"Yes, Your Highness, this servant will obey your orders, but..."
Yun Cui quickly glanced outside, then lowered her voice and whispered, "Your Majesty, Consort Hesheli, Consort Shangjia, and Consort Fanjia have always followed Your Majesty's lead and dared not conceive on their own."
"But what about Consort Li and Consort Dong? Consort Li entered the palace through the proper selection process; she is the daughter of a Mongol noble family. I am worried. As for Consort Dong, she once gave birth to the Emperor's second daughter. The Emperor favors Consort Dong?"
The Empress gave a cold laugh, her voice icy.
"It is precisely because of the Li family and the Dong family that I asked you to find a way to prevent them from getting pregnant and carrying the imperial heir. The presence of the Ma Jia family and the Na La family in the harem is already the maximum I can tolerate."
"The Zhang and Zhao families are both frail and delicate. Even if they become pregnant, it will most likely be a princess. Even if they are lucky enough to conceive a prince, the mother's weak body will result in a sickly son who won't survive..."
Yun Cui braced herself and respectfully agreed.
Night fell.
The young palace maids Zhishu and Ruhua bowed as they entered from outside the west wing of Yikun Palace. They shook off the snow from their clothes, put down the food box in their hands with a disgruntled expression, and rubbed their hands together.
Zhi Shu pouted and said, "My lady, the Imperial Kitchen is going too far. You were just confined to your quarters, and the Imperial Kitchen is already mistreating you. Ru Hua and I went to the Imperial Kitchen to get our meals, and we ate a lot of rubbish there."
Xu Lejin looked up and gazed at Yingchun.
"It's common for people in the palace to fawn over the weak and flatter the strong. Now that I've offended the Empress and am confined to Yikun Palace, the people in the Imperial Kitchen will naturally not dare to disobey the Empress's wishes."
After a pause, Xu Lejin looked at the food box and said with a smile, "What kind of food did the imperial kitchen give us? As long as it's not too bad, it's edible."
Zhi Shu was about to speak when Ying Chun, who was beside Xu Lejin, glared at him, and Zhi Shu shut his mouth in embarrassment.
Xu Lejin shook her head and spoke in a barely audible voice.
"It'll only be about a month, just bear with it and it'll pass..."
At this moment, Xiao Jiangzi hurriedly entered the hall.
Stomping his feet to ward off the chill, Xiao Jiangzi spoke respectfully, “Your Highness, the Lady of Chuxiu Palace has ordered Sister Lianxing to personally deliver your dinner.”
Xu Lejin was stunned for a moment.
"Quickly invite Lianxing into the palace!"
Xiao Jiangzi respectfully agreed and withdrew.
A moment later, Xiao Jiangzi led Lianxing into the hall. Lianxing bowed to Xu Lejin and said, "This servant Lianxing greets Consort Xu. May Consort Xu be blessed."
"Lianxing, there's no need for such formalities."
Xu Lejin smiled as she looked at Lianxing and instructed Ruhua beside her, "Ruhua, quickly bring Lianxing a stool and change the hot water bottle to a warm one."
Ru Hua respectfully agreed, and Lian Xing smiled and thanked her.
After a pause, Lianxing put down the large food box in her hand. "My lady is especially happy because of Consort Xu, who has been granted the power to assist in managing the six palaces. She specially ordered me to set aside some dinner for you."
"These are all things that my lady has never used, I hope Consort Xu will not find them offensive."
Xu Lejin smiled gently, "I am overjoyed by the reward from the Empress of Chuxiu Palace, how could I possibly complain? The wind and snow are fierce, and it is difficult to walk in the snow. I am sorry to trouble you, Lianxing."
"Welcoming Spring..."
Yingchun, being very perceptive, handed over a purse containing a few taels of silver. "Sister Lianxing, this is a small token of my master's appreciation for your tea. I hope you won't find it offensive."
Lianxing smiled and accepted the gift. After thanking Xu Lejin, she put the changed hot water bottle into her bosom, picked up the empty food box, and left the west side hall of Yikun Palace, quickly disappearing into the wind and snow.
Xu Lejin gazed at the well-balanced and exquisite meal before her, and murmured, "Your Highness, the Consort of Chuxiu Palace is so thoughtful! What happened during the day was merely for my own protection. I never imagined that by chance, Your Highness would be able to take away the power of the palace from the Empress."
"The Empress probably hates me to the core."
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