Feeling dazed and confused, Xu Lejin left Xianfu Palace and walked along the long street.
"Lianzhi, do you really think Consort Xi and the commoner Hesheli clan have the guts to do such a thing?"
"Although he did not openly poison the emperor, the charges of plotting against the imperial heir and harming the concubines in the harem have been confirmed."
"Why would a commoner like Hesheli, who is also a concubine in the harem, resort to such a method that kills a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of her own?"
Lowering her voice, Xu Lejin softly voiced her doubts to Lianzhi beside her.
Lianzhi was taken aback. "Your Majesty, I don't understand either. I've heard that before the commoner Hesheli was summoned to the palace, she was engaged. Could it be that the commoner Hesheli didn't want to enter the palace, but was forced to because of the Hesheli family's affairs, and therefore harbored resentment?"
"..."
Xu Lejin looked at Lianzhi in surprise, and after a moment of silence, said, "Perhaps that's the case. This Empress..."
"After much deliberation, I have decided to go to Changchun Palace and ask the commoner Hesheli why she would use such extreme methods to murder the concubines in the harem?"
"Your Majesty, you are pregnant."
Lianzhi glanced at Xu Lejin with concern and pondered in a low voice.
Xu Lejin spoke softly, "It's alright. I'll just be careful. Besides, I'm just a commoner, Hesheli, a weak woman who can't even kill a chicken. With you and Ruhua by my side, nothing will happen."
Lianzhi and Ruhua bowed their heads and responded.
Changchun Palace
The main hall was tightly closed. Consort Bu and Consort Rui, who lived in the side hall and warm pavilion of Changchun Palace, were outside the main hall at this time, cursing and swearing. Their words were nothing more than cursing the commoner Hesheli, saying that her heart and lungs were rotten.
Xu Lejin's arrival came as a surprise to Consort Bu and Consort Rui.
"This humble servant, Noble Lady Zhaojia/Consort Suochuoluo, greets Consort Yu. May Consort Yu be blessed."
Consort Bu and Consort Rui knelt down respectfully and curtsied to Xu Lejin. Consort Bu's curtsy was not proper, and her expression was reluctant.
Xu Lejin didn't take it seriously.
With a creak, the door to the main hall of Changchun Palace opened, and Li Dequan, who served the emperor, came out. Upon seeing Xu Lejin, he quickly bowed and said, "This servant greets Your Majesty. Your Majesty is pregnant with the emperor's child. What brings you to Changchun Palace?"
"Please rise, Eunuch Li."
Xu Lejin glanced at Li De's entire body, then closed the door again and spoke softly, "I was in Consort Xuan's palace when I heard that the Emperor had ordered the commoner Hesheli to commit suicide, so I came to take a look."
"Eunuch Li, has the commoner Hesheli committed suicide?"
Li Dequan looked troubled and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, the commoner Hesheli is inside and is refusing to die. This servant is really at a loss and is thinking of going back to the Emperor and asking my master for a solution."
"Um."
Xu Lejin responded with a faint sound.
After a moment's thought, Xu Lejin spoke softly, "Eunuch Li, could you do me the favor and let me go inside to see the commoner Hesheli?"
"As for the commoner Hesheli, who refuses to die, and Eunuch Liang who serves the Emperor with great difficulty and has many affairs to attend to, I think it is unnecessary to trouble him."
"His Majesty has already granted the commoner Hesheli the right to commit suicide. As for how to commit suicide, that is entirely up to Eunuch Li."
Li Dequan suddenly realized.
"Thank you for your guidance, Your Highness. I, Hesheli, am somewhat mad. Please be careful when you go inside. If possible, it would be best if Lianzhi and Ruhua accompanied you."
Xu Lejin nodded slightly, glancing out of the corner of her eye at Consort Bu and Consort Rui, who were standing trembling in a bowing posture. A cold smile appeared on her lips.
Consort Bu and Consort Rui immediately felt a chill run down their spines.
Although there was nothing out of line in the main hall of Changchun Palace, its extravagance was in no way inferior to that of the Empress's Kunning Palace.
The room was filled with various precious porcelain pieces and glittering gold ornaments.
Accompanied by Lianzhi and Ruhua, Xu Lejin entered the hall and was almost blinded by the light.
Hearing footsteps, Hesheli looked up at Xu Lejin, her bright face contorted with rage, and coldly asked, "Consort Yu?"
He glanced at Lianzhi and Ruhua out of the corner of his eye, and swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth.
Changing the subject, Hesheli said softly, "Your Highness, I am a dying man. My reluctance to die is simply because I am unwilling to accept it."
"Thank you so much for coming to see me off on my final journey. May I have a few words with you alone?"
Xu Lejin's expression turned solemn.
Hesheli then added, "Your Highness, please rest assured, a dying man's words are always kind. I will not do anything to you."
After frowning and thinking for a moment, Xu Lejin spoke softly, "Lianzhi, Ruhua, you two go and stand guard outside the palace. I have some private words to say to Consort Hesheli."
"Your Majesty,"
Lianzhi exclaimed in surprise, her face full of disapproval.
Xu Lejin shook her head almost imperceptibly at Lianzhi. Ruhua, who was standing to the side, pondered for a moment, then pulled the reluctant Lianzhi out of the main hall of Changchun Palace, looking back every few steps.
Inside the main hall of Changchun Palace, only Xu Lejin and Hesheli remained, looking at each other in bewilderment.
After a long while, Hesheli, a commoner, chuckled and said, "I remember that there was no such person as Consort Yu in the Emperor's harem. In fact, Consort Gong, of the Tongjia clan, was made a Noble Consort in the sixteenth year of Kangxi's reign, not Consort Gong."
"Your Highness, am I right?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Lejin was extremely surprised, but she remained expressionless.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I am Consort Yu, personally bestowed by the Emperor, a fact known to everyone in the palace. Why do you speak of this? Consort Gong is already deceased."
Hesheli looked intently at Xu Lejin, "Your Highness, aren't you curious about how I know all this?"
"Let me tell you, I have lived two lives. In my previous life, I married my husband, who was my childhood sweetheart, according to my family's arrangement. But in my previous life, I had no children and died alone."
"It wasn't until my deathbed that I realized I was never suited to have children, that my childhood sweetheart husband only married me because his family needed him, and that even his affection for me was all a lie."
"He deceived me while trying to secure his family's future, while keeping several mistresses outside. In the end, when the crown prince was deposed, he brought his mistresses, illegitimate children, and other concubines into the house."
With a mocking expression, Hesheli murmured, "Oh, I forgot. Empress Xiaocheng did not give birth to a legitimate son in this life, and even Consort Rong, of the Majia clan, gave birth to four daughters. Consort Rong's eldest son did not die in infancy."
"Since the birth of your third prince, Consort Yu, it has been a very, very long time since a prince was born in the palace. Empress Xiaocheng's child wasn't a prince, Consort Rong's child wasn't a prince, and Noble Lady Zhi's child wasn't a prince either; they all became princesses."
"And then there's Wuya from Chengqian Palace. In her previous life, she was Consort De and Imperial Concubine De. Now, she's been involved in scandalous affairs in the harem with Longkodo, palace guards, and eunuchs. The Emperor has ordered her to be executed."
With his head slightly tilted back, Hesheli revealed a profound and unfathomable smile.
"Your Highness, don't you think these things are strange?"
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