Consort Xi, of the Niohuru clan, suddenly went into premature labor and gave birth to a little princess with great difficulty. However, the little princess was born with her whole body covered in purplish-blue bruises and only cried once before she stopped breathing.
The news quickly spread throughout the palace and also reached the Niohuru family outside the palace.
After returning from the palace, Faka sat silently in the hall with a gloomy face. His wife kept her head slightly lowered, her eyes flashing with coldness.
The expressions of Bayala and Shushujueluo were different.
Bayara was filled with disbelief and heartache for her daughter, who had finally become pregnant with the emperor's child after entering the palace and had become the head of the palace, but the child died shortly after birth.
Shushu Jueluo's face was full of schadenfreude, and she couldn't hide her joy.
After a long silence, Faka said coldly, "I thought Fourth Sister was capable, but I didn't expect her to be so incompetent. She conceived a prince, and it would have been fine if it had been a princess, but now she has died young."
"Someone, send a message to the palace: from this day forward, the people in the palace need not provide any assistance to Consort Xi."
Upon hearing this, Bayara was completely stunned.
With a trembling voice, Lady Bayara said coldly, "Faka, Consort Xi is your sister. Although the little princess she gave birth to died at birth, Consort Xi is still young. Once she recovers, she can have more children."
"Do you really intend to treat Consort Xi like this?"
Bayara panicked. What good was it for a concubine in the harem who had no family support and whose newborn princess had just died?
Faka's expression was icy as he glanced at Bayara. "Can Consort Xi still have children? When? One or two years, three or five years, or ten years?"
"Next February, new concubines will enter the palace. With new ones, how could the Emperor possibly remember Consort Xi, an old concubine who just gave birth to a stillborn child?"
Bayara opened her mouth, but swallowed the words that were about to come out.
Faka snorted coldly, then added, "The Niohuru family doesn't only have Consort Xi as a daughter. Fifth Sister and Sixth Sister are not young anymore, and they can be sent to the palace in a few years."
“Mother, from now on, my fifth and sixth sisters will be raised in your courtyard. Please have someone hire a master who is skilled in music, chess, calligraphy and painting to teach them carefully.”
Upon hearing this, Bayara turned pale and stared intently at Faka and her son, Shushujueluo.
Shushu Jueluo glanced disdainfully at Bayara and replied softly, "Mother knows what to do. Mother will have them carefully trained."
In the palace, Cining Palace
The Empress Dowager knelt before the Buddha statue. Her aged face pondered for a moment before she said coldly, "Consort Xi is also useless. She became pregnant at Yuxi, gave birth to a princess seven months prematurely, but the princess died shortly after birth."
"What did the Emperor say?"
Sumalagu lowered her head, considered for a moment, and then spoke respectfully.
"Reporting to the Empress Dowager, His Majesty has decreed that the little princess be moved out of the palace and buried in a propitious place. He has instructed Consort Xi to rest and recuperate at Qixiang Palace."
"Um."
The Empress Dowager nodded calmly and continued reciting Buddhist scriptures.
Three days later
The imperial concubines gathered at Yikun Palace.
Xu Lejin looked at the concubines with a solemn expression and said in a deep voice, "Consort Xi gave birth to a little princess three days ago. The little princess was born with bruises all over her body and died."
"I found it suspicious at the time, so I kept an eye on it and had someone secretly investigate Consort Xi's diet during her pregnancy. We discovered that Consort Xi had been poisoned with a slow-acting poison without her knowledge."
Consort Que looked surprised, while Consort Hui and the others had different expressions.
Xu Lejin paused for a moment, then said, "The slow-acting poison in Consort Xi's body was absorbed by the little princess, which is why the little princess was covered in bruises when she was born."
"I have investigated this matter and reported it to His Majesty."
Inside the main hall of Yikun Palace, there was an instant silence.
After a short while, Consort Que glanced cautiously at Xu Lejin and timidly asked, "Consort Yu, who is the murderer who poisoned Consort Xi and plotted to kill the little princess?"
Consort Hui suddenly raised her head and glanced nervously at Xu Lejin.
Xu Lejin sighed softly and said in a low voice, "It was an imperial chef from the Imperial Kitchen who poisoned Consort Xi by exploiting food incompatibilities. The Emperor has already ordered that the chef to be beaten to death."
After speaking, Xu Lejin gave Consort Hui a meaningful look.
Upon hearing this, Consort Hui's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, temporarily relaxed.
evening
Emperor Kangxi visited Yikun Palace and had dinner with Xu Lejin.
After dismissing the palace servants serving in Yikun Palace, Kangxi frowned and looked at Xu Lejin, speaking in a deep voice, "I know that my handling of the matter of Consort Hui instructing palace servants to poison Consort Xi and plot against the imperial heir was somewhat inappropriate, but..."
"Consort Hui is, after all, Yinti's birth mother. Yinti is now eleven years old. If Consort Hui is punished for this, it may damage the father-son relationship between me and Yinti."
After a slight hesitation, Kangxi continued, "Although all the evidence points to Consort Hui, there is no real proof. At most, Consort Hui is just jealous of Consort Xi's pregnancy and has someone cut back on Consort Xi's allowance."
"A balance needs to be maintained between the imperial harem and the court."
Xu Lejin lowered her head slightly and rolled her eyes dramatically.
Immediately afterwards, Xu Lejin raised her head to look at Kangxi and said softly, "Your Majesty's considerations are thorough, I understand. I only lament the innocence of the young child. If nothing unexpected happens, Consort Xi's little princess will survive."
"Um."
Kangxi nodded, deep in thought.
After a long pause, Kangxi said, "Consort Xi has been overthinking and worrying during her pregnancy. The little princess has accumulated this stress in her body while still in the womb. Even if she survives, she will be weak and frail. She must be carefully nurtured from a young age, and her medicine must be taken constantly. Besides…"
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