Xianfu Palace
Consort Ji was taken back to the main hall of Xianfu Palace, where she sat blankly on the ground, her thoughts drifting away.
After a long while, Consort Ji suddenly stood up and said in a deep voice to the palace servants on guard, "Where is the Twenty-Sixth Princess? I wish to see the Twenty-Sixth Princess. Have the wet nurse bring her to my palace."
"Consort Ji,"
The palace servants guarding Consort Ji looked troubled.
With a sorrowful expression, Consort Ji looked regretful and pleaded, "Although I made a mistake and was ordered to die by the Emperor, I am the mother of the Twenty-Sixth Princess. The Twenty-Sixth Princess was born after I carried her for ten months."
"Now that I am about to die, I only wish to see my twenty-sixth daughter, whom I carried for ten months and gave birth to, one last time."
Some of the palace guards were moved.
Upon seeing this, Consort Ji quickly considered the matter in her mind, then knelt down, wiping away her tears, sobbing and pleading, "Please, I just want to see the Twenty-Sixth Princess one last time."
"I... I'm just a woman with no strength to even kill a chicken. There's nothing I can do within these palace walls."
One of the palace maids wiped away her tears.
"Consort Ji, it's not that we are heartless, but His Majesty and the Imperial Noble Consort have ordered that you are not allowed to see anyone and that you should await your execution."
Consort Ji was taken aback.
He kowtowed repeatedly, pleading, "Please, I just want to see the Twenty-Sixth Princess, to hug her one last time."
"I am a dying man. After today, I will be separated from the twenty-sixth princess by life and death."
Consort Ji spoke through tears.
"Please, have pity on me!"
Consort Ji tearfully begged to see the twenty-sixth princess one last time. The palace servants guarding her were undecided and had no choice but to report to Xu Lejin and let her make the decision.
With a soft sigh, Xu Lejin said in a low voice, "If only I had known this would happen, why did I do it in the first place?"
"When Consort Ji gave birth, she used the twenty-sixth princess to secure the rank of consort. The Emperor and I both knew this, but because the twenty-sixth princess was still young, we pretended not to know."
"Now, before Consort Ji faces her death, she wishes to see the Twenty-Sixth Princess one last time."
Ru Hua and Nong Ying lowered their heads slightly.
After a short while, Xu Lejin spoke in a deep voice, "Since giving birth to the twenty-sixth princess, Consort Ji has been quite fond of her. It seems she has already repented and wants to make amends to the twenty-sixth princess."
"Now that a person is about to die, their words are often good. I will take the liberty of allowing Consort Ji to see the Twenty-Sixth Princess one last time, thus fulfilling her final wish!"
You Shi (5-7 PM)
Consort Ji finally got to see the 26th princess, just as she had wished.
The 26th princess, who was three years old by the traditional Chinese age reckoning, reached out her hands to Consort Ji from her wet nurse's arms, wanting Consort Ji to hug her. Consort Ji looked conflicted as she gazed at the palace servants who were guarding her.
At this moment, Liang Jiugong, who was serving the emperor, personally brought the poisoned wine.
Consort Ji, her voice choked with sobs, looked pitifully at Liang Jiugong, "Eunuch Liang, I know my crimes are heinous and I dare not presume to ask for His Majesty's forgiveness, but the Twenty-Sixth Princess is innocent."
"The twenty-sixth daughter of the emperor is still a child, ignorant and naive."
With her head bowed, a fierce glint flashed in Consort Ji's eyes. She then said, "Eunuch Liang, please grant my last wish, for the sake of my sincerity, and let me have a private conversation with the Twenty-Sixth Princess."
Liang Jiugong's expression faltered slightly.
"Your Highness, this servant cannot make such a decision."
With a thud, Consort Ji knelt down firmly before Liang Jiugong, pleading, "Eunuch Liang, please grant my last wish. Rest assured, after I finish speaking intimately with the Twenty-Sixth Princess, I will face death without fear and will not cause you any trouble."
Liang Jiugong looked at the twenty-sixth princess, who was crying incessantly in her wet nurse's arms, and felt a pang of pity.
"Your Highness Consort Ji, aren't you making things difficult for this servant?"
Consort Ji: "Eunuch Liang, I beg you. If I can just have a few private words with the Twenty-Sixth Princess, I... I will repay your great kindness in my next life, even if it means serving you like a cow or a horse. Please..."
After much coaxing and pleading from Consort Ji, even Liang Jiugong, a man without any connections, was finally moved.
With a long sigh, Liang Jiugong wiped away his tears and said, "Consort Ji, this servant is only allowing you and your daughter to reunite and have a private conversation for the sake of the Twenty-Sixth Imperial Daughter."
"Your Highness Consort Ji, you can't put this servant in such a difficult position!"
Consort Ji immediately agreed.
"Don't worry, Eunuch Liang. After I have spoken privately with the Twenty-Sixth Princess, I will immediately go to my death and will not let you, Eunuch Liang, suffer any difficulties."
In the main hall of Xianfu Palace
Consort Ji held the twenty-sixth princess in her arms, gazing at the poisoned wine laid out before her.
With a wicked smile, Consort Ji muttered to herself, "A death sentence? Your Majesty, how cruel you are! I am carrying your child, yet you order my death?"
"Even tigers don't eat their cubs, yet Your Majesty personally ordered the death of the child in my womb!"
The young and naive twenty-sixth princess opened her beautiful eyes and spoke in a childish voice, "Mother, Mother, why are you crying? Be good, be good, I won't make Mother unhappy."
The little girl reached out and wiped away Ji Pin's tears.
Wiping away the tears, Consort Ji's tears flowed even more fiercely. She hugged the Twenty-Sixth Princess tightly, choking back sobs, "My precious child, I'm so sorry, I was wrong."
“Bao’er, your mother shouldn’t have brought you into this world, your mother shouldn’t have brought you into the palace.”
Consort Ji rambled on and on, saying things that seemed ambiguous. The twenty-sixth princess, her little face full of confusion, wondered to herself, "What's wrong with my mother? Why is she crying one minute and laughing the next?"
And he even said some things she couldn't understand.
Dusk falls
Xu Lejin looked up at the clouds on the horizon, thinking to herself, "So many things have happened in the palace today!"
Consort Ji was accused of practicing witchcraft and using aphrodisiacs; she was subsequently sentenced to death.
By now, Consort Ji should have already met her end!
I hope that in her next life, Consort Ji will not enter the palace, but will marry a man of equal social standing, be a good wife and mother, raise children, be a virtuous and kind person, and live a simple and peaceful life.
Turning her head to look at Ru Hua beside her, she parted her lips slightly and asked, "What time is it?"
"Your Majesty, it is three-quarters past Xu hour."
Xu Lejin responded with a faint "yes".
"With Consort Ji's execution, this matter should now come to an end. I hope such incidents will never happen again in the palace, and that everyone in the palace will live in peace."
Ruhua and Nongying exchanged a glance and said softly, "Your Majesty is kind and benevolent. Under the rule of Your Majesty and Consort Que, the palace will surely be harmonious and peaceful."
"Um,"
Standing up, Xu Lejin turned and went back to her room to rest.
At this time
Liu Ying stumbled into the palace, knelt down with a thud, and stammered, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened! The Twenty-Sixth Princess... the Twenty-Sixth Princess..."
"What happened to the twenty-sixth princess?"
Xu Lejin's heart skipped a beat, and she stared intently at Liu Ying.
Liu Ying sobbed uncontrollably, choking out, "Your Majesty, the twenty-sixth daughter of the Emperor..."
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