Seeing that Qingyin hadn't misunderstood, An Lingrong asked worriedly, "Does Your Majesty know why there are so few children in the palace?"
Qingyin pretended not to know and asked suspiciously, "Were you set up?"
An Lingrong nodded, then shook her head, and said directly without any riddles: "The children in this palace are few and far between because of the Empress's persecution. The few who survived are either lucky or because of their own protection."
"Your Majesty, to be honest, your pregnancy has also been targeted by the Empress. Consort Kang and Consort Zhen are the Empress's people. I'm sure they'll come to Yuehua Palace to visit you in a few days, hoping to lure you out and cause you a minor injury so that I can send you a scar-removing ointment containing musk."
At this point, An Lingrong knelt down to pay her respects, but Qingyin stopped her.
"Your Majesty, I am weak and alone and can only rely on Your Majesty the Empress. I have to take birth control pills almost every day. To be honest, these pills have already ruined my health and I can no longer get pregnant. I beg Your Majesty to accept me. I am willing to go through fire and water for Your Majesty."
Qingyin pulled An Lingrong to sit down again before gently saying, "I know you came with sincerity, so there's no need for formalities. I know about the Empress's matter, and I will take precautions. Since you have the Empress's orders, why not put on an act these days to mislead the Empress?"
An Lingrong: "Sister, I understand. But there's one thing I have to tell you. I suspect that the Empress killed Empress Chun Yuan. Although the Empress and Empress Chun Yuan were sisters, one was born of the principal wife and the other of a concubine. The Empress was the one born of a concubine. She married the Emperor first and became a secondary consort. But later, somehow Chun Yuan also married the Emperor. According to what I've heard, when the Empress's eldest son, Hong Hui, died, the Emperor invited him to take care of the newly pregnant Empress Chun Yuan. There must be a motive behind this."
Qingyin watched as An Lingrong, who had told her the Empress's biggest secret, also told her about her suspicions regarding Shen Meizhuang, Zhen Huan, and Imperial Physician Wen. She was truly amazing; this intuition was like having X-ray vision of this little world. If she wasn't certain that An Lingrong was an original inhabitant, Qingyin would have suspected that she had transmigrated from another time.
It seems we can win this world again by doing nothing. Qingyin looked at An Lingrong, who was talking eloquently, with an appreciative smile in her eyes.
When Qingyin and An Lingrong came out, Yulan and Granny Ma clearly noticed that Consort An and Qingyin were getting closer. Zhimeng, who was mixed in with them, nodded to herself. With the Empress's latest warning, she was constantly monitoring Consort Xian's movements and paying attention to Consort An's contact with Consort Xian. She was also helping Consort An gain Consort Xian's favor. As expected of the Empress's people, Consort An had already established a good relationship with Consort Xian so quickly. However, when she explained this to the Empress, she would just mention it briefly.
When Ye Lanyi arrived, An Lingrong was still sitting in Yuehua Palace, chatting and laughing, calling out to Sister Xian.
Um! ! !
She was only a little late today, and someone was already trying to steal Xian-jie's number one best sister from her? Looking at Consort An, whom she didn't usually interact with, Ye Lanyi's eyes blazed with competitive fire.
Next, Qingyin enjoyed the tender affection from both Ye Lanyi and An Lingrong. They practically wanted to feed Qingyin the washed fruit directly to her mouth. An Lingrong, being the most tactful, slightly loosened her competitive stance with Ye Lanyi. Looking at Consort Ling's smug smile, An Lingrong was unmoved. She had overthought things and actually started arguing with such a childish person.
Seeing that An Lingrong was unresponsive, Ye Lanyi lowered her guard slightly and carefully observed Qingyin's changes. Seeing what Qingyin liked more, she brought the plate of fruit to Qingyin.
Yulan, who was standing guard to the side, was speechless. She looked at Consort Ling with a mournful expression. Consort Ling was good to her mistress in every way, and she was good to her mistress, but she just loved to compete with them for work.
In the past few months, Qingyin had occasionally met with Consort Kang and Consort Zhen, but she had a general understanding of their personalities. Neither of them were particularly intelligent, and they sometimes seemed guilty when they were with her. Qingyin pretended not to notice their inappropriate behavior.
Her belly was now swelling up like a balloon, and she was diagnosed with quintuplets when she was four months pregnant. This shocked Emperor Yongzheng, who became even more cautious in his treatment of Qingyin, as evidenced by the increasing number of secret guards protecting her.
News of the quintuplets spread throughout the palace, shattering many innocent vases and ornaments.
At Yongshou Palace, Zhen Huan was also alarmed by the news.
During this period, one bad news after another came, making her look quite unwell. She looked towards Yuehua Palace all day long, feeling extremely distressed. The Emperor's affection for Consort Xian was truly unique, far surpassing even when she was at her most favored. Thinking of Meng Jingxian's face, which seemed to have a bug, Zhen Huan felt a sense of panic. She couldn't help but have wild thoughts: what if the Emperor forgot about her for Consort Xian? What would happen to her Hongzhan and Lingxi?
"No, Meng Jingxian's pregnancy must end!"
Cui Jinxi was undoubtedly one of the people who understood Zhen Huan the most. She understood that Zhen Huan felt a sense of loss towards the Emperor. After all, she used to be the Emperor's most favored person. Moreover, she was beautiful and intelligent. She didn't suffer much after entering the palace. On the contrary, she won for a long time because of her face. Now, a virtuous concubine who made her face completely useless has come. It would be strange if she didn't feel unbalanced.
She comforted her, saying, "Your Majesty, the Emperor has brought you back because he cares about you. You must stay calm. Even the most beautiful woman will grow old one day. You still have the princess and the princes."
After calming down for a moment, Zhen Huan realized that this period might actually be a good thing for her. Since the Emperor couldn't go to Yuehua Palace, he would most likely come to her. She had to seize the opportunity to spend some more time with the Emperor and remember how good he had been to her in the past.
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