"emperor!"
The Queen Mother was puzzled to see that Emperor Qin Huan was so harsh to Concubine Jiang. In the eyes of the Queen Mother, Concubine Jiang was the most blessed and most worthy woman in the world. However, Emperor Qin Huan did not seem to have any preference for Concubine Jiang because of the unborn child. Instead, he was particularly concerned about Concubine Heng.
This realization reminded the Queen Mother of what Concubine Jiang said in the Yiku Palace. Concubine Heng had been favored for many times but had no pregnancy. Now she had become a stumbling block that prevented Concubine Jiang from gaining favor. She was indeed a monster!
The Queen Mother pleaded earnestly, "Your Majesty, Concubine Jiang is pregnant. Why do you always act like you care more about Concubine Heng? Concubine Heng has been favored by you for over a month, but there's been no news. On the other hand, Concubine Jiang got pregnant after just a few nights with you. Doesn't Your Majesty have a sense of what's more important?"
Emperor Qin Huan remained calm. He explained to the Queen Mother, "Queen Mother, the child in Lady Jiang's womb is naturally the most important. However, Lady Jiang is foolish and domineering, and is unworthy of being my son's mother."
"Emperor! What do you mean?"
An expression of disbelief emerged on the empress dowager's old face. She looked in horror at her son, whom she did not know very well and who had been the emperor for twenty years. She did not even dare to think about what Emperor Qin Huan had just meant when he said that he was not worthy of being a mother.
However, Emperor Qin Huan did not allow the Queen Mother to escape. What he wanted to do was always irreversible. Since he had made the decision, he was not afraid of the Queen Mother knowing it.
"Queen Dowager, you should consider my son. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I will only have this one child in my lifetime. His mother absolutely cannot be a fool like Concubine Jiang."
"You, you, you...Emperor, tell me the truth," the Queen Mother said with trembling hands, terrified by her son's cruelty. A mother could actually be terrified of her son. "Have you already decided to kill the mother and keep the son, then hand the heir over to Concubine Heng for upbringing? That's why you let Concubine Jiang live in Yikun Palace?!"
"Since the Queen Mother has already guessed it, I won't hide it any further. Concubine Heng has a pure and innocent nature, is intelligent, and is deeply devoted to me. If my prince can grow up under Concubine Heng's care, he will surely inherit the throne in the future."
"Emperor! Concubine Heng is of humble origin, a mere tea-serving maid in the Empress's palace. How could she shoulder the heavy responsibility of raising a prince? I understand your fondness for Concubine Heng. If you feel that the status of a concubine is unfair to her, you could have made her a Zhaoyi, a concubine, or even a Royal Noble Concubine. Why must Concubine Jiang die? She was the concubine who gave birth to your prince!"
Emperor Qin Huan's eyes were dark and unclear. He stroked the jade ring on his finger and said, "Queen Dowager, in my eyes, Concubine Jiang is just the daughter of a lowly ninth-rank official. Moreover, you know that there are some disputes between Concubine Jiang and Concubine Heng. If Concubine Jiang survives, she will inevitably use her pregnancy as a precondition to harm Concubine Heng. I am taking precautions."
Emperor Qin Huan finished his words and left Shoukang Palace, leaving behind the Empress Dowager, who seemed to have aged ten years. Nanny Chen beside the Empress Dowager dropped the teacup worriedly.
"Your Highness, please don't worry too much. Concubine Jiang has used up her entire life's luck to have the blessing of giving birth to Your Majesty's child. This is also her fate."
"I never thought the emperor could be so cruel. If it was Concubine Heng who diagnosed her with pregnancy today, would he be as cruel as he was to Concubine Jiang? He loves her and wants her to live, and hates her and wants her to die. The emperor is like this, it must be because of Concubine Heng's instigation! Concubine Jiang is right, Concubine Heng must not be allowed to stay any longer!"
Nanny Chen was so anxious that she no longer cared about the distinction between high and low. "Empress Dowager, His Majesty's intentions are crystal clear. Why bother getting involved in this mess? Whether it's Concubine Jiang or Concubine Heng, as long as the heir is safe, isn't that enough? If you were to make things difficult for Concubine Heng at this moment, it would certainly be bad for His Majesty to be caught in the middle."
The Queen Mother had made up her mind. She said, "The Emperor believes Concubine Heng will treat the heir as her own, but I don't believe it. Concubine Jiang and Concubine Heng are enemies, and everyone in the palace knows it. How could she treat Concubine Jiang's heir well? I have already made up my mind. My birthday is in half a month, and I will get rid of Concubine Heng at the banquet on that day."
"You go down first and call Kang Qi in."
Kang Qi was the Empress Dowager's most trusted eunuch, the head eunuch of Shoukang Palace. Although Nanny Chen thought the Empress Dowager was confused, she knew that he was still the most noble heir to the throne. With Emperor Qin Huan around, who could bully him? But she was only a servant after all, and she couldn't stop the Empress Dowager if she was determined to do something.
…
This confrontation between the Emperor and the Empress Dowager within Shoukang Palace was unknown to anyone else. The Empress Dowager simply explained that moving a pregnant woman to another palace would cause miscarriage, which was why Concubine Jiang remained dormant in Yikun Palace. Even so, the number of concubines fawning over Concubine Jiang continued to increase. Besides Empress Rongfei and Bai Yuzhi herself, even Wei Zhaoyi and Meng Jieyu frequently frequented the side halls of Yikun Palace.
There was a lot of commotion in the side hall. Bai Yuzhi leaned on the imperial concubine couch in annoyance. Recently, because Concubine Jiang was pregnant, Emperor Qin Huan no longer cared whether the baby in her belly was a boy or a girl. He was busy cleaning up the ministers who had tried to force him to establish a prince. So he had not set foot in the harem for more than ten days. The only two times he came were to Yikun Palace to see Bai Yuzhi and the pregnant Concubine Jiang.
Jin Tai brought a bowl of bird's nest, her face looking awkward. Although she was Emperor Qin Huan's servant, she had always been dedicated to serving Bai Yuzhi. Seeing her like this, Bai Yuzhi teased her, "What's wrong, our sister Jin Tai? Are you unhappy because I ordered you to get a bowl of bird's nest? Then I'll let Yin Ting go next time."
Jin Tai couldn't stand this. She put the bird's nest on the table and stamped her feet. "Oh, my beautiful lady, this is not the fault of this servant. It was the one in the side hall who stole your red bird's nest! Now the imperial kitchen is after her. We can only take the white bird's nest."
Bai Yuzhi's expression did not change. She didn't really like bird's nests, but Emperor Qin Huan insisted that she eat it. Besides, Concubine Jiang was "pregnant" now, so it was normal.
but.
"Aren't there still plenty of blood swallows? Why, does Lady Jiang want to eat a whole bowl a day?"
Jin Tai curled her lips and said, "The Imperial Kitchen said that Lady Jiang said it was inconvenient to send someone to get it every day, so she took away all the leftovers. Now the green willow in her palace is being cooked. I saw it on the way back."
That's just looking for trouble.
Thinking about the Empress Dowager's Grand Autumn Banquet that would be held in a few days, Bai Yuzhi always felt that a storm was coming, because it was not worth it to give others a handle over a bowl of bird's nest. But even if she didn't go looking for it, someone would not give up.
Yin Ting suddenly came into the hall and reported: "My lady, someone has come from Lady Jiang's place and wants you to go to the side hall."
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