In the eighteenth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign, Ji Huan became pregnant for the second time.
In the same year, Consort Ling also became pregnant.
At this moment, Qingyin walked in and said to her, "Your Majesty, Consort Su is seriously ill, and I'm afraid things are not good."
Ji Huan sighed, "I am pregnant and cannot visit her in person. Please prepare some medicinal herbs and tonics to send to Consort Su. It is my way of showing my appreciation."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
After Qingyin left, Shuxiang said, "Your Majesty, this servant has found out that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Empress orchestrated Consort Su's serious illness."
"She should have thought this day would come when she caused someone to miscarry. What goes around comes around."
"Yes! But should we give it a push and expose this?"
Although the current empress is not bad, the struggles among the palace maids who are now concubines are ingrained in their bones.
Ji Huan shook her head: "No need. If His Majesty can find out the truth himself, then he can. If he can't, then so be it. I don't like Consort Su. I prefer a more peaceful harem."
With the emperor and empress at odds, there's bound to be constant infighting in the harem. She just wants to live a peaceful life as much as possible!
“But the Thirteenth Prince is about the same age as our Twelfth Prince, and he is also the legitimate son. The Emperor values legitimate sons, and the Emperor and Empress are in harmony. It is probably not easy for our Twelfth Prince to stand out.”
Shuxiang's statement is not wrong. As an imperial prince, he had many brothers before him and younger brothers born of the principal wife after him. Although he had a favored mother, Emperor Qianlong was a benevolent ruler and did not neglect the mothers of his other children too much.
Ji Huan, however, was not worried.
The quality of Qianlong's offspring is such that they are either as weak as the eleventh prince and require careful nurturing, or even then, they will have difficulty conceiving in the future.
Although the thirteenth prince was born of the legitimate wife, he was not clever enough.
Although the twelfth prince she "gave birth to" is still young, she can already see that he is extraordinary. He is good in all aspects, and with a systematic learning plan, it will not be a problem to cultivate him into a talent.
"Although our Emperor values legitimate children, he values Empress Fucha's legitimate children. The current Empress is respected by the Emperor, but as for how much he values her, I don't think so. The Emperor treats the Thirteenth Prince, the Second Prince, and the Seventh Prince far less."
Keeping such a not-so-bright eldest son, it might not be a bad thing that Qianlong "valued" him; after all, there is always disappointment when there is expectation!
She wouldn't say this to Shuxiang.
In addition, the Empress was a member of the Manchu Banner Army, and seeing that Consort Su was about to die, she could not let Qianlong have a bad impression of the Manchu Banner Army.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
In the following two weeks, Emperor Qianlong first restored Consort Su's title, and then conferred upon her the title of Imperial Noble Consort, but still could not keep this concubine who came from his former residence as a prince.
Soon after, the Imperial Noble Consort passed away.
The funeral was not particularly grand, because she looked haggard before her death. Although Emperor Qianlong had given her a title and honors in life, he was not so willing to do the same for her after death.
The Third Prince and the Sixth Prince were quite indignant, but they had no right to question it.
The eldest prince died in depression two years ago. He couldn't bear being reprimanded by Emperor Qianlong and died of resentment.
Learning from past mistakes, they could only grieve in silence.
After the death of Consort Chun, Emperor Qianlong treated her two sons much better, since they were his own flesh and blood. His previous words had eliminated the possibility of the Third Prince succeeding to the throne, and the Sixth Prince was sickly and unable to inherit the throne.
With two harmless sons, Emperor Qianlong generously displayed his fatherly love.
Now, the position of Imperial Concubine is vacant, but there is only one available.
Ji Huan naturally did not want to be subordinate to anyone.
Similarly, the other three had similar ideas.
Each of the four has their own strengths.
Ji Huan's advantage lay in her favor with the emperor and her status as a member of the Manchu Banner Army. It was no secret that Emperor Qianlong intended to promote the Manchu Banner Army. In addition, she had the twelfth prince, who was intelligent and quick-witted.
Consort Jia's advantage lies in her seniority and the fact that she has many children, including three princes. However, she has fallen out of favor in recent years. Although Emperor Qianlong values offspring, he is not so generous to concubines who are out of favor.
Then there's Consort Yu, the mother of the Fifth Prince. Her advantages are obvious: the Fifth Prince is getting older and is very intelligent, and Emperor Qianlong seems to have high hopes for him. Although Consort Yu is not favored, her son is.
Finally, there's Consort Ling. She was always favored by the emperor, which is similar to Ji Huan. However, she had no son, and given her background as a bondservant, her chances are slim.
Of the four concubines, two were from bondservant families.
But the Empress was a member of the Manchu Banner Army, and so was Consort Shu.
If the other imperial concubine were from the Manchu Banner, it would be too much of a favor to the Manchu Banner. Given Qianlong's penchant for maintaining balance, Ji Huan felt that if she didn't interfere, Consort Yu from the Mongol Banner would be a more likely candidate.
However, it's impossible to get her to give up.
She touched her stomach, which looked bulging under the system's simulation, but she didn't feel any discomfort. It was made of bionic skin, and it wasn't heavy, so it wouldn't put any burden on her internal organs and bones.
She knew what to do.
"Shuxiang, I remember, Consort Jia's people haven't been dealt with yet!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"No need to do anything for now, just pretend you don't know anything and relax your vigilance a little."
"But Her Majesty is pregnant. What if she wants to harm the young prince?"
"Don't worry, just keep a close eye on her in private. Whatever she does, just turn a blind eye."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Shuxiang knew that Jihuan probably had some plans.
Ji Huan had her own plans. Since Consort Jia had plotted to harm her, she needed to let Emperor Qianlong know that the bondservant concubines still harbored resentment.
Chen Mama has been by Consort Shu's side for many years, and it's time for Consort Jia to finish her career.
With Ji Huan's tacit approval, the people arranged by Consort Jia quickly gained access to Ji Huan's diet. However, Ji Huan's daily meals were irregular, and she often gave things away arbitrarily, so this process was bound to be slow.
On this day, Emperor Qianlong came to see her.
The two first discussed poetry, calligraphy, and painting in the study, and then had lunch together.
After taking only two bites, Ji Huan couldn't help but clutch her stomach.
"Your Majesty, my stomach hurts..."
Emperor Qianlong quickly said, "Li Yu, go and fetch the imperial physician."
As he spoke, Qianlong carried Jihuan into his bedchamber.
Soon, the imperial physician arrived, and after examining the patient, he gave the following conclusion.
"Your Majesty, Consort Rou has likely been consuming purslane, which has caused instability in her pregnancy. In my humble opinion, she has probably been using it for some time now."
Shuxiang, standing nearby, hurriedly said, "Impossible! Since Her Majesty became pregnant, her diet and daily necessities have been specially checked. It's impossible..."
The imperial physician interrupted her, saying, "Purslane is easy to find, but purslane juice is not so easy to detect. If it weren't for my experience in this area, this method would indeed be easily overlooked, and people would only mistake it for an ordinary unstable pregnancy. Your Majesty, may I examine what Your Majesty has been eating?"
Emperor Qianlong nodded: "Li Yu, take the imperial physician to examine him."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Upon examination, the imperial physician did indeed find purslane juice in the food, though in small amounts.
The imperial physician prescribed medicine, which stabilized Ji Huan's pregnancy. The physician also said that Ji Huan needed to rest in bed and should not move around recklessly.
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