Wu Lingzhu's words stirred up Dai Jia's heart, shattering its usual tranquility.
People like to comfort themselves. Because of the Seventh Prince's affair, she felt guilty and remorseful, which was a very unpleasant feeling, so she desperately wanted to shift the blame.
Upon returning, she summoned her trusted confidants who were certain they would not betray her.
"Do you remember the jewelry I wore when I was pregnant with the Seventh Prince?"
"This servant will go and fetch the register."
The clothes and jewelry that the concubines in the palace didn't have were all registered. It's hard to say too much detail, but you can get a general idea from the register. The Seventh Prince was born not long ago, and I still remember some of the jewelry!
The mistress and servant busied themselves and found all the jewelry she had worn during her pregnancy. Perhaps Wu Lingzhu was referring to hairpins, because Consort Dai Jia's gaze was also drawn to hairpins.
Her maid stared at a hairpin and suddenly said, "My lady, this hairpin looks a little different from the one I had before!"
Consort Dai Jia looked at the blue gemstone hairpin: "How is it different?"
“I remember this hairpin was a gift from the Emperor. You liked it very much. At the time, it looked exceptionally bright, even brighter than a regular sapphire. But now it seems to have lost some of its luster.”
To become a trusted confidant of one's master, one must not only be loyal, but also have a keen mind.
Consort Dai Jia immediately frowned: "Privately investigate who has touched this hairpin, who has acted strangely, and probe them."
"Yes, my lord."
If it were a natural disaster, we could accept it, but it's a man-made disaster. Not only is Consort Dai Jia unwilling to accept it, but the palace maids are also unwilling! Who wouldn't want to follow a master with a promising future?
If the person behind this can be found, then the ominous rumors surrounding him can be dispelled, and it's not impossible for him to regain favor.
Xiao Bai came in: [The concubine Dai Jia you mentioned has already noticed something was wrong with the hairpin.]
"Thank you for your hard work. This is the bird's nest I prepared for you. Do you like it?"
Xiaobai was naturally pleased with what he said.
It was indeed difficult to investigate what Consort De had done to Consort Daijia, but Wu Lingzhu kept providing the answers! Every time we were about to lose our way, we would find some clues. After half a month, Consort Daijia finally found out that it was Consort De.
She hated it!
"Uya, that bitch, how dare she! I'll make her wish she were dead..."
Once inside the palace, who wouldn't want to be favored and live a good life? Who wouldn't want to be high above others and receive their homage?
She had a good start. She came from a background as a palace maid in the Qianqing Palace, and Emperor Kangxi liked her a bit. Not long after gaining favor, she became pregnant, but everything came to an abrupt end after she gave birth to her child.
All of this was thanks to Uya, how could she not hate her? She hated her to death.
"My lord, please keep your voice down. We don't have enough evidence."
"I'm not reconciled! Why should I be the one to receive this!"
“Your Highness, this is certainly not the first time Consort De has done something so despicable. As long as we keep an eye on her, she will inevitably slip up eventually, and then she will suffer the consequences.”
"That's not enough. I want the Sixth Prince to experience the suffering my son endured as well."
The confidant was stunned. That was a prince. But then he thought of the Seventh Prince. The Seventh Prince was also a prince. But Consort De still did it. They did it once, so it was just a matter of retribution.
Thinking of this, the confidant nodded: "What does Your Highness want me to do?"
Consort Dai Jia regained her composure and calmed down temporarily: "No rush. We are prepared to take advantage of the unprepared. We will eventually tear off her hypocritical face. She came to comfort me after the Seventh Prince was born. Just thinking about it now makes me feel extremely disgusted. I even thought she was a good person. In the end, I can't compare to her ruthlessness."
Like Consort De, she was originally a palace maid. Now, Consort De is the leader of the concubines who started as palace maids. She has a very good reputation among the lower-level concubines and palace servants in the harem. The more she thinks about it, the angrier she gets.
After the Seventh Prince was born, Consort Dai Jia received much comfort from Consort De. Before learning the truth, she was grateful to Consort De.
Consort De has a pleasing face. Men can lower their guard and want to confide in her, and women will also feel that she is kind and considerate.
The more she thought about it, the angrier and more resentful she became: "You can know a person's face but not their heart. Uya, you shameless, shameless, shameless... Go and tell my mother what Uya has done. Although our family has not been in the palace as long as Uya, we are not to be bullied."
"Yes, my lord."
When Consort Dai entered the palace, she carried the hopes of her family. The Seventh Prince was born lame, and her family's hopes were dashed at least during the Kangxi era.
I saw Consort Daijia again at the Lantern Festival banquet on the fifteenth. Consort Daijia looked much the same as last time, but if you looked closely, you would find that her gaze kept drifting toward Consort De sitting in front of her.
Consort De was favored and received too much attention, so she didn't notice this particular glance.
Wu Lingzhu asked, "What are you looking at, Sister Dai Jia?"
When Consort Dai saw Wu Lingzhu, she felt a sense of gratitude. However, she had now realized that what Wu Lingzhu had said on New Year's Day was probably intentional. Whether Wu Lingzhu truly knew what she was thinking or was just guessing, she was indeed grateful.
At least she now knows who her enemy is.
Otherwise, she would probably still be treating her enemy as a benefactor right now!
She smiled and said, "We're just watching others have fun. We've hit it off, so don't call me Sister Dai Jia. Just call me Sister Baozhu."
Wu Lingzhu smiled and changed her address: "Sister Baozhu, my maiden name is Wu Lingzhu."
The two began to see each other privately after the banquet.
When Consort Dai Jia's father received the message from his daughter, he hated Consort De even more than she did. This was outrageous! All the bondservant families wanted to rise up. You rise up your way, I rise up mine. Let's not talk about cooperation, so don't undermine me!
What's the big deal? Just because it might block your way, you cut off my family's path. We accepted it without them finding out. Now that they know, we can't just suffer this loss in silence.
Thinking of this, Consort Dai's father began to use his connections to help his daughter.
In February, it was the sixth prince's first birthday. Emperor Kangxi was very happy and arranged a grand first birthday banquet. Wu Lingzhu didn't have a chance to go, but Xiao Bai said it was very lively.
The excitement continued into the evening.
Xiao Dunzi rushed in anxiously: "Princess, something has happened to the Sixth Prince."
Wu Lingzhu: "What could possibly happen to the Sixth Prince?"
"When we were leaving after the banquet tonight, the wet nurse was carrying the Sixth Prince and she fell. The Sixth Prince was disfigured and broke his leg. The imperial physician said that he may have some problems walking in the future."
Wu Lingzhu paused for a moment, then waved her hand and said, "I understand. You may leave."
This was retaliation from Consort Daijia. To call it vicious? Compared to Consort De, it's not so much; after all, it was just an eye for an eye.
If Consort Dai had used that hairpin a few more times, the Seventh Prince wouldn't have just been lame. If he was truly disabled, there were many things going on in the court when the Seventh Prince was born. To avoid people using the child as a pretext, he could have been secretly executed.
From the perspective of later generations, the Sixth Prince was disfigured and broke his leg, but he probably survived.
Having a physical defect and having to choose between life and death, life is naturally more important. But he was born into royalty, and his brothers will all be outstanding in the future, which may be a kind of torment for him.
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