That night, Wu Lingzhu didn't sleep much in the first half, but she fell asleep in the second half.
As the new day began, she heard from Su Bai and Xiao Bai how Consort De was suffering and how Consort Dai Jia was enjoying herself.
Kangxi's side wasn't neglected either. Knowing that Kangxi was also having a hard time, Wu Lingzhu was doing well, and her unease disappeared.
When the Sixth Prince got into trouble, neither Consort De nor Emperor Kangxi thought it was an accident. They investigated, but no matter how hard they tried, they found nothing.
Of course, it wasn't that Consort Dai Jia's actions were flawless; Wu Lingzhu secretly helped her. As a result, both Emperor Kangxi and Consort De felt that this matter was not simple, but they couldn't find out who did it no matter what they tried.
While Kangxi was completely bewildered, Consort De immediately turned her attention to Consort Daijia, knowing best what she had done.
Putting aside the disfigurement, just considering the problem with her legs, she immediately thought of the Seventh Prince's limp. But Consort Dai Jia was no pushover either; while she didn't perform flawlessly, she at least didn't leave any major flaws.
Consort De's suspicion is not the same as evidence; she has not found any evidence and cannot be certain.
Just then, some stories of karmic retribution suddenly spread in the palace, mostly about how the evil deeds of mothers were punished on their children. Consort De also heard about it, and for a moment, she wondered if she had committed too many sins, which was why her son had suffered so much.
The rumor came suddenly, and even Emperor Kangxi heard about it.
"Where did the news come from?"
"This servant is incompetent; the source of the information can no longer be found."
"Alright, tell me, does this matter have anything to do with the Sixth Prince?"
An emperor raised amidst intrigue is no innocent child. He may turn a blind eye to palace intrigues, but things change when it comes to children.
Previously, his focus was on the battlefield, but now that he sees good news on the battlefield, he naturally won't let the harem continue to be so lively.
He immediately connected the two things together.
Cause and effect, every cause has its effect.
Liang Jiugong: "This servant does not know."
"Are you unaware, or afraid to speak? If the Sixth Prince is the effect, then who do you think is the cause?"
During Consort De's rise to power, many concubines in the harem lost favor, miscarried, or lost their children. If someone dared to take the risk of harming the Sixth Prince, they would surely become his mortal enemy. So what did Consort De do?
Liang Jiugong: How could a mere servant like him presume to speculate on such matters? Wouldn't that put him in a difficult position?
Kangxi didn't expect to get the answer from Liang Jiugong, but he would deduce it from the opposite perspective: "Since it's not easy to investigate the mastermind behind the scenes, let's investigate Consort De! I want to know if Consort De really did something that deserves to be punished on the Sixth Prince."
Emperor Kangxi favored the Sixth Prince, who was a robust and spirited boy. The timing of his birth was also auspicious, and Emperor Kangxi had already decided on a name for him: Yinzuo.
But this sudden turn of events really angered Kangxi.
Prior to this, Emperor Kangxi had never doubted Consort De. Just by looking at her title and the favor she received, it was clear that Consort De was a woman of excellent virtue in Emperor Kangxi's eyes.
He also knew that the concubines in the harem could not withstand investigation, and under normal circumstances, he didn't want to investigate them, because if he found out, he would be the one who would feel disgusted.
He now has no choice but to investigate the situation.
Consort Dai Jia, Emperor Kangxi, and Consort De—these three were all under Wu Lingzhu's watchful eye. When she learned that Emperor Kangxi was going to investigate Consort De, Wu Lingzhu was satisfied; her efforts had not been in vain.
The story of cause and effect and retribution was fabricated by her. In modern times, aside from other things, there are indeed many gossip channels, and the stories are all very real.
Whatever Kangxi finds out, it won't do her any harm.
After this incident, the Sixth Prince was no longer affected by her.
She was still paying attention to what was happening afterward. However, Consort De had not yet evolved to the point where she could fully understand the Emperor's mind, so she only wanted to focus on the list of enemies and never imagined that Kangxi would investigate her.
Both sides are making moves. Now things are really messed up. Consort De is investigating based on the people she has targeted before, and Emperor Kangxi is investigating Consort De. Isn't this a perfect example of running into each other?
Liang Jiugong received Emperor Kangxi's order to investigate Consort De. He discovered that Consort De was systematically investigating other people, which made things incredibly convenient for Liang Jiugong. He was able to hitch a ride on Consort De's investigations, which was quite a stroke of luck.
"...Your Majesty, this is what I found out. Please take a look."
Because there were many things to do, Liang Jiugong compiled the information he had found into a document and submitted it.
When Emperor Kangxi read it, he felt a sense of both expectation and surprise.
"Noble Lady Nara, Consort Daijia..."
As he spoke, Kangxi suppressed his anger and said, "I didn't expect Consort De to be so capable."
The others were minor squabbles, and he could turn a blind eye to their rivalry for his affections, but these two involved the children.
The reason why Consort Nara's embroidered robe was made by Consort De was simply because Consort Nara had scolded Consort De a few times when Consort De was still a palace maid.
Wan Fu's premature death indirectly led to her premature birth. At the time, he received the news that Noble Lady Nara was not a loving mother and did not care for Wan Fu, which led to Wan Fu's premature death.
As for Consort Daijia, the inference that the Seventh Prince's lameness was man-made was incomplete, but for Kangxi, these inferences were enough.
Such a capable Consort De, Kangxi then said, "The Sixth Prince was implicated by his mother! Liang Jiugong, which one do you think is more likely to succeed, Noble Consort Nara or Consort Daijia?"
Liang Jiugong dared not say, only saying, "This servant is incompetent and cannot deduce anything. Without evidence, this servant dares not speak recklessly."
Kangxi shook his head: "You are indeed cautious. Well then, let's leave it at that!"
What could he do? The Sixth Prince was disfigured and injured his legs, but he was still alive. Noble Lady Nara had lost two children, and Consort Daijia also had a lame child.
Even an upright official finds it difficult to settle family disputes. This is still a family matter, and the key question is who these two women, Consort Nara and Consort Daijia, are. He hasn't even figured it out yet.
Suspicion cannot be used as evidence; this matter can only be resolved by muddling through.
Because of the incident involving the Sixth Prince, the birth of the Eighth Prince was not a joyous occasion, with only some routine rewards.
The matter ended in such a muddled way. Consort De was unwilling to accept this and privately mentioned it to Emperor Kangxi, but Kangxi gave her the cold shoulder, and she fell out of favor.
In that same year, Emperor Kangxi once again bestowed titles upon the imperial harem, much like in history. Consort Tong was promoted to Imperial Noble Consort, effectively reducing the number of consorts from four to three. Consort De remained Consort De and was not granted the title of consort.
Then, Consort Nara received the rank of Tongpin, and Consort Daijia received the rank of Chengpin.
Consort De looked at Consort Tong and Consort Cheng and belatedly realized that her secrets had been exposed. She dared not make any more moves and obediently raised the Sixth Prince. Although she wanted to have another son, she couldn't stop Kangxi from cooperating with her now.
The Sixth Prince's favor has also diminished, and Consort De is now much warmer towards the Fourth Prince than before, reportedly sending him handmade nightgowns several times.
Wu Lingzhu had heard a lot from Consort Cheng about the back-and-forth between Yonghe Palace and Chengqian Palace. Now, the main performers on the grand stage of the harem were Consort De and Imperial Noble Consort Tong.
Consort De was shrewd, but she lost the Emperor's favor. Now it seems that Imperial Noble Consort Tong has the upper hand. This result makes Consort Cheng very happy.
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