An Ning felt relieved and closed the doors of Changchun Palace to recuperate. Outside, she received much more praise.
It wasn't uncommon for concubines in the imperial harem to poison each other. After all, the harem was crowded, boring, and full of conflicts of interest. Most of the concubines came from good families and had some secret medicines in stock.
Therefore, it's normal for all sorts of shady dealings to continue.
In the past, Emperor Kangxi was quite lenient when encountering such matters, as long as it did not involve his offspring. At most, he would order the person to be executed. If it involved a favored concubine, it might implicate her family and cause them to lose their official positions.
However, this time, Emperor Kangxi directly ruined the future prospects of the participating families.
Yonghe Palace, where Consort De resides.
"Why does His Majesty seem a bit off this time?"
The old woman didn't quite understand: "His Majesty's methods against Consort Xia were indeed a bit harsh this time, but His Majesty's prestige is now very strong, so it's not incomprehensible."
After being emperor for a long time, one naturally hates people doing things against one's will. Consort Shu was in favor, and Consort Xia poisoned her. If it hadn't been discovered, it would have been fine, but if it had been discovered, wouldn't that have been a slap in the face to the emperor?
There was an interesting unspoken rule in Emperor Kangxi's harem: no matter how high your rank, you couldn't lay a hand on a favored concubine unless it involved your offspring. Of course, if the favored concubine was too outrageous, that was another matter.
An Ning, this favored concubine, was clearly very well-behaved.
For Xia, a disgraced concubine, to target a favored prince was indeed a challenge to the emperor's authority.
Even Consort De thought that Consort Xia had gone mad.
Consort De shook her head: "You don't understand. I have served the Emperor for many years and know him quite well. The Emperor is not the kind of person who would implicate the court for the sake of a woman."
It doesn't matter if Xia himself is removed from the list of bondservants of the Upper Three Banners; that means he is no longer the emperor's closest servant.
"Does Your Majesty mean that the Emperor is interested in Consort Shu? This servant doesn't think so. Although Consort Shu is favored, her appearance is not the Emperor's type."
Consort De couldn't guess Kangxi's thoughts either. She had a feeling that something was wrong, but she really didn't know what it was.
"Never mind, there's only Consort Shu, no matter how favored she is, she won't affect the overall situation."
Emperor Kangxi was in good health, and Consort De had two sons, so she clearly had some ideas.
Emperor Kangxi was approaching forty, which was no longer young. Emperors were usually busy day and night and did not live long. Although Kangxi looked healthy, he could only live for another ten or twenty years at most.
Even though Consort Shu was favored and gave birth to a prince, she no longer had the ability to compete in the court.
Although Consort De was worried that Anning was too favored, she didn't really consider her a threat.
The high-ranking concubines in the harem were all intelligent people, and they shared similar thoughts with Consort De. They felt that Anning was nothing to fear, and those who had objections were mostly the younger, fresh-faced concubines and junior consorts.
Of these, Consort Wang was the most concerned.
Before Anning, Consort Wang was the most favored.
As a Han woman, she gave birth to a son in the harem. Consort Wang possessed beauty, talent, temperament, and shrewdness.
However, all of this was based on Kangxi's favor towards her, and Kangxi's "special" treatment of Anning made Consort Wang somewhat afraid, as she feared losing favor.
She was a Han woman, nominally the daughter of an official from Jiangnan, but in reality an adopted daughter. Essentially, she was a specially trained "skinny horse," someone who could be discarded by the Jiangnan official at any time.
If she is favored, she will receive some support from Jiangnan, giving her enough money to maintain the relationship. If she is not favored, we can see her fate by looking at the sickly Consort Lin in the Changchun Palace.
She also had a son, and the influence of his mother's favor or disfavor on him was also significant.
“My lady, His Majesty hasn’t sent any rewards for some time, and I’ve noticed that the servants below are becoming somewhat lax.”
Consort Wang sighed, a look of sorrow on her face.
"Let's try tapping it first. If that doesn't work, I'll ask the Empress for her protection again."
Consort Wang lived in Yonghe Palace, which was strictly under the jurisdiction of Consort De. Consort Wang respected Consort De very much, and she could not compare to Consort De in any way.
"Your Highness, if Her Majesty were truly so kind, she would not have tolerated my negligence. I wonder if Her Majesty might want Your Highness to test Consort Shu?"
Consort Wang looked helpless: "So what if it is? I was able to give birth to the Fifteenth Prince safely thanks to the grace of Consort De. But who dares to test the Emperor's intentions?"
"That's settled then. With the Fifteenth Prince around, the Emperor won't completely forget me. As for favor? Imperial grace flows like water; the Empress won't force me to do anything."
She had long known that imperial favor could not be forced.
“My lady, I still feel that things can’t go on like this. There’s something I haven’t told you yet. I caught a wet nurse who’s not taking care of the Fifteenth Prince properly. She was sick but kept it a secret, and the Fifteenth Prince almost drank her milk.”
"The Emperor used to come often, how dare the wet nurse be so bold? Your Highness, without his favor, and with the Fifteenth Prince still so young, what should we do?"
Consort Wang remained silent.
Yonghe Palace has no shortage of children. Consort De is only the nominal foster mother of the Fifteenth Prince. In reality, the child is still raised by her.
Her son was her only support; he couldn't be allowed to get into trouble.
"Let me think about it."
She's in a lowly position, so taking the initiative to show herself is risky. If she succeeds, great; if she fails, the rumors and gossip could drown her.
After much deliberation, Consort Wang decided to take a gamble.
Emperor Kangxi was the kind of person who loved to the point of wanting to live and hated to the point of wanting to die. In the past, when Consort Wang was favored, strictly speaking, she never actively competed for his favor.
She received favor because Emperor Kangxi chose to favor her, and she was able to maintain his favor for several years because her talent and temperament pleased him.
Emperor Kangxi disliked people who lacked boundaries and preferred people who were knowledgeable and tactful. Consort Wang was actually very afraid of displeasing Emperor Kangxi.
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