Kangxi instructed Liang Jiugong to arrange the funeral of Consort Lin and to investigate any suspicious matters. Then he took Anning's hand and left.
Watching the two figures leave, Consort Chen couldn't help but say enviously, "Consort Shu is truly blessed! She has the Emperor's favor, an enviable family background, and a healthy prince."
She had nothing, the gap was too big, she couldn't even feel jealous.
The palace maid standing nearby agreed with this statement; indeed, some people are just so lucky.
Chen Changzai could only sigh; she truly dared not do anything now.
The next day, Anning got busy. Fortunately, Consort Lin's rank was too low, she had no children, and she was not involved with any forces outside the palace, so the funeral was easily handled.
That evening, Liang Jiugong presented the results of his investigation to Emperor Kangxi, which greatly displeased the emperor.
"Consort Yu is demoted to a commoner and ordered to commit suicide. The palace servants involved are also ordered to die."
After thinking about it, he still felt it wasn't enough.
"Also, have Consort Tong come to the Qianqing Palace tomorrow."
"Yes, sir."
Emperor Kangxi was displeased. The investigation results came out, and it was true that Consort Lin was not doing well. However, her death was not normal. Noble Lady Yu had a grudge against Consort Lin. The two had been pregnant at the same time, but neither of their children survived.
This time, Consort Yu was instigated by someone who claimed that Consort Lin had caused her child's death, and they provided some dubious "evidence." Consort Yu lost her child and has become somewhat confused.
Then she was manipulated and caused Consort Lin to die on the night of Yin Yi's full moon celebration.
Consort Yu couldn't have handled this alone. The four consorts had powerful connections in the harem and secretly instigated and pushed things forward. They did it discreetly, and strictly speaking, it wasn't particularly excessive. However, the fact that it was targeted at Anning displeased Emperor Kangxi.
The next day, Consort Tong received an imperial edict from the Qianqing Palace and immediately came over.
To be honest, she didn't quite understand why Kangxi was looking for her. The biggest event in the palace recently was the death of Consort Lin. Liang Jiugong had already dealt with everyone yesterday, and logically, this matter should have ended there.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects."
"Your Highness, please rise and sit."
Consort Tong rose and sat down: "Thank you, Your Majesty. I wonder if Your Majesty has anything to instruct me on?"
Kangxi: "There are some things. Consort Lin died suddenly and violently in Changchun Palace. Now Noble Lady Yu has confessed her crimes, but I feel that the rules and regulations of the harem are not up to par. What do you think, Consort?"
Consort Tong didn't quite understand his meaning, so she asked, "What does Your Majesty mean?"
"I would like to have Consort Shu take over some of the palace affairs. What does the Imperial Consort think?"
Consort Tong naturally felt it was inappropriate, but could she refuse Emperor Kangxi? Did she dare to refuse Emperor Kangxi?
However, she still had to struggle a bit: "Sister Shu has just finished her postpartum confinement and still has to take care of the Sixteenth Prince. Her energy is limited. I'm afraid she won't be able to handle taking on some of the palace affairs."
Emperor Kangxi shook his head: "Consort Shu comes from the Ulanara clan and is the legitimate daughter of Fei Yanggu. I have great confidence in the Ulanara clan's upbringing. Consort, please make the arrangements!"
Consort Tong had no choice but to reply, "Yes, Your Majesty."
This is a really difficult matter. She doesn't have much palace affairs to handle, and she has to keep them all to herself. She can't give them away. If she wants Anning to have palace affairs to take over, she can only take some of them from the four concubines' palace affairs.
This would jeopardize the interests of the four concubines.
When Emperor Kangxi asked Consort Tong to do this, he was essentially telling her to help Anning out.
Confronting the four concubines is not what Consort Tong wants!
But she dared not refuse Kangxi's request.
Being caught in a dilemma is truly unpleasant.
Consort Tong returned to Chengqian Palace from Qianqing Palace with a long face.
"Your Majesty, what did the Emperor say?" asked Consort Tong's trusted nanny, puzzled.
Consort Tong said helplessly, "His Majesty wants me to give a portion of the palace power held by the four consorts to Consort Shu?"
The old woman was shocked: "Has His Majesty lost his mind? How could he make such a decision? And why is it that Your Highness is making the decision?"
Consort Tong smiled bitterly: "It's probably related to the sudden death of Consort Lin."
The old woman still couldn't understand: "When Consort Lin died suddenly, Her Majesty didn't interfere; she just watched coldly. The Fourth Consort did make some moves, but those should have been harmless matters to the Emperor. Why would the Emperor interfere with the Fourth Consort's palace affairs? And why did he ask Her Majesty to do this? Isn't this putting Her Majesty in a very difficult position?"
Consort Tong: "I don't know why Your Majesty would blame the four consorts for such a small matter. However, I know that Your Majesty did so because he knew that I had stood by and watched Consort Lin die suddenly. That's why he asked me to do this offending thing. Your Majesty is blaming me."
The old woman frowned: "Why is the Emperor blaming the Empress? It wasn't the Empress who harmed Consort Lin."
Consort Tong shook her head: "Granny, haven't you understood after all these years? My position as a consort comes at a price. If I do anything that displeases the Emperor, he will push me out."
The old woman fell silent. Consort Tong held the highest position in the harem, but without children, her position was merely a castle in the air, of little use. If she could alleviate the Emperor's worries, all would be well; otherwise, what awaited her was certainly not a good day.
She should have understood long ago, but she really couldn't understand why Consort Shu was so favored. She wasn't even a beauty that could topple kingdoms, so her favor was inexplicable.
With a sigh, Consort Tong had to pull herself together: "Go and invite the four consorts over. Tell them I have something to discuss with them, something very important."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The four consorts were all puzzled when they received Consort Tong's message, and went to Chengqian Palace with a belly full of questions.
Meanwhile, Kangxi went to Changchun Palace.
An Ning was somewhat surprised to see Kangxi: "Why has Your Majesty come?"
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