Regardless of what the two princes were thinking, as time went on, the capital city had already begun preparations for the imperial selection.
The imperial concubines from various regions began arriving in Beijing last winter.
Because Tuotuo was in the capital, martial law was strictly enforced everywhere.
Shangguan Ba and Ding Min were even busier, patrolling day and night, not allowing the slightest mistake to occur.
At the end of February, news came from the Yan family.
"They say that Fourth Miss is having a very hard time these days. She punished one of the Prince Consort's favorite concubines, and as a result, the woman miscarried. Because of this, the Prince Consort used his whip. Now Fourth Miss can't get out of bed, so she told her family," Baihe said.
"A whip?" Yan Nangui smiled. "Even if the bond between husband and wife has faded, she's still my cousin. How could you be so cruel?"
“Your Majesty, this matter… has come to us for help, don’t you think?” Baihe asked.
"Since they've come to me for help, I have to take care of it. Go out of the palace tomorrow and visit them. Bring some gifts and offer your regards." Yan Nangui smiled and said, "Now that I am the Empress, this is a matter within the imperial clan, and she is my sister. It wouldn't be right not to ask, or people would say I'm petty, wouldn't they?"
“Your Highness is very magnanimous. It’s their fault. I will definitely do my job well tomorrow,” Baihe said.
"Hmm, Yan Jinfei is like this, what about Yan Jinsi?"
"Well... I haven't heard anything from the Third Miss right now," Baihe said.
The wild geese waved goodbye and left it at that.
At this moment, in Yan Jinsi's residence, she listened to the maid's words and tightly gripped her handkerchief.
In truth, how could the matter of Rong Ning's death be completely kept secret? At least her daughter knew the truth.
The sadness has already passed.
At that moment, she took a deep breath: "Should I...go and take a look?"
The maidservant cautiously advised, "Although you are sisters, ... that prince consort is clearly a prince, but ... he can only hold the title of prince consort. He is someone whom the Empress Dowager and His Majesty dislike. If you go, what will the palace think? You still have two children."
Yan Jinsi bit her lip and waved her hand.
Mother is gone, and Father no longer cares about them.
The three siblings were naturally close, but it seemed as if they didn't recognize each other anymore.
Now that Yan Jinfei has gotten into trouble and been beaten, the whole capital knows about it.
If she doesn't go to see it either...
Although these two sisters have rarely seen each other in private over the years, there is still a grudge between them.
But if she didn't go see it, she felt she wouldn't be able to get past this hurdle.
So, the next day, Yan Jinsi packed her things and took a carriage to Princess Jiamin's residence.
Just in time for Lily to arrive.
After Baihe paid her respects, she greeted everyone. Shu Ke was also home today. How could he dare not see the Empress's people?
Perhaps fearing something might happen to him, Princess Yiyu also rushed over.
The poor princess was pregnant and had a protruding belly.
Princess Yiyu was the eighth princess of the late emperor, the one who married Wei Xiao's nephew.
Shu Ke's older sister.
"May the princess be well." Lily hurriedly greeted her.
"No, no, I heard about yesterday's events this morning. The Prince Consort has lost his mind. How could he do such a thing? Whatever the reason, it's his fault. And what about that vile woman? She stirred up trouble between the Princess and the Prince Consort. That damned thing, bring her to me!"
At this moment, Princess Yiyu was the most powerful person present, and if she wanted to promote someone, Shu Ke couldn't stop her.
Before long, a servant brought in a frail-looking woman. She looked unwell and was very weak after her miscarriage.
Princess Yiyu showed no mercy: "Give this slut twenty lashes first!"
"Eighth Sister!" Shu Ke exclaimed anxiously.
"Kneel down! Have I lost control of you? You beat your wife for a lowly concubine, and you still think you're right?" Yi Yu slammed his fist on the table.
No matter what Shu Ke had to say, all he could do was feel heartbroken when faced with Yi Yu's large belly.
"It was my fault, please... please, Eighth Sister, spare her life, I promise I will never do it again." He said this pitifully.
Yi Yu couldn't bear to upset her, but the Empress's sister was a formidable fighter.
He was still unable to get up after being whipped.
Yes, the Empress Dowager dislikes this younger sister.
No matter how much you hate them, they are still members of the Yan family.
She may not like it, but outsiders can't openly slap her in the face.
Besides, the siblings were already in an awkward situation, and the Empress Dowager was always looking for trouble. Now that this has happened, what if the Empress Dowager investigates?
"Young master, save me..." The concubine rushed over and grabbed Shu Ke's leg when she saw that things were not going well.
They never called him "郡马" (junma), they always called him "公子" (gongzi).
"How dare you! Who do you think you are? Who gave you the right to speak here? Drag him out and let me beat him!" Princess Yiyu roared.
Someone pulled her out while she was busy, and this time Shu Ke didn't stop her.
"Princess, please calm down. Your health is important," Yan Jinsi finally spoke.
“Yes, Princess, please calm down. She’s just an ignorant child. You’re seven months pregnant, aren’t you? Please be careful. When I get back, I’ll definitely tell Your Highness to deal with her properly,” Baihe said.
"It's all the fault of the Prince Consort; he's been deceived. Even if it's a quarrel between husband and wife, how can one use a whip?" Princess Yiyu sighed.
"Why don't we go and see how Princess Jiamin is doing?" Baihe asked.
"Yes, yes, it's my pleasure. I'll go now." Princess Yiyu smiled.
So the three of them went together to the main courtyard.
Yan Jinfei knew they had arrived, and she struggled to get up.
She was beaten yesterday, and she was covered in bruises. Although there were no cuts on her body, she had two cuts on her face.
The imperial physician examined him and said that he wouldn't be left with scars, but at this point, the scars on his face were extremely unsightly.
The three of them were taken aback when they saw her.
The cheek that was slapped swelled up, and there was also a mark on the forehead.
The surrounding skin became red and swollen overnight, and half of my face was unrecognizable.
"This humble woman pays her respects to Princess Yiyu." She was helped down to the ground.
He was in a lot of pain all over his body, and his expression was terrible.
"You...you don't need to be so polite, why...why is it so serious?" Princess Yiyu was at a loss for words.
I thought it was just a couple of slaps, but how hard was that?
The scars on her neck were clearly visible through her inner garment.
His face is all slapped like this...
Yan Jinsi clenched her hands tightly: "Has he gone mad? Just because of a concubine, he's going to do this to his wife? Does that mean that just because he's no longer a prince, he can act so recklessly?"
Lily frowned: "This is going too far, Prince Consort."
"Guards, beat that vile woman to death! Beat her to death with a stick!" Princess Yiyu said, clutching her stomach and crying out.
The person supporting her was terrified: "Princess! Please don't do this, take care of your health!"
This is their first child since their princess got married.
In the past few years, my relationship with the prince consort was just so-so, but in the last two years, we've finally become more considerate of each other.
What if something goes wrong?
"Princess, please calm down. Things have already come to this. Your health is the most important thing," Lily hurriedly said.
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