That evening, Consort Jiang was playing with the eldest princess in the courtyard when she sensed something was amiss. Unable to contain herself any longer, she ran towards Yujing Palace.
"Your Majesty, save me! Your Majesty!" To her utter surprise, both Consort Zhao and Consort Shu were there.
"You've come at the right time. All of you may leave. Our masters have important matters to discuss." It seemed that they all already knew about his situation, so Jiang Meiren stopped pretending and stood up directly.
"I would gladly die. But I have only one request: do not implicate General Xu."
Ruan Yu Mu looked at her, who was lost in her infatuation, without saying anything, but instead gestured for her to sit down. Now that things had come to this point, Jiang Meiren had completely disregarded life and death; whatever.
"Speak up, what exactly do you guys want?"
"If I said I wanted to help you, would you believe me?" Qiao Siyu looked at her mockingly. Actually, Jiang Meiren had returned to Ruan Yumu hoping that, out of consideration for their past relationship, Ruan Yumu would help her. Now it seemed she had been overthinking things; the old cousin-cousin bond was long gone. This harem was, after all, a place of snobbery. This last straw seemed to have failed her.
"I've thought it over. The Emperor will certainly not let you off easily. However, if you say that the child in your womb was persecuted by people in Beijing, the situation will be different. Anyway, you're going to die anyway, so all the blame will be shifted to Yelü Hongji and his group, and your General Xu will be freed. You just need to tell the truth before you die. I have a bottle of the finest arsenic here. What should you do? I think you know better than I do."
Jiang Jinhua stared blankly at the bottle of medicine, then reached out his hand, his fingers trembling, and took it. Was this all he and his child were destined to do? How unfair this was to him! He still thought so, not even having seen this beautiful world, how could they be treated so cruelly? Hmm.
The next morning, after the Emperor finished his morning court session, as agreed upon with the concubines, Consort Jiang was to take arsenic at this time. Once they brought the Emperor to her side, she would reveal the truth, and that would be the time when she was nearing her end.
Jiang Meiren cried all night last night, and her eyes were so red and swollen that she looked unrecognizable.
Yes! She's pregnant, having never served the emperor before. Whose child is it? Everyone knows it's not the emperor's. So she has no choice!
She hesitated for a moment but ultimately did not drink the poison. Instead, she held it in her hand, waiting for the emperor's reaction before taking her own life. She still hoped for a sliver of a chance to survive.
"What's going on? I heard from some of the concubines that something big has happened here. Speak! Get up and answer me." Qi Jingxuan was unusually gentle with Jiang Jinhua. In fact, Qi Jingxuan had known for a long time that she was his cousin, so he had never let her serve him in bed. Perhaps he just couldn't get over that mental hurdle.
"Your Majesty! Your concubine..." Jiang Jinhua hesitated for a long time before finally speaking. Qi Jingxuan assumed it was something private and quickly asked the two concubines to leave.
Jiang Jinhua immediately knelt down, "Your Majesty, I am pregnant!"
"Whose is it?" Qi Jingxuan didn't get angry; he just wanted to know who dared to touch his cousin.
“They were sent by Yelü Hongji.”
"You're talking nonsense! Do you think I don't know? It's someone from the palace! Jinhua, you have something you absolutely must tell me, otherwise I can't protect you. Now I have the ability to protect you! All the land under heaven belongs to the king, who can say anything to me, the Prince of Qi?"
"Your Majesty, I...I cannot say!"
"Since that's the case, you should stay in Suqing Palace and take good care of your pregnancy. I will give you the best conditions. If you give birth to a prince or a princess, I will find you a suitable fiefdom. You can take the child and live there then. Jinhua, I don't want palace affairs to bother you, and I don't want you to die a tragic death in this palace like Qiao Silin. Do you understand?"
Jiang Meiren was filled with a million questions. This was the Emperor, this was a cuckold's horns! How could he talk about it as if it had nothing to do with her? She thought this was the calm before the storm, and knelt on the ground, trembling, not daring to get up.
"Your Majesty~~"
"Get up quickly. You're pregnant, and the ground is cold; it's not good for you to kneel all the time. I'll send you a few more palace maids and eunuchs. By the way, who else knows about this? If many people know, then I'll announce it. Jinhua, remember, no matter what happens to you, I'll always be there for you. The first person you should think of when you encounter trouble is me, not anyone else. But the only downside is that although I'm now your husband, I'm not your husband alone. So all I can do is wait until you safely give birth to your child, and then send you and the child to your fiefdom to live a good life for a few years."
"Your Majesty!" Consort Jiang cried, hugging the Emperor tightly. She never expected him to be so kind to her. Thankfully, she hadn't taken the poison beforehand; otherwise, she would have regretted it for the rest of her life.
Before the next day even arrived, the Emperor moved Consort Jiang's belongings to the Suqing Palace overnight. This action completely baffled Qiao Siyu.
"What's going on here? Do you think the Emperor threw all her things out and then killed her outside? Hey, hey, Eunuch, don't go! What's going on? What are you all doing moving things around?" Fu Lu Si Yue was determined to see the whole story, but this was only half-finished. What on earth was this?
"Your Majesty, your servants are here to move Consort Jiang to Suqing Palace. His Majesty said it's an auspicious place, suitable for Consort Jiang to give birth. Now that Consort Jiang is pregnant, we must take good care of her." After saying this, the eunuch quickly carried the things away.
Qiao Siyu quickly grabbed him, stuffed several silver notes into his hand, and said, "What's going on? Didn't they say that Consort Jiang's child isn't the Emperor's? The Emperor said he hasn't come to Consort Jiang's quarters to serve her lately?"
"Your Majesties, you mustn't say such things. This servant overheard everything from behind the door. The child is indeed not the Emperor's, but for some reason, the Emperor hasn't mentioned it at all, and even wanted Consort Jiang to give birth alone in the Suqing Palace. He also promised her that once the child is a little older, he would find her a fiefdom so she could live a good life. This servant doesn't understand at all. The Emperor's heart is truly unfathomable! And Your Majesties, you mustn't mention this matter again. The Emperor has already issued a strict decree that it must not be discussed any further. If he hears even the slightest hint of it, he will be beheaded."
After glancing around to make sure no one was watching, the eunuch quickly stuffed the silver notes into his pocket and slunk away. He'll probably try to sneak out of the palace, or at least leave early to live a peaceful life. After all, what if this affair gets out and he doesn't have long to live?
"This is really strange. Let's go back quickly and ask Consort Mu about this!" The two said as they hurried towards Yujing Palace.
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