Qi Jingxuan left the morning court session in anger.
The harem was in an uproar. Geng Yulin wasn't the empress, and her sisters all came to her palace to cry and complain.
"Your Highness, now that you are in charge of the inner palace, you must advise the Emperor!"
"Yes! Wouldn't this give people something to talk about if I were to associate with such a woman in the future?"
Geng Yulin could only smile awkwardly and nod repeatedly. Everyone knew that the Emperor would never come to her Jiayu Palace, so where could she go to ask the Emperor for help?
Qiao Siyu and Fu Lu went to Ruan Yu Mu's place, and perhaps only Consort Mu knows the reason.
Suqing Palace
Jiang Jinhua was terrified and spent her days hiding in the corner of the bed, clutching the bottle of arsenic tightly in her hand. She didn't know when she would be punished, and she didn't want to implicate General Xu Yuanzhang.
"My beauty, have you eaten today?" Qi Jingxuan asked with concern as soon as he arrived.
Several palace maids looked at each other and shook their heads. "Your Majesty, the beauty has been crying and hasn't eaten anything since yesterday afternoon."
"Bring me a bowl of porridge, I'll feed him myself!"
Qi Jingxuan brought a steaming bowl of porridge to her. Seeing her like this, his heart ached so much that it felt like it was bleeding. He dismissed the palace maids and eunuchs.
"Eat something, what will happen to the baby if you don't eat?" Jiang Jinhua stared blankly, wondering if the food was poisonous. Qi Jingxuan tried to feed her with a spoon, but she wouldn't open her mouth.
Qi Jingxuan wiped her mouth directly with his dragon robe.
"Listen to me, there's nothing in this bowl of millet porridge, you can eat it without worry. Promise me you'll live well. I'm trying to figure something out. Don't worry." Qi Jingxuan tried to reach out and stroke her, but the gesture only made her retreat further.
With his disheveled hair and filthy clothes, he looked like a madman. Qi Jingxuan didn't know what to do or what to say.
He tried to pull her into his arms, but Jiang Meiren refused, pulling and tugging a few times. A strange bottle rolled out of her hands.
When Qi Jingxuan took it in his hand, he was shocked to find that it was a bottle of arsenic.
"You actually want to die? How could you want to die? Do you know how much effort I've put into finding you all these years? I know you're by my side, but I don't dare to favor you at all. I made sure you lived well in Chengfu Palace, and that none of the palace maids, eunuchs, or Consort Ping bullied you. You have no idea."
Jiang Meiren's eyes relaxed slightly upon hearing these words. "Your Majesty, I am not worthy."
"You keep saying these nonsensical things. I say you deserve it, so you do. Cousin, have you really forgotten? It's me." Actually, Jiang Meiren had also sensed it these past two days; he seemed to be her older sister. But how could something so unbelievable be possible? Her older sister was clearly Consort Mu.
Seeing that Consort Jiang still didn't speak, Qi Jingxuan had no choice but to quickly put away the bottle of arsenic. "If you're really afraid that I'll harm you, after your child is born, I'll have the imperial physician fake your death and send you to the border. I'll find you a quiet fiefdom, a place undisturbed by the outside world, so you can live a good life. In this harem, the women are constantly fighting amongst themselves. I don't want you to suffer here."
Consort Jiang reached out and took the Emperor's hand. "Your Majesty, since you don't blame me, could you please let him go?" Consort Jiang wasn't well-informed in the Suqing Palace and mistakenly believed that the Emperor had already discovered that General Xu was responsible.
"Who is it? Just tell me who it is, and I promise I'll let him go." Hearing this, Jiang Meiren realized she had said something wrong. She quickly lowered her head and remained silent. Qi Jingxuan realized he had overreacted. Then he gently hugged her and said, "It's okay. Tell me who it is, and I promise I won't take any action against him. Also, where did you get this bottle of arsenic? Who taught you those lines?"
Jiang Meiren kept shaking her head. There were just too many reasons and too many people involved in this matter. She didn't want to implicate anyone, so she kept shaking her head.
The Emperor couldn't get anything out of her, so he told her, "Live well. Every day I'm here is peaceful. Trust me!" He picked up the porridge, took a sip himself, and handed it to Consort Jiang, saying, "It's not poisoned."
Then he turned and left. After he walked away, Jiang Jinhua picked up the bowl and finished drinking it in a few gulps. She was starving.
Ruan and several women were chatting in the palace when Qi Jingxuan suddenly rushed in.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..." He pushed Zi Ling away.
"Tell me, did you make Jiang Meiren say that? And the arsenic, you gave it to her too?" Ruan Yumu knew that her retribution had finally come.
He gave a disdainful smile. "Yes!"
Qi Jingxuan picked up the vase next to him and smashed it on the ground.
"Ah! Ahh!" Startled, Qiao Siyu and Fu Lusi stood up, confused.
"Get out of here!" he said, grabbing Ruan Yumu by the collar. "What do you mean? You vicious woman!"
"What do I mean? What could I possibly mean? It's a pity she didn't drink it, otherwise you would have experienced the same pain I felt when I lost my mother."
Zi Ling hurriedly stepped forward, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please be gentle! The Empress has only recently finished her postpartum confinement, Your Majesty..."
"Get out of here, all of you!"
Zi Ling immediately stopped her hand that was hanging in the air. Seeing that the emperor was furious again, she wondered what this girl had done to offend him this time. He was truly a living devil!
Upon hearing this, Qiao Siyu remained silent. She was so favored, and had originally thought that being on the list of those who had been granted favors by Ruan Yu and Mu would make her life a little easier. But now it seemed that the Emperor's attitude towards Consort Mu was so unpredictable, and she would be better off finding another way out.
"Are you two in cahoots with her?!"
"What group are you referring to?" Fu Lu, being upright and fearless, immediately retorted.
"No, Your Majesty, I just came to see Consort Mu." Qiao Siyu immediately said this, which puzzled Fu Lu Siyue. At the same time, it made Ruan Yu Mu realize that in this harem, only she herself was her true backer. What alliances? What friends? They were all based on self-interest.
"Your Majesty, punish me however you wish. You've already turned Chengen Palace into Yujing Palace, just to prevent your new women from getting jealous. Whatever, get your filthy hands off me! Come or don't come!"
"You! Guards! Consort Mu is demoted to Zhaoyi Consort effective immediately. You haven't finished copying the Women's Classics that I asked you to do last time, have you? Continue copying it for me! Come out when you're done!"
Ruan Yumu didn't want to pay any attention to him; he was simply a madman.
Using some unknown method, she stole my position as general, and now she's becoming increasingly arrogant, even taking her anger out on me who just gave birth not long ago!
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