Chapter 50
Xu Ying wasn't too worried about the sudden negative trending topic surrounding "Wu Zetian." She was confident in the quality of the drama and believed that it would turn around its reputation once it aired.
After ending her conversation with Zhou Xingyun, who said he wanted to call Tang Ningshuang to offer his condolences, Xu Ying realized there was no need for her to call again. She went straight back to her desk and continued writing "Legend of the Qing Dynasty Palace".
In the blink of an eye, "Legend of the Qing Dynasty" has been serialized on Feihong Novel Network for more than two months.
Over the course of these two months, readers have witnessed Malu's journey from a lowly palace maid in the laundry department to the emperor's personal maid, and finally to the empress consort De.
Consort De is now pregnant again.
Her pregnancy this time made everyone in the harem grit their teeth in resentment, secretly hating how lucky she was to be able to conceive the emperor's children so frequently!
Ma Lu knew that her fame attracted attention, so she had been keeping a low profile at Yonghe Palace lately and rarely went out. However, even though she didn't go out, some people still came to pay their respects to her.
They harbor ill intentions, yet we cannot ignore them.
The one who came to pay her respects every few days was Consort Wen, who was also pregnant.
Consort Wen is incredibly shameless. She doesn't receive much favor from the emperor; he only favors her once before discarding her. However, she is incredibly lucky and gets favored on her very first try.
Since becoming pregnant, she has become very active and has set her sights on Consort De.
The emperor liked to visit Yonghe Palace, so she would always choose to come over to pay her respects and show goodwill when the emperor came, to the point that Malu couldn't vent her anger.
On yet another occasion, Emperor Kangxi visited Malu at Yonghe Palace.
As noon approached, Malu invited Kangxi to dine with her. Kangxi nodded in agreement, and Malu beckoned for the food. The atmosphere was just right as the two were talking when Consort Wen arrived.
Ma Lu had no choice but to get up and exchange a few polite words with her.
Seeing the palace maids begin to serve the dishes, Consort Wen smiled radiantly: "Sister, I've come at an inopportune time. Are you and the Emperor about to dine? Perhaps... I shall take my leave."
He said he was going to step back, but his feet were rooted to the spot and he didn't budge an inch.
Malu knew her plan, but with Kangxi present, she could only say some friendly words to persuade her to stay: "Sister, what are you saying? We're all family. Now that you're here, how could I possibly send you away?"
Wen Changzai readily agreed, saying, "Then I won't stand on ceremony."
After she finished speaking, she actually plopped down in the spot where Malu had just been sitting.
Malu remained calm.
However, Hongying, who was standing behind her, looked uneasy. Hongying was a first-class palace maid in Yonghe Palace and a trusted confidante sent by Malu's family after Malu was promoted to concubine. She was about to speak when Malu stopped her with a look.
Ma Luhun didn't mind going around to the other side of Kangxi and sat down to his left.
As the saying goes, "Heaven will destroy those it desires, and first make them go mad." Consort Wen's disregard for the rules in front of the Emperor is clearly courting death. There's no need for her to say anything more and only cause more trouble.
I just didn't expect the retribution to come so quickly.
During the meal, Wen Changzai's expression suddenly changed. She clutched her abdomen with both hands and cried out that her stomach hurt terribly.
Ma Lu was greatly alarmed: "Quickly summon the imperial physician!"
Although she disliked Consort Wen, if something happened to her in her own palace, she would likely be held responsible.
......
After a period of chaos and turmoil, the imperial physician made a diagnosis.
Wen Changzai's child is gone.
Emperor Kangxi was furious and ordered the imperial physicians to examine the food the three had just eaten. They eventually discovered that the problem was with the chicken slices with hibiscus in front of Consort Wen; the broth of the chicken slices with hibiscus had been soaked in saffron.
Ma Lu's back felt cold.
This dish is her favorite lately. Hongying always places it in front of her whenever the dishes are served. If Wen Changzai hadn't taken her place today, she would definitely have eaten this dish.
Wen Changzai took the blame for her.
She looked at Wen Changzai on the bed.
Upon hearing the imperial physician's words, Consort Wen, pale-faced, burst into loud sobs: "Your Majesty, it was Consort De who tried to harm me! It was Consort De who killed my child!"
Her child was gone, and her dream of rising in rank was shattered, all because of Consort De.
She glared fiercely at Ma Lu. She knew there was more to the story, but ultimately she was the one who would suffer. She was unwilling to accept it, and she would drag Consort De down with her even if it meant her death.
Malu immediately knelt down to defend herself: "Your Majesty, my sister's arrival was sudden, and that was my usual seat. How could I abandon myself to harm my sister..."
Her words immediately reminded Kangxi of the scene where Consort Wen snatched a seat, and seeing her fierce and shrewish appearance now, he felt a surge of impatience.
He ordered that Consort Wen be sent back to recuperate properly, and sent his eunuchs to thoroughly investigate the matter and find the real culprit who had tried to harm Consort De.
- Hahaha, I'm dying of laughter! Consort Wen suffered a miscarriage, and as a result, the Emperor issued an edict saying that the real culprit who attempted to harm Consort De had been found.
- My whole family was shocked; saffron can cause miscarriages.
Is Consort Wen finally going to be taken down? I was so annoyed by her in the first few chapters. All she did was come to the female lead's palace to bask in the emperor's favor.
-That's right, it's one thing for you to freeload, but the real problem is that you also want to replace the female lead. I've never seen such a despicable person!
-I just want to know who the real culprit is, who managed to add saffron-infused juice to the female lead's food without anyone noticing.
- It's terrifying to think about.
The female lead will no longer dare to eat with peace of mind.
-Not enough? Update soon!!!
I thought having my own little kitchen would make me safer, but I never expected someone to have their hands on me. The harem is too scary. Mom, I want to go back to the modern world.
- Hahahahahaha.
- Author, please kill off Wen Changzai. Judging from her current state, she seems likely to take revenge on the female lead later.
-The one who comes will be struck with a zhang of red ink.
-The visitor ordered him to commit suicide.
......
More than two months have passed, and the readers are no longer the clueless newbies they were at the beginning. Now they speak in the comments section with a palace-like air, which Xu Ying finds amusing every time she sees it.
*
Xu Ying wrote for a long time and then posted today's extra chapter.
Continuing from the previous article.
Ma Lu was very angry.
She almost lost her child.
It seems I need to teach these women in the harem a lesson, otherwise they'll really think I'm someone easy to bully.
After the emperor left, Malu ordered Hongying to search through her palace, and she actually found several palace maids and eunuchs who had been planted in other palaces.
"Your Majesty, this is simply too much. I'll find an excuse to send them away right away."
Ma Lu raised her hand to stop her: "Even if we get rid of them, there will be others. Now that we know who the spies are, it means the enemy is in the open while we are in the dark."
She instructed Hongying to secretly monitor these people, who could also become her pawns when necessary, helping her to send out messages she wanted to send out.
"Your Majesty is wise."
......
Emperor Kangxi ordered an investigation into the truth, but after much investigation, they only managed to find a kitchen maid, who had already committed suicide.
Hongying told Malu the information she had gathered: "They say that this girl holds a grudge against you, which is why she tampered with your food."
Ma Lu sneered.
Such a flimsy excuse suggests that the emperor is trying to protect the real culprit behind this.
The imperial court and the harem were inextricably linked. Sometimes, in order to maintain the stability of the ministers at the front, the emperor would not arbitrarily move the concubines in the harem even if he was dissatisfied.
Malu pondered in her heart who was worth the emperor's trouble in protecting.
Is it the Imperial Noble Consort from the Tong family behind her, or Consort Hui who was born in the Manchu-Mongol lineage, or even Lady Guoluo who fell out of favor because of her appearance...? There are just too many suspects.
Just as Ma Lu was confused, Hong Ying came in from the outer room and whispered in her ear, "Someone saw the maids who were sweeping in Consort Hui's courtyard sneaking into the side hall of Changchun Palace."
The side hall of Changchun Palace was where Consort Wen lived.
Ma Lu slowly raised her eyes. "So it's you, Consort Hui."
The next day, Malu went to Yongshou Palace to pay her respects to the Imperial Noble Consort, and also to visit her son.
The Empress passed away before the new year, and the Emperor ordered the Imperial Noble Consort to assist in managing the six palaces. Although she is now nominally the Imperial Noble Consort, her actual position is equivalent to that of the Empress.
The Imperial Noble Consort disliked Consort De visiting her.
After all, she was the biological mother of her son. Every time she came to the palace, the servants treated her badly. Although they were on her side, they kept reminding her that she couldn't give birth to another child, because it was someone else's child.
She never expected that Consort De would come today hoping that she would present a document to Yinzhen.
The Imperial Noble Consort asked in surprise and doubt: "Once he's registered in the imperial genealogy, Yinzhen will be my son. Consort De, are you really not bothered?"
They are nominally her children now, but they are not the same in the end.
"Your Majesty, what are you saying? I know I come from a humble background. It is a blessing for Yinzhen to be raised under your care. As his mother, I only hope that he can seize this blessing. How could I bear to cut off his good fortune?"
Consort De's expression, which showed that she didn't care about anything as long as Yinzhen was well, deeply moved the Imperial Noble Consort.
To everyone's surprise, Consort De added, "Besides, I am now pregnant. If I devote myself entirely to him, I may neglect Yinzhen. I hope Your Majesty will have mercy and allow Yinzhen to be included in your imperial register..."
It turns out that she forgot about Yinzhen after having another child.
The Imperial Noble Consort felt somewhat indignant on behalf of Yinzhen.
At the same time, she felt a sense of relief. Consort De's shortsightedness was nothing to fear; in the future, Yinzhen would be her child alone.
......
-Malu's cunning is impossible to guard against.
The Imperial Noble Consort thought she had gotten a great deal.
-The Imperial Noble Consort really got a good son for free, and Consort De really gave away her child.
- What a hellish joke upstairs.
- Ma Lu saw things most clearly. She knew that the child was her own, and no matter how hard outsiders tried to prove it, it was still her own. So the most important thing was to help her son gain more influence.
- Hahaha, I feel like maybe in the future Consort De won't go to see her son, and the Imperial Noble Consort will invite her to go see her son.
- The first person to fight for his son's favor.
Believe it or not, some clever readers in the comments section actually guessed correctly.
Xu Yingzhen planned to write later that after Ma Lu gave birth to her second child, she would focus on taking care of the child and would not go to Yongshou Palace for a long time. So the Imperial Noble Consort could not hold back and sent someone to Yonghe Palace to invite her over so that she could visit Yinzhen.
The Imperial Noble Consort came from a prominent family and was, in essence, a proud and arrogant young lady.
Ma Lu may seem to be at a disadvantage in front of her, but in reality, she has her completely under her control.
Xu Ying browsed the comments section for a while, read through most of the readers' messages, and then logged out.
After exiting, she opened the bookstore homepage and immediately saw the cover image of her novel featured on the most prominent "Gold List" section.
Before her novel, "Legend of the Qing Dynasty," was not well-regarded, it immediately topped the charts and has remained there ever since, demonstrating the deep affection readers have for it.
Tipping is also an option.
This book has garnered the most donations since she started writing. The donation amounts for her previous books, "Lucky Comes" and "Double Wood Rings the Bell," don't even appear in the top ten for this book.
This book really made her a lot of money.
Xu Ying felt that she could start looking at houses in advance now, so that she could buy one immediately with full payment as soon as the book was finished.
Speaking of money, she thought of Zhou Xingyun again.
She was a screenwriter for Zhou Xingyun, but he never paid her the screenwriting fee he promised.
Later, seeing that the production team was short of funds, she discussed with Zhou Xingyun and decided to use the money as an investment in the production team, so she is now also one of the investors.
In other words, if "Wu Zetian" is successful after it airs, she will also receive a considerable share of the profits.
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