Chapter 77 Multiple Reasons
Zhang Mi knelt before the Emperor once again with a bitter face. Looking at the Emperor sitting by Consort Wan's bed with a look of heartache and regret, and the Empress who hadn't even had time to change out of her formal attire and whose eyes were full of compassion, he closed his eyes and thought of the Empress's instructions before she left and spoke.
"Your Majesty, Consort Wan suffered from the summer heat, coupled with the bumpy journey to and from the palace, and her body came into contact with cold substances... But Consort Wan is in good health, so it seems... that it is not difficult for her to conceive again."
Yinzhen closed his eyes and swallowed hard. He felt his mind was in complete chaos. On the way back, Su Peisheng had explained everything clearly, and when he returned to the palace, Prince Guo had knelt before him to personally apologize.
Zhang Mi explained that Consort Wan had a cold constitution, which caused her pregnancy to become unstable after kneeling for just over fifteen minutes. Furthermore, the imperial physician rushed to Yikun Palace only to find that she had already been moved to Suiyu Pavilion, wasting considerable time and effort, coupled with the bumpy journey. These factors contributed to Consort Wan's miscarriage.
Foods with cooling properties... apart from Huan Yi Xiang, Yin Zhen didn't consider anything else.
It turned out that he had harmed his own child, and the child he had with Wanwan.
It's not Nian Shilan.
Why can't she learn her lesson? She almost caused the death of Consort Xian and her unborn child that day, and today she's used the same trick again to harm Consort Wan's child. If it weren't for her domineering and vengeful nature, Consort Wan wouldn't have miscarried.
And then there's Yunli... He said he was confused because he was worried, never expecting that Consort Xian had already resolved the matter and summoned the imperial physician. When the maid hurriedly came to fetch him, he only thought about protecting the imperial heir, which is why he did such a foolish thing.
Just then, Zhen Huan slowly woke up.
"Your Majesty! The child...is our child safe?" Zhen Huan opened her eyes and before she could even react, she saw the bright yellow figure in front of her excitedly propping herself up and tightly grabbing the Emperor's sleeve as she asked.
Looking at her anxious expression and the pale-faced servant, whose beautiful eyes were almost pleading as she looked at him, hoping to hear him say that everything was alright, Yinzhen gritted his teeth, softened his voice, and held the hand of the person in front of him—"We will have children again."
Upon hearing this, the last glimmer of light in Zhen Huan's eyes vanished, her clenched hand suddenly dropped, tears welled up in her eyes, and her voice was mournful and sorrowful.
"My child—"
She leaned on Jinxi's arm, her anger and helplessness intertwined, ultimately turning into countless tears. She was so sad that she couldn't even make a sound when she cried.
Seeing her like this, Yinzhen could not help but feel heartbroken. He had bestowed the Huan Yi Xiang on Lady Nian, he had also conferred upon her the title of Noble Consort, and he had personally gone to the Virtuous Noble Consort to reclaim the power to assist in managing the six palaces. At this moment, he could not help but feel guilty.
Even the Empress, who was standing aside pretending to be sad, couldn't help but think of the time when she lost her eldest son, and the grief on her face became much more genuine.
"Where is Lady Nian? Bring her in." Yinzhen looked at Zhen Huan, who was in unbearable pain on the bed, with emotion, and then turned to ask in a cold tone.
Before long, Nian Shilan, dressed in plain blue and white clothes, with her hair loose and without any jewelry, followed the example of the ancients who removed their hairpins to await punishment. As soon as she entered, she knelt in the hall, and it was rare to see fear on her face.
Seeing the Emperor's icy gaze, Zhen Huan on the bed wished she could devour him alive. She couldn't care less about anything else and hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, may you live a long and peaceful life. I am guilty."
She bit her lip and took a breath—"Today, Consort Wan repeatedly offended and angered me. Your Majesty knows my temperament. I only wanted to punish her slightly and did not intend to harm her child. Please forgive my ignorance."
"Ignorant?" Yinzhen rarely spoke to Nian Shilan with such a sharp tone, but today he was truly furious—"Didn't you know that Consort Wan was pregnant? I think you're not just ignorant, you're extremely vicious!"
She shook her head helplessly at the Emperor, her lips trembling as she explained, "No! It was Consort Wan who kept provoking me today. I was so angry that I asked her to kneel. I asked the imperial physician beforehand, and he said that Consort Wan's pregnancy is very stable!"
She spoke in such a hurry that she became somewhat incoherent—"Moreover...moreover, Consort Xian knelt for half an hour before her pregnancy became unstable. I heard that in the Prince's mansion, Consort knelt for two hours before she miscarried. I only made her kneel for a quarter of an hour. I really didn't want to harm her child!"
She lowered her head, and before she could finish speaking, the Emperor interrupted her harshly.
"Consort Xian nearly lost her life along with her unborn child. She was bedridden for the next few months to save Hongzhao and Hongjin's twins, and even then, she still had to endure a difficult childbirth. Back then, Consort Xian was extremely disrespectful to Empress Chun Yuan, which is why she was punished by being made to kneel. Chun Yuan was completely unaware that Consort Xian was pregnant at the time. Chun Yuan was kind and felt extremely guilty about this, which led to her death from postpartum hemorrhage during childbirth."
Yinzhen's chest heaved violently a few times, his eyes coldly fixed on the person below him—"How can you be compared to Chun Yuan?"
These words pierced Nian Shilan's heart like knives, but she had no heart for sorrow or grief. She crawled forward on her knees and tried her best to explain, "Your Majesty, it was only a quarter of an hour. I was only thinking of giving her a small punishment as a warning. As soon as Consort Xian came to persuade me, I was thinking of letting her up. It was Prince Guo who barged into Yikun Palace without distinguishing right from wrong. Otherwise, Consort Xian would have already summoned the imperial physician, and perhaps Consort Wan's pregnancy could have been saved!"
Her once bright eyes looked helplessly at the Emperor, her voice trembling and choked with sobs—"I have also lost a child, I would never be so cruel, I truly never intended to harm her child."
Yinzhen let out a slow breath, his heart wavering slightly upon hearing Nian Shilan's words. After all, he knew best how Nian Shilan had lost her first child. Moreover, Nian Shilan had been by his side for many years, and he knew her temperament well; perhaps a quarter of an hour of punishment was truly not severe in her eyes.
But we must give Consort Wan an explanation for this matter.
The Empress could easily see the Emperor's wavering. Just as she was about to speak, the Emperor spoke first—"Issue an edict to the six palaces: Lady Nian is stripped of her title and demoted to the rank of Consort. She is to be relieved of her duties as an assistant in managing the six palaces and is to be confined to Yikun Palace for three months. You may return."
"Your Majesty, it was an unintentional mistake! Are you really going to be so heartless?" Hearing the Emperor's cold voice, Nian Shilan looked up with red eyes.
"What did Consort Wan do wrong? What did the concubines of the six palaces do wrong? Don't think I don't know. You even sent people to invite Consort Xian several times. Did you want Consort Xian to kneel down to you and reenact the scene from that day?"
After saying this, Yinzhen turned his head away and stopped looking at her. Nian Shilan knew that the emperor was angry and she had no way to argue back. She responded softly and walked out of Suiyu Pavilion in a dejected manner.
Zhen Huan's face was streaked with tears, and the emotions in her eyes made Yinzhen frown with heartache at just one glance. She gritted her teeth and said, "Only demoted to the rank of Consort? May I ask Your Majesty, is my child just going to die like this? Why not kill that vile woman to vent your anger?"
"At the very least, why not treat him like Consort Qi did when she poisoned the Fifth Prince, demoting him to a commoner and banishing him to the Cold Palace? Is it possible that the Fifth Prince is the Emperor's child, but the one in my womb isn't?"
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