He then went down to prepare with the imperial decree in hand.
In the afternoon, after reviewing the day's memorials, Emperor Kangxi went to see Consort De.
"Your Majesty, I wish you good fortune."
"Get up."
Although Emperor Kangxi walked directly past Consort De, he still caught a glimpse of her hidden triumphant smile.
It seems I'm not exactly free either.
Upon entering the room, food that suited Emperor Kangxi's tastes was already laid out on the table.
However, Emperor Kangxi did not eat much.
"Your Majesty, is the food tonight not to your liking?"
Consort De, who was always adept at guessing Kangxi's thoughts, naturally noticed this as well. She took the teacup from the maid and handed it to Kangxi, then asked cautiously.
When Kangxi took the teacup, he looked up at Consort De, then lowered his head again and took a sip of tea.
Yes, it's Biluochun tea, which he likes.
"Gao Wuyong, all of you may leave."
Consort De suppressed her unease and pretended to serve Emperor Kangxi tea as usual.
"Consort De, isn't the Fourteenth Prince quite filial to you?"
When mentioning her youngest son, Consort De's face was filled with satisfaction and pride.
"Look at what Your Majesty is saying. It's true that this child is filial, but the person he cares about most is naturally Your Majesty."
"So what do you think of the fourth prince? I've noticed that his wife has visited the palace quite a few times, but I've never heard you mention her."
Consort De's smiling face froze for a moment, then she awkwardly explained:
"The fourth prince's wife is very filial. The fourth prince is busy and doesn't have much time to come to the palace, so he asks his wife to come to the palace often to keep me company."
Upon hearing this, Kangxi smiled and thought to himself, "Is this some kind of attempt to sow discord between me and others?"
He then slammed the teacup onto the table beside him.
"Consort De, how dare you!"
Consort De was so frightened that she immediately knelt down on the ground:
"Your Majesty, please calm down! Although I don't know what I have done wrong, please calm down. You are not well and you must not get angry!" The head maid of Consort De, who was standing outside the door, heard the noise inside the room suddenly get louder and wanted to go in, but was stopped by Liang Jiugong.
"Miss Yunhe, it's best for us servants to refrain from meddling in our masters' affairs. What do you think?"
Yunhe nodded awkwardly and withdrew her outstretched hand.
Inside the room, Emperor Kangxi coldly looked at Consort De kneeling on the ground, feeling no pity whatsoever.
"Considering the years you've served me, I'll give you one last chance. If you still refuse to say anything, then don't blame me."
Consort De had already guessed that something might have happened to the Fourth Prince's wife, but she still clung to a sliver of hope and said pitifully:
"Your Majesty, I really don't know what you're talking about."
"Then let me ask you, are you aware that the Fourth Prince's wife drugged the concubines in the mansion?"
Consort De was startled; the Emperor had indeed found out.
"Your Majesty said that I had no idea what you were talking about."
Emperor Kangxi suddenly laughed. How could he not know that Consort De was such a good liar and could play the victim in front of him?
Perhaps back then, Yinzhuo's death...
"I won't hide it from you, the Fourth Prince does indeed know about your manipulation of the Fourth Prince's wife and your attempt to make him childless. I promised him that I would give him a satisfactory explanation."
"No, Your Majesty, please let me explain! It's not as the Fourth Prince said!"
Emperor Kangxi had completely given up on Consort De the moment she lied.
"Don't worry, I won't strip you of your title as a concubine. But I'd also like to remind you, don't forget how you got your title in the first place."
Consort De gritted her teeth; this was the last thing she wanted to remember.
Back then, everyone said she was using her child to curry favor, but only the emperor believed her.
However, she acted so convincingly that she even believed it herself.
Yinzhen was not close to her, nor did he resemble her. She especially disliked her son more whenever she heard from the palace maids that he had gone to Consort Tong's place again.
"I guess you already know that I have sent the Fourteenth Prince to Mongolia for disaster relief."
Kangxi's tone was very certain.
Consort De lowered her head, not daring to utter a sound.
"Don't worry, the fourteenth prince is a promising man. He'll be even busier in the future and won't have time to come see his sick mother."
"Illness? Your Majesty, are you going to send me to the Cold Palace?"
Kangxi chuckled:
"No, you have given me three sons and three daughters, and I cannot bear to send you to a place like the Cold Palace. But no one will ever come here again."
"No! Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. I will do whatever you ask, but please don't imprison me. What you're doing is no different from banishing me to the cold palace!"
"Consort De, you have no right to bargain with me! Guards!"
"Your servant is here!"
Liang Jiugong remained guarding the door.
"By imperial decree, Consort De has contracted a severe case of smallpox. From this day forward, no one, except her personal maid, may enter Yonghe Palace without my permission!"
"Yes, sir!"
Kangxi lifted his dragon robe and strode out the door, with Liang Jiugong and his entourage following closely behind, pretending not to hear any sound behind them.
"Your Majesty, I know I was wrong! Your Majesty!"
Consort De collapsed to the ground, refusing to get up no matter how Yunhe tried to pull her up.
"Your Majesty, the ground is cold. Please don't get cold. Please get up."
However, at this time, Consort De had lost her spirit.
On the other hand, after returning to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Emperor Kangxi issued a second decree.
"Liang Jiugong, issue an imperial decree that the Fourth Prince be summoned to the palace tomorrow. I have something to discuss with him."
"Yes, sir."
That day, after telling his father about the matter, Yinzhen returned to his own palace.
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