Liuli and Linglan exchanged a silent glance; they had long known how much Sun Miaoqing disliked the Empress Dowager.
If someone could really make the Empress Dowager suffer a great loss right now, she would definitely be overjoyed.
As for filial piety and social status, none of those matters mattered to her.
In her own words, since neither the Empress Dowager nor the Empress Dowager was born or raised her, she should only be respectful out of respect for power. Expecting her to treat the Empress Dowager as her own mother was wishful thinking.
Who would want a mother-in-law who could take her life at any moment standing above her!
Liuli said, "Your Majesty is right. This matter has nothing to do with our Chuxiu Palace, so there's no need for us to worry about it."
After Sun Miaoqing and the other two had been gone for a while, Zhou Ninghai, seeing that Consort Hua was in a good mood, asked,
"Your Majesty, although Consort Cheng is on good terms with you, she doesn't really trust you. If you tell her about this, you won't arouse her suspicion."
"What if she develops some inappropriate thoughts or accidentally tells someone, and someone notices something is wrong?"
"This is no small matter after all!"
Consort Hua glanced at Zhou Ninghai and continued painting her nails; she had already considered this. However, Sun Miaoqing was unusual and knew quite a bit.
If Sun Miaoqing really wanted to harm her and the Nian family, she would have plenty of ways to do so, and wouldn't have had to wait until now.
However, Zhou Ninghai was unaware of these things, and his question was only due to his loyalty to her, so it was not surprising.
Consort Hua said, "I know you are worried, but you can rest assured."
"Consort Cheng and I have never interfered with each other. Besides, what I did might have been what she wanted to do. Why would she betray me?"
Zhou Ninghai was surprised. Besides finding it strange that Consort Hua trusted Consort Cheng so much, he was also puzzled by what Consort Hua said they were going to do, which was also what Consort Cheng wanted to do.
Consort Hua's desire to harm the Emperor stemmed from two reasons: first, love turned to hatred; and second, her family's interests. What were Consort Cheng's motives?
“After entering the palace, Consort Cheng was constantly favored and was promoted to the rank of Consort in less than a year to raise the prince. With the Emperor’s favor, she could have whatever she wanted.”
"The Fifth Prince is still young. She is probably the one in the harem who most hopes that the Emperor will live a long life. After all, when the Fifth Prince grows up, she is very likely to become the Empress Dowager."
"If something were to happen to the Emperor before the Fifth Prince comes of age, Consort Qi, though out of favor, would have no family to rely on."
"But the Third Prince is the Emperor's eldest son and has the greatest chance of succeeding to the throne. Although Consort Cheng is kind and gentle to everyone, she is happy to see the Third Prince playing with the Fifth Prince."
"But when it comes to the throne and the position of Empress Dowager, I doubt anyone would be so generous!"
Consort Hua said, "She wouldn't be that generous, otherwise she wouldn't be in such a hurry to raise the Fifth Prince."
“We kept that matter extremely secret; it’s impossible for anyone else to know. Consort Cheng was unaware of the truth and was so young.”
"Even if the child couldn't be saved, we should try to conceive another one. Why must we raise the Fifth Prince?"
"Either she knew the truth, or she had a reason to do it."
Songzhi said with a sense of sympathy, "Yes, if there were any other way, what woman wouldn't want her own child?"
"Although the kindness of giving birth is not as great as the kindness of raising, there is still a difference because of the bond between us."
Consort Hua frowned, removed the nail polish from her nails, and had no interest in admiring her newly done manicure.
If she weren't forced to, she wouldn't want to help someone else's child fight for the throne. However, she was more accepting of Sun Miaoqing becoming Empress Dowager than Consort Qi or anyone else.
"She wants to become Empress Dowager, and I want to protect the wealth and status of my family. We were originally in the same boat."
Zhou Ninghai said, "But does Consort Cheng understand what Your Highness is thinking? Could she misunderstand your meaning?"
Consort Hua said, "I have my own way of doing things. Even if she has the wrong idea, I can straighten her out!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ninghai assumed that, without his knowledge, Consort Hua and Consort Cheng had already spoken out and reached an agreement in private.
He subconsciously looked at Songzhi and saw her blink innocently, so he knew she didn't know either.
He stopped asking questions. The Empress was becoming increasingly incomprehensible, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
He had long since disregarded life and death; to live a life of great passion was better than to drift aimlessly and wait to die.
*
Sun Miaoqing returned to Changchun Xianguan and was enjoying a bowl of chilled herbal soup.
Of the coconuts that Hainan presented as tribute, she received six.
Two were used to make a cooling tonic, which was shared among the three of us, including Linglan. The remaining four were used to stew chicken, which will be the main dish for tonight.
The three women, including Rose, sipped their refreshing tonics. If it weren't for the Empress's favor, they wouldn't even have the good fortune to see such a delicacy, let alone eat it.
Linglan said, "I don't know if this coconut is a fruit or a vegetable. The shell is so hard, but the juice inside is very sweet."
"Not only can it be drunk directly, but it can also be used to make soup. I've never even heard of it before."
Liuli said, "I've heard of this before; it's a specialty of Hainan. It's transported all the way here, and there aren't many of them."
"The late emperor's harem was very prosperous, and many of the empresses and concubines were only heard of but never seen."
"Thank you for your generous gift, Your Highness. It allows us servants to enjoy a delicious meal as well."
Sun Miaoqing said, "Don't rush to thank me. It's not too late to thank me after we finish drinking this coconut and chicken soup tonight."
"By the way, how's business lately? Is there any progress on the matter I asked you to handle?"
Linglan said, "Your Majesty, since the opening of Honey Candy Shop, it has always been in short supply. Many merchants from other places have come to the capital, hoping to snatch some milk candy to sell elsewhere."
"The manager suggested that we open a couple of branches in prosperous and wealthy places like Jiangnan and Sichuan, and build cattle farms nearby."
"Once the branch's business is on track, the monthly income will be more than three times higher."
"As for cowpox, many female workers on dairy farms have indeed contracted cowpox, but whether it can prevent smallpox is still unknown."
"If this thing is handled carelessly in the slightest, it will not just be a matter of one or two people dying."
"My uncle tried to persuade the two female workers to take the risk, but there were no flowers blooming in the capital at the moment, so he could only find an epidemic area and send the two of them in on their own."
"Therefore, it will take some time. Your Majesty, please rest assured. Your uncle said that he will inform Your Majesty as soon as there is a result."
"This is a great undertaking that benefits all people and will last for generations, and it will certainly not be delayed in the slightest."
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