Chapter 49 Chapter 49 Palace Maid's Forty-Nine Days
The eldest prince was of noble status, and was always accompanied by at least two wet nurses to look after him. There were also many palace maids and eunuchs serving in the house, and each of them was a smart and capable person personally selected by the queen. If Nanny Jin asked the eldest prince to ingest cinnabar under such circumstances, he might be suppressed before the thing was taken out.
However, although the emperor brought eunuchs from the Qianqing Palace with him when he arrived, the number of people was much smaller than the palace staff around the eldest prince on weekdays. Moreover, those eunuchs all kept the word "rules" in their hearts and always put the emperor first in everything, so they inevitably neglected the eldest prince. In addition, only one wet nurse was left behind, which gave the wet nurse more room to maneuver.
Nanny Jin considered carefully and finalized the plan. It was not that she was not deeply afraid of the emperor, but people outside the palace were urging her to do it and the Kunning Palace was keeping a close watch, so she had no choice but to force the issue.
When the Emperor went to the eldest prince's place tonight, because the Emperor was asking about Nanny Zhang, Nanny Jin did not feel that she was exposed. When the Emperor wanted to search the eldest prince's residence, she still held on to a lucky mentality. After all, who wants to die if they can live?
The task of representing the prince outside the palace was delayed until the eldest prince was three or four months old. Although this was due to the lack of an opportunity, it was more because Nanny Jin was indecisive.
Later, cinnabar was found and she could no longer commit suicide in public.
Not to mention that the Royal Guards came later.
As someone who accidentally knew about the situation, Nanny Zhang confessed everything when she was found to have accepted gold, silver and jewelry from Concubine He. However, her illness was real, and every time she was about to get better, she would stand in the cold wind and get blown by it, so her condition was sometimes better and sometimes worse.
The Queen looked at the Emperor. She knew the priorities clearly. Although she was eager to deal with Concubine He, she first guessed what Nanny Jin's intention was: "Your Majesty, Nanny Jin is the thief who instigated this matter behind the scenes. She despises the royal family and intends to damage the royal bloodline to destroy your kingdom. She deserves death!"
The eldest prince met with an unexpected accident. The queen guessed that it was not just the result of the harem game, but the emperor might have the same idea.
Ji Chen maintained a sitting posture for a long time without moving, his hands placed on his knees, his brows pressed down, and his aura was as thick as ink.
His harem seems complicated but is actually simple. There were originally women in the prince's mansion, the selection when he ascended the throne, and the general election a year ago that achieved a balance of power among the Queen, Concubine De, and Concubine Xian. There were also concubines like Concubine Yu and Concubine Yan who each had their own interests but were still not influential in the palace. The remaining concubines were of lower status, who received less favors but were also considered to be obedient.
More importantly, none of the above people could place people around the eldest prince in Kunning Palace, nor could they bring something like cinnabar into the palace.
Even the Empress Dowager's control over the manpower was no longer as good as before during the time she was away from the palace. Qian Quanzhong and Wang Jigui each took away a lot of her power, and finally the power was consolidated in his hands.
The queen might have a chance, but she is the eldest prince's biological mother, and doing such a thing would do her no good.
Therefore, the power behind Nanny Jin comes from outside the palace, and she also has a good business presence in the harem.
Although he had this thought in mind, Ji Chen's expression still did not ease much, because when he tried to eliminate some of the Queen Mother's power after ascending the throne, he actually overlooked the remnants of other forces in the harem of the previous emperor.
During the time of the previous emperor, although the Queen Mother's family was the most powerful, they only needed to temporarily avoid the edge of Concubine Zhao. Concubine Zhao was favored but had no children, and her daughter was young. In the long run, she was not to be feared. However, in addition to Ji Chen, the previous emperor had three legitimate princes, and each of the three princes had a family behind them.
When Ji Chen was the crown prince, his position was unshakable. When he became the emperor, his imperial mentality was even more properly implemented. But if decades later, even one of his own princes could not be chosen to be an ordinary emperor, then one would have to be adopted from the clan. I'm afraid the people behind the scenes were planning just this.
Planning for decades to gain the throne is not a mediocre strategy.
"I will get to the bottom of this matter." Ji Chen said.
No one dared to disturb Ji Chen when he was silent. Shen Qing just stole a glance at him. The angry emperor was full of oppression, but also gave him extraordinary charm.
The Queen couldn't wait to ask, "What about Concubine He? Although she made mistakes, she is pregnant with the Dragon Child. If I reprimand her now, it might cause the fetus to become unstable."
As the queen mother, even if she wanted to take action against Concubine He, she had to first consider the child in her belly.
There was a dark glint in the queen's eyes.
Shen Qing's mood calmed down. She was too excited too early. Concubine He was pregnant, so even if the Queen had other plans, she had to follow the Emperor's wishes.
Once a concubine becomes pregnant, she will be the mother of the future prince, and she can no longer be punished in the same way as other concubines.
It's no wonder that Concubine He took the risk of the Queen's resentment. The fact that she was pregnant was a trump card in itself.
What's more, he was plotting against a mere maidservant beside the queen.
Besides, the emperor does not have many children, and although he is young, he should pay more attention to his children.
But why did Concubine He have someone frame her? Shen Qing couldn't figure it out. She had met Concubine He a few times. She was ambitious and smart. She was not in the Empress Dowager's palace that day because she was pregnant.
So when Shen Qing started to doubt, he never thought of Concubine He. After all, they were in the same camp as the Queen, so they should work together. Even if they couldn't do that, they shouldn't use tricks on their own people.
Didn't she ever think about how the Queen would look at her if the truth was exposed? Or was she sure that the Queen would protect her and give up Shen Qing even if she knew the truth?
Ji Chen's gaze swept across Shen Qing's slightly depressed face, his eyes flashed slightly, and he had an answer to the Queen's words in his mind.
"He was promoted too quickly, so she became ambitious and learned all kinds of calculating methods. The mother of the prince and princess should not be such a person. Now that we have investigated clearly, we will demote her back to a talented person. If she gives birth smoothly, the position of a talented person will be enough. If the baby in her belly cannot be born safely, it means that her position is too high, and she should be demoted to a Baolin."
"Repeat this sentence verbatim to He Cairen."
Shen Qing opened her eyes wide in surprise and looked up subconsciously, unexpectedly meeting the emperor's gaze. Or rather, Ji Chen had been looking at her vaguely, observing her reaction, but she couldn't feel it.
If He Cairen was punished because of her... When Shen Qing thought of this possibility, he didn't know what to do. He bit his lip unconsciously, his heart felt a little sore, and his ears turned red.
Partiality does have the power to shake people's hearts.
The Queen was also shocked. After all, He Cairen was still pregnant. The Emperor didn't care about the baby in her belly, but he didn't allow her to be too sad and lose the child, so he pre-set Baolin's position as a punishment. But if the Emperor cared about the unborn second prince or the eldest princess, it didn't seem like it. This order was a punishment that hit He Cairen in the heart.
Aren't the women in the palace most concerned about their status and children? This thought was just a passing thought. The queen admitted it and apologized: "At the beginning, I was not thoughtful. I thought that He Cairen was pregnant and had done a great deed, so I wanted to promote her to a noble lady. I thought that the heir would be raised by his biological mother in the future, and the biological mother's status would definitely not be low, so it would be better to reward He Cairen in advance. But I never thought that He Cairen's moral character was flawed and could not make her occupy a high position."
The Queen did intend to make He Cairen more loyal by making her the head of a palace, but He Cairen was too arrogant and actually wanted to interfere in her palace.
This is something the Queen would never allow or tolerate.
This also shows that He Cairen is difficult to control. It is better to suppress her early and not let her have the opportunity to rise again by relying on the royal heir. And according to the emperor's words, if He Cairen gives birth to a child, he will choose a new mother for the child.
"There is nothing wrong with you considering Concubine He carefully. If anyone is to blame, it should be Concubine He herself." Ji Chen's light words stopped the Queen from blaming herself.
The turmoil outside the house is coming to an end. The Emperor must take Nanny Zhang and Nanny Jin away. The Queen and the eldest prince respectfully see the Emperor off.
Then he turned to Shen Qing and said, "Everyone is too frightened tonight. Give the maids who serve the eldest prince some gold and silver to appease them. You tell them this news."
Shen Qing was about to leave when the Queen called her and said, "Shen Qing, you are the person I trust the most. I don't want you to betray me like He Cairen one day."
In fact, it was not difficult to get He Cairen out of this turmoil, but it was one thing that she disliked He Cairen's actions, and it was also a fact that she chose Shen Qing between He Cairen and Shen Qing.
During this process, she also had the idea of ​​protecting He Cairen and breaking away from Shen Qing, or breaking up with He Cairen and making Shen Qing loyal to her.
It was an easy choice, and she chose the latter.
He Cairen, this chess piece, is useless, and the Queen is truly in a state of having no one available. However, among this group of new concubines, only Zhang Cairen is perhaps available to her, and there is nothing outstanding in the rest of the concubines.
"I am terrified. I am loyal to you and the eldest prince only, and I will never betray you." Shen Qing's voice was a little weak when she said the first sentence. It was the queen who asked her a question, and she responded instinctively. But soon she spoke firmly and her eyes were burning. Although she didn't look at the queen, her determined face made people know that her words were true.
Shen Qing knew that at this time, the most important thing was not to shake the Queen's trust in her.
The Queen's trust was what she cherished, and it was the best thing she had ever gotten since entering the palace. She couldn't let this trust go to waste, so she simply had no intention of becoming a concubine, although the Queen might not care whether she became a concubine or not.
The Queen needed her promise so much just to give her peace of mind and make her loyally take care of the eldest prince.
Although it is important to trust the people you employ, the incident with Nanny Jin and Nanny Zhang made the Queen worry about the safety of the eldest prince.
The queen smiled relaxedly upon hearing this: "I believe you."
That night, the queen slept with the eldest prince. After Shen Qing conveyed the queen's order, he brought the remaining two wet nurses to the queen's bedroom.
Nothing happened overnight.
The next day, the order issued by the emperor at the eldest prince's place last night arrived at Ninghuiyuan where He Cairen lived.
Being demoted from a noble lady to a talented lady, He Cairen could not accept it, even though it was because she was accidentally involved in the incident where the eldest prince was almost killed.
She immediately wanted to go find the emperor and empress, but Ying Chun beside her said anxiously, "My Lord, you are pregnant, so take good care of the baby first, and we will consider other matters later!"
He Cairen shed two lines of tears: "A child? A child who can keep me as a talented person?"
"The queen is so cruel. She is just a lowly maid, but she chose Shen Qing over me. Am I not as good as a palace maid?"
Ying Chun also regretted, "We shouldn't have listened to Jiang Cairen's instigation. Bah, she is such a talented woman, but she actually used her talent to lobby her master!"
He Cairen shed tears silently. No matter how smart and ambitious she was, she was just a little girl of sixteen or seventeen years old. When Jiang Cairen used Shen Qing's stunning beauty to tempt her, she actually began to test him, fearing that Shen Qing would become a concubine one day and replace her treatment by the queen's side.
Shen Qing had been with the Queen for a long time and was deeply trusted by her. He also had a face that was loved and favored by both men and women. The Queen had such a person by her side. How could she not suspect that the Queen might introduce Shen Qing to the Emperor?
But now think about it, Concubine Xian has Concubine Lin and Concubine Jiang by her side, Concubine De has Concubine Li and Concubine Chu by her side, and it is impossible for the Queen to be alone. If it is not Shen Qing, it will be someone else.
Unfortunately, her actions were tantamount to betrayal, and it seemed only natural for the queen to abandon her.
He Cairen touched her belly, and as Ying Chun encouraged and calmed her down, she began to think about Jiang Cairen's purpose.
Jiang Cairen didn't like to move around except when she went to Concubine Xian's palace. She simply kept her back to Concubine Xian, and no servant in the palace dared to neglect her. That day, she took the initiative to come to Ninghui Garden to find her, most likely on Concubine Xian's orders, but at that time, apart from the Queen, what else was there for Concubine Xian to plot against?
He Cairen's eyes fell on his bulging belly.
Finally there is an answer.
"If separating the Queen from me is the first step, the next step will be to come and snatch my child."
Ying Chunchu didn't understand when he heard it: "Master, what are you talking about..." After thinking about it again, he suddenly realized and stopped.
He Cairen looked at Ying Chun with red and swollen eyes from crying: "Go and plead guilty to the Queen on my behalf, saying that I was bewitched by Jiang Cairen and now I feel guilty and have failed the Queen's trust. I dare not beg for the Queen's forgiveness and am willing to be a chess piece placed beside Concubine Xian."
Ying Chun looked at his master with pity, then left.
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