Chapter 122 Consort Jin: She's a pitiful girl.
"Tsk."
Jiang Nan let out a soft sigh and slowly sat down in the cushioned armchair.
"When did the threshold of my Yongshou Palace become a shelter?"
Looking at the disheveled Nara before her, she secretly praised Nara for her clear-headedness and resilience.
But thinking about it, it makes sense; someone who managed to become one of the four concubines in Kangxi's harem and live a long life.
If you didn't have any intelligence, you would have been devoured long ago, leaving not even bones behind.
Nara kowtowed again, her forehead covered in red marks and cold sweat, her voice full of pleading.
"Your Majesty, I beg you to uphold justice!"
"justice?"
Jiang Nan twirled the jade beads on her wrist and suddenly smiled.
"Nara, you've been in the palace for quite some time now, how can you still believe in such empty and unfounded words?"
She leaned forward, staring into Nara's eyes, her tone revealing no emotion.
"You're a pitiful creature. Get up and answer me. Tell me in detail how you were framed. And who do you think was behind this scheme?"
She paused, her eyes filled with an inquisitive look, as if she were watching something interesting.
“Go ahead and say that I am not the Emperor. I don’t care about solid evidence.”
Empress Nara was helped up by a palace maid. She leaned weakly against the back of the chair, took a breath, and then spoke with difficulty.
"Your Majesty, recently there have been rumors circulating in the palace that I am restless, mentally unstable, and often have nightmares at night..."
"Upon hearing this, I knew something was wrong. This was a sign that someone was about to make a move, trying to solidify my reputation for being erratic. Sure enough, not long after, I began to experience heart palpitations and difficulty sleeping at night. I became vigilant and checked everything that came into my mouth and that I touched. Still to no avail, I resorted to a clumsy method: I removed all the items around me, including incense, rouge, and face powder. After a few days, my symptoms actually started to improve."
"I thought I had escaped a disaster and was going to take a walk in the courtyard of Yanxi Palace to clear my mind. Who knew... someone had spilled oil on the stone slabs at the entrance of the palace. Fortunately, my personal maid was alert and took the fall for me. However, the maid Jiqing fell quite badly. After this incident, I am certain that the one who plotted against me is in Yanxi Palace."
"Without Jiqing's personal service, I feel as if I have lost an arm. I am desperate and just wanted to find an opportunity to ask Your Majesty for help. But on my way to Yongshou Palace, a strange eunuch bumped into my stomach... I have no other request but Your Majesty to seek justice for me and my unborn child."
Jiang Nan nodded after listening.
In her view, these methods were insidious, vicious, and interconnected.
These underhanded methods were useless against Jiang Nan.
But for concubines like Nara, who had no power base, it was truly a case of playing them to death.
"Yes, I understand."
Jiang Nan's tone remained calm as she turned to Chunlan.
"Chunlan, take a look at Consort Nara."
Chunlan stepped forward and carefully took Nara's pulse.
After a moment, she stepped back to Jiang Nan's side and whispered.
"Your Majesty... the Nala master's pulse shows signs of miscarriage; the imperial fetus may not be able to be saved."
Although Nara had a premonition, the direct verdict shattered her last glimmer of hope.
She could no longer hold back and burst into tears, her cries filled with grief.
Looking at her miserable appearance, Jiang Nan felt a rare pity.
That's really tragic.
Who would have thought that the future Consort Hui would be forced into such a situation in her youth?
She couldn't help but sigh again.
Sure enough, when you're out in the game, connections and background matter.
She recalled the day she fainted, when she casually suggested finding a powerful backer for Nara, only to be politely refused by him.
His tone carried a hint of sarcasm.
"Stop crying. It's too late to cry now. I remember the day I fainted, I thought of helping you. If you had agreed then, with Consort Niohuru looking after you, you wouldn't be in such a miserable state today."
Nara's crying stopped abruptly.
I want to explain something.
Jiang Nan, however, was too lazy to listen to her nonsense and waved her hand to interrupt.
"Don't make any excuses. You're a smart person, you know how to be vigilant, and you can make decisions. But why can't you understand the simplest truth?"
She leaned forward slightly, looking intently at Nara, each word striking Nara's heart like a heavy hammer.
"In this harem, as long as your offspring can be born safely and grow up healthy, that is your greatest confidence and best support. Your good days will naturally come."
"For the sake of so-called non-partisanship, for that vague idea of becoming the head of a palace, you put your own and your child's safety in danger... Nara, tell me, is this cleverness or ridiculously short-sightedness?"
Jiang Nan's words were like a knife, dissecting all of Nara's self-righteous scheming and wishful thinking.
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Jiang Nan glanced at Nara's slightly regretful eyes, then lazily curled the corners of her lips, her tone indifferent.
"That's fine. You chose this path yourself, so you have to swallow the bitter pill. Now you know the excruciating pain, and you'll learn your lesson from this."
She ignored Nara and spoke softly, instantly breaking the oppressive atmosphere of the side hall of Yongshou Palace.
"Zhao Deyi!"
Zhao Deyi, who had been standing at attention, bowed and replied.
"Your Majesty, this servant is here to request instructions."
Jiang Nan's tone was calm and even, yet it carried an undeniable air of authority.
"Go to Yanxi Palace and convey my imperial edict."
"Yes, sir."
Zhao Deyi bent even lower, his expression solemn.
"Consort Nara was assassinated, and the emperor's unborn child is in danger."
Jiang Nan's voice was steady, each word distinct.
"This is a grave crime of plotting to harm the imperial heir. Today, I will personally investigate this case."
She paused briefly, looked up at Zhao Deyi, and gave a clear order.
"By order, everyone in Yanxi Palace, whether concubines, stewards, or lowly servants, shall be immediately arrested and brought to Yongshou Palace to kneel and await trial."
The order wasn't over; she continued to give instructions with a murderous aura.
"I hereby issue this decree: Anyone who dares to feign illness and fail to appear will be considered guilty and disobeying orders, and will be beaten to death! Anyone who dares to delay will be considered an accomplice in delaying, and will be beaten to death! Anyone who dares to whisper and pass messages on the road will be considered to be colluding to give a false testimony, and will be beaten to death on the spot!"
The three deaths by flogging were like three thunderclaps, exploding in the side hall.
This imperial edict was extremely domineering, completely disregarding palace rules and regulations, and directly treating everyone in the palace as a suspect.
Zhao Deyi was shocked, knowing that the Empress was serious and would use drastic measures to massacre Yanxi Palace.
Without hesitation, he immediately agreed.
"Yes, Your Majesty! I understand. I will go and do it right away. I will bring all the living creatures from Yanxi Palace to Your Majesty."
Having said that, he turned and strode away quickly, his footsteps carrying the wind.
Jiang Nan didn't even lift her eyelids before speaking again.
"Chang Shun".
Chang Shun entered silently and knelt down without making a sound.
"Your servant is here."
"Go to the Qianqing Palace and meet the Emperor."
Jiang Nan's tone was languid, with a hint of watching Kangxi make a fool of himself.
"Tell him that Consort Nara miscarried, and the imperial fetus was killed by someone. Tell him to come and see her when he has time. Don't let his child be lost without his father knowing."
These words were incredibly disrespectful, but when Jiang Nan said them, they sounded almost perfectly natural.
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