The joy that had just filled Chengqian Palace vanished completely. The guests gasped in surprise, and the young eunuch who was about to shave the head collapsed to the ground, utterly terrified.
If only I had stepped forward sooner.
With the Twelfth Prince's convulsions, at best his skin would be scratched, at worst it would be fatal... Not only would he lose his own life, but he might also endanger others! The little eunuch scrambled back a few steps, his retreat just enough to allow Consort Tong to step forward.
Consort Tong leaped forward.
Her eyes were filled with fear, and cold sweat smudged her delicate makeup. Consort Tong pressed down on the twelfth prince's convulsing legs, trying to stop his abnormal movements, but what was the use? The prince's convulsions became more and more severe, until finally even white foam came out of his mouth.
Aside from helplessly holding the Twelfth Prince, Consort Tong could only turn to Emperor Kangxi for help: "Your Majesty."
Emperor Kangxi's face darkened.
This is clearly epilepsy! He immediately ordered someone to press chopsticks down on the tip of the young prince's tongue, and at the same time shouted sternly, "What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and get the imperial physician to come and take a look!"
"Yes, yes, the imperial physician! Quickly, summon the imperial physician!"
"Summon the imperial physician—" The palace servants rushed out. The chaotic state of Chengqian Palace made the ladies-in-waiting frown, and also made the emperor and Empress Hesheli's hearts sink to the bottom.
A surge of anger burned fiercely in Kangxi's chest.
Looking around at the room full of imperial wives, one could imagine that today's events would likely spread throughout all the imperial family households within a single night.
He closed his eyes.
Forget it! As long as the Twelfth Prince can be saved, these things can be ignored.
When Empress Niohuru hurriedly arrived at Chengqian Palace, the imperial physician had just stepped into the palace gates. The surging crowd made the Empress frown. Was the auspicious hour not yet over, and the princesses were already being allowed to leave? It was likely that not only members of the imperial family but even ordinary officials would know that something big had happened in the palace.
The prince suffered a seizure during the full moon celebration?
Is the Twelfth Prince suspected of being seriously ill?
Just thinking about the rumors that would follow made the Empress's temples throb. She said in a deep voice, "Ladies, Chengqian Palace is in such a mess right now that it's not easy to entertain you. Why don't you follow Granny Xia to Kunning Palace for a while?"
The wives all agreed.
They secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Anyone who dared to say they wanted to stay in Chengqian Palace would be a fool, lest they be inviting the Consort's wrath. The wives readily agreed, their expressions still solemn, but inwardly they were overjoyed and quickened their pace to walk outside.
The wives walked to the palace gate.
Before they could leave, Kangxi suddenly said, "There's no one in Kunning Palace. Xia Mama, please take the ladies to Xianfu Palace for a while."
Why! ? ?
Not only were the wives shocked, but the Empress's eyes widened in surprise, and Consort Tong's expression changed drastically.
It was clearly the Twelfth Prince's full moon celebration, and she was the one who invited the guests. Could it be that in the end, Xianfu Palace would benefit from it all? Her vision went black, and blood welled up in her throat. She really couldn't understand why everything she had done would end up benefiting Xianfu Palace.
Consort Tong forced herself to stay upright.
Her face was pale as she whispered, "Your Majesty—"
Emperor Kangxi did not answer Consort Tong.
Instructing the guests to go to Xianfu Palace seemed like a casual remark, and then Kangxi's gaze returned to the Twelfth Prince: "How is the Twelfth Prince?"
The imperial physician's expression was serious.
Consort Tong's face turned pale, and she remained silent until the end.
She understood perfectly well.
The Emperor was clearly dissatisfied with her, extremely dissatisfied; he was openly slapping her in the face. Consort Tong's gaze fell on the Twelfth Prince, and waves of grievance welled up within her.
Didn't I already get better before?
It's all Uya's fault for causing trouble and giving birth to the little prince in this way. If it were her, she would definitely have given birth to a smart, cute, healthy and strong little prince for the emperor.
While Chengqian Palace was shrouded in gloom, Xianfu Palace was completely silent. Upon hearing the purpose of Xia Mama's visit and learning that the imperial concubines would arrive in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, everyone in Xianfu Palace was dumbfounded.
What on earth is the emperor thinking?
Consort Xuan, Noble Lady Nara, and Wan Anran were all inwardly furious. Wasn't this pushing Consort Tong's hostility to its absolute limit? What kind of tactic was this? Could the Emperor be doing this on purpose?
The three looked at each other in bewilderment.
The palace was silent. The palace servants looked confused and bewildered, holding their breath and waiting for their masters to make a decision.
Granny Xia also felt that the Emperor was very unreliable.
But what can be done now? The Emperor's word is law, and the imperial concubines have no choice but to come to Xianfu Palace, no matter how embarrassed they are.
There is no time left to remain silent.
Granny Xia reminded her, "Your Highness Consort Xuan, the Fujin (principals) will be arriving soon!"
Consort Xuan waved her hand and quickly ordered the palace servants to tidy up the courtyard. As for what to do if there wasn't enough food prepared, Wan Anran, with perfect understanding, immediately called for people to prepare the food.
Bring out the heater!
Bring out the barbecue!
Bring out the best wine!
Seeing the chaotic scene in Xianfu Palace, Granny Xia was dumbfounded: "This, this is not a good idea, is it?"
Who holds a full moon celebration like this?
Wan Anran patted Granny Xia's shoulder and said with a heavy heart, "Granny Xia, have you ever seen a full moon celebration where the guests only arrive after the full moon ceremony has been completed?"
I've never seen that before.
After a moment of contemplation, Granny Xia could only grit her teeth and agree: "Let's do it this way!"
This is probably the first time anyone present has ever seen this before.
Everyone in Xianfu Palace was mobilized. They split into several groups, each with a clear objective, and began preparing for various matters in an orderly manner.
As for Crown Prince Bao Cheng and Wan Fu, they were very happy.
The two, feeling they hadn't had enough of their snowball fight, cheered and rushed into the yard, diving into the snow and laughing and frolicking together.
Only the eldest princess remained standing inside the palace.
Instead of playing with her two younger brothers, she stood silently by the cradle, staring blankly at her eleventh brother.
Yinzhen's eyes were wide open.
The eldest princess in her previous life was exceptionally quiet and serene. She grew up in the Cining Palace and had a rather distant relationship with her brothers and sisters, except for Yinqi.
Despite the distance, the eldest princess was gentle and considerate. Even when Yinzhen lost his adoptive mother and was not favored by his birth mother, and his life in the princes' quarters was quite difficult, he still received a lot of help from her.
Looking at the eldest princess with a worried expression, Yinzhen stretched out his little hand and started babbling.
His childish voice immediately caught Wan Anran's attention. She quickly came over to check on Mao Tao, and after confirming that he was alright, Wan Anran also noticed the eldest princess's unusual behavior. She was slightly worried: "What's wrong with the eldest princess? Isn't she going out to play with the Ninth Prince?"
The eldest princess shook her head.
She was wringing her handkerchief between her hands, and the anxiety in her eyes made Wan Anran's heart tighten: "What's wrong? Did someone in the palace upset you?"
Upon hearing this, Granny Xia stopped what she was doing and quickly went to the eldest princess's side: "Young mistress, is someone in the palace gossiping? Who is it? Tell Granny Xia, and Granny Xia will avenge you!"
The empress probably has no children of her own.
After learning about this from their mistress and seeing how she treated the eldest princess as her own daughter, the loyal servants showered her with affection. Honestly, if the eldest princess weren't so kind and gentle by nature, she would have long since become a spoiled and arrogant brat.
Of course, the better the princess's temper, the more the palace servants felt sorry for her. When Granny Xia heard that someone had bullied the princess, her face immediately turned serious, as if she wanted to arrest the person as soon as she found out who it was.
The eldest princess shook her head.
Now everyone was even more worried. Wan Anran said seriously, "Princess, if you're bullied, you have to speak up and fight back fiercely. Otherwise, they'll think you're a pushover, and they might talk badly about you again next time!"
“What Consort Wan said makes sense.”
Consort Yi, who had somehow joined in, nodded in agreement. She also urged the eldest princess to speak, but seeing that the princess remained silent for a long time, Consort Yi had her own guess: "Could it be... His Highness the Crown Prince?"
"Ahem." Crown Prince Bao Cheng poked his head in unhappily, glaring at Consort Yi: "It's not me! Eldest sister is afraid of Prince Gong's wife!"
Everyone repeated in unison: "Princess Consort of Prince Gong!?"
Prince Gong's wife is the eldest princess's legal mother, so in principle she does have the right to govern the eldest princess... But? Wan Anran said, half-laughing and half-crying, "The eldest princess's mother is the Empress. Prince Gong's wife has no right to govern you. She even has to kneel and perform the rites of a subject when she sees you."
Everyone nodded emphatically.
As the eldest princess, who is the adopted daughter of the Empress, if the wife of Prince Gong really came up with this out of the blue, people would probably wonder if she has some kind of mental problem!
The eldest princess bit her lip: "But, Mother is still here..."
Everyone immediately understood what the eldest princess was afraid of.
The eldest princess's birth mother was Prince Gong's concubine. The eldest princess was worried that if she offended Prince Gong's wife, her own birth mother would suffer the consequences.
That's a difficult problem.
Just as Wan Anran looked worried, Consort Yi said decisively, "Princess, please rest assured! I heard that Prince Gong has angered the Emperor. I'm afraid that not only will Prince Gong's wife not dare to cause trouble for you, Princess, but she might even have to ask you to plead for Prince Gong!"
"This is……?"
"Prince Gong did something that greatly angered the Emperor... Consort Xuan, you know about it, right?" Consort Yi said mysteriously.
Consort Xuan, who had just entered after lifting the curtain, was taken aback.
She then nodded: "I heard... Prince Gong took Wu Sangui's granddaughter as a concubine!"
Wan Anran's mouth gaped open.
The eldest princess's almond-shaped eyes widened in surprise.
This shocking news left my mind buzzing, and I couldn't come to my senses for a long time.
"You want me to...plead for them?"
“Your Highness, you cannot plead for me. This matter concerns the Three Feudatories. If you plead for me, I'm afraid you will anger the Emperor!” Wan Anran refused outright.
“That’s right. Besides, how can the eldest princess say that Prince Gong’s taking a concubine is wrong? No matter what we do, the eldest princess is wrong!” Consort Xuan said solemnly.
"Then this..."
“The best course of action for the eldest princess is to pretend she doesn’t know anything about this,” Consort Yi said in a deep voice. “As for the wife of Prince Gong, the more confident and arrogant the eldest princess is, the less the wife of Prince Gong will dare to raise her voice. She would probably treat your birth mother with utmost respect, let alone insult her.”
The eldest princess's almond-shaped eyes widened slightly.
The anxiety and fear she had felt earlier vanished instantly. She gripped her slightly damp palm tightly and nodded solemnly: "Yes, I will... I will try."
Once everything was ready at Xianfu Palace, the wives of the princes arrived. Despite their inner embarrassment, they put on friendly smiles, which deepened even more when they noticed the presence of the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince and the First Princess, who had only made a brief appearance at Chengqian Palace, were actually playing in Xianfu Palace? Everyone marveled and couldn't help but inquire as they entered Xianfu Palace.
Compared to the magnificent Chengqian Palace, Xianfu Palace is full of homey charm. For example, the various wool products laid out on the benches and soft couches were very popular with the wives, and the various exquisite and rare trinkets were even more admirable.
Especially upon entering the backyard, everyone's faces showed a hint of astonishment. Under everyone's shocked gaze, Consort Xuan calmly said, "The ladies must be tired too, right? Sit down and rest well. This is roasted meat that His Majesty and Empress both enjoy. Everyone can have a taste."
You know what?
They mustered their spirits to deal with things in Chengqian Palace, then went through the full moon ceremony, and then walked from Chengqian Palace to Xianfu Palace... It would have been better if they hadn't mentioned it, because their stomachs were already rumbling. After only a moment's hesitation, the ladies sat down, deciding to fill their stomachs first.
With roasted meat and fine wine, plus the beautiful scenery and relaxed atmosphere, the wives' chaotic thoughts gradually dissipated, and laughter and chatter once again filled the courtyard.
Only Prince Gong's wife seemed preoccupied, secretly glancing at her familiar yet unfamiliar illegitimate daughter.
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