Youqing heard these words too, and her heart sank. She wanted to fake her death, provided that no one would be implicated. Sangzhu had taken care of her for so long, and if she lost her life because of her, even if she gained her freedom, she would feel guilty for the rest of her life.
And those imperial physicians were all innocent people. If they died because of her, she would never be able to get over it for the rest of her life.
In her heart, Youqing cursed Kangxi, whom she had never met, to the bone. This man was a real scoundrel. She finally had a chance to fake her death, but he had to interfere and prevent her from getting her way.
Unable to overcome her own inner conflict, Youqing's plan to fake her death had to "collapse halfway through".
"System, why is my life so difficult! Also, what does Kangxi mean by this? Why is he raising me in Jiangxue Pavilion? I've never seen me before. Could it be that my cheap father has done something good for the country and the people?"
That shouldn't be the case. As far as she knew, if it weren't for the fact that her biological mother's family was powerful, her father wouldn't even have his current status. The woman he later married came from a very ordinary family, and was only good-looking.
Emperor Kangxi's actions were truly baffling.
Since she couldn't hide her death, Youqing's fever gradually subsided, and Sangzhu breathed a sigh of relief. The imperial physician also gave a clear diagnosis: it was just a common fever, unrelated to the epidemic.
When Youqing recovered, Sangzhu was overjoyed: "My lady, you're finally alright. I was so scared."
Youqing: "I'm all better now. It was just a common illness, don't worry."
...
"System, what type of epidemic is this?"
System: "I'm not a medical system, how would I know?"
"You know that infection can only be transmitted through contact, so how come you didn't know that!"
"This is different."
Youqing had limited abilities and could only take care of herself. After she recovered, she still lived in Jiangxue Pavilion, and her life remained ordinary, but it was somewhat different from before.
Not only were her rations of food, clothing, and daily necessities fully provided, but she was also given a lot of things that weren't included in her rations. In addition to Sangzhu, she had another palace maid by her side. The palace maid was named Chengying. According to the system, she had some martial arts skills and should not be an ordinary palace maid.
Besides the addition of a palace maid, there were also two eunuchs, who were said to have come from the Qianqing Palace and were probably sent by Emperor Kangxi.
The appearance of these people made Youqing feel even more strange; it was very illogical.
At first, no one noticed Kangxi's actions, but Jiangxue Pavilion was right next to the Imperial Garden, so how could it not attract attention?
And so, Youqing, who had never served the emperor, officially caught the eye of many concubines in the harem.
Even the Empress Dowager had heard of it.
The Empress Dowager knew about Kangxi's favoritism towards Consort Ding. She had sent people to investigate Consort Ding and found that she was plain-looking and not particularly remarkable, nor was she the type to cause trouble. She did not mind Kangxi's favoritism towards her.
In the past few years, Emperor Kangxi did show favoritism to some women. Initially, he favored Consort Rong, and later Consort De and Consort Yi. However, after that period, Emperor Kangxi still treated all women equally in the harem.
Perhaps it was Consort Ding who caught his eye, or perhaps he wanted a change of pace. But something was strange about Youqing. She had never even met Emperor Kangxi, yet he had given her special treatment, which was quite odd.
The concubines in the harem all began to inquire about Youqing's whereabouts.
After investigation, it turned out that apart from her humble family background and somewhat tragic personal circumstances, there was nothing particularly special about her. In fact, she wasn't even the most tragic one in the harem.
The Empress Dowager said to Su Mala Gu, "These past two years, I have become increasingly unable to understand what the Emperor wants to do. One Consort Ding was not enough, and now there is this sickly Consort Shu. I only hope that another Dong E clan will not appear."
Consort Dong'e was an unspeakable taboo in both the inner palace and the imperial court.
"His Majesty is strict with himself and is an extremely restrained person. That Consort Shu is not particularly outstanding. It is likely that His Majesty made the decision arbitrarily in order to control the epidemic."
The Empress Dowager sighed, "I hope so! I'm too old to manage things anymore."
“Master is not old, not at all.”
"You're just good at making me happy. Fine, children and grandchildren have their own blessings. I've managed things my whole life, and I want to enjoy my retirement."
"That's the right way to think, Your Majesty. His Majesty is well-informed, so there's no way anything could go wrong."
The Empress Dowager no longer cared about Consort Ding or Consort Shu. She didn't care, but others in the harem did!
Arriving at Consort Ding's residence, she asked angrily, "What's going on with that Consort Shu?"
Rumors spread throughout the palace that His Majesty had taken a liking to a young concubine. She had only been favored for a month, and in that month, she had come to understand the difference between being favored and not being favored. How could she be willing to go back to her old life?
She knew that the Emperor would not favor one person exclusively. She just wanted to get pregnant. Once she had the child, given the Emperor's affection for her, it wouldn't be impossible for her to become the head of a palace.
This idea took deep root in her mind after she received repeated favors.
There's no sign of pregnancy yet, but then this concubine, Shu, appears. I hear she's quite sickly, and I don't know how she caught His Majesty's attention.
"Your Highness, Consort Shu was a new concubine who entered the palace last year. She fell seriously ill before even serving the emperor. Her roommates felt it was bad luck and were afraid of catching the disease, so Consort Shu was sent to Jingyang Palace. After that, Consort Shu lived in Jingyang Palace. After an epidemic broke out in Jingyang Palace, the Imperial Noble Consort ordered the palace to be sealed off. That was the plan. However, a few days ago, His Majesty suddenly ordered that Consort Shu be brought out of Jingyang Palace and placed in Jiangxue Pavilion. As for the reason, no one knows."
Consort Ding frowned after hearing this and asked, "Has His Majesty met Consort Shu?"
The palace maid shook her head: "As far as I know, His Majesty has not set foot in the inner palace since Jingyang Palace was sealed off. Logically speaking, he should not have seen Consort Shu."
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