After the investigation revealed the truth about Consort De, Emperor Kangxi was greatly shocked and furious. This matter absolutely could not be resolved peacefully.
On the tenth day of the second month of the twenty-second year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, Consort Cheng knelt in front of the Qianqing Palace, begging the Emperor to intervene on her behalf. Beside her was the wet nurse of the Seventh Prince, who was kneeling with the Seventh Prince in her arms.
After Emperor Kangxi met Consort Cheng, she left the Qianqing Palace half an hour later. That afternoon, the Yonghe Palace was sealed off. On February 15, it was discovered that the Seventh Prince's limp was caused by Consort De. Many concubines in the harem who were unaware of their pregnancies had been miscarried by Consort De.
There were also other miscellaneous issues; the misdeeds committed by Consort De alone aroused the indignation of the entire harem.
With irrefutable evidence, Consort De tried to argue, but Emperor Kangxi simply threw the evidence in her face.
The following day, Consort De was stripped of her title, demoted to commoner status, and given three feet of white silk as a punishment.
On February 20th, Consort De died in a side hall of Yonghe Palace. It is said that her death was very unpleasant. Her deeds were revealed, which aroused the anger of the harem. If you really count them one by one, there is no one in the entire harem that Consort De did not touch. She even plotted against the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager.
So she had a very difficult time before she died.
When Youqing learned of what Consort De had done, she was genuinely surprised. This woman had only been in the palace for a few years, yet the things she had done were increasingly outrageous.
It turns out that the snake venom used by Granny Hong and Granny Chen was child's play; she was simply ignorant.
With Consort De gone, the ownership of her son, the Sixth Prince, became a problem. Emperor Kangxi said to Youqing, "How about I register the Sixth Prince under your name?"
Youqing had been favored by the emperor for quite some time, but her belly remained flat. Emperor Kangxi wanted to promote her rank, but he lacked a proper reason. With the Empress Dowager watching from above, Kangxi couldn't act too arbitrarily. He decided to register the Sixth Prince under Youqing's name so that he could legitimately promote Youqing to the rank of Consort.
The other person's son was born to Consort De, and she harbored a grudge against the other person's mother! Although outsiders might not understand, she knew it perfectly well. While she wouldn't raise an ignorant child, it was impossible for her to raise the son of her enemy.
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty, but I am frail and prefer quiet. The Sixth Prince is also pampered, and I have little experience. Your Majesty, please find an experienced elder sister to take care of the Sixth Prince!"
She couldn't possibly raise the Sixth Prince.
Kangxi understood what she meant, but still said, "If you raise a child by your side, I can promote your rank."
Youqing was shocked. She hadn't expected that Kangxi would have such thoughts. It was nothing for concubines below the rank of concubine to be promoted, but Kangxi was very stingy when it came to the rank of imperial concubine.
Despite her surprise, Youqing still refused: "I appreciate Your Majesty's kindness, but I am powerless to help the Sixth Prince."
If this had happened to an ordinary concubine, Kangxi would have thought that the person was ungrateful, but since it happened to Youqing, Kangxi did not force her.
"Since you're unwilling, then forget it."
On February 25th, Emperor Kangxi ordered that the Sixth Prince be raised by Consort Rong, Youqing was promoted from Consort Shu to Consort Shu, Noble Lady Cheng became Consort Cheng, and Lady Liang became Noble Lady Liang. In addition, some people who had been harmed by Consort De were given titles and rewards. Those who could not be brought back to life benefited their families.
When the imperial edict arrived, Youqing was still a little confused. She had already refused to raise the Sixth Prince, so how could she still be involved in the matter of becoming a concubine?
Kangxi doesn't seem like an impulsive person!
Emperor Kangxi had not originally intended to make Youqing a concubine, but he did so in the end. As for the reason, only Emperor Kangxi himself knew.
This matter is not over yet. This investigation uncovered other things besides Consort De. There are very few truly clean people in the harem. Kangxi dealt with all those who had harmed children, while he only punished those who had not harmed children.
Then there's the Imperial Household Department.
He had always known that the Imperial Household Department was rife with corruption, and he had always believed that if the water were too clear, there would be no fish, so he often turned a blind eye. But the matter of Consort De shocked him. He really couldn't let the bondservant families continue to develop like this.
Subsequently, Emperor Kangxi began to reorganize the Imperial Household Department.
However, none of these matters concerned Youqing. The fact that she was granted the title of Consort despite having no children made everyone in the harem truly understand Kangxi's favor towards her. This was not just casual pampering; he must have taken it to heart. Otherwise, given Youqing's family background, she could never have been granted the title of Consort.
The concubines in the harem were extremely jealous, but they only talked sourly in private. They didn't dare to actually do anything. Didn't they see what happened to Consort De and the others? For the time being, they kept quiet.
Since they couldn't be enemies, they could try to become friends. Although Youqing was known for not liking to socialize, some people still refused to listen and kept trying to get close to her. Youqing treated everyone the same, and gradually, everyone realized that she was truly unyielding, so they gave up their attempts to curry favor with her.
No one in the harem dared to cause trouble, and everyone behaved themselves very well. Several months passed in the blink of an eye, and it wasn't until the end of June that the harem became lively again. This year was the triennial general election, and it was time for new people to enter the harem.
For nearly two out of the past three years, the harem has been solely favored by Youqing. Because of her, the harem has become quite desolate during these two years, and for the first time, the concubines are eagerly awaiting the selection of consorts.
In previous years, they would have tried every means to squeeze out those most beautiful girls, preferably sending them home. But this year is different. It seems that the concubines in the harem are planning to select a fairy to compete with Youqing.
In July, the selected young women entered the palace to begin a nearly month-long period of learning and observing palace rules.
During this month, the young ladies-in-waiting were busy learning etiquette while also dealing with the summons from the various palace ladies. Regardless of their family background, as long as they were outstanding in appearance, they were all summoned.
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