Chapter 057

Chapter 057

After hearing about the Crown Prince's smallpox, the other concubines in the harem had mixed feelings. Everyone knew what this meant.

The Crown Prince had been personally raised by His Majesty since birth, and all the concubines both feared and secretly wished for his untimely death.

He held that position, and any princes born after him would always be in his shadow. Who could just sit back and watch that position slip away without trying to grab it?

But with His Majesty personally raising him, who could act under his watchful eye without being discovered?

Now, with the outbreak of smallpox—a deadly disease—the young Crown Prince, being so young, might not make it. If he doesn't survive, the position of Crown Prince would be vacant.

The other concubines put on a facade of concern, but each had their own plans, especially those with sons.

Lady Hui was the most active in her thoughts. Her son, Yinzhi, was now His Majesty's eldest living son. If the Crown Prince were gone, wouldn't her Yinzhi...

When she heard about the Crown Prince's smallpox, Lady Hui was relieved that her Yinzhi was being raised outside the palace. Otherwise, among the princes in the palace, her Yinzhi would stand out and might suffer the same fate as the previous princes who died young.

Relieved, she secretly prayed that the Crown Prince wouldn't survive this time. Smallpox, what a blessing. If he couldn't endure, it would be an opportunity for her and her son.

Previously, Yinzhi wasn't officially considered His Majesty's eldest son, but with the earlier princes having died, her Yinzhi became the eldest.

Unfortunately, Yinzhi was overshadowed by the younger Crown Prince. Whether by accident or design, she hoped the Crown Prince wouldn't survive.

Outwardly, Lady Hui prayed for the Crown Prince's recovery, asking Buddha to bless him. In reality, she sincerely hoped the Crown Prince wouldn't recover.

With her eyes closed and a devout expression, Lady Hui looked like she was genuinely praying for the Crown Prince. The servants believed she was kind-hearted, truly a mother's heart.

——

Hesheri Mansion

"It's been several days. The Crown Prince should have contracted smallpox by now. If anything goes wrong this time, I'll have your head!" The speaker was none other than Suo'etu.

Suo'etu, Grand Secretary of the Baohe Hall, was Empress Hesheri's uncle and the Crown Prince's grandfather. Since the eighth year of Kangxi's reign, he had been highly trusted by Kangxi, playing a crucial role in the overthrow of Ao Bai and the punishment of his faction. He had since been a powerful court official.

The Hesheri family had given rise to an empress and a crown prince, making their influence unmatched.

"Lord Suo, rest assured. We have found a solution to smallpox. This time, the Crown Prince's smallpox situation is under control. The illness won't be too severe. When the time is right, we'll present a smallpox-curing physician to His Majesty. This will demonstrate the Hesheri family's dedication, and the Crown Prince will be safe."

This was a risky move, but necessary.

"Hmm, the Crown Prince must not face any mishaps," Suo'etu repeated with a stern expression.

Since the news of the Crown Prince's smallpox broke, Suo'etu's heart had been on edge, fearing any misstep.

He sighed and said, "I'm doing this for the Hesheri family's sake. Unfortunately, Empress Xiaochengren passed away too early.

The Crown Prince is young and motherless, making him easy to manipulate. I don't want the Crown Prince to be taken advantage of. Moreover, if the Crown Prince survives smallpox, he will hold a special place in His Majesty's heart. It's all for the Crown Prince." For the Hesheri family.

"Yes, Lord Suo, it's all for the Crown Prince."

The man echoed.

"You may leave. Have someone closely monitor the palace's developments. Report any news to me right away," Suo'etu said, waving the man off. He wanted to be alone.

Crown Prince, don't blame your grandfather for being harsh. It's all for your good.

Suo'etu originally didn't want to do this.

But the news from the wet nurse alarmed him.

He was unaware that the Crown Prince was so close to Consort Rong, and even the Emperor did not prevent Consort Rong from interacting with the Crown Prince.

The wet nurse said that Consort Rong and the Crown Prince were as close as mother and child.

She had been taking care of the Crown Prince day and night, but the Crown Prince did not rely on her much, yet he was very close to Consort Rong.

But the Crown Prince was not close to Lady Hesheri, who was the sister of Empress Xiaochengren and could be considered the Crown Prince's aunt.

By all logic, the Crown Prince should have been closer to Lady Hesheri.

It shouldn't have been Consort Rong.

Even he, the Crown Prince's grandfather, could not meet the Crown Prince frequently. The Emperor deliberately controlled this, not wanting the Crown Prince to depend on him or the Hesheri family.

Empress Xiaochengren had passed away, and there was no one to maintain the relationship. The Emperor also deliberately prevented it.

The relationship between the Crown Prince and his maternal family was now in a precarious state.

Now, Consort Rong was getting involved.

If Consort Rong continued to grow closer to the Crown Prince, their bond would strengthen over time, and eventually, the Crown Prince might become more of a Niohuru family's prince than a Hesheri family's.

Such a situation was absolutely unacceptable to Suo'etu.

Coincidentally, a method to treat smallpox had been discovered in the south, and if managed correctly, it could even provide immunity, ensuring that smallpox would not recur in the future.

Suo'etu had already considered this but was hesitant, concerned about the risks involved. He had been continuously testing it.

He wanted to ensure that, as claimed, although smallpox would still occur, the illness would not be as severe as usual, and there would be no life-threatening danger, allowing the Crown Prince to recover successfully.

The Emperor himself had survived smallpox, and if the Crown Prince also contracted and survived it, wouldn't that mean he, like the Emperor, was destined by heaven?

Among the other princes who had succumbed to smallpox, only the Emperor had survived and eventually ascended the throne.

If the Crown Prince also survived smallpox, wouldn't that signify his destiny to rule?

This would further cement the Crown Prince's position.

However, Suo'etu had been hesitant to act, as the Crown Prince was still young and carried the hopes of the Hesheri family's rise.

But upon learning how close the Crown Prince was to Consort Rong, Suo'etu began to feel uneasy.

The Crown Prince had lost his mother early, presenting a good opportunity for him to grow closer to his maternal family.

After all, the Crown Prince was still young, and no matter how well the Emperor treated him or how much love he showed, the Crown Prince would inevitably miss his mother.

This would naturally draw him closer to his maternal family.

But now, with Consort Rong growing close to the Crown Prince, this posed a threat to the Hesheri family.

After much deliberation, Suo'etu decided he must sever the connection between the Crown Prince and Consort Rong and involve the Emperor to prevent Consort Rong from further contact with the Crown Prince.

He would frame Consort Rong for the Crown Prince's smallpox, claiming that she, with her venomous heart, had deliberately infected the Crown Prince while growing close to him.

Even if the evidence was fabricated and there was suspicion of being framed, as long as it was discovered in Yonghe Palace and linked to the Crown Prince's smallpox, the Emperor's inherent suspicion would ensure that Consort Rong would not come out unscathed.

The Emperor would no longer allow Consort Rong to have any further contact with the Crown Prince.

This was precisely the result Suo'etu desired.

However, the news of the Crown Prince contracting smallpox overshadowed all other matters. Since Consort Rong had stayed overnight in the Qianqing Palace, she was also quarantined there. This news, though less shocking than the Crown Prince's smallpox, did not spread immediately.

Moreover, the news of the Crown Prince contracting smallpox served as a clear signal for action. As soon as the news broke, the spies in the Yonghe Palace would act immediately, shifting the blame for the Crown Prince's smallpox onto Consort Rong.

According to the original plan, they would exploit the timing gap to act in the Yonghe Palace. Once the issue was discovered, the Crown Prince would contract smallpox.

This way, with the Yonghe Palace implicated and His Majesty distraught over the Crown Prince's smallpox, Consort Rong would inevitably be punished.

Even if it was later discovered that Consort Rong might have been wrongfully accused, the Emperor's natural suspicion would always leave a lingering distrust towards her.

This small measure was sufficient to achieve the result Suo'etu desired.

Being far from the palace and not by the Crown Prince's side, Suo'etu believed that, apart from Lady Hesheli, the Crown Prince's mother, the Crown Prince should avoid contact with other concubines in the harem to prevent being deceived.

Of course, Suo'etu's calculations were based on the assumption that Consort Rong had already returned to the Yonghe Palace, not that she had overslept and stayed until the afternoon without returning.

Nor did he anticipate that Consort Rong would notice something amiss with the Crown Prince early on and summon the imperial physician to confirm the diagnosis of smallpox.

Immediately after the diagnosis, she ordered the Qianqing Palace to be sealed, including herself, staying in the now-shunned place, risking infection to care for the Crown Prince.

After all, there was a delay in the spread of news within the palace. Who would have thought that Consort Rong, who normally wouldn't go to the Qianqing Palace, would be taken there by Kangxi the night before the Crown Prince's outbreak for treatment?

And she stayed there without leaving until the Crown Prince's condition deteriorated.

If not for this, Suo'etu's plan might have succeeded. He had calculated Kangxi's reaction after the incident and the sequence of events, each step meticulously planned.

——

"You say this was found in the Yonghe Palace?"

Su Yi glanced at the doll on the tray, which had needles stuck in it and a piece of paper with writing. There were also scab-like fragments stuck to the doll, like mud stains.

The maid holding the tray had her face covered with a thick cloth and her hands wrapped in cloth, clearly reluctant to touch the object.

"What is this...?" Su Yi leaned in to take a closer look, pointing at it, but Kangxi swatted her hand away. Su Yi quickly retracted her hand, not having time to complain, she heard Kangxi say, "What kind of dirty thing are you touching? Do you want to lose your hand?"

Su Yi rubbed her hand, at a loss for words. She had only pointed at it, not actually intending to touch it.

Did he really think she was a child, curious enough to touch everything?!

The imperial physician carefully examined the object with tools and concluded, "These are scab remnants from a smallpox patient."

Upon hearing this, the maid holding the tray nearly dropped it in horror.

This was not only witchcraft but also involved items from a smallpox patient, and it was found in the Yonghe Palace.

The Crown Prince had just contracted smallpox.

Consort Rong had been in frequent contact with the Crown Prince. If not for the coincidence of her being in the Qianqing Palace at the same time, the discovery of witchcraft and these deadly items in the Yonghe Palace would have been disastrous.

Each of these was a deadly matter. Everyone knew that His Majesty was most wary of witchcraft, and the doll had the Crown Prince's birth date written on it.

Any one of these was a fatal issue.

No matter who it is, they would probably find it impossible to clear their name, even if they jumped into the Yellow River.

But Consort Rong being here already suggests that something is amiss in Yonghe Palace, at least that someone is framing her.

Otherwise, who in their right mind would use such methods and risk implicating themselves? What's the point? This is smallpox, not some common illness; it's highly contagious!

If one can't endure it, they might not survive.

Especially since Consort Rong's health condition is well-known. She often falls ill, even coughing up blood, always looking like a delicate, sickly beauty. Any of the fragile concubines in the harem, chosen at random, would seem healthier than Consort Rong.

Given her health condition, she still comes here. If something goes wrong, it could be deadly.

(Consort Rong: Sigh, having a well-established image has its perks.)

Kangxi remained silent, his gaze intense, as if deep in thought.

"How was it discovered?" Su Yi thought this might make for an interesting story. She wanted to sit down with a cup of tea and some snacks to listen.

About the story of 'me being in a dangerous place but being accused of having a snake-like heart.'

She wanted to hear it.

Consort Rong seemed too much like she was just here for the gossip. Didn't she know she was the center of the matter?

But since she asked, it had to be told: "It was accidentally found by a little eunuch who sweeps Yonghe Palace."

"Which one?" Su Yi asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Little Xizi."

Su Yi recalled, matching Little Xizi with the face in her mind, "Oh, the one with the goofy smile, right? It's him."

How much of this 'accidental discovery' is genuine, we won't speculate.

"Your Majesty, what do you think we should do?" It's so complicated; she didn't want to deal with it, asking somewhat disinterestedly to Kangxi, who sat beside her with a brooding air, lost in thought.

Such complicated matters should be left to Kangxi. After all, she didn't do this, so let Kangxi deal with it himself.

Hearing Consort Rong's question, Kangxi snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her. Seeing her relaxed expression, free of tension or guilt, he reached out and held her hand, gently stroking the back of it, as if to comfort her.

"Then, Consort Rong, what do you think I should do? After all, this was found in your Yonghe Palace."

Kangxi said this with a calm expression, as usual, but the calmer he was, the more unsettling it felt.

"This is the first time I've encountered such a situation; I'm completely at a loss, unaware of people's wickedness. This matter should be left to Your Majesty to resolve; it's not appropriate for me to intervene.

I am innocent, Your Majesty; please clear my name, or how can I face others in the future?"

Su Yi spoke with a sob, her eyes reddening, naturally pulling out a handkerchief to dab at her eyes, portraying a 'I can only rely on you' demeanor.

In her heart, she was thinking:

'Really, you have to ask me this? You can investigate it yourself, why make me think? Am I that free?'

'If I have to handle such things, what's the use of you?'

'I'm not lazy, I just can't be bothered with these trivial matters.'

Su Yi thought righteously in her heart, asking a lazy person to handle these matters, you're just making it hard for the lazy, and the lazy don't want to deal with you.

Isn’t she here precisely for the good food and drink in the imperial palace?

Kangxi initially wondered if Consort Rong was genuinely unaware or deliberately taking a risk to conceal something. Hearing her confidently push the responsibility onto him to handle while she lounged around waiting for updates, Kangxi really wanted to give her a good knock on the head to see what she was thinking.

"You seem quite comfortable leaving the investigation to me," Kangxi said with a hint of sarcasm.

"If I can’t trust Your Majesty, who can I trust?" Su Yi’s face radiated trust, her eyes filled with hope, as if she were counting on Kangxi to stand up for her.

'Alright, if that’s what you want to hear, I’ll put it this way.'

'Once you’ve heard the sweet talk, go ahead and investigate. I’ll just wait for the final outcome.'

'Just one sentence from me, and the man’s already running around investigating. Nailed it.'

Liang Jiugong, observing from the sidelines, couldn’t help but admire her.

The best strategy is to stay out of it, let His Majesty handle the investigation, and trust that he’ll reach a fair conclusion. Consort Rong is quite clever. If the other concubines were guilty, the more His Majesty dug into it, the more they’d panic.

It’s not just this incident they’re worried about; even if they’re innocent here, other skeletons might tumble out of the closet, which would be troublesome.

Kangxi clenched his jaw, holding back his frustration to avoid arguing with Consort Rong. That’s just how she is—even when it’s about her own affairs, she’s too lazy to lift a finger, leaving him to do the work and waiting for the outcome.

Does she really think it’s that simple?!

"Consort Rong’s trust in me makes me feel like I haven’t been treating you well enough. Just now, I wasn’t at my best either. With such an incident, you must be very uneasy," Kangxi said insincerely.

He wanted to see if Consort Rong’s face was thick enough.

"Your Majesty! Only now do you understand how uneasy I’ve been?! Your words have moved me to tears!"

Su Yi got so worked up that Kangxi, who hadn’t been on the receiving end of her playful punches in a while, was suddenly hit with a spontaneous jab to his chest.

Kangxi, nearly losing his cool from this unexpected punch, had forgotten she still had this trick up her sleeve.

He caught Consort Rong’s hand mid-swing, pulling her into his arms. "Alright, I get it," he said.

"No, you don’t," Su Yi insisted, squirming in Kangxi’s arms, ready to strike again.

Kangxi struggled to keep her from launching another attack, his tone firm. "I—know," he said. "Enough with the antics!"

So quick to retaliate, tsk.

"Alright then." Seeing no chance, Su Yi gave up.

Kangxi couldn’t help but feel a wave of relief. He was genuinely thrown off by Consort Rong’s antics; others might see it as playful, but only he understood the weight behind it.

Liang Jiugong, observing the scene, discreetly dismissed the others when His Majesty embraced Consort Rong.

He thought to himself, "His Majesty truly spoils Consort Rong."

It seems Consort Rong might actually climb to a higher rank in the future.

——

The discovery of witchcraft and dangerous items in Yonghe Palace couldn’t be kept under wraps at this point.

Soon, all the concubines knew, secretly thinking, what a pity!

Consort Rong is now in Qianqing Palace—it looks like she’s been framed.

If the items had been found in Yonghe Palace while Consort Rong was there, regardless of whether it was a frame-up, she would not have fared well.

But as it turned out, Consort Rong was in the Qianqing Palace. If she had played this hand, wouldn’t she have implicated herself as well?

This link is a bit too obvious.

As long as the Emperor is willing to investigate, Consort Rong would be cleared of any wrongdoing, which is why the other concubines remarked it was unfortunate. Had Consort Rong been in Yonghe Palace, she wouldn’t have gotten off so easily.

They had previously said that Consort Rong was unlucky to have encountered the smallpox outbreak with the Crown Prince, and as someone who had never had smallpox, she had to stay there with him. Talk about bad luck!

But now, it turns out this stroke of bad luck actually saved her from this mess.

After hearing about this, the Imperial Noble Consort understood that Consort Rong was the target this time.

She had heard that the Crown Prince and Consort Rong got along quite well. Kangxi sometimes took the Crown Prince to visit Consort Rong, and she marveled at how the Hesheri family could stay so composed, not worrying that the Crown Prince's affections might be swayed.

She had previously wondered if the historical relationship between the Crown Prince and Consort Wenxi was truly that close.

But Consort Wenxi also died young, and little is known about her. Since Consort Rong hadn’t stepped out of line, she didn’t push the issue.

After all, at this point, she should have been the Empress, not the Imperial Noble Consort. Yet, there were still discrepancies and changes. She was still here, and Consort Rong's position couldn’t rise.

Ultimately, whether she was close to the Crown Prince or not, what difference would it make in the future?

It’s not her who should be worried, but Suo'etu.

Who could have guessed that Suo'etu would be bold enough to pull such a ruthless move? Isn’t he worried the Crown Prince might die young, leaving no room for regrets?

——

Hesheri Residence

"What?! Why wasn’t I told sooner that Consort Rong was in the Qianqing Palace?!" Suo'etu glared angrily, clearly furious, and swept everything off his desk in a rage.

"Why weren’t changes made when the plan shifted? Now, even a commoner can tell something’s off, let alone the Emperor! How could he not notice?! We need to cover our tracks right away!"

Originally, it was a crucial time when even the smallest misstep could lead to disaster. If you think about it, something seems fishy, especially now?!

The timing is wrong!

Going overboard, trying to hide the truth!

"I’m afraid it might be too late. Many of our people have been compromised, but fortunately, they haven’t started implicating others yet. The worry is that over time, they might not hold out and could reveal something they shouldn’t," the man said, sweating profusely.

"The Crown Prince is ill, and the Emperor has decreed that all recent memorials from various ministries and offices be sent to the Grand Secretariat for handling. He is too preoccupied to attend to other matters, focusing on the Crown Prince's recovery. How could he react so quickly?"

This shouldn’t be the case. Since the Emperor has decreed to temporarily halt state affairs, it indicates the Crown Prince's condition is critical. At this juncture, even if there are suspicions about Consort Rong's situation, dragging it out would only harm her reputation. Compared to the Crown Prince's illness, it's insignificant.

Suo'etu thought with a grave expression, Consort Rong is really lucky. This misstep, her not being in Yonghe Palace but in the Qianqing Palace with the Crown Prince, has broken the scheme!