Chapter 077

Chapter 077

The position left vacant by Chef Wang in the imperial culinary department due to his injury was almost immediately filled by someone else.

It was said that Chef Wang's condition was not good, and he would need a long time to recover. The substantial reward he received was all spent on medical treatment, which was quite unfortunate. The young eunuch who had been involved was also transferred to a more labor-intensive and less lucrative position.

Even though everyone knew that Chef Wang's excuse of breaking his ribs due to excessive joy from receiving a reward was clearly fabricated, what could they do? The Yonghe Palace was still standing strong, wasn't it?

Consort Rong had directly brought the matter before the Grand Empress Dowager. Although Consort Rong was confined to Yonghe Palace and couldn't leave, she still managed to summon people into Yonghe Palace and gave them a thorough scolding. The excuses provided afterward were utterly perfunctory.

But Yonghe Palace remained untouched.

Originally, the Imperial Household Department had planned to make an issue out of the palace's provisions, but seeing how the first to act had suffered, the shrewd officials quietly retreated. They continued to send the usual supplies, deciding not to cause any issues. Consort Rong was no pushover; she could fight back.

Otherwise, if the supplies didn't match up, they would be the ones to suffer.

There were whispers that it was all Consort Rong's doing. Despite her sickly appearance, she was said to be incredibly strong, capable of lifting and throwing people around with ease.

However, since no one had witnessed it firsthand, most doubted it. Consort Rong's frail and often ill appearance didn't seem to match the image of someone who could physically dominate others. At most, people believed that the maids of Yonghe Palace were quite harsh and followed Consort Rong's orders.

The maids of Yonghe Palace sighed, "Our reputation has been tarnished."

Those who had witnessed it firsthand lamented, "These days, even the truth is doubted, and people think it's just overblown gossip."

Even the Niohuru family found it hard to believe, but since the messages came from their own people, they had to be fairly credible. They couldn't help but feel that they had underappreciated Consort Rong before.

However, this was a good thing. It was better than Consort Rong being unable to stand her ground. Moreover, Consort Rong was now the only remaining member of the Niohuru family in the imperial harem, and they naturally hoped she could exert some influence.

Previously, they had mainly focused their resources on the deposed consort, who had been on the verge of becoming the Empress.

Additionally, Consort Rong's health had been a major concern, as it was feared she might die prematurely. Unexpectedly, the one they thought was the least reliable turned out to be the most reliable. Initially sent in as support, she had now gained influence.

When the Niohuru family first learned of Consort Rong's actions, they were quite concerned, fearing that her impulsiveness would make her situation in the harem even more difficult and reflect poorly on the family's upbringing.

Recently, the Niohuru family had been dealing with a series of problems. Just as one matter was resolved, another arose.

The Niohuru family couldn't fathom the Emperor's intentions and were growing more uncertain.

However, after Consort Rong stirred up trouble, she continued to remain safely in Yonghe Palace, which made the Niohuru family begin to suspect something.

Previously, when the deposed consort passed away, the Emperor had dealt with the maids of the cold palace and allowed the deposed consort to be buried with the rites of a consort, which had granted the Niohuru family some dignity.

Although they needed to lay low for a while, they couldn't let just any servant trample over them.

The Niohuru family had a long-standing legacy and couldn't just take a beating without fighting back. Otherwise, their temporary retreat might be mistaken for weakness.

Since Consort Rong had already made a move, they needed to clean up the aftermath properly. Only if Consort Rong thrived could the Niohuru family continue to prosper. This incident also served as a warning to others.

Then, the Tong family noticed that the Niohuru family, which had been nearly ruined by Suo'etu's schemes and had almost dragged the entire clan down with them, had been keeping a low profile. However, they still occasionally caused trouble for Suo'etu, quietly seething with anger, though they couldn't cause him much trouble.

But now, the Niohuru family had shifted their focus from Suo'etu to the Tong family.

In short, the Niohuru family had changed their target, as if saying, "If I can't deal with Suo'etu, I can still take you on."

Although Tong Guowei's side could handle the situation, it was troublesome. The arguments in court had become even more venomous than before.

Suo'etu's followers were enjoying the show, occasionally stirring the pot, adding fuel to the fire, and taking jabs at Tong Guowei's side.

After all, Consort Tongjia has now become a threat to the Hesheri family. She currently holds the highest position and is the emperor's cousin. If the emperor takes this relationship into account, she could very well be crowned empress. In that case, the crown prince would have a stepmother, which would not be favorable for his situation.

However, the Tong family is the emperor's maternal clan, so it is not appropriate to openly oppose them. They can only exploit the chaos to subtly undermine them, rather than confronting them directly.

The Tong family can handle the Niohuru family, but with Suo'etu's people stirring up trouble in the mix, things have gotten quite chaotic. They only realized later that this was because Consort Tongjia had targeted Consort Rong in the palace, which led the Niohuru family to turn against the Tong family.

Now it is clear that Consort Tongjia and Consort Rong are at odds.

Because of the previous incident, there was actually a follow-up.

The day after Consort Rong caused a scene, someone from Jingren Palace came to Yonghe Palace.

Although Consort Tongjia had decided to back off, she still had to deal with the issue of Consort Rong scolding and hitting the maids. At the very least, she needed to reprimand Consort Rong and make her copy the palace rules several times to slightly suppress Consort Rong's arrogance and prevent her from becoming too complacent.

Since subtle methods didn't work, it was better to find a legitimate reason to openly discipline her, so that Consort Rong wouldn't think she was afraid of her.

The servants from Jingren Palace arrived at Yonghe Palace with an air of superiority, but the Yonghe Palace servants were still courteous. They prepared tea and asked the servant to sit and wait while they informed their mistress.

After a while, they came out and said that the mistress was still resting and needed some time to get ready before she could see anyone.

The servant from Jingren Palace wanted to say something, but the Yonghe Palace servant quickly added, "We servants cannot hurry our mistress. No matter whose orders we're following, please be patient and wait a while. The tea is ready, so please enjoy it while you wait."

Then they went about their own business, leaving the Jingren Palace servant somewhat bewildered. Is this how Yonghe Palace operates?

The Jingren Palace servant expressed her dissatisfaction, but the Yonghe Palace servants glanced at her and then turned back to their work, uninterested.

One servant, however, responded differently. She took back the freshly served tea and said, "Since you're not happy with the tea, then don't drink it. It saves our palace's tea."

She even casually took the stool with her.

We wanted you to sit and drink tea while you waited, but since you're not happy, fine. We're all servants here; no one is more noble than the other. If you don't want to drink tea, then don't.

The Jingren Palace servant: ?!

After waiting for a long time, her feet went numb. Since the Yonghe Palace servants were somewhat indifferent, she didn't dare to act too arrogantly in Yonghe Palace, fearing she might be disciplined.

She endured the wait, thinking about how she would report this to Consort Tongjia later.

Consort Rong finally appeared after a long delay, looking as if she had just woken up. She weakly leaned on the couch as soon as she came out.

The Jingren Palace servant suppressed her dissatisfaction and bowed to Consort Rong, who casually waved her hand. Qinxin, standing beside her, asked about the purpose of the visit.

The Jingren Palace servant then began to convey Consort Tongjia's message, which essentially instructed Consort Rong to behave less ostentatiously. The palace has its rules, and arbitrarily scolding and hitting maids is against those rules. As the consort in charge of palace affairs, Consort Tongjia has the responsibility to manage the concubines.

Therefore, Consort Rong was to copy the palace rules ten times during her confinement as a form of reflection and submit them to Jingren Palace for Consort Tongjia's review. After this, Consort Rong was to remember to act with caution and follow the rules, avoiding making a scene over trivial matters and losing the dignity of a palace consort.

After the Jingren Palace servant finished her lengthy speech, she waited for Consort Rong's response.

Su Yi thought it was something serious, but it turned out to be about copying rules. Copying rules? Not a chance. The other party must be dreaming.

Su Yi put on an innocent face and said, "What is Consort Tongjia talking about? I don't understand at all. When did I scold or hit any maids? That never happened. It's all slander."

Even if there were witnesses, so what? There are no cameras here to prove anything. If they wanted to cause trouble, they could have done so earlier. What is Consort Tongjia trying to pull? Just because she said something, I have to admit it?

"With my health, *cough cough*, what can I even do? When the imperial kitchen served me subpar meals, I didn't see Consort Tongjia disciplining them. Instead, she's speaking up for those petty people. This is such a biased approach. I'm truly wronged, *cough cough*."

Su Yi's face turned pale, and as she spoke, her emotions grew more intense, as if she were deeply wronged. She coughed a few times at first, but the coughing grew louder and more frequent, eventually leading to blood staining her handkerchief. She looked extremely fragile.

There was still some stagnant blood from yesterday that she hadn't coughed up, and she had been feeling uncomfortable, waiting for the right moment to expel it. Now, thanks to Consort Tongjia's people arriving at the perfect time, she could finally cough it up. This was a great opportunity to feign illness and rest for a while. Copying palace rules? Not in this lifetime, or the next.

Su Yi coughed until she was worn out and simply closed her eyes, collapsing right into Yun Hua's arms. It was so nice to be in the arms of such a sweet girl.

"Your Highness! Hurry, call the imperial physician!"

"Something terrible has happened, Her Highness is coughing up blood!"

"Your Highness, are you alright!? Our lady has always been frail, and now to be falsely accused, it's just too much!"

...

The Jingren Palace maids first thought Consort Rong was faking it, wondering why she didn't cough before or after, but precisely at this moment. However, as Consort Rong coughed, she actually spat out blood.

This really scared the Jingren Palace maids.

They thought she was faking, but she was really sick.

This was trouble. In just a short while, word could get out that the Imperial Noble Consort had sent someone to scold Consort Rong, only to provoke her into an illness. To make matters worse, the Yonghe Palace maids acted like they were being picked on. Originally, this matter was just the Imperial Noble Consort feeling her pride was hurt and wanting to use her status to openly put Consort Rong in her place.

It would have been best if Consort Rong had also spoken disrespectfully, then the Imperial Noble Consort could have accused her of disrespect and put her in her place.

But Consort Rong just got sick like that. Even if Yonghe Palace didn't act, other concubines would stir the pot, taking the opportunity to tarnish the Imperial Noble Consort's reputation, saying she was unfair and deliberately targeting and suppressing concubines, pushing them to death, immediately making the Imperial Noble Consort look bad.

The Jingren Palace maids couldn't stay any longer, standing there at a loss, while the busy maids from Yonghe Palace completely ignored her.

Qinxin sent someone to fetch the imperial physician and had Yun Hua and another maid help Consort Rong back to lie down.

Seeing the maid from Jingren Palace still there, Qinxin's face was cold, her voice dripping with resentment,

"The Imperial Noble Consort is high-ranking and can casually accuse our lady of baseless charges. Our lady never scolds or hits the maids; Chef Wang injured himself by falling, what's that got to do with our lady?

Our lady even rewarded him generously, and Chef Wang thanked her. As for scolding, that's impossible; our lady speaks softly, how could she yell at anyone.

Our lady hasn't even left the palace gates, staying quietly in Yonghe Palace, minding her own business, yet she is so hated by the Imperial Noble Consort. I really don't know, does the Imperial Noble Consort want to kill our lady?"

Well, Qinxin has evolved too, her ability to lie straight-faced is impressive too.

The Yonghe Palace maids, in the middle of all this, couldn't help but smirk. Truly, being able to serve in front of the lady, Miss Qinxin has mastered the essence.

The maid from Jingren Palace thought, this is bad. If these words spread, it would seem like the Imperial Noble Consort is bullying with her power.

"Miss Qinxin, these words must not be spoken carelessly, our Imperial Noble Consort does not mean this..."

Qinxin didn't give her a chance, immediately continuing, "If she didn't mean it, why would the Imperial Noble Consort send you here today, to reprimand and punish, causing our lady to fall ill, and then say there's no such thing? You've said everything.

Our lady was wronged yesterday, but the Imperial Noble Consort did not show up. Our lady endured the injustice and even rewarded the other party to ensure they could work well, but then the servant unfortunately broke his ribs and it's blamed on our lady. Today, the Imperial Noble Consort stands up for a servant who disrespects the master, and even caused our lady to cough up blood."

In any case, today's blame must be shifted back onto the Imperial Noble Consort.

After Qinxin deliberately spoke loudly, she had the palace gates closed.

Those waiting to see the drama knew what to do. The Imperial Noble Consort now stands alone, and there will always be those who are unwilling. The Imperial Noble Consort only targets our lady, really thinking she's the empress, isn't she.

The imperial physician who came to see Consort Rong was again Imperial Physician Wang, who was rushed all the way by the maids from Yonghe Palace, as if his eyebrows were on fire, and he had to run all the way here.

Imperial Physician Wang: Yonghe Palace is the most exhausting assignment.

Imperial Physician Wang had thought that Consort Rong's recent health checks had been quite stable, probably nothing would happen, but the slap came so quickly.

After running all the way here, Imperial Physician Wang hadn't caught his breath before he had to check on Consort Rong, who was sitting at the head of the bed, her look at Imperial Physician Wang very understandable, oh, it's you again, Imperial Physician Wang.

"Imperial Physician Wang, cough, you can take a moment to catch your breath before examining me, no need to rush." She leaned there, looking quite leisurely.

Imperial Physician Wang, who was rushed over by the maids of Yonghe Palace as if his life were on the line:.....

With a stern face, Imperial Physician Wang gave a formal bow and said, "Your Highness is too kind. I do not need rest; your health is more important."

After taking Consort Rong's pulse, Imperial Physician Wang inquired about her activities and diet over the past two days.

Su Yi quietly leaned against the soft pillow, her eyes downcast. She occasionally coughed, her face pale and lips colorless, looking very weak.

Qinxin, standing by, started recounting the events of the past two days to Imperial Physician Wang, "Her Highness hasn’t eaten since yesterday morning. The imperial kitchen staff were neglectful, which made Her Highness furious. She retired early. She just got up and became agitated, and now she is like this."

Imperial Physician Wang nodded while stroking his beard, "Hmm."

Indeed, her emotions were in turmoil, and her pulse was much worse than usual. She had not eaten for a day and a night.

"The blood she vomited earlier was stagnant. It’s better that it came out. If it had stayed inside, it would have been worse. Her Highness must not skip meals for extended periods in the future. I will prescribe some medicine for her to recuperate for a few days, and she must not take the medicine on an empty stomach."

He had also caught wind of yesterday's events.

After seeing off Imperial Physician Wang, Qinxin followed to supervise the brewing of the medicine.

The imperial kitchen, after yesterday's incident, didn’t dare to stir up any more trouble. When they sent over the porridge, they didn’t dare to delay, almost sending it over as soon as it was ready to the esteemed resident of Yonghe Palace.

Consort Rong conveniently fell ill. Just after making a scene yesterday, before her reputation for arrogance could spread, she fell ill, becoming the victim who was bullied into illness. Her toughness yesterday was merely an act, and today she immediately succumbed to illness.

Qianqing Palace

"Fell ill again?" Kangxi asked, glancing up from the memorials as Liang Jiugong reported.

"Yes, Your Majesty, Imperial Physician Wang has already seen her, and her condition is now stable," Liang Jiugong replied cautiously.

Of course, there were also rumors that it was Consort Tongjia’s people who provoked Consort Rong into vomiting blood.

"Hmm, if she's ill, then summon the physician," Kangxi said, then continued to revise the memorials, appearing very focused, even faster than usual.

This wasn’t Liang Jiugong’s imagination, as Kangxi indeed finished reviewing the memorials half an hour earlier than usual.

Kangxi sat there, rolling his shoulders, pressing his temples, and Liang Jiugong quickly stepped forward to massage his shoulders.

After the meal, Kangxi suddenly said, "Have the carriage readied. I will visit Consort Liang at Yonghe Palace."

Liang Jiugong was taken aback, "Yes, Your Majesty," and immediately ordered the maids to prepare the carriage.

Jingren Palace

Consort Tongjia was furious over the incident with Consort Rong. She had intended to humble Consort Rong, but who knew that Consort Rong would suddenly fall ill, and even vomit blood from the stimulation.

"Nanny Wang! Look at that Consort Rong! She is clearly pretending to be sick!"

Consort Tongjia was so angry that she couldn’t help but throw things. She simply didn’t believe that Consort Rong was really ill.

What a coincidence, she didn’t send anyone before, and Consort Rong didn’t fall ill. As soon as she sent someone to Consort Rong's palace to have her copy the palace rules, Consort Rong immediately started coughing and vomiting blood!

Not only did she fall ill, but she also didn’t forget to throw mud at her, the Consort.

Saying that it was her, the Consort, who forced her.

These past two days, she had repeatedly been thwarted by Consort Rong. Not only did Consort Rong not suffer any losses, but it also made Consort Tongjia increasingly annoyed, hating Consort Rong to the core. She wanted to teach Consort Rong a lesson, but Consort Rong had countered every move.

First, she went to the Grand Empress Dowager to seek justice, and then when she was ordered to copy the palace rules, she immediately vomited blood and fainted from the stimulation.

Why not just die from the illness already?

So that her evil reputation would be more deserved?!

Nanny Wang chimed in from the side, "This Consort Rong is indeed a tough nut to crack." She usually looks sickly, making one think she's an easy target, but in reality, she's quite a handful.

Her family background is not from some small, insignificant family.

Consort Rong not only had the audacity to make a scene in front of the Grand Empress Dowager, but now she's also the weaker party, making the Imperial Noble Consort look like the bad guy.

Previously, everyone's attention was on the deposed consort, and Consort Rong was mostly seen as just a pretty face with poor health, not taken seriously.

"Nanny Wang, what should I do now? Just sit back and watch Consort Rong win?"

Consort Tongjia is unwilling to let Consort Rong get away with it, but instead, she's the one who's been humiliated.

Since entering the palace, only Niohuru has given her the most trouble. Now that one Niohuru is gone, is this new Niohuru also going to be out of her reach?

Is this Niohuru also out to get her?!

How can she stomach this anger?

"Your Highness, now is indeed not the time to go head-to-head with Consort Rong. Consort Rong is currently in a vulnerable position. If Your Highness makes a move, it might only make the Grand Empress Dowager side with Consort Rong, and Your Highness would be portrayed as the villain."

Nanny Wang's advice is to steer clear of Consort Rong for now. After all, Consort Rong is under house arrest and can't go to the Emperor to plead her case or win sympathy.

Instead, while Consort Rong is stuck in Yonghe Palace, the Imperial Noble Consort should make the first move.

"Your Highness, why not ask the Emperor to visit the Fourth Prince? Take the chance to bring up today's events with the Emperor. Consort Rong is under house arrest and can't meet with the Emperor.

But Your Highness can meet with the Emperor. Just voice a few grievances in front of the Emperor. Then, Consort Rong's schemes won't sway the Emperor's opinion of Your Highness. Instead, it would be a good opportunity to smear Consort Rong's reputation."

With Consort Rong out of the picture, she's at a disadvantage. The Imperial Noble Consort is the Emperor's cousin and should be closer to him than others.

Moreover, Consort Rong has temporarily lost the Emperor's favor. Your Highness must seize this opportunity.

Consort Tongjia nodded, feeling that Nanny Wang made a good point. Others are spreading rumors that she bullied Consort Rong. If she goes to the Emperor now and explains the situation, as long as the Emperor sides with her, what does Consort Rong's situation matter? She just needs to guide the narrative a bit.

Is there any concubine who would dare to openly oppose her? Consort Rong can't even leave her palace to confront her.

Her goal is to make the Emperor completely despise Consort Rong. Since Consort Rong is playing this game, she'll go to the Emperor first and voice her grievances.

So Consort Tongjia dressed up a bit and took a food box to the Qianqing Palace.

On the way, Consort Tongjia had already prepared her speech. She would say she came to see the Emperor and bring some food. Whether she stayed the night was secondary. The important thing was to get her grievances out before the Emperor heard about the rumors from the harem and to tarnish Consort Rong's image!

But when Consort Tongjia arrived at the Qianqing Palace, she was told that the Emperor was not there. Consort Tongjia immediately asked, "Where did the Emperor go?"

The eunuch looked troubled and said, "Your Highness, please don't make it difficult for me." Revealing the Emperor's whereabouts casually was something he couldn't afford to do. Consort Tongjia would have to find out herself; it wasn't his responsibility.

Consort Tongjia snorted and, unable to get an answer, turned around and left on her sedan chair. On the way back, she sent someone to find out which direction the Emperor had gone.

Consort Tongjia was seething with anger, not just because her trip to the Qianqing Palace was in vain, but also because she was worried that the Emperor might have gone to Yonghe Palace.

The Emperor could go to any other palace, but he must not go to Yonghe Palace!

If the Emperor really went to Yonghe Palace to see Consort Rong, then today's events would mean that the Emperor knew about it and was siding with Consort Rong, not even comforting his cousin first.

But fate was not on Consort Tongjia's side. The eunuch who went to find out where the Emperor's sedan chair had passed returned with news that Consort Tongjia did not want to hear.

Consort Tongjia immediately overturned the food box, spilling its contents all over the eunuch. The poor eunuch, who had suffered this misfortune, dared not cry out, only trembling and kneeling there, not daring to move. He was indeed unlucky, as it happened to be him who went to inquire about the news.

What a disaster this is.

Nanny Wang stepped in and sent the eunuch away, getting him out of his current fix.

"Your Highness, please calm down," Nanny Wang advised from the side, as anger is harmful to one's health.

Consort Tongjia's eyes were blazing with fury, her emotions in a whirl. "Nanny, how can you expect me to calm down? The Emperor went to Yonghe Palace, clearly to see that Consort Rong! He went to see Consort Rong! Even though Consort Rong fell ill today, the Emperor still went to see her, while I couldn't even get an audience with him!"