Chapter 091

Chapter 091

The duty imperial physicians who went to Jingren Palace yesterday were all demoted to local positions, and new candidates were selected by the imperial physician to replace them.

Physicians Hou and Li were not very surprised by this outcome.

After all, when they went yesterday, the Emperor left them waiting for a long time, and even before leaving for the morning court, he did not pay attention to them. They knew this matter was not over yet, and probably even their two colleagues who were left in Jingren Palace would not be spared.

The imperial physician came to treat Consort Rong, and the Emperor stayed there for half the night.

They delayed their arrival, and in the end, they were demoted but did not lose their heads. Physicians Hou and Li felt fortunate, even relieved, as they had all suffered together. Thinking about it, it didn't feel so bad anymore.

But before Physicians Hou and Li left, they secretly asked their colleagues for a favor, otherwise, they wouldn't leave with peace of mind!

Which colleague hasn't been tricked by the concubines once or twice?

This time, Physicians Hou and Li were directly tricked by Consort Tongjia into being demoted, it was truly tragic. Without hesitation, they agreed, just to inquire about the follow-up and then write to inform Physicians Hou and Li, which was still manageable.

The little milk dragon woke up to find himself back on his small couch. When he got up, he was a bit upset. How could the Emperor be so sneaky, taking advantage of his sleep to have him sent back? After washing up, the little milk dragon couldn't wait to run over to find the Emperor.

"Emperor, Emperor—" The little milk dragon no longer allowed himself to be carried casually and walked on his own. Because he was in a hurry and found walking too slow, he couldn't help but run a little. The servants behind him were anxious, fearing he might trip and fall.

Before Kangxi saw him, he had already heard his voice and slightly frowned. Baocheng was already three years old and still so lively.

"Crown Prince, slow down," Liang Jiugong said from the side.

But it was no use, the little milk dragon was very excited and ran all the way to Kangxi, barely stopping in time. After obediently paying his respects, he immediately couldn't help but say, "Emperor! Today is the day, can we go see Consort Rong?" His eyes were full of expectation.

Facing Baocheng's expectant gaze, Kangxi paused, "Has the homework I assigned you been done?" he asked.

At this time, Consort Rong had not yet woken up. If Baocheng were to go now, it would probably be impossible to keep things quiet, so Kangxi began to change the subject.

"Mm-hmm! Baocheng has finished it, if you don't believe me, Emperor, you can check." The little milk dragon was full of confidence. He had already finished it, just afraid that if he hadn't completed his homework, the Emperor wouldn't let him go.

Kangxi began to check the little milk dragon's homework and found that he had indeed completed it. Then Kangxi suddenly extended new questions based on the original homework, leaving the confident little milk dragon stunned.

This situation was like when you finish studying the knowledge points and look at the classic question types, thinking you have it all figured out. But then the same knowledge points appear in a different, unfamiliar question type, immediately confusing you.

The little milk dragon was now confused, how? how??

Kangxi, with a serious face, said, "The Emperor just changed the way of testing you, and you couldn't answer?"

"Emperor, Baocheng has been studying very hard, but..." The little milk dragon felt something was not quite right.

Kangxi was about to ask Baocheng to go back and review a few more times before coming back, when Liang Jiugong appeared again.

"Your Majesty, the Grand Empress Dowager requests your presence at Cining Palace." Then he leaned closer to Kangxi's ear and whispered, "This morning, the concubines made a scene at Cining Palace, and the Grand Empress Dowager also checked the imperial records."

After speaking, Liang Jiugong stepped back and stood by, thinking, he follows the Emperor every day, of course, he knows the imperial records can't withstand the Grand Empress Dowager's scrutiny. It's obvious why the Grand Empress Dowager summoned the Emperor to Cining Palace.

Hearing this, Kangxi did not immediately respond but turned to ask Baocheng, "It's been a while since you've seen your Grandmother, would you like to accompany the Emperor to Cining Palace to see her?"

The little milk dragon hesitated for a moment and then nodded, "Okay, Emperor." At most, after seeing the Grandmother, he could go see Consort Rong, okay!

And Cining Palace was bustling at this moment.

Originally, they were going to wait for a suitable time to all go together to the Grand Empress Dowager to complain, preferably all at once. But someone had to take the lead, and if Consort Tongjia didn't take the lead, then it was up to the concubines of concubine rank to take the lead.

But Consort Hui and Consort An stepped back first, not getting involved. The rest were loud in their encouragement, but no one wanted to be the leader, so they were still in a tug-of-war, undecided.

However, yesterday Consort Rong was seriously ill, and coincidentally, the Fourth Prince of Jingren Palace had a fever, which called away all the on-duty imperial physicians. Initially, they thought Consort Rong would not receive treatment and hoped she would die like the deposed consort, saving them a lot of trouble.

But she didn't die, and the Emperor even stayed by her side, which infuriated the concubines to no end.

They were practically spitting blood, wondering if Consort Rong had eyes in the back of her head. They had planned to take advantage of the standoff between the Emperor and Consort Rong to bring her down, hoping she would eventually ruin herself.

Now, at this critical moment, Consort Rong just happened to fall ill, as if she were reeling in a fishing line!

If it weren't for the imperial physician confirming that Consort Rong was genuinely ill, they would have accused her of feigning illness to seek favor.

But could they just let Consort Rong off the hook? Now that the Emperor is willing to stay by her side while she's ill, it's even more likely that their lives will become harder once she recovers.

Especially with Rongpin subtly provoking Yipin, while Concubine Duan and Concubine Xi were all talk and no action. Only Yipin's family background could rival Consort Rong's.

Rongpin hinted that she had already borne a prince and was older, so she no longer cared about favor. But Yipin, being much younger and without a prince of her own, might miss her prime years and end up like Anpin, just a decoration.

This infuriated Yipin, and during the routine audience with the Grand Empress Dowager, Yipin took the lead, especially since the Empress Dowager was also present.

"Grand Empress Dowager, this concubine has a matter to seek your judgment," Yipin spoke up first, then knelt before the Grand Empress Dowager, her eyes red with tears.

The concubines, who had been chatting, suddenly fell silent, pretending not to care, but in reality, they had been waiting for this moment.

Consort Tongjia glanced at nanny Wang and then looked away, sitting quietly and waiting.

The Grand Empress Dowager's eyelids twitched. What was Yipin up to? She didn't have a good impression of Yipin, who had previously seemed arrogant and domineering. Now she was resorting to tears.

Suma Lagu, seeing that the Grand Empress Dowager remained silent, spoke up, "Consort Yipin, what matter do you seek the Grand Empress Dowager's judgment on? Please rise and speak."

Suma Lagu largely represented the Grand Empress Dowager's will.

But Yipin did not rise immediately. Instead, she wiped her tears and began, "This concubine is truly at a loss. If I do not seek the Grand Empress Dowager's judgment, I fear the harem will soon have another monopolizing favorite, leaving the rest of us as mere decorations."

Yipin's words almost directly implied that if she didn't speak up, the harem might see another Empress Xiao Xian.

Empress Xiao Xian was a sensitive topic for both the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager.

Hearing this, the Grand Empress Dowager remained calm, but the Empress Dowager's expression changed. She had suffered enough from the late Emperor's exclusive favor towards Dong Eshi, and the term "monopolizing favor" struck a nerve.

Suma Lagu glanced at the Grand Empress Dowager, knowing that although her expression remained unchanged, she was already somewhat angered, though she didn't show it.

The Grand Empress Dowager's fingers slowed on her prayer beads. "Is that so?" she asked calmly, maintaining her composure.

Yipin was unsure of the Grand Empress Dowager's thoughts, but the Empress Dowager's reaction was expected. Since she had started, Yipin decided to press on.

"Grand Empress Dowager, this is not an exaggeration. Recently, the Emperor has not summoned this concubine for a long time. Initially, I thought it was due to his busy schedule with state affairs.

But coincidentally, other concubines have also not been favored for a long time. This was truly shocking to me, and I thought it might just be my imagination. But it seems other sisters feel the same, right, Sister Rongpin, Sister Concubine Duan?"

Yipin didn't forget to drag Rongpin and Concubine Duan into this, not wanting to be the only one at the forefront while others reaped the benefits.

Rongpin and Concubine Duan, having been named, could no longer pretend to be deaf and mute, so they joined in.

With the concubines leading the charge, the remaining daying and other lower-ranked concubines seized the opportunity to voice their grievances, especially the newcomers who had entered the palace with Consort Rong. They felt neglected, as if the Emperor had forgotten them, turning them from newcomers into old-timers.

The frustration was palpable, and now that they had the chance, they couldn't help but complain. Not daring to criticize the Emperor, they directed their grievances at Consort Rong.

Thus, the Cining Palace became a cacophony of voices, with everyone speaking at once, creating a noise like a thousand ducks quacking.

Consort Tongjia remained silent throughout, unusually quiet for her, not joining in the complaints but simply sitting and listening.

Nanny Wang told her that if the other concubines were to make a scene in the Cining Palace and ask the Grand Empress Dowager to intervene, she must not join in. It would be best not to say a word and could speak to the Grand Empress Dowager privately, but absolutely must not side with the concubines at this moment.

Because they had already suffered a loss yesterday in the dispute with Yonghe Palace over the imperial physician, the on-duty physicians were demoted, clearly implicated. If she were to get involved now, it would only be more detrimental to her.

So, despite hating Consort Rong intensely at this moment and wishing to join in trampling her down, Imperial Noble Consort Tongjia remained silent throughout.

The Grand Empress Dowager, hearing the clamor, felt a headache coming on and suddenly slammed her prayer beads down heavily, "Enough!"

The concubines who were speaking fervently immediately fell silent and knelt down in unison.

Just moments ago, they had opened the floodgates, each trying to outdo the other, almost ready to cause an uproar.

"As concubines, making such a ruckus, what kind of decorum is this?! Do you want to make a laughingstock of yourselves if this gets out?!" the Grand Empress Dowager said sternly, her gaze sweeping over the group of concubines, feeling quite displeased. One after another, they were consumed by jealousy, bringing their grievances before her.

Imperial Noble Consort Tongjia also knelt down. The Grand Empress Dowager glanced at her; it was unlike her to be so quiet. "Imperial Noble Consort, what do you think about what they've said? Is it really as they claim?"

Nanny Wang thought to herself that this was bad; the Grand Empress Dowager was trying to drag the Imperial Noble Consort into this.

If the Imperial Noble Consort said no, then the Grand Empress Dowager could follow her lead and dismiss the troublemaking concubines, sending them back to reflect on their actions and copy palace rules, rendering the whole commotion useless and a waste, and the concubines would only resent the Imperial Noble Consort more.

If the Imperial Noble Consort said yes, she would become one of the concubines causing a scene in the Cining Palace. Wasn't the reason she hadn't spoken up earlier to distance herself from this?

Imperial Noble Consort Tongjia evaded the main issue, saying, "In response to the Grand Empress Dowager, your servant has been busy with palace affairs and taking care of the Fourth Prince recently and is not very clear about these matters."

She neither directly agreed with the concubines' statements nor denied them, but instead claimed ignorance.

However, by saying this, she indirectly indicated that her situation was similar to the other concubines, but she had palace affairs to manage and the Fourth Prince to care for, hence she hadn't 'noticed' it.

The Grand Empress Dowager, being astute, naturally understood what Imperial Noble Consort Tongjia was implying. But at this moment, she not only couldn't summon Consort Rong over but also had to suppress the uproar caused by the concubines.

"As imperial consorts, you should not take every rumor as truth. The Emperor is busy with state affairs, and you should be understanding, not gather together to make a fuss and come before me, expecting me to take your side!"

The concubines all bowed their heads, not daring to refute. They were anxious too; if they couldn't see the Emperor, they had no choice but to come to the Grand Empress Dowager. Everyone knew that the Grand Empress Dowager was most wary of figures like Dong E's. If they didn't make the matter seem serious, the Grand Empress Dowager wouldn't take it seriously!

The Grand Empress Dowager picked up her prayer beads again and began to twirl them, her eyelids slightly drooping, "I am tired, you may all leave."

The concubines exchanged glances but dared not linger. They had made their scene; now it was up to the Grand Empress Dowager to handle the matter.

After leaving the Cining Palace, Imperial Noble Consort Tongjia was supported by Nanny Wang. She was preoccupied, still thinking about the matter, wondering whether the Grand Empress Dowager had taken it to heart or not.

Surely, after all the commotion they had caused, the Grand Empress Dowager couldn't have been completely unmoved.

Once the concubines had left, although the Grand Empress Dowager appeared not to believe them at the time, there was no smoke without fire. She immediately had someone check the imperial records. The truth of the concubines' claims could be confirmed by the records.

Upon seeing them, the Grand Empress Dowager's face immediately darkened, and her breathing became heavier.

The Empress Dowager, who was beside her, was puzzled, "Empress Dowager Mother?"

The Grand Empress Dowager glanced at Suma Lagu, who handed the imperial records to the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager's expression also changed, filled with shock and uncertainty, "Consort Rong has been in the palace for so long and has never served the Emperor?!"

But the Emperor had clearly stayed overnight at Yonghe Palace, why then...

There was no record of Consort Rong, nor of the other concubines. What the concubines had said wasn't an exaggeration?!

The Grand Empress Dowager had initially dismissed the concubines' words as mere slander, as these concubines were full of schemes, capable of turning white into black. When they wanted to suppress someone, they could easily fabricate something bad, even if it was just a small matter, enough for them to blow it out of proportion.

Moreover, she had been teaching the Emperor since he was a child how to be a competent ruler, and the first lesson was not to be ensnared by emotions.

What had been overlooked with Fu Lin, she had made up for with Xuanye.

The Grand Empress Dowager knew the Emperor's temperament best; this child was much more ruthless than his father. Over the years, the Emperor had always performed well. Even though she, as his grandmother, felt somewhat sad that the child she had raised was now wary of her, she was mostly pleased. The Qing dynasty needed such an Emperor.

So when the concubines mentioned that Consort Rong might become the next Consort Donggo, the Grand Empress Dowager's first reaction was disbelief.

There were two Niohuru sisters. The Emperor had promoted Consort Rong precisely to prevent the two sisters from uniting and to create discord between them. The Emperor then used Consort Rong to suppress the Imperial Noble Consort.

It was natural that two sisters entering the palace could not both hold high positions. The Guoluoluo sisters were a case in point; there must be a reason for such an anomaly.

Later, when the Imperial Noble Consort was deposed, it confirmed her suspicions.

With the Imperial Noble Consort deposed, there was still Consort Rong to appease the Niohuru family.

Thus, Consort Rong was merely a pawn. With the Imperial Noble Consort deposed, the Emperor needed to reassure the Niohuru family, so it was expected that he would treat Consort Rong better. The Grand Empress Dowager was aware of all this.

She never thought she would live to see the day when her vision would fail her. Consort Rong, whom she had never paid much attention to before.

"Suma, send someone to the Qianqing Palace to summon the Emperor," the Grand Empress Dowager could no longer pretend to be unaware. She wasn't dead yet!

"Yes, Grand Empress Dowager," Suma Lagu understood the gravity of the situation and did not dare to delay, hurrying off.

The Grand Empress Dowager pinched the bridge of her nose, her face showing weariness, and she seemed to age in an instant. The Empress Dowager, seeing this, quickly comforted her, "Mother, you must take care of your health."

The Grand Empress Dowager was advanced in years, and she feared she might suffer a stroke from the stress.

The Grand Empress Dowager looked at the Empress Dowager beside her, "I never thought that Xuan Ye, who had always been the most worry-free for me..." She smiled, a smile tinged with helplessness, and looked ahead as if reminiscing.

"In the past, the late Emperor favored Hailanzhu and her son. Then, with Fu Lin, there was Consort Donggo, and her son also gained status through his mother. If that child hadn't been so unlucky and died young, who knows what the situation would be like now."

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager slightly lowered her head, tears glistening in her eyes. The Grand Empress Dowager reached out and held the Empress Dowager's hand, patting it, knowing how much she had suffered over the years.

She had thought Xuan Ye would be the least of her worries, but this time, even she, his grandmother, found it hard to believe.

The Grand Empress Dowager could no longer stand idly by.

Kangxi, accompanied by the Crown Prince, soon arrived at the Cining Palace.

Meanwhile, the concubines, who had thought the Grand Empress Dowager was indifferent, suddenly perked up.

So their commotion had been effective after all. This time, the Grand Empress Dowager herself had stepped in; surely the Emperor couldn't ignore the matriarch.

Now the concubines were gleefully waiting in their palaces, eagerly anticipating the outcome.

"Grand Empress Dowager, the Emperor has arrived with the Crown Prince," Suma Lagu reported.

Normally, the Grand Empress Dowager would show some joy upon hearing of the Crown Prince's arrival, but this time her expression remained unchanged.

If it were any other time, she would be delighted to see Baocheng, but the Emperor bringing Baocheng now likely meant he was aware of what had just transpired in the Cining Palace. The Emperor bringing Baocheng was probably just a distraction.

The little milk dragon was oblivious to the adults' affairs and didn't sense anything amiss. Upon seeing his grandmother, he happily rushed over to greet her.

"Baocheng pays his respects to Grandmother."

Upon seeing Baocheng, the Grand Empress Dowager, as usual, embraced him and spoke to him with affectionate words. Kangxi sat nearby, watching them with a calm expression.

After speaking with Baocheng for a while, the Grand Empress Dowager had the Empress Dowager take Baocheng to play elsewhere. The Empress Dowager understood that this was a time for the Emperor and the Grand Empress Dowager to speak alone.

Although she was now the Emperor's mother, she was not his birth mother, and her presence at this moment was inappropriate. So she took Baocheng with her to the side hall to play.

The little milk dragon sensed nothing unusual and, seeing that his father said nothing more, obediently followed to the side hall.

At this moment, Suma Lagu also retreated, carefully closing the door behind her and standing guard outside to prevent anyone from approaching casually.

Only this pair of grandmother and grandson remained in the main hall.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

The Grand Empress Dowager's expression darkened as she twirled her prayer beads in her hand. "Today, the concubines came to the Cining Palace and told me a joke. It wasn't funny, and I initially treated it as such. But guess what, Your Majesty? This joke, no matter how ridiculous, turned out to be true."

She picked up the historical records lying beside her and threw them aside. Her once calm eyes turned sharp, directly locking onto Kangxi.

Kangxi, with an unchanged expression, reached out and picked up the historical records, casually flipping through a few pages before setting them aside. He spoke in a calm tone, "Grandmother, there's no need to be upset."

Seeing that the emperor was still avoiding the main issue and refusing to respond directly, the Grand Empress Dowager's grip on her prayer beads tightened until the string snapped. The beads scattered like marbles, clattering loudly on the floor, the sound echoing sharply in the otherwise silent main hall.

"Xuanye, you know what I'm talking about."

The Grand Empress Dowager threw the broken string aside and turned to face Kangxi. "How did I raise you since you were a child? Have you forgotten everything? Are you going to follow in your father's footsteps and do something against ancestral rules for the sake of Consort Donggo?!"

She slammed her hand on the table, her voice filled with anguish, her gaze at Kangxi tinged with disappointment and agitation.

"Grandmother, your health is important. Don't be upset. I have everything under control," Kangxi said calmly, his expression unreadable.

Hearing this, the Grand Empress Dowager felt even more that the emperor was trying to deceive her. She wouldn't believe a single word he said. How could she trust him?

With the historical records right in front of him, the emperor still claimed to have everything under control. Was this what he meant by having control?!

Did he think the concubines in the harem were fools? Did he think she, his grandmother, was a fool too?!

"If you had everything under control, would the concubines have come to me today?! If not for this, I would still be kept in the dark. You're being foolish!"

The Grand Empress Dowager spoke with anger. The emperor's ability to remain calm at such a moment made her even more alarmed!

Had he already stopped caring about her, his grandmother?