"I understand," Xuebin said, sounding annoyed. It was annoyance at not knowing the plan. He felt frustrated, being played like this, and in the end, he was told to cooperate with her without even knowing what the plan was. He was frustrated, but there was nothing he could do.
After talking with Xuebin, he went to sleep in the study inside the palace. He couldn't go to Consort Lan's place halfway through, as that would only cause her trouble. If she asked him why he was sleeping on the bed, would he dare? Would I allow it? So, he had no choice but to sleep there.
That night, I couldn't sleep. I tossed and turned in bed, unable to calm my restless heart. Images of our time together flashed through my mind, and my heart was racing. In the end, I forgot what to say.
The next day, perhaps because I hadn't slept all night, my face was very pale, and the dark circles under my eyes made me look even more sickly. When Shanzhu came to help me wash up, she was startled. When she heard me say that I had a headache after being outside in the wind and couldn't sleep, she nagged for a long time. Her exasperation really warmed my heart, and I smiled helplessly.
When Typhoon Mangkhut spread the news of my pregnancy, it immediately caused a stir in the palace. The Empress Dowager was naturally delighted; after all, she never complained about having too many children. I heard she was overjoyed upon hearing the news and immediately sent someone to tell me to rest well. She even sent a nanny to take care of me and brought me all sorts of tonics. Seeing the table full of tonics, I was genuinely shocked. Wouldn't this cause a nosebleed? The Emperor also pretended to be very happy, sending tonics to me like they were free, and even issued an imperial edict saying that for the sake of his son, I should eat these tonics to nourish my body. Bullshit! This was clearly revenge—revenge for teasing him last night. Wouldn't all these tonics kill me? Those concubines hated me even more intensely. And they were right. For two years, I hadn't done anything, and now, just when they thought I couldn't have children and that I was a threat to them except for my rank, I delivered such a huge shock to them. No wonder they were furious. Consort Rong was even angrier. She felt she had been used. She thought that the imperial edict was a ploy to give her another chance to dominate the emperor, and that I had made the emperor dislike her so that she could gain his favor (she made up her own story). So, Consort Rong was very angry, and she began to plan how to get rid of my child.
I lay in bed, enjoying Mangosteen's care. Mangosteen carefully checked every dish, not daring to make a mistake.
Today is really lively. All the ladies from the palace have come to congratulate me, but I don't know what kind of tricks they're up to. Who knows how they're planning to kill me?
"Mangkhut," I whispered as I closed my eyes to rest.
"Your Highness, what's wrong?" Shanzhu handed the things she was holding to the nanny next to her, told them to be careful, and then walked to my bedside.
"How are you?" I opened my eyes and reached out my hand to her. Shanzhu skillfully helped me up, arranged the pillows, and let me lean against them.
"Your Majesty, there are no errors in the supplies sent from the various palaces," Mangosteen replied cautiously.
"Hehe, they won't dare to make any moves right now. They know I'll investigate thoroughly, so they won't be stupid enough to let me catch them now. What did Consort Rong send?" I smiled faintly, turned my head, and asked.
"Your Majesty, Consort Rong has sent a jade Guanyin statue, a thousand-year-old ginseng, a lingzhi mushroom, and some gold jewelry," Mangosteen replied respectfully, her movements unchanged.
"Heh, she really is rich. Take that Guanyin statue and investigate. Don't let anyone know about this. After the investigation, kill those who know." My smile was gentle, but my words were chilling, and a murderous aura suddenly rose. Shanzhu was also surprised, but she knew she couldn't ask anything now, so she just replied, "Yes."
Consort Rong, I'm waiting for you to fall into my trap. Don't disappoint me.
Chapter 105
Those people have been relatively well-behaved these past few days, not scheming so early, lest they be caught red-handed. The crime of plotting against the royal offspring is not something anyone can bear; they might even have to pay with their lives.
Consort Rong is a clever woman; she didn't make any major moves, but she did a lot of subtle ones, none of which could be used against her. I was quite troubled; if she didn't do anything, my whole scheme would be useless. However, Consort Rong eventually couldn't hold back. Seeing that the Emperor didn't go anywhere else all day but just lingered in my palace, she became anxious. She thought that since I was pregnant, the Emperor would at least have some concerns, but to her surprise, he didn't care at all and continued to roam around here, and I continued to enjoy his favor.
Today, Consort Rong came to my palace. She didn't say much, just sat there chatting with me, her eyes constantly glancing towards the door. When I heard Shanzhu's words, I smiled knowingly. It seems she's been waiting impatiently. Consort Rong is beautiful today, charming and alluring. If a man saw her, he would probably find it hard to resist her charm.
"Little sister, what brings you here to see your older sister?" I wasn't in a hurry. She'd come all this way to me, so I had to do something for her.
"Look at what you're saying, sister. Your health can't be compromised in the slightest. If I disturb you and upset you, I'll deserve to die a humiliating death!" Consort Rong remained unchanged, still sharp-tongued and annoying to listen to, yet no one could argue with her.
"Hehe, my sister is right." After saying that, she touched her belly with a happy expression, full of maternal love.
I imagine Consort Rong must be seething with hatred for me right now, wishing the meat in my belly would fall out so she could vent her anger. But there's nothing she can do, so she has to swallow her anger.
"My sister's pastries are truly exquisite." I casually picked up a pastry that Consort Rong had brought, took a bite, and found it sticky but not sticky to my teeth.
Mangosteen subtly nudged me with her hand; perhaps she noticed something else in the pastry. But I had arranged all this for this moment, and now all that was left was to wait for Xuebin to appear.
"Sister, eat as much as you like," Consort Rong smiled kindly, but a glint of coldness flashed in her eyes, too quick to catch.
"Hmm," I thought to myself as I happily ate some pastries when I heard a eunuch's voice outside shouting, "The Emperor has arrived!"
Consort Rong tidied her hair and clothes, her charming smile making her even more alluring. She gently stood up, waiting for the Emperor's arrival. I also stood up with Shanzhu's help.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects," Consort Rong and I both bowed. Xuebin quickly stepped forward to help me up, saying, "My dear consort, there's no need for such formality. Your health is important." Then, he casually glanced at Consort Rong, not paying much attention, and simply said, "Rise."
Consort Rong's face cleared, and she became even more certain that the imperial edict that the Noble Consort had asked her to issue was intended to make the Emperor dislike her. She had obviously forgotten that the imperial edict was requested by the Empress from the Empress Dowager, and that the Empress had also given her permission to issue it. She had also forgotten that she had done it voluntarily at the time. So, it is said that women's thoughts are sometimes very strange. When she dislikes someone, she may still impose things on that person even if they are not that person's fault, thus generating hatred to satisfy herself.
In the past, Consort Rong might not have hated her so much, because Xue Bin was always restricted by the Prime Minister and dared not neglect Consort Rong at will, and had to pamper her in every way. Now that Xue Bin has laid the net and is just waiting to close it, he naturally doesn't need to go against his conscience to pamper her. Such a big change is hard for any woman to accept. Now that I am pregnant again, I am even more certain of my position in Xue Bin's heart. Consort Rong is proud. She has always been the one who loses face, and no one has ever dared to lose face for her. Now that Xue Bin is indifferent to her, in front of so many palace maids and eunuchs, and especially in front of me, her rival in love, Consort Rong is so angry that she wants to kill everyone, of course, not Xue Bin. But then she thought of the pastries I had eaten, and felt a little better. She forced a smile and stood up, but used her cold light to scan the palace maids and eunuchs in the hall. The palace maids and eunuchs hurriedly lowered their heads, their hands trembling.
"Your Majesty, what brings you here at this hour? I was just talking with my sister," I said, sitting down with Xuebin's help, a calm smile on my face.
"I just wanted to come and see you," Xuebin said, his eyes full of affection, as if I were the person he loved most.
"Your Majesty," I replied, playing along with a shy expression.
Consort Rong, seeing us showing affection, felt a surge of anger, but was powerless to do anything about it.
"Your Majesty, please try this. My sister brought it for me." I gestured for Shanzhu to bring the pastries to Xuebin, and Consort Rong looked at him expectantly.
"Haha, good, good, I'll have a taste!" I said, picking up a piece from the plate and bringing it to my lips.
"Ah...ah...it hurts so much, my stomach!" I cried out, my voice filled with pain.
Xuebin hurriedly threw down the pastries, supported me with both hands, and when he saw that there was a lot of blood on my pants, he shouted anxiously, "Someone come quick, someone come quick!" and carried me into the inner room.
Consort Rong, who had been looking at the Emperor expectantly, was startled by my shout. When she saw me bleeding, she was both happy and puzzled. Seeing the Emperor's anger, she dared not show it and hurriedly followed him inside to check on the situation. When she saw the imperial physician arrive quickly, her heart skipped a beat and she felt a vague unease.
Then the imperial physicians arrived, used silk threads to feel the pulse, and then knelt on the ground in fear, shaking their sleeves and saying, "Your Majesty, please accept our condolences, the Empress's unborn child is lost."
"What?!" Xue Bin was furious. Although it was somewhat of an act, he was genuinely angry. He hadn't expected someone to plot against his son, Zi Si, right in front of him, even if it was just a pretense. "Investigate! Investigate thoroughly for me!"
The imperial physician was also one of the emperor's men, and dared not guess the emperor's thoughts, but he still had to say, "Your Majesty, the reason why Her Majesty's fetus was lost was because she ate safflower."
"Impossible! All of Your Highness's food was prepared by this servant. This servant swears that this servant has no intention of harming Your Highness whatsoever." Shanzhu knelt down and kowtowed heavily, her eyes filled with determination.
The imperial physicians lowered their heads even further, saying in fear, "Every word we have spoken is true; there is not a single lie."
Then, I lay weakly on the bed and cried, clutching Xuebin's sleeve, "Your Majesty, my child, my child! Please, Your Majesty, grant me justice!"
Xuebin wiped away my tears and comforted me, saying, "I will give you justice."
Shanzhu then looked timidly at Xuebin and said, "Your Majesty, may I speak?"
"Speaking of Xue Bin's exceptionally handsome face, every gesture exudes a natural imperial aura, making it hard to resist his wild charm and impossible to defy his commands. This is the aura of an emperor."
"Your Majesty only ate Consort Rong's pastries today." After saying that, she stopped talking, lowered her head, and the air seemed to freeze.
"You lowly servant, how dare you slander me!" Consort Rong had come to watch the play. Although she was uneasy, she tried to calm herself down. When she heard the imperial physician say that the child was gone, she was happy for a while. When she heard the imperial physician mention safflower, she became even more uneasy. Now that the fire had been turned on her for no reason, her unease intensified.
"Shut up and kneel down before me!" Xue Bin scolded Consort Rong, his fierce expression frightening her so much that she immediately knelt on the ground.
"Your Majesty, I'm innocent! Your Majesty, you can't punish me based on the words of a lowly servant!" Consort Rong cried, her charming face filled with a pitiful expression. Anyone else would surely feel sorry for such a woman crying and would want to comfort her. But Xue Bin didn't share this compassion. He frowned, his tone sharp, and said, "Alright, I will investigate thoroughly. Someone, bring in Consort Rong's pastries."
Consort Rong sat weakly on the ground. When she saw the palace maids carrying the pastries, she was so frightened that she almost collapsed to the ground again, but she kept telling herself not to worry.
When the palace maids brought in the pastries, the imperial physicians immediately surrounded them and examined them carefully. Then they all knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, these pastries do indeed contain safflower." The imperial physicians remained kneeling, and none of them said anything more, as this was a taboo in the palace.
Consort Rong was stunned upon hearing this, her mind went blank. She had indeed taken something similar to induce an abortion, but only a tiny amount, intending for the fetus in her womb to be expelled over time, not so quickly. However, Xue Bin's slap jolted her awake, and she couldn't care less about anything else. She knelt on the ground and cried out, "I'm innocent!"
Chapter 106
"You vile woman, who dares to plot against my offspring?" Xue Bin slapped Consort Rong again, turning her once charming face red and swollen. Her hair was also disheveled from kowtowing, and she was lying on the ground, her former beauty completely unrecognizable. She was now in a sorry state.
The imperial physicians were also frightened. They were not allowed to know about things in the palace. If they offended the emperor, they could lose their heads. So the imperial physicians practically touched their heads to the ground, and none of them dared to move or say anything more.
"No, Your Majesty, I am truly innocent!" Consort Rong struggled to her feet, crawled to Xue Bin's side, and clung to his leg, weeping bitterly. "Your Majesty, even a day as husband and wife is worth a hundred days of kindness! Your Majesty, do you not know what kind of person I am? Your Majesty, you cannot convict me based on the schemes of villains! I truly did not do it!"
"Shut up! Even now, you still dare to argue. There are witnesses and evidence to prove it. What else do you want to say? How come I didn't recognize you as a venomous woman back then? If I had known, I would have torn you to pieces long ago." Xue Bin stared coldly at Consort Rong, who was pleading with him at his feet. His words were chilling, and even Consort Rong was stunned.
While Consort Rong was stunned, Xue Bin kicked her away and shouted angrily, "Take her down now!"
"No, Your Majesty, you can't do this! No, sister, please save me! It really wasn't me, sister!" Consort Rong screamed, then hurriedly crawled to my bedside, kneeling there with tears streaming down her face as she begged me.
I closed my eyes reluctantly, but a moment later, my eyes filled with grief and deep sorrow as I looked at her. "You said it wasn't you, so why did you put safflower in the pastries you gave me? Sister, I haven't done anything to wrong you. Even if I did, you can blame it on me, but why did you have to harm my unborn child?"
"No, sister, I've been framed! Someone wants us to kill each other to gain the Emperor's favor! Sister, you can't let them succeed! Sister, yes, it must be Consort Lan, it must be..." Consort Rong blurted out, disregarding the setting, revealing some of the sordid affairs of the harem. Initially, she only said those things to make Xue Bin pretend to be angry, but when she mentioned Consort Lan, Xue Bin was truly enraged. He grabbed Consort Rong's hand and threw her away from my bedside, pointing at her and saying, "You vile woman, still refusing to confess! How dare you slander Consort Lan! You deserve to die! What are you standing there for? Throw her in jail and execute her on a chosen day!"
A shout of "The Empress Dowager has arrived!" outside the hall stopped the guards in their tracks, which also made me wonder.
"What is this?" Her slender fingers wore jade nail guards, inlaid with several pigeon-blood rubies, carved into the shape of a red spider lily, breathtakingly beautiful. Her exquisite face, reflected in the bronze mirror, showed no signs of aging, remaining utterly radiant. Her long hair was styled by her maid, Yu Yan, into a loose, flowing bun with an ivory comb, adorned with two filigree gold and warm jade phoenix hairpins holding pearls, from which delicate white jade tassels dangled, their tinkling sounds extremely pleasant.
"Long live the Empress Dowager!" The palace maids, eunuchs, imperial physicians, guards, and even Consort Rong all knelt down and chanted in unison.
I tried to stand up weakly, but Shanzhu quickly stepped forward to support me. Before I could even stand, I heard the Empress Dowager say, "What are you doing, fumigating your clothes? Help the Empress to lie down."
"Yes," the palace maid who had been supporting the Empress Dowager bowed down, took two steps back with her head down, and walked over to me, taking Shan Zhu's hand.
I dared not presume to address "Empress Dowager Xie," and followed the palace maid's hand to lie back on the bed, a cold glint flashing in my eyes.
"Your subject greets Your Majesty the Empress Dowager." Xuebin hadn't expected the Empress Dowager to come, but he only thought about it in his heart and bowed slightly in salute.
"Get up. I heard all this commotion as soon as I entered the palace. What are they all doing?" The Empress Dowager's tone was authoritative. She was capable enough to sit in the position of Empress Dowager, and her tone could unconsciously make people feel intimidated.
The eunuch helped the Empress Dowager sit down on the throne and respectfully retreated behind her, his movements precise and flawless.
"Mother, this vile woman dared to harm the royal offspring! I am about to punish her severely!" Xuebin replied respectfully, even though he was annoyed by the sudden arrival of his Empress Dowager. After all, she was his mother.
"Tell me what happened," the Empress Dowager said, not responding to the Emperor's words. She merely glanced at the group of imperial physicians and gently placed her nail guards on the table.
"Your Majesty, safflower was found in the pastries, which caused Your Majesty's unborn child to be in danger." The imperial physicians were a little flustered, but the physician in front of them still answered the question respectfully, although his voice trembled slightly.
"Honghua, Consort Rong, how dare you!" The Empress Dowager raised her hand and slammed it heavily on the table.
The people in the hall shouted in unison again, "Empress Dowager, please calm your anger!"
"Your Majesty, I have been wronged!" Consort Rong thought she had seen hope as soon as the Empress Dowager entered. Now her mind was working quickly. She seized the opportunity to crawl to the Empress Dowager's side and kowtow. The Empress Dowager also saw the redness and swelling on her face.
The Empress Dowager glared at Xuebin reproachfully. Xuebin chuckled and rubbed his hands together, then put on a serious face again.
"Injustice! The imperial physician has already explained everything clearly, what injustice do you still have to accuse me of?" The Empress Dowager slammed her hand on the table in even greater anger, pointing at her as she spoke.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. It was my fault. I dared not disregard the fetus and eat indiscriminately." I didn't know what the Empress Dowager was doing; she was only asking questions without blaming me. I couldn't let my plan fall apart.
"What does this have to do with you? I know that too." The eunuch beside the Empress Dowager helped her to my bedside, and the Empress Dowager patted my hand affectionately by the bedside.
I sneered inwardly, but I also burst into tears. "Empress Dowager, please, Empress Dowager, do justice for me!" I was pressuring her.
"I know, I was a mother myself. Don't cry anymore, don't hurt yourself. You can still have the child." The Empress Dowager still didn't condemn me, but comforted me. Her words were nice, but they also implied that I shouldn't push my luck.
"Your Majesty, I know, but I am not at peace! I beg Your Majesty to help me seek justice!" I cried as I sat up in bed and knelt down, kowtowing. The scene was heartbreaking. Xue Bin also felt sorry for me. Although she knew I was acting, she stepped forward and waved her hand, saying, "Guards, lock Consort Rong in the dungeon."
Consort Rong still held onto hope, but my words stirred things up, and she became angry. However, she remained kneeling there, refusing to leave even when the guards tried to pull her away. The guards dared not pull her too hard, for they could see the underlying reasons. It was clear that the Empress Dowager wanted to protect Consort Rong, while the Emperor and the Imperial Concubine were determined not to let her go. The situation remained deadlocked.
"You may all leave. I have something to say to Xue'er." The Empress Dowager's face was a little dark, but she still raised her hand with her graceful demeanor to dismiss everyone.
"Yes," everyone withdrew in an orderly fashion, but Xuebin did not leave, only saying, "Empress Mother."
"Step back!" The Empress Dowager glared at Xuebin with a hint of anger, her tone becoming even sharper. Xuebin had no choice but to step back.
"Your Majesty, what do you want to say to me?" I asked, my voice still weak.
"You're quite something, managing to outwit my son." The Empress Dowager released my hand, regaining the sharp and authoritative look she had when she entered.
"What is the Empress Dowager saying? I don't understand," I said, feigning ignorance.