Changsheng: Peak at the Beginning

Chapter 1094 Zhen Huan Enlarged to 20

After the purge of the Imperial Household Department, Da Pangju could no longer know everything about the harem. It would not be like before the purge of the Imperial Household Department, when so many children and women were killed without any clues. So when Nian Shilan made a move, Da Pangju immediately received the news. After all, Nian Shilan was the object of his special attention, especially since Nian Shilan's letter was to Nian Gengyao.

Concubine Cao originally wanted to hide among the concubines in the harem, Dapangju and Shoukang Palace, but she didn't expect that she would be exposed to the eyes of the Queen Mother and Dapangju so early.

Especially this time, Nian Shilan started to fight and quarrel in the Yiku Palace, but she quickly calmed down after Concubine Cao went in. She sent a letter to Nian Gengyao that day, saying that she wanted to make the Fourteenth Master, who was guarding the mausoleum, have a reputation of being a womanizer and acting without scruples. Anyone who came would inevitably guess that such a sinister idea must have been thought up by Concubine Cao Qinmo!

Dapangju opened the letter from Nian Shilan to Nian Gengyao, in which she wrote that the empress dowager, in order to alienate the Nian family and the emperor, and to help the queen, who was still the wife of Prince Yong, to suppress her, instigated Concubine Duan Qi, who was still a princess, to serve her a bowl of safflower soup, which harmed her child, so she wanted to take revenge on the empress dowager.

However, it would be too severe to attack the Empress Dowager, and she also had to consider the impact on the Emperor, so the best option was to attack the Fourteenth Prince who was far away in the Imperial Mausoleum.

It is also said that the empress dowager forced the emperor to hold a beauty contest in the first year of his reign under the pretext of having an heir, without any regard for the emperor's reputation. Then she did not have to worry about the reputation of the Fourteenth Prince, and let Nian Gengyao directly send a woman to sleep with the Fourteenth Prince, preferably in a way that everyone could see.

This idea was simple but insidious. Big Fat Ju felt that he could not do it, but Concubine Cao could think of it. So he sent the letter to Nian Gengyao as it was, and he was very much looking forward to Nian Gengyao being able to accomplish it. Therefore, he secretly arranged people to assist him and secretly opened a back door for Nian Gengyao.

As for the fact that Nian Shilan asked Concubine Hui to copy the account book overnight, Fatty Ju pretended not to know. Concubine Hui didn't complain anyway. Was he going to embarrass Nian Shilan so that he could support Concubine Hui?

Concubine Hui was really patient. She copied the account book for more than half a month. Only when she saw the palace start preparing for the Mid-Autumn Festival did she finally relax.

Wan Guiren was also sincere to Hui Guiren. She once advised Hui Guiren, "Isn't it a bad idea for Mei Jie to stand out like this? Concubine Hua is very powerful in the palace now, and the Empress will not care about minor matters. It's a pity that Mei Jie was tortured to this extent by Concubine Hua."

Hui Guiren thought it was no problem. "If you want to be noble in front of others, you will suffer behind their backs. Since the emperor trusts me, I can only think of ways to maintain my dignity and not compromise with Concubine Hua easily, otherwise the emperor will not be able to justify it."

This is the truth. After giving such advice, Concubine Wan did not dare to say more. If she said too much, it would mean that she was jealous of Concubine Hui who had the emperor's trust. Besides, Concubine Hui had the title of assistant in charge of palace affairs, and she had benefited a lot from it. She couldn't just eat and then curse her mother when she put down the bowl.

Caiyue and Caixing, who were beside Concubine Hui, hadn't said anything to Concubine Wan this time, but Huanbi, who was beside Concubine Wan, started to criticize Concubine Hui, "Why did you bother to remind Concubine Hui like this? Don't let people think we are jealous of her, and Concubine Hui didn't appreciate it."

Wan Guiren heard Huanbi's rude words, but she couldn't bear to scold Huanbi because of her status. She just advised her earnestly, "I just told Meijie about what I felt was wrong, and I didn't think of influencing her decision. Besides, the opportunity to assist in the affairs of the six palaces with the emperor's attention is indeed very rare. Meijie must have her own considerations."

Huanbi was not very happy, but she also listened to Concubine Wan's words, but she said stubbornly: "My lady is still talking, I am afraid that Concubine Hui is trying to gain face from us, so she is clinging to the palace power."

Wan Guiren sighed secretly. She was also worried that this was the case, but she couldn't say it out loud. She avoided the main point and said, "Okay, Sister Mei and I are both in the same position of Guiren. We have had a good relationship since we were in the boudoir. You should be more cautious in what you say and don't bring unnecessary trouble to us."

Huanbi had followed Concubine Wan since she was a child, so she knew very well that Concubine Wan agreed with her previous words. She didn't say much to compete with her, but she looked down on Concubine Hui, Shen Meizhuang, more and more.

This year's Mid-Autumn Festival banquet was smaller than last year's. Only the concubines and several concubines in the palace were present. The Queen Mother sat at the top and watched the concubines below being respectful to the Queen. She felt very uncomfortable and wanted to pick on Concubine Hua to embarrass the Queen: "This year, when I saw Concubine Hua, she looked even more beautiful than last year. It shows that the Emperor cares about you."

However, Hua Fei now thought that the Queen Mother was the enemy who killed her son, and she knew that the Queen Mother would definitely instigate her to fight with the Queen, so she pretended not to understand the meaning behind the Queen Mother's words and squeezed out a small appearance to toast the Queen Mother: "I thank the Queen Mother for her auspicious words. This glass of wine is to wish the Queen Mother all her wishes come true and everything goes well."

It is impossible to get everything you wish for, and it is also vain to have everything go as you wish.

After receiving advice from Nian Gengyao, Concubine Hua felt that the Empress Dowager was probably the culprit for the emperor's lack of offspring. Even the princesses in the Fourteenth Prince's harem were from prominent Manchu families, and his wife was a descendant of the Wanyan clan, an aristocratic family from the Jin Dynasty. This shows her background.

Therefore, Concubine Hua and Nian Gengyao agreed that the Empress Dowager might still want to pick up the old Manchu custom of succession from brother to younger brother for the Fourteenth Prince, and try to push the Fourteenth Prince to the throne. After all, everyone knew the situation back then. Even though the late emperor ordered Dapangju to succeed to the throne, Longkodo hid the crucial imperial edict written in Manchu and Mongolian, which caused Dapangju's succession to be questioned by the Eighth Prince's party.

Even if Longkodo later produced two more imperial edicts, the emperor's reputation could not be restored.

So the brother and sister planned to ruin the Fourteenth Prince's future first, and then take down Longkodo, so that the Empress Dowager would completely lose all her ceremonial guards.

The Queen Mother was annoyed when she saw that Concubine Hua did not understand her words, but she did not dare to go too far. After all, it was wrong for her to bypass the Queen, the legal wife, and raise a concubine to compete with the Queen. If it got out, it would only ruin her reputation.

So the Queen Mother didn't dare to go too far.

But little did she know that her reputation had long been ruined. Concubine Yi and Concubine Hui, who were sent out to live by Jiang Xinxin, were not dead. They accepted Jiang Xinxin's kindness, so how could they not cause trouble for the empress dowager?

The Queen Mother turned to Jiang Xinxin and said, "Queen, you are the head of the harem and the legitimate mother of all the emperor's children. Now the emperor has only three sons and two daughters, which is really empty. You must act like a queen and make the harem more prosperous."

The concubines all lowered their heads in an uproar. Some people speculated that the lack of offspring in the palace was due to the Queen, but only Concubine Hua knew that the Queen was taking the blame for the Queen Mother, so she smiled sarcastically.

Jiang Xinxin smiled and said, "It's probably because the feng shui of the residence is not good for offspring. Now it's better in the palace. After all, the maids checked the bodies of the newcomers when they entered the palace. They are all suitable for having children. I'm sure there will be good news before the New Year."

"However, the Empress Dowager did remind me that the rule of checking the emperor's pulse once a month is too loose. I suggest that we check the pulse once every ten days. It doesn't matter if the emperor's position is high or low, as it is always to help the emperor have children."

After listening for a while, Big Fat Orange quickly agreed: "The Queen is right. Regarding the rules of checking the pulse, let's follow what the Queen said."

The concubines all stood up to thank Da Pangju and Jiang Xinxin. The empress dowager was too embarrassed and made up an excuse to leave. Unfortunately, no one paid attention to this.