Seeing the imperial concubine fainting in front of the courtyard, Liang Jiugong shivered continuously, feeling as if the sky had fallen.
Ruizhu's words buzzed into his ears. He muttered a few words, "Please ask the imperial physician." He was so anxious that his voice became sharp: "Come here, tie up this slave who sneaked in! And you! Be careful to support the queen..."
As soon as he finished speaking, he rushed into the imperial study and asked to see the Emperor.
As early as when Yunxiu accurately grabbed Wang, her face turned pale, and now there was not a trace of blood on her face, as if she was extremely scared.
The look Concubine Yi gave her was frightening, and her sudden fainting was even more frightening. Plus, the Concubine's maid said something like that, as if she was the culprit!
The chief steward did select the person to serve in the imperial court, but she was arranged by the old lady's personal nanny and was placed in the position without anyone noticing.
If she is exposed, what will happen to her life? !
When a group of imperial guards armed with knives broke in, they looked like they were catching an assassin, with their sharp blades pointed directly at her, their eyes cold and unkind... Uncontrollable despair surged in her heart, and Wang fell to the ground, her face flushed, and she bit her lip to hold back her tears.
Things haven't reached the point of no return yet, she can't bear the stigma in vain!
The paperweight fell randomly, making a "bang" sound. At this moment, no one pitied her.
If Wang was in despair, the emperor in the small study, who was reading the memorial, trembled. His red pen dropped, and in disbelief, his face was as gloomy as water, and he stepped out like a gust of wind.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!" Liang Jiugong had a sad face and hurriedly chased after him.
It was spring, with birds singing and streams gurgling. The Weaving House was completely different from the Forbidden City, and the West Garden where the emperor stayed was even more magnificent. Cao Xi, the weaving master of Jiangning, put in a lot of effort, invited craftsmen to carve out a rockery garden, and brought running water into the pool. In terms of originality, it was not much worse than Changchun Garden.
He rewarded his confidants who monitored Jiangnan for him, and met with several local officials with outstanding achievements. After the officials left, he suddenly had the urge to inspect them. Baoqing and Baocheng all had something to say, which was enough to see the excellence of the princes. In addition, the scenery of the Western Garden was extremely beautiful. Kangxi was in a very good mood. He thought that when Xiuxiu woke up, the two of them would go on a tour together. Wouldn't it be beautiful
Who knew this would happen!
Liang Jiugong mentioned hesitantly that a maidservant with excellent appearance had sneaked into the servants. The imperial concubine seemed to have a misunderstanding and said something like "The emperor is so lucky to have such a beauty hidden away". Finally, she fainted from anger...
This is an unprecedented reaction.
Under normal circumstances, this would show that Yunxiu cared about him, and Kangxi would be so happy that he couldn't contain himself!
But if you get hurt...
Now, he no longer cared about the injustice or the secret joy. All his attention was on the word "fainting". Several thoughts flashed through his mind, and he felt angry and worried in his heart.
Soon they arrived outside the courtyard gate, where guards and servants were kneeling in a large group. Ruizhu wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and kept calling "Empress".
Even though Yunxiu was unconscious, her brows were still tightly furrowed. Seeing this, Kangxi closed his eyes, his heart beating violently, and his face looked frighteningly gloomy.
The emperor picked up the imperial concubine horizontally and uttered a few words through his teeth: "Where is the imperial physician?"
Liang Jiugong bent over, almost bending into the ground, and whispered tremblingly: "In reply to Your Majesty, I, your servant, have already sent someone to invite him. He will be here in half an hour at most."
Hearing this, Kangxi's expression did not ease at all. He held Yunxiu in his arms and strode towards the bedroom.
The maidservant who was so beautiful as to cause the imperial concubine to faint was now being pointed at by a knife by the guards and was tied up and kneeling beside them. It was hard to ignore her in such a state.
As he passed by, Kangxi paused and looked down at her.
He was emotionless and extremely sinister, as if he was looking at a dead object. Even when faced with beauty, he was not moved at all.
Facing the majesty of the emperor would have been fine, but the emperor's gaze made Wang tremble all over. She fell to the ground, tears welling up in her eyes, gasping for breath, and she felt a deeper fear and panic!
But I accidentally made eye contact with the imperial concubine. Why did the situation change
Her mind went blank for a moment, she pinched the back of her hand, took a deep breath, and secretly reminded herself not to panic.
She lowered her head slightly, revealing a section of her fair neck, and choked with sobs, "Your Majesty, I am innocent. I am innocent."
Wang Shi was indeed worthy of the title of Jiangnan Beauty, and her appearance was comparable to Liangpin. Her voice was light and graceful, like the chirping of an oriole, and what was even more rare was her cold demeanor beneath her fragility, as if she had a proud character, and she exuded a light fragrance of books, making her the type of woman that could most arouse a man's desire to conquer her.
As for her frightened reaction after being discovered by Yun Xiu just now, it was seven parts true and three parts false. Only she herself knew what the purpose was.
However, no matter how beautiful a woman is, her beauty will be greatly reduced after being tied up.
"Take him away and interrogate him thoroughly." Kangxi had no intention of responding to the beauty's glances and seemed to ignore them.
He removed his sinister gaze, his eyes were filled with rage, and he said word by word: "Find out who sent them. They dared to make the imperial concubine faint and alienate the friendship between me and the imperial concubine..."
The unfinished words made the servants shiver. Not only Liang Jiugong, but even the swords held by the imperial guards shook, making a buzzing sound.
“…” A string of tears rolled down, and Wang suddenly opened her watery eyes wide. She was really scared at this moment.
To alienate the friendship between His Majesty and the Imperial Concubine
How dare she?!
Before she could explain herself, Liang Jiugong looked at her with a fake smile and waved his hand: "Someone, drag her away—"
******
Xiefang Hall.
"Is Concubine Yi unconscious in Xiyuan?" The old lady stood up suddenly. "What's going on?"
The personal nanny opened her mouth and whispered, "This... I am not very clear. The cleaning lady sent a message saying that the emperor met Wang, who served in front of the emperor, and was extremely angry..."
The nanny paused, full of disbelief, and continued hesitantly, "The Emperor was furious and had Wang taken away for interrogation. He said he wanted to find out who was behind this and who dared to alienate the friendship between him and the imperial concubine."
As for the old lady's mood at this moment, it is difficult to understand and believe.
This is too outrageous, too ridiculous. Listen, is this what a normal person would say
Coma... Concubine Yi was so jealous and so weak?
And the mastermind behind it.
There is no mastermind behind this! My Lord, Wang is a beauty presented by the Cao and Li families together!
It is said that the one who is close to water gets the moon first. She painstakingly arranged things so that she could create a beautiful story of a red-sleeved concubine. Her methods were also quite covert so that Concubine Yi would never notice any clues. How did it turn out like this
The old lady's eyes went dark, and she held the nanny's hand, unable to utter a word for a long time, and almost fell to the ground.
How could the emperor not be moved by such a beauty
At this point, she could no longer stand by and watch.
If they were to investigate in detail, they would definitely find the blame on her and her daughter-in-law; the only plan now was to insist that Wang was a member of the weaving house last year, and that she was quick and skillful, and because a servant selected by the chief steward was unwell, she took the initiative to replace him. Wang had never thought of climbing up the social ladder, and she was not a person with ulterior motives!
His Majesty will spare Wang's life for her sake.
As for the royal concubine—
"Quick, inform the master and the eldest master, and let Li go with me to the West Garden to serve the imperial concubine..." The old lady sighed, gritted her teeth and said this, and then ordered, "Call the doctor in the mansion and get the best medicinal materials in the warehouse, go quickly!"
At the same time, Xiyuan.
On the dragon bed, Yunxiu's breathing gradually calmed down. Kangxi, who was sitting beside the bed, had a solemn expression on his face, and his thumb gently stroked her tightly furrowed brows. The palace servants who were serving her did not dare to breathe, but Ruizhu, with red eyes, whispered to the imperial physician: "The queen is usually in great health, and has never had any minor illnesses or disasters. It's just that this time she was so angry that she attacked her heart..."
Kangxi nodded slightly and asked in a deep voice: "Did you see anything? When will the imperial concubine wake up?"
The accompanying imperial physician took the patient's pulse diligently.
Anger
Not really.
The pulses of people who fainted due to different reasons were different. He was most familiar with the pulses of people who were anxious and angry, as they were full of anger, but the anger of the imperial concubine... well, it was not very obvious.
However, the mood swings are real.
The imperial physician secretly glanced at the emperor, pondered for a moment, stroked his long beard, and changed his pulse-taking posture.
As if he had sensed something was wrong, his eyes gradually widened, his confusion disappeared, and an extremely obvious look of joy emerged. This, this—
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty!" The imperial physician felt relieved. He threw away his previous caution and said radiantly, "Slippery pulse, this is a slippery pulse. The imperial concubine is pregnant, and it will be less than two months!"
For a moment, the room was silent.
Liang Jiugong, with a sad face, opened his mouth wide, Ruizhu, who was wiping her face and tears, widened her eyes, and the one with the biggest reaction was the current emperor, whose face was as gloomy and quite anxious. He suddenly stood up, but then lost his balance and fell beside the couch.
"…" Liang Jiugong's congratulatory words got stuck in his throat, and he called out in a low voice, "Your Majesty?"
Kangxi glanced at him, suppressed the joy rising from the bottom of his heart, coughed, and said slowly: "Nothing."
Congratulations rang out one after another and entered the emperor's ears. Ecstasy replaced his anger, and then turned into deeper worry and pity.
She is actually pregnant, no wonder Xiuxiu is acting so abnormally.
Pregnant women are sensitive and thoughtful by nature. Not only was the southern tour tiring, but when she saw the maid with ulterior motives, she misunderstood and suddenly thought of going somewhere else!
Under such circumstances, anger and jealousy are even more difficult to control, and in this way, all the causes and consequences are connected.
He waved his hand, put away the smile on his face, and turned serious. He asked the doctor in a low voice: "Is Huamai's pulse healthy? When will the imperial concubine wake up? Is there any medicine to reduce fever without harming the body?"
Reduce fever
The medicine is not suitable for the disease, Your Majesty.
"Your Majesty, please don't worry. Please allow me to take a closer look!" The imperial physician's hand that was pinching the long beard trembled, and he almost twisted it into a caterpillar. Hearing this, he became extremely serious, held his breath for a moment, and took the pulse again.
The doctor diagnosed that she was pregnant, but he only gave a brief test. After a long while, the doctor's eyes narrowed slightly and he said, "This is strange. Your Majesty has always been healthy, but her pulse is a little unstable..."
Before she finished speaking, a chill ran up from her heels to her forehead. The doctor paused and said hurriedly, "It's just a slight disorder, but the source is stable! Just a dose of pregnancy-stabilizing medicine will be enough."
As soon as these words were spoken, the coldness in the emperor's eyes eased for a moment.
Without waiting for Kangxi to speak, the imperial physician breathed a sigh of relief and said thoughtfully, "Your Majesty has been accompanying His Majesty on his southern tour and is quite tired from the long journey. Your pulse is normal."
But what is the reason for fainting
"By the way, Miss Ruizhu, what did the Queen eat today, and what fragrance did she smell?"
If a woman in the inner palace has an unstable fetus, apart from internal factors such as depression, it is usually because of problems with her diet or incense decorations. The same is true for the empress in the palace.
Ruizhu also knew the importance of this matter, and hurriedly replied: "We had porridge for breakfast, and only a few pieces of osmanthus cakes for lunch, not snacks from the Weaving House. As for incense, the queen did not order it..."
Ruizhu paused, then frowned: "I remember now. When the queen moved into the main courtyard, the bedding seemed to have been fumigated, with a floral and fruity scent, but it smelled for a long time and it didn't smell like musk. The queen slept on it for about two hours..."
Pregnant women should not touch musk, and even for ordinary women, smelling too much strong musk will affect fertility. Nanny Dong and her friends are immersed in the deep palace and are very familiar with these tricks. They will not leave hidden dangers around their masters, but flower and fruit scents are fine.
The imperial physician exhaled and seemed a little agitated. It must be because of the bedding.
"Fruit scent? Your Majesty has been pregnant for less than two months, so she cannot stand strong fragrance. Even if the fragrance is very light, she cannot stand it for two hours! Besides, if the fragrance of flowers and fruits is mixed together, if the two smells conflict and become toxic, it will be a disaster."
He shook his head and continued, "I need to smell it carefully. If it is really because of the incense, cough... coupled with the sign of extreme anger, the queen fainted. If you use a heart-clearing medicine, the queen will wake up soon."
The imperial physician quickly listed a series of medicinal herbs, but no one noticed what they had in common: none of them had the effect of reducing fever.
Ruizhu took a deep breath, clenched her hands, and felt the scent of incense on her bedding. She was so angry that she was overwhelmed...
It was all their negligence that they failed to notice the young master's arrival, causing the queen to suffer greatly in vain!
As he listened, Kangxi's expression became more and more gloomy. "Someone come!"
"Ruizhu, take the prescription and go to the kitchen to make a bowl of abortion-preserving medicine. Send a fast guard to lead the imperial physician to the imperial concubine's bedroom. It will take at most 25 minutes. And that slave girl—" He turned the ring on his finger, his eyes cold, "did you find out anything from her during the interrogation?"
"Your Majesty, we have uncovered some information during the interrogation, but it is not all clear yet." Liang Jiugong had just gone out for a while and returned to his master's side. He opened his mouth, but hesitated for a long time as he was about to speak.
"Why, you can't tell me?"
"It was Li, the wife of Guard Cao, who sent her to the West Garden," Liang Jiugong shrank his neck like a quail, and his voice became smaller and smaller, "... The old lady arranged for her to serve in front of the emperor."
God knows, Liang Jiugong was frightened when Wang opened her mouth.
Different people have different opinions. Serving in front of the emperor, isn't that just sending a beautiful woman as a gift
No wonder the imperial concubine reacted like that.
When he thought of this, the chief steward felt extremely unhappy and even gnashed his teeth. Both he and the Emperor were innocent people who were punished.
He is so wronged!
It hurts so much to be cheated by others!
Kangxi paused in turning his ring, his anger stagnated, and he seemed to be in disbelief: "Old lady. Which old lady?"
Liang Jiugong lowered his head and asked, "Which old lady is there?"
Naturally, it was Sun, the wet nurse who served the emperor when he was young.
This time, the Cao family made a big mistake. It caused the imperial concubine to faint, and almost killed the baby in her belly. Haha, if I don't come here to apologize...
Even if the emperor is nostalgic and has great favor with the emperor, he is still inferior to the imperial concubine. Oh, the imperial concubine still has the crown prince, the fourth princess, the fifth prince, and the ninth prince behind her.
Is there any need to say which is more important
******
The imperial guard, carrying a sword on his waist, led the imperial physician to the main courtyard and almost turned Concubine Yi's bedroom upside down. Within a moment, everyone in the weaving house knew about it.
What followed was a rumor that Concubine Yi fainted after being angered by a maid who tried to climb into her bed. The emperor was furious and ordered a thorough investigation into the mastermind behind the incident.
For a moment, people were in a panic, which diluted some of the joy of the emperor's arrival and shrouded a shadow. Would this incident implicate the Cao family
"Mother!" Yinqi cried, "Father, is Mother awake?"
The prince held his hand, his face showing a hint of anger, and it seemed that he already knew the whole story.
The women of the Cao family, relying on the emperor's favor, were too presumptuous. On the first day of the emperor's stay, they even tried to send beautiful women to win his favor, causing Yi'er Niang to fall into a coma. It was simply absurd!
Does Cao Xi know? Does Cao Yin know
Seeing the two brothers, Kangxi's dark face finally softened a little: "Don't be afraid, Yinqi, mother will wake up soon."
After the imperial physician examined the bedding, he said it was not poisonous, but the incense in it was harmful to pregnant women. He returned to the West Garden, panting, and hurriedly boiled the medicine, which the emperor fed to the imperial concubine from a bowl. Now it had been quite a while.
Therefore, Kangxi's answer was not meant to coax his son.
At this moment, a report came from outside the screen: "Your Majesty, Guard Cao Yin is here with a cart of medicinal herbs to see you..."
Hearing this, the prince frowned slightly. Kangxi rubbed his forehead and finally said, "Put down the herbs and have him wait outside. Let Nanny Sun and Li come in."
Outside, the old lady was leaning on a cane. Li was one step behind her. Her legs were numb from standing, but she didn't dare show any discomfort.
An hour ago, she and her mother asked to see the emperor, saying that they wanted to attend to the Imperial Concubine Yi, but they were stopped outside by the chief steward Liang. The chief steward smiled and said, "Your Majesty is accompanying the Imperial Concubine and is not available yet. Please wait for a while, old lady and madam."
This wait lasted for an hour.
Now that she was finally able to go in, Li was not very happy. Unease, apprehension, and even fear filled her heart. How could things have come to this
I wonder how Wang is doing
She didn't believe that the imperial concubine was in a coma. She thought that she was just jealous. In order to monopolize the emperor, she used this opportunity to drive away the beauty, and she went to such great lengths to mobilize troops. The rumors about her domineering behavior were indeed true.
Upon seeing Kangxi, the old lady knelt down tremblingly, and Li prostrated herself on the ground, not daring to think any more.
The emperor met them outside the screen, while the crown prince and Yinqi were in the inner room. This time, there was no more support, and no "Madam, please excuse me." The old lady's heart sank, and she had to kneel down and explain: "Your Majesty, please understand. Wang entered the weaving house at the end of last year. I saw that she was very skillful... and had no intention of climbing up the social ladder. Please spare her life, Your Majesty!"
The prince almost laughed.
Are you nimble
This excuse is quite good.
Kangxi looked at Sun, the wet nurse who had been with him since he was a child and was also the mother of Cao Yin's companion in study.
If people knew about the beauties selected by Li Xu, and wanted to present them to him through Cao's mansion, they might even praise them for their "loyalty". At most, he would reprimand them and refuse to accept them. Would he even dismiss them from their official positions
She has been hiding the truth and has refused to tell it until now, and she even begged him to spare Wang.
Wang, his heart is damnable!
The emperor had no rules against scolding women. The old lady was old, so he kept silent because of their old relationship. As for Li, the wife of Cao Yin, who was kneeling beside him,
Kangxi said calmly, "The imperial concubine is pregnant, but Wang Shi has made her pregnancy unstable. Based on this alone, I can ask Ziqing to divorce her."
The imperial concubine is pregnant? !
As soon as the word "divorce" came out, Li was terrified and her body went limp. She could no longer care about anything else and kept kowtowed and cried, "Your Majesty, I beg Your Majesty to show some mercy..."
The old lady managed to hold on and not fall down, but she was also frightened in her heart.
Kangxi was about to speak when he heard Yinqi in the inner room say in surprise, "Mother, you're awake!"
In an instant, a cold wind blew past, and Li trembled all over. Before she could react, the emperor disappeared.
Yunxiu leaned against the soft pillow with difficulty. Seeing the prince and Yinqi guarding the bed, her expression softened a little. But before she could relax for long, she caught a glimpse of Liang Jiugong and the emperor who hurried over, and her smile disappeared instantly.
"Your Majesty, just go find the beautiful girl in the golden house, why are you looking for me?" She smiled, "It's so nice to have a beautiful lady with red sleeves. If someone doesn't know, they will think the weaving house is a place for soliciting customers. The maids there are all beautiful, even more beautiful than the ladies in the palace."
The prince turned his head away slightly, suppressed his laughter, and covered Yinqi's ears.
Outside the screen, the old lady's eyes widened. How dare the imperial concubine speak to the emperor like that!
Kangxi choked and his face turned pale and blue. He was afraid of her mouth.
"Liang Jiugong!" The emperor's tone was quite gnashing of teeth.
On second thought, Xiuxiu cared about him so much, so there was no way she would show weakness. The jealousy he felt spread far away.
My heart softened like a puddle of water, and I felt even more tender when I thought about her being pregnant.
Liang Jiugong was kicked in the buttocks, and he moved forward with tears in his eyes, "Misunderstanding, it's all misunderstanding! Madam, for the sake of the little prince in your belly, you can't be angry."
Then, he explained the whole story, his mouth was dry and he wanted to drink eighty glasses of water: "… Please don't wrongly accuse Your Majesty, and wrongly accuse me, Your Majesty! The maid intended to alienate us, but Your Majesty saw through her trick. Your Majesty also said that Wang is ugly, not even a hair of yours, but his eyes are fine, not blind."
Realizing that the words were meant to take credit, Yun Xiu said: "..."
Ruizhu smiled and said, "Your Majesty is wise and powerful, how could he disappoint the Empress? The Empress can rest assured in the future."
Yun Xiu was stunned. She first touched her belly mechanically, then raised her head with a complicated expression.
It turned out that she had misunderstood.
But what did they say
Anger
Fainted because of Wang's anger? !
My reputation has been ruined.
It took Yunxiu a long while to come back to her senses. She was so angry that she didn't even bother to pay attention to Kangxi who was "inadvertently" looking at her from the corner. She keenly grasped what she wanted: "The old lady and the wife of Guard Cao want to serve me when I am sick?"
Liang Jiugong uttered an "eh", glanced secretly at the corner, and then nodded in agreement.
Your Majesty, this reaction is wrong.
Shouldn't I express my true feelings to the Emperor
Before I could figure out what was going on, I heard the Imperial Concubine say with a smile, "Then please invite them in."
Now, the old lady regrets it, and Li also regrets it.
In Yunxiu's opinion, they were somewhat reluctant to perform the ceremony in the early morning, but now they are able to do so with flexibility.
Gently lifting Li's chin, she looked straight into her tearful eyes.
Yun Xiu brushed her trembling eyelashes and said softly, "I'm not dead yet, so you're in a hurry to send someone to the emperor? Tell Li Xu later that as long as I'm alive, he will put away his restless thoughts. By the way, the beauties I found will all be concubines of Guard Cao. Can they call you sister?"