In less than a quarter of an hour, the Third Prince’s personal eunuch returned panting, carrying the aged imperial physician on his back.
“Quickly, take a look at Third Sister-in-law.”
“How is it?”
“Reporting to Your Highnesses, Third Consort has suffered an overwhelming surge of anger and agitation, which has led to an unstable fetal condition and signs of a threatened miscarriage.”
“A miscarriage?” The female consorts and princesses all changed color. “Can the pregnancy still be saved?”
“This…” The imperial physician didn’t dare speak with absolute certainty, weighing his words carefully. “Your servant will first prescribe a decoction for stabilizing the fetus for the Consort to take, and I shall return in three days to re-examine her pulse.”
“Good. You may withdraw and report the Third Consort’s pulse condition to the Third Prince.”
After the physician retreated, the Eldest Primary Consort sat down on the couch and gently counseled, “That woman is utterly unreasonable and obstinate—why bother lowering yourself to argue with her? Look at this—you almost hurt yourself in the process. How terribly disadvantageous.”
Third Consort gave a bitter, self-deprecating smile. “When she hurled such vicious, heart-piercing words, how could I not grow anxious and angry? If I had truly committed some filthy, shameful deed, that would be one thing; but I am completely innocent and haven’t done a single wrong thing. Why should I be subjected to her wrongful accusations?”
Thinking of the Third Prince’s expression just moments before, a wave of sourness welled up in her heart, and tears instantly streamed down her face.
Wuyunzhu hurriedly took out her handkerchief to wipe away her tears. “Third Brother is not a muddle-headed person; he certainly won’t believe her raving nonsense. When all is said and done, my cousin has suffered because she was implicated by me…”
To this remark, the others nodded in agreement, though their hearts were also filled with doubt. “Ninth Sister-in-law, did you perhaps offend Eighth Sister-in-law outside the palace?”
Wuyunzhu shook her head. “The Estate of the Prince Consort An is in the southeast corner, and the Commander-in-Chief’s mansion is in the northwest corner. The two residences are far apart, and we share no ties of marriage. I have never had a single interaction with her.”
“Let it be, let’s not speak of her anymore. Just mentioning her makes one angry.” The Seventh Primary Consort looked toward Third Consort’s abdomen, a trace of envy flashing in her eyes. “Third Sister-in-law is blessed with both sons and daughters, and now she is carrying another. Truly, what wonderful fortune.”
The others nodded in agreement. Fifth Consort even cast aside her pride, lowering her voice to plead earnestly, “Third Sister-in-law, do you happen to have any secret prescription for conceiving? Might you be able to share a copy with me?”
She had been married for nearly three years, yet there was not the slightest stir from her womb. Rumors had gradually spread outside that she was barren. Her husband and mother-in-law already disliked her, and now they were even more indifferent.
She didn’t care whether the child was a boy or a girl; she merely wanted a child to break the rumors and improve her standing.
Third Consort understood her plight, and her tone was exceedingly sincere. “Fifth Sister-in-law, I don’t have any secret prescriptions, only a medicinal diet recipe that I usually take to nourish my constitution. Would you like it?”
Fifth Consort was somewhat disappointed, but being able to regulate her body was still a good outcome. She nodded quickly. “Yes, I would.”
“Alright, once I return, I’ll send someone to deliver it to you.”
Having said this, Third Consort saw the Seventh Primary Consort gazing at her with eager, pleading eyes and couldn’t help recalling that Seventh Sister-in-law’s situation was identical to Fifth Sister-in-law’s. She thus took the initiative to ask her, “If Seventh Sister-in-law doesn’t mind, would you like a copy of that medicinal diet recipe as well?”
The Seventh Primary Consort happily accepted. “Thank you, Third Sister-in-law.”
As they were talking, Third Consort’s senior palace maid stepped inside.
“Primary Consort, the palanquin sedan has arrived.”
Third Consort nodded. “Then let us return.”
Stepping out of the side hall, she saw the Third Prince standing by the entrance waiting, a look of faint remorse on his face.
“Primary Consort, let me help you.”
These rare, gentle words actually caused Third Consort’s eyes to redden.
After helping Third Consort onto the palanquin sedan, the Third Prince took the lead in bidding farewell to the Crown Prince, and the other brothers successively offered their farewells to the Crown Prince as well.
The Fourth, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Princes, along with the Eldest Prince, all resided in the Eastern Five-Halls. The route from the Yuqing Palace back to their respective dwellings was identical.
Along the way, Yingtang muttered a few criticisms about Primary Consort Eighth, which the Fourth Prince overheard and rebuked: “If you want this matter to spread throughout the entire capital, then keep reciting it.”
Yingtang closed his mouth unwillingly. Upon returning to the Four-Halls, he pulled open his collar and gulped down a large bowl of cold tea.
“Finally back. That whole journey nearly suffocated the Prince to death. I suffered a grave grievance, yet I’m not even allowed to scold her—it’s enough to infuriate a person to death!”
“If Fifth Brother hadn’t held me back today, I would have knocked every single tooth out of Guwalgiya’s mouth!”
“That damned woman—her heart is as black and dirty as the bottom of a wok, and her mouth stinks as foully as a chamber pot.”
“I’ve only just gotten married, and she goes and utters such sickening words. She’s going to drive me mad!”
With that, he lashed out with a kick toward the table, wanting to vent his anger; however, the table was made of red sandalwood and was extremely hard.
The next instant, Yingtang was cradling his foot and wailing in pain. “Ouch, it hurts like death! Even a table is bullying the Prince—is there no justice left in this world?!”
Wuyunzhu had removed her hair ornaments and jewelry. Looking back at this display, she shook her head silently in her heart: Good grief, I’ve married a giant infant.
Yet, the facade of a dutiful wife still had to be maintained.
She walked over, squatted down, and asked, “Shall Your Highness let me take a look? If it’s serious, we’ll summon an imperial physician to examine it.”
Yingtang was so startled he quickly pulled his foot back. He hadn’t washed his feet yet; if he ended up offending the Primary Consort’s nose with an odor, his handsome and dashing image would be utterly ruined.
“The Prince is fine, Primary Consort needn’t worry.”
“Are you truly not in pain? Let me take a look, Your Highness. Unless I see it with my own eyes, I won’t be at ease…”
“It doesn’t hurt at all!” Yingtang squeezed out a smile. Catching sight of He Yuzhu peering in from the doorway out of the corner of his eye, he hastily demanded, “What are you doing?”
“Your Highness, the gatekeeper from the front courtyard just came to report that the Eighth Prince has arrived and wishes to ask when Your Highness will go over.”
Yingtang was right in the middle of being furious in his heart and aching in his toes. Hearing that his “good Eighth Brother” had arrived did nothing to improve his mood.
“Go over for what? The Prince has no desire to see him—tell him to scram.”
He Yuzhu was stunned. Had the Prince broken ties with the Eighth Prince?
“Understood, this servant will go right away.”
After He Yuzhu left, Yingtang stewed in silence for a while before letting out a long, slow sigh. “They always say a virtuous wife brings fewer calamities to her husband. Eighth Brother is also truly unfortunate to have been saddled with such a troublemaker of a primary consort. Who knows how many entanglements and repercussions he will suffer in the future…”
Wuyunzhu: “…”
He’s actually feeling tenderhearted for the Eighth Prince? The Eighth Prince’s wife was just spreading malicious rumors about his own wife!
Why doesn’t he feel tenderhearted for me instead?!
Furthermore, the Eighth Prince wasn’t all that innocent. He should have stopped Primary Consort Eighth from going mad long before, but he hadn’t. He was by no means wronged.
“His Highness and the Eighth Prince truly share a bond deeper than brotherhood.”
After delivering this sarcastic remark with an air of passive-aggression, she stood up and entered the inner chambers to bathe.
The Primary Consort seems angry. Why is that?
Yingtang sat at the table in self-reflection. A bond deeper than brotherhood was a fine phrase, but clearly, the Primary Consort had no intention of praising him.
…
When Wuyunzhu emerged from her bath, she still ignored him. After applying her skincare creams in front of the dressing table, she climbed into bed alone, turning her back to him.
The Primary Consort had always treated him with gentleness; this sudden coldness left Yingtang completely at a loss.
He cautiously inched closer. “Primary Consort, did the Prince say something wrong just now? The Prince apologizes to you, so please don’t give me the cold shoulder.”
Wuyunzhu still made not a sound.
Yingtang grew even more anxious and reached out to touch her, whereupon she shifted further inward, putting even more distance between them.
“Primary Consort, you’re being a bit too…”
Too unappreciative of kindness!
When had he ever lowered his posture and coaxed someone like this, only for the other party to show not the slightest shred of appreciation? Coupled with the lingering irritation from earlier and now hitting a brick wall, his imperial prince’s pride flared up as well.
“Fine! If you have the ability, don’t ever speak to the Prince again for the rest of your life.”
Dropping this harsh warning in a huff, Yingtang angrily stomped off to the inner chambers to bathe.
After finishing his bath, his mind had cleared up considerably, and he felt some regret over the words he had just blurted out.
As soon as he stepped back out, he heard the sound of sobbing coming from the bed—sniffling and whimpering so pitiably that it wrung his heart with tender sympathy. He hurriedly scurried over and began clumsily coaxing her.
“Primary Consort? Please don’t cry. It was the Prince’s fault; the Prince shouldn’t have spoken harshly to you.”
“Tomorrow, the Prince will have the Imperial Kitchen make you a table full of fine dishes as an apology, alright?”
“Then I’ll gift you a set of precious gemstone head ornaments?”
“Plus a box of gold melon-seed ingots… if I added anything more, the Prince simply wouldn’t have any left to give.”
Wuyunzhu’s simmering anger had already dissipated earlier; crying just now was merely to elicit Yingtang’s pity and prevent him from genuinely growing annoyed. Once husband and wife drifted apart in heart, how could she ever win him over or turn him against his factions in the future?
Seeing that a stepping ladder had been extended to her right on cue, she took it and relented.
“A gentleman’s word?”
“A team of four horses cannot catch up to it! The Prince is not the sort of person who breaks his promises.”
Seeing that his primary consort had finally revealed a hint of a smile, Yingtang tentatively inquired, “Primary Consort, why were you angry just now? Can you tell me now?”
This thing… Could she tell him that she had been looking down on his clumsy performance earlier? Absolutely not; she had to come up with a plausible reason.
Brewing her emotions, she said weakly, “I suspect today’s entire incident was a disaster provoked by Your Highness.”
?
Yingtang’s face was plastered with question marks.
Wuyunzhu offered a soft analysis. “From the very moment we were on our way back, I kept wondering: how on earth did Primary Consort Eighth come to know about what happened inside Ningshou Palace? At the time, inside the hall, there were only you, myself, and the Empress Dowager. I didn’t say a word, and the Empress Dowager certainly wouldn’t have spoken of it. That leaves only Your Highness.”
“Impossible! The Prince detests her far too much to ever speak to her.”
“Then could it be that you mentioned it to the Eighth Prince, and the Eighth Prince then passed it on to Primary Consort Eighth?”
Yingtang was momentarily choked for words. He had genuinely considered going to find Eighth Brother earlier to talk about the matter. Eighth Brother was adept at socializing; perhaps he could have figured out a way for the Primary Consort to win favor with the Imperial Grandmother.
“That’s not right, though—the Prince was with you the entire blessed day and never went to find Eighth Brother. So this news definitely wasn’t leaked by me.”
Thank goodness I didn’t go, otherwise today I really would have become the source of all trouble.
“Then who could it have been?”
“Could it be that some palace attendant leaked the news?”
“Then tomorrow, let’s investigate the people around us.”
“Mhm, alright.”
“Primary Consort…”
Yingtang slid his hand in from the hem of her robe and began making waves of mischief.
On that very same night, while some shared mandarin-duck dreams, others burned with heavy anger, finding it difficult to find sleep.
Because Kangxi deeply cherished the Crown Prince and desired to stay informed of everything happening around his son, he had planted a network of informants within the Yuqing Palace, requiring a debriefing report every single night before retiring to sleep.
He had been aware that the princes and princesses were holding a small gathering at the Yuqing Palace tonight, and he had expected to hear talk of brotherly harmony and the like. Never had he imagined that he would instead hear about Primary Consort Eighth viciously slandering her sister-in-law and nearly driving Third Consort to a miscarriage.
“What a fine Primary Consort Eighth! Truly worthy of being Yalue’s maternal granddaughter.”
Though his words praised her, anyone familiar with him knew that this meant he had flown into a genuine rage.
Liang Jiugong lowered his head even further, striving to shrink his presence into nothingness.
“Liang Jiugong!”
“This servant is here.”
“Transmit an imperial decree to Consort Hui, instructing her to properly discipline Primary Consort Eighth. She is not to step a foot outside the door before the Mid-Autumn Festival.”
“As for the Eighth Beile, for failing to strictly govern his wife, dock his stipend by half a year.”
Liang Jiugong was inwardly startled; His Majesty was handing down quite a severe punishment this time.
With all deserving punishments meted out, those who had suffered a fright naturally deserved some compensation as well. After pondering for a moment, Kangxi continued, “Go to My private treasury, select some nourishing tonics, and send them to Third Consort. Then, select a jade ruyi scepter and send it to Ninth Primary Consort.”
Although a jade ruyi scepter wasn’t an exceptionally rare item, its auspicious symbolism was wonderful. A jade ruyi scepter bestowed personally by the Emperor—did that not clearly demonstrate his satisfaction and favor toward the Ninth Primary Consort?
“This servant will go execute the order right away.”
Kangxi nodded.
This matter had to be handled promptly, using his own imperial stance to suppress the preceding scandalous rumors.
Ever since Third Consort had been carried back at dusk, it had stirred up a commotion across the Eastern and Western Six Palaces, though no one had been able to ferret out the specific details at the time. Now, with Liang Jiugong transmitting the open imperial decree without concealment or evasion, the well-informed Four Consorts instantly grasped the underlying cause.
Among the Four Consorts, only Consort De remained entirely aloof and detached from the affair. Consort Hui was the (adoptive) mother-in-law of the instigator, Primary Consort Eighth; while Consort Yi and Consort Rong were the mothers-in-law of the victims, Ninth Primary Consort and Third Consort.
Consort Rong had fallen out of favor for many years, and hearing that Kangxi had already issued punishments while her grandson was safe and sound, she simply chose not to pursue the matter further.
Consort Yi, enjoying unwaning imperial favor and fiercely protective of her own kin, was furious upon hearing the details. Someone had actually dared to bully her daughter-in-law—she simply had to retaliate and bully them right back!
After pondering slightly, she wrung out a handkerchief soaked in ginger juice and headed in the direction of the Qianqing Palace. A quarter of an hour later, she emerged looking thoroughly satisfied and pleased.