novelhk Chapter 356 There is Still Room
Chapter 356 There is Still Room
Hua Fei had come to see Yongzheng before, and started crying in front of him.
However, Yongzheng felt extremely complicated when he heard Concubine Hua complaining to him that she had not given birth to a child in all these years, and that she also mentioned that she was framed when she was pregnant and ultimately failed to keep the dragon fetus.
In this palace, apart from the Empress Dowager, no one knows the truth behind these things better than Yongzheng.
Therefore, he did feel a certain sense of indebtedness towards Concubine Hua.
After listening to Concubine Hua's complaints, Yongzheng, who was quite conflicted, decided to find An Lingrong.
In fact, at this time, Yongzheng had already made up his mind.
He wanted to come and see An Lingrong, and then decide whether to give the royal heir born by her to Concubine Hua to raise as compensation to her.
Having said that, Yongzheng did not become confused by the sudden guilt.
The reason why he had to ask Concubine Duan to help him "abort" Concubine Hua was mainly because Yongzheng could not tolerate the birth of a prince with the blood of Aisin-Gioro and Nian families!
Indeed, Nian Gengyao played an indispensable role in his ascension to the throne.
But he was a person who would be proud of his achievements. Once Concubine Hua gave birth to a prince, there was no guarantee that Nian Gengyao would not develop some rebellious thoughts.
Yongzheng could not bear such consequences, nor did he dare to take the risk, so in the end he had no choice but to take action against Concubine Hua.
Even after that, Yongzheng pretended to be "concerned" but actually gave Hua Fei the "Huan Yi Xiang" with added ingredients.
Concubine Hua was unaware of this and thought that this was the emperor's appreciation of her. She didn't expect that this actually became the culprit for her being childless.
Now, even if Yongzheng wanted to make amends to Concubine Hua, all he could think of was to give the children born by other concubines to Concubine Hua.
But the premise of all this must be that An Lingrong only gave birth to a princess!
If it was a prince, Yongzheng would definitely not give him to Concubine Hua.
Thinking about himself, he was raised by Empress Xiaoyi Ren. Although she was only a noble concubine at first and was later promoted to imperial noble concubine, and finally served as empress for only one day, even so, she was a formally canonized empress and was eventually enshrined in the Taimiao.
In this way, as an adopted son, Yongzheng's status would also be improved accordingly.
So, if An Lingrong really gave birth to a prince and then was taken away to be raised by Concubine Hua, wouldn't Yongzheng be shooting himself in the foot?
He is not stupid!
All of this has not yet been settled, so we should think twice before we act to avoid any accidents.
"Your Majesty, are you going back now?"
Just as Yongzheng fell into deep thought, he stood up and walked out. An Lingrong stood up with him and asked this question.
"Yes, I suddenly remembered that there are still some things that I haven't dealt with... I won't stay here today."
Yongzheng did not turn around, but said this to An Lingrong.
After saying this, Yongzheng raised his hand, pushed open the closed door, and walked out.
"Congratulations to your Majesty!"
Watching the other party's carriage gradually going away, An Lingrong did not try to keep him, but just stood there silently.
"My lady, the emperor has left. Let's go in too."
Fang Ruo looked at An Lingrong for a long time without moving, and thought that An Lingrong was simply thinking about Yongzheng, so she started to persuade her.
However, Fang Ruo did not know that the reason why An Lingrong stayed for such a long time was not because she was thinking about the departing Yongzheng, but because her actions reminded her of something deeper.
Just like before in the garden, Concubine Hua suddenly sent Cao Qinmo to invite An Lingrong, which made An Lingrong see that the other party had bad intentions and clearly had no good intentions, and then she thought that Concubine Hua was targeting the child in her belly.
In addition, the emperor had not come to her Fanyin Pavilion for a while, but he came to visit her suddenly this time and said such words to her behind closed doors. All signs indicated that all these were closely related.
Although An Lingrong was confident that she could be promoted before giving birth, Concubine Hua was no pushover either.
The only consolation now is that Yongzheng doesn't seem to have made up his mind yet, which means An Lingrong still has a chance.
"Aunt, let's go back."
An Lingrong did not tell Fangruo what she was thinking, even though she had always been very caring towards her. However, Fangruo had been in the palace for so many years and had been a member of the imperial court before.
Unless An Lingrong was crazy, she would not tell Fang Ruo about her speculation about the emperor.
……
It was midsummer and the weather was scorching hot.
Even in a natural summer resort surrounded by greenery like the Old Summer Palace, many concubines still suffered from heatstroke.
Among them, people like Xin Changzai and Chun Changzai could not bear it because they were not qualified to use ice.
"I heard that Concubine Xin fainted suddenly yesterday. Fortunately, the palace maid found her in time. The Queen sent a royal doctor to check on her. It's nothing serious..."
While Fang Ruo was directing Liu Yun to move the hand-cranked wind wheel with ice cubes into position, she also told An Lingrong the "rumors" she had heard from outside.
Ever since Yongzheng came back last time, An Lingrong seemed to be more calm.
Although this was not a bad thing, Fang Ruo still felt that An Lingrong's condition was very strange.
Fang Ruo couldn't tell what was strange about it for a moment, but this didn't stop her from thinking of ways to attract An Lingrong's attention.
When An Lingrong heard Fang Ruo's words and felt the cool breeze slowly coming from the wind wheel, she sighed and said, "It's hard for Concubine Xin to be here."
Although Concubine Xin was rewarded with the birth of a princess, she was also brought to the Old Summer Palace by Yongzheng.
But Xin Changzai's daughter is not with her, and she has never come here with her. So, Xin Changzai's share there should naturally be the same as that of a normal Changzai. Unfortunately, the weather has been very hot recently, so it's no wonder that she couldn't bear it.
Having said that, this is another opportunity for the Queen to demonstrate her "virtue". An Lingrong feels that the Queen will definitely not let it go.
Just as An Lingrong was thinking about it, Baojuan suddenly came to report, telling An Lingrong that Concubine Xin was here!
"Ok?"
Hearing this, An Lingrong and Fang Ruo were both stunned.
Didn’t Xin Changzai just fall ill?
Even if it was just heatstroke, the body would be weak for two days. How did it come to them?
An Lingrong felt puzzled but did not say anything. She just asked Fang Ruo to go and welcome Concubine Xin in person.
No matter why Xin Changzai came here, once he met the person, he would naturally understand the reason.
An Lingrong's order made Fang Ruo dare not be careless, so she ran out quickly and brought Xin Changzai in.