novelhk Chapter 321 Sun Scattering
Chapter 321 Sun Scattering
The prescription that caused Consort Jing to forcibly strengthen her constitution and become pregnant was given to her by Consort Du through Poria cocos. Consort Jing did not kill Poria cocos, but rather controlled it.
Granny Qu said, "Fuling said that the only gap in Baoci Palace now is that girl Ginkgo."
Consort Jing leaned against the headboard, weak and listless. "How could this be? She wasn't just that bitch Du Ruowan's personal maid; she and Du Ruowan were sisters. How could she possibly betray us?"
Granny Qu fed her the medicine, saying, "Nothing is impossible. Hasn't Your Highness seen enough? Once you're in this deep palace, what difference does it make if you have half-sisters, let alone half-sisters?"
Granny Qu then told her about Yinxing and the trip to Jiangling, saying, "That girl Yinxing is probably in love. If that's the case, we can give it a try."
"Go ahead and try. Since I've already made up my mind, you shouldn't interfere. If things are exposed, and you're clean, given Chen Yuan's temperament, she certainly won't implicate you. As for me, she won't do anything to me either."
With tears in her eyes, Granny Qu said, "I've served Your Highness for so many years, and I will continue to do so. The Seventh Prince is back; would you like to bring him home?"
Consort Jing shook her head. "It's good that he's registered under the Guo family's name. It saves him from following me. I'm the daughter of a disgraced official, and I have a maternal grandfather who plotted rebellion. What will happen to him in the future?"
That's settled then. Just go check on him occasionally and let me know how he is doing when you get back.
Granny Qu's tears wouldn't dry. "Your Majesty, rest assured. Her Majesty the Empress has already given orders for the Imperial Household Department and the Imperial Hospital to do everything in their power to care for the Seventh Prince. Consort Guo is also a cautious and meticulous person. The Seventh Prince will definitely be alright."
The reason she had the Seventh Prince accompany her to Qingyi Garden was because Consort Jing was in a very bad mood at the time. At one point, she hated the Seventh Prince and went crazy. The nanny was also afraid that she would hurt the Seventh Prince.
It's fine as it is now.
Granny Qu did not heed Consort Jing's advice to ignore it. She went to find Ginkgo herself, and the two talked in a corner of the persimmon orchard.
"How should Consort Jing's health be improved?" asked Granny Qu. "Does the young lady have any good remedies?"
Yinxing shook her head. "Her Majesty's body is already on its last legs. Even if a celestial being descended to earth, it would be of no use. No matter how skilled I am, I am no match for the imperial physician. You should know that, Granny."
"Yes, I know. After all, you are still young! But since you can come up with such a harmful method, you must also have a way to fulfill Consort Jing's wish, right?"
Ginkgo shook her head and took a few steps back.
Granny Qu did not force her, but on that day, Ginkgo heard that Physician Jiang had been summoned to Jiafu Palace.
No one knows how Consort Jing is doing. I only heard that Imperial Physician Jiang stayed in Jiafu Palace for more than an hour before coming out.
For the next two days, the Imperial Physician Jiang was summoned to Jiafu Palace every day, and the time spent there grew longer each day. Yinxing felt like she was being fried in oil every day. Before she could endure three days, she took the initiative to seek out Granny Qu.
She gave Granny Qu a prescription: "After the medicine is prepared, decoct it in water to make a broth. Pour out the broth and then simmer it slowly in the pot over low heat until the broth is almost evaporated. A layer of white powder will appear at the bottom of the pot. Sweep it off and it's ready to use."
"What are its effects?"
"This is called Thousand-Day Powder. If taken for more than three months, a person's lifespan will be reduced to only one thousand days. In this way, Consort Jing's wish can surely be fulfilled."
Granny Qu was very satisfied. None of them intended to kill Du Xiurong immediately; killing someone is easy, but destroying their heart is difficult.
If Du Xiurong and Consort Jing could not live together, but die together, it would naturally be an extremely gratifying thing.
"Of course! Jiafu Palace will not forget your kindness, young lady. We've heard that Her Majesty the Empress intends to release a group of palace maids. If you are interested, Jiafu Palace is willing to lend you a hand!"
Of course, this help will not be given for free.
Ginkgo gritted her teeth and nodded.
Fuling received the medicinal powder and delivered it to Baoci Palace. That night, she hanged herself.
Du Xiurong would drink a bowl of Eight Treasures Soup every day, and this medicinal powder was added to the soup.
Cen Yin's side made progress quickly. The person who made the move was Wang Yueyao. She used a few pawns that the former Prince Jin's mansion had hidden in the palace to spread the news. There were still some forces outside that the Wang family had not completely eradicated. They bribed local thugs and kidnapped all of Fan Wenpo's family members in the countryside and brought them up the mountain, where they were tied up in a dilapidated Taoist temple.
If it weren't for the midwife Fan reporting the matter immediately and Cen Yin arriving in time, Fan's family probably wouldn't have survived. The mountains are cold, wild animals roam, and they can't even get a drink of water. A normal person wouldn't last more than three days.
Wang Yueyao was brought to the entrance of Qianyuan Palace. All the concubines in the harem, including Wang Yuehuai in the Cold Palace, were not left out. Consort Jing was also carried over to watch the execution.
Shen Shixi was sent back to Zhaoyang Palace. Li Yuanke had just finished court and was sitting in his chair in full imperial robes, looking down at the kneeling concubines with an overwhelming sense of oppression.
Below the steps was Wang Yueyao, stripped of her outer garments, wearing only a snow-white undergarment, her hair disheveled, looking utterly undignified, bound to a stool like a madwoman.
"Wang is a vicious woman who plotted to harm the Empress and my heir. She has been demoted to commoner status and beaten to death! I summoned you here to show you this and to warn you: anyone who dares to lay a hand on the Empress or my heir will suffer a fate far worse than yours!"
The Emperor pointed at Wang Yueyao and said sternly, "I have said that if anyone dares to plot against the Empress, and if anything happens to her, I will have you all buried with her. I don't care who is innocent or not; you will all suffer the same fate, none will be spared!"
After saying that, he waved his hand, and Li Fude said, "Attack!"
Wang Yueyao was beaten to death!
Some of the palace concubines, like Liang Anlan, had poor mental fortitude. Su Fuying fainted and was woken up by being splashed with water, but then continued watching.
In November, the Imperial Household Department prepared a list of palace maids to be released from the palace and sent it to Zhaoyang Palace.
As her due date drew closer, Shen Shixi returned to Zhaoyang Palace.
She took the list handed to her by Sun Qingcheng, the Minister of the Imperial Household Department. She glanced at it and saw that Yinxing's name was on it. She had seen the battle between Jiafu Palace and Baoci Palace, but since it wouldn't affect her, she pretended not to have seen it.
There are a total of 372 people.
"From now on, we will follow this charter every year, calculate the total monthly allowance for each person in the palace over the years, see what their current final monthly allowance is, how many months they have served in the palace, calculate a sum of money, and add two more months' allowance as their resettlement allowance after leaving the palace."
It's similar to the N+2 policy that some conscientious companies in later generations used to terminate contracts.
Shen Shixi handed the list to Sun Qingcheng, saying, "Whatever the amount is, it must be accurate!"
Sun Qingcheng knew his master's temperament, so he naturally dared not be negligent.
Du Xiurong only found out after Yinxing had completed the formalities for leaving the palace.
She had been feeling listless and lethargic lately, initially thinking it was because she hadn't been sleeping well at night. However, she noticed brown spots appearing on her skin, like age spots, which alerted her to the problem.
Consort Du quickly summoned the imperial physician, who was naturally someone she trusted. After taking her pulse, he couldn't detect anything wrong. "Judging from the pulse, Your Highness's health should be fine!"
Du Xiurong then remembered that there were fewer ginkgo trees in the past few days, and hurriedly called out, "Send some ginkgo trees!"