darknovel Chapter 107 Who was the one who poisoned Consort Qiong to the point of madness?
Chapter 107 Who was the one who poisoned Consort Qiong to the point of madness?
It's a sarcastic remark directed at Shen Shiyan, implying that if she didn't want to conceive, why did she drink the fertility-enhancing medicine?
She also told Shen Shixi that her sister had been given a sterilization drug, and from Consort De's tone, it was clear that it was "self-evident" who had given it to her.
Back then, Li Yuanke promoted Shen Shiyan and Pei Shi to the Eastern Palace at the same time. Shen Shiyan's rank was higher than Pei Shi's; she was a Liangdi (a concubine rank), while Pei Shi was a Liangyuan (a concubine rank).
Shen Shixi knew all too well how deep her elder sister's infatuation with Li Yuanke was; she was definitely a love-struck fool.
Back then, she did not recommend that her elder sister enter the Eastern Palace. Being a concubine of the emperor was not an easy job. However, her elder sister mistakenly thought that she was going to compete with her for the emperor's favor, so she had nothing to say.
Later, when Li Yuanke ascended the throne, in order to secure a way out for her elder sister, she asked her grandfather to suggest to Li Yuanke that Pei be made empress. This was partly to win over the Pei family, and partly because the Pei family was determined to get the empress position. Since the situation was beyond their control, it was better to temporarily back down.
In this way, Li Yuanke would feel guilty towards the Shen family, since his elder sister was in the palace and he had to take care of her to some extent.
But the eldest sister was completely focused on Li Yuanke and neglected her own life, and was eventually murdered.
I heard that when her eldest sister died, she was still resentful that she hadn't made her empress. She thought, what good would it have done if she had become empress?
Shen Shixi smiled, "The past can't be undone! Even those involved probably can't distinguish right from wrong anymore. I'll just listen to it as a story!"
Consort De did not expect that Shen Shixi did not intend to avenge her elder sister when she entered the palace. However, after thinking about it, Shen Shiyan, that fool, was cursing Shen Shixi to die a horrible death when she died, so it was understandable that she did not care about her elder sister's death.
In fact, even if Shen Shixi hadn't been in the palace at the time, she could have guessed who had attacked her elder sister. Besides the deceased Consort Min, the Empress, Consort De, and Consort Qing, and even Consort Song were involved. After all, Li Yuanke had protected her elder sister back then.
Only by working together can we break through the emperor's protection and get rid of the eldest sister.
So what?
She had saved her elder sister's life; was she going to kill her too?
The death of Consort Min would be enough.
The sisterly bond they shared in this lifetime was severed by her elder sister the moment Li Yuanke was crowned empress.
She helped her elder sister with so many schemes, but her elder sister was blind and foolish. Now that she's dead, what revenge is there to take? Even if she helped her wipe out Li Yuanke's harem, her elder sister in heaven wouldn't appreciate it.
The eldest sister had an obsession with Li Yuanke; she was probably cursing him for being favored even from heaven.
Consort De's attempt to sow discord failed, and she smiled, "You're clever. What happened back then is long gone. Sigh, time flies. You've all been in the palace for half a year now. His Majesty's birthday is approaching. This year isn't a major birthday celebration, so I suppose there won't be a grand one. I wonder what birthday gifts you've prepared for His Majesty?"
Every year, Consort Qiong would send the emperor a dish, and this year will be no different. "I'll send the emperor a dish I made myself!"
Consort De made a garment for the Emperor, but he never wore it.
"Where is Consort Yuan?" Consort De asked.
"I haven't thought it through, and I'm not prepared," Shen Shixi said.
After talking for a while, the three parted ways.
It was getting late, and Consort Qiong invited Shen Shixi to her palace to have lunch together. Shen Shixi thought she had nothing else to do, so she went along.
Coal stoves were also used in her palace, which made it much more convenient to have tea.
"I don't know where you got all those ingenious ideas from, but this coal stove is really convenient. It's perfect for cooking porridge or stewing soup."
When Consort Jin heard that Shen Shixi had come to Consort Qiong's palace, she rushed over and asked the palace staff to send her lunch to Shouxian Palace.
Consort Jin is quite interesting now. She never goes to Zhaoyang Palace to see Shen Shixi, but whenever Shen Shixi goes out, she follows closely behind. Whenever Shen Shixi comes to Consort Qiong's Palace, she is sure to come too.
Seeing Consort Jin, Consort Qiong was not surprised. "I knew you would come. Since you're here, let's have lunch together as a family."
Consort Jin then said to Shen Shixi, "I've sent word to my father and brothers about the idea you gave me last time. They will try to achieve merit as soon as possible, and then they can tell the Emperor to credit the credit to me, so I can be promoted quickly."
Consort Qiong said, "What are you two talking about? You're in such a hurry to be promoted because you want to..."
Consort Qiong was no fool, and she quickly figured it out.
Jin Jieyu didn't intend to hide it from her; there was no need to hide it, because it was impossible to hide anyway.
She felt very confident. Putting aside everything else, just based on her father and brothers' achievements, the emperor would definitely side with her.
"Just as Your Majesty thinks, my body is already ruined, and I suppose the Emperor won't care about me much in the future. I can't possibly spend my whole life alone in this deep palace. I can't have my own children, but can't I raise one myself?"
Although Consort Qiong didn't know how Jin Jieyu had gotten so attached to Shen Shixi, after interacting with her for a while, she felt that Jin Jieyu's personality was probably similar to hers.
He's pretty simple-minded.
Generally, if such a person wants to harm someone, their intentions will be known before they even make a move.
Consort Qiong said, "Do you know who was it that tried to poison me and make me lose my mind?"
Shen Shixi seemed lost in thought, and Jin Jieyu quickly asked, "Who is it?"
"Everything was fine upfront, but after you all entered the palace, you gradually became pregnant. Only the principal wife can raise imperial heirs. I've never given birth either, so if any of the concubines below me become pregnant, I might be able to be assigned an imperial heir."
Consort Rong is beautiful and proud, and may not be willing to raise me. But I am different. I have long since given up vying for the Emperor's favor. However, if I were to speak up, the Emperor might grant my request, and someone has already taken action.
It points to Consort Song!
Because if Consort De and Consort Qing were to take action, they would only target the imperial heirs; the others are too far removed from the main palace and there is no need for them to act against them.
Jin Jieyu was astonished. "Song Jieyu, right? Her? She's not even a palace mistress. What is she dreaming of?"
Consort Qiong glanced at Shen Shixi and said, "If back then, she could have pinned the blame on Yuan-meimei, wouldn't the Emperor have promoted her rank to appease her? Wouldn't she have become the Ninth Consort?"
"Besides, she has lost a child. If the Emperor were to show her even a little more pity, wouldn't she be able to raise the imperial heir?"
"She's so sure the Emperor will pity her? With that bookish air she's always spouting, where does her confidence come from? Maybe Shi Xi would be more likely!"
Shen Shixi said irritably, "Stop cursing me!"
Consort Qiong sighed, "In this harem, even if you do something, it may not necessarily be effective, but if you don't do anything, it will definitely not be effective. The emperor's favor is like flowing water; you can grasp onto whatever little bit you can."
Shen Shixi reminded her, "'Things are accomplished in secrecy, and ruined by leaks.' You can let it go by saying what you're thinking here today, but don't spread it around so that everyone knows about it in the future. It's better to be cautious."
Consort Qiong chimed in, "Yes, although there are no secrets in this palace, we still have to be wary of people."
Consort Jin said, "I understand. However, if it's her, I'm not afraid at all. Her brother is a criminal of the Great Zhou Dynasty; do you think the Emperor would favor her?"
Consort Qiong said, "Although our Emperor is not very kind, many things are hard to predict. We'll have to see how his family handles things. In short, the imperial heir hasn't been born yet, so it's too early to talk about these things. Let's not discuss them for now."
The three of them ate lunch together. The other two were quite refined, so Shen Shixi didn't feel comfortable eating heartily. When she returned to Zhaoyang Palace, she felt like she hadn't eaten at all. She ordered, "Lantan, go and have the kitchen make me a bowl of clear soup noodles, and cook a few glutinous rice balls in it."
Li Yuanke came out of the study carrying a stack of manuscripts. "Didn't we say we'd have lunch at Consort Qiong's palace? What, she didn't feed you enough?"
Shen Shixi saw him and rushed over, "Your Majesty, you're back!"
She leaned close to Li Yuanke's ear and whispered, "Are you really okay? Is it okay if you pee?"