The Virtuous Concubine

Rong Ji's face was not looking good at this time. His heart was full of self-blame and anger.

Today, three lives were lost in Chengqian Palace! How could he remain calm?

Yes, when Rong Ji took Concubine Tong's pulse, he felt the fetus in her belly, and it was still alive!

In his opinion, if timely rescue measures could be taken, the unborn life might still have a chance to see this world, and the loyal servant beside Concubine Tong would not have chosen to kill himself in the main hall of Chengqian Palace out of despair.

Seeing that he was so impatient and had an expression that said "I have something on my mind" on his face, a trace of helplessness flashed in the eyes of the dean.

He sighed: "What happened today must be kept secret, otherwise your life and mine will be in danger."

Rong Ji inherited his father's medical skills and medical ethics. He firmly believed that medical skills were used to save people, regardless of their status or power. His father even tried to cure Empress Dong E. In his eyes, there was no such thing as being the most favored concubine in the harem or being trampled on by others. They were all just patients.

However, such medical skills and kindness offended the Empress Dowager at that time, and now the Grand Empress Dowager. She tried her best to circumvent the Emperor Shunzhi's protection of Consort Dong E and attacked her and the newly born Fourth Prince. How could she let the kindness of a little imperial physician ruin her plans?

No matter how much of a doctor's heart there is, she has to give way to her third prince Xuanye.

Although he was young at that time, he had already secured his position as the head of the hospital by accurately understanding the thoughts of the upper class and carefully managing the Imperial Hospital. Before the Empress Dowager got really angry and before Rong Ji's father started treatment, he found a fault and drove Rong Ji's father out of the Imperial Hospital.

Finally, he and his family were saved, but Rong Ji's father was so stubborn that he opened a clinic after he got out and even raised a little Rong Ji and sent him here to continue to harm him!

The dean looked at the emotion that was difficult to conceal on Rong Ji's face, and a trace of helplessness welled up in his heart. He sighed softly, with both blame and pity in his tone: "You and your father are really cut from the same cloth. The same passion, the same persistence."

After Rong Ji heard what the dean said, his anger subsided a little. He was not an unreasonable person and knew that what the dean said was right, but he could not let it go so easily.

If he or the head of the court had made public the fact that Concubine Tong was still pregnant with a fetus, the emperor would have been in a dilemma: should he cut open Concubine Tong's body and take out the child? The emperor would have been extremely unhappy, because the dead are the greatest, and the child in the belly is his own heir. Either choice would be unkind or unmerciful, and both would be wrong.

This is totally different from the ordinary big or small insurance!

What's more, even if the emperor chose to take a radical approach and take the child out despite the world's condemnation, the child is barely 7 months old and the probability of survival is very small, and the probability of growing up is even lower.

Even if the child could miraculously survive, she would be burdened with an indelible "crime" for the rest of her life and would become the target of public criticism.

Such a heavy burden would be too heavy for an innocent life that has not yet been born. The dignity and reputation of the royal family would also be greatly damaged, and it might even cause controversy and unrest in the court and the public.

The best option now, just like the option back then, is to pretend you don’t know.

"Headmaster, I understand." Rong Ji's voice was low and muddy, not as clear as usual. Every word seemed to be squeezed out from the bottom of his heart. "I won't say it. The matter is done... It's useless."

The head of the temple looked at him with a glimmer of approval in his eyes: "In fact, you did a great job today, Rong Ji. I'll give you two days off to rest. You don't have to be on duty these two days. Come with me to Fayuan Temple tomorrow to perform a ritual to send her off."

It was self-evident who she was referring to.

Rong Ji nodded silently and agreed.

Two days later, Rong Ji and the head of the temple went to Fayuan Temple together. Their arrival did not attract much attention. The two of them only dared to quietly burn incense in front of the Buddha and recite the "Rebirth Sutra" three times, not daring to add any other offerings to attract attention.

At this time, in the Baohua Hall of the palace, Malu was leading the Fourth Prince to burn incense and recite the "Nirvana Sutra" for Queen Tong.

The funeral ceremony for Empress Tong was nominally two points less than that for Empress Yuan, but in reality it was not as rich as that for Empress Nianhulu. Kangxi wanted to hold a grand funeral, but the Empress Dowager did not allow it. In addition, the funeral ceremony was entirely handled by Consort Wenxi, so there was no way that Empress Tong's funeral would be held before her sister's.

In order to please Emperor Kangxi, Concubine Hui worked very hard on the funeral arrangements, hoping to make up for the fault of the dispute between the eldest prince and the crown prince at Mulan Paddock, so as to regain some of the palace power. Malu was happy to have some free time, and only took the fourth prince and the twins to fast and burn incense.

She didn't know that Rong Ji had realized that the child was still alive, she was just sad. In the harem, one of the few people who still had true nature and true feelings was gone just like that.

Even though this person had a perverse personality and shallow emotions, her departure still made Malu sigh.

The Fourth Prince was not pretending, he was truly sad. In this life, he did not have the love of Tong E'niang, and he even no longer needed her love. The cruelty of fate was that before he could make any changes, Tong E'niang left him. Perhaps because she lost his company, she withered earlier than in her previous life. . .

While he was daydreaming and letting his thoughts run wild, he kept reciting the "Nirvana Sutra" over and over again, hoping that Tong E'niang would be happy and worry-free in the next life.

“May this merit be used to adorn the Pure Land of Buddha, to repay the fourfold kindness, and to relieve the sufferings of the three evil paths.” His voice was choked with sobs. “May all who see and hear this develop the Bodhi mind, and after this life, be reborn together in the Pure Land.”

After the Fourth Prince finished reciting the sutra, he recited the dedication verse aloud.

"May all sentient beings be liberated, and may my mother be healthy in the next life." The Fourth Prince chanted silently in his heart, and then kowtowed deeply to Concubine Tong's coffin, his forehead touching the ground with a dull sound.

Kangxi stood at the gate of Baohua Hall and silently witnessed everything the Fourth Prince did. Tears flashed in his eyes, and his heart was filled with pride and heartache for his young son.

Qing'er didn't know why, but she liked Yinzhen very much. If it weren't for the fact that Concubine De was really outstanding and had a high enough status, he would have wanted to give Yinzhen to Qing'er to raise so that she could have a thought.

Although these two people are not destined to be mother and son and have very little contact with each other, but after seeing it today, Kangxi felt that perhaps without knowing it, the Fourth Prince and Queen Tong actually had a deep affection for each other.

Thinking of this, Kangxi couldn't help but sigh. If he had disregarded the rules and given the Fourth Prince to Qing'er, who was still a concubine at the time, would she not have been so eager to use the fertility drug? Would she not have left him so early?

When Malu and Yinzhen heard the sigh, they turned around and found that it was Kangxi standing behind them.

Since the death of Empress Tong, Kangxi suspended court for three days, wrote four poems to mourn Empress Tong, and traveled between the Qianqing Palace and Chengqian Palace all day, either reviewing memorials or reminiscing about the past. Malu thought that he would continue to act out this affectionate drama.

After all, she now holds quite important palace power. Of course she knows that except for the day when Queen Tong died, Kangxi started to summon concubines the next day.

It seemed that for him, the upper body and the lower body were two completely separate and distinct things.

The mother and son quickly saluted. Kangxi nodded and exempted them from the salute. He slowly walked to the side of the Fourth Prince, gently stroked his head, and said in a gentle voice: "My child, you have done very well. It is worth it that your mother Tong E loves you so much every day."