Rong Fei is not honored

Consort Shen's eyes lit up, and she hurriedly said, "Tongjia fainted after returning from Kunning Palace, and she was still unconscious when I left Chengqian Palace."

The Empress Dowager and Consort Shen smiled at each other, everything understood without a word.

“Grandmother, since His Majesty will not allow Lady Tongjia to raise Lady Wuya’s child, then can I…”

"No!"

If the Empress Dowager had previously been interested in Uya's child, then what Naren said earlier would have immediately dispelled that idea.

“Now, that child of the Uya clan is embroiled in trouble, and the Emperor may not like him. Why would you risk offending the Emperor like the Tongjia clan and blocking your own path for such a hot potato?”

Consort Shen lowered her head after being spoken to, but her hidden eyes were full of mockery.

The reason why the Empress Dowager could speak so calmly was simply because she still held the trump card of Sainchahun. In fact, the Empress Dowager, who was always low-key, had been frequently in contact with Consort Hui and Yinti.

Looking around, no one seemed to understand whose intention this was.

If the Empress Dowager truly cared for her, didn't she consider the unpredictability of life? Having an opportunity doesn't guarantee seizing it. Even if she successfully won the Emperor's favor, she might not be able to give birth to a healthy prince.

If that day comes and you don't have children, or your children are still young, are you just going to watch others gloat?

Whether it was Sainchahun or Yinti, the Grand Empress Dowager was a pillar of strength, and the Empress Dowager was a loving stepmother. But what about her? Just a stepmother.

At that time, whether she is the legal mother or the birth mother, what does it have to do with her?

Even if Consort Rong and Consort Hui were to die immediately, arranging for her to take care of the two princes would be illegitimate and improper. Furthermore, the princes would be too old to be properly cared for, and she would have to avoid suspicion.

The Empress Dowager could naturally see Naren's resentment, but she thought that Naren was unwilling to give up the immediate benefits. Little did she know that Naren had been dissatisfied for a long time and was convinced that the Empress Dowager would not wholeheartedly plan for her.

The Empress Dowager was still comforting Naren, saying, "Since His Majesty is willing to stay overnight, if it doesn't work out this time, there will certainly be other opportunities in the future. Don't you want to have a child of your own?"

No matter how unwilling Naren was, she dared not openly oppose the Empress Dowager. Moreover, the signals released by Kangxi gave her hope. Compared to raising someone else's child, it was naturally better to give birth to one herself.

"I will do whatever my great-aunt says."

On the other side, Consort Tongjia, whom the Empress Dowager had deemed a case of drinking poison to quench her thirst, had been smiling bitterly ever since she "woke up."

This time, even if she wanted to cultivate a relationship with the Emperor again, it wouldn't work.

In fact, Consort Tongjia looked down on other people's children. All she wanted was to have a son with the Emperor, because only in this way could she and the Tong family maximize their interests.

Don't say she's delusional; even the legendary Empress Dowager couldn't overcome this hurdle. She never gave up on sending noble ladies from Khorchin to the palace, neither during the reign of the previous emperor nor during this reign.

Unfortunately, perhaps due to close kinship in her previous life, Consort Tongjia, despite being favored by the emperor, had no children for a long time. Moreover, she was already quite old because she had missed the imperial concubine selection, so she had to make other plans first.

In this life, due to greed, he chose the wrong way to compete for favor. Not only did he not advance further, but it backfired, and Kangxi cut off his path to serving him in bed.

Did Consort Tongjia not know that her actions would offend Emperor Kangxi? But at that moment, she had no other choice.

Despite being the Emperor's cousin and now a Noble Consort, without the Emperor's favor, she is still a rootless duckweed. She has no time to take things slowly; if she wants to advance further, she can only rely on having offspring.

If the information that the Tong family went to great lengths to send is correct, Empress Niohuru, who appears to be unharmed, has actually been told by the imperial physicians that she will not live much longer.

I suspect that those few times he does make public appearances are only because he drank a strong ginseng soup beforehand to keep going.

The Empress's life is now sustained by rare medicinal herbs. The royal family has no shortage of these; they could afford to feed her as much as she eats. The worst outcome is that the Empress won't die.

So what if she didn't die? Niohuru was never favored. Even if Heaven was blind and allowed her to live, her health had deteriorated. She couldn't even receive the Emperor's favor, let alone bear him an heir. In the end, she could only be bedridden until her death.

At that time, no matter how capable or intelligent Empress Niohuru was, she would be powerless to seize control of the palace. The affairs of the inner palace couldn't be managed by a few servants in the Kunning Palace forever, could they? If servants managed their masters, wouldn't that be a reversal of the natural order?

The fact that a nominal empress could die at any moment gave Consort Tongjia an opportunity. She had already missed the empress's position twice, and this time, she absolutely could not fail again!

However, her weakness was also obvious: if she wanted to become the first in the harem in a short period of time, she could only raise other people's princes.

The older princes were difficult to raise, and among the younger princes, besides Consort Rong's children, there was only the sickly Wan Fu. The chances of success for the former were too slim, and she looked down on the latter.

Just then, she remembered Uya. At first, Consort Tongjia didn't take a lowly bondservant seriously, so Uya's sincere offer of allegiance was a joke to Consort Tongjia.

How ridiculous! A mere servant can rise to become the master!

How could Consort Tongjia, who deeply resented Consort Rong and Consort Hui, possibly agree to this? If it weren't for Granny Tong stopping her, Consort Wuya would already be a corpse.

Of course, it was also because Uya posed no threat that Consort Tongjia was willing to show leniency.

While Lady Uya certainly possessed a refined temperament, her appearance could only be described as that of a pretty girl. In the harem, where beauties abounded, she was not even worth mentioning, let alone attracting the Emperor's attention.

She was a servant, and the only way for her to become a master was through an introduction, which meant she had to climb into someone's bed.

Consort Tongjia certainly knew that Uya was ambitious, and she also knew that Granny Tong thought highly of Uya and felt that such a person would be a good weapon.

But how could Consort Tongjia possibly be interested in Lady Wuya? However, if she had truly climbed the social ladder through her bedchamber, this stain would follow her for life. That's why Consort Tongjia was so merciful and happy to see Lady Wuya make a fool of herself.

However, times have changed.

Although Consort Tongjia still did not give up on having her own child, she only had one chance. That's why Consort Tongjia was willing to push Uya to the forefront, just to see the sincerity that Uya had offered up—the effect of the fertility elixir.

Even though Consort Tongjia is very satisfied with the effects of the secret medicine, she dares not make any further moves in the short term.

"Your Highness, you're finally awake. You have no idea how arrogant Consort Shen is." Granny Tong angrily repeated all the insults Consort Shen had hurled at the Tong family.