Rong Fei is not honored

The Grand Empress Dowager sighed, "Could it be that the Emperor wants to punish those concubines who concealed their pregnancy? But they are the victims after all. Besides, it is not hard to understand why they acted this way. Everyone knows that the Empress caused the Concubine's pregnancy, but what was the result? With such a Empress, who would not be afraid? Could the Emperor punish all of them?"

The Grand Empress Dowager was now extremely dissatisfied with the Queen, but she could not take any action. However, she still tried to sow discord between Kangxi and the Queen through her words.

The Empress Dowager did not know that Kangxi had no feelings for the Queen at all. If she knew, she would not have been so covert in her methods.

The Empress Dowager again advised Kangxi, "Let's just leave it at that."

"But Grandmother, this is not the first time the Queen has attacked the heir to the throne. Do I have to tolerate her again and again?"

"Your Majesty, you must understand that the Queen is your wife. In the eyes of everyone, she and you are one. Even if there is direct evidence, it cannot be the Queen's doing. If the Emperor wants to punish the Queen, there are many ways. Isn't it for this reason that you promoted Concubine Nara?"

The Grand Empress Dowager frowned secretly. The Emperor must have deep feelings for the Queen, otherwise he would not have promoted a childless concubine to balance the power of the Queen.

If the Empress Dowager were to say, it would be Ma Jia, who had the prince by her side, who could make the Empress feel a sense of crisis. Unfortunately, the Emperor was reluctant to do so and was unwilling to suppress the Empress so that she would lose face.

Kangxi naturally didn't know that the Empress Dowager actually thought that he and the Empress were deeply in love, but he secretly thought that he could no longer let the Empress go. Otherwise, she would definitely attack the heir to the throne again in the future.

Although the queen could not be convicted of murdering the royal heir this time, she could be accused of failing to manage the harem.

Kangxi felt upset and originally wanted to meet Ji Nai and see how her legs were doing. But after thinking about it, he gave up the idea and asked Liang Jiugong to go to the Yanxi Palace instead.

On the second day, after Kangxi finished dealing with state affairs, he rushed to Kunning Palace before lunch.

The Queen of Kunning Palace was very surprised by Kangxi's arrival. During this period, Kangxi had always been very fond of Nara. Except for the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, Kangxi seldom came to the Kunning Palace.

Although His Majesty came at lunch time, as long as she tried hard, she might be able to get Him to stay in the evening as well.

But the Queen went to greet him happily, only to find that the Emperor's face was not looking good.

Empress Hesheli began to panic. Could it be that the Grand Empress Dowager had already found out the truth of the matter? The Grand Empress Dowager specially invited His Majesty to come over yesterday, and maybe she was talking about this matter. But it didn't matter. She was not guilty in this matter.

The queen calmed herself down, smiled again, and welcomed Kangxi in. "I didn't know His Majesty would come today, so I didn't prepare anything. I'll ask someone to add a few dishes."

"No need." Kangxi's tone was very cold. He walked to the main seat and sat down regardless of the queen's stunned look.

What happened? Not only the Queen was puzzled, but Nanny Yan was also puzzled. She and the Queen had arranged the previous matter together, so there would be no problem. Even if the Emperor knew about it, he would not punish the Queen severely. Could it be because of something else? For a moment, the master and servant thought of the same thing and both thought of this possibility.

The queen did not want to be passive, so she stepped forward and knelt down to apologize, saying, "It's all my fault. I didn't manage the harem well."

"You also know that you are wrong." The queen did not expect Kangxi to say this. For a moment, tears of grievance welled up in her eyes.

Kangxi, who was at the top of the group, felt a chill when he saw Hesheli's innocent look. She was innocent? She was the murderer, but she could still act like this to win his sympathy and pity. But what about those truly pitiful people? They were still lying on their sickbeds, suffering the pain of losing their children. It was really abominable.

"I was wrong, but Your Majesty should understand my difficulties. I didn't know that the concubines were pregnant, and I couldn't have predicted that such a thing would happen."

"Really? Then you dare to say that you had no idea that the concubine was pregnant."

"This... I did get the news later, but the pregnant concubine deliberately concealed it. If I spread the news now, and something happens in the future, wouldn't it be my fault?"

The Queen paused and looked at Kangxi's somewhat relieved expression, and continued, "Besides, the concubines deliberately concealed this. If they knew that I had received this news, they would probably think too much. Such complicated thoughts would not be conducive to the maintenance of the fetus."

"So you still mean well?"

"I dare not say that what I did was right, but as a queen, is this the most appropriate thing to do?"

The most appropriate approach? I'm afraid it's the approach that's most beneficial to you.

Kangxi had long been aware of Hesheli's code of conduct, which was to always put her own interests first, followed by the interests of the Hesheli family. The interests of the Aisin-Gioro family and himself as the emperor were never within Hesheli Queen's consideration.

"In this case, I believe that the Queen has no intention of harming the royal heir." As he said this, he helped the Queen up.

The queen felt that she had passed this test, and said apologetically: "But this matter is ultimately my fault, and I am willing to accept the punishment."

Kangxi was waiting for Empress Hesheli to say this, "Pregnant concubines in the harem have frequently suffered miscarriages. I have to punish you. Otherwise, how can I let those who have lost their children be content? I am doing this for your own good. If the concubines are at odds, the harem will be restless."

The queen didn't expect Kangxi to really punish her, and it seemed that the punishment was going to be severe. She felt a little uneasy and forced a smile, saying, "I will obey your Majesty."

"In that case, you will be grounded for three months and you will also have to hand over some of your palace power."

When Empress Hesheli heard that she was required to stay at home for three months, she was already dissatisfied. The stay at home did not only mean that she could not go out, but also could not sleep with the emperor. This was undoubtedly a major blow to the empress who was currently trying to conceive an heir to the throne.

After hearing what was said later, the Queen could not help but said in disbelief: "Palace power? Your Majesty wants to take away my palace power?"

"It's not taking it away, it's just giving away some of it."

The Queen's tone was a little unpleasant. Nanny Yan heard it and, using the cover of her phoenix robe, poked the Queen's waist, reminding her that this was in front of the Emperor and that she had to restrain herself no matter how reluctant she was.

Kangxi was sitting at the top and actually saw Nanny Yan's little action, but he didn't care and pretended not to see it.

After being reminded, the Queen softened her tone and asked, "Who does His Majesty intend to hand over this part of the palace power to? Is it the Grand Empress Dowager?"

The Queen secretly wondered, could it be that the Grand Empress Dowager wanted to take away her power in the palace, so she said something to the Emperor?

"No. The Empress Dowager is old after all, and I don't want her to be overworked. I want to divide this part of the palace power between Ma Jia and Nara to manage."