Hall of Imperial Supremacy

  "What does the Queen think?" asked Zong Zhengjin, sitting at the top after listening to the Queen's account of the incident.

  The queen couldn't fathom his thoughts, or rather, she had never been able to. She had always relied on her own feelings to do things and think about what kind of scene he would be willing to see.

  She didn't know if she felt right about things in the past but she only knew one thing and that was she had gambled correctly on this matter with Su Jingyu.

  The rest is betting on her understanding of Su Jingzhen this person

  She smiled slowly, "I think that among the many high-ranking concubines in the palace, most of them are old people from the former royal family who have seniority. What's left is their behavior. As for the new sisters entering the palace, I think Zhen sister is also okay."

  Zong Zhengjin didn't respond to her words but instead said "Jian Ronghua is enough, she's not suitable"

  He still has some understanding of Su Jing, and according to her temperament, raising other children would not be willing, even if that child is also his child, but he always knew that it was not hers either.

  Besides, he had promised to give her a child, so sooner or later she would have children of her own and be too busy to care for him.

  The queen was taken aback. She had always thought he would want to give Su Jing a shelter, a guarantee. Wasn't that right? Shouldn't it be so?

  "Which one of those old men does the emperor think is more suitable?"

  Zong Zhengjin had actually considered it seriously before the empress arrived. Upon hearing this, he furrowed his brow and said directly, "Let's just give it to An Xiaoyi then. As for her position, let's promote her to Wan Yi."

  What others have been longing for is a trivial matter for Zong Zhengjin.

  The queen obviously did not expect the final candidate to be An Shuyi, even though her family background was sufficient, but after entering the palace, she had not seen much favor and had always been low-key, rarely speaking or showing off. Now, because of this matter, she has risen several ranks and is having a stroke of good luck.

  However, she would not question the emperor's decision. After all, that child would not end up with her anyway. So who it was did not make a difference to the empress either.

  "It's like that, then let An sister handle it. However, An sister is young and lacks experience. Your Majesty, why not assign a few experienced mothers from the palace to help?"

  The last sentence was just a casual remark, but in fact, it was more to make him less disgusted with her.

  "Alright, let's leave this matter to Imperial Consort Shu then." Zong Zhengjin nodded.

  "It is I who should take care of this matter." The Shu Guifei, who had been quietly sitting on the side without interrupting, spoke up for the first time.

  "In that case, I won't disturb Your Majesty's important affairs anymore. I'll take my leave first." The Empress stood up and curtsied, followed by Consort Shu who also paid her respects.

  Zong Zhengjin glanced at the two of them leaving and muttered "Su Shunxian"

  The slave is busy walking over here

  "Pass on the imperial decree: Du Liangyu has made great contributions in giving birth, and is specially promoted to Xiao Yi. According to the rules, give her some rewards and congratulations." Zong Zhengjin said lightly.

  Su Shunan saw that the emperor had no intention of promoting her and sighed in his heart. No wonder Du Wanru couldn't get imperial favor, she was already a small ceremonial position, only one step away from being an imperial concubine, but she couldn't take that step.

  "Then go, you servant"

  Su Shun strolled to the gate and saw a figure in the distance. He hastily returned and said, "The Emperor and Empress Dowager have arrived."

  Zong Zhengjin raised an eyebrow "Let her in"

  "The son greets his mother" Zong Zhengjin slowly stood up and bowed.

  "Get up!" The Empress Dowager didn't want to make things difficult for him, but it was also a useless effort. "Your Majesty hasn't come to visit my Cining Palace in these days, I don't know if Your Majesty is unwell."

  Zong Zhengjin smiled lightly and didn't take her words to heart, instead following her words "These days, I'm busy with government affairs, and in my spare time, I still have to consider having children, so I neglected Mother Dowager, it's not the son's fault"

  Although he said so, but did not get up and had no intention of apologizing

  The empress smiled slightly and said, "Your Majesty is busy with state affairs, but you should prioritize the people of the world. Otherwise, this throne may not be stable."

  "Mother-in-law is worried again" Zong Zhengjin said lightly

  The empress dowager chatted with him for a while, and he skillfully turned the conversation around. After about half an hour had passed and tea had been served twice, the empress dowager could no longer hold back.

  "Last night, Du Liangyuan gave birth to a child. The royal family recited scriptures and prayed for a whole night. Finally, the emperor has an heir. Our family can also have a good reputation when we enter the earth to see your father, the emperor, and the ancestors of the Zong Zheng family."

  "The Empress Dowager said that from now on, she would no longer have to worry about the Emperor's offspring." Zong Zhengjin followed her words and suddenly changed the subject, "However, Your Majesty is unaware that I have already promoted Du Liangyuan to Xiao Yi, and her child has been handed over to An Wenyi."

  "Empress An" immediately knew that it was An Shu, as there was only one imperial consort with the surname "An" in the palace. Moreover, the empress was extremely familiar with her and thought to herself: "She is still young and inexperienced, not suitable..."

  "Empress Dowager, do not worry. I have already sent a few experienced wet nurses to the Zhongxiao Palace. The daughter of the Duke of Fuguo is well-educated and will surely be able to teach my children well."

  The empress dowager furrowed her brow, her lips moving as if she wanted to say something more, but in the end didn't say what she had originally intended. "Is that so? Then this humble one can rest at ease."

  After exchanging a few words, the Empress Dowager made an excuse to leave. Zong Zhengjin personally escorted her to the palace gate. Everyone only saw such a scene of maternal love and filial piety.

  Yu An was promoted to Rong Yi and given residence in the Zhong Xiu Palace, where she raised three imperial princes. Meanwhile, Du Wanru, who had been a good friend of Yu An's since they were both consorts, was promoted from Liang Yuan to Xiao Yi after news of Yu An's promotion spread throughout the palace.

  Su Jing heard this and couldn't help but feel that Zong Zhengjin had made a brilliant move, not only pushing An Shuyi to a high position where others would be intimidated, but also making Du Wanru and the people behind her give up on this child, otherwise they would become enemies of the Fu Guo Gong Duke.

  If Du Wanru is smart enough, she should know that it's more beneficial for the child to be registered under An Shuxin's name rather than hers. Let's see if she values herself or the child more.

  Su Jing felt a lot of emotion recently, the Luocheng area has been experiencing a severe drought and the people's hearts are unstable. The previous dynasty also seemed to be not very stable. According to her knowledge, the Yong'an King had not left the capital, and in the inner palace, there were always small matters and big things hidden beneath the surface. She generally felt that something big was about to happen.

  Changchun Temple

  "I never thought that in the end I would be outdone by this cheap woman!" The virtuous imperial concubine slapped the table heavily, extremely furious.

  Qing Yi stood aside: "Perhaps Her Majesty had an idea long ago, it's just that heaven is playing tricks on people."

  "The heavens play tricks on humans" Xian Fei coldly snorted, she had paid a great price for this and it wasn't something that could be easily glossed over with just the phrase "the heavens play tricks on humans".

  No, Du Wanru was secretly protecting the child in her belly. The imperial physician had previously said that the child was not healthy, but it was also at her behest, and she just didn't want others to interfere.

  She calculated everything, including the empress's impending death, and hoped that this child would be recorded under her name. During this period, she basically did not use any tricks to sincerely teach the second princess, just to get a reputation for being virtuous and kind.

  But in the end, she didn't expect a dark horse to suddenly appear and snatch away the results of her hard work. At the same time, she also didn't expect the Emperor to be so ruthless towards her.

  She absolutely won't let it go like this

  "The empress supposedly had a dark face when she personally came out of the imperial palace, but the green-robed woman didn't know what to say and could only comfort her with this."

  As the personal palace maid of the virtuous imperial concubine, she naturally knew what the virtuous imperial concubine was secretly plotting behind her back. After much deliberation and calculation, it all came down to one thing: fate plays tricks on people.

  "The Empress Dowager still thinks that the Emperor will agree to send the child to her Cining Palace or give it to her brainless grandniece?" Xianfei said sarcastically.

  The empress, even if she crawled step by step to the position of empress, is afraid that these years of being pampered and enjoying wealth and glory have blinded her eyes, forgotten her original intention, and even more so, forgotten her own identity. It's really getting worse with age.

  "The princess said that it was Empress Dowager Cixi who could return unscathed and get angry for nothing."

  "By the way, has the matter with Yanqing been handled cleanly?" Xianfei suddenly remembered and asked in a hurry.

  Qing Yi nodded "Don't worry, Your Highness, that palace maid has been taken care of"

  Du Wanru's premature birth was not due to the residual toxins as said by the imperial physician, but because Xian Fei had someone secretly manipulate her from behind. However, despite being weak and frail, she managed to raise a robust crown prince.

  If she were healthy and robust, the possibility of being entrusted to her care would be greatly reduced. However, if there were some defects, then her experience in raising the two princesses would come in handy. Unfortunately, it still didn't work out as planned by the emperor.

  "That's all, just don't leave any traces behind." Xian Fei sighed. "Anyway, that child was never healthy to begin with, now it's just a matter of drinking a few more bowls of medicinal soup."

  Originally, when Du Wanru was pregnant, she had already been poisoned by the Taoist priest, which would naturally have an impact on the fetus. What Xianfei did was only to maximize this impact while barely protecting her life.

  "The princess says that she and the princess have no mother-son relationship is because the third prince has no good fortune"

  A corpse was found floating in the lotus lake next to Xiushu Palace, shocking everyone. The already uneasy harem became even more panicked for a while.

  Palace Concubine (Yi) / 33 / 33265

  Gong Shu