Chapter 123 - The Unemotional Emperor

Chapter 123: Chapter 118: The Unemotional Emperor"She fell into the water."

"Something terrible has happened, Lady Rong Jieyu has fallen into the water."

The entire imperial garden immediately descended into chaos. Lady Rong Jieyu was currently the object of great favor, and if anything happened to her, none of the palace attendants serving nearby would escape the Emperor’s wrath.

"Splash!"

"Splash!"

The eunuchs dove into the water one after another like dumplings being dropped into a pot. Meanwhile, Li Wan in the lake was also in a dire situation. She had thought that those women only intended to push her into the water, and since she could swim, she figured the cool water temperature was the only concern. She even planned on turning the situation around to frame them. However, she did not expect someone to be stationed in the water to grab her ankle and pull her toward the deeper sections. Caught off guard, she had already swallowed several mouthfuls of cold water.

In the end, Lady Rong Jieyu was rescued, but when she was pulled out, she was barely breathing, and the child in her womb had been lost. Ye Qiu flew into a tremendous rage that night, and none of the concubines present were allowed to leave. Everything had to wait until Lady Rong Jieyu awoke before any decisions could be made.

Li Yanlan, observing Ye Qiu’s flickering expression under the lantern light, felt something was amiss. His Majesty seemed to be in a state of great anger, but she had the sense that something was not right. It was clear that Lady Rong Jieyu’s fall into the water was orchestrated, yet His Majesty did not interrogate anyone, merely confining them all within Ganlu Palace, as if waiting for Lady Rong Jieyu to wake up and decide everything herself.

If His Majesty really did do this, it would firmly establish Lady Rong Jieyu’s identity as an adulteress. But if His Majesty truly favored her, would he really step by step push her into this position?

Li Yanlan’s mind raced. She had a vague suspicion that there might be more to Lady Rong Jieyu’s favoritism than meets the eye.

Three Imperial Physicians diagnosed her condition overnight, and it wasn’t until the next day, around 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. (Chen time), that Lady Rong Jieyu finally regained consciousness. The concubines of the harem were both hopeful and fearful—hopeful that Lady Rong Jieyu’s life had indeed been lost, but also fearful of being implicated in this affair. Now that they heard the news of Lady Rong Jieyu waking up, their complexions all looked extremely unpleasant, with Noble Princess Consort Xiao and Xiao Ke appearing the most distressed.

"Your Majesty," Lady Rong Jieyu lay on the bed, her delicate face still flushed with fever and her lips unusually pale. Her normally clear and charming voice had become hoarse, giving her an exceptionally pitiable appearance.

"I have lost the child with Your Majesty," Lady Rong Jieyu said in pain, her expression sorrowful as tears streamed down from her reddened eyes.

"It’s okay now, as long as you’re fine," Ye Qiu held her to comfort her, "We can have more children."

"Wuu... I am just so heartbroken. He had only just reincarnated into my belly, and yet he left this world before seeing it," Lady Rong Jieyu cried painfully, as if her entire being could barely withstand this immense sorrow.

While Lady Rong Jieyu was genuinely heartbroken, it was not really for the lost child, but because her own body had indeed been affected. She could feel the coldness and weakness in her limbs and body. Her system only had functions for enhancing her beauty and had no healing capabilities. This plunge into the water meant that she would have to recuperate for a long time, giving others an opportunity to take advantage of her absence.

"Don’t cry, dear. Take good care of yourself. After you have recovered, the child will come again." Ye Qiu could only comfort her in such a way, and through this incident, he also confirmed something — Rong Jieyu’s System probably didn’t have any powerful means to save her life; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been harmed so easily by those women. Even if she had a hand in it, the fact that her body was severely damaged by this incident is indisputable.

"Your Majesty, you can’t let them get away with this. They are the ones who harmed our child." Rong Jieyu cried out in heart-wrenching pain, and upon hearing this, the Palace Attendants and Imperial Physicians who were there after her death all knelt down one after the other.

"What happened? Tell me, my beloved princess, and I will not let the instigators off the hook." Ye Qiu said darkly, "If someone truly harbors such malicious intent, I will certainly not spare them."

"It was Noble Consort, I saw with my own eyes that it was Noble Consort who tripped me." Rong Jieyu clutched Ye Qiu’s sleeve tightly, painfully recalling the event, "I remember someone suddenly stumbled at that time, and then someone pushed me from behind. I wasn’t careful and fell forward, but instead of helping me, the Noble Consort not only didn’t catch me, she even pushed me harshly into the lake."

Rong Jieyu, having said this, cried bitterly once more, "How cold was that water, I felt my limbs freeze and stiffen, let alone the child I had just conceived?"

"Stop crying." Ye Qiu wiped away her tears, "I will make a decision for you, not just Noble Princess Consort Xiao, but also the person who pushed you from behind, none can be spared."

After Rong Jieyu woke up from falling into the water, she was already in poor spirits, and now after crying out her story, she felt even more exhausted. With Ye Qiu’s comfort, she gradually fell asleep and upon waking, heard the news that Noble Princess Consort Xiao had been demoted to a commoner and sent to the Cold Palace for framing her, and the Empress had also been punished with a one-year salary reduction for her lack of supervision.

Due to the chaos at the scene, the person who pushed her has not been found yet, but none of those present were able to escape involvement and were each punished with a half-year salary reduction.

Moreover, to appease her, she was promoted up four levels, from Rong Jieyu to Consort Rong. Now with Noble Princess Consort Xiao sent to the Cold Palace, she became one of the only two second-rank concubines, and with Princess Consort Liu bearing no title, from now on, the only one above her in rank was the Empress.

Ye Qiu’s actions had vehemently earned Consort Rong hatred, but did Li Wan care? Not at all. She was quite pleased to see those foolish women secretly seething with jealousy, yet had to ingratiate themselves to her.

The curtain had fallen on the once-favored Noble Princess Consort Xiao, and while the Concubines should have been happy, all that was left was profound wariness. The most fearful of them all was Xiao Ke, who dreaded the possibility of her role in pushing Consort Rong being discovered and being sent to the Cold Palace as well. seaʀᴄh thё Novelƒire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"Your Majesty, although Rourou has made a mistake, it does not warrant being sent to the Cold Palace!" Prime Minister Xiao pleaded on behalf of his granddaughter, but the Empress Dowager stayed out of the matter, Xiao Zi and Xiao Ke were not favored, and with the position of Noble Consort gone, what could the Xiao Family hope for?

"Plotting against the Heir and Concubines, Prime Minister, you are the leader of all my subjects, and I have always regarded you as upright and just. If even you speak like this, I must doubt whether you are still fit for the position of Prime Minister," Ye Qiu challenged coldly.

Xiao Bairen’s mind was unsettled, yet he remained defiant, "But Noble Princess Consort Xiao is the mother of the Third Prince. With the mother sent to the Cold Palace, how is the Third Prince supposed to conduct himself in the future?"

"The Third Prince is my son, and naturally, he is the most noble Prince under heaven." Ye Qiu looked directly at Xiao Bairen, stating as a matter of course and with a cold snort, "Prime Minister, although Xiao Rou is your granddaughter, this matter after all is my family affair. Don’t you think you’re overstepping?"

Xiao Bairen knelt down, his heart reeling, "This subject recognizes his fault, and pleads for Your Majesty’s forgiveness."