kvmb Chapter 416: Lots of Mysteries
Chapter 416: Lots of Mysteries
"My lord, I heard something in the palace today. Other ladies said that Her Majesty the Empress was frail when she was young and had difficulty conceiving. Later, it was Physician Zhong who cured her, and only then was she able to marry into the Eastern Palace."
Madam Feng lowered her voice and said, "Her Majesty the Empress has been married to His Majesty for several years before she became pregnant with Prince Qi. Logically speaking, it is understandable that Her Majesty the Empress is frail and has difficulty conceiving. However, after hearing what they said, I remembered an old matter and became suspicious."
Master Feng frowned: "What is it?"
"Do you remember what happened at the imperial palace twenty years ago?" Madam Feng said, "The Consort Shu wanted to take away the Empress's power and plotted against the palace maids around the Empress."
Master Feng's mother and Madam Lin were cousins, and were related by blood, as they belonged to the Xianwang faction.
The Lin family was wiped out, Consort Shu fell from power, and Prince Xian was demoted back to his fiefdom. Prince Xian's power was severely impacted, and a small group of people sought alternative paths, secretly allying themselves with Prince Qi or Zhao Yi.
Another small group of people remained silent, not taking sides with any party, and struggled to survive in the cracks.
The remaining group is still waiting for the right opportunity, waiting for the King of Qi and Zhao Yi to fight to the death, and then they will take advantage of the situation to support the virtuous king to ascend the throne.
The Feng family belongs to the last category. They are not only a faction of the virtuous prince, but also have intricate connections with him. When the new emperor ascends the throne, he will certainly not give them important positions.
It was predictable that their family would decline from this point on.
When Madam Feng overheard the conversation between the two noblewomen in the palace, she immediately thought of what had happened at the imperial palace twenty years ago. The more she thought about it, the more suspicious she became.
The reason why Consort Shu chose to scheme against the Empress's maid was because the maid was someone the Empress had brought from her maiden family.
This palace maid is exceptionally capable; she was carefully trained by the Marquis of Shou'an's household specifically to share the Empress's burdens and solve her problems.
The Empress was frail and sickly, so she mostly entrusted her affairs to her trusted confidants.
This palace maid was one of them, and she was highly trusted by the Empress.
Consort Shu planned to sever the Empress's left and right arms, and then use the palace maids as leverage to stop the Marquis of Shou'an's family from sending more people to the Empress's side, leaving the Empress alone and achieving the first step in the division of power.
Madam Feng continued, "Since Consort Shu failed to catch the palace maids and guards having an affair, she suspects that Her Majesty the Empress got wind of it first and ruined the plan."
Upon hearing this, Master Feng remembered this incident: "Why are you bringing up something from so many years ago?"
“Since I’ve brought this up again, I have my reasons.” Madam Feng gave Master Feng a disapproving look and slowly explained, “At that time, Consort Shu lost the initiative and failed to find any evidence against the guard. She even thought the guard had fallen into the hands of the Empress. She was worried and fearful for a long time, afraid that the guard would implicate her. Who knew that a month later, news came from the palace that a guard had drowned in the pond.”
"The Consort Shu secretly sent people to inquire and found out that the dead person was the guard. She then suspected that the guard had succeeded. Otherwise, the Empress would have definitely pried open the guard's mouth and exposed her crimes. But the Empress did not do so, and instead silenced the guard."
"The Consort Shu did not intend to let the matter rest. She also planned to arrest the palace maid for a physical examination. If she was not a virgin, she would fabricate a story about the palace maid having an affair and make a scene in front of His Majesty. However, at this time, news came that the palace maid had died of an illness."
At this point, Madam Feng's tone became somewhat subtle: "The news of Her Majesty the Empress's pregnancy spread when the palace maid died."
Master Feng's expression suddenly changed, realizing what Madam Feng meant. Before he could reprimand her, Madam Feng continued, "I hadn't initially connected this to anything. After all, His Majesty stayed in the Empress's room during his time at the temporary palace. Perhaps the Empress conceived Prince Qi there, and the palace maids were silenced by the Empress to prevent Consort Shu from having any leverage over them. But then I remembered something else. The female physician who delivered the Empress's baby was highly skilled and served as the Empress's personal physician. She retired shortly after the Empress gave birth to Prince Qi."
Mr. Feng fell into deep thought.
Madam Feng said, "As long as we find this female physician, we can unravel the mystery. If I overthink it, it won't have any impact. If Prince Qi really isn't the Empress's son, then Prince Xian can turn things around."