That night, Consort Shu swallowed gold and committed suicide, taking the Fifth Prince with her.
After that day, there was only the Empress Dowager in the palace.
She never called her Aunt again, nor did she visit her.
She was the Empress, referring to herself as "this palace," but she was merely a pitiable woman with no control over her own fate.
She fell seriously ill. Her cousin, who had neglected her for a long time, finally came to see her. In a moment of passion, she vaguely heard him call out "Jiaojiao," perhaps it was her delusion.
However, none of it mattered anymore.
For she knew better than anyone that she and her cousin were destined to end up like her aunt and the late Emperor, because she was a daughter of the Wang family.
She had desperately wanted a child before, but later she no longer did. She did not want her child to become a puppet, a tool, manipulated by others.
Unexpectedly, after many years of marriage without conceiving, she became pregnant. When her aunt heard the news, she came to visit her proactively, assigned two experienced wet nurses from her retinue to care for her, and found a midwife and a wet nurse to reside in the palace.
She didn't know if her cousin was looking forward to this child, but the Wang family and the Five Great Clans were certainly anticipating it.
Gifts from the various families of the Five Great Clans piled up in her Changle Palace. The Emperor's eyes were cold when he saw these gifts.
The Five Great Clans were wealthy, surpassing even the national treasury. Everything in her Changle Palace was precious, outshining even the Taiji Hall.
Her elder brother wrote that he had already found a teacher for the future Crown Prince, hired companions, and even arranged for the smallest servants, guards, and playmates. Everything was meticulously prepared.
She should have been happy, but instead, she was filled with anxiety and insecurity, plagued by nightmares every day. She dreamt of the Fifth Prince and Consort Shu coming to claim her life, and not just them, but also the late Crown Prince and those children who had died prematurely...
Every day she worried that someone would scheme against the child in her womb. She understood Consort Shu's constant fear and anxiety more and more, becoming thinner with each passing day in her dread.
Meanwhile, the Empress Dowager's illness worsened. She missed her dearly and wanted to visit her, but her aunt always forbade it, fearing she would pass on her illness.
Even so, she would visit her aunt's palace every few days, even if she couldn't see her.
She no longer called her Aunt, but she was still the closest person to her.
On that day, on her way back from her aunt's palace, she was bumped into by a young maid from the Laundry Bureau, and she began to bleed.
She thought she was going to miscarry. It seemed everyone in the palace thought so. In this palace, apart from the Empress Dowager and Changle Palace, no one would have been expecting this child.
Moreover, her health had never been good.
She heard that the Empress Dowager had beaten the little maid from the Laundry Bureau to death.
She also heard that the little maid had been instructed by Consort Yao, and that Consort Yao had already been apprehended by the Empress Dowager.
Consort Yao, the one who had the Emperor's favor above all others in the harem.
The Emperor came to see her and stood by her bedside, saying that Consort Yao had previously had two pregnancies that had ended in miscarriage.
With just one sentence, she understood the Emperor's intention. She was his beloved woman, and he wanted to protect her.
In fact, his unspoken implication was that even if she miscarried, it would be retribution, wouldn't it?
She knew he wasn't looking forward to the child in her womb, but she never imagined he would wish for its death.
Indeed, without his consent, how would a mere Consort from the Cheng'en Marquis's household dare to harm the child of the Empress of the Central Palace.
She sent a message to the Empress Dowager, saying she wanted to accumulate merit for the child in her womb, and that the matter should end here.
After lying in bed for two days, the news of the Empress's miscarriage spread from Changle Palace.
The Emperor would occasionally visit her palace, but he never stayed the night again.
She feigned illness, handed over the Phoenix Seal, and relinquished her authority over the six palaces.
Consort Yao became pregnant, was promoted to Noble Consort, and was temporarily in charge of the affairs of the six palaces.
Perhaps it was truly retribution. Consort Shu had spent her days in her palace protecting her child. Now, to protect her own child, she was following the same path, avoiding all contact.
How ironic!