The wicked imperial concubine is courting death again; the comments section teaches her how to win w

Qi Yitang had a bad feeling.

There are only a few concubines in this palace. She enjoys the Emperor's favor exclusively, while the other sisters can't even get a mosquito's leg.

They probably hate her to death behind her back. It would be good enough if they didn't kick her when she was down. How could they possibly speak up for her?

The arm around Xie Ling tightened involuntarily.

"What's wrong? Does it hurt?" Xie Ling looked down at her.

The imperial physician was applying medicine to the wound on the corner of her mouth and quickly said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me, I will be gentler."

Qi Yitang sat in Xie Ling's arms, looking down at him with a sullen expression, like a wronged cat seeking affection from its owner.

Who cares? Even if she gets exposed, Xie Ling will protect her.

Qi Yitang is confident in this; at most, she'll just lose face.

Now, everyone's eyes are on Cui Zhiyin.

Consort Li is backed by the Empress Dowager and the Qin family, while the Imperial Concubine is backed by His Majesty. It's wrong for her to side with either of them.

Cui Zhiyin simply curtsied and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. The day before yesterday, my eye ailment flared up again. The imperial physician advised me to avoid being exposed to the wind, but I felt bored staying in the palace, so I went for a walk in the Imperial Garden with my sister, Consort Li. Who knew that the wind would make my vision even more blurred?"

Everyone then realized that she had been helped over by a palace maid.

Cui Zhiyin's eye disease was well-known in Shengjing.

It is said that the illness was caused in the womb, and he was almost blind at birth. Countless doctors who saw him shook their heads.

Later, he was treated by a wandering healer who was able to see things more clearly, but the symptoms still recurred from time to time.

Before getting married, she rarely left her home.

She was clearly the most talented woman in the capital, with outstanding looks and exceptional talent, but due to an eye ailment, she was still unmarried at the age of eighteen. If she waited any longer, she would become an old maid.

The old Duke of Xingguo doted on this granddaughter, which is why he took the initiative to ask the Empress Dowager to give his granddaughter a chance when she was selecting concubines last year.

I don't ask her to be favored, I just wish she could recuperate in the palace.

Over the years, they have consulted all sorts of doctors and tried all sorts of methods, but the Imperial Medical Academy has produced many talented individuals, and is always more effective than the barefoot doctors.

The Xingguo Duke's family had been officials for generations, producing three Grand Secretaries of the Qing Dynasty. They had almost lived and died with the Qianlong Emperor, so the Empress Dowager naturally gave them face.

Therefore, Cui Zhiyin was granted the rank of concubine as soon as she entered the palace.

Cui Zhiyin could also see clearly that His Majesty favored the Imperial Concubine, and that she had entered the palace to recuperate.

Aside from the necessary small talk, he did not develop any deep friendships with others.

"I heard that the Imperial Concubine and Consort Li had a verbal argument, and the Imperial Concubine slapped Consort Li first..." Cui Zhiyin said, "But the situation was too chaotic afterward, and my eyesight is impaired, so I couldn't see clearly."

Qin Lianyue's eyes widened. What was so chaotic?

After she was hit, she went straight to Cining Palace without fighting back. Where did the chaos come from?

Qi Yitang blinked, somewhat bewildered... Was she trying to help her?

Wow, what a nice person! They managed to say that without offending either side.

[A beautiful woman with an eye condition must have it so good to be an empress.]

"Sister Shufei, you clearly said it was just a minor eye ailment, how come you can't see clearly?"

Cui Zhiyin looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, Consort Li, my eyes are really not cooperating. I really can't see clearly when the wind blows."

"You're lying—"

"Enough, I already understand this matter."

Xie Ling placed Qi Yitang on a chair, ordered someone to send Consort Shu back to the palace, and then said, "Convey my decree: Consort Li has impure intentions and is jealous of my favor towards Consort Gui—"

Just as the emperor was about to issue a decree to punish them, the empress dowager quickly spoke up, "Your Majesty, since both Consort Qi and Consort Li were involved, it cannot be said that it was Consort Li's fault alone."

"Speaking of which, this is just a trivial matter in the palace. If you treat everyone equally, the concubines won't fight over you. Why not make a big deal out of it... punish them by making them copy Buddhist scriptures to calm their restless minds."

If Xie Ling's anger upon seeing Qi Yitang's wound was five points, then this sentence successfully ignited his anger to seven or eight points.

"Mother, you truly understand the art of favoritism; it was true then, and it's even worse now!"

"Tangtang is so badly injured, yet you can't see it at all. Or are you like me back then, seeing it but simply not caring? Because you only care about what you yourself care about?"

The Empress Dowager was suddenly speechless.

She opened her mouth, but still lacked confidence, "Yanzhi, Mother Empress doesn't..."

The relationship between the Empress Dowager and Xie Ling can actually be compared to that between Wu Jiang and Duke Zhuang of Zheng.

In the story of "Duke Zheng Defeats Duan at Yan", Wu Jiang married Duke Wu of Zheng and gave birth to Duke Zhuang and Gongshu Duan.

Because she had a difficult childbirth when giving birth to Duke Zhuang of Zheng, with her feet coming out first and nearly dying, Wu Jiang disliked her eldest son very much.

She gave birth to her youngest son naturally, and thus developed an even stronger affection for Gongshu Duan, to the point that she wanted to pass the throne of the Zheng family to him.

Back then, Consort Li was framed and, while pregnant, was banished to the Cold Palace, where she was accompanied only by a maid and a nanny.

It was her first childbirth, and there were no imperial physicians available, so she suffered greatly and was only able to get out of bed after a month.

Therefore, she harbored resentment towards Xie Ling and rarely hugged him.

When Xie Changqing was born, the Empress Dowager was already the Noble Consort Li, enjoying immense favor and privilege. Her delivery was exceptionally smooth, and she slept on brocade quilts and jade pillows. Moreover, the Emperor came to visit her, so naturally she favored her younger son even more.

Even after Consort Xian suffered a miscarriage and the imperial physician diagnosed that she could not have children, she took the initiative to place her eldest son under the care of Consort Xian, who was also a consort.

It wasn't until Consort Xian passed away from illness that Xie Ling was brought back.

But by then, the bond between mother and child had almost completely dissipated.

Like kicking a cloth ball from one place to another, and then picking it up again when others didn't want it anymore, Xie Ling still can't forget the feeling.

He'd had enough of it and wouldn't let Qi Yitang suffer the same pain as him.

The Empress Dowager felt guilty and sighed, "Fine, you can decide what to do with it."

Xie Ling said in a deep voice, "Li Degui."

"Your servant is here."

"Consort Li was stripped of her title and demoted to a lower-ranking concubine. She was given thirty strokes of the cane and confined to her palace, where she was not allowed to leave without an imperial edict."

Qin Lianyue thought she had misheard, and then felt her feet go numb and stiff—thirty strokes of the cane?

The punishments in the palace vary in severity. My cousin certainly wouldn't beat her to death, but thirty strokes would undoubtedly leave her bedridden for months. How could my cousin be so ruthless to her for Qi Yitang's sake?

As the guards stepped forward, Qin Lianyue shrieked, "Get out of my way! Don't touch me!"

"Consort Li, are you defying the imperial decree?" The emperor's face was cold and stern, devoid of any warmth.

Qin Lianyue felt extremely heartbroken.

From the age of eight, when she entered the palace and saw her handsome cousin from afar at a palace banquet, she could never forget him.

The other princes all had illustrious maternal families, while their fathers were rough men who only knew how to fight.

During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, the emperor valued civil officials over military ones. Although Qin Zhenxiong had made some military achievements, he was depressed for many years because of the death of his wife. His later minor achievements were not enough to make him remembered by the emperor.

The Qin family was not particularly prominent in the court back then.

Just as the war in the Northwest broke out, she privately begged her father countless times to make an effort and help her cousin seize the throne.

She wanted to become her cousin's woman.

Fortunately, his father lived up to his potential, repeatedly achieving great feats in the army and gradually consolidating his position, giving his cousin the means to compete with the other princes.

Finally, my cousin successfully sat on the dragon throne.

Qin Lianyue felt that this had a great deal to do with her.

In order to leave a good impression on Xie Ling and not let her cousin think that her father relied on his merits to send her into the palace, she was willing to be ranked as a concubine and be overshadowed by Cui Zhiyin.

But almost a year after entering the palace, Xie Ling had never even glanced at her, let alone chosen her as a concubine.

He only has eyes for that bitch Qi Yitang.

"Your Majesty, you cannot punish me!"

Qin Lianyue said, "My father pacified the Northwest for Your Majesty and made great contributions in battle. Doesn't Your Majesty fear that he will be disheartened by how you treat me?"