Consort Tongjia collapsed again. The personnel of Chengqian Palace spiraled into a panic, but her loss of consciousness was brief. By the time the imperial physician arrived, she had awakened and consumed her medication. Her physical state stabilized, but her mind was operating at maximum processing speed.
Dismissing all attendants, Tongjia turned to her trusted maid, Chunzhi. "The letter. Did anyone else observe its contents?"
"Negative," Chunzhi whispered, confirming operational security. "I concealed it during the chaos. Your Ladyship, what intelligence does it contain to trigger such a severe physiological response? Your eyes... the way you looked at the Fourth Prince, Yinzhen. You gripped his wrist hard enough to leave bruising. If observed, it will generate suspicion."
Tongjia's jaw tightened. "Read the report yourself."
Chunzhi opened the sealed document, her eyes widening in shock. "Erha is dead? Little Gege's wet nurse? How?"
"A flawless execution of tactical misdirection," Tongjia sneered, her body trembling with a mixture of rage and cold realization.
A mother's intuition had warned her that Little Gege's death was an assassination. Her primary suspect had always been Consort De. While Tongjia had multiple political rivals, the others would only target male heirs. A princess posed no threat to the line of succession. Only Consort De, with whom Tongjia shared a deep-rooted animosity centered around the custody of Yinzhen, had a psychological and strategic motive to strike at her daughter.
Following the incident, Tongjia had initiated an internal investigation, focusing heavily on a different maid, Bushunda. The investigation yielded zero actionable intelligence.
Now, the architecture of the trap was clear.
"I was outmaneuvered," Tongjia admitted, her fists clenched. "Infants have fragile biological systems. Inducing an illness requires minimal effort—a tactic I myself utilized to gain custody of Yinzhen. Consort De deliberately engaged Bushunda in conversation that day, ensuring my surveillance focused entirely on the wrong target. Bushunda was a decoy. The true operative was hidden in plain sight: Erha, the wet nurse."
Chunzhi gasped, connecting the data points. "That explains why Consort De suddenly proposed releasing older palace maids! It was an extraction protocol for Erha."
"It was the elimination of a liability," Tongjia corrected coldly. "Dead assets cannot testify. Assassinating a royal princess is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine familial lines. Leaving Erha alive within the palace was a catastrophic risk. If Erha died *inside* the palace shortly after Little Gege, the correlation would be too obvious. The timing would trigger a systemic investigation. Therefore, Consort De facilitated Erha's exit to ensure she died in the civilian sector."
Chunzhi reviewed the forensic report detailed in the letter. Erha's corpse had been discovered by hunters in the mountains. The Shuntian Prefecture identified her via palace-issued items, cross-referenced her with the recently released maid registry, and located her family. The Tong clan, monitoring all personnel previously connected to Little Gege, intercepted this intelligence and relayed it to Tongjia.
"The circumstances of her death are highly suspicious," Chunzhi suggested tentatively. "Can we present this to the Emperor? It could expose Consort De."
"We perceive it as suspicious because we hold the missing variables. The external narrative is completely logical," Tongjia analyzed the scenario with grim clarity. "Erha worked for me for less than a month, but I rewarded her with gold. Upon leaving the palace, she displayed this wealth. She was targeted by a local vagrant, dragged into the mountains, and killed resisting a robbery. The assailant, panicking, fled with the loot but suffered a fatal fall down a ravine. When the authorities found his body, he was still clutching Erha's gold."
Tongjia laughed, a bitter, hollow sound. "Cause and effect perfectly aligned. A closed loop."
Chunzhi nodded slowly, recognizing the absolute airtight nature of the cover story.
"The selected proxy was flawless," Tongjia continued. "The assailant was a known criminal with no surviving parents, zero moral compass, and completely alienated from his relatives. His death leaves no witnesses and requires no cover-up, as no one will investigate a dead vagrant. He was merely an instrument, deployed and discarded."
"But surely there is a communication trail?" Chunzhi pressed, desperate for leverage. "Consort De had to hire him."
"She didn't need to hire him," Tongjia replied, her eyes dark. "A skilled operative leaves no digital or paper trail. She only needed a proxy to 'accidentally' leak the information of a wealthy, defenseless woman traveling alone. Human greed executed the rest. The Shuntian Prefecture ruled the vagrant's death an accident. Perhaps it was. Or perhaps Consort De had a shadow operative monitoring the situation, ready to silence the vagrant if he didn't accidentally silence himself."
Hope drained from Chunzhi's eyes. "Then... we have no counter-attack. Spring Oriole sacrificed her life to protect you for nothing."
"If we present this to the Emperor now, we lose," Tongjia stated, forcing her emotions into a contained sector of her mind. "Without empirical evidence, Emperor Kangxi will not process this as a conspiracy. He will view it as the paranoid delusions of a grieving mother attempting to frame a rival. I will not compromise my remaining political capital."
Kangxi's affection was a volatile variable. He had already moved past Little Gege's death, celebrating the birth of his new sons with other women. The realization caused a physical ache in Tongjia's chest, a surge of blood rising in her throat, which she ruthlessly swallowed down.
"I will not collapse," Tongjia stated, her voice devoid of heat but dense with intent. "I retain my position as Imperial Noble Consort. This authority was purchased with Spring Oriole's blood. I will archive this hatred. The debt will be repaid with interest. But first, I must optimize my physical condition."
When Emperor Kangxi visited later, he did not find a hysterical, broken woman. He found a composed Consort who personally served him soup.
Tongjia immediately executed damage control regarding her earlier behavior toward Yinzhen.
"Please forgive my loss of composure earlier, Your Majesty," Tongjia spoke softly, weaponizing her grief. "I experienced a vivid hallucination. I dreamt Little Gege had grown into a child. When I reached for her, she pushed me away, demanding to know why I failed to protect her. The psychological shock caused me to cough blood. When Yinzhen ran in, my traumatized mind superimposed Little Gege onto him. I gripped him out of fear he would vanish again. I must have terrified the boy."
The explanation perfectly mapped onto Kangxi's psychological profile of a grieving mother. "It was merely a nightmare," Kangxi reassured her, holding her. "Yinzhen is logical; he will understand. Focus on your recovery."
The incident was successfully neutralized.
Once Kangxi departed, Tongjia initiated her next tactical phase. "Chunzhi, deploy to the Tong estate. The vagrant is a dead end, but Erha has a family. Interrogate them."
***
The Cost of Miscalculation
At Yonghe Palace, Consort De's intelligence officer, Yuchan, reported in swiftly.
"Your Ladyship, the Tong clan has detained Erha's entire family for interrogation. Our network detected them tracking the family's movements. Should we intervene to secure the perimeter?"
Consort De raised a hand, terminating the suggestion. "Recall all assets. Halt all surveillance. Intervention is unnecessary."
Yuchan frowned, confused by the lack of defensive measures, but complied. Consort De's confidence was absolute; she knew the exact parameters of the board.
Days passed in Chengqian Palace. Tongjia waited for Consort De to react, hoping a defensive maneuver would expose a vulnerability. Nothing happened. The silence was deafening.
Finally, Lady Tong, Tongjia's mother, entered the palace with the interrogation results. Her expression was grim.
"We miscalculated," Lady Tong admitted, kneeling. "Consort De will not react because there is nothing for us to find."
She detailed Erha's psychological profile and background—data that Tongjia's initial vetting process had fatally missed.
Erha was the daughter of a first wife who died in childbirth. Her father remarried immediately. The new stepmother was a master of social manipulation—projecting a public image of absolute benevolence while systematically destroying Erha privately. Erha's father, blinded by his new wife, viewed Erha as a rebellious liability.
The stepmother forced Erha into a highly abusive marriage purely for social optics. After a year of severe domestic violence, Erha's husband died in a drunken accident. Erha was six months pregnant.
Sensing an opportunity to exploit the Tong clan's search for a wet nurse, the stepmother orchestrated a violent extraction, dragging Erha back home and isolating her. The trauma and lack of medical care caused Erha's newborn son to die shortly after birth. With her biological ties severed, the stepmother forced Erha into the palace to serve the Tong clan, intending to use Erha as a political stepping stone for the family.
Tongjia's face drained of color. "During the vetting protocol, I specifically ordered a three-generation background check."
"The stepmother's public reputation was flawless," Lady Tong confessed, her head bowed. "Even Erha herself displayed absolute submission and gratitude toward her stepmother when interviewed. We processed her as a loyal, docile asset."
"Submission?" Tongjia laughed bitterly. "It was a dormant explosive. Erha possessed zero loyalty to her family. They were her abusers."
The logic chain connected instantly. This was why Consort De required no complex leverage. De Fei had bypassed Erha's external facade and offered her a transaction: 'Assist in the assassination of Little Gege, and I will facilitate your escape from the Tong clan's control, while simultaneously orchestrating the destruction of your abusive family.'
If Erha was caught, her execution would trigger the extermination of her entire family—the ultimate revenge against her stepmother and father. If she escaped, she was free. Erha had no incentive to leave any clues for the Tong clan. She was a self-contained weapon.
"The stepmother confessed everything under extreme interrogation," Lady Tong wept.
Tongjia closed her eyes. Her anger crystallized into pure, cold pragmatism. The current operational parameters were failing. She needed to restructure her entire approach to power.
"Rise, Mother. The vetting failure is past data. We must pivot." Tongjia's voice was void of sentimentality. "The Emperor's affection is a depreciating asset. Yinzhen, biologically tied to Consort De, is compromised hardware. The Tong clan requires a direct, biological stake in the succession line."
Tongjia looked at her mother. "Select a younger sister from the main branch. Ensure her psychological profile aligns with our objectives. Send her into the palace. We will manufacture our own heir."
***
The Optimal Strategy of the Crown Prince
By October, the geopolitical landscape of the inner court shifted again. Noble Consort Niohuru delivered the Tenth Prince, Yin'e. Simultaneously, Tongjia's younger sister entered the palace and was immediately granted the status of Consort (Fei), bypassing standard promotion protocols.
Crown Prince Yinreng, observing these developments, noted a severe timeline anomaly. Historically, the sister who would become Imperial Noble Consort Queyi did not enter the palace until much later, after Tongjia's death. The timeline was accelerating, likely due to the butterfly effect of his own actions.
More fascinating was the behavioral shift in Tongjia. The famously jealous Imperial Noble Consort was now aggressively socializing her new sister and displaying a public, sisterly alliance with Consort De. The hostility had vanished, replaced by a flawless facade of mutual cooperation.
'Women,' Yinreng analyzed with detached amusement, 'are terrifyingly efficient when they discard emotional variables for pure political calculus.'
This temporary Cold War provided Yinreng a tactical advantage. During the height of their conflict, Yinreng had avoided Consort De's Yonghe Palace to maintain neutrality and protect his own reputation. Now that diplomatic relations were publicly restored, Yinreng immediately resumed visiting Yonghe Palace with young Yinzhen.
His objective was simple: Resource Extraction.
Consort De possessed a supernatural 'System'—a hidden cheat mechanism that generated a consumable resource known as "Spiritual Spring Water." This fluid optimized biological functions and extended lifespan. Yinreng intended to harvest it through the food provided at Yonghe Palace, primarily to secretly fortify his grandmother, the Grand Empress Dowager's, failing health.
As he ate a delicately prepared pastry, his own System issued a high-priority alert.
[Warning: Host is exhibiting reckless behavior. Consort De is classified as a High-Threat Entity. Probability of her involvement in the princess's assassination is 80%+. Consuming resources in her territory increases assassination risk.]
"Your risk assessment algorithm lacks political nuance," Yinreng replied internally, taking another bite. "If Consort De intended to assassinate me, she would exploit vulnerabilities in my daily supply chain, not poison me in her own primary operating base."
[Query: Explain.]
"Game theory," Yinreng stated, his mind operating with mechanical precision. "If the Crown Prince is compromised inside Yonghe Palace, she becomes the primary suspect. Even if she manufactures an alibi, the Emperor's trust in her will fracture. She loses her strategic positioning. The risk-reward ratio is entirely negative."
Yinreng analyzed Consort De's overarching objective. "Her ambition requires patience. Her biological assets—Yinzhen and Yinzuo—are currently too young to inherit power. Eliminating me now only creates a power vacuum that benefits the Eldest Prince and Consort Hui. De Fei's optimal strategy is to maintain neutrality, allow the Eldest Prince and myself to engage in a war of attrition, and harvest the remaining power when we have mutually destroyed each other."
Therefore, until her sons reached maturity, Yonghe Palace was statistically the safest location in the Forbidden City.
Yinreng subtly verified Yinzhen and Yinzuo's physical reactions to the food to confirm the presence of the beneficial Spiritual Spring Water, then continued to eat with maximum efficiency.
He would exploit every variable, harvest every resource, and manipulate every player on the board.
[System Status: ...Host is ruthlessly pragmatic.]