Chapter 142: Concubine Hui's Restoration
The prince missed the morning court session and did not go to the study, so the news that he was suspected to be ill spread within half a day.

What’s even more strange is that not only the prince is sick, but the emperor is also sick.

Two of the three giants of the Forbidden City fell at once, leaving the Empress Dowager as the only one who didn't care about anything. For a moment, everyone in the palace felt insecure and thought that a storm was about to come.

The imperial doctors huddled together with worried looks on their faces. The Crown Prince had a cold, the Emperor had a damaged liver from anger, and facing the explicit or covert inquiries from the empresses in the various palaces, they could only laugh it off.

Kangxi leaned lazily on the bed, with some greetings beside him, but he didn't want to read or listen.

When you are recuperating, you need to relax. Normally, you should find a few nice-looking people who can sing and dance to entertain you.

After what happened with the crown prince, Kangxi didn't want to see women who were too young. He couldn't help wondering, compared to the crown prince, one was past middle age, the other was in the prime of life, whether those women who could be his daughters or even granddaughters would also fantasize about becoming the crown prince's women.

So in recent days, the older concubines have ushered in their "spring". Defei has been taking care of the sick for three or four days in a row, and she doesn't have to do anything. The palace maids and eunuchs are all responsible for serving tea, pouring water and wiping the body. She is responsible for providing emotional value, chatting with Kangxi about the children, and reminiscing about the past.

Concubine De was a little impatient. She had climbed from a palace maid to her current position and had experienced so many hardships that she could not tell anyone about it, especially the emperor.

In the emperor's heart, she is otherworldly and should not feel that she is suffering. Instead, she should be grateful to the emperor, because because of him, she can enjoy glory and give birth to a prince.

At their age now, even if they don’t have to do anything, they have to remain highly nervous all day long, fearing that they will say something wrong. It is very exhausting to endure this day after day.

Nanny Lu felt sorry for her mistress and said, "My queen, you should take a rest as well. You have to go to the Yangxin Palace in the afternoon."

Defei returned to Yonghe Palace and breathed a sigh of relief. She drank a sip of tea and said, "Some people can't even ask for such hardship."

Nanny Lu felt that she seemed to have some hidden meaning in her words: "Madam, I see that Madam Hui has been working very hard recently."

"Now the emperor is far away from the prince. You and I in the harem have all heard of the name of the former great thousand years old. For the sake of Prince Zhi, the emperor will also give her some face."

"Not to mention that Huipin is so diligent in serving us, she makes us all look inferior." Defei showed sarcasm on her face. So what if she is the daughter of the Nalan family? She still crawls at the feet of the emperor, with a humble attitude. She is not as good as her, who was born in the banner family.

"Your Majesty is now firmly sitting on the throne of Concubine, and the two princes are also very promising, not to mention Prince Honghui. Your blessings are yet to come." Nanny Lu's words touched Concubine De's heart.

She lay on the bed and closed her eyes. It is said that a bystander sees more clearly. She has been able to reach her current position thanks to her ability to read people's expressions.

Although the emperor is ill, he is still in good spirits. However, he has not visited the prince once in these days, which is very telling.

The prince violated the emperor's taboo, and it was a very serious matter, otherwise the emperor would not have looked so hurt.

At this time, the eldest prince stood up, or rather, he was pushed out by the emperor. He seemed to be very popular and almost overshadowed the crown prince.

But the prince is still the prince. How long can the emperor stay angry? When he calms down and the father and son reconcile, how will the eldest prince face the prince?

Of course, these things had nothing to do with Concubine De. She just felt that the road ahead was unclear and if she took a wrong step she would be crushed to pieces.

Concubine De was alert in her heart. She must not let the fourth and fourteenth brothers fall into such a trapped situation.

******
The emperor issued an edict, saying that Huipin was gentle, respectful, and meritorious in nursing her patients, and that she should be restored to the position of Huifei. When the edict was issued, the whole court was in an uproar.

When Concubine Hui was demoted, many people speculated why she would be banished to the cold palace for the rest of her life. Unexpectedly, she would be reinstated.

This is a serious crime of murdering the late queen. It is true that the dead are not as important as the living.

The women in the harem who didn't have princes were envious. They looked at their bellies and thought that even if they didn't have a prince, it would be good to have a princess.

So everyone began to secretly and low-key seek the Imperial Hospital to prescribe pregnancy-preserving medicine. When the Empress Dowager found out, she called it ridiculous. The Emperor was still sick, and what were these nonsensical people doing? They were making a fool of the royal family.

This is the disadvantage of not having a queen. Sometimes the emperor's harem has to be taken care of by this old woman, and God knows she doesn't want to take care of anything.

Huipin, now she should be called Huifei, looked at the brand new furnishings in the palace and couldn't stop the sneer on her face.

She was the concubine who had been with the emperor the longest, and originally thought that she would have some weight in his heart, but reality told her that Hesheli won.

But things changed, she won but not completely, and now she is back to the position of concubine.

She gave up her dignity and stood up again with the help of her son. Looking at her much older face in the mirror, Concubine Hui secretly made up her mind that from today on, she would live for her son!

The prince has recovered from his cold, but he is still bedridden. He still hasn't figured out what happened that day and why it led to the current outcome.

Niuhulu sat quietly aside, looking at the prince with some contempt. What a useless man. He had to use the wrong way of thinking to solve the problem even when given the correct answer.

The prince's eyes swept over Niuhulu and suddenly became fierce: "You said that the emperor would abolish me, it's all because of you, this disaster star. If it weren't for you, why would I be drinking alone?!"

Niuhulu fed the prince the medicine and said, "This is not my fault. Besides, the emperor will not punish you openly. Wait a minute and go to the former queen's bedroom and cry. Then the emperor will soften his heart."

The prince stared at her face, then suddenly moved his eyes down to her belly: "Did Tong'er get what she wanted?"

Niuhulu smiled and said, "My Hongli will definitely come!"

The prince thought that this woman was quite crazy, but as long as she could give birth to a child, it didn't matter whether she was crazy or not. If Hongli was really destined to be the son of God, it would not be bad either.

Upon hearing the news that Concubine Hui had been restored to the throne, the smile completely disappeared from the Crown Prince's face. He knew nothing about his biological mother and had no impression of her, but the Emperor always spoke of her with tenderness and yearning.

Over the years, the Crown Prince had developed a close and respectful attitude towards his mother, and therefore he hated Prince Zhi and Concubine Hui from the bottom of his heart.

I didn't expect that the emperor said that he loved his mother the most, but in his actions he was so lenient towards those who harmed her.

Hui Fei? Hui Bin? He said that she should be demoted to a concubine and banished to the cold palace to relieve her hatred.

Your Majesty, you are forcing me.

The prince stared at the bed curtains, all kinds of thoughts surging in his mind, and a bold idea lingered in his mind and could not be shaken off.