The palace was never short of clever people. Opportunities had to be waited for. It might have been because Lin Ziqin had been frequenting Consort Lu’s palace recently that one day Consort Lu’s kitten followed her back.
Lin Ziqin’s eyes lit up when she saw the kitten. She quickly took out some dried meat and began to feed it.
Sometimes, animals were like children; they knew exactly where to find food. Thus, this greedy little fellow would visit her palace every day for a stroll. Lin Ziqin would then lavish it with good food and drinks.
One day, the kitten had been there for a long time. The expected delicacies did not arrive. It meowed a few times, but no one paid it any attention.
Seeing that it was starving, Lin Ziqin quickly beckoned her palace maid over and whispered a few words in her ear.
Although the palace maid did not understand her mistress’s intention, she followed the instructions and quietly fed the cat a piece of meat that her mistress had prepared for a long time.
However, one piece of meat was not enough to even fill its stomach. The kitten whimpered pitifully. The palace maid secretly tucked it into her embrace. When she saw that no one was around, she quickly went to the back courtyard wall, parted the grass, and revealed a hole. She pushed the kitten through the hole and then blocked it up.
As she did these things, the palace maid’s heart pounded. She felt a sense of relief that there were not many people in their palace. To be precise, including her mistress, there were only three of them. After all, everyone knew that Lin Ziqin did not have the Emperor’s favor and might grow old and die here. Palace servants who had some connections had long since quietly found ways to leave. Those who remained were either brought from the Lin family or were loyal and had nowhere else to go. She belonged to the latter.
Later, the mistress and her servants lived a reclusive life in the palace, devoted to each other. They were unaware of the upheaval outside.
Wei Ling had been in exceptionally good spirits recently. After more than a year in the palace, she had finally conceived. If it were a little prince, it would be even better. After more than a year of effort, she had successfully been promoted to Consort Wei. Her life in the palace over the past year had been relatively smooth. She had to thank her powerful family. To ensure the healthy birth of her child, she would go for a walk by the lake every day under the guidance of her governess.
Although the governess had warned her that there were many dirty tricks in the palace and that she should be cautious, she did not listen. She felt that no one in the palace could pose a threat. Besides, she was always surrounded by an entourage whenever she went out, so what could possibly happen?
One day, as she reached the other side of the lake, she saw a snow-white kitten. Although she disliked small animals, she had to admit that this little one was truly adorable.
She instructed the palace maid beside her, "Go and fetch it for me to have a look."
The palace maid immediately stepped forward. The kitten was very well-behaved, even rubbing its head against her palm. The palace maid couldn't help but feel a surge of joy and happily carried the little creature.
At this moment, the governess said sternly from the side, "Mistress, although this little one is very cute, you are pregnant and cannot come into contact with it. You can look, but you cannot touch it with your hands."
If the governess had said something else, she might have indulged her temper. But when it came to pregnancy, she dared not be careless. After all, this child involved the interests of many people. Even the Duke’s mansion had specifically sent a governess to ensure she behaved and gave birth smoothly.
The palace maid carefully carried it to her mistress. Wei Ling looked at its blue eyes, becoming more and more fond of it. She murmured to herself, "I wonder who raised such a cute kitten."
Before her words had even fallen, the kitten suddenly leaped from the palace maid’s arms towards her face.
The incident happened too suddenly, and no one had time to react. Wei Ling could clearly see the cat’s fierce eyes and its wide-open mouth with sharp teeth. Her heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively fell backward.
The palace maid beside her instinctively caught her as she fell. In a flash, the kitten had jumped onto her and, before anyone could react, it bit down hard on her shoulder.
Everyone finally snapped back to reality and quickly pulled the cat away. For some reason, the kitten seemed to have fixated on Wei Ling and clung to her fiercely. In the end, it took all their strength to separate the woman and the animal.
Wei Ling began to feel an unbearable pain in her shoulder, followed by abdominal pain. The thought of a certain possibility made her break out in a cold sweat. She quickly looked at the governess and pleaded, "Governess, Governess, quickly save me! My stomach hurts so much!"
Upon hearing this, the governess’s usually calm face showed rare panic. While instructing the palace maids to call for an imperial physician, she quickly comforted her, "Mistress, do not worry. The little prince will be fine. The imperial physician will be here shortly."
Despite her words, a moment later, blood began to flow from Wei Ling’s body. The governess watched as her skirt became increasingly red. Her heart sank to the bottom. She quickly ordered a stretcher to be brought, and several people carefully carried her back to her palace.
The Emperor rushed to her palace as soon as he received the news. To be honest, although the power of the Duke’s mansion made him somewhat uncomfortable, Wei Ling was carrying his child, so it was only right and proper for him to visit.
When he arrived, the imperial physician had already taken her pulse. The Emperor looked at him anxiously, "Imperial Physician Li, how is my beloved concubine?"
The imperial physician shook his head heavily, his face filled with guilt. "Your humble servant is unable to help. The little prince could not be saved."
Wei Ling could not accept this fact upon hearing it and fainted. The imperial physician quickly stepped forward to check her pulse again.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Consort is exhausted and needs to rest well. She should recuperate and nourish herself. There will be other princes." The Emperor nodded and instructed the palace maids to accompany him to fetch the medicine.
He then went to the adjacent room and inquired of her governess and personal palace maid what had happened. Upon hearing that it was a white cat, his first thought was that there was something wrong with the cat. He immediately ordered someone to send the cat to the Imperial Hospital for the imperial physicians to examine.
He then ordered people to find the owner of the cat. The investigation led to Consort Lu. When Consort Lu was favored, she had mentioned to the Emperor that she wanted to keep a cat. The Emperor thought it was a minor matter and agreed. Subsequently, the Imperial Household Department went to the civilian sector and bought such a cat.
Consort Lu kept it by her side, playing with it when she had nothing else to do, which was a great source of amusement.
When the eunuch from the Emperor’s side found her, she was initially bewildered. Then, she was somewhat pleased. "Has His Majesty remembered me?"
The eunuch did not answer her question but said in a businesslike manner, "His Majesty requests your presence. Consort Lu, you must accompany this servant."
Consort Lu quickly rushed to her dressing table and hastily tidied herself up.
As she followed the eunuch, she felt increasingly that something was amiss. This was not the way to the Imperial Study. She couldn't help but cautiously ask, "Eunuch, if I remember correctly, we are going the wrong way?"