However, Consort De had already realized that Lady Liu lacked true power.
The Empress Dowager was not particularly supportive of her supposed niece, and in terms of the Emperor’s favor, Virtuous Consort Liu was no match for her.
So Consort De openly dismissed Virtuous Consort Liu’s words and continued on her path.
Seeing this, Lady Liu stopped interfering and instead devoted herself to serving Empress Zhu and caring for her newborn daughter.
His Majesty sensed what was happening and offered a few subtle warnings, but Consort De failed to understand them.
With time, as Consort De gained small victories, she finally made a major mistake.
Last year, ahead of the Imperial Silkworm Ceremony, the Department of Palace Attendants, in collaboration with the Ministry of Rites and the Grand Court of Ceremonies, had prepared ceremonial attire for the Empress and the noblewomen.
Consort De took it upon herself to seize the Empress’s ceremonial crown.
This was an act of grave disrespect.
This time, Empress Zhu did not yield.
She ordered the female officials of Fengyi Palace to bring the Empress’s seal to the Grand Secretariat and formally report Consort De’s transgression.
Though Consort De was spared punishment due to her pregnancy, the Empress did not let the matter slide.
Instead, she condemned her father, Xiahou Sui, for failing to educate his daughter properly, thereby disgracing the imperial family.
As punishment, he was made to kneel before the palace gates and recite the Book of Rites for three hours.
When the Empress Dowager ruled as the Regent Empress, she greatly expanded the authority of the Empress.
Even after returning power, this authority was not diminished.
Previously, Empress Zhu had never exercised this power simply because there was no need to.
But now that she had invoked it, and with precedent to rely on, neither the two palaces nor the court officials could raise any objections.
Consort De’s act of overstepping her bounds was real, and it had even been brought before the Ministry of Rites and the Grand Court of Sacrificial Rites.
Empress Zhu had obtained solid evidence, and it was entirely reasonable for her to punish a concubine for grave disrespect as the mistress of the inner palace.
After deliberation, the Grand Council of Ministers approved the Empress’s decree.
From beginning to end, neither the Empress Dowager nor His Majesty made any comment on the matter.
For Lady Xiahou, this was a catastrophe akin to the sky collapsing!
It was a ruthless strike—not just punishment, but utter humiliation!
Upon hearing the news, Consort De panicked.
She rushed to Empress Zhu’s palace in tears, kneeling outside and refusing to rise, begging for mercy on behalf of her father.
Empress Zhu responded coldly, “The decree has been issued. How could it be retracted? What do you take my command for?”
She then added icily, “Consort De, are you using the imperial heir in your womb as a bargaining chip by kneeling here for a convicted man?”
With that, she ordered that Xiahou Sui’s punishment be extended by another two hours.
Seeing this, Consort De no longer dared to linger.
After a hasty bow, she fled in disgrace.
This became the first major conflict within the inner palace in recent times—a direct confrontation between the Empress and a favored concubine, witnessed by both the court and the palace.
The ministers were shaken, and in the end, it was Empress Zhu who emerged victorious.
Consort De was utterly humiliated, and the Xiahou family suffered a crushing loss of face.
A five-hour punishment was not just a physical torment; it was a public disgrace.
Consort De’s father, shamed beyond measure, fell ill after returning home and never recovered.
In the end, he succumbed to his grief.
He didn’t even live to see the birth of his daughter’s child.
From that moment on, the enmity between Consort De and Empress Zhu became irreconcilable.
Likewise, the Xiahou family and the House of Duke Dingguo, as the maternal families of these two women, could never again coexist peacefully.
Regarding this matter, Ruan Rensui found himself in a difficult position.
To him, his maternal grandfather was his blood relative—his own kin.
Emotionally, he was naturally inclined to side with him.
But rationally speaking…
There was no real way to blame Empress Zhu.
To put it bluntly, wasn’t this something his mother brought upon herself?
If she hadn’t provoked Empress Zhu, would she have been punished so harshly?
As a concubine, encountering an Empress who was steady in her ways, indifferent to imperial favor, and who only required her to pay respect a few times a month, she should have considered herself fortunate.
Why did she have to stir up trouble?
Even after being disciplined, she still didn’t learn her lesson.
She couldn’t truly do anything, yet she constantly sought to gain the upper hand in trivial matters, which neither harmed Empress Zhu nor benefited herself.
Instead, it made her look reckless and unrestrained, causing the rest of the inner palace to look down on her.
It was self-defeating.
And now, the consequences had arrived.
As Ruan Rensui was held in his wet nurse’s arms, he overheard one of Consort De’s close attendants reporting in terror:
“Rumors are spreading outside, Your Highness. Some are saying that after giving birth to the imperial prince, you spoke to Madam about the late Master… swearing by the heavens that, that—”
Consort De was confused at first, not yet realizing the gravity of the situation.
But Lady Jia Zhen’s expression darkened.
She pressed, “Saying what?”
The servant hesitated, lowered her voice, and whispered, “…That if one day the imperial prince ascends the throne, he will exterminate the entire House of Duke Dingguo to avenge his deceased grandfather.”
Lady Jia Zhen was stunned.
Then, her face turned pale.
Consort De’s face also drained of all color.
She bolted upright, stammering, “That’s not true! I never said that!”
Terror gripped her.
Though she was not particularly intelligent, she understood that such words could cost her life!
The last time Empress Zhu punished her, it was because she had become too arrogant, daring to overstep the Empress’s authority in full view of the Ministry of Rites and the Grand Court of Sacrificial Rites.
But this time, the situation was far graver.
This rumor directly positioned Empress Zhu’s maternal family as a target for destruction.
If Empress Zhu wanted to prevent such a disaster, the best course of action was preemptive elimination.