The Qing Imperial Harem: Three Historical Novels by Xilingxue

Dorgon and Hong Taiji were brothers, yet a bitter feud over their mother’s murder and the throne stood between them. Dorgon was bent on killing Hong Taiji to avenge himself, and formed a pact to the death with Qilei, the birth mother of Princess Jianning. Qilei swallowed her grievances and became Hong Taiji’s consort, but the two were estranged in all but name as she waited for an opportunity. The consorts of the Four Palaces saw Qilei as a formidable rival for the emperor’s favor, and all wanted her dead. Dayu’er used a scheme to make someone else do her dirty work, using Dorgon’s wife to cause Qilei to miscarry. The pain of losing her child rekindled Qilei’s desire for revenge. On the third day after her miscarriage, she even tried once more to strangle Hong Taiji with a zither string…