Chapter 16: Stunning Back Then

At this moment, Liang Chengbi no longer had the gentle and virtuous appearance she had in front of others in the past.

At this moment, a little palace maid brought a cup of Yu Lu tea.

Liang Chengbi was angry, so he took a gulp of the drink without caring whether it was hot or cold.

The tea was freshly brewed and was boiling hot, immediately scalding her tongue.

Liang Chengbi spat out a mouthful of tea, raised his hand and threw the teacup at the little palace maid, pouring the tea all over her head and face.

"How dare you bring me such hot tea, slut? You saw that I'm in such a bad state, so you're trying to harm me, right?!"

Liang Chengbi was furious. The unprecedented setback made her lose her composure. She had no place to vent her anger, and this little palace maid happened to come up to her.

This little palace maid was only fourteen years old and had been in the palace for just over half a year. She had always heard that the Imperial Noble Consort of the Yiku Palace was gentle and virtuous, and treated her servants very well. She paid a lot of money to be assigned to this job.

Is this furious woman in front of me really the master I see every day?

At her age, she hadn't seen much of the world, so she was immediately frightened and froze, forgetting even to beg for mercy. The scalding hot tea burned her face red, but she didn't know how to avoid it.

Seeing her like this, Liang Chengbi became even more furious and immediately shouted, "This slave girl looks like a spy sent by Changchun Palace! Send her away now!"

"It's just a small matter, there's no need for the Queen to get angry. It's more important to take care of your health."

Liang Chengbi's trusted maid Chunqing brought a cup of cold water for her to rinse her mouth. While persuading her, she made a gesture to let the young maid go away.

Liang Chengbi rinsed her mouth, and her anger subsided a little. She sat on the chair and said angrily, "Why did you let that slave go? She had ulterior motives in doing this to me!"

"Your Highness," Chun Qing knew her mistress had fallen prey to her old tantrums again, so she knelt at her feet and said with a smile, "A little brat, the size of a sesame seed, is worthy of your wrath. Even if you truly find him tiresome, don't send him away yourself. Just let someone know. Otherwise, if this gets out, you'll ruin the good reputation you've painstakingly cultivated. And if it gets to the Emperor's ears, it'll be a joke for the people in Changchun Palace."

As soon as she mentioned the three words Changchun Palace, Liang Chengbi's anger, which had just been extinguished, suddenly ignited again.

"How dare Meng Yan, that bitch, do this to me! I've been inferior to her since I was little, and now that I'm in the palace, I'm still inferior to her. How can I tolerate this?"

Liang Chengbi was the daughter of the right prime minister, and Meng Yan was the eldest daughter of the Yiyang Marquis's family. Both of them were rich ladies in the powerful circle of the capital.

Ever since childhood, Liang Chengbi had always heard people mention Meng Yan's name. Everyone praised the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Yiyang's mansion for her outstanding beauty, intelligence, and how she was the best among the younger daughters of the capital. Even his own mother would praise her and sigh at him repeatedly when she mentioned her.

Liang Chengbi knew in his heart that in terms of appearance, he was just above average. Not to mention being stunningly beautiful, he might not even be able to compare with an ordinary pretty lady.

Since she was not as pretty as others, she worked hard to study her talents, thinking that she would eventually win the reputation of a talented woman.

Everything was going smoothly at first. Her calligraphy and pipa playing were widely praised. Even the retired female tutor hired by the palace for her praised her.

However, on the 50th birthday of the Empress Dowager, Meng Yan won a standing ovation with her self-composed guzheng piece "He Hua Yan". Everyone looked at her with admiration, and no one remembered her previous self who played the pipa.

That was the first time Liang Chengbi met Meng Yan.

That year, she was only fourteen years old, in her prime, with a white jade ring on her head and a colorful silk dress woven with gold and embroidered with hundreds of butterflies. Despite her young age, she was already radiant.

On that day, the Empress Dowager celebrated her birthday. All the ladies were wearing gold and silver jewelry, and had their eyebrows and hair painted. Among the beauties, Meng Yan still felt like a crane standing out among chickens.

The Empress Dowager personally gifted her a jade ruyi and said, "It's a pity that the choice for the Crown Princess has already been decided..."

Doesn't this mean that if it weren't for this, Meng Yan could even become the Crown Prince's wife?!

Even Lu Haozhi, who was the prince at the time, looked at Meng Yan with a look of surprise and confusion.

This was undoubtedly a stab in Liang Chengbi's heart. Lu Haozhi had clearly applauded her for her exquisite pipa playing, but in the blink of an eye, he was completely fascinated by Meng Yan!

Her parents taught her since she was young that she would marry the prince when she grew up.

Liang Chengbi also had a secret crush on Lu Haozhi and had worked hard for a long time, but a birthday party made everything she had done go to waste.

After the draft, the two of them left their names together and entered the Prince's Mansion together.

Lu Haozhi doted on Meng Yan every night and left her aside without paying any attention to her.

Liang Chengbi was filled with resentment, hatred and jealousy, and his temper became more and more violent day by day.

Chunqing, the confidant brought by her family as a dowry, consoled her: "Master, don't underestimate Meng's temporary success. Young and favored, she's bound to become arrogant. Master, just act virtuous and kind. Over time, the prince will surely learn your lesson."

So Liang Chengbi worked hard to cultivate her virtues as a woman, acted as a good person in public, and plotted against Meng Yan in secret, and finally won the title of a virtuous concubine.

Of course, except for her close confidants, no one knew that the Imperial Noble Concubine, who appeared gentle and virtuous, actually had a violent temper in private.

After Lu Haozhi ascended the throne, he made himself the Imperial Noble Consort, and Meng Yan was only a Noble Consort.

Liang Chengbi thought that his luck had finally turned, but he didn't expect that when it came to the matter of the concubine, Meng Yan seemed to have suddenly woken up and tripped him up!

The reason why she dared to accuse Meng Yan of being possessed by an evil spirit to the emperor today was because she guessed that Meng Yan had been acting crazy and absurd recently, and Lu Hao had become more and more disgusted with her.

This is how human hearts are. As long as there is prejudice, it is easy to make a fuss.

However, who could have imagined that Meng Yan's temperament would suddenly change, and even her brain would become much sharper, causing herself to be confined by the emperor himself! This was the greatest humiliation she had ever experienced since she became the Imperial Concubine!

Liang Chengbi even suspected that Meng Yan had deliberately pretended to be like that some time ago to lure him into the trap!

"Chunqing, how many days will it take for this new bride to enter the palace?"

Liang Chengbi had been in the imperial palace for a long time, so he was only angry for a short while before calming down and asking thoughtfully.

Chun Qing smiled lightly, "In reply to your Majesty, the newly selected ladies will enter the palace in ten days."

Liang Chengbi leaned back and smiled, "Then give the orders and follow the previous arrangements. I don't believe Meng Yan can still sit still!"

Chunqing said yes, and when she saw that the queen had no further instructions, she was about to leave.

When she reached the door, Liang Chengbi stopped her again and said, "Do you know what to do with that lowly servant who burned me earlier?"

Chunqing was stunned at first, then he sighed slightly in his heart, agreed softly, and went to do his errand.

The smile in Liang Cheng's green eyes deepened, and his bare hands gently stroked the armrest.

Meng Yan, ah Meng Yan, you can't always suppress me.

In Changchun Palace, Meng Yan was taking Doukou to look at the flowers in the corridor.

As the spring breeze warms up, the peaches and apricots in the yard are in full bloom, pink, white and deep red, in full bloom.

Doukou just caught a cold. After being treated for several days by Meng Yan, a master of medicine, she has long recovered and regained her spirit. She showed the innocent spirit of a little girl again. She ran to pick flowers under the tree, and then chased birds, laughing and playing non-stop.

Meng Yan sat on a Huanghuali wood recliner brought in by the palace maids and watched with a smile.

It's a beautiful spring day, and the little girl is lively and lovely. Isn't it better to enjoy such a peaceful life than to rack one's brains to fight for favor in the books?

Why couldn’t I get over it before?

Seeing Doukou sweating profusely, Meng Yan was about to call her back to wipe her face when she heard someone report: "Your Majesty, the eunuch Kang Fugui, the chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department, comes to see you."

Meng Yan listened and raised her eyebrows.

"This is really strange. The Imperial Household Department always obeys the orders of the Yikun Palace. Why did they come to me today?"

Ruizhu said from the side: "Your Majesty, isn't the Imperial Concubine under house arrest? Now the most respected person in the palace is Your Majesty. Your Majesty, please listen to what he has to say."

Meng Yan nodded and agreed.

After a moment, Kang Fugui's fat body appeared in front of Meng Yan at a trot.

He knelt down and saluted, his face full of smiles. "Your servant pays his respects to the Imperial Concubine. I would like to ask for your instructions on the matters concerning the new young lady's entry into the palace."