"Your Majesty, it was Princess Xiao who defied Consort Zhang, which is why Consort Zhang wanted to punish Princess Xiao. However, Princess Xiao was disobedient and actually injured Consort Zhang's men and ran away!"

At this moment, a senior palace maid from Consort Zhang's side ran over.

When she saw that the Empress was about to ask Consort Zhang about punishing Princess Xiao, she was afraid that Chu Yan would talk nonsense, so she hurriedly ran forward and accused her first.

Chu Yan saw that Consort Zhang's people were turning the tables on her, and she anxiously looked at the Empress.

Explanation: "Your Majesty, I did not mean to contradict my mother. It's because she is unreasonable. She is taking her anger out on me because Prince Xiao was punished for disgracing that lowly concubine Chu Yun. She insists on using this as a reason to punish me by making me kneel on a board of nails."

I honestly don't know what I did wrong. I didn't want to kneel on a board of nails and have my legs crippled, so I argued with my mother. I never expected her to order the palace guards to do it.

"Isn't Prince Xiao's problem his own? How dare Consort Zhang think it's your problem?"

The Empress asked in confusion.

She had heard about Prince Xiao's affairs, and the palace maids around her had mentioned that Prince Xiao seemed to have some issues with the Crown Princess.

"Your Majesty, please don't believe Princess Xiao's nonsense. Consort Zhang didn't mean that."

Seeing that the Empress seemed to believe Princess Xiao, Consort Zhang's head maid spoke somewhat nervously.

"That's not what I meant. Then what did I mean? Tell me, why did Consort Zhang punish Princess Xiao in the first place?"

The Empress's gaze fell upon Consort Zhang's head maid.

"this......"

The head palace maid looked troubled.

Chu Yan hasn't entered the palace for many years, and Consort Zhang hasn't handled affairs for many years. What reason could she possibly have for this?

"Heh, if you can't explain it, then what Princess Xiao said is true. I didn't know that Consort Zhang had turned from a gentle person into an unreasonable one over the years."

The Empress snorted coldly.

The head palace maid shuddered and tried to explain, "Your Majesty the Empress has misunderstood. Consort Zhang is not like that. She just... just feels sorry for Prince Xiao and thinks that Princess Xiao has not fulfilled her responsibilities as his wife."

"Responsibility? You demand that Princess Xiao fulfill her responsibilities, but has Prince Xiao, as a husband, fulfilled his responsibilities? Prince Xiao cheated on Princess Xiao with another man's wife, how can Princess Xiao be blamed for this?"

The Empress interrupted sharply.

In fact, what the empress resented most was the idea that women should be expected to fulfill their responsibilities as wives, while their husbands were always right no matter what they did.

Ever since she married the emperor at a young age, and as the emperor moved his concubines to the Eastern Palace one by one, her family and those around her had been advising her in this way.

She outwardly obeyed, but inwardly she resented it. Why should a woman be required to do what a man cannot do?

Now, these words from Consort Zhang's head palace maid have undoubtedly struck a nerve with the Empress.

In particular, Consort Zhang was once a palace maid by my side. She seduced the emperor while I was away and climbed into his bed, which is how she got her current status.

Now, her son is actually opposing the Crown Prince in the imperial court.

This caused the Empress's dissatisfaction to accumulate instantly.

"Princess Xiao, come with me to Consort Zhang's palace. I want to see what Consort Zhang has become all these years, and how she has lost her sense of right and wrong."

*

Consort Zhang was still angry, thinking that when Chu Yan and the others were brought back, she would punish them even more severely.

But she never expected that not only Chu Yan would return, but also the Empress.

She was surprised for a moment, then bowed and knelt to welcome the Empress.

"Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress! Your Majesty the Empress, what brings you here?"

Consort Zhang looked at the dignified and imposing Empress with some trepidation.

After all, she was her former mistress, and Consort Zhang still felt a natural sense of inferiority when she saw her.

"What, am I not allowed to come?"

The Empress spoke calmly, and then, with the help of palace maids, sat down in the most honored position in Consort Zhang's room.

Chu Yan then stood to the side.

Only then did Consort Zhang see clearly where Yan was. Her gaze towards Yan flashed with displeasure and warning.

Chu Yan ignored her.

This mother-in-law is so unreasonable, I have no intention of getting along with her.

After I get back today, I must find a way to get a divorce as soon as possible. If that doesn't work, I'll just divorce her.

Anyway, she couldn't wait any longer to waste time at Prince Xiao's residence.

"I was unaware of Your Majesty's presence. I apologize for any shortcomings in my hospitality."

Consort Zhang then spoke respectfully.

Her intuition told her that the Empress's visit was probably related to Chu Yan, so she tried her best to change the subject.

But the Empress wasn't having any of it. She went straight to the point and asked, "I heard that you blamed Princess Xiao for being punished because of Prince Xiao's embarrassment?"

"This... As the wife of Prince Xiao, Princess Xiao should share his burdens, but her throwing a tantrum and returning to her parents' home is really not... virtuous."

Consort Zhang hesitated for a moment, but still forced the blame onto Chu Yan.

To everyone's surprise, the Empress laughed upon hearing this.

“Consort Zhang, you really are ignorant because you are of humble origin. As the wife of Prince Xiao and a proper daughter of an official family, how can Princess Xiao not be angry when she hears that her husband has done such a shameful thing?”

Furthermore, Prince Xiao even took that woman into his household as a concubine, showing favoritism towards his concubine over his wife. Are you still going to side with Prince Xiao and shift the blame onto Princess Xiao?"

The Empress's words struck Zhang Pin's heart like a hammer, especially the phrase "born a lowly servant," which caused a flash of resentment to cross Zhang Pin's eyes as she lowered her head.

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