Chapter 77: Stop Being a Lover and Be a Concubine (Part 4)

Undisguised laughter rang out.

When the Sixth Prince saw the curve of Jiang Ye's mouth, the smugness on his face froze instantly. Perhaps he had never heard such a novel way of cursing. His fingers were shaking with anger and he couldn't think of how to respond. After a long while, he finally managed to utter: "How dare you!"

In the past, whenever he yelled like that, all the palace maids and eunuchs in the room would be terrified into silence. However, this child in front of him, whose family he didn't know, showed no fear at all. He tilted his head and acted confused: "What do you mean?"

The Sixth Prince was furious and wanted to turn around to call for help, but then he suddenly remembered that he had sent all the palace maids and eunuchs away in order to bully this little cripple. He jumped up and down and asked, "What do you mean, don't you understand? Are you stupid?"

Yu Huo blinked: "Yes, I am."

"...Are you sick?"

"I was indeed sick, but I recovered a few days ago."

“..........”

The curve of Jiang Ye's mouth slowly narrowed. He was in a good mood for a rare time. He explained to the Sixth Prince who was standing there at a loss, "This is the eldest son of Minister Yu."

Everyone in the capital knows that the eldest son of the Yu family is a fool.

But the person in front of him was not as inarticulate and stupid as the rumors said. On the contrary, there was a hint of intelligence in his dark eyes, which made people doubt the authenticity of the rumors.

Jiang Ye noticed it and added, "He fell into the water a few days ago, and his mind suddenly became clear. Unfortunately, he has just recovered from a serious illness, so he only has a vague understanding of the things around him. I don't think he meant to offend you."

The Sixth Prince's doubts were resolved, but he couldn't vent his anger on a 'fool', so he looked at Jiang Ye who was sitting in a wheelchair and snorted coldly: "What do you mean by 'you'? I'm your brother!"

In the remote side courtyard, the water of the small canal flowed slowly, reflecting sparse spots of light in the white moonlight, which shone on half of Jiang Ye's pretty face, making his expression look even more cold and dull.

The other party didn't say anything for a long time, nor did he call him Sixth Brother, as if he didn't hear anything, and returned to his usual cold attitude.

The Sixth Prince hit a snag, and perhaps realized that bullying his "sister" in front of outsiders was not a glorious behavior, so he snorted coldly and turned away.

At this moment, Mother Zhang, who had come to look for Yu Huo, suddenly appeared out of nowhere, grabbed his arm and started nagging, "Hey, little ancestor, this is the imperial palace, why are you running around for no reason? Come back with me!"

As she spoke, she bowed to Jiang Ye, and after he nodded slightly, she forcibly dragged Yu Huo away.

Yu Huo sighed in his heart and could only follow Mother Zhang into the Linde Hall.

Because there were too many people at the scene, Mrs. Yu just gave him a secret look and let him go.

Soon, a shrill voice came from above: "Your Majesty has arrived!"

Everyone stood up from their seats and knelt down. Yu Huo had no self-esteem and didn't want to go against the entire feudal dynasty, so he knelt down beside Yu Kangping happily.

"Everyone, please stand up. Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. Don't be restrained."

The emperor's voice was low, and because he had been in power for a long time, his voice had a sense of oppression. Even though he said that everyone didn't need to be restrained, no one dared to act rashly. They really treated this place as their home.

Everyone hurriedly thanked the emperor and stood up. The emperor was sitting at the highest seat. He was in his forties. The woman accompanying him on his left wore luxurious hairpins and jewelry, and had a proud brow. She must be Concubine Wu, the most favored concubine in the harem.

While she was pouring wine for His Majesty, the emperor looked at a woman with plain makeup sitting to his right. She looked noble and elegant, but her eyes were red.

Yu Huo was secretly wondering about the other party's identity when the emperor spoke.

"Shufei, why are you sitting so far away?"

It turned out that she was the daughter of the Minister of the Central Secretariat and the biological mother of Prince Yan.

Concubine Xiao Shu turned her head away, covering her face with her sleeves, and said in a voice filled with grievance: "I don't look well today, and I'm afraid that if Your Majesty sees it, it will affect your mood."

Concubine Wu rolled her eyes and muttered quietly, "Pretentious."

The Emperor glanced at her, frowned, and then beckoned to Concubine Xiao Shufei: "How could that be? Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for family reunions. You look unwell, probably because you are tired from all the work. How could that affect my mood? Come here and sit next to me."

Concubine Xiao Shu hesitated for a moment, then stood up reluctantly.

The emperor tutted his words and said, "The ministers are all watching. What happened to you today?"

Xiao Shufei's personal maid fell to her knees with a plop, her eyes red as if in a different light. "Your Majesty, please understand. Your Majesty, I did not mean to displease you. I have truly been wronged and am afraid that I have not served you well enough, so I acted like this."

The emperor opened his eyes wide with suspicion and questioned, "You are the head of the four concubines and in charge of the six palaces. Who dares to wrong you? You, the maid, explain yourself clearly."

The maid knelt hesitantly and answered loudly, "Yes. Today, Concubine Yu was summoned to Kunning Palace for questioning regarding the distribution of charcoal. It wasn't a big deal, but due to a shortage of staff, the silver charcoal produced this year was a full one-third less than in previous years. Concubine Yu was instructed to reduce the expenses of each palace and distribute it evenly. Who would have thought that for such a trivial matter, the Empress would summon our Concubine, give her a severe reprimand, and punish her by making her kneel for an hour. This matter has become known to everyone in the palace, and our Concubine feels truly wronged."

The emperor was stunned for a few seconds and muttered to himself, "Did the queen reprimand you because of the distribution of silver charcoal?"

After saying that, he frowned.

I don't know whether he hates the queen or he hates these trivial family matters.

Upon seeing this, Concubine Xiao Shu slowly lowered her head and gently raised her sleeve to wipe the corners of her eyes.

Yu Huo: "..."

Being able to act and perform well, she would definitely be a famous actress born after 1985 in modern times!

As he was watching, Madam Yu tugged at his sleeve and said, "Stop looking! Look at His Majesty's face for too long or His Majesty will punish you for disrespect!"

Yu Huo withdrew his gaze and sighed secretly.

The imperial society is so humble.

In the silence, Concubine Wu received a look from the Crown Prince and handed over the wine glass on the table. "Your Majesty, I have heard a little about this matter, but after careful consideration, I can understand the Empress to some extent."

The Emperor hummed, then turned to look at Concubine Wu: "What do you mean?"

Seeing that the Emperor wouldn't take the cup, Concubine Wu could only continue to hold it, smiling, "The Eighth Princess has a leg condition and is always afraid of the cold. Since autumn has arrived, she's had to prepare a charcoal fire early to keep warm. After all, she's a princess, and the smell of ordinary charcoal is harmful to her health. In previous years, she's relied on this odorless silver charcoal to survive. Furthermore, the Empress only has this one princess. It would be fine if she cut down on expenses, but she's cutting down on her daughter's silver charcoal. It's only natural for her to get angry."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor reached out to take the wine glass and looked at Concubine Xiao Shufei. "The affairs of the six palaces are complicated. You should not be so inflexible. Let those silver charcoal be used by those who need it first. Don't you understand this? Why create so many problems? All right, please sit down."

After saying that, he didn't even mention asking her to come forward. Concubine Xiao Shufei's noble and elegant appearance almost couldn't be maintained, and she could only sit back in her original seat with grievance.

Concubine Wu raised the corner of her mouth with pride, and still looked the most outstanding while sitting at the top.

Yu Huo couldn't help being curious, so he secretly grabbed Madam Yu's sleeve and asked in a low voice, "Who is this Yupin?"

Madam Yu assumed he didn't understand and explained in a low voice, "The Sixth Prince's biological mother, Concubine Yu's maternal family is not well-known. It is estimated that the fight between those above her was accidentally implicated."

After she finished speaking, she realized that she seemed to have said too much. She quickly stopped talking and picked up a piece of vegetables for Yu Huo with her chopsticks: "Aren't you hungry? Come on and eat!"

Yu Huo smiled, picked up the chopsticks and put a piece of meat into his mouth: "Mom, I don't like vegetables."

Mrs. Yu: “…”

This brat just knows how to argue every day!