Chapter 288 Why should he help you?

Tang Liangdi seized the opportunity and added fuel to the fire, "Reporting to the Crown Princess, she is Lu Xuefei, a scheming woman. She clearly entered the palace with us as a concubine, but in the end, she became a maidservant by His Highness's side."

"I only found out now. I thought Lu Xuefei hadn't been chosen and had already left the palace. I never expected to see her in Chengguang Hall, dressed as a palace maid. If she's not a spy, she clearly has ulterior motives; she wants to seduce Your Highness."

Hearing this, Lu Xuefei became anxious. "Your Highness, please investigate. I had no such intention. I simply came to the palace to be a maid. It was His Highness the Crown Prince who appointed me to be a maid in Chengguang Palace."

Tang Qianran almost laughed in anger when she heard her say that. "You say you're a palace maid, or that the Crown Prince made you his palace maid? Who are you trying to fool? You're clearly scheming, disguising yourself as a palace maid to get close to the Crown Prince."

"Do you think everyone is like you, Tang Qianran, who broke her promise, tore up her engagement, and then pretended to be a palace maid to meet with the Crown Prince every day after entering the palace?" Lu Xuefei discovered this by chance, but the Crown Prince seemed quite willing to associate with Tang Qianran, so she had nothing to say.

Tang Qianran glanced at Jiang Fenghua. She thought that the Crown Princess hadn't said anything when she was caught by her that time, and that the matter was over. She felt guilty, but when she thought about how she had the Empress's permission, she felt less guilty. "I am the Crown Prince's concubine. What business is it of yours how I meet with the Crown Prince? On the contrary, why are you in the Crown Prince's palace? If you don't explain yourself today, heh, you'll be in for a world of hurt."

Her eyes darted away, as if she had something difficult to say, and she stopped mid-sentence.

Jiang Fenghua stared at her. This reason was obviously not convincing. A daughter of an official would not become the Crown Prince's woman, but instead would become a palace maid in the Crown Prince's palace.

The key point is that Xie Shang even allowed this scheming. According to Granny Wang, she went to the Empress and said that she did not want to be the Crown Prince's concubine. In the end, the Crown Prince protected her and kept her by his side.

Fortunately, Jiang Fenghua wouldn't care if Xie Shang had feelings for other women, otherwise she would definitely be jealous.

He is the crown prince and the heir apparent; it is his own business who he wants to like or who he is attracted to.

Jiang Fenghua maintained a composed expression throughout, "Have you all had enough of arguing?"

Immediately, the two fell silent. Jiang Fenghua said in a deep voice, "Tang Liangdi, as a concubine of the Eastern Palace, ran to the Crown Prince's palace to cause trouble without the Crown Prince's permission. What kind of pen did you borrow from the Crown Prince that you had to return it when he was not here? If I find out that your actions are not innocent or that you have any ulterior motives, even if the Empress likes you, she cannot protect you."

Tang Qianran quickly explained, "Your Highness, please understand. I truly had no ulterior motives or intentions. I only came because I heard that the Crown Prince was keeping a mistress. After I arrived, I discovered it was Lu Xuefei, and seeing her acting suspiciously, I got into an argument with her." She was dissatisfied that Lu Xuefei was favored by the Crown Prince, so she wanted to teach her a lesson.

Jiang Fenghua also sensed another layer of meaning, "Who told you this news?" It shouldn't be Granny Wang. Granny Wang only advised her to be careful and wouldn't spread the news.

"It was the palace maids and eunuchs who were sending the message! Otherwise, I had never been to Chengguang Palace, and I didn't know that Lu Xuefei was here. Otherwise..." Otherwise, she wouldn't have come. She and Lu Ting were already discussing marriage. Since the Empress had taken a liking to her, she would definitely choose to marry the noble Crown Prince, even if he wasn't her principal wife. It would be so awkward for her to meet Lu Ting's sister like this.

Lu Xuefei must have hit her on purpose, just to vent her anger for her brother. It's only natural for people to strive for higher positions and for water to flow downhill.

Jiang Fenghua asked Lianye, "Is that true?"

Lianye nodded. "I only heard about this from the palace maids these past two days. They said there was a woman hiding in the Crown Prince's palace. I didn't dare tell the Crown Princess about this, since I wasn't sure." So she came to see her too, but she thought she was just a pretty palace maid and didn't take her seriously at all. She never expected that Consort Tang would come and fight with her.

Jiang Fenghua pondered for a moment, then said to Tang Qianran, "No matter what, you are the Crown Prince's concubine. It is wrong of you to come to Chengguang Palace and cause trouble. I will never tolerate anyone who causes trouble in the Eastern Palace. You will be confined to Yuxiu Palace for half a month and made to copy the palace rules and regulations one hundred times."

Tang Qianran was still somewhat unconvinced. "Yes." It was obvious that she was more seriously injured than Lu Xuefei. When Lu Xuefei saw that it was her, she went all out and was relentless in her revenge.

Jiang Fenghua then said to Lu Xuefei, "Although you are Lu Tingwei's daughter, you are now just a palace maid. I don't care what personal grudges you have. Tang Liangdi is the mistress and you are the slave. If you hit your mistress, it is an act of insubordination. Even if His Highness is not here, I will still punish you with twenty strokes of the cane. Do you accept that?"

Lu Xuefei was stunned. She knew that she was indeed a servant now, and Tang Qianran was the mistress. She herself had disregarded the difference in rank and hit her, which was an act of insubordination. Twenty strokes of the cane was already a light punishment. She kowtowed and bowed, saying, "This servant accepts the punishment."

She felt so sorry for her brother. They had been friends since childhood, how could they just say they were no longer related? Her brother suffered so much because of her, he couldn't eat or sleep. She was so angry that she took such drastic measures.

"Guards, prepare the cane. I will personally oversee this," Jiang Fenghua said in a deep voice.

After the twenty strokes of the cane were finished, Lu Xuefei didn't utter a sound. Sweat was already beading on her forehead. She said, "This servant thanks the Crown Princess."

Jiang Fenghua said in a deep voice, "Lianye, find someone to take care of Palace Maid Lu, so that Xie Shang won't feel sorry for her when he returns."

Just as Jiang Fenghua was about to leave, Lu Xuefei said, "Please wait, Your Highness."

Jiang Fenghua walked up to her and said, “You beat Consort Tang like this. According to palace rules, I should have expelled you or beaten you to death. The reason you are still alive is not because I am soft-hearted, but because you are a servant of Chengguang Palace. Do you understand?”

"Your Highness has misunderstood," Lu Xuefei explained. "This servant would like to speak with Your Highness alone, is that alright?"

Jiang Fenghua dismissed everyone and instructed Lianye to guard the door, saying, "Now that there's no one here, not a single word you said to me will be passed on."

Lu Xuefei crawled and knelt before Jiang Fenghua with difficulty, and bowed. "This servant and Your Highness are not like what Consort Tang said. This servant did not seduce Your Highness. This servant did not want to enter the palace, nor did I want to be a concubine. It was His Highness the Crown Prince who graciously kept this servant in Chengguang Palace. He said that if a suitable opportunity came, he would let this servant leave the palace. His Highness the Crown Prince also did not want to marry this servant."

"If that's the case, why didn't your Lu family refuse earlier? Why wait until you enter the palace to say you refuse? Aren't you trying to play hard to get with the Crown Prince?" Jiang Fenghua said coldly. She had always thought this was Lu Xuefei's tactic, and Xie Shang had never explained it.

“This servant has long known that His Highness the Crown Prince only has the Crown Princess in his heart. The Crown Princess is as bright as the moon, while this servant is just a speck of dust in the ground. How could this servant dare to enter the palace and compete with the Crown Princess for His Highness the Crown Prince? This servant knows that he is no match for her and does not want to compete. However, Her Majesty the Empress ordered that daughters of officials of the fourth rank and above must participate in the selection, and my parents also forced me to enter the palace. I had no choice but to beg the Crown Prince and hide in Chengguang Palace.”

Jiang Fenghua asked in confusion, "Why would he help you?"