Chapter 401 Punished Again

Zhu Zhenzhen was quite shrewd and knew how to please the Crown Prince after entering the palace. However, in her opinion, it wasn't enough to just please the Crown Prince; one also needed to learn how to fight back.

Seeing her daughter's determined look, Aunt Xue could only try to persuade her, "Daughter, there's nothing good about going to the palace. You've barely escaped this ordeal, so just give up! I've heard that the palace is full of resentful women. I have a few close friends, like Consort Zhao. Don't be fooled by her glamorous life and the fact that she has a son. When she's alone in the palace, even the Emperor doesn't visit her..."

And that Consort Yan, I heard she's been banished to the Cold Palace. She was practically going crazy thinking about men before! Alas! The Emperor has long forgotten about her!

Aunt Xue added, "With the support of our Imperial Censorate, even though you are born out of wedlock, it won't be a problem for you to marry into a prominent family and become the mistress of the house in the future."

Aunt Xue knew the hardships of being a concubine, so she didn't want her daughter to follow in her footsteps.

The Censor's household also had many wives and concubines. Which man is not lustful? Only those who have been through it know that it is always the women who suffer. It is because she has face in front of the master that she can have a good life. Otherwise, like other concubines, she would have a life where she could only cry out to heaven and earth in vain.

"Mother, don't worry. Only by marrying into the royal family will we have a chance to survive and be able to take advantage of the First Madam's weakness." Zhu Yiyi continued, "Over the years, on the surface you have been the most favored by Father, but in secret, how many hurtful things has the First Madam said to us? Just wait until I enter the palace and become a concubine, then let's see how arrogant she can be."

She wouldn't be like those foolish women who only care about men's love and affection, unaware that it's all just fleeting and ephemeral.

"But I heard from your father that our family already has one daughter who has entered the palace, so it's impossible for another one. Even if we were to select another concubine, the Zhu family wouldn't have any more spots!"

She planned to go to the palace to see how miserable Zhu Zhenzhen was during the Crown Prince's birthday banquet, and also to see how beautiful the Crown Princess, whom everyone praised, was.

Men are all fickle and easily bored. All those quotas and rules are just for show to appease people.

Zhu Yiyi thought: Her beauty was actually superior to Zhu Zhenzhen's; she only had the advantage of being the legitimate daughter. She didn't care about anything else.

Besides, she doesn't want to marry into the Eastern Palace yet. Once the Crown Prince becomes Emperor, she'll have even more opportunities.

-

Upon returning to Yuling Hall in the palace, Zhu Zhenzhen was greeted by Granny Wang, who presented her with the palace rules.

All that could be heard was Granny Wang saying, "His Highness the Crown Prince is always kind. Looking across the entire palace, Consort Zhu is the first woman to be punished by His Highness. This shows how angry His Highness is. Please make a copy and give it to me as soon as possible."

Zhu Zhenzhen hadn't expected there to be so many palace rules. Could she have done it on purpose, gathering all the rules from past dynasties?

She flipped through it casually, and sure enough, it was true. Granny Wang was the Crown Princess's lackey; a villain who had gained power would not have a good end.

She only dared to curse in her heart. Then Granny Wang said, "Her Majesty the Empress has heard that Consort Zhu has many grievances against Her Majesty and would like to invite Consort Zhu to Kunning Palace to point out Her Majesty's shortcomings in person."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhenzhen was terrified and immediately knelt on the ground. "I have no complaints. Please, Granny Wang, help me explain to the Empress. I will repay your kindness."

Granny Wang pushed her hand away and said in a deep voice, "This old servant is just a maid who serves others. I have no influence and my voice is weak. I'm afraid I can't help you this time, young mistress. You should take care of yourself!"

Outside the door was a palace maid sent by the Empress to invite her. Zhu Zhenzhen was only a concubine of the Eastern Palace, and she was under the discipline of the Crown Princess. In fact, she was not qualified to go to the Empress to be reprimanded.

With the Crown Princess not in the palace, she couldn't find anyone to plead for her, so she tried to send the message back to the Zhu family, but she didn't receive a reply.

So, the next moment, Zhu Zhenzhen knelt down in front of Kunning Palace. Empress Cheng did not rush to summon her, but let Granny Wang and Granny Xi relay the message between them.

When the words reached Empress Cheng's ears, they took on a different meaning.

The Empress said coldly, "Let her kneel. I am biased towards Tang Qianran, and that's none of her business."

Granny Xi said, "Perhaps I misheard. His Highness the Crown Prince intended to bestow the title of concubine upon her, but now it has fallen to Consort Tang instead. It's normal for Consort Zhu to be unhappy. Should I invite her in? She is the daughter of an imperial censor; I'm afraid something might happen to her..."

Granny Xi is quite the actress. Zhu Zhenzhen brought this upon herself. Just look at all the things she did behind the scenes to seduce the prince; her wolfish ambitions couldn't be hidden.

"What's there to be afraid of? The daughter of a dignified censor is behaving like this. I didn't hold the Zhu family accountable for their poor discipline. Does he still dare to blame me for punishing his daughter?" Empress Cheng's explosive temper will never change.

After Empress Cheng's words, Granny Xi stopped trying to persuade her and let Consort Zhu kneel.

Who told her to offend His Highness the Crown Prince!

Before dawn the next day, Xie Shang personally escorted Jiang Fenghua to Chenxi Palace. Before Xie Shang could leave, Zhu Zhenzhen's trusted nanny ran to Xie Shang again and pleaded, "Please, Your Highness, save the young mistress! She is not well and has been kneeling in front of Kunning Palace all night. If she continues to kneel, the young mistress's body will not be able to take it."

Xie Shang said coldly, "She doesn't know how to speak properly. It's the Empress Dowager who wants to punish her, and I can't do anything about it."

After saying that, he took Jiang Fenghua's hand and left. The old woman stood there stunned, completely at a loss. "Please, Your Highness, save my young master! Your Highness has a compassionate heart..."

Granny Wang had her dragged away immediately, which allowed the people from Yuling Palace to take advantage of the situation that night, displeasing the Crown Prince and Crown Princess and almost causing a rift between them. Now Granny Wang is no longer going to tolerate them and will only return after ensuring that the Crown Prince and Crown Princess can no longer hear the noise.

Xie Shang escorted Jiang Fenghua back to the palace to rest, while he went directly to handle official business.

Once His Highness the Crown Prince left, Granny Wang couldn't hide her joy. "The Crown Princess left the palace yesterday and didn't know that Consort Zhu had run to His Highness. His Highness was furious with her..."

Granny Wang recounted the whole story.

Jiang Fenghua remained calm, perfectly avoiding playing the villain again. Zhu Zhenzhen just needed to be taught a lesson. She would tolerate her once, twice, or three times, but not more than three times.

She's not going to be that pushover.

In the end, Zhu Zhenzhen was carried back to Yuling Palace. After being exposed to the cold wind all night, she was truly ill this time, and she looked like a sickly beauty without even having to pretend.

Jiang Fenghua knew that Empress Cheng was indeed so cold-hearted and ruthless; for those who fell into her hands, kneeling for one night was considered a light punishment.

When the young ladies of the Eastern Palace make mistakes, she, as the Crown Princess, should strictly discipline and supervise them.