Chapter 65 Scissors

Not only did the emperor not show any surprise, but he was extremely angry and scolded Concubine Shu for violating the palace rules.

Some even said that the beautiful Shu had ruined the view of the locust trees.

Lady Shu was demoted, her name "Shu" was taken away, and she became Lady Qi who was banished to the cold palace.

The servants and eunuchs in the cold palace all treat each other differently based on the person. The disliked concubines who are sent to the cold palace will most likely suffer some torture.

I don’t know what kind of injustice Qi Cairen suffered in the cold palace, but after a few days she became crazy and stupid.

Today, taking advantage of the palace servants' negligence, he ran to the Plum Garden in a trance.

When Qi Cairen saw the Queen and Concubine Shu, she rushed over, but fortunately she was pinned to her knees on the ground in time by the eunuch next to her.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty, please make the decision for me. Someone wants to harm me..."

"What about the Emperor... The Emperor loves me the most... Let the Emperor order them to be executed!"

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty the Queen..."

Qi Cairen knelt in the snow, shaking all over, not knowing whether it was from the cold or fear.

The Queen's smile froze on her face, and she glanced sideways at Nanny Dong with dissatisfaction:

"How come the servants of Qixia Palace can't even take care of one person?"

Concubine Shu sat beside the Queen and took a sip of hot tea:

"This Qi Cairen is really pitiful. It's so cold, why is he wearing such thin clothes and going out?"

The palace maids behind her shuddered when they saw Qi Cairen's blue and frozen feet.

They still remember that a few months ago, this Qi Cairen returned to the palace from the imperial study in a sedan chair in great glory.

The Queen ordered people to take Qi Cairen away:

"Mrs. Qi, I have already investigated your rash and given you an explanation. However, since then, you have violated palace rules and disturbed the emperor several times. The emperor has ordered you to reflect on your mistakes in Qixia Palace. You should not have come here today."

"Come here, send Qi Cairen back to the palace."

There are many female relatives coming to the plum blossom viewing party today, and many wives and daughters from official families in the capital are present.

Seeing Qi Cairen in such a miserable state, everyone sighed in their hearts.

"No, I won't go back... I don't want to go back!"

Qi Cairen shook his head frantically, his eyes searching around for a moment, and suddenly stopped.

She cried in one direction:

"Sister-in-law! Sister-in-law, save me... I want to go home... I don't want to be here..."

"Sister-in-law... Yue'er wants to go back... to go home..."

Everyone looked in the direction Qi Cairen was looking and saw that Mrs. Qi's face was flushed with embarrassment.

The Madam Qi who came today is Qi Cairen's eldest sister-in-law and is now the head of the family. Qi Cairen's biological mother, Madam Qi, is in her hometown and not in the capital.

Madam Qi stepped forward under the gaze of everyone and spoke dryly:

"Talented lady, be careful with your words. You have entered the palace and are a royal concubine. The palace is your home."

Mrs. Qi felt distressed when she saw her aunt in this state, but their Qi family was not a high-ranking official family, so how could they dare to plead for her aunt?

I'm thankful that I'm not implicated by my sister-in-law.

"Sister-in-law... no... no..."

"This is not me..."

Qi Cairen was dragged out of the plum garden by the eunuchs, and in the chaos even the shoe on her other foot fell off.

She screamed crazily and scratched her eunuch with her long nails, looking completely different from her previous wealthy and charming self.

She was dragged out of Merlin, further and further away.

There is no more lively voices.

The only sounds were the eunuchs' footsteps on the snow and the caws of one or two crows overhead.

Qi Cairen was imprisoned again in Qixia Palace.

"ah--"

The sharp cries seemed to pierce people's eardrums, and the crows on the dead trees were startled and scattered.

The imperial city was so big that Qi Cairen’s cries could not reach Ganyang Palace.

It can be faintly heard in the equally remote Myeonghye Palace.

In the yard, Dongyue, who was pruning the branches of the locust tree, felt her scalp tingle when she heard this:

"If Lady Qi keeps yelling like this every day, I'll be deaf before her voice gets hoarse."

"Meow--"

Chujiu curled up in Pei Shu's arms and called out softly.

Pei Shu held Chujiu in her arms and hummed a soft tune, as if she was coaxing a baby.

Continue pruning the locust tree branches in winter.

The branches of this locust tree are too long and can easily scratch people, so they need to be trimmed into a rounder shape in winter.

There is little point in pruning a dead tree.

But in this lonely harem, it seems that nothing I do has any meaning.

Dongyue was cutting with great effort, muttering to herself:

"My Lady, I heard from the sisters in the Imperial Kitchen that Consort Qi has gone mad."

"No wonder. There are only a few people in the palace who can enjoy such a high level of favor for several days after entering the palace for only half a year like her."

"To be pampered so much, to the very top of the world, to be flattered to the point of forgetting oneself, and then suddenly banished to the cold palace, who wouldn't go crazy?"

After Dong Yue finished speaking, she suddenly turned her head to look at Pei Shu.

She realized she had said something wrong, loosened the scissors in her hand, and quickly apologized:

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I just spoke out of turn."

But Pei Shu was still humming a tune softly, as if she had not heard what Dong Yue said at all.

The winter wind blew into the yard, slowly becoming a flowing river, flowing slowly over the master and servants.

Dongyue added awkwardly:

"Your Majesty, you have a good heart. No one else can compare to you."

Pei Shu touched Chujiu in her arms.

She had received unparalleled divine grace, but she never became carried away by it.

Because there was once a young man who treated her with such sincerity that no one who came after him could surpass him.

Pei Shu felt a tightness in her chest and wanted to go into the hall to rest.

Dongyue took over the ninth day.

But for some reason, Chujiu suddenly let out a howl and ran to the back of the yard.

"Chujiu, come back." Dongyue threw the scissors in her hand and started to chase the cat.

The ninth day of the first lunar month is usually lazy and doesn't like to run around or jump over walls. He just likes to nestle in someone's arms and bask in the warm sun.

But today, Chujiu kept running, ran to Murong Di's bedroom, and jumped in.

Dongyue followed him into the bedroom, but bumped into a sneaky figure at the door.

Murong Di went to Lihe Hall today, but Xiao Quanzi, who served him, appeared here.

Dong Yue: "Xiao Quanzi, why are you here instead of serving His Highness?"

Xiao Quanzi looked a little uneasy: "Sister Dongyue, His Highness forgot something and asked me to get it."

As he said this, he hurried out.

Dongyue stopped Xiao Quanzi alertly:

"The pens, inkstones, and paper are all in the Lihe Hall. What did you come back for?"

Xiao Quanzi pushed Dongyue's hand away: "Take the homework that His Highness has forgotten."

"Take it out and let me see it?" Dongyue further stopped Xiao Quanzi.

Xiao Quanzi suddenly exerted his strength and pushed Dongyue:

"How can you read His Highness's homework?"

Dongyue was not pushed down, but instead started to pull and shove with Xiao Quanzi.

"Meow!" Chujiu, who had hidden in the hall, saw it and pounced on it, scratching Xiao Quanzi hard with his claws.

Xiao Quanzi's face was scratched and hurt, so he distracted himself and tried to push the ninth day.

In the chaos, a book fell from Xiao Quanzi.

The book was open, and between the neatly printed lines were notes written in clear and elegant handwriting.

The handwriting was completely different from the one written by the Third Prince in Lihe Hall.

That is definitely not something that a fool could write.

Dongyue glanced down at the book, then looked up at Xiao Quanzi with a stern expression:

"Who sent you?"

Xiao Quanzi's face turned pale, and he curled his hands into eagle claws, pressing directly against Dongyue's heart meridian:

"You're asking for it by meddling in other people's business!"

Xiao Quanzi's hand stretched out quickly, but Dongyue's move to dodge was surprisingly fast as well!

Under Xiao Quanzi's surprised eyes, Dongyue suddenly jumped up, somersaulted behind Xiao Quanzi, and punched Xiao Quanzi quickly and accurately.

Xiao Quanzi staggered after being punched, and when he turned around, several hidden weapons flew out of his sleeves.

Dongyue had no choice but to dodge frequently.

Xiao Quanzi took the opportunity to attack again, and grabbed Dongyue's neck with his eagle-claw-like hands.

Xiao Quanzi let out a sinister smile, "I never thought there was someone in Minghui Palace who knew Kung Fu."

Dongyue's face flushed red, and she couldn't breathe, almost suffocating.

Squeak——!

The sharp tip of the scissors pierced through Xiao Quanzi's neck, and warm blood splashed all over Dongyue's face.

“Huh…huh…”

Xiao Quanzi, with a pair of scissors stuck in his neck, opened his eyes wide and loosened his grip on Dongyue's hand.

Hiss—another sound.

The scissors were pulled out from behind, and more blood spurted out, dripping all over the floor.

Xiao Quanzi's body fell to the side like a puppet with its strings cut.

Dongyue covered his neck and gasped for breath.

She looked at the pair of scissors dripping with blood in front of her. It was the same pair she had used to trim the locust tree in the yard just now.

And holding the scissors were Pei Shu's hands with white knuckles.