Chapter 173 Fu Family

The Queen was secretly delighted, but she didn't show it on her face. Instead, she sighed wisely and said worriedly, "Your Majesty, please calm down. If this happens, the Queen Mother—"

"Hmph, the Fu family can teach their daughter, but the Empress Dowager must also abide by the palace rules!" Emperor Yuan Yong sneered, and then said to Dong Zhi: "Also, from now on, no female relatives of the Fu family are allowed to enter the palace to disturb the Empress Dowager's peace."

Dong Zhi bowed: "Yes..."

Naturally, the queen did not dare to persuade her anymore. She lowered her head and said nothing more.

Emperor Yuan Yong glanced at her and said, "The Empress has indeed failed in her duty in this matter. As the Empress in charge of the six harems, she shouldn't be so soft-tempered. She should say what needs to be said and teach what needs to be taught. She shouldn't blindly give in and tolerate just to gain a reputation as a virtuous person. Now that such a terrible thing has occurred, how shameful it is! If this gets out, where will the royal family's reputation be!"

The Queen dared not speak, her heart pounding, and she kowtowed in fear and trepidation: "... Please punish me, Your Majesty!"

How could she possibly defeat Lian Jieyu, a giant like her, without paying any price? The emperor said this, and she really had nothing to refute.

Emperor Yuan Yong snorted and said coldly, "Of course there will be punishment. The Empress will be punished by copying Buddhist scriptures for ten days. Concubine Yu will also share the affairs of the six palaces with the Empress. When the Empress returns, she will think carefully about which tasks can be assigned to Concubine Yu and Concubine Shu. The three of you will be in charge of the affairs and cooperate with each other. This will be the case for the time being!"

"Yes, I obey your order..."

Although Concubine Shu previously assisted in the management of the six palaces, she actually had no real power. The Queen only gave her some trivial matters to deal with. Concubine Shu was naturally angry and unhappy, but what could she do?

There was no way she would break up with the Queen over this, so she had to accept it silently.

After all, something is better than nothing!

But now, with Emperor Yuan Yong giving such clear instructions, the Empress could no longer respond vaguely.

The queen felt a little bitter. She didn't expect the emperor to punish her so severely.

Is this the same as killing one thousand enemies and losing eight hundred of your own?

Emperor Yuan Yong glanced at her and said, "Go!"

"Yes, I'll take my leave."

Emperor Yuan Yong's handling of Concubine Lian was swift and decisive. Once the order was issued, the Empress Dowager had no time to stop it.

But after all, she was her niece. No matter how disappointing or foolish she was, the Queen Mother made her so angry that her heart ached, but she still couldn't bear to ignore her.

At the insistence of the empress dowager, Emperor Yuan Yong took a step back, but only a step back. That was to close the Yuming Palace, and only allow Xi Ma and Chun Qi to serve Concubine Lian. She was imprisoned for life and was not allowed to go out at all.

From then on, there was no longer Concubine Lian in the harem, only the commoner Fu.

When the eunuch in charge of the Ministry of Punishment rushed in with his men and took away all the other palace maids and eunuchs of Yuming Palace in a ferocious manner, Concubine Lian - Fu, had not yet known her final fate and tried to stop it in great anger.

The Ministry of Punishment, out of respect for the Empress Dowager, didn't dare to embarrass her too much and had to order her to be arrested. The leader was very polite: "Fu, we are all here under the imperial decree. You should obey it!"

Fu was stunned by the name, screaming and struggling, cursing. Madam Xi and Chunqi were also terrified, their faces pale and they asked frantically. But the leader refused to say anything more.

She shouldn't have been so talkative.

After all the people who should be taken away from Yuming Palace were taken away, the imperial edict finally arrived. Upon hearing the edict, Fu screamed and fainted.

Fu woke up and sat on the couch in a daze, feeling distraught.

Everything is gone...

Not only did she lose, she also completely lost herself!

This life... has come to an end.

Chunqi was panic-stricken, her eyes red and swollen, having obviously been crying for an indefinite period of time. Nanny Xi seemed to have aged ten years in an instant, looking emaciated.

"My Lady, Master, please be patient. As long as the Queen Mother and the Fu family are here, we still have hope! As the saying goes, sincerity is the key to success. Master, please—"

"Madam, please stop talking." Fu burst into tears, gritting her teeth and sobbing, "I hate it so much! I only hate that I underestimated that bitch Xu Lanshan. I only hate that I didn't deal with her earlier, which led to her nurturing a tiger and letting her grow up until today! I hate it so much, so much!"

Aunt Xi opened her mouth and looked at her, but couldn't utter a word.

Completely disheartened!

Why is the Queen still so persistent now? Why can't she let go? As the saying goes, one won't turn back until they hit the wall, but the Queen has clearly hit her head and is bleeding, yet she still doesn't know how to turn back.

What about the Concubine Chen? Actually, if you think about it carefully, what does it have to do with her?

If she had been well-behaved, quiet, and gentle, the Emperor would not have ignored her even for the sake of the Empress Dowager and the Fu family.

Who among the concubines in this palace doesn't envy her good fortune?

For her, being favored is icing on the cake; if she is not favored, no one dares to neglect or bully her.

She should have been the most calm and relaxed one.

Who would have thought that it would come to this!

That's all...

Aunt Xi thought, since she was going to die anyway, she might as well stay with her for the rest of her life!

As for what will happen after I leave, that is not something I can control.

Thinking of this, Aunt Xi felt relieved and relaxed.

Fu was still grappling with incoherent words, gritting her teeth and cursing angrily, her eyes filled with resentment. Every word she said was directed at Xu Lanshan, cursing her and her unborn child. As she cursed, she began to cry, and as she cried, she began to laugh sadly.

Aunt Xi felt both heartbroken and helpless.

She couldn't persuade him.

Nanny Xi couldn't bear to watch or hear it, so she whispered to Chunqi to take good care of her and went downstairs to rest.

Chunqi lit some calming incense, tried to persuade Fu earnestly with sobs, and also tried to cheer her up.

But how could Fu Shi listen to anything now? Instead, these words irritated her to the point of burning her heart and making her want to die with Xu Lanshan...

She hated Xu Lanshan so much!

This has almost become an obsession.

Fu's fate brought peace and tranquility to the palace, and no one dared to make any trouble at this time.

Xu Lanshan didn't have to go to Fengwu Palace to pay her respects while she was pregnant. She could just live her life behind closed doors and didn't have to worry about anything.

I'm too lazy to think about it.

On the day the Emperor issued the decree to deal with Fu, he even came to Lianyi Palace to have dinner with her and stay overnight. She didn't even need to send Xiao Fuzi out to inquire, as she could guess what the concubines' attitude towards this was.

It's not the first time that I've been the target of public criticism, so one more time won't make a difference.

Since her life was already firmly tied to the emperor's favor, all she had to do was find a way to keep this bond going.

As for the attitudes of the concubines, just ignore them!