Chapter 81: Concubine Mei in the Cold Palace

When the Queen heard that Yuxing was trying to seduce the Emperor, she was furious. "This lowly servant is so bold! Noble Lady Chen, how do you manage people? This is ridiculous! They are all so rebellious!"

Nanny Yan also said, "Don't blame the Empress for being so angry, Lady Chen. This old servant may be presumptuous. Lady Chen was originally a palace maid. Now that the palace maids around her have done such things, it is indeed too unpleasant..."

The Queen placed Yuxing next to Xu Lanshan and had no intention of letting her climb into bed with her. Yuxing acted on her own initiative and was tantamount to betraying her, so the Queen was naturally angry.

Furthermore, Yuxing was just a palace maid, and she did such a thing. As the mistress of the six palaces, the Queen was also responsible.

If the palace maids follow suit and more of them appear, not only will management become more troublesome, but the emperor will probably be extremely annoyed and will definitely blame her.

Xu Lanshan didn't want to say anything at first, but after hearing what the Queen and Nanny Yan said, she felt disgusted.

Xu Lanshan complained aggrievedly, "The Queen is right, but I never thought she would act like this. When the Shanggong Bureau sent her to me, I didn't like her very much. I always thought she was dishonest and her eyes were always prying around. I didn't expect her to be so bold."

Both the Queen and Nanny Yan choked.

They were the ones who chose and sent the person, yet they blamed Xu Lanshan for not managing her properly? Even if she was the queen and could make such unreasonable arguments, since Xu Lanshan refused to accept it, she really couldn't blame her anymore.

Xu Lanshan added, "It's not the Empress's fault that she's angry. The Emperor was also very angry yesterday. I was so scared that I quickly explained to him, and only then did he feel better."

Nanny Yan's face turned pale. "May I ask what Noble Lady Chen said to the Emperor?"

She was stupid, but the emperor was not! How could the Shanggong Bureau send only one person without the queen's order?

Xu Lanshan: "Even if I were to tell the truth, I wouldn't dare to deceive the emperor even if I had the guts to do so."

Queen, Nanny Yan: "..."

"Alright, alright, let's leave it at that! Take good care of the people around you from now on, and get out of here!"

"Yes, I'll take my leave."

Xu Lanshan bowed and left.

The Queen was slightly annoyed: "Madam, what do you think this Concubine Chen means? Why is she talking nonsense in front of the Emperor?"

Nanny Yan said disdainfully, "With her background, what can she understand? If she keeps going on like this, the Emperor will get tired of her one day. This is just a small matter, Your Majesty, don't worry too much about it. Your Majesty was obviously worried that she wouldn't be able to choose someone, so she ordered the Shanggong Bureau to pick out a good one for her. But who knew that she herself was incapable of controlling the people under her? Who can she blame? Besides, I'm afraid she has set a bad example, no wonder the people below want to follow her example..."

The queen felt relieved after hearing this, nodded and smiled, "Madam, what you said makes sense!"

The queen originally thought that since Xu Lanshan had already surrendered to her, it didn't matter whether she placed people around her or not. What mattered was that she quickly got pregnant and gave birth to a child.

She then instructed Nanny Yan to ask the Shanggong Bureau to send a few palace maids to her for her to choose from after returning to the palace.

Unexpectedly, the emperor took over the staffing arrangements for Cuiyinxuan, and she didn't have to worry about it at all.

The Queen finally understood how taboo the Emperor was about using the Shanggong Bureau to plant people...

The fact that Yuxing was dealt with silently for climbing into bed could not be concealed and soon spread among the concubines in the palace.

Xu Lanshan's background inevitably made people ridicule her.

Fortunately, she was generous and didn't take it to heart. After all, today was different from the past. She was now a noble lady, and even if Concubine Rou and the others mocked her, they didn't dare to say anything too much.

And soon, another incident overshadowed the turmoil caused by Yu Xing's betrayal and the silent punishment of climbing into the dragon bed.

Two palace maids picked up a red coral bead bracelet on the riverbank on the north bank of Fuhai. A team of patrolling guards happened to pass by. The leading guard knew that the red coral bead bracelet was an inner-made item as soon as he saw it. He did not dare to neglect it and quickly presented it to the emperor.

Emperor Yuan Yong thought the man looked familiar, but he couldn't remember who he was for a while. However, Dong Zhi had a good memory and was frightened after taking a look at him.

He didn't dare to hide it from his master, and knelt down quickly: "Master, if I remember correctly, this bracelet should belong to Mei in the cold palace..."

"Mei?"

Emperor Yuan Yong's expression suddenly changed.

Mei was the Concubine Mei, who had once been greatly favored by him and held the utmost sway in the harem. It was also in this palace that her red coral bracelet was found on a guard, who later committed suicide. Concubine Mei was then convicted of adultery and, unable to defend herself, was stripped of her title and banished to the cold palace.

Also implicated with her was Concubine Mo.

I didn’t expect that the red coral bracelet would appear here again today!

What does this mean? It means that Concubine Mei was wrongly accused!

Because he had ordered Dong Zhi to destroy the red coral bracelet that was proved to be the result of Meipin's affair. Dong Zhi did not have the courage to go against his will.

Emperor Yuan Yong was furious: "These audacious dogs!"

Dong Zhi shrank back, not daring to breathe.

Emperor Yuan Yong sneered repeatedly, and finally glanced at Dong Zhi before issuing a cold decree: "Restore the titles of Concubine Mei and Concubine Mo, and move out of the cold palace and return to your original residence."

"Yes, I obey your order."

"Draw up a list and you'll be rewarded handsomely."

"yes!"

When this matter was made public, everyone was in an uproar. Meipin was extremely beautiful and elegant. If it weren't for the accident that left her speechless, she would have been made a concubine.

I thought her life was over after being banished to the cold palace, but I didn't expect she could turn things around!

How could it be such a coincidence... Is God helping her?

In comparison, Concubine Mo is nothing.

The concubines couldn't help but wonder who had harmed Concubine Mei back then?

But so many years have passed since the incident, and all the evidence has long been destroyed. I'm afraid it's impossible to find out.

When paying respects to the Empress, she said to the concubines with a smile, "Princess Mei and Noble Lady Mo have been vindicated. When they returned to the palace, they had already been released from the cold palace, which made the palace a little more lively."

Concubine Yu smiled and waved her round fan, saying, "It will be lively! It's hard to say who will be favored more by then!"

Concubine Deng also smiled somewhat bitterly and said, "Sister Meipin is extremely beautiful and charming. She was once the most beloved person in the Emperor's heart. After suffering such a great injustice, it is so hard to redress her injustice. I am afraid that the Emperor will definitely compensate her well."

Concubine Lian glared at Xu Lanshan gloomily and sneered, "When the time comes, I'll want to see how long some people can still be so proud! Some people are born in a lowly family. If they lose favor, it will be worse than being banished to the cold palace!"

Concubine Lian was too embarrassed to go out because she was demoted, and she had been claiming to be sick for the past few days. Today was the first time she paid her respects to the Queen after being demoted.