"presumptuous……"
When the emperor is enraged, blood will flow in three thousand rivers.
Nangong Qing's teeth chattered, and her heart ached terribly.
The powerful roar drowned out the sounds from the instruments, startling everyone so much that they all knelt down.
Qu Muyu had never seen His Majesty so angry. She had thought that it was just an old lantern, how angry could His Majesty be?
There are countless master craftsmen who can make rabbit lanterns. If he really likes them, he can ask someone to make a thousand or ten thousand of them. It's just a matter of asking.
But when faced with Nangong Qing like this, she was still frightened, yet she was also confident that Nangong Qing wouldn't do anything to her.
"Your Majesty, is it because you think my dancing is not good enough?"
Qu Muyu forced a smile, held the lantern, lifted her skirt, and twirled twice more with her graceful figure.
"Qu Muyu, put the lantern down for me..."
The rabbit lantern was lit, and since it was already old, Nangong Qing was extremely worried that it would catch fire.
But to his utter surprise, his shout startled Qu Muyu, who knelt before Nangong Qing with the lanterns in her arms.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I only wanted to make you smile and cheer you up."
Before she could finish speaking, the rabbit lantern beside her, which wasn't properly placed, fell to the ground with a thud, and the candle inside also fell over.
In the blink of an eye, the dry cardboard and old bamboo strips all caught fire in the flames.
Seeing that the rabbit lantern he had been longing for was on fire, Nangong Qing was shocked and ran over to fix it.
When Qu Muyu saw that the dance skirt was almost burned, she grabbed the handle of the rabbit lantern and threw it aside.
Nangong Qing ran to the lantern as fast as he could, and without thinking, he directly patted the sparks with his hands, trying to put out the fire.
"Lanterns, lanterns must not be burned, fall, fall..."
When Gao Yi and the others caught up, they saw Nangong Qing putting out the fire.
As servants, their fault lies with His Majesty for being injured.
"Your Majesty, you mustn't..."
Gao Yi dipped his wide sleeve into the lotus pot to wet it, ran to Nangong Qing, and extinguished the lantern with his sleeve.
However, his hands were still burned, and he ultimately couldn't save the lantern.
"Imperial Physician, quickly summon Imperial Physician Du! His Majesty has been burned!"
Gao Yi sent the eunuch behind him to the Imperial Hospital to summon Du Xiuyuan.
Looking at the few charred bamboo strips left in his hand, the once lifelike rabbit lantern was gone.
"Gaoyi, return to Mingde Hall!"
"yes!"
Nangong Qing arrived in a rage, but left in despair.
Upon hearing that Nangong Qing was injured, almost everyone in the inner palace came to wait outside Mingde Hall.
Seeing Qu Muyu kneeling outside Mingde Hall, trembling with fear, the people in the harem felt a great sense of relief, as if they had seen someone they dislike finally stumble and fall.
"Oh! Consort Qu, aren't you cold wearing such a thin dance costume in this freezing weather?"
Another concubine, Consort Liu, added, "His Majesty has always been wise and discerning; some people are just good at posing and causing chaos in the harem..."
No matter what these people say, Qu Muyu can't refute them now.
She couldn't understand why His Majesty cared so much about a rabbit lantern.
Even if you like someone, you shouldn't hurt yourself. Why not just ask someone else to make another one?
"Alright, we're all sisters, let's stop talking. I'll go check on His Majesty's injuries first."
When the Empress entered, she saw Du Xiuyuan still applying medicine to Nangong Qing.
His hands were burned, and there were many blisters on the back of his hands.
She was immediately heartbroken: "Imperial Physician Du, His Majesty is so badly injured, what should we do?"
Du Xiuyuan carefully applied the medicine to Nangong Qing and instructed her not to touch water in the coming days.
"Your Majesty, the burns are severe. He needs to rest and recuperate to recover."
The Empress looked at the few charred bamboo strips beside Nangong Qing, where smoke could still be seen rising from them.
This rabbit lantern is very important to His Majesty.
Although he didn't know who gave it to him, it was something he had been longing for.
Now that it's destroyed, it also puts an end to His Majesty's hopes. From now on, she hopes the palace can celebrate the Lantern Festival normally.
"Alright! Doctor Du, please examine Eunuch Gao's hand as well; his injury is quite severe."
Gao Yi was extremely grateful, never expecting that the Empress would notice him when everyone was surrounding His Majesty.
"I'm fine, thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."
In the end, Du Xiuyuan still applied medicine to Gao Yi and bandaged him before leaving.
Looking at the charred and scattered bamboo strips, Nangong Qing knew that the lantern could never be repaired.
"Bring Consort Qu to see me!"
Soon, several eunuchs brought Qu Muyu in and made her kneel before Nangong Qing.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I was wrong. What I did tonight was only to make Your Majesty happy."
Seeing Your Majesty's fondness for lanterns, I ordered people to learn the folk custom of hanging lanterns throughout the Yu'an Palace.
"Your Majesty, I didn't mean to hurt you. I was wrong."
Nangong Qing's eyes turned cold. Qu Muyu had said so much, yet she had no idea where she had gone wrong.
"This rabbit lantern is no ordinary lantern to me!"
Qu Muyu understood and immediately spoke up.
"Your Majesty, I am willing to compensate you. If you want a thousand or ten thousand, I can have people make them for you."
Enraged, Nangong Qing threw the teacup on the table in front of Qu Muyu.
The teacup shattered, and no one in the entire Mingde Hall dared to utter a sound.
"Compensate? That word is an insult!"
The emperor was dealing with his concubines. Inside the Mingde Hall, only Gao Yi, the empress, and the empress's personal maid were present; everyone else was waiting outside.
"This rabbit lantern was won for me by my beloved woman. What will Consort Qu offer in return?"
Qu Muyu was shocked after hearing those words.
As we all know, isn't she His Majesty's favorite woman?
When did His Majesty acquire a beloved woman? Who is she, and why doesn't she know?
If His Majesty has someone he loves, why is he spoiling her so much? What is she in this harem anyway?
When the Empress heard Nangong Qing's words, she felt a chill in her heart.
Even though I was mentally prepared, it still hurt to hear my husband say it out loud.
Of all these people, only Gao Yi knew the source of the matter.
"Your Majesty... I didn't mean to..."
Nangong Qing's eyes were bloodshot and filled with tears, but he held back from letting them fall.
"Qu Muyu, you have ruined my only hope and injured my imperial body. You deserve to die."
"Gao Yi, proclaim my decree: Consort Qu is demoted to the rank of Beauty and granted the Orchid Garden."
Vice Minister Qu was sent to Shuozhou to serve as the county magistrate.
This imperial decree was like dragging Qu Muyu and her family from the clouds to the mud.
Lan Yuan was a cold palace; entering Lan Yuan would mean certain death for her.
Shuozhou was originally part of the territory of Beiliang, a place that was not only cold but also infested with unruly people.
Moreover, his father had finally risen to the rank of Vice Minister of Rites, a fifth-rank official, and now he was being asked to be a minor county magistrate?
This won't do, this is unacceptable!
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