Zhu Yu suddenly looked up, staring at Consort Duan with a puzzled expression.
Didn't Yong'an speak up for himself? Why did his mother not only not reduce the punishment, but instead made it worse?
What he didn't see was that Ren Yong'an's lowered lips curled into a triumphant smile, which she quickly concealed.
Ren Yong'an knelt down in front of Consort Duan with a thud, choking back tears, and said, "Your Majesty, please don't punish my sister anymore. She is injured. Her marriage to Brother Yu was personally decreed by the Emperor at the palace banquet. Please, Your Majesty, rescind your order. Yong'an is willing to take the punishment in my sister's place."
After saying that, she called out to Zhu Yu outside, "Sister, don't make Consort Duan angry again. Without an imperial decree, you can't enter the palace. Besides, the Emperor, Brother Yu, and all the ministers are in court right now. If you go now, and the Emperor and the others remember what happened at the palace banquet that day, they will probably punish you again."
Zhu Yu's hands tightened in his sleeves as he finally realized something was wrong. His heart skipped a beat; he knew that his mother had long harbored hatred for Lu Xiaoyun because of what happened at the palace banquet.
At this moment, Yong'an brought up the matter in front of his mother...
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Consort Duan's face darkened instantly. Recalling the unbearable scene at the palace banquet, with the two of them disheveled and flushed, she trembled with rage.
This woman coveted her son and resorted to such despicable means!
This caused her and her son to lose face in front of the ministers, the concubines, and the princes and princesses.
Her son was a man of unparalleled virtue and talent. In the entire capital city of Shengjing, and throughout the entire Great Zhou Dynasty, no one dared to offend Prince An, yet he was defiled by a vile woman in front of so many people!
If this happened anywhere else, regardless of her background or who she was, she would have already given her a gruesome death.
But on that day, at the palace banquet, there were not only civil and military officials, ministers' families, and concubines from the harem, but also members of the royal family and envoys from foreign countries!
The emperor felt utterly humiliated, and thus immediately granted the absurd marriage.
Even now, she still wishes she could skin Lu Xiaoyun alive, tear her apart, and cut her into a thousand pieces.
What right does such a vile and despicable woman have to enter her son's royal palace!
Unfortunately, Yu'er took care of General Lu, the Duke of Zhenguo, and did not kill her directly. In my opinion, such a woman should be beaten to death and her body thrown into a mass grave to feed the dogs to relieve her hatred.
Consort Duan's face was icy as she reached out to help Ren Yong'an up: "Yong'an, you don't need to plead for her anymore! Lu Xiaoyun has disrespected the imperial concubines, shown no respect for her elders, and defied imperial authority. She is to kneel for five hours! No one is allowed to plead for her!"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yu felt as if his head had exploded.
Five hours!
During this time, he knelt obediently without saying a word.
"Your Highness, Consort Duan, this concubine..."
Consort Duan slammed the cup in her hand heavily onto the coffee table beside her.
Granny Zhang immediately understood: "Ha, Princess An, have you even forgotten your own status! What are you calling Her Majesty! You haven't been deposed yet, so you should call Her Majesty Mother!"
Consort Duan snorted coldly, slowly fiddling with the nail guards on her hands: "Miss Lu, you really don't take me seriously! What, does the title of Princess Consort of An disgrace you? Is the royal family not good enough for you, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo's family, who is of high and mighty status!"
Zhu Yu turned to look at Zhang Mama in astonishment, then stared blankly at Consort Duan inside: "???"
Three days ago, in the house in Feixue Garden, he called her "Mother Consort" and was slapped more than a dozen times to make him realize his place. His face still felt a little sore.
But today he called her "Consort Duan" again, which was wrong.
Where exactly did he go wrong? What should he call her?
Zhu Yu placed her hands on her forehead and knelt down, saying, "Please enlighten me. I do not know what to call you. Calling you Mother Consort is not right, nor is calling you Consort Duan. Please forgive my ignorance, I truly do not know how to address you."
A cold smile curled at the corner of Consort Duan's lips, her eyes filled with hostility: "Lu Xiaoyun, are you questioning me?!"
"I dare not. I simply do not understand where I went wrong. Please enlighten me." Zhu Yu straightened his posture.
“Your Majesty, my sister didn’t mean it. She was probably surprised that Your Majesty wasn’t staying in the palace but instead came to the Prince’s residence, so she didn’t know how to address you for a moment. Please forgive her.” Ren Yong’an carefully raised her eyes to look at Consort Duan.
The tenderness in Zhu Yu's eyes was gone. He looked coldly at Yong'an, who had been sowing discord ever since she uttered her first word!
The kneeling punishment was extended from one hour to five hours, all thanks to her!
It turns out that the underhanded tactics used in the inner quarters are not only manifested in actions, but also in words!
"How dare you!" Consort Duan shouted angrily, "How dare you, a lowly woman, speak ill of me!"
As an imperial concubine, with her husband still alive, being sent to her son's residence was an utter disgrace to her.
They wanted to make her a laughingstock in the entire city of Shengjing, and even in the entire Great Zhou Dynasty and the whole world!
But what kind of woman is this, daring to question her in front of all the servants of the Prince's mansion! She even dared to mock her in her heart for being disliked by her husband's family and banished from the palace by the Emperor!
They're simply asking for trouble!
"Zhang Mama, slap her!"
Granny Zhang gritted her teeth, her face contorted with rage, and delivered another solid slap to Zhu Yu's face.
Zhu Yu's face was slapped and bled again, but he still stood up straight, his eyes coldly fixed on his good mother and his "childhood sweetheart".
Ren Yong'an sneered, but said, "Your Majesty, my sister probably didn't mean it. Perhaps she just misunderstood. Your Majesty, please calm down and let it go for the sake of her youth."
"Young? Hmph, eighteen years old, is that young enough? What a joke! In the entire capital, which girl is still unmarried after reaching marriageable age? Even her betrothed from childhood left to join the army, causing the Lady of the Yongbo Marquis's mansion to cry every day. She still has the nerve to say she's young! If she hadn't used such despicable means to get into Yu'er's bed, no one would marry a woman like her even if she died of old age!"
Ren Yong'an looked somewhat embarrassed, after all, she was already seventeen years old, and the Crown Prince kept telling her that once he got the military power from Zhu Yu, he would make her his Crown Princess.
As for Zhu Yu, he only said that he would marry no one but her in this life, but he has been slow to propose marriage and has now married Lu Xiaoyun.
This once made her a laughing stock among the noble ladies of Shengjing.
However, she wasn't angry, after all, Zhu Yu owed her all of this! The more people laughed at her, the more Zhu Yu felt guilty towards her, and the easier it would be for her to obtain military power for her brother, the Crown Prince.
Once she reaches that position, she will make those who insulted and cursed her pay a hundredfold or a thousandfold price!
Zhu Yu's expression also darkened, and he said coldly to Ren Yong'an, "If Miss Yong'an doesn't know how to speak, she might as well stand quietly to the side."
Ren Yong'an's eyes immediately reddened, and she choked out, "Sister, Yong'an is only doing this for your own good. Please don't make the Empress angry anymore."
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