Chapter 81 Reprimand
"You're right."
She returned to her high position, sat down leisurely, and looked down at Zhi'er, who was kneeling on the ground.
"Get up. I know you were overjoyed to hear this news and couldn't wait to report it to me. I don't blame you, but as the head maid of Kunning Palace, you were so careless."
If we don't punish him, how can we set an example for those below? Therefore, I'll deduct one month's salary as punishment.
Zhi'er paused, then breathed a sigh of relief and quickly kowtowed in gratitude: "Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you for your great kindness."
Although the Empress was ruthless, she was always lenient with others and strict with herself, punishing lightly and rewarding heavily. As a result, everyone in Kunning Palace was loyal to her and had no complaints.
"Zhi'er, go to the small kitchen and take that bowl of Pearl Jade Soup that has been simmering for a long time to Fenghua Palace for His Majesty. Tell him that because of the hot weather, His Majesty is not feeling well, so the small kitchen specially prepared it every day. However, His Majesty is too busy, so we had to send it to Fenghua Palace."
Upon hearing this, Zhi'er quickly stood up: "Yes, Your Majesty, this servant will go right away."
Granny Yu smiled and said, "It's good for Your Majesty to show weakness occasionally. After all, His Majesty is the ruler of the world. If you are always forceful, you will only push His Majesty further and further away."
"I didn't want it to be like this either. I also hoped to be like an ordinary couple and have a loving and trusting relationship with His Majesty. Even though we were in love at the beginning, in the end, interests were mixed in."
A brief look of sadness crossed the Empress's face, but it quickly disappeared.
She sneered and continued, "Besides, how much love does he really have for the women in his harem? He probably only loves himself the most."
"Don't forget the Yang family, mother and son. Back then, in order to suppress the aristocratic families, the emperor found a pretext to exterminate the entire Yang family. The son, who was about seven years old, was killed by him under the pretext of being an assassin, and the entire Yang family was also executed."
"If we're talking about who's the most cold-blooded, ruthless, and cruel person in the palace, he's definitely number one."
"So today, in order to weaken the power of the Crown Prince and the commoners, they can cause trouble for no reason. But just wait and see, the Duan family will eventually decline after reaching its peak. Let's see how long they can remain arrogant."
Granny Yu sighed helplessly and remained silent.
Just as she was about to take a short rest, Zhi'er rushed in from outside the door. Before she could even catch her breath, she hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, His Majesty has arrived!"
"What?"
The Empress was immediately overjoyed and quickly got up to greet her.
"His Majesty has arrived!!"
May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings and peace!
The Emperor was holding a folding fan and looked quite well, with a radiant appearance, completely different from his previous sickly state.
"Get up."
He walked into the hall and sat down, and someone immediately came forward to serve him tea.
The Empress smiled and said, "Congratulations on Your Majesty's excellent health; it is truly a blessing for our Celestial Empire."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Mingyou burst into laughter: "It is all thanks to Minister Duan who found me a master. It was by taking the elixir refined by this master that I was able to recover."
Upon hearing that it was Duan Gan again, the Empress's expression changed, and a shadow of gloom flashed in her eyes.
But he didn't show it on his face, and only smiled and said, "I wonder what kind of master Lord Duan found, that he is even more skilled than the imperial physicians of the Imperial Hospital."
"It is said that he was a highly accomplished master from Penglai Island. Duan Gan visited him three times with a sincere heart to persuade him to come out of the world. He returned first that day to welcome this master."
"This master is amazing. He solved the drought in Yinzhou as soon as he arrived. As you know, this matter has been a headache for me for a long time. Thanks to the master, he prayed to heaven for rain and solved the drought in Yinzhou."
The Empress was instantly shocked, wondering how she could not have known about this.
She turned her questioning gaze to the head eunuch, Xiao Suzi, and then to Gao Liangui, the chief eunuch beside the emperor.
Gao Liangui had a smile on his face, showing no sign of anything amiss.
She suppressed her doubts and surprise, and said happily, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty! Heaven blesses our dynasty! With Your Majesty here, our Heavenly Dynasty will surely prosper for thousands of years."
Seeing his elated expression, she couldn't help but say, "I heard that the Crown Prince cracked the case of smuggled official salt and recovered a large sum of silver for the national treasury. This is indeed a joyous occasion... It seems..."
Before she could finish speaking, he rebuked her sharply.
"It would have been better if we hadn't talked about it. Just mentioning it makes me angry. How long has this case dragged on? The way they handle things is so unreliable that I can't help but suspect that they might be involved!"
The smuggling of official salt has always been a complex affair, and untangling the relationships involved is extremely difficult. To put the emperor at ease, the only option was to deal with the high-ranking officials on the surface first.
However, the emperor never looked at the process, only the result, and thought that this matter was not handled well and did not demonstrate the ability that a crown prince should have.
The Empress immediately knelt on the ground with a thud, crying and pleading, "Your Majesty, Yanli is your Crown Prince. He is absolutely loyal to the Celestial Dynasty and to you. Yanli is kind and benevolent and would never do such a treasonous thing. Please, Your Majesty, see the truth."
Emperor Mingyou waved his hand impatiently: "Alright, alright, I know, but I doubt he would dare to do that."
"I remembered I have important matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."
After saying that, he stood up and hurriedly walked out.
Before long, the Emperor disappeared through the doorway.
Granny Yu hurried over to help her up: "Your Highness, be careful."
The Empress suppressed her earlier sorrow, staring intently at the doorway, wiping away tears with a handkerchief, and gave a silent, cold laugh.
"Little Su, don't you know what His Majesty said?"
Xiao Su knelt down in fear and said tremblingly, "Your Majesty, this servant truly did not know. Chief Steward Gao did not mention this matter to this servant."
She sighed regretfully, "We still can't win Gao Liangui over..."
Granny Yu stepped forward to comfort her, saying, "Your Majesty, Chief Eunuch Gao has been by His Majesty's side for many years, so it's not easy to win him over. Moreover, it's normal that the harem can't know about things immediately in the court."
"Speaking of which, the Crown Prince is of age and it's time for him to marry and have children."
The Empress seemed to be deep in thought when she suddenly asked, "How are the concubines who were sent over some time ago doing?"
Granny Yu looked somewhat embarrassed and hesitated to speak: "The Crown Prince and His Highness the Crown Prince placed them in a courtyard and then ignored them, and did not summon them at night."
"What's wrong with those women? Can't they even hold onto a man's heart?"
The empress frowned and began to berate the beautiful women she had carefully selected without giving a reason.
"Go to the East Palace tomorrow and take a look, and bring a few more teaching matrons with you."
"It is Your Majesty."
Seeing that the Empress was still troubled by what the Emperor had just said, Xiao Suzi slowly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Autumn Hunt will be held in two days. His Highness the Crown Prince will also shine at the Autumn Hunt Banquet, which will surely please the Emperor."
Upon hearing this, the Empress's eyes lit up, and she suddenly realized, "That's right, how could I have forgotten about this?"
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