Chapter Ten: The Scandal Spreads
After receiving the ingredients from the imperial kitchen, Xiao Zhao dared not linger outside.
They were afraid that something unexpected might happen and they would lose their only source of food.
She has to win this battle to protect her food!
Consort Yu, standing behind a tree with Cuiying, saw Xiao Zhao acting like a thief and gave a cold smile.
She had only been away from Jiang Huan for a few days, and now what kind of trouble were those people in the West Side Palace causing!
"Cuiying, go and see what she's doing sneakily."
Cuiying agreed and immediately followed. Not long after, Cuiying returned.
"Your Highness, I noticed that Xiao Zhao has somehow managed to get some scallions and flour back with her."
"What?"
Consort Yu's mouth opened slightly, unable to hide her surprise.
"Did you see that clearly? She was being so careful, just for something like this?"
Cuiying nodded, her tone earnest: "I followed Xiao Zhao all the way there and saw her hide the ingredients with my own eyes. After she left, I went to check and confirmed that it was just ordinary scallions and noodles, without even a speck of meat."
Cuiying, ever the sycophant, glanced at Consort Yu's expression.
"Your Highness, should I take some men to the west wing hall and teach her a lesson?"
The Empress has been in a bad mood these past few days, so this is a good opportunity for her to vent her anger.
Consort Yu scoffed, her heart filled with disdain.
She had previously instructed people to cut off Jiang Huan's allowance, and now it seems to have had a significant effect.
Thinking of Jiang Huan's disheveled appearance and her eating cold steamed buns, Consort Yu felt incredibly pleased and unusually showed her "generosity".
She waved her hand with a smirk, "No need. If they want to eat the kind of food that only cats and dogs eat, let them eat it."
"Your Majesty is truly kind-hearted," Cuiying flattered with a smile.
Consort Yu gave a soft snort and turned to leave.
Jiang Huan was completely unaware of this. When it was time for dinner, she and Xiao Zhao began preparing the meal.
Fortunately, although Deok-sun provided a limited variety of ingredients, the quantity was generous, enough to feed her and So-soo for a few days.
Stir-fry scallions, cook noodles, drizzle with hot oil, and your fragrant scallion noodles are ready!
Jiang Huan sat at the table, holding a bowl, slurping her noodles.
With her skills, getting some more ingredients from that little eunuch shouldn't be too difficult.
Once you get to know her better, this will be her supply chain!
The power struggles in the harem are all irrelevant; before she transmigrated into the book, she was just a desperate beast of burden.
Why bother rolling it up? Isn't it better to be a lazy bum who just loafs around and waits to die?
I wonder when Consort Yu will realize this and stop tormenting her.
The following day, at the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Before dawn, Huo Lin had to get up to attend court.
After he washed up, a palace maid came to help him dress. He tied a jade belt around his neck, and his stomach felt incredibly empty.
I'll have to go to court on an empty stomach again!
Are our ancestral rules treating me like a camel to be trained? They don't even give me a bite to eat before I go to court!
After putting on his court robes, Huo Lin turned around and saw himself in the bronze mirror.
In a daze, I saw several large characters floating above my head: The Number One Starving Corpse of Daliang.
"Your Majesty, it's time to set off."
Wang Degui appeared just in time, his voice bringing Huo Lin back to his senses.
Huo Lin lowered his eyes, his expression cold and stern, and strode off to court.
In court, Huo Lin sat on the dragon throne, listening to the ministers below chattering about trivial matters, growing increasingly impatient until…
"Your Majesty!" Censor-in-Chief Liu Bingzhong suddenly stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, I hereby impeach Chen Deshou, the Prefect of Jiangzhou, for embezzling 300,000 taels of silver intended for dike repairs!"
The hall fell into a deathly silence.
Three hundred thousand taels? That's enough to buy countless steamed buns! If you piled them up, you could probably bury Chen Deshou in a steamed bun grave!
Huo Lin lifted his eyelids and stared at Liu Bingzhong.
"Is there any evidence?"
"have."
Liu Bingzhong slowly straightened up and presented the evidence he had previously investigated.
Huo Lin took the papers and examined them one by one. His face grew darker and darker with each reading. All the officials in the court lowered their heads, not daring to breathe loudly.
This is his good minister of the Great Liang!
He diligently handled state affairs every day, yet as emperor, he often didn't even have a hot meal, while his officials certainly knew how to enjoy themselves!
It would be better to chop them all up and send them to the imperial kitchen as ingredients; they would definitely taste better than pork!
Huo Lin snorted coldly, a cold light flashing behind the jade beads on his crown.
"Today, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review will preside over the investigation, and the Minister of Justice will assist in the interrogation. A thorough investigation into the corruption case in Jiangnan will be conducted. If the evidence is conclusive, the case will be dealt with according to the law."
Upon hearing this, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and the Minister of Justice stepped forward.
"Your subject obeys the decree."
After the court session, Wang Degui, as usual, served the meal.
Huo Lin sat at the table and picked up a spoon to scoop some lily and lotus seed porridge.
The rice porridge was ice-cold when it entered my mouth, as if it had just been taken out of an ice cave.
Huo Lin's face was cold and stern, but his mind was in turmoil.
Lily bulb and lotus seed porridge! It's lily bulb and lotus seed porridge again!
Do you think the imperial kitchen has a lot of temper? They make these cooling-down dishes every day!
And this row of green side dishes!
Do they think the imperial kitchen treats him like a rabbit?! He's practically green with envy as he eats his food!
Despite being hungry, Huo Lin still finished the porridge, mouthful by mouthful.
Because of the corruption scandal in Jiangnan, Huo Lin was extremely busy and had no time to spare.
For several days in a row, no one was summoned to serve the emperor, and new rumors began to circulate in the harem.
Several concubines who were close to each other were chatting in a pavilion in the Imperial Garden.
Chen Deyi shook his round fan and sighed.
"Sigh, after the Emperor summoned Consort Zhuang, he summoned Consort Yu. I thought the Emperor had finally come to his senses and was willing to stay overnight in the harem."
Consort An became angry when she heard Chen Deyi mention this matter.
The Emperor's willingness to favor the women in the harem was a good start, but who knew it would only last a short while.
"It's all Consort Yu's fault for making the Emperor so disgusted when she served him last time. Now, she's tarnished the reputation of the entire harem!"
Consort Li overheard this and couldn't help but chime in.
“Consort Yu may not have served well, but wasn’t Consort Zhuang promoted? The Emperor can’t possibly take his anger out on all of us just because of Consort Yu, can he?”
Chen Deyi didn't take it seriously, "The Emperor hasn't summoned Consort Zhuang for so many days, it's obvious that Consort Zhuang has fallen out of favor."
Consort An sneered: "Consort Zhuang is from Consort Yu's palace. If you ask me, she must have been implicated by that jinx, Consort Yu."
...
The group chatted idly in the pavilion, their conversation revolving entirely around the shameful things Consort Yu had done that night while serving the emperor.
They chatted happily, with bursts of laughter every now and then, completely unaware that Consort Yu had overheard everything they said from not far away.
Consort Yu was so angry that she trembled all over. Normally, she would have stepped forward to argue with them long ago.
But if she went up to these people now that they were gathered together, she would just be asking to be scolded.
Normally, Consort Yu has Consort Jia to back her up, and she can vent her anger on Jiang Huan, that soft-hearted girl. When has she ever suffered such an injustice?
Enraged, Consort Yu went directly to Consort Jia's Chang Le Palace.
After the announcement, Consort Yu went straight there and saw Consort Jia leaning on the chaise longue. She touched her lips and began to cry.
"Your Highness, you must do me justice!"
Consort Jia raised her eyes and glanced at Consort Yu casually.
"What's wrong with my sister?"
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