Chapter Twenty-One: Demotion
As night deepened, the Jinhua Palace fell silent.
Jiang Huan knelt on both knees, the chill of the blue bricks like thousands of ice needles piercing her knee bones, the pain spreading subtly throughout her body.
She gritted her teeth and tried her best to put all her weight on her calves, shifting the pressure between her knees from time to time to make herself feel better.
But he still suffered just as much as he was supposed to.
Palace intrigue is indeed bad for your health.
Most importantly, she had already stood up the emperor once before.
If we don't go tomorrow, it will be the second time!
She couldn't be sure about that emperor who liked to behead people at the drop of a hat.
Lost in these wild thoughts, Jiang Huan knelt for the entire night.
The next day.
After court, Huo Lin returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, but instead of waiting for Jiang Huan, he was greeted by a meal delivered by the Imperial Kitchen.
He picked up his silver chopsticks expressionlessly and ate the vegetables without any flavor.
Huo Lin felt so wronged; it was worse than swallowing a fly.
Didn't Jiang Huan promise yesterday that she would cook for him every day? Why is she nowhere to be seen today?
He felt like throwing up just looking at the food in the imperial kitchen. The vegetables were so bland, like plain water. How could they compare to the fried chicken and fries made by Jiang Huan?
The more he thought about it, the more something seemed off. Could it be that Jiang Huan didn't come because he hadn't told her what he wanted to eat yesterday?
Hmm, that's possible!
No, he had to send someone to find Jiang Huan immediately; he couldn't let such a small matter cause him to miss out on the delicious food.
Huo Lin took out the menu that Jiang Huan had given him, picked out a few dishes, and copied them onto a new piece of paper.
He handed the note to Chen Jinxi and instructed, "Take this to Consort Zhuang."
"yes."
Chen Jinxi accepted the note and headed to Jinhua Palace, only to find Jiang Huan kneeling in the courtyard outside the main hall.
Jiang Huan's face was deathly pale, with a faint dark circle under her eyes and pale lips. She looked like she might faint at any moment.
"Zhuang Changzai!"
Chen Jinxi was shocked and rushed over to help the person.
Jiang Huan's legs, which had been numb from kneeling all night, began to ache slightly. A fine layer of sweat appeared on her forehead, and her brows furrowed.
In a daze, I saw the face of the little eunuch and thought I was dreaming.
She knelt for an entire night; she's even developed the ability to sleep sitting up.
If Chen Jinxi hadn't been there to support her, she probably would have fallen long ago.
Seeing this, a palace maid who was watching Jiang Huan being punished stepped forward to stop her.
"Consort Yu has instructed that Consort Zhuang must not be allowed to get up and leave without Her Highness's instructions."
Chen Jinxi's expression instantly turned serious, his eyes widened, and he exuded a powerful aura.
"His Majesty sent me to see Consort Zhuang. I'd like to see which filthy wretch dares to stop me. If you delay His Majesty's business because of me, I'll tear your lazybones apart and feed them to the imperial dogs!"
The palace maid was just a lowly servant. When she heard Chen Jinxi bring up the emperor, she didn't dare to utter a single word of dissent.
She stepped aside with a grim expression, saying, "This servant wouldn't dare."
Chen Jinxi snorted coldly and left with Jiang Huan.
Back in the west wing, Jiang Huan drank some hot water and sat on the soft couch, finally recovering her strength.
Her head was still a little dizzy, and she remembered to ask, "Father-in-law, why are you here?"
"His Majesty sent me to give this to you," Chen Jinxi said, handing the note written by Huo Lin to Jiang Huan.
Jiang Huan took it and saw that several dish names were written on it.
These dishes all require some effort to prepare, and if Jiang Huan hadn't been punished, they would probably already be ready by now.
But that's probably not possible now.
Even though she tried her best to slack off and avoid punishment last night, her knees were still inevitably injured. Standing for a long time would have been the death of her.
So it's impossible to cook this meal!
But she couldn't let the emperor think that not cooking was her fault.
"Eunuch Chen, please pass on a message to the Emperor for me." Jiang Huan gave a weak smile.
"The dishes His Majesty wrote down require a lot of time to prepare, but I was forced to kneel all night by Consort Yu, and my knees are injured. I really cannot prepare meals for His Majesty. I will definitely make more tomorrow when my injury is better to apologize to His Majesty."
After kneeling all night, who wouldn't have a temper?
This conveniently shifts the blame onto Consort Yu.
Moreover, she is currently ill, so even if the Emperor were to blame her, she wouldn't be the first to be executed.
When Chen Jinxi heard Jiang Huan mention her injury, he couldn't help but ask about what he had seen in the main hall.
"Consort Zhuang can tell me the reason for her punishment. If the Emperor asks, I can explain it to him on her behalf."
"That's great!" Jiang Huan thought to herself. "Eunuch Chen understood my hint. It seems that my fries weren't wasted."
With such a good opportunity to complain, only a fool wouldn't speak up!
Jiang Huan frowned, and the ends of her eyebrows drooped.
It's just acting, she'll win an Oscar no matter what.
“Yesterday I went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to deliver food to the Emperor. When I returned, I was taken away by Consort Yu’s men. Consort Yu said that I went out without permission and broke the rules, so she punished me by making me kneel all night.”
As she spoke, Jiang Huan's eyes reddened slightly. She raised her eyes, her round almond-shaped eyes looking innocent and aggrieved.
After hearing what Jiang Huan said, Chen Jinxi couldn't help but feel indignant on Jiang Huan's behalf.
Consort Yu was clearly looking for an excuse to punish Jiang Huan. He was of low status and couldn't do anything to Consort Yu, but he could still say a few words to the Emperor.
Chen Jinxi's eyes were firm. "Don't worry, Consort Zhuang. If His Majesty asks, this servant will report to His Majesty the truth."
"In that case, thank you very much, sir."
Chen Jinxi said no more, turned around and went straight to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to report back to Huo Lin.
"Your Majesty, this servant greets you. Your Majesty, Consort Zhuang has something for me to convey."
Huo Lin waved for Chen Jinxi to stand up, then coldly raised his eyes: "What did you say?"
Chen Jinxi, neither humble nor arrogant, truthfully told Huo Lin about what he had seen Jiang Huan in the main hall, as well as the reason why Jiang Huan was unable to cook for Huo Lin that day and why she was punished.
Upon hearing this, Huo Lin's eyes instantly turned cold.
"This is utterly ridiculous!"
He slammed the memorial onto the table, as if surrounded by the snow of the coldest winter.
He was really looking forward to eating Jiang Huan's cooking today, but Consort Yu ended up injuring him!
First, he made a disgusting bowl of sweet and sour pork ribs, then he bullied the chef.
Consort Yu is tired of living.
Unforgivable!
"Wang Degui! Convey my imperial decree: Consort Yu is of questionable character and is hereby demoted to the rank of Changzai!"
The emperor was furious, and no one dared to step forward and cause trouble.
After receiving the imperial edict, Wang Degui immediately set off for Jinhua Palace to convey Huo Lin's message.
Although Yu Changzai was punished, Huo Lin was not happy at all, and the atmosphere remained tense all morning.
Time passed quickly, and before we knew it, it was noon.
Huo Lin put down the memorial in his hand, glanced out the window, and briefly relaxed his mind.
Seeing this, Wang Degui asked in a low voice, "Your Majesty, it is already noon. Would you like to have lunch?"
Just thinking about the food prepared by the imperial kitchen made Huo Lin feel a stomachache and he had no appetite at all.
The message was useless; thinking of this, Huo Lin felt a surge of anger.
If it weren't for Yu Changzai, he would have been enjoying a delicious and hot meal today!
However, Jiang Huan said she couldn't prepare those complicated dishes for him, but she also needed to eat, so does that mean...?
Huo Lin's dark eyes brightened slightly, as if the sunlight from outside the window had inadvertently fallen into them.
"No need, I'll go see Consort Zhuang." He said, standing up and taking a long stride towards Jinhua Palace.
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