After court, Yu Jingchen went to the Hall of Diligent Governance. The Consort sent someone to inform Yu Jingchen of the matter.
Upon hearing this, Xinglai immediately wanted to report it to Yu Jingchen. After the previous incidents, Xinglai didn't believe that Yu Jingchen's attitude towards Nan Zhiyun was the same as before. He suddenly had a premonition that Chen Zhaoyuan was... probably finished this time.
"Your Majesty," came the greeting.
"Someone from the Imperial Concubine's side just came over and said... Consort Chen punished the concubines below." Xing Lai hesitated before speaking. He felt that... it was better to take it slow and observe the situation.
"If you've already been punished, then so be it. Why do you need to tell me about such trivial matters?" Yu Jingchen said impatiently.
“Your Majesty… Consort Chen punished Consort Nan.” Xinglai lowered her head, but still carefully observed Yu Jingchen’s expression.
Sure enough, Yu Jingchen paused slightly in the hand holding the folded document.
"She went to Yajingju? What punishment is she being given?" Yu Jingchen asked.
“Chen Zhaoyuan did not go to Yajing Residence. It was Consort Nan who left Yajing Residence today and took a walk around the neighborhood. Chen Zhaoyuan and the others ran into her. They said that Consort Nan was disrespectful, disobedient to her superiors, and lax in managing her subordinates, so Chen Zhaoyuan punished her,” Xinglai replied.
"How dare she defy her superiors? What punishment did she receive?" Yu Jingchen frowned slightly.
"...I heard that the punishment was ten slaps and an hour of kneeling. They've probably finished kneeling by now." Xinglai lowered his head even further.
"Insolence!" Yu Jingchen slammed his hand on the table. The force of the slap and the ferocity on his face were enough to express Yu Jingchen's current anger.
"Your Majesty, please calm down!" Everyone knelt down.
Just then, someone came to report that Chen Zhaoyuan had arrived.
"Let her in!" Yu Jingchen's anger hadn't subsided.
Fortunately, people have already begun to observe a moment of silence for Chen Zhaoyuan.
When Chen Zhaoyuan entered, she noticed that the atmosphere in the main hall was not quite right, and she began to feel uneasy.
However, she still managed to suppress her unease and gave a curtsy: "Your Majesty, this concubine greets you. What is wrong, Your Majesty? This concubine has specially prepared chicken soup for Your Majesty. Would Your Majesty like to try some?"
Yu Jingchen looked at her without saying anything, and simply walked down from upstairs. Chen Zhaoyuan became increasingly uneasy.
"Your Majesty!" When Yu Jingchen walked up to her, Consort Chen suddenly knelt down.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I have come to apologize. Today, my sisters and I were bored, so we wandered around the palace and happened to run into Consort Nan. Seeing her sickly appearance, I kindly offered her some advice, but I never expected that Consort Nan would take advantage of her position to act recklessly and not even respect me."
"I only said a few extra words, and she and her maid dared to talk back to me, even saying that they had the Empress Dowager's backing and threatening me. I am a Zhaoyuan personally appointed by His Majesty. Even if the Empress Dowager has the Empress Dowager's backing, they cannot humiliate me like this!"
"I only punished Consort Nan because I was angry for a moment, and I regretted it afterwards. Your Majesty, I know I was wrong." Consort Chen began to explain herself, and even brought up the Empress Dowager. She clearly knew what Yu Jingchen hated most.
Xinglai thought to himself, "This Consort Chen is really courting death. If it were before, His Majesty might have gone along with it, but now... it's hard to say."
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