Consort Wan covered her face, both angry and annoyed. With red eyes, she pushed away the maid beside her and ran towards the Hall of Longevity, sobbing uncontrollably.
Wanpin felt extremely wronged. She was clearly in the right, yet Su Tiyue bullied her like this.
They couldn't argue with her, nor could they beat her in a fight, so they could only go to the Emperor for judgment.
Unfortunately, the emperor was taking a bath with Consort Ji in his bedchamber at that moment and had no time to see her.
Consort Wan had no choice but to turn around and run to Yongshou Palace to find the Empress...
Everyone in the palace knows that the Emperor's most favored concubine, Consort Ji, is a person of Xiao Heye, the Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial.
Consort Wan is the Empress's person, which is why she is so spoiled and domineering.
In any case, she has powerful backers both ways.
...
On the passageway of Dongyang Gate, all the onlookers dispersed, leaving only Xiao Anzi, covered in wounds, kneeling in the snow, shivering.
Liu Wan wrapped the white fox fur around Su Tiyue and gently supported her with her hand.
Su Tiyue looked at the charcoal scattered all over the ground, and then at Xiao Anzi, who had been beaten black and blue by those people. One of his eyelids was broken and blood was oozing out. If this continued, Xiao Anzi's eye would probably really go blind.
"Xiao Anzi, get up first," Su Tiyue said softly, unable to bear it.
Xiao Anzi knelt on the ground, motionless. Qingwu frowned upon seeing this and bent down to pull him up. But Xiao Anzi managed to break free. He lowered his head and said in a hoarse voice:
"It's all my fault, I deserve to die, I've caused Your Majesty a terrible disaster..."
"Your Majesty, Xiao Anzi's death is not a pity. Please do not offend Consort Wan, the Empress, and the Emperor because of this servant." Xiao Anzi said while crying, and kowtowed heavily.
Seeing him like this, Qingwu felt extremely sorry for him. After all, back in Jinxiu Palace, Xiao Anzi had always followed them diligently and without complaint.
At that time, Xiao Anzi had just entered the palace and was only fifteen years old. In fact, he was even younger than Su Tiyue.
Qingwu whispered, "Your Majesty, Xiao Anzi has never caused trouble before. He didn't do it on purpose this time. He must have been terrified."
Su Tiyue sighed softly, walked to Xiao Anzi, squatted down, and reached out her fair fingers to pull his wrist, which was blue from the cold, up from the ground. She said, "Everyone makes mistakes in life. Xiao Anzi, remember, in this palace, it's normal to be beaten and punished for doing something wrong, but after the beating and punishment, we still have to keep going."
She pulled Xiao Anzi along, walking back step by step, and said, "You were indeed wrong today, but your crime does not warrant death. Consort Wan is abusing her power. When she bullies you, she is also bullying me, bullying me because I am not favored, bullying me because I am not powerful enough... Xiao Anzi, you see, as long as you are born in the palace, whether you are a master or a servant, as long as you are weak and powerless, you can only be bullied by others, and you don't even have a place to reason with them."
"Your Majesty, it's all my fault. I've caused you so much worry." Xiao Anzi lowered his head, tears soaking the wounds on his face, which stung painfully.
"It's alright, I can handle this little trouble. Don't worry, Xiao Anzi." Su Tiyue patted his shoulder to comfort him. "Don't cry, Xiao Anzi. Hold your head high and be an upright person. From now on, everyone in our Jinxiu Palace... no, everyone in our Tingyu Tower must hold their heads high. We don't cause trouble, but we're not afraid of trouble. If anything happens, I'll take responsibility for you, understand?"
The three people beside him nodded silently.
Su Tiyue said these words not only to Xiao Anzi, Liu Wan, and Qing Wu, but also to herself.
Xiao Anzi obediently wiped away her tears, forcing a particularly awkward smile onto her face. Her silly appearance amused Qingwu and Liuwan beside her.
Su Tiyue squinted and took out a blue and white handkerchief from her sleeve and handed it to him: "If you understand, wipe your tears off yourself."
Xiao Anzi nodded again and took the handkerchief. It smelled nice, with the scent of jasmine.
That day, the sun shone brightly, the wind was gentle, and the snow had melted.
On this bitterly cold winter morning, through the dappled sunlight, Xiao Anzi turned slightly to the side and lowered his head, secretly glancing at Consort Shu's fair and beautiful face.
She smiled warmly in the sunlight.
Her slender, delicate wrists gently pulled him forward, as if drawing him from the brink of death towards the light.
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