Chapter 43: Domineering
The voice was tender, sweet and crisp, like the song of a yellow oriole on a branch, with a hint of hostility and arrogance in its high pitch.
Meng Yan stopped and looked over.
But it turned out to be the noble lady Song Xiyue, standing in the middle of the street with her palace maids, blocking the way of Lin Yanrong and Bai Yuxin.
This Song Xiyue was quite pretty, with an oval face that was a little too thin, thin lips painted blood red and slightly protruding, and slender eyebrows. She was wearing a rose-red long-sleeved robe with peony pattern, and her hair was full of pearls and jade. She was standing with one hand on her waist, her chin slightly raised, looking at the two people in front of her with a haughty expression.
Meng Yan couldn't help but sigh inwardly. This plot had really gone completely off track. This scene had never appeared in the book or in her previous life.
Although the noble lady Song Xiyue was the highest-ranking concubine in the palace, she died of illness in less than a year and was never favored by Lu Haozhi until her death.
There is very little mention of this woman in the book, except that she made a few jokes while competing for favor.
Meng Yan had no impression of her in her memory, and she didn't remember any conflict between her and Lin Yanrong.
In this life, she was the first to jump out.
Seeing this, the palace maid Ruizhu looked at Meng Yan and said, "Your Majesty, Concubine Song seems very arrogant. I wonder what she is going to do."
"What are you doing? You're just nitpicking. You've seen this kind of thing happen a lot in the palace, haven't you?"
Meng Yan said this coldly, feeling it was funny.
This Song Xiyue, whose favor still remains unknown, the emperor is probably unaware of her, yet she relies on her position to bully others. Does she really think it is so easy to get into the imperial palace!
She was a little worried about Bai Yuxin, but she also wanted to see how she was going to deal with the situation. After all, they had only known each other for a short time, and she knew little about her mental state.
At worst, I can wait until she is about to suffer a loss and then step in.
"Come, pay your respects to me again. If you don't do well, I will send you all to the Ministry of Punishment to learn some proper etiquette!"
Song Xiyue had a mean look on her face, and her originally sweet and crisp voice became sharp.
She scolded Lin Bai and the other two as if she were shouting at servants.
Lin Yanrong's temperament was just like in her previous life. Her eyes immediately turned red and she looked like she was about to cry.
Bai Yuxin's face was calm and composed. She leaned forward and bowed steadily, "I pay my respects to the noble lady Song. Long live the noble lady."
Meng Yan saw this and raised her eyebrows slightly. She was calm in the face of things and did not show her emotions. She was a promising person, so she liked her even more.
As for Lin Yanrong, although I knew she was pretending, her petty and inexperienced look made me angry. I really didn't know what Lu Haozhi saw in her.
Lin Yanrong hesitated for a moment and then followed suit.
Song Xiyue refused to give in, her eyebrows raised as she angrily shouted, "What kind of etiquette are you performing? You're dragging your feet and you don't know where to put your hands and feet! I see, you two are clearly disrespecting me! Don't think that you can take the top spot just because the emperor says a few words to you. This is the palace, and everything must be based on hierarchy. One of you is a concubine, and the other is a concubine. You are not even worthy of carrying my shoes! Don't even dream of climbing over my head!"
After hearing these words, Meng Yan immediately understood.
This hadn't happened in his previous life. That was because Lin Yanrong had been demoted to Jingfu Palace in the northwest corner of the imperial city, and Bai Yuxin was a lowly concubine no one cared about. As a noble, Song Xiyue naturally didn't take them seriously.
In this life, these two people have just entered the palace and have enjoyed great glory. Since Song Xiyue has a spoiled temper, it is not surprising that she would lose her temper.
Lin Yanrong still looked delicate and frail, her eyes reddened as she choked with sobs, "I don't know how I've offended you. I apologize to you, and I hope you'll forgive me."
Bai Yuxin's face turned slightly cold as she stood up and said, "If my Lord has nothing else to do, I will be leaving."
After saying that, she stood up, walked around Song Xiyue, and was about to leave.
The two palace maids behind Song Xiyue immediately blocked her way without her master's order.
"What's the rush? Are you in such a hurry to go back and be a lapdog for the Imperial Concubine?! You shameless thing! You wagged your tail a couple of times to please the Imperial Concubine so she can say good things about you to the Emperor!"
This was a serious statement, and it also involved Meng Yan.
Bai Yuxin had originally appeared unfazed by praise or criticism, but after hearing this, a hint of anger appeared on her pretty face.
"Noble Lady Song, please be careful with your words. The Imperial Concubine is a noble lady, you can't just casually associate with her!"
Song Xiyue was rather pleased with herself, chuckling through her nose, "Why are you so anxious? The Imperial Concubine isn't here right now, so even if you try to please her, she won't notice. Girls from small families are just lowly, and their bones are three ounces lighter than others!"
Hongdou, who followed Bai Yuxin, was young but had a hot temper. After hearing her master being scolded and spitted at for a long time, she couldn't hold back and retorted, "Noble Lady Song, our young master didn't provoke you and has always been respectful to you. Why are you slandering us like this? The Imperial Palace is a place where rules and principles are respected. You are so arrogant, aren't you afraid that the Emperor and the Empresses will find out?!"
When Meng Yan saw this, she thought to herself, "Oh no!"
This girl jumped out, giving Song Xiyue a handle.
As expected, Song Xiyue sneered, "What a lowly master ordering a lowly maid around. You don't know the slightest bit of etiquette. When the masters are talking, do you, a slave girl, have the right to interrupt?! Lamei, slap this master in the face!"
A slightly plump palace maid standing on her left immediately walked forward and raised her hand to slap Hongdou's delicate cheek.
As early as when Song Xiyue was scolding, Meng Yan looked back, and two eunuchs immediately stepped out, stepped forward and pressed the palace maid who was about to hit someone to the ground.
Seeing that Bai Yuxin was about to suffer a loss, Meng Yan slowly stepped forward, glanced at everyone, and her cold eyes fell on Song Xiyue.
"The entire palace has just finished its audience, and the Imperial Noble Consort's teachings are still ringing in my ears. Why is Concubine Song causing trouble in the palace?"
Her words covered up the incident of Hongdou contradicting the nobleman and put all the responsibility on Song Xiyue.
In the eyes of outsiders, it was natural that she, as the mistress of Changchun Palace, was protecting her own shortcomings, but she was happy to protect Bai Yuxin.
Song Xiyue hadn't expected the Imperial Concubine to suddenly appear out of nowhere. She was terrified, her face pale, and she was shaking. After a long while, she trembled and said, "To...to answer the Imperial Concubine, I was just returning to Qixiang Palace. I happened to see Concubine Lin and Bai Da Ying, and we arranged to go for a walk together. I didn't expect that the maid Bai Da Ying would contradict me. I thought I'd teach her a lesson according to the palace rules."
Meng Yan chuckled softly, her charming eyes narrowing slightly. "You are a noble lady. According to the rules, you have no right to punish other people's servants. If a subordinate makes a mistake, her master will punish her. At the very least, the Ministry of Punishment is not for show. This imperial palace is the most peaceful place in the world. If a noble lady hits someone casually on this long street, it will destroy this peace." As she spoke, her eyes were sharp, piercing Song Xiyue. "Since you have entered the palace, you are all the emperor's concubines, the imperial consorts of the Great Zhou. Everyone is only distinguished by their status, and no one is inferior to anyone else!"
Bai Yuxin raised her head slightly and looked at Meng Yan, feeling very grateful and a little moved.
I saw Meng Yan standing on the long street, dressed in gorgeous clothes, noble and bright, with the sun shining from above her head, as if there was light.
"What's going on? What's all the fuss about here?"
A clear and gentle male voice sounded out of nowhere, shaking everyone's heart.
Meng Yanwei sighed. He finally saw her mischief.
She turned around and bowed down.
"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you. Long live the Emperor!"
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