Chapter 575 Extraordinarily Bold
Being able to sit above everyone else means that the emperor is destined not to be a fool.
He had just heard about what happened outside the city, and the next moment he saw people from Sui'an appear in the palace. A man who was almost assassinated and died, instead of cooperating with the trial in Shuntian Prefecture, actually ran to the palace. This intention could be concealed from others, but not from his sharp eyes.
The emperor sat down in the shade, looked coldly at the man kneeling on the ground, and said in a cold voice: "Then tell me, what crime have you committed?"
"The first offense is still the same thing I mentioned before. I shouldn't have acted rashly against Master Ye. I have regretted it for a long time, but the matter has been settled, and there is no point in regretting it now. I had the idea of going to their house to apologize, but that day Consort Yun sent someone to tell me that if my attitude of apology did not satisfy the Ye family, I would be fired from my life as a resident of Sui'an."
"So, my second crime is this. On the day of the Insect King Festival, I shouldn't have publicly listed Master Ye's crimes under the guise of an apology. I thought that after changing public opinion, the matter between me and the Ye family would be over. However, I didn't expect that someone would be lingering outside my door for the past few days. If I were alone, I would die, but I have two sons by my side, so I dare not take any risks."
"The third crime is that I privately investigated the private affairs of Master Ye and found dozens of aggrieved parties to jointly write a complaint, which led to today's lawsuit against Shuntian Prefecture."
"The fourth offense is that I was worried that the Prefect would not be fair in his trial, so I asked Her Majesty the Empress for a token to enter the palace to plead for leniency. I unexpectedly encountered Consort Yun... Her Majesty the Empress was completely unaware of this matter. It was my personal act. Your Majesty, please punish me if you wish!"
After saying all that in one breath, Cheng Wanwan lay prostrate on the ground, accepting whatever punishment she was given.
The Queen also knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, I am also at fault in this matter. I..."
"You don't need to say anything." The emperor raised his hand and said calmly, "You married me at the age of fifteen. I know exactly who you are."
The Empress is kind and generous, and her position is very secure. She would never engage in such tricks to win favor in the harem. The fact that she cooperated with Sui'an in this play suggests that Consort Yun truly has the ambition to seize the throne.
Naturally, he would not blame his first wife.
However, she was somewhat dissatisfied that an outsider dared to interfere in the affairs of the harem.
The emperor said coldly, "Sui'an, you don't think that since you are the only one who understands the Assab language, I dare not do anything to you, do you?"
"This sinful woman dares not," Cheng Wanwan said, feigning fear and trepidation. "It is indeed wrong of this sinful woman to plot against the Ye family, but it was because the Ye family threatened the lives of this sinful woman and her two sons... This sinful woman is but a woman, who came from afar from the village with no one to rely on. To save her own life, to save her sons' lives, she had no choice but to take this risk... This sinful woman knows she was wrong, but if she were given another chance, she would do the same..."
Before she could finish speaking, a metallic sweetness suddenly appeared on her tongue.
It turned out that the blood from the blood bag that hadn't been completely vomited out had seeped out, dripping onto the bluestone slab in front of them.
The Queen's eyes tightened: "Sui'an people, after being stabbed by Ye Lingbo, you haven't seen a doctor yet..."
She immediately addressed the Emperor, saying, “The actions of the Sui’an people were indeed excessive, but the Ye family also has its own fault. If it weren’t for the Sui’an people’s series of actions, Ye Lingbo would still be maliciously injuring people in the military camp, and who knows how many innocent women would have been violated… not to mention what kind of education the Fifth Prince would have received from Consort Yun… The Sui’an people are guilty, but they also have merits. I beg Your Majesty to be lenient!”
The emperor's gaze fell on Cheng Wanwan.
Her head was wrapped in gauze, and blood seeped out, turning the white gauze blood red.
Her arm must have been injured as well; her pale white clothes were stained with blood, and the injury looked quite serious.
“Raise your head.”
Hearing the emperor's voice, Cheng Wanwan slowly moved her stiff neck and raised her head.
She had been slapped in the face, and finger marks were clearly visible. The blood from the corner of her mouth had dried, making her lips look extremely pale, as if she would faint at any moment.
The emperor said coldly, "Go and fetch the imperial physician."
"I dare not trouble the imperial physician!" Cheng Wanwan said hurriedly, "I have brought all these injuries upon myself. Every day I am injured is one more day for me to reflect on my sins. I am willing to face the wall and reflect on my mistakes every day..."
She wasn't seriously injured, and the imperial physician would know that after taking her pulse. Then the self-torture trick wouldn't work.
"Fine, then you can get hurt." The emperor sneered. "You have so many crimes on your record, so you shall be punished for all of them. Before the envoy from Asab arrives in the capital, you are not allowed to leave the courtyard. If you disobey the imperial decree, I will punish you severely."
Cheng Wanwan felt relieved: "Thank you for your grace, long live the emperor!"
The emperor glanced at her, then turned and walked away.
The Empress quickly stepped forward to help her up, saying with lingering fear, "Sui'an, you are far too audacious. You didn't even consult me before planning to marry Consort Yun. Do you know what the consequences would be if something went wrong?"
All she knew was that Sui Anren was going to enter the palace and that Sui Anren was asking her to bring the Emperor to the Imperial Garden. She thought Sui Anren was going to plead with the Emperor for mercy... Who would have thought it would be such a big show?
She has been in the harem for so many years, and has never seen anyone dare to plot against the emperor!
The people of Sui'an are incredibly bold!
"I'm worried that something might happen that would implicate Her Majesty the Queen," Cheng Wanwan said in a relaxed tone. "Thank you, Her Majesty the Queen, for pleading for me. I'm deeply grateful."
The Empress turned to the maid behind her and said, "Bring me the snow lotus ointment from my dressing case."
The nanny was shocked. Only three bottles of snow lotus cream were produced each year. It was extremely precious. How could the Queen give it to a sixth-rank Anren?
However, Sui'an people helped the Queen Mother deal with Concubine Yun and made Concubine Yun become Concubine Yun Changzai. They did make a contribution, and it was only right that the Queen Mother rewarded them with a bottle of snow lotus cream.
"Snow Lotus Ointment can remove scars. Use it twice a day." The Empress handed over the small porcelain bottle. "During this time, you should rest and recover well. If you need anything, just send someone to the palace to let us know. Don't worry about the Emperor. As long as you can still serve the Great Yu Dynasty, the Emperor won't really punish you."
Cheng Wanwan sincerely curtsied and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. If there is anything Your Majesty can do to help me, please just let me know."
"I hope you recover quickly from your injuries and help the emperor establish close ties with Assab after the Assab envoy arrives in Beijing," the Queen said with a smile. "Come, arrange a sedan chair to escort Sui'an out of the palace."
Cheng Wanwan thanked him again and was then helped to sit in the sedan chair.
Although she wasn't seriously injured, she was exhausted from all the tossing and turning and the immense mental pressure she had just endured, and she fell asleep halfway through.
When she woke up, she saw a large group of people gathered around her bed, all looking at her with worry on their faces.
"Mom, you scared me to death!" Zhao Sidan hugged her and said, "Let's go back to Dahe Village and never come to the capital again. It's too scary. I'm almost scared to death!"
Cheng Wanwan patted his back and looked up at Cheng Zhao and Shen Zheng: "Has the trial at Shuntian Prefecture ended?"
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