Chu Yan turned around upon hearing the scream and saw Chu Yun lying on the ground in an extremely undignified posture, while Che Yi coldly watched everything.
"How dare you! You are nothing but a lowly concubine, yet you dare to shout at me, the Princess Consort! You attempted to offend me, so it was only natural for my maid to push you away!"
Chu Yan understood and naturally stood up to protect Che Yi.
Chu Yun gritted her teeth in resentment, "But I am the prince's woman! This lowly servant actually pushed me to the ground. She doesn't respect the prince at all. Sister, how could you defend her?"
"Her actions were permitted by me. Do you think I have no right to lay a hand on you?"
"I......"
Chu Yun was speechless; she hadn't expected Chu Yan to defend a lowly servant like that.
Her purpose in coming today was actually to please Chu Yan and try to reconcile with her.
Because she knew that no matter how much the Prince Xiao doted on her, she was still a concubine, and in many ways she could not surpass the status of a princess.
Although she had defied Chu Yan last time by relying on Prince Xiao's favor, Chu Yan's running away from home also caused Prince Xiao a lot of trouble.
She didn't want Prince Xiao to think she was causing him trouble, but she also wanted to have an easier time in the mansion, so she shamelessly came to find Chu Yan.
"Guards, take this lowly concubine back to the side courtyard!"
Chu Yan gave a cold order, and then servants grabbed Chu Yun.
Because King Xiao was always afraid that he would be caught red-handed again, the power in the inner court was still in Chu Yan's hands for the time being.
The servants in the mansion naturally obeyed Chu Yan's orders.
Chu Yun was unwillingly taken back to his secluded courtyard.
"It seems this bitch is really going to break ties with me now."
In the side courtyard, Chu Yun said through gritted teeth.
Now, King Xiao is concerned about his reputation and dares not show much favoritism towards him.
Even more so, King Xiao was so busy with Chu Yan's affairs that he rarely visited her anymore.
This is not the scene Chu Yun wanted to see.
She sat in the room for a while, thinking, and finally took out a piece of paper and began to write a letter.
"Aunt, the Prince can't make his move too obviously these days, so I can only rely on you. You're my only aunt, you'll definitely help me!"
Chu Yun stood by the window, watching the carrier pigeons fly southeast and murmured to himself.
*
The imperial harem.
In a quiet and simple palace, a carrier pigeon suddenly landed.
"Your Majesty, a letter has arrived from outside the palace!"
A woman dressed in a purplish-red palace maid's uniform hurriedly walked in from outside, carrying a pigeon with a letter tied to it.
"Was anyone seen?"
Inside the room, a stern-looking woman asked in a stern voice.
"unmanned."
The palace maid nodded.
Then, the woman opened the envelope and began to read the contents of the letter.
"I had no idea that Princess Xiao had been so restless lately; even Yun'er had been exposed ahead of time."
After a short while, the woman finished reading the letter and sighed softly.
She was none other than Consort Zhang, the mother of King Xiao, who had long resided in the deep palace.
Because of her average appearance, she did not receive Emperor Wenjian's favor, but because she gave birth to a prince, she was promoted from a low-ranking palace maid to a concubine.
Over the years, he has had little presence in the palace, living a quiet and unassuming life, and often using poor health as an excuse to rarely participate in palace banquets.
Prince Xiao was personally taught by him from a young age. If it weren't for the fact that Prince Xiao offered the mine to Emperor Wenjian last time, Prince Xiao would probably be as low-key as her, almost non-existent.
It's estimated that Emperor Wenjian had almost forgotten that he had such a concubine in his harem.
"I have been teaching Prince Xiao with great care for so many years, but I never expected that he would be so flustered now. However, he is a man after all, and he is indeed not good at managing the inner quarters."
It seems I'll have to intervene in Prince Xiao's inner quarters. Very well, after so many years of silence, it's time for people to know that Prince Xiao has a mother.
After a moment, Consort Zhang said softly.
"Someone, go to Prince Xiao's residence and send a message asking Princess Xiao to come to the palace to see me tomorrow."
*
"You mean Consort Zhang wants me to enter the palace tomorrow?"
Chu Yan sat in the main hall of the Xiao Prince's mansion, looking at the head palace maid who had come from the palace with surprise.
She had been married to Prince Xiao for several years, but she had only seen Consort Zhang on their wedding day. Even during holidays like New Year's Day, Consort Zhang would not see them.
There are no holidays now, so why would Consort Zhang summon me for no reason?
"Yes, Princess Xiao, please go on time tomorrow."
The head palace maid spoke respectfully, her face revealing no emotion, making it impossible to guess what Consort Zhang's true intentions were.
Consort Zhang was not only Chu Yan's mother-in-law, but also the emperor's concubine. Naturally, Chu Yan could not refuse her summons.
The next day.
Chu Yan arrived at Consort Zhang's palace with trepidation.
"Your daughter-in-law greets Your Majesty."
Chu Yan bowed respectfully, not daring to look up and meet Zhang Pin's gaze until Zhang Pin responded.
But to her surprise, Chu Yan heard Consort Zhang's cold, mocking voice the next moment.
"I thought you had forgotten your place, but it turns out you still know you are my daughter-in-law. All these years I have never let you fulfill your duties as a daughter-in-law, just so you could get along with Prince Xiao."
But I never expected you to go even further, causing unrest in Prince Xiao's household and making him lose face so badly. It seems you've become unruly because you lack your mother-in-law's discipline.
Consort Zhang's words, though not harsh, struck Chu Yan with a jolt.
Speaking of her mother-in-law, she has indeed never made things difficult for her over the years.
Generally, when a woman marries, she is expected to serve her mother-in-law. For example, Princess Cheng often had to go to the palace to pay her respects to the King's mother.
Normally, Princess Cheng would always give the best things to Princess Cheng's mother first. If Princess Cheng's mother was unhappy in the palace, she would often take it out on Princess Cheng.
In contrast, after she married King Xiao, her mother-in-law rarely saw her and had almost no opportunity to torment her.
To be honest, even though she disliked Prince Xiao, she had to admit that her mother-in-law, Consort Zhang, made her feel extremely relaxed.
Little did she know that from this day forward, her understanding of Consort Zhang's past would be completely transformed.
"Mother, please calm your anger. Please allow me to explain in detail. I did not intentionally disturb the peace in Prince Xiao's household. It is because Prince Xiao—"
Chu Yan maintained a composed attitude, thinking that Consort Zhang might have lived in the deep palace for a long time and was unaware of what was happening outside, as well as the matter between Prince Xiao and Chu Yun.
So she thought she should explain things to Consort Zhang, but before she could finish, Consort Zhang interrupted her sharply.
"No matter what happened, as a wife, you should put your husband first! Letting your husband suffer such a great grudge, staying at your parents' home for so long and making things difficult for him, that's your fault!"
Since ancient times, it has been perfectly normal for men to have multiple wives and concubines. Why are you making such a fuss? Chu Yan, your parents didn't teach you how to be a wife properly, so today I will teach you!
Consort Zhang glanced coldly at the palace maids and eunuchs beside her.
"Someone, bring the board of nails and make the princess kneel on it!"
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