Chapter 9 The Emperor's Ruthlessness Gu Xi only saw the Emperor's face clearly at this moment...
"His Majesty has arrived!"
A figure in bright yellow was walking towards the pavilion in the middle of the lake, followed not far behind by several personal eunuchs. Consort Wan and the others knelt down to pay their respects.
"Your Majesty, I, your humble servant, pay my respects."
"This servant greets Your Majesty."
Gu Xi also shouted, "This commoner greets Your Majesty." She was still kneeling on the ground, feeling dizzy from the beating, and her face was burning with pain.
"Raise your heads..." The emperor's voice drifted over leisurely, his tone ordinary and even a little lazy, but Gu Xi felt that there was a chill hidden beneath that nonchalance, making her heart tighten involuntarily.
Gu Xiyi raised her head slightly, but dared not look up.
The emperor glanced at everyone, his gaze finally settling on Gu Xi's face. He paused for a moment, then asked, "What's going on?"
His voice sounded unusually calm, as if he were asking about something trivial, but the air in the room seemed to freeze suddenly, making people feel scared and afraid to even breathe too hard.
"Your Majesty, it was this lady's maid who deliberately bumped into me," Consort Wan said, feigning resentment. "I'm still in pain, Your Majesty must stand up for me!" She then looked at the emperor with a wronged expression.
"Nonsense! It was clearly you..."
Just as Zhu Yin was about to explain, Consort Wan quickly stopped her.
"Shut up! This is not a place for a servant like you to speak!"
As she spoke, Consort Wan quickly glanced at the Emperor. He slightly raised his eyelids and glanced at her. There was no anger in his eyes, nor was there any coldness, but she felt as if she had been frozen, and the words stuck in her throat, unable to come out.
Then he sneered, saying sarcastically, "Consort Wan is quite the show-off..."
"Your Majesty..." Consort Wan was so frightened that she immediately knelt down on the ground. At this moment, she was both terrified and aggrieved.
Gu Xi's ears were ringing from the blows, and she could barely hear what they were saying. She thought that if she gritted her teeth and took a few more blows, she could get away, but she didn't expect the Emperor to arrive at this moment, which would cause her a lot of trouble.
As Gu Xi was pondering how to proceed, a pair of boots adorned with five-clawed dragons soaring through the clouds suddenly stopped in front of her. Gu Xi looked up from the boots and saw a yellow robe made of silk, upon which a dragon totem woven with gold and silver threads leaped.
Gu Xi knew without even thinking that the person standing in front of her was the current emperor.
"What exactly happened?"
A deep, cold voice came from above Gu Xi's head, and the inexplicable sense of oppression made her swallow hard.
She didn't understand why the emperor asked the question again, but this time it was clearly directed at her. She was thinking about how to answer in a way that would save face for the emperor's favorite concubine while also sparing her and Zhuyin from further punishment.
Since she chose to be beaten from the beginning, she wanted to end this farce as soon as possible and did not want to offend Consort Wan or cause unnecessary trouble and attract attention.
She thought of several excuses in her mind before finally speaking: "Your Majesty, my maidservant is new to the palace and does not know the rules. She has inadvertently offended Consort Wan and has already asked for punishment." Gu Xi paused and continued, "I will definitely discipline her more strictly in the future. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
After Gu Xi finished speaking, she kowtowed heavily on the ground, awaiting the Emperor's response.
"Please accept punishment?" After a long pause, the Emperor suddenly chuckled and repeated what Gu Xi had just said.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Gu Xi felt uneasy, but since the words had already been spoken, she could only continue.
She didn't know if she had said something wrong, but she felt that the emperor's aura had grown even colder when he spoke, and she couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine.
The air was deathly silent. Zhao Fuquan, standing next to the emperor, broke out in a cold sweat. He whispered a reminder: "Your Majesty, the masters are still kneeling!"
"Get up, all of you." The cold voice rang out again.
Gu Xi tried to get up upon hearing this, but she had been kneeling for too long and almost lost her balance. Zhao Fuquan quickly caught her and then secretly glanced at the emperor.
"Thank you, Chief Eunuch Zhao." Gu Xi glanced gratefully at Zhao Fuquan, thinking that this must be Zhao Fuquan, the chief eunuch by the emperor's side. She had heard from the old people in the palace that Zhao Fuquan had grown up with the emperor since childhood and was the emperor's most trusted eunuch, even the ladies of the palace had to show him some respect.
Gu Xi finally got a clear look at the emperor's face. He was eight feet tall, with sword-like eyebrows that slanted upwards towards his temples. Beneath them, his phoenix eyes were deep and slightly upturned, exuding an aura of dominance over the world. His nose was straight and handsome, like the ridge of a mountain, adding to his resolute appearance. His well-defined face possessed an inherent nobility and extraordinary handsomeness. At this moment, his thin lips were slightly pursed, and he emanated an aura that kept strangers at bay.
The late emperor had four sons, and the current emperor is the former third prince, Xiao Heng.
Gu Xi looked at Xiao Heng and couldn't help but recall the rumors circulating in the streets. The rumors said that all of the late emperor's many princes were handsome, especially the third and sixth princes, and it seemed that the rumors were true. As for Xiao Che, there was no need to say more. Every time he came to the house, the maids in the manor were completely captivated and would rush into her courtyard. Whenever this happened, Gu Xi couldn't help but want to tease them.
Although these two are brothers, their temperaments are quite different. One is gentle and refined, making people feel like they are bathed in a spring breeze, while the other is cold and aloof, making people dare not approach him.
As if sensing Gu Xi's gaze, the emperor glanced at her sideways, and Gu Xi was so frightened that she quickly lowered her head and dared not look again.
Gu Xi felt as if she had seen this emperor somewhere before, but then she thought, how could she have seen the emperor when he lived in the palace for so long? Besides, she would never forget a man with such outstanding looks if she had seen him before.
Perhaps it was because he and Che-gege were brothers and they were somewhat similar that she had this misconception.
Speaking of which, Bai Xingzhi and the Emperor do share some resemblance in their eyes and eyebrows.
The scene of seeing him at Bihe Garden that day flashed before Gu Xi's eyes, and she couldn't help but catch her breath. She quickly shook her head, how could she think of him at this time?
"Your Majesty, you see, I did not wrong her. They bumped into me first, and they are the ones who should be punished. I did not..." Consort Wan said to the Emperor with tears in her eyes when he remained silent.
The emperor glanced at Consort Wan indifferently, and that single glance sent chills down her spine, making her dare not say another word.
"In that case, Chu Xiuyuan need not be punished any further."
Gu Xi immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
The Emperor's gaze lingered on Gu Xi's face for a moment before he said, "Consort Wan has privately punished a young lady; she is confined to her quarters for half a month and will be handed over to the Noble Consort for further action."
Gu Xi was surprised by the emperor's handling of the matter. There were indeed rules in the Sheng Kingdom's palace that concubines could not be punished privately. However, since the newly appointed concubines had not yet been officially named, they were not strictly included in this rule. The emperor could have used this as a reason not to punish Consort Wan.
“Your Majesty…” Consort Wan looked at the Emperor in disbelief, but the Emperor did not look at her. Consort Wan then turned her gaze to Gu Xi, her eyes filled with hatred.
Gu Xi's heart sank. She had offended Consort Wan this time. She didn't understand why the emperor was doing this. Wasn't Consort Wan his favorite concubine? She had already taken the blame, and whether it was true or false, someone had taken the blame. Others couldn't say anything about Consort Wan, and Consort Wan hadn't really violated the palace rules, so she wouldn't accuse the emperor of favoritism. If he wanted to, he could find a thousand reasons not to punish her.
"Your Majesty, what have I done wrong? Why are you treating me like this? I really didn't..." Consort Wan burst into tears.
"Unrepentant! Ten more slaps to the face, and I'll take action immediately!" The emperor looked down at Consort Wan, uttered these words, and then left.
Gu Xi immediately froze on the spot.
When Consort Wan came to her senses, she screamed and cried out, but she was restrained by the palace maids and eunuchs and could only endure the punishment of being slapped repeatedly.
She and Zhuyin took a total of fifteen slaps from Consort Wan, which could be considered revenge for them, but she still couldn't feel happy.
She seemed to suddenly understand why the emperor was doing this. He did favor Consort Wan, that was true, but that didn't mean she could be arrogant. He hoped she would admit her mistakes, but she didn't. Perhaps he only loved an obedient beauty, not a jealous woman. No wonder people often say that emperors are heartless.
At this moment, she suddenly felt sympathy for the women in the harem. How many of them, like Consort Wan, thought they had received a unique and genuine affection, only to find that the affection they sought in the imperial family was actually an illusion?
After this incident, Gu Xi constantly reminded herself not to ever fall to such a state. But what she didn't know was that later, knowing it was impossible, she still watched herself consciously and deliberately sink deeper into depravity.
About an hour after Gu Xi and Zhu Yin returned to Chuxiu Garden, Granny Kong brought them a bottle of skin-regenerating ointment, saying that Gu Chengzhong had asked someone to send it over.
Gu Xi looked at the skin-regenerating ointment in her hand, and tears streamed down her face. She hadn't cried when she was humiliated by Consort Wan and slapped by the palace maids today. She considered it a trial for herself, and as long as she didn't lose her life, it didn't matter.
But at this moment, looking at the muscle-regenerating ointment in her hand, she couldn't stop crying. She didn't know how many people her father had gone through to get the medicine to her, nor did she know if her mother would fall ill from grief after hearing the news.
Seeing Gu Xi's distressed state, Zhu Yin was overwhelmed with all the grievances she had suffered that day, and she couldn't help but hug Gu Xi and cry together...
*
Five days later.
Today is the day they will meet the Emperor and the Imperial Concubine, so the young ladies-in-waiting have all gotten up early to wash and dress up.
Gu Xi's facial injuries had almost healed, and the red marks were no longer visible. She checked her attire carefully today to make sure there were no problems before leaving the room with Zhu Yin.
"Sister, did you see the Emperor a few days ago?" Lu Mengli asked Gu Xi, as she had heard about the events at the Lake Pavilion in the past few days.
Gu Xi hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"What does the Emperor look like? Is he handsome?" Lu Mengli asked curiously.
Chen Wan'er answered quickly, "Of course he's handsome. Sister Lu, I heard before I entered the palace that our Emperor is exceptionally handsome, but..." Chen Wan'er deliberately left it as a mystery.
"What is it?" Lu Mengli asked curiously.
"Well... I heard he has a bad temper..." Chen Wan'er said, then made a shushing gesture.
"That……"
Lu Mengli wanted to ask something more, but was interrupted by Granny Kong's voice.
"My ladies, please follow me to the Tiyuan Hall now!" After saying that, the young ladies split into two groups and followed Granny Kong to the Tiyuan Hall.
Upon arriving at the Tiyuan Hall, the young ladies-in-waiting were waiting outside, while the Emperor and the Imperial Concubine sat inside.
The head of the Imperial Household Department read the list of candidates aloud in front of the palace. The selected candidates would then enter the palace to pay their respects to the Emperor and the Imperial Concubine. The Emperor and the Imperial Concubine would randomly select a question to test the candidates, and then bestow titles upon them based on their performance. Those who were not bestowed titles would be sent home three days later, after which they would be free to marry outside the palace.
Gu Xi waited outside the palace, watching the several young ladies go in and out one after another. From their expressions, she could roughly guess the outcome.
"Lu Mengli, daughter of Lu Ting, Minister of Justice, is virtuous, dignified, and talented, and is greatly favored by me. She is hereby conferred the title of Consort Li and granted residence in the Jiaofang Palace..."
"Chen Wan'er, daughter of Chen Dexing, Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, was raised with a gentle and refined upbringing, possessing both grace and intelligence. She is now conferred the title of Consort Wan and granted residence in the Jade Pavilion..."
Seeing that Lu Mengli and Chen Wan'er had both received rewards, Gu Xi felt happy for them and thought that she would be next.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Oh no, my first impression wasn't great. [laughing and crying emoji]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com