Chapter 135 Reward
"Her Majesty is your birth mother! How could you humiliate her like this—" Zhu Qing's eyes reddened as she glared at the Prince of Wei with hatred.
When has the King of Wei ever been so humiliated, especially by a mere servant girl?
He reacted quickly, slapping Zhu Qing across the face and gritting his teeth as he hissed, "You shameless, ignorant servant! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in this situation!"
"Whoever wants her to be my birth mother, perhaps this is all a deliberate scheme by you to deceive me—"
Zhu Qing was beaten to the ground, her mouth bleeding from a cut, but she only found Wei Wang's words amusing.
Her gloomy, cold eyes darted around, staring at the Prince of Wei, then glancing up at Chu Mingheng. She scoffed and gritted her teeth, saying, "I almost forgot, you're not only the Empress's bloodline, but also the Chu family's bloodline."
"Bah—you Chu family members are all the same, two-faced beasts, one pretending to be compassionate, the other pretending to be righteous... Hypocritical! Hypocritical!"
Those in the main hall were all imperial relatives or concubines. They were still reeling from the shock of hearing about such a long-hidden event when they heard this maid openly insulting the imperial family. The timid ones dared not continue watching.
Zhu Qing had come to this hall with the intention of dying. After saying everything she needed to say, she was about to smash her head against a pillar when she saw an opportunity. However, the guards behind her were much faster than her. They grabbed Zhu Qing and pulled her back, while simultaneously wrapping a coarse cloth around her mouth to prevent her from biting her tongue and committing suicide.
Chu Mingheng would naturally not let Zhu Qing die so easily. Zhu Qing had done so many evil deeds, how could he possibly want her to die a quick and painless death?
Zhu Qing was taken away, leaving only King Wei and Pan Xi in the hall.
Chu Mingheng said in a calm voice, "The Prince of Wei caused trouble in front of the Emperor and attempted to rebel. Take him away and we will discuss this matter later."
Upon hearing this, Princess Lin, the wife of the Prince of Wei, immediately fainted. The palace servants beside her quickly helped her out of the main hall.
Although His Majesty only said to take him away, everyone present knew that once someone was convicted of treason, it would be extremely difficult to escape punishment. Moreover, His Majesty had no intention of letting Prince Wei off the hook.
In the main hall, Prince Wei was forcibly dragged away by his arms. His voice still echoed loudly throughout the hall as he repeatedly pleaded for his innocence and begged for forgiveness. Seeing that his pleas were useless, he began to curse, cursing the late emperor, Lady Wen, Consort Hui, and even trying to curse Chu Mingheng. Fortunately, a guard behind him quickly gagged him with a cloth.
The hall fell silent once more.
Today was supposed to be the New Year's Eve banquet, but after this, no one was in the mood to attend to the grand banquet anymore. Everyone was hoping that His Majesty would order the banquet to be canceled.
Lan Wu wasn't stupid. Remembering what Chu Mingheng had told her before, she naturally knew that today's scene was specially prepared for the Prince of Wei. Apart from Pan Xi being an accident, the others were already prepared to expose the Prince of Wei's identity.
She looked up and glanced at Chu Mingheng.
Just now, Chu Mingheng took out an imperial edict and said that the edict was blank, meaning it was empty—the late emperor had once bestowed such an edict upon the Wen family.
Lan Wu was somewhat alarmed. Could this imperial edict be the same one that Zhu Qing had given her in her previous life, ordering her to be executed?
All I wanted was to kill her, why would I need something like this?
I'm afraid that the imperial edict at that time contained something else written on it.
"Your Majesty, what do you think should be done with her?" Chen Kang'an whispered a reminder to the emperor, as there was another person in the hall.
Chu Mingheng seemed to only then remember that there was Panxi in the hall. He looked down at Panxi with a slightly indifferent gaze, and after a moment he spoke slowly: "You are doing this to avenge your sister. What reward do you want?"
Upon hearing this, the concubines couldn't help but feel nervous, yet also somewhat eager to see what would happen.
Although the injustice Panxi revealed after her dance was an accident, now that she has received His Majesty's favor, what kind of words should Panxi say?
Panxi never expected to survive. Logically, she should have breathed a sigh of relief now that she had already pleaded her sister's case.
However, she also knew that her audience with the emperor today was due to Consort Li's doing, and if she could not become the emperor's woman, Consort Li would definitely kill her in this palace.
But His Majesty wants to ask her what reward she desires...
No matter how powerful Consort Li is, she can never surpass His Majesty's power.
Thinking of all this, Panxi's heart sank, her throat tightened, she knelt down and bowed carefully, saying, "Your Majesty, this servant has no other request, only that I be able to leave the palace and have the means to make a living."
After she finished speaking, she never heard His Majesty's voice again.
The concubines looked at each other in bewilderment.
Lan Wu observed their expressions, waiting for someone to speak first.
It didn't take long for it to arrive.
Consort Li's voice wasn't abrupt. Compared to before, she seemed more thoughtful this time, as if she had weighed her options carefully, and tentatively spoke in a low voice: "Today is the New Year's Eve banquet, and this palace maid is so sincere. It's a pity she'll leave the palace..."
"What a pity?" Consort Shu immediately followed up with this question, turning her head to look at Consort Li with a half-smile, "Then Consort Li, what do you think would be considered not a pity?"
Consort Li glanced cautiously at Chu Mingheng's expression, but she couldn't discern anything else from his cold and dignified face. Gritting her teeth, she suggested, "I think this palace maid is quite beautiful and dances well. Your Majesty, why don't you take her as your concubine? There is no better place to settle down than by Your Majesty's side."
Before anyone could even gasp in dismay, Panxi began kowtowing repeatedly to the emperor, anxiously pleading, "Your Majesty, please forgive me! This servant had no such intentions—this servant only wishes to leave the palace, and begs Your Majesty's grace—"
Lan Wu understood as well. She had previously guessed that it was Consort Shu who orchestrated the dance, but it turned out that it was Consort Li. She was really persistent and hadn't given up on this old approach.
"Who told you to dance this dance?" Lan Wu wasn't without temper. Although Pan Xi wasn't interested in this, she was still a little annoyed. But she smiled and looked at Chu Mingheng casually, "You danced really well."
Panxi immediately confessed: "Your Majesty, it was Consort Li who asked me to dance at today's banquet. Consort Li said she wanted to give me a chance."
“This servant does not want any opportunity. Now that I have vindicated my sister, this servant only wants to leave the palace. I hope Your Majesty will grant my request.”
She's clever enough to ask Lan Wu for help.
Consort Li's eyes were practically spitting fire. She thought to herself, "That little slut Panxi is really good at hiding things. All of these things are just to show her face in front of His Majesty so she can tell her so-called grievances."
Chu Mingheng then said, "Since you have this intention, I will grant you the money to leave the palace."
"This servant thanks Your Majesty for your grace—" Panxi knelt down and kowtowed again, then retreated in front of everyone.
With her leaving, there was no one else in the center of the hall, and whether or not the New Year's Eve banquet should continue depended solely on the wishes of the person in charge.
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