Consort Xian carried a small flower basket, picking flowers as she chatted with the palace maids, her smile charming and her beauty as gentle as water.
"Your Majesty, please adorn your hair with this 'Smiling Beauty' flower. His Majesty delights in seeing you with flowers in your hair and praises your elegant and graceful demeanor."
The head palace maid smiled and held a light purple peony in her hand, teasing her mistress.
"You little hussy, what nonsense are you spouting?" the beauty said with a hint of anger, then a shadow of sadness crossed her face.
The emperor does favor her, but with so many beautiful women in the harem and the empress in charge, His Majesty hasn't visited her for over ten days.
"Alright, where is the princess? She was just playing ball here a moment ago." Consort Xian was a little worried. She had spoiled her daughter too much, and her temper had become a bit too much.
However, there are only two princesses in the palace. Her daughter has the most noble status and is also the youngest. What's wrong with the others giving way?
Others are also narrow-minded, but they are just spoiled little girls, why make such a big deal out of it?
Mu'er is the most obedient person in front of me, which shows that she has a good heart. With a little more teaching, she will become sensible.
Sure enough, a servant stumbled over, crying, "Your Highness, please come quickly! The princess has been beaten!"
"What?!" The group was shocked. Consort Xian rushed over to try and stand up for her daughter.
She gritted her teeth, determined to make that person suffer the most.
Upon arrival, the other palace servants gradually came to a stop.
The second princess fell to the ground, her face bearing several red, swollen, and broken welts from the whipping. Her body was covered in mud from being rolled around in the ground, and she cried out in pain.
None of the palace servants around tried to persuade or console them; instead, they watched coldly with mocking expressions.
Looking further afield, lying haphazardly and groaning, weren't those the people who had been with the princess?
They were both old foxes, and they exchanged a knowing glance and stopped.
When the Second Princess saw Consort Xian arrive, she cried out, "Mother, I'm in so much pain!"
She kicked and thrashed wildly, her cries suddenly growing louder. Ling Xiao noticed the smug look in her eyes and, intrigued, twirled the whip in his hand.
Consort Xian held her daughter, comforting her while checking her injuries. The whip had struck her very hard, leaving a deep wound across the Second Princess's small face, making her look especially pitiful.
The wound was on her body, but the pain was in her heart. Looking up at the small figure in the pavilion, she felt waves of resentment!
She only had this one daughter, and after a difficult ten-month pregnancy and delivery, the imperial physician said that she would never have any more children because of her weak constitution.
No one should bully their own daughter.
"Your Highness, Mu'er is your grandniece. Even if she has offended you in any way, please take it out on me. Don't bully her."
"It's so pitiful that she was beaten like this at such a young age..."
As she spoke, she hugged her daughter tightly, buried her face in her hands, and wept bitterly, thinking to herself that if these words got out, this evil spirit's reputation would be ruined.
I've made up my mind to put a bad word about her in front of His Majesty, and to send people to spread rumors about this evil spirit's misdeeds!
What goddess? Consort Xian thought of the reason why His Majesty did not enter the harem, and her hatred grew even stronger.
Using his daughter as an excuse, he felt it was understandable that he had done something outrageous.
His Majesty will cover for himself, as that evil spirit is ignorant of human affairs, ruthless and rude, how could she possibly perceive her methods?
"Heh, I've never seen someone ask for a beating," Ling Xiao said calmly.
Consort Xian did not understand her meaning. She stretched her graceful neck forward slightly, and the next moment, a heavy whip lashed her and made her roll to the ground.
"Ah, help!" The cry was shrill and the pain was unbearable, but the whip kept falling, each strike more vicious than the last.
The blows were aimed directly at the softest and most tender parts of the body. No matter how the Consort Xian tried to dodge, she couldn't escape and could only roll around while trying to protect her face.
She finally understood where the mud on her daughter's body came from!
The second princess was standing too close and was constantly being brushed by the whip's tail, so she cried and tried to escape from her mother.
Using both hands and feet, she struggled and kicked Consort Xian in the face with her little feet before she managed to escape.
Seeing this scene of dogs fighting each other, Ling Xiao laughed even harder.
The palace servants of Consort Xian were not just standing by and watching; they had to stop their mistress from being beaten like this.
With just a glance from Lady Yang, the Fengyang Palace women, outnumbered and outmatched, were further deterred by the Xianfei Palace women's apprehension, as they were facing a goddess!
The situation is one-sided.
A few loyal followers still tried to rush forward to block the whip, but the system watched with amusement as they were whipped away one by one.
"This wicked little princess's whip is well-made; it's made of the real thing."
“Yes, it can be used to whip someone with either force or gentleness; it’s truly a fine whip,” Ling Xiao agreed wholeheartedly.
The Empress Dowager was in excruciating pain from the beatings; all thoughts of revenge vanished, and she could only think about avoiding further beatings. She stammered incoherently:
"Stop fighting! We're going to get married; we're all relatives."
Good heavens, the entire place fell silent.
Later, Consort Xian revealed everything: her maternal family name was Gao, and they were originally a fallen noble family.
They call themselves a thousand-year-old family, but in reality, they only maintain their facade by selling their daughters.
Perhaps the ancestors couldn't stand the unfilial behavior of their descendants, for the ancestral graves emitted auspicious smoke, and an exceptionally outstanding descendant emerged from the family.
He was skilled in both literature and martial arts, and his appearance was exceptional; the high-ranking families in the capital held him in extremely high regard.
Other families would treat their children like royalty, hoping they would grow up to be successful and bring honor to their family.
The Gao family was the only one who was different.
After Ling Xiao appeared, other families started thinking about how to please and fawn over the goddess.
The Gao family doesn't think that way. They have a much better idea: why should they fawn over Ling Xiao? They'll just marry the goddess.
Consort Xian, completely losing her senses, kept muttering, "It's a pity Lang'er is going to marry a demon. The family is wronging him, but it will be good for his future."
The reason why the second princess went berserk upon seeing Ling Xiao was certainly due to her displeasure at being stopped.
A large part of the reason lies with that so-called cousin, and of course, it's not some bullshit love affair.
At worst, it's just that her favorite toy was taken away, and the pampered princess was unhappy.
The system was laughing wildly in Ling Xiao's mind, "Oh my, this system has never seen such a strangely confident person before, and it turns out the whole family is this confident!"
Ling Xiao smiled too, a sweet smile; fools always bring joy.
The palace servants around didn't dare to make a sound. In their eyes, the supreme goddess was being coveted and disliked by someone, which was simply courting death.
Consort Xian also rose through the ranks of palace intrigue; how did she end up being so foolish as to associate with her maternal family?
The only sound at the scene was the painful weeping of the mother and daughter. The emperor rushed to the scene.
Consort Xian tilted her head slightly, a strand of hair falling down beside her cheek. Her misty eyes, which had been trying so hard to hold back her tears, seemed to finally give way, and a single tear fell.
"Incredible! Really incredible!" The system and Ling Xiao marveled at the concubine's fighting prowess. "This performance would be a worthy Oscar in the entertainment world!"
Unfortunately, Li Yue was oblivious to romance and indifferently passed by Consort Xian and her young daughter, his mind filled with thoughts of how to appease his aunt.
"No need for further explanation. Nephew, how could you marry such a big-breasted, brainless woman? Aren't you afraid of passing on this to your children?"
Not knowing what heredity was, Li Yue, who had a vague idea, smiled awkwardly, "When choosing a wife, these things are naturally taken into account, but as for taking a concubine..."
Of course, it depends on whether she's pretty or not.
Ling Xiao gave him a disdainful look; he'd had enough of hitting him.
Suddenly, he said seriously, "It's all too much of a coincidence, nephew."
Li Yue was taken aback, his mind racing.
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