Chapter 11 Your Majesty, you look so pitiful now!
The sky was dark and gloomy, and the Great Qi Imperial Palace was not as serene as usual; instead, it was shrouded in dark clouds.
Li Yuanzhao stood in the Xuanzheng Hall, his usually straight back slightly bent, a rare sight.
The emperor on the dragon throne, who was usually kind and gentle, was now looking at her with a gloomy expression.
Eunuch Xu held the imperial edict in his hand and was pronouncing her crimes word by word.
"Princess Zhenguo, Li Yuanzhao, has usurped the throne, disregarded the Emperor's grace, framed the Crown Prince, acted arrogantly and recklessly, and interfered in court affairs... Effective immediately, she is deposed as a commoner, expelled from the palace, and never allowed to enter again!"
Li Yuanzhao knelt on both knees, his body trembling slightly: "Father! Your son knows his mistake, I beg you to have mercy, for the sake of the years of raising and nurturing I have received..."
Before she could finish her explanation, the emperor's furious roar rang out, "Drag her out!"
Immediately, guards stepped forward, grabbed her shoulders, dragged her out, and threw her outside the palace gate.
The vermilion palace gates slammed shut before my eyes with a dull thud.
On Zhuque Avenue, officials who used to fawn over her pointed and whispered among themselves.
"Women involved in politics deserve this fate!"
"He's nothing but a bastard, how dare he covet the throne! Wishful thinking!"
"I heard she even wants to be the Crown Princess? That's utterly ridiculous!"
Li Yuanzhao looked around and realized that the entire world could no longer tolerate her.
With nowhere else to go, she could only huddle alone in a dilapidated temple in the east of the city.
Cold rain dripped from the dilapidated roof, sliding down her disheveled hair and hitting her chapped lips.
She hadn't eaten for three days, and hunger was like a dull knife, slowly cutting into her internal organs.
In a daze, she seemed to have returned to the banquet held in Hanyuan Palace to celebrate her birthday.
The table was laden with rare and exotic delicacies, with grapes and melons from the Western Regions piled up like a small mountain.
She had no appetite and only picked out a piece of chilled lychee.
"Oh, isn't this Her Highness the Eldest Princess?"
Li Yuanzhao was so hungry he was dizzy, and his body was too weak to move. He looked up in the direction of the sound...
Li Yuanshu, dressed in a crimson embroidered dress, stood at the temple gate, surrounded by a group of young men.
Her cloud-like hair adorned with gold hairpins and her brocade robes were completely out of place in the dirty and damp dilapidated temple.
"The whole capital is saying that my elder sister is fighting with stray dogs for food here..."
Li Yuanshu covered her mouth and chuckled, "I didn't believe it at first. After all, my elder sister used to have to offer tributes for everything she ate, wore, and used. How could she possibly look down on leftovers?"
She paused, a mocking sneer appearing in her eyes, "I didn't expect it to be true."
A burst of laughter erupted from the crowd.
Li Yuanzhao's fingernails dug deep into the soil, his knuckles turning white.
She recognized those people: Cui Jiulang, the son of Prime Minister Cui; the young master Jia from the family of the Vice Minister of Revenue who used to fawn over her; and the son of Duke Xu, who had offended her and was punished by kneeling outside the palace gates for three days...
Now it seems they've come specifically to see her make a fool of herself.
Li Yuanshu raised his hand to signal, and the maid behind him immediately brought out a food box.
"Would Your Highness like to try some of the leftover hibiscus pastries from yesterday's banquet?"
Li Yuanshu picked up a handkerchief, wrapped it around a piece of hibiscus pastry, and threw it at her with obvious disgust.
"Here you go!"
The pastry rolled into the muddy water, and the shiny, flaky crust was instantly soaked in the black mud.
Looking at the blackened hibiscus pastry, Li Yuanzhao felt all his former aversion to such sweet treats vanish, replaced by a burning pain in his internal organs.
She was so hungry that her hand reached out to pick it up uncontrollably.
Just as her fingertips were about to touch the pastry, a brocade boot stomped down hard, slowly and meticulously crushing the hibiscus pastry into a paste.
Li Yuanzhao's hand froze in mid-air as he slowly looked up at the owner of the brocade boots.
"Royal sister." Li Yuanshu slowly squatted down, covering her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, her eyes filled with undisguised pleasure.
"Look at yourself now, you're so pathetic!"
The people around immediately chimed in with agreement.
"That's right. The princess is probably not even as good as the Kunlun slaves I keep."
"It stinks even worse than a stray dog on the street, it's disgusting..."
Li Yuanshu suddenly raised his hand and pinched her chin, his nails digging deep into her flesh, forcing her to lift her mud-covered face.
"Does Your Majesty still remember how glorious you were back then, when you would give me and Mother such attitudes at the drop of a hat?"
Li Yuanshu leaned closer to her, his voice lowered but filled with resentment, "How could you not have imagined that one day you would end up like this? Like a stray dog, huddled in this dilapidated temple, barely clinging to life!"
Cui Jiulang stepped forward, "Your Highness, why waste your breath on such a lowly servant?"
He suddenly leaned down and lifted Li Yuanzhao's chin. "How about we let this sinner bark like a dog? If he barks well, I'll have the servant bring a plate of braised beef, enough to fill your stomach."
Li Yuanzhao's anger surged, and he suddenly raised his chin forcefully to avoid the folding fan that carried an insulting connotation.
Li Yuanshu, watching with interest, said, "How about this? My household is in need of a maid to empty the chamber pots. If you, my elder sister, are willing to kowtow three times, this job will be yours."
Young Master Jia quickly chimed in, his tone full of flattery, "Princess, you're really giving her too much credit. This lowly servant isn't even worthy of carrying your shoes!"
"In my opinion..." he suddenly changed his expression, his eyes sweeping over Li Yuanzhao with a flirtatious look, "it would be better to sell him to a brothel and let him be trampled on by thousands!"
Li Yuanzhao instinctively shouted angrily, "Insolence!"
The voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unassailable majesty, the aura she had cultivated over many years as a princess, which hadn't completely dissipated even in her current state of destitution.
Young Master Jia subconsciously took a step back under her gaze, feeling a sudden, inexplicable fear.
But then he realized that Li Yuanzhao was now just a deposed commoner, powerless and without influence, so what did he have to be afraid of?
That fleeting fear instantly transformed into fury. "You dare glare at me? Have you forgotten who you are now? Do you still think you're some high and mighty princess? Guards, beat her until she obeys!"
Seven or eight wicked servants rushed forward, about to attack.
Suddenly, a voice rang out, "Enough."
Everyone was stunned and turned around in astonishment.
Through the rain, a figure in a moon-white brocade robe walked through the water and slowly came to a stop in front of them.
Li Yuanzhao looked up along the gold-embroidered sole of the shoe and saw Chen Yanqing's handsome face looking down at her.
Oh, he's no longer called Chen Yanqing; his father has given him a new name: Li Chengji.
"By the mandate of Heaven, may the nation prosper forever"—what a wonderful name.
He was even made crown prince after only three days of returning to the palace.
Her first twenty years of hard work seemed like a joke.
Those around them realized what was happening and hurriedly knelt down, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
The surprise on Li Yuanshu's face vanished in an instant, replaced by a charming smile. She lifted her skirt and hurried forward to greet him, "Crown Prince, what brings you here..."
Chen Yanqing didn't even look at her, his gaze sweeping over the mess on the ground. "The imperial edict only said that she was demoted to a commoner, but it didn't say that others were allowed to humiliate her."
Li Yuanshu's smile froze for a moment, then she said softly, "Your Highness, you misunderstand. I just saw my elder sister suffering here and kindly came to bring her some food."
Chen Yanqing gave a light "hmm," and said, "If that's the case, then forget it. But don't do it again next time."
Li Yuanshu immediately responded obediently, "Yes, Shu'er will listen to Crown Prince Brother."
Chen Yanqing's gaze finally fell on Li Yuanzhao in the muddy water.
She was soaked to the bone, her hair stuck to her face, and she was wearing a dress whose original color was no longer recognizable. She looked extremely disheveled.
Who would recognize this as the former princess of noble birth?
He spoke indifferently, as if he were talking to someone insignificant, “I can give you a place to go, but you must remember that you must never be arrogant and do evil again.”
Li Yuanzhao saw himself using all his strength to climb out of the mud, then he knelt down with a thud and began to kowtow repeatedly.
His forehead struck the bluestone bricks with a dull thud.
The sound was like the distant sound of a night watchman striking a clapper.
Each sound seemed to be striking her spine...
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