"I..." For most of the day, every word the Empress Dowager uttered was nonsense. What nonsense could Jingyi possibly be spouting?
She just wanted to tell Yue Jiang that she should have married into the An Kingdom, but her brother, the emperor, had taken her away.
It's good enough that she wasn't enslaved after being kidnapped; what right does she have to be the Crown Princess?
But when his elder brother actually stepped in to question him, Jingyi faltered.
Having spent so long in the military camp, her elder brother exudes a terrifying and chilling aura; if he gets angry, he might actually punish her with some physical pain.
Seeing that the atmosphere between the brother and sister had become extremely tense, Empress Ye quickly went over to her daughter and gestured for her to save face.
"They don't study or learn etiquette all day long, just running around in the palace, hearing all sorts of nonsense from who knows them. You have to tell me everything about it later, and I'll punish them."
"Tell me quickly, is Jiang'er your brother's Crown Princess?"
Jingyi was frightened by her brother's cold gaze and remained in a daze for a long time until her mother tugged at her sleeve and she came to her senses.
The Emperor is the Crown Prince, and he will discipline me. My grandmother, Empress Dowager Cheng, probably won't confront me directly. Jingyi is a sensible person.
He stammered, "It is...it is my...my brother's Crown Princess, my...Crown Princess sister-in-law."
“Apologize,” Jing Yan commanded, ignoring Jing Yi’s increasingly faint voice.
Jing Yi had just lowered her head, trying to avoid her brother's cold gaze, when a command came from above, making her shiver.
Still unconvinced, she muttered, "I'm a princess, why should I apologize?"
Jing Yan's face darkened further: "You are a princess, and Yue Jiang is also a princess, and she has come from afar from another country. Is this how you, the princess of the host family, treat your guests?"
"She is still your future sister-in-law, your elder. You yelled and shouted for so long, don't you need to apologize? Will you dare to order your brother around in the future?"
“I wouldn’t dare,” Jingyi said, shaking her head hastily, realizing that such a metaphor had wronged her.
Empress Ye was at her wits' end with her daughter's unruly and willful behavior. She even had to force her to back down. She patted Jingyi on the lower back and said, "If you don't dare, then apologize!"
Jingyi has a bad temper, but she could tell that her brother was determined to give Yuejiang an explanation; she couldn't let things go without an apology.
He had no choice but to apologize to Yue Jiang reluctantly: "I'm sorry, Crown Princess, Jing Yi was rude."
The term "Crown Princess Sister-in-law" may be used prematurely, but it further confirms that Yue Jiang is indeed Crown Princess Jing Yan.
Jing Yi might receive a minor punishment next, and Yue Jiang, satisfied and no longer petty, would seem petty.
“Princess Jingyi is young, so Yuejiang doesn’t blame her.”
Jingyi turned her face away, still unconvinced: "Thank you for your generosity, Crown Princess."
Having gone this far in their back-and-forth, the two had achieved a superficial harmony, and both fell silent.
Since this happened to his own sister, Jingyan couldn't let Jingyi get away with it.
He used the excuse that he had been away on campaign for a long time and had not spoken to his mother, so he sent Yue Jiang back to Qiluan Palace with Empress Ye's maid.
When only Jingyan, his mother, and his sister remained in the main hall, Jingyi was tugging at her belt in a daze when she suddenly heard Jingyan say something.
"Before Yue Jiang marries into the Eastern Palace, she is not allowed to return to Zhaoluan Palace. She will stay in Jiaofang Palace and receive twenty lashes from Lanse. I can let you rest for the next few days and not have to study."
"I've already apologized, why are you still hitting me, Your Majesty? Now that she's here, am I not even allowed to return to my own palace?"
Upon hearing that it wasn't over yet, and that she would be beaten and punished in the same way, Jingyi immediately pulled Empress Ye aside to complain and act coquettishly.
"Mother, do you think my brother is blinded by lust? I've already apologized, but he still wants to make things difficult for me."
"If we start helping Yue Jiang now, and she really gets married, won't my brother be a fool..."
"Jingyi, you've been so outrageous today," Empress Ye said, no longer allowing her daughter to whine. She slapped her daughter's hand away.
Empress Ye knew perfectly well why Jing Yan was punished, and this was not only to teach Jing Yi a lesson.
This serves as a warning to the entire palace: the Empress and the princesses have all been punished for their loose tongues. Anyone who tries to stir up trouble again will be put to death.
She originally thought that Yue Jiang and her daughter were about the same age, and that sending her to Qiluan Palace would allow them to cultivate their sister-in-law relationship in advance.
Jingyi should just let her lose face first. If she were to live next to Yuejiang, who knows what kind of trouble she might cause. It would be better for her to move in with her temporarily.
Empress Ye turned to Lanse and ordered, "Do as the Crown Prince says, drag her to the back palace and beat her." She couldn't bear to see her daughter being punished, crying and shouting, so she simply chose to avoid seeing or hearing it.
Jingyi received no sympathy from her mother and was immediately to be tortured. She stomped her foot in anger: "Mother!"
Empress Ye warned, "If you continue to act recklessly, I'll add ten more strokes of the cane."
Lancer stepped aside and said, "Princess, please!"
Empress Ye, being the Empress, was upright and righteous. If she said she would hit someone, she would really hit them; it was not a mere pretense. Jingyi dared not endure another ten blows, so she snorted and turned to walk towards the inner palace.
Even after Jingyi left, Empress Ye sighed and rubbed her forehead.
"I'm sorry to you two siblings. Over the years, you have two brothers watching over you so that you can't do anything wrong. Jingyi has been spoiled by them and is now unruly and difficult to control."
"The Empress Dowager is busy maintaining the balance in the palace and has neglected you all. She didn't even know that Jingyi was being used today, which almost made Jiang'er suspicious."
Jing Yan helped Empress Ye sit back down on the phoenix throne. He took out a bottle of ointment he carried with him, pulled his mother's hand that had been scalded, and applied some ointment to her fingertips.
"Mother, don't take the blame. You have worked hard managing the six palaces all these years. If Jingyi is considerate of you, she should listen to you and be filial. If she has this intention, why would she have time to run to Empress Dowager Cheng and be used by others?"
"Alas!" Empress Ye sighed helplessly, then looked at the ointment and asked worriedly, "You're injured. Where are you injured? Let your mother take a look."
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