Granny Qin kept shouting on the other end, "Help! My eyes hurt so much! Someone come quick!"
She felt her vision blur and, in a panic, thought of finding water to wash her eyes.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she took a step, Shen Yunjiao stretched out her foot and tripped her.
"Ouch!" Granny Qin fell flat on her back to the ground.
Shen Yunjiao squinted at the vicious old woman in front of her. "Granny, your nails are sharper than an eagle's claws. If someone gets scratched by you, their skin will be torn open immediately, right?"
Granny Qin felt a little guilty for a moment, and even her crying and shouting became much quieter.
But when Madam Xiao, who was about to have her meal, heard the cries, she rushed over.
"What happened???"
When Madam Xiao saw the old nanny who had served her for many years lying on the ground covering her eyes, she was so angry that her voice trembled, "Madam Shen, what did you do to Granny Qin?"
"Empress Dowager, save me! Miss Shen has blinded me!" Granny Qin crawled to Madam Xiao's feet, tears streaming down her face.
Madam Xiao's face instantly darkened. "Shen Yunjiao, how dare you lay a hand on my people!"
"Your Majesty, I have no such permission," Shen Yunjiao said calmly.
Granny Qin hurriedly cried and protested, "You clearly sprinkled some powder into my eyes—"
“That’s medicinal powder. Didn’t Granny want me to pick out the herbs?” Shen Yunjiao interrupted her with a light laugh. “Don’t worry, I was just scaring you. This stuff is just ordinary powder. It will only hurt you for a while, it won’t blind you.”
Upon hearing this, Madam Xiao's lips curled into a sneer, her anger rising. "Shen Yunjiao! How dare you! Guards! Arrest her!"
At her command, the palace maids on either side of Lady Xiao each grabbed one of Shen Yunjiao's arms.
"Since you dare to harm people in my palace, I will certainly punish you severely today." Empress Xiao gestured with her chin towards the palace maid beside her, "Tie her to that pillar and slap her fifty times!"
Before Shen Yunjiao could react, the palace maid beside her had already swiftly tied her to a pillar in the hall with hemp rope.
The palace maid raised her hand high, about to fall, when Shen Yunjiao suddenly spoke up, "Empress Dowager, as a relative of an important court official, even though my father is no longer alive, I am still the daughter of the Prime Minister. Moreover, my brother is still working in the Ministry of Rites. If you really intend to torture me, aren't you afraid of having a hard time explaining this to the world?"
"Hmph, how dare a mere palace maid threaten me?" Empress Xiao sneered, her voice full of mockery and disdain. "As the Empress Dowager, I can deal with whomever I wish."
Slap him!
Shen Yunjiao's heart skipped a beat. The wound on her face hadn't fully healed yet, and if she got slapped again, she would be finished.
"Wait!" Shen Yunjiao exclaimed urgently, "I need to see the Emperor!"
Lady Xiao smiled mockingly, "Give up on that idea. Do you think you can just see the Emperor whenever you want?"
"beat!"
"Grandmother, please wait!"
A loud male voice came from outside the palace gate.
Xiao Huaijin appeared at Chongning Palace with several guards, and Chu Xiyue was standing beside him.
When Madam Xiao saw her grandson arrive, her expression softened immediately. "Jin'er, what brings you here?"
Her gaze swept over Chu Xiyue, who was cowering to the side, and she immediately understood what was going on.
Chu Xiyue obediently bowed to Madam Xiao, "Greetings, Grandmother. I was just about to take the copied scriptures to you when I met His Majesty on the way."
Madam Xiao didn't believe the girl's nonsense; Jin'er would never come to pay her respects so early.
Xiao Huaijin's phoenix eyes were long and narrow. He only raised his eyes slightly before his gaze fell on Shen Yunjiao, who was tied to the pillar. His eyes instantly turned extremely sinister.
Especially when you see that under the direct sunlight, Shen Yunjiao's face and lips are almost pale, but the red spots on her face continue to slowly expand.
Following Xiao Huaijin's gaze, Madam Xiao looked at Shen Yunjiao and saw her stubborn expression as she bit her lip. She said coldly, "Jin'er, this Madam Shen is extremely presumptuous, actually—"
Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Huaijin suddenly drew the silver sword from the waist of the guard beside him.
Before anyone could react, he strode over to Shen Yunjiao, grabbed the palace maid's clothes in front of her, and threw them aside violently.
"Xiao Huaijin, you—" Shen Yunjiao's eyes widened, but when she looked down, she saw Xiao Huaijin use his sword to cut the ropes binding her.
"It's alright." Xiao Huaijin said softly, his eyes full of tenderness, but when he looked up, only indifference remained. "Grandmother, what happened?"
"Jin'er, she almost blinded Granny Qin, are you still protecting her?" Madam Xiao was furious.
“She started it, look.” Shen Yunjiao blinked innocently and rolled up her sleeve.
There were obvious red finger marks on her originally jade-like arms, which showed how much force Qin Mama had used.
Xiao Huaijin stared at Qin Mama on the ground with a sharp look in his eyes and said, "Does this kind of thing still deserve to stay in the palace? Nanfeng, take her out and give her fifty lashes before throwing her out."
As soon as he finished speaking, Nanfeng immediately dragged Qin Mama, who was struggling and begging the emperor to spare her life, out of the room.
"Jin'er, what are you doing?" Madam Xiao asked, suppressing her anger as she pursed her lips.
After pulling Shen Yunjiao to a shady spot, Xiao Huaijin turned to Madam Xiao and said, "Your Majesty, this wicked servant is so ruthless that she is not suitable to stay by your side. I will take the liberty of sending her away so that she will not cause you any trouble."
"Hmph, are you doing this for me, or for the people behind you?" Madam Xiao asked, her brows furrowed.
Xiao Huaijin responded with silence.
Xiao rarely clashed with Xiao Huaijin. She never interfered in anything within the palace, focusing solely on vegetarianism and Buddhist chanting. It wasn't that she didn't want to interfere, but rather that she couldn't.
Because she knew that whether she was the Empress Dowager or the Grand Empress Dowager, she would always just be a woman in the harem.
She had previously been sent to a Buddhist temple to live separately because she had interfered in Emperor Zhaowu's pursuit of immortality and the consumption of elixirs.
Unless absolutely necessary, she doesn't want to get involved in Xiao Huaijin's marriage.
"Jin'er."
Madam Xiao took a deep breath, trying to make her tone sound calmer. "Grandmother knows that you have been seeing this Shen Yunjiao in private. But do you know that she was rejected by her husband's family when she was a wife, and was sent back to her parents' home several times? This woman is of questionable character and should never marry into our Xiao family."
"Moreover, she has already been married once and is no longer a virgin. How could she be worthy of the Emperor of my Dayong?"
Hearing this from behind, Shen Yunjiao couldn't help but roll her eyes.
This sounds like the most feudal and traditional thing ever said, and it's infuriating to hear.
However, this was in ancient times, and most people were so worldly that they looked down on women who had been divorced.
"Jin'er, don't worry, Grandmother will definitely find you a better marriage."
"No need for Grandmother to worry."
The two spoke at the same time. Xiao Huaijin lowered his eyes, his expression tense, and his tone was firm and unquestionable: "My mind is made up. I will marry no one but Shen Yunjiao in this life."
"Your Majesty, you are the ruler of a nation. How can you treat marriage so lightly? You need to consider the stability of the country and the continuation of the family line. Are you aware that Shen Yunjiao is a barren woman?"
Shen Yunjiao couldn't help but curl the corners of her mouth in a sarcastic smile.
She knew that Madam Xiao would definitely use this to make fun of her.
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