Before Fang Changzai could react, Xiwen was already standing in front of her.

The queen's close aunt raised her hand, and without any hesitation, she slapped Fang Changzai's delicate cheek hard like autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves.

Snap——

The crisp sound of applause echoed in the hall.

The concubines suddenly shut their mouths, with some surprise on their faces.

Fang Changzai was a little dazed by the slap. Five seconds later, he covered his burning cheek as if waking up from a dream.

An indescribable feeling of humiliation and anger intertwined in her heart. Fang Changzai raised her head and looked at the queen in disbelief.

"Empress, everything I did was out of my sincere love for you, Your Majesty..." she cried aggrievedly.

"Fang often makes noise in front of the palace and does not know the etiquette."

The Queen's voice was as cold as ice. "Xiwen, keep fighting. Don't stop until I tell you to."

Xiwen's face twitched slightly, and a hint of satisfaction flashed across his face.

In the past, the queen was tolerant and generous, and she could often make small matters out of big ones and nothing out of small ones when it came to trivial matters in the palace.

Usually, as long as it does not involve the emperor and his offspring, the queen will usually turn a blind eye.

Therefore, Xiwen didn't have many opportunities to slap someone. Compared to her, the palace people were more afraid of Zijuan, who was beside Concubine Lin.

Now that he had the chance to slap Fang Changzai on behalf of the Queen, Xiwen felt extremely relieved and happy.

This is the majestic look she should have as a senior palace maid!

Xiwen said calmly: "My dear, I am sorry."

Although she said she was offended, her actions were unambiguous, full of decisiveness and ruthlessness.

Just now she slapped Fang Changzai on the right cheek, and this time her slap fell on the left cheek.

As the slap landed, Fang Changzai felt a sharp pain at the junction of his cheekbone and temple.

A sharp ringing sound rang in her ears, and then the whole world began to spin, making her dizzy and almost unable to stand.

"Empress!" Fang Changzai's eyes widened and turned red.

The queen just held the Buddhist beads and looked at her calmly.

Xiwen had a blank expression on his face and ignored Fang Changzai's calls. He raised his hand again in front of her horrified eyes.

A slap.

"I don't know what I did wrong, Your Majesty!" Fang Changzai explained anxiously.

Another slap.

"Your Majesty, I..." The originally powerful voice began to tremble, with a hint of begging for mercy.

Xiwen slapped him again.

The crisp sound of slaps continued to ring out, and each time hit everyone's heart hard.

The lower-ranking concubines all held their breath, not daring to make the slightest sound.

Shufei, Yuepin and others covered their mouths with silk handkerchiefs, their eyes shifting back and forth between the Empress and Fang Changzai.

The queen's abnormal behavior made everyone afraid to act rashly.

This happened again and again, and Fang Changzai's fighting spirit was gradually worn away by Xiwen's endless slaps.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Fang Changzai's self-esteem was completely shattered.

Completely devastated, she collapsed to the ground and burst into tears.

Fang Changzai sobbed and said in a broken voice: "I was wrong! Your Majesty... wuwu..."

"I am ignorant and shouldn't... shouldn't have refuted your Majesty's words..."

She sniffed and sobbed with a red and swollen face, "My queen, I was really wrong, please forgive me..."

Xiwen’s attack was indeed not gentle. Fang Changzai would have to recuperate for at least ten days or half a month before she could continue to serve the emperor.

When the other concubines saw this, they couldn't help but feel a little fear in their hearts.

I just said a few words to her, why is the Queen so angry today? It's really shocking.

But those who were as smart as Concubine Shang smelled something unusual.

The Queen then said, "Xiwen, come back."

Xiwen bowed: "Yes, Madam."

Fang Changzai kept crying.

In the depressing hall, only one person dared to speak.

The corners of Concubine Lin's lips curled up slightly, revealing a smile that was not quite a smile.

She said leisurely, "It seems that after being beaten, Fang Changzai has become smarter. At least he knows where he went wrong."

The Queen stared at Fang Changzai intently.

She calmly took over the imperial concubine's words and said:

"Your Highness is wrong. How can she be smarter? She knows her mistakes clearly. She just thinks that I am kind and will not punish her, so she wants to keep talking tough."

After the Queen pointed out his thoughts so bluntly, Fang Changzai lowered his head and stammered, not daring to speak again.

Concubine Lin raised her eyebrows slightly, and a strange look flashed in her eyes.

The Queen actually didn't give Fang Changzai any face? This was a strange thing.

She had an idea and decided not to interrupt and return the initiative of the topic to the queen.

The crackling of the charcoal fire in the hall became the only faint sound left.

The queen sat upright on the phoenix chair.

She spoke slowly: "Don't think that I don't know what you are thinking."

"You all say nice things, saying that you are doing this for me, for the emperor, and even for the country of Dachen. But what is the reality?"

"I'm just worried that Lady Ji will reveal all your dirty deeds from the past, so I'm anxious to get rid of her as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, the concubines who had just wanted Concubine Ji to be executed turned pale.

The Queen's anger has not yet subsided.

The sickness that she had suppressed surged up in her heart again, as if it was going to swallow her up.

But the queen did not back down. She clenched her teeth tightly and used her willpower to suppress the illness.

The Queen continued, "I summoned you today to find out who is behind the Peach incident and to restore peace to the harem."

"Are Concubine Li's methods really so perfect and impeccable?" The Queen chuckled.

"I know that some people are very smart, but they are pretending to be deaf and dumb, ignoring the murderer behind the scenes and putting all the responsibility on Lady Ji."

The Queen looked at everyone one by one, "I can't help but ask, am I too indulgent to you, or are you just like this, only able to eliminate dissidents, or are you just being prudent and protecting yourself?"

The concubines responded in fear and trepidation: "I dare not."

Concubine Lin raised her teacup, took a sip, and chuckled disdainfully.

The queen also saw that the concubines were not sincere.

"You keep saying you don't dare. My ears are going to get calluses."

The Queen asked in a cold voice, "Zhao Changzai is about to give birth, which is related to the continuation of the royal bloodline. Do you dare to promise me that you have not done anything secretly or played any tricks?"

The concubines fell silent: "..."

They shook their heads in panic, but could not hide their inner fear and guilt.

The queen asked, her tone becoming more severe: "Poisoning food, bribing the imperial physician, bribing the maid to drown the child... Have you really never done any of these dirty tricks?"

After hearing this, three concubines wiped their sweat silently.

Fortunately, fortunately, the queen did not mention any names.

They comforted themselves and secretly guessed what the queen said, thinking that the queen's words were just bluffing.

"Empress, how can there be such a vicious person?"

Someone laughed awkwardly, trying to ease the atmosphere, "Killing the heir to the throne is a capital crime."

However, the queen took the medicinal tea from Xiwen.

Her face was pale, but her eyes were as bright as torches.

"I did not make these up, but heard them from Lady Ji."

"As for who did these dirty things——"

The queen smiled and said, "You can guess whether I know it or not?"