Chapter 26
Emperor Zhaoming frowned upon hearing this, and Empress Li's expression darkened. "How can this be done in front of the Emperor? Speak slowly. If this is true, His Majesty will take care of it!"
Li Pingru fell to her knees and cried, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, a few days ago I ran into Lady Yue in the mansion. She beat me up like a shrew, without any reason, and the servants couldn't stop her! Now I've lost my composure in front of the palace, and my appearance has disturbed Your Majesty and Your Majesty. It's all because of this woman!"
Emperor Zhaoming: "Why did she hit you?"
Li Pingru glanced at Zhao Congyun and said sadly, "I really don't know! Although I am a concubine, my status and favor in the palace are not as high as Yue's... Maybe she heard that Your Majesty is going to select a princess in the palace, and I am among them... That's why she went crazy for a while."
Emperor Zhaoming's face darkened. "Although Li is a concubine, she was married to him through formal marriage. I have never heard of a concubine assaulting a wife in this dynasty. This is truly absurd!"
Empress Li suddenly stood up and knelt before Emperor Zhaoming, saying, "Li is my niece. She has misbehaved in front of the palace this time. I dare not shield her. Your Majesty, please punish her! However, this matter concerns the dignity of the imperial family. I believe that it must be handled with caution to avoid undermining the dignity of the royal family!"
Everyone present heard the hidden meaning in her words.
"Your Majesty..." Zhao Congyun took a step forward, lifted his clothes and knelt on the ground: "Please allow me to explain!"
Emperor Zhaoming shouted angrily, "Shut up! The Queen is right! You have no shame, and you want to bring shame upon me and the entire imperial family?!"
"I don't want to hear your explanation!"
Emperor Zhaoming's extremely oppressive gaze suddenly fell on Yue Mingming: "I want to hear her explanation!"
Ever since Li Pingru entered the hall, Yue Mingming has been standing quietly with his eyes lowered, his expression neither humble nor arrogant.
She could remain calm even when being accused in front of the emperor, which even many ministers could not do. However, this little concubine did not even shed a tear, which made Emperor Zhaoming look at her with admiration.
He asked in a deep voice, "Is what Li said true? Do you have any excuse for yourself?"
Empress Li had a complicated expression. She didn't expect that Yue Mingming didn't refute it immediately, and Emperor Zhaoming actually gave her a chance to speak.
Yue Mingming took a deep breath and thought to himself: You guys are finally done performing, it’s finally my turn.
In fact, she had expected Li Pingru's appearance. She knew that she couldn't cry at that moment and couldn't compete with Li Pingru in voice. If the two of them quarreled, Emperor Zhaoming would be annoyed and would treat them as two secluded women making a scene in the palace, and no one would end up in a good situation.
At this moment, using stillness to counter movement will actually attract attention.
Yue Mingming knelt down and replied, "Your Majesty, what Li said is both true and false."
"While it is true that I beat her, the reason for beating her is false."
Emperor Zhaoming raised his eyebrows. "Oh? Then tell me, why did you hit him?"
Yue Mingming kowtowed heavily: "It was the Concubine who hit me first. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I had no choice but to fight back!"
Tears finally fell from her eyes, but her voice remained calm: "This humble servant knows that my family is humble, and my father is a serious sinner. It is only natural for the princess to teach me a lesson and give me a spanking. But... if this servant had not fought back, I am afraid I would never see the prince again!"
After these words were spoken, everyone suddenly understood. After all, Li Pingru's family background was there, and she had been spoiled since childhood. Deliberately making things difficult for the favored concubine seemed like something she would do.
Only Li Pingru was stunned and blurted out, "You bitch, you're talking nonsense! When did I hit you?"
Queen Li coughed lightly, and her eyes rolled like a knife. Li Pingru immediately dared not say anything more.
Emperor Zhaoming frowned. "You both have your own opinions now, but Li's appearance was damaged, while yours is intact... You said she hit you, but do you have any evidence?"
Yue Mingming nodded: "Your servant requests a medical examination!"
Empress Li's heart skipped a beat, sensing something was amiss. Just as she was about to speak to protest, Emperor Zhaoming simply said, "Alright! Someone, come here and take her to have her injuries examined!"
The palace maid took the order and quickly found two senior female servants to take Yue Mingming behind a screen at the side of the hall.
Soon, everyone heard a suppressed low cry from behind the screen, which seemed to be quite surprised.
Empress Li called out, "Who has behaved disrespectfully in front of the palace?"
The maid's face turned pale and she hurried out to reply, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please forgive me! It's really...it's really..."
Emperor Zhaoming saw her hesitating and had a plan in mind: "Just tell the truth!"
The maid frowned and said, "Madam Yue does have many scars on her arms, back, and legs. Some are bruises, some are ulcers... These are all recent injuries. It's really hard to bear to look at them."
Zhao Congyun, who had been silent all this time, suddenly looked up and stared at Li Pingru fiercely. The disgust and hatred in his eyes scared Li Pingru so much that he staggered back.
Emperor Zhaoming angrily said, "Li is quite skilled! You injured someone so badly, yet there's not a single scratch on his face... Who taught you such a vicious method?"
Li Pingru cried in fear, "I didn't! I didn't touch her at all! This must be her trick... Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please make the decision for me!"
She rushed towards Queen Li: "Please believe me, Your Majesty!"
Empress Li sighed, "You child... you've always been soft-hearted. I've told you countless times to deal with those vicious servants, but you refused to do it. Now they've beaten your concubine like this. Do you realize your mistake?"
Li Pingru was in disbelief. She felt extremely wronged, but facing Empress Li's kind face, she dared not argue even a word. Finally, she choked out a sob and said, "...Your servant... was wrong!"
Empress Li nodded and said gently to Emperor Zhaoming, "The affairs of the harem are already a mess. I will make the decision. I will have her execute the perpetrators of the attack and apologize to Lady Yue... Today's selection of a concubine is crucial. Don't let us miss the important task!"
Emperor Zhaoming remained silent. Zhao Congyun sneered, "Is the Empress trying to exonerate her niece?"
"Such a vicious woman, please forgive me, I can no longer tolerate her in my house..." He was about to take advantage of the situation to divorce Li Pingru, but someone pulled his sleeve hard. Zhao Congyun turned around and saw Yue Mingming pulling him, giving him a look that he could not understand.
"I am also at fault in this matter... I am willing to reconcile with the princess and not pursue each other in the future to avoid discord in the mansion." Yue Mingming said obediently.
Emperor Zhaoming smiled in an ambiguous manner and said, "He's quite clever! Let's disperse what needs to be dispersed... Business is more important."
Queen Li secretly signaled to those beside her, and immediately a palace maid helped Li Pingru back away.
After she left, Empress Li suddenly spoke up, "I would like to ask Your Majesty for a favor... I think Lady Yue is very sensible. Why not let her stay and participate in the selection of the princess?"
…………
Yue Mingming was puzzled, could Queen Li be so kind?
She and Zhao Congyun looked at each other, and a look of hesitation appeared between his brows.
Emperor Zhaoming looked coldly at the couple kneeling on the ground. The girl was holding half of Zhao Congyun's sleeve in her hand. The two were very close to each other and looked a perfect match.
His thoughts drifted away, and he didn't know what he was thinking about. After a while, he slowly uttered two words: "OK."
"The Queen and I have put in a lot of effort. I hope you won't let us down." After all, he was his younger brother, whom he had raised with his own hands. Emperor Zhaoming didn't want to push him too hard, so he simply took a step back following the step given by Queen Li.
Seeing the storm dissipate, everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Emperor Zhaoming waved his hand, signaling the start of the long-awaited palace banquet. Empress Li personally poured wine to apologize, causing panic among the ministers. Only Zhao Congyun buried his head in his drink, ignoring the greetings around him.
Yue Mingming noticed that he looked strange and asked quietly, "What's wrong with you?"
Zhao Congyun was silent for a moment, looking at her deeply: "What happened to your injuries? When did she hit you? Why didn't you tell me?"
Yue Mingming was stunned: "...Are you worried?"
Zhao Congyun did not deny it.
Yue Mingming held down his hand that was pouring the wine and said with a sly smile, "Don't worry, it's all fake... This is called 'injury makeup'. I asked Xing'er to help me put it on before I left. She's very skilled and can learn it quickly. I'll show you in detail when we get back!"
Zhao Congyun seemed unconvinced and repeatedly asked, "Really? Are you really okay?"
"If I lied to you, I would be a puppy!" Yue Mingming smiled with eyes brighter than the stars.
A faint smile finally appeared between Zhao Congyun's brows.
He paused, then warned in a deep voice, "Li Pingru didn't get the upper hand, and I bet the Queen won't let it go. You must be careful!"
Yue Mingming nodded: "You too."
She caught a glimpse of the blood on Zhao Congyun's palm and snatched the wine glass from him: "Look, you, it's ok to just pretend, why are you really doing this? Don't drink anymore, it's not good for the wound!"
"It's okay." Zhao Congyun covered his hands with his long sleeves, seeming helpless and happy.
Empress Li watched the two from afar and said to Emperor Zhaoming, "Your Majesty, look how loving they are! I, your concubine, would hate to separate such a beautiful couple. How can we choose a concubine?"
Emperor Zhaoming said displeasedly, "Given her background, it's already an exception for her to be selected. Are you trying to cheat for her?! The selection of princesses has always been based on character and talent. So, we'll make the selection!"
Empress Li bowed and said, "Your Majesty is right! I'm not very knowledgeable about needlework, so why not test them in the four arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting? Then, if they can demonstrate publicly, I think the Emperor's uncle and the other nobles will be convinced. What do you think?"
Emperor Zhaoming looked around and saw that several ministers naturally had no objection and nodded one after another. Only Zhao Congyun frowned and remained silent.
He had seen Yue Mingming's calligraphy and drawings, and to put it mildly, they could be described as "vulgar." He figured his skills in music and chess wouldn't be much better either.
This was a losing contest, and he had to find a way to refuse.
"What? You don't dare to agree?" Emperor Zhaoming's face darkened. "The Queen is always thinking of you. Don't push your luck."
Yue Mingming suddenly said in a crisp voice, "Your Highness agrees! Your Highness hesitated because he was afraid that your skills were too poor and would offend His Majesty and His Majesty!"
Emperor Zhaoming smiled and said, "You don't have to be so modest. If you are truly talented and virtuous, I will not break my promise."
Zhao Congyun's face was filled with black lines, and he really wanted to tell his royal brother that she was not being modest at all, and her appearance was indeed disgusting!
Emperor Zhaoming continued, "However, it is already late today, and I wonder how long the competition in the four arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting will last."
Queen Li said, "That's not a big deal. Let them stay in the palace for one night and the competition will begin tomorrow."
Hearing that they would stay overnight in the palace, Zhao Congyun became even more worried. He looked at Yue Mingming and asked her, but saw that she looked confident.
In fact, Yue Mingming's confidence was just pretended.
She knew nothing about music, chess, calligraphy, or painting, but she had a simple intuition about danger—she knew that Zhao Congyun couldn't contradict the emperor again today!
Give him one night to deal with it. Besides, she also has a gossip system, which can be used to expose the past of these ladies and important officials of the court in time.
Later, Yue Mingming thought about it countless times. If he had not acted on his own and made this seemingly thoughtful decision for Zhao Congyun, would the outcome of this palace banquet be different?
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