Wanwan talked on and on, but Chengbi never responded, not even raising her head.
Wanwan's heart was pounding with anger. Just as she was about to raise her hand to slap Cheng Bi across the face, she suddenly remembered the "grievance" she had suffered at Chen Shi's hour. So she stopped and said to the alluring palace maid, "Huanzhu, reward Consort De with twenty slaps!"
"Yes." Huanzhu respectfully accepted the order.
She stepped forward, looked at Cheng Bi, and a triumphant smile appeared on her lips. She seemed to enjoy the process of aiding and abetting evil.
Just as she was about to slap down with all her might, her raised hand couldn't bring itself down. She turned her head and saw that someone was holding her tightly.
"Let go." She struggled, not even seeing who was stopping her, saying, "This is Consort Hui's order! How dare you obstruct me? Don't you want to die?"
The person who tried to stop them was not only unafraid, but also laughed, saying, "I was ordered by Her Majesty the Empress, so how could I not dare to obstruct them?"
If it can be said that Mingyue gave the order, then it can only be Green Sleeve.
Seeing this, Huanzhu stopped struggling. After all, Mingyue was the Empress, and she dared not act rashly.
"Your Majesty, what do you mean by this? Am I not even allowed to discipline a mere concubine?" Wanwan turned to look at Mingyue with dissatisfaction.
Mingyue chuckled softly, "What could I possibly mean? I'm doing all this for your own good."
"For my own good?" Wanwan clearly didn't believe it. In her opinion, Mingyue was obviously protecting Chengbi.
"You don't believe me?" Mingyue asked, raising an eyebrow.
Wanwan shook her head, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Seeing that she didn't believe him, Mingyue explained, "When the Emperor ascended the throne, he clearly issued an imperial edict that palace servants should not be beaten at will. Consort Hui, what you did was a violation of the Emperor's decree!"
Wanwan, however, didn't take it seriously. "That's right, His Majesty did say that, but he never said that palace servants shouldn't be punished for their mistakes."
"Oh!" Mingyue raised an eyebrow. "Then Consort Hui, tell me, what has Consort De done wrong?"
“Uh…” Wanwan hesitated for a moment. Cheng Bi hadn’t done anything wrong. How should she explain this?
Seeing that Wanwan couldn't answer, Huanzhu thought to herself: "This is more trouble than it's worth." Then she stepped forward and said, "Noble Lady De is arrogant and refused to pay her respects to Consort Hui. That's why Consort Hui gave her a good scolding."
"Oh?" Mingyue smiled and looked at Huanzhu. "It's as if you think someone is special."
Fine, since you've run into my line of fire, then you can be the one to do the dirty work! Mingyue had long disliked this Huanzhu, who always had an arrogant and haughty demeanor.
"This servant is merely stating the truth. Why does Your Majesty speak in words I cannot understand?" Huanzhu's expression changed slightly, but she still forced herself to remain calm. At this moment, she absolutely could not panic.
"Ha! You're as cunning as a sieve, with so many tricks up your sleeve. How could you not understand what I'm saying?" Mingyue sneered, then sneered, "You're just a lowly palace maid. Do you have a place to interrupt when your mistress is speaking? People say Consort De is arrogant, but you're the one who's truly arrogant."
"You..." Huanzhu was speechless with anger. She wanted to retort, but dared not. She could only lower her head and say, "This servant dares not."
Mingyue's lips curled up slightly. "I've already said it, what is there to be afraid of?" Then her face darkened and she said, "Huanzhu has defied me and is ignorant of the palace rules. Guards, take her away and give her twenty lashes."
Huanzhu was taken aback, thinking: When did Mingyue become like this? She used to just talk, but now she actually takes action.
At this moment, she was filled with endless regret. If she had known that Mingyue would act this way, she would never have interrupted.
Seeing that the guards were about to drag her away, she quickly grabbed Wanwan's sleeve and said, "Your Highness, please save me! I can't bear twenty strokes of the cane!"
After all, she had served her for many years, and Wanwan couldn't bear it. After stopping the guards, she turned to Mingyue and asked, "Your Majesty, you are being too harsh. I only said something, and you want to give her twenty lashes."
Mingyue met her gaze. "Isn't this something you learned from Consort Hui? Noble Lady De also forgot to pay her respects for a moment, and you slapped her twenty times." She slowly walked towards Wanwan. "We're the same."
Wanwan was naturally slow-witted and tongue-tied, so how could she possibly respond to Mingyue's words? She could only say indignantly, "What do you want?"
Mingyue's smile deepened. "Whatever I think, I'll do as I please. If you slap Consort De twenty times, I'll give Huanzhu twenty lashes!"
Before Wanwan could speak, Huanzhu spoke first again, kneeling beside Wanwan: "Twenty slaps from Consort De will only hurt my skin, but twenty strokes of the cane will take half my life. It's not worth it." She tugged at Wanwan's sleeve and pleaded: "As long as you withdraw the decree, Her Majesty the Empress will have no reason to continue beating me."
After Huanzhu's guidance, Wanwan finally understood that Mingyue was only trying to protect Chengbi.
So she said, "Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. I cannot punish Consort De any further. I also hope that Your Majesty will rescind your order."
"Do you think you're being too harsh now?" Mingyue waved her hand, signaling the guard to take his leave.
After the guards left, Huanzhu finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders, and collapsed to her knees.
"It was my fault for being harsh. I will obey Your Majesty the Empress and will no longer treat the palace servants this way." She apologized verbally, but her eyes revealed deep dissatisfaction.
Mingyue saw through it but didn't say anything. She smiled and said, "I hope you can remember today's lesson, otherwise..." She paused and whispered in Wanwan's ear, "Next time, twenty lashes will fall on you."
"You dare?" Wanwan blurted out.
“What’s there to be afraid of? I am the Empress. If you can hit Consort De, then I can naturally hit you too!” Mingyue raised her chin and said. At this moment, she felt that the position of Empress was too comfortable.
"You..." Wanwan's eyes widened in anger, but she dared not utter the words she wanted to say. In the end, she could only say loudly, "I am not feeling well, so I will take my leave now."
"Hmph." Mingyue rolled her eyes at her, said nothing more, and let her leave with the Illusion Pearl.
After Wanwan left, Mingyue quickly helped Chengbi up and gently asked, "Was she hit anywhere?"
Cheng Bi shook her head, tears welling in her eyes, clearly moved by Mingyue's actions. "Your Majesty the Empress arrived just in time; I was not injured anywhere."
As soon as she finished speaking, she lost her balance and almost knelt down again, but was fortunately supported by Green Sleeves.
"It seems she's gone numb from kneeling. Green Sleeve, quickly help Noble Lady De into the room and have a seat," Mingyue instructed.
"Yes." Green Sleeve obeyed the order, helping Cheng Bi into the room and applying ointment to her purplish-red knees.
"Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress," Cheng Bi said, sitting beside Mingyue.
“No need to be so polite,” Mingyue replied magnanimously.
However, she found it strange that Cheng Bi was at that corner.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but frown.
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