"I'm going all out."
Just as Hailanzhu was about to go out to rescue them, she heard footsteps again, so she had to stop and look again to see who it was.
"Hauge, what are you doing?" the woman asked sharply.
Only Huang Taiji and Yunxian dared to call Hauge directly to his face.
"Mother, what brings you here?" Hauge was not afraid of Yunxian and met her gaze.
Yunxian ignored his words and turned her head, looking at the kneeling palace maid with a sinister gaze. "Peiran, instead of serving the concubine in Chengxi Palace, you're here seducing Haoge. What is your punishment?"
Seeing this blatant distortion of the truth, Hailanzhu felt even more disgusted.
"That's not how it is, Your Majesty, please see the truth." Pei Ran kowtowed so many times that her forehead was bleeding.
"If it's not like that, then what is it? I said you seduced the First Prince, and that's it. You still dare to argue?" Yunxian glanced at her contemptuously.
No wonder Hauge is so arrogant and unreasonable; he takes after Yunxian.
Yunxian is just better at disguising herself. In front of others, she appears to be kind and understanding, but once she is alone, her true colors are revealed.
Pei Ran shook her head, tears streaming down her face, knowing that saying anything more would be useless. She could only slump down and resign herself to fate.
“Throw her into the nearest pond, and let her drown by accident,” Yunxian said coldly.
But Hauge wouldn't have it, after all, he hadn't gotten it yet. "Mother, what are you doing? I haven't had enough fun yet, it would be such a waste if I died."
Yunxian turned back to look at him with exasperation, "When you're done playing around, you'll be the one who dies."
Haug was confused. "What are you talking about?"
Yunxian explained, "Yan Zhaqiurong is a cunning fox. In the past two months, you have been coming to the palace to pay your respects. She probably guessed your nature, so she deliberately sent a beautiful woman to serve by your side. Her purpose is to seduce you, and after the deed is done, she will inform the Emperor so that he can punish you."
Haug was skeptical. "Really?"
"Would your mother lie to you?" Yunxian nodded. "Yan Zhaqiurong is only in her twenties, and she has a prince. The Emperor still visits her occasionally. In order to maintain her insignificant favor, she chooses palace maids who are even uglier than herself, just to prevent the Emperor from being distracted. But now she has suddenly changed her mind and left such a beautiful palace maid by her side. Wouldn't that arouse suspicion?"
It has to be said that Yunxian is really meticulous; she even thought of so much when Yan Zhaqiu Rong was changing a palace maid.
However, Hailanzhu did not think so. If Peiran was really sent by Yan Zhaqiu to seduce her, then she should have accepted him half-heartedly, instead of refusing him even if it meant death.
"Take him away," Yunxian ordered.
Upon hearing this, Hailanzhu quickly removed her palace maid's clothes, unveiled her face, and hurried over.
In fact, she had considered not saving Pei Ran, but if she saved Pei Ran, her plan would be delayed for a few days, and if something went wrong, all her previous efforts would be in vain.
But she couldn't bear the pangs of conscience and ultimately chose to help.
"Sister, what are you doing?" Hailanzhu walked straight over and asked with a bewildered look.
"Why is she here?" Yunxian wondered to herself, but greeted her with a smile and bowed, saying, "Consort Chen, you have such refined tastes, coming here alone."
Hailanzhu replied calmly, "It's so dull in the palace, so I came out for a walk. Who knew I'd lost my personal jade pendant? So I sent Qingluan to look for it." She lied without batting an eye.
Yunxian looked at her with a puzzled expression, feeling something was off but unable to put her finger on it. She could only agree, saying, "I see."
Hailanzhu nodded, then asked, "I have answered all the questions you asked, sister, but you have not yet answered mine."
Yunxian glanced down at Peiran and said, "This lowly servant doesn't know what's good for her. She actually wants to climb the social ladder and seduce the First Prince." After saying that, she didn't forget to give Haoge a look.
But Hauge wasn't listening to what they were saying. From the moment Hailanzhu arrived, his gaze was fixed on her face, his eyes practically popping out of their sockets.
Seeing this, Yunxian secretly pinched Hauge, and only then did Hauge realize what was happening.
"Yes, yes, yes," he replied casually.
Hailanzhu scoffed, "This palace maid is shameless. What do you want to do with her, sister?"
"Of course, kill her." Yunxian's desire to kill Peiran remained undiminished.
"Wouldn't this be too harsh?" Hailanzhu countered.
“Sister, we must not be soft-hearted. If we let her go this time, other palace maids will follow suit, and the harem will be in chaos,” Yunxian said earnestly, seemingly genuinely concerned for the peace of the harem.
Fortunately, she didn't become empress, otherwise the people in the harem would always die inexplicably.
In this respect, Zhe Zhe is better than her; at least she doesn't execute palace maids so easily and treat human life as worthless.
“What you say makes sense, sister, but I still think it’s too harsh.” Hailanzhu paused, then said, “That’s right, there are quite a few people like that in the palace, some even openly seducing the emperor, but the emperor turns a blind eye and lets them go. Do you think the emperor is wrong by doing this, sister?”
“This…” Yunxian did not expect her to bring up Huang Taiji.
“Everyone makes mistakes. As long as no one is killed, you don’t need to be so ruthless, sister. Otherwise, things will backfire and you will suffer the consequences,” Hailanzhu continued.
Yunxian's face turned red with anger. It was clear that she was being accused of being ruthless. Helpless, she could only look at Hauge and ask, "What do you think?"
In order to please Hailanzhu and leave a good impression on her, Hauge disregarded Yunxian's thoughts at all, saying, "Your subject thinks that Consort Chen is right. We should not be too harsh and should deal with it as Father Emperor did."
“You…” Yunxian glared angrily, her eyes wide, but she didn’t clench the handkerchief in her hand.
Now that things have come to this, she doesn't blame Hauge for being lustful. Instead, she blames Hailanzhu for being too beautiful, which not only deceived Huang Taiji's heart but also seduced Hauge.
Seeing Yunxian's face, which was so angry that she was about to have a stroke, Hailanzhu felt a sense of satisfaction. At the same time, she also noticed Hauge's lecherous gaze and felt extremely disgusted.
However, she couldn't lash out on the spot, so she could only sternly order the eunuch holding Pei Ran, "What are you standing there for? Release her now!"
Hailanzhu was Consort Chen, second only to the emperor, so how could the eunuchs dare to disobey? They immediately released their grip.
Pei Ran, now free, kowtowed to Hailanzhu and said, "Thank you, Consort Chen, for saving my life. You will be rewarded for your kindness."
Hailanzhu nodded, "Go down!"
"Yes." Pei Ran stood up, glanced gratefully at Hai Lan Zhu, and then quickly left.
Seeing this, Yunxian had no choice but to let Peiran go, and then bowed to Hailanzhu and left, citing the hot weather as the reason.
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