Whether it was Cui Ling's voice that was too loud or the maid's voice that startled Nian Shi who was resting inside, Nian Shi slowly came out and saw Cui Ling blushing and angry.
"Cui Ling? What's wrong? Did something happen?" Madam Nian called out.
Cuiling and her maid were startled and stood awkwardly at the door, unsure of what to do. The maid knelt down with a thud, trembling and afraid to move. Cuiling quickly smiled and said, "Why did Your Highness come out? Let me help you inside to rest..."
Lady Nian sensed something was wrong. Pointing to the kneeling maid on the ground, she asked, "What's wrong with her? Why is she so afraid of me?"
Cui Ling winked at the maidservant, trying to cover it up, and said, "Your Highness is overthinking it. This maidservant just did something wrong, and I'm currently teaching her a lesson. Your Highness, let's go inside quickly..."
Lady Nian glared at Cui Ling and snapped, "How dare you! You still dare to hide things from me? Is this Yikun Palace under your jurisdiction or mine?"
Cui Ling trembled and knelt on the ground, crying out, "Your Majesty, please calm down! I was wrong! I didn't mean it..." Madam Nian, panting, pointed at Cui Ling and scolded, "Tell me quickly, what exactly happened?"
Cui Ling glanced at Madam Nian with difficulty, and had no choice but to tell the truth: "Your Majesty, this little maid has heard some rumors from somewhere, and I think these things should not be spread to Your Majesty's ears..."
Mr. Nian took a deep breath, his eyes flashed slightly, and he said in a low voice, "What rumors?"
Cui Ling and the maid exchanged a glance, then hesitated before saying, "Yes...yes..."
"Speak quickly! What exactly is this rumor?" Madam Nian demanded angrily.
"It was a rumor in the palace that the Empress was old and faded, and had fallen out of favor. But now, she has somehow found a miraculous elixir and restored her beauty, which is why she has attracted the Emperor's attention..." Cui Ling told the whole story with her eyes closed.
After Cuiling finished speaking, Lady Nian was drenched in cold sweat, trembling with rage, her veins bulging. Cuiling panicked and rushed forward to support the swaying Lady Nian, saying fearfully, "Your Majesty, please take care of yourself! These are just idle words from idle people; Your Majesty must not take them seriously..."
Madam Nian pushed Cuiling aside, pointed at the little maid on the ground, and asked with barely suppressed anger, "Tell me... where did you hear these things?"
The young maid was terrified, trembling as she dared not raise her head: "Reporting to Your Highness, it's all over the palace that Your Highness regained your beauty after taking some kind of elixir, and they're also saying that Your Highness has fallen out of favor. I overheard it by chance and only told Sister Cuiling when I got back..."
Mr. Nian asked, "Who? Who told you that?"
The young maidservant, remembering her deceased wet nurse and the palace maid who had recently been punished with a severe beating, dared not anger Lady Nian and said fearfully, "It was...it was when I went to the Imperial Household Department to retrieve something that I overheard it. As for which palace the maidservant belonged to, I really don't know!"
Madam Nian swallowed hard, desperately trying to control her anger. Unable to contain herself any longer, she suddenly turned and overturned the low cabinet beside her, the sound of shattering porcelain echoing throughout Yikun Palace. Cuiling, terrified, covered her ears and watched Madam Nian timidly from the side.
"I am a noble consort, how can I allow these servants to gossip? They deserve to die! They all deserve to die..." The little maid was terrified and huddled in the corner, trembling and afraid to move. Cui Ling knelt beside her, anxious but not knowing what to do.
After Nian finished venting her anger, the room was already a mess. Nian stepped over the broken pieces on the floor, staggered to the table, and gave a cold laugh in a daze.
After an unknown amount of time, Lady Nian finally came to her senses and instructed Cuiling, who was kneeling beside her, "Go and fetch Chief Steward Li of the Imperial Household Department right now. I have some questions to ask him..."
Seeing that Madam Nian had finally recovered, Cui Ling breathed a sigh of relief, bowed slightly, and hurriedly said, "This servant will go right away..."
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