The queen thought to herself, how come Danruo suddenly became so sharp-tongued, unlike the stupid and brainless one before.
She bowed her head softly and apologized to the Imperial Concubine: "It is all because of my poor discipline that Rong'an has suffered. I beg the Imperial Concubine to forgive me."
The Emperor watched his beloved woman bow down to the Imperial Concubine, who had suffered all her life under his wrath and had to avoid the Imperial Concubine's wrath at every turn. The Emperor had completely forgotten that it was he who had provoked the Imperial Concubine in the first place in order to succeed him.
The imperial concubine hastily dodged the empress's bow and almost immediately responded, "Sister, I am sorry to trouble you."
The Emperor helped them both to their feet. "Ultimately, it's because I've been too partial and unfair over the years, causing discord between the sisters. I'll lead a three-month fast and reflect on my actions. Ye Lingyi will be stripped of her princess title and confined to her house for a year. Rong'an sneaked out of the palace and will be fined six months' salary."
Dan Ruo was dissatisfied: "I ran away from the palace secretly because the palace was too lax in its supervision and let me out casually."
"The Crown Prince's guards of the palace were inadequate, and he will be fined one year's salary."
The imperial concubine looked unhappy. If the title was taken away, she could find a reason to get it back someday. Deducting her salary was not a big deal. Only house arrest could be considered a decent punishment.
When the emperor first met her, he said that he had no feelings for the queen and only liked her. However, after so many years, the imperial concubine also understood from time to time who the emperor was really protecting.
Dan Ruo held the imperial concubine's hand in a soothing manner. She originally wanted to implicate the empress so that the imperial concubine could concentrate on having another child. However, the emperor protected the empress very tightly, so it seemed that she had to find another way.
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