Cheng'en Hall.
Wen Deqing dared not disturb the emperor and Consort Shu's affectionate relationship.
It was early the next morning when the report was submitted to the emperor.
Xiao Dingyuan stood beside a huge bronze mirror, with two palace maids helping him dress.
"How is it?" The authoritative question sent a chill down the spines of the two palace maids beside him.
Wen Deqing stood five steps away and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, this servant went to the Imperial Kitchen and met the palace maid named Fuling that Consort Gu mentioned. As far as this servant knows, what Consort Gu said yesterday is basically true."
The word "basic" made the emperor frown, and his voice suddenly rose, "What? Does that mean there's something untrue in what she said?"
The emperor's displeasure was accurately detected by the two palace maids. They even stopped dressing and knelt down in unison, not daring to breathe.
Wen Deqing explained with a calm expression, "Your Majesty, it is indeed true that Fuling's arm is injured, and it is also true that she only sends one meal to Consort Gu each day."
"In my humble opinion, Consort Gu did not deceive Your Majesty, but she did conceal something from Your Majesty."
"The truth is, Fuling from the Imperial Kitchen, seeing that Consort Gu had fallen out of favor and was confined to Yilan Palace, did not take Consort Gu seriously. Not only did she leave Consort Gu hungry, but she would even deliberately spoil the food before serving it to Consort Gu in order to bully her."
"What?" Xiao Dingyuan's anger was beginning to surface.
When he heard that there were untrue parts in Gu Jiangli's words, he thought that she was still trying to deceive him because of her nature.
Unexpectedly, they had been concealing the fact that she had been wronged.
She said she was eating only one meal a day to atone for her sins.
But that palace maid didn't even treat this only meal properly, sending her spoiled food that even the dogs in the palace wouldn't eat.
The thought that Gu Jiangli's frail body last night was caused by eating spoiled food every day made his heart ache.
Unexpectedly, in the past two years, she has lived a life worse than even the lowest-ranking palace maid!
"How dare she! What kind of bastard is that Fuling! Even if Consort Gu is out of favor, she is still her mistress in terms of rank! How dare she feed a mere consort spoiled food!?"
Xiao Dingyuan roared, and even the palace maids and eunuchs guarding the door knelt down in unison, not daring to raise their heads.
“Your Majesty,” Wen Deqing continued, “Fuling will be punished. I have also had the Imperial Kitchen change the maids who deliver the meals, and I have instructed them to treat Consort Gu the same way they treat a Consort.”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Dingyuan calmed down somewhat and finally nodded with a frown.
"It seems that Gu Jiangli has really changed his nature. He didn't say a word even after suffering such a great injustice."
"Consort Gu was probably worried that His Majesty would punish Fuling, which is why she didn't reveal these things and only said that she wanted to forgive him. Even when Fuling was late in bringing her food, she took the initiative to make excuses for Fuling. It can be seen that Consort Gu's kindness was not feigned."
"Wen Deqing, in your opinion, has Gu Jiangli truly reformed?"
Wen Deqing lowered his head and thought for a moment. The image of Gu Jiangli bowing to him twice through the crack in the door flashed before his eyes. He also recalled Fuling's many rude remarks behind his back, which made him even more certain of his opinion.
"Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, Consort Gu is of pure and kind nature. However, she was quite young when she first entered the palace, and General Hu Ben doted on her, which made her arrogant and disdainful of others."
"But after two years of confinement and reflection, Consort Gu has curbed her arrogant nature and is now a qualified and well-behaved concubine in the harem."
Xiao Dingyuan's brows instantly relaxed, and the volatile aura around him vanished in the blink of an eye.
It seems she has truly changed.
It has become exactly how he envisioned it.
A faint smile unconsciously appeared on Xiao Dingyuan's face, a smile that Wen Deqing hadn't seen in several years.
After a long silence, the emperor's words rang out again:
"Wen Deqing".
"Your servant is here."
"Since you say she has changed her ways, then remove the iron chains from Yilan Palace. The inner palace is not a prison; it's really inappropriate to keep her chained up."
Wen Deqing smiled and said, "Yes, this servant will take care of it right away."
The emperor's meaning was clear.
With the iron chains removed, it proved that Consort Gu's confinement would be lifted soon.
Wen Deqing didn't know why he was happy, but he inexplicably felt that lifting the ban on Consort Gu would only bring benefits to His Majesty, and no harm at all.
After all, he hadn't seen His Majesty so happy in a long time.
——————
Gu Jiangli woke up early in the morning.
Although she was exhausted, the hunger prevented her from sleeping soundly.
Fortunately, today I don't have to wait until noon to eat like before.
As the sun rose, a series of faint sounds came from outside Yilan Palace, as if someone was turning on chains.
She thought it was the food delivery, so she went to the door to wait, wanting to see if the food delivered today was any different from yesterday's.
But to her surprise, the food wasn't passed in through the crack in the door.
This time, the red door opened wide!
"What?!"
What happened?
Is she about to be free?
It seems Wen Deqing played a significant role in this.
Several eunuchs stood outside the door, followed by several palace maids.
"Your servants pay their respects to Consort Gu." A group of people outside bowed respectfully to her.
Gu Jiangli silently swallowed.
I wasn't scared, but rather lured in by the aroma of the food!
The palace maids were carrying several wooden trays, which were clearly filled with her food!
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