Discussing the emperor is a capital offense!
The palace maids chatting around them all knelt down in unison, their faces turning ashen with fear. She instinctively knelt down as well.
Her face contorted in pain as she knelt down.
"Eunuch Wen...this servant...this servant just spoke without thinking, this servant deserves to die..."
Wen Deqing remained calm and composed, as if he hadn't heard Fuling's earlier remarks at all.
"Are you Fuling?" Wen Deqing asked.
"Yes...this servant Fuling greets Eunuch Wen." Fuling's voice trembled uncontrollably.
Wen Deqing placed the bowl in front of her. "Are you the one who delivers meals to Consort Gu every day?"
Fuling looked at the bowl, feeling a strange unease.
If it weren't for taking this bowl, I wouldn't have had my arm broken by that wretched woman!
She was furious and ignored her unease, focusing solely on exposing Gu Jiangli's wickedness, and replied:
"Yes, it is this servant who delivers meals to Consort Gu every day. Today, that Consort Gu really went too far, she..."
But Wen Deqing didn't want to listen anymore and interrupted her:
"You only deliver one meal to Consort Gu at noon every day?"
Fu Ling had a slightly ominous premonition, and she replied somewhat inexplicably, "Yes...but this is because..."
Wen Deqing interrupted her again:
"The bowl in front of you is the one Consort Gu used for her meal today. There are a few grains of rice left in it, and they've gone bad. Did you deliberately let the food spoil before serving it to Consort Gu?"
Even if Fuling were stupid, she could tell that Wen Deqing's words implied an accusation.
In an instant, her body trembled like a leaf, and she hurriedly explained, "Eunuch Wen, things aren't as you think..."
"You only need to answer yes or no."
"I...I..."
Fu Ling seemed to suddenly stammer. Just moments before, she had been eloquently recounting how she had bullied Gu Jiangli, but now she could barely utter a single word.
She just couldn't understand it.
She's been bullying Gu Jiangli for a long time, so why is someone suddenly standing up for Gu Jiangli today?
I haven't heard that His Majesty the Emperor pardoned her crime.
What exactly happened?
Looking at Fuling, who was speaking unclearly, Wen Deqing understood the whole story.
It seems that Consort Gu has suffered a lot of injustice in the past two years.
Even a mere palace maid delivering meals from the imperial kitchen dares to climb all over her and defecate on her head...
He said to Fuling, "Fuling, according to the Emperor's decree, starting tomorrow, you no longer need to deliver meals to Consort Gu."
Fuling raised her head, her eyes red: "What?"
Wen Deqing ignored her and turned to the head chef, saying, "His Majesty said that the meals of the concubines in the palace should be of the same standard. Do you understand?"
The head chef, sweating profusely, nodded: "Yes...yes, this servant understands, this servant will certainly do as instructed."
"Furthermore," Wen Deqing added, turning to his head, "you are the head chef, and the Imperial Kitchen is under your jurisdiction. If His Majesty were to find out that there are maids in the Imperial Kitchen who are good at gossiping about their masters, I don't think His Majesty would be pleased. What do you think?"
The head chef nodded repeatedly. Eunuch Wen had said "gossiping about the master" rather than "gossiping about the emperor," which meant that the imperial kitchen was already being given a scare.
You should know that gossiping about your master might earn you some punishment but also save your life.
But if His Majesty were to speak ill of him, that would be a capital offense! It might even implicate the entire Imperial Kitchen, branding him, the person in charge of the Imperial Kitchen, as a dereliction of duty!
The head chef opened his mouth, his trembling voice almost identical to Fu Ling's, "Yes, yes, Eunuch Wen is right. It was this servant's fault for not managing his subordinates properly. This servant knows what to do now."
Wen Deqing gave Fuling, who was kneeling on the ground, a cold glance. Fuling immediately felt a chilly wind blow from behind, which frightened her so much that she collapsed to the ground.
After leaving the Imperial Kitchen, Wen Deqing went straight to the Chengen Hall.
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