"Your Majesty, what the Emperor did is far too outrageous; it is utterly appalling to us concubines."
After hearing about this, the sisters all wanted to go and see the Emperor directly, but they were worried that the Emperor would not see them, so they came to the Empress's place..."
Consort Xi kept talking, her mouth opening and closing, and the palace maids around her couldn't stop her no matter what they tried.
Seeing that her mistress's expression was not right, Granny Jiang reached out to support her in concern.
But before she could even extend her hand, she heard her empress shout.
"Shut up, shut up! Who gave you the right to spread such rumors? Of course the Emperor wouldn't do that. You're just making things up."
Consort Xi was startled by the Empress's loud rebuke, and immediately shut her mouth and knelt down to beg for mercy.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. Your Majesty, please forgive me. I did not lie."
Heaven bears witness, the sun and moon are clear; if a single lie is uttered from my lips, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death.
As Consort Xi swore her oath, she carefully observed the Empress's expression, kneeling upright, afraid that any word she uttered would displease the Empress.
In her memory, the Empress had always been dignified, generous, gentle and kind, but the incident involving Consort Liu not long ago gave her a wake-up call.
Even the kindest person is still the Empress, the mother of the nation, who holds the lives of everyone in the harem in her hands. She wouldn't dare to lie to the Empress.
Besides, she's just quick-witted, not really brainless. Seeing the Empress's anger, she should just admit her mistake.
Admitting a mistake is not the same as admitting guilt. Consort Xi rolled her eyes and pointed at Consort Yu to the side.
“Your Majesty, if you do not believe what I am saying, you can ask Consort Yu for clarification. You know that she never speaks nonsense or lies.”
The Empress gave Consort Xi a deep, intense look, a look that seemed to want to devour her whole.
Consort Yu, who was sitting and watching the play, was suddenly called out. She was so startled that her fingers trembled and she almost dropped her handkerchief.
It wasn't until the Empress's gaze swept over her that she cursed Consort Xi inwardly for being so inhuman before looking at the Empress again.
Consort Yu met the Empress's cold and furious gaze, and dared not sit still in her chair any longer, so she knelt down and replied.
"Your Majesty, I originally came to ask about this matter as well. My sisters and I have all heard rumors and investigated the matter thoroughly before we came to ask Your Majesty for your decision."
"Your Majesty, the Emperor's decision to bring the Crown Prince and his entire family to the Hall of Mental Cultivation due to his favoritism towards the Crown Prince is utterly absurd. I implore Your Majesty to intervene and dissuade him."
After speaking, Consort Yu didn't dare to look at the Empress's expression and immediately bowed down, kowtowing.
She was terrified, and the Empress's strength and skill were beyond what ordinary people could match.
Back when she was still in Chonghua Palace, she had personally witnessed the Empress ordering someone to kill someone, and not long after, that concubine died.
Although she wasn't discovered, she narrowly escaped with her life.
But after that, she rarely dared to look the Empress in the eye and became taciturn.
The Empress is clearly angry, even furious. What if she holds a grudge? Would she even want her life?
However, Consort Yu's honesty and silence did not win the Empress's understanding; instead, it made the Empress even angrier.
!
Hearing the usually honest Consort Yu say such things to anger her, the Empress felt as if the sky was falling.
She didn't believe it.
She couldn't believe the Emperor would tarnish his own reputation like that!
If the emperor were to allow the crown prince to stay with him in the Hall of Mental Cultivation for ten days or half a month, the ministers would only praise the emperor for his benevolent and sagacious heart.
Can--
Bringing the Crown Princess along too—is it because they want the world to know what kind of person our Emperor is?
To covet the Crown Princess, and even one of his son's concubines—isn't that something only a tyrannical ruler would do?
What's even more infuriating is that the Emperor didn't inform her before doing these things; she only heard about them from other concubines.
Absurd, utterly absurd!
The Empress was so angry that she felt dizzy and her head hurt ten times more than before. She swayed and almost fainted!
Jiang Mama was prepared and quickly helped the Empress up, while signaling Cui'er beside her to go and fetch the imperial physician.
"Is Your Highness still feeling alright? Why don't you go inside and rest for a while? I'll summon the imperial physician to examine your pulse."
"Ugh, my head hurts so much—ouch—"
"We beg Your Majesty the Empress to make the decision and persuade the Emperor. At this critical moment, only Your Majesty the Empress can persuade the Emperor."
Just as the Empress was about to leave, someone in the crowd shouted, and then the Fengyi Palace erupted in chaos as everyone knelt down.
"We beg Your Majesty the Empress to advise the Emperor—"
Hearing the shrill, piercing voices of the concubines, the Empress felt like her head was about to explode.
She was already short of patience, and now, with a splitting headache, she practically roared out loud.
Under normal circumstances, the Empress would never be so irritable.
However, the news that the Emperor had disregarded his reputation and forced the Crown Princess to stay in the Hall of Mental Cultivation had already thoroughly enraged her.
Later, due to health reasons, she couldn't control her temper at all. It's a miracle she didn't kill anyone in public; she still had a shred of rationality.
"Get out! All of you, get out of here! You don't need to force me!"
"Your Majesty the Empress!"
Seeing that her Empress was acting like a madwoman, so different from her usual self, Jiang Mama worried that her reputation would be damaged and quickly stopped her.
"You ladies should all leave. Her Majesty the Empress is unwell and will deal with this matter when she is feeling better."
"Your Highnesses, please do not linger any longer in Fengyi Palace, otherwise, if the Emperor inquires, we servants will have no way to explain ourselves."
As the Empress's personal nanny, Granny Jiang naturally wielded considerable influence in the palace.
Since she had said that, the concubines didn't dare to really go against the Empress. If someone hadn't said that last thing, they would have wanted to run away long ago.
"Yes, since Your Majesty is unwell, we concubines dare not disturb you. We hope Your Majesty will recover soon. As for the Emperor's affairs, we only hope Your Majesty will offer a few more words of advice."
Finally, after speaking a few words to Consort Mi, who was the Empress's closest confidante and the one most favored by the Empress, the situation was not allowed to become too ugly.
Upon hearing these words, Granny Jiang's expression softened, her voice became gentler, and she nodded in response.
"Your Majesties, rest assured, Her Majesty the Empress will make the decision."
The concubines also took their leave in turn.
Only Liu Changzai, who was the last to leave, turned back to look at the Empress being helped away by Jiang Mama, his eyes flashing with deep resentment.
That's right, the last sentence that provoked the Queen the most and was the most inflammatory was spoken by her.
only--
It's such a pity that the Empress wasn't directly angered to death.
But even if she gets sick from anger, she can still take revenge slowly.
There is ample time.
snort.
Liu Changzai ultimately left indignantly, but outwardly he appeared cautious and discreet, not daring to attract attention.
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