Consort He was so stunned by the slap that she couldn't come to her senses for a long time.
She covered her face in disbelief, trying to look at the emperor before her.
If it weren't for the fact that her long hair was still in the Emperor's hands, and if it weren't for the unbearable pain, Consort He wouldn't even have believed that she had been beaten by Emperor Hui!
If she were slapped by someone else, even the regent, she wouldn't be so shocked and angry.
But the one hitting her now was Emperor Hui. Consort He felt as if her heart had been shattered into countless pieces. Although she didn't know why, she was in excruciating pain!
Emperor Hui, who had always cherished her and wanted to pamper her as if she were his own daughter, and who would be more heartbroken than she was if even a single hair of hers was touched, actually struck her.
He was looking at her with the same gaze he gave her, as if she were his enemy.
Consort He didn't know what was going on.
These past few days have been extremely difficult for her in the palace. Not to mention the increasingly disobedient servants who dared to skimp on her allowance, she had been slapped by the Regent, demoted by Emperor Hui, and then offended Consort Rong in the palace. With all these setbacks combined, how could she possibly have the face to go out? She had simply stayed in this somewhat secluded place, which Emperor Hui had deliberately chosen to keep her away from the bustling inner palace to avoid drawing attention to her. To put it bluntly, it was a remote and desolate palace where she had been waiting for Emperor Hui to come and comfort her and apologize.
But as soon as they met, she was hit on the face.
Consort He's tears immediately welled up, and large drops of scalding tears fell onto Emperor Hui's wrist.
But Emperor Hui was furious and didn't care about that. Even this little bit of reluctance turned into anger when he thought about the Consort's desire for a "divorce".
"Why is Your Majesty doing this?" Consort He, disregarding the fact that her long hair was still in Emperor Hui's hands, was overwhelmed with grief and choked up for a long time before finally revealing a self-deprecating smile of defeat, "Could it be that Consort Rong said something about me to Your Majesty? Only the new favorites are smiling, and since she is now the newest favorite, Your Majesty is naturally on her side."
Seeing that Emperor Hui's expression softened somewhat because of her sadness and grief, she breathed a sigh of relief, but turned her head away with even more resentment, revealing her pale and somewhat thin face, and forced a smile, "Or... does Your Majesty feel that the Consort is unruly and want to favor someone else?"
Could it be that Emperor Hui wanted to find a new scapegoat for her sake?
The thought that the Imperial Concubine might lose favor because of this made Consort He feel a sense of satisfaction.
For some reason, she couldn't help but resent the Imperial Concubine, and even thought how satisfying it would be if the Imperial Concubine were to suffer eternal damnation and no longer be able to maintain that arrogant and beautiful face.
As for Consort Rong... she's a fool. Even if she's favored, she probably won't hold the same position in Emperor Hui's heart.
Consort He had a good plan, but she didn't see that when she mentioned the Imperial Concubine, Emperor Hui's face turned ashen.
"It really was you!" Emperor Hui silently recalled the resolute words between the Consort and himself, as well as the mocking look in Ah Xuan's eyes. Now, looking at Consort He, he was filled with hatred so intense that his eyes bled. He no longer knew right from wrong, and with a scream from Consort He, he grabbed her long hair and dragged her off the bed.
Seeing Consort He clutching her hair and wailing on the ground, he felt a strange sense of satisfaction, as if seeing Consort He in pain made all the heavy burdens that Ah Xuan had been suppressing in his heart disappear.
The woman struggled helplessly in his hands, her life entirely in his control.
Emperor Hui felt a strange sense of pleasure, but upon hearing Consort He's cries, he remembered the purpose of his visit.
"Haven't I been good enough to you?!" He was furious at the thought. The fact that the imperial concubine wanted to leave him not only made him feel disappointed, but also because, throughout history, no imperial concubine had ever divorced the emperor.
Divorcing the emperor was bad enough, but then she turned around and wanted to marry the regent. Where would Emperor Hui put his face? To put it bluntly, this cuckoldry was enough to make Emperor Hui go down in history! Just thinking about how his descendants would mention him not as a wise and powerful emperor, but as the infamous cuckold king made Emperor Hui's vision go black!
He hated Consort He even more for causing him to end up in his current predicament.
Without her, the Imperial Concubine would be perfectly content to remain a mere decoration!
"Why have you slandered me?!"
"What have I done?" Consort He may have done many bad things, but this time she is truly innocent.
She genuinely had no idea what had happened.
"The Imperial Concubine knows everything." Emperor Hui squinted at Consort He, and seeing the joy on her face, he became even more convinced that she was the one who had been stirring things up. He raised his boot and kicked Consort He hard, saying gloomily, "You should know the Imperial Concubine's temperament! She is extremely proud and intolerant of any imperfections! You instigated her, how could she possibly still have genuine affection for me now?!"
He used to be impatient with the Consort's infatuation with him, but now that infatuation was gone, he felt a profound emptiness in his heart. He silently clutched his chest, stepping over the groaning Consort He, and whispered, "She doesn't love me anymore, she's leaving me, are you happy now?!"
Consort He was indeed pleased, but she was in excruciating pain in her lower abdomen and could not say anything.
"She is clearly mine." What hurt more than her wounds was the way Emperor Hui looked on with longing.
Consort He and Emperor Hui had a deep bond; how could it not be obvious that she was truly moved by the Imperial Concubine? Her heart ached terribly.
"You think you've risen to power without the Imperial Concubine?!" Emperor Hui gave a soft, cold laugh, touching the corner of his eye, which was now slightly moist.
However, he didn't want to shed such tears in front of Consort He. He squatted down and looked at Consort He with an unfamiliar gaze he had never seen before.
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