Qi Rui had come to report something, so she got up on her own before Duan Yang woke her up and approached, saying, "My lord, I have something to report."
Duan Yang had intended to make things difficult for her, but seeing her disrespectful attitude, he was about to scold her when she said something that made him pause. He swallowed the scolding that was on the tip of his tongue and only threw out a "Say it" with ice crystals in it.
Qi Rui shrank her shoulders from the cold, but when she thought about what she had just found out, her face flushed with excitement.
"My lord, I heard that someone in Yingxia Palace made some outrageous remarks yesterday, saying that His Majesty is an old cow who has taken advantage of Consort Su's tender grass."
After Qi Rui finished speaking, she glanced at Duan Yang and, sure enough, saw an expression of uncontrollable anger on her face.
Among the people from Jiang Kingdom, the oldest was Shi Lan, who was seventeen years old, while the rest were around fifteen or sixteen. Duan Yang was in the prime of her youth. The beauties sent by Wei Kingdom, regardless of age, had entered the palace more than half a year later than Duan Yang. If Su Meiren was a tender grass that had just been nibbled on, then Duan Yang must have been nibbled on for more than half a year and was no longer fresh grass.
Duan Yang was deeply favored in the Jiang Kingdom and couldn't tolerate anyone climbing above her. King Zhao, on the other hand, was fond of new and beautiful women and had been indulging in his affections for many concubines lately. Duan Yang had long been resentful, and now that Qi Rui had provided such a good excuse, how could she not seize the opportunity to teach her a lesson?
"How dare you!" Duan Yang slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "Bring me that vile woman from Yingxia Palace!"
Qi Rui shrugged, seemingly startled by the noise, and stepped aside, standing obediently with her eyes lowered in silence.
Shi Lan glanced coldly at Qi Rui, wondering to herself how the once charming and cheerful Qi Rui, who dared to mock others at will, had become so timid and cowardly.
A quarter of an hour later, a palace maid dragged a delicate and beautiful concubine with disheveled hair and tattered clothes into the hall. Before Duan Yang could speak, the maid kicked her, and the concubine trembled in pain. After a long while, she slowly bowed and said, "This concubine, Su Yu, pays respects to Consort Jiang."
Duan Yang coldly looked at Su Yu, who was curled up in a ball, looking as delicate and fragile as a flower that couldn't withstand the wind and rain. She raised her eyebrows coldly and asked, "Su Yu, do you know your crime?"
Duan Yang's voice was cold, so cold that Su Yu shivered, but she still bravely raised her head. Her beautiful eyes were filled with tears, and droplets of tears dripped down her smooth skin and onto the smooth ground. "I...I don't know."
Duan Yang narrowed her phoenix eyes, a cold smile playing on her lips. "You don't know? Your personal maidservant is so arrogant, speaking ill of the King without permission. If you hadn't given her the order, how could she dare to be so audacious?"
Duan Yang's words clearly pinned the blame on her. Even though Su Yu came from a family of minor officials with a fief of two hundred bushels of grain, she knew that the crime of privately discussing the king was no small matter.
She immediately collapsed to the ground and sobbed, “Yuan Yun was sent here by someone else before I came to Zhao. I have no relationship with her, so how could I have instructed her to do something that disregards rank and status?”
Su Cai's figure was graceful. Kneeling down like a pear blossom in full bloom, Duan Yang coldly watched the trembling, sobbing flower and couldn't help but clench his fist, his long, sharp nails digging deep into his palm.
“Since coming to Zhao Palace, Yuan Yun has always served by your side. Now that she is indignant on your behalf and something has happened, you are washing your hands of it all,” Duan Yang shouted. “Guards, drag her away and give her twenty strokes of the cane. I want to see if she is more stubborn than the cane.”
A palace maid stepped forward in response. Su Yu trembled and huddled together, repeatedly crying out, "Your Highness, I am innocent! I truly knew nothing about what Yuan Yun did."
Duan Yang raised her hand, which was covered in armor, and a palace maid immediately stepped forward, grabbed Su Yu by the arm, and dragged her out of the hall.
Su Yu cried out in anguish, thinking that her life was about to end.
Seeing Duan Yang's arbitrary conclusion, Shi Lan sighed inwardly. She took a step forward and whispered in Duan Yang's ear, "Your Highness, since Consort Su says she is innocent, why not bring that maid over for a confrontation? That way, if the King asks, Your Highness will have a better explanation."
Duan Yang paused, realizing Shi Lan's words made sense. He glanced at Su Yu, who had been dragged to the entrance of the main hall, and nodded. "Fine, let her off for a while. Someone, drag that lowly maid here."
Before the words were finished, two burly palace maids strode out, and soon a petite Yuan Yun, dressed in plain old clothes, was dragged into the hall by being tied up.
As soon as she entered, Yuan Yun raised her head, glared, and shouted, "Who are you? Why are you arresting me?"
Dissatisfied with her arrogant and rude attitude, the palace maid who was twisting her leg kicked her hard in the back of the knee. The sound of flesh hitting the ground echoed back and forth in the empty hall.
Yuan Yun screamed in agony, clutching her knees and rolling on the ground in pain.
Shi Lan raised her hand and gently touched her chest, the wailing echoing in her ears giving her a sense of relief.
Duan Yang smiled and glanced at the cowering Qi Rui and the slumped Su Yu by the palace gate. Then he frowned impatiently and said, "Gag her. She's so unruly. Give her ten strokes of the cane first. We'll talk to her after that."
A faint sound of a wooden cane striking could be heard from outside. When the palace maid brought Yuan Yun back, her hair was disheveled, her face was pale, and her clothes were stained with blood.
"Nu Yuanyun greets Your Excellency."
This time, Yuan Yun, who had been dragged over by the palace maids, knelt obediently on the ground and kowtowed. She no longer had the ignorant, fearless spirit to bravely resist the powerful.
Duan Yang glanced at Yuan Yun with disdain, as if looking at a lowly, filthy rat. "I heard you spoke up for Consort Su, saying that the King is an old ox?"
Yuan Yun, who was lying on the ground, trembled. She sensed the ill intent in Duan Yang's words and was about to deny it, but remembering the palace maids surrounding her when she said those words, she could only obediently answer, "Yes."
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