Chapter 13 I Have Failed His Majesty's Heart
Jiang Wanqing felt like she was struck by lightning.
She remembered what happened yesterday in Kunning Palace, when her sister lowered her voice and told her to stay away from her, otherwise she would lose her life.
She thought she had misheard at that time, but now, looking at her sister with a mocking expression, she finally confirmed that those words were indeed spoken by Jiang Shuyi!
Jiang Wanqing felt it was ridiculous and a little flustered. She said in a trembling voice, "Sister, why do you say that? Are you reluctant to give me the hairpin?"
As she spoke, she gritted her teeth, took out the jade hairpin from her sleeve, and handed it back with a forced smile: "I'll give it back to you, sister. Please don't say such things to me, I'm afraid that if my aunt hears it in the underworld, she will also be sad."
Jiang Shuyi thought about it and decided to take the hairpin back.
This hairpin was indeed a gift from Pei Yan, but it does not have the effect of allowing one to enter the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
I had originally intended to give it to Jiang Wanqing for nothing, but now I regret it.
It's a precious item after all, so it's better to take it back.
Jiang Shuyi no longer wanted to play along with her, her eyes turned cold, "You don't need to mention my aunt from time to time, and use her last words to pressure me. If my aunt is still alive, she will make me stay away from you when she sees you scheming against me like this. If she still asks me to take care of you, it would be partiality, and I don't need to care about her."
Jiang Wanqing thought her sister was crazy.
A few days before entering the palace, she wrote herself a letter, saying a lot about how she was looking forward to entering the palace.
Why did she suddenly change her attitude after entering the palace?
There’s no point even moving my aunt out!
"Sister...you, what's wrong with you? If I do something wrong, just sue me..."
Before he finished speaking, a eunuch's voice came from outside the palace: "Your Majesty has arrived!"
Jiang Wanqing immediately swallowed her words back, and her expression changed from panic to surprise.
Jiang Shuyi had not expected Pei Yan to come over at this time. Looking at Jiang Wanqing's excited and joyful face, it seemed as if a scene from her previous life was overlapping.
Thinking about what might happen in a moment, she couldn't help but twitch the corners of her mouth, wanting to laugh but holding it back.
Soon, a young emperor in a jade-colored brocade robe with dragon and cloud patterns came in.
Jiang Shuyi lowered her eyes and knelt down to salute: "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you." She silently counted in her heart: three, two, one...
“Brother-in-law!”
Jiang Wanqing's voice was clear and crisp, and she called out to Pei Yan with joy.
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the hall was stunned except Jiang Shuyi, who lowered her head to suppress her laughter.
Cheng Shouzhong, who was holding the whisk, widened his eyes and had only one thought.
Why are the people around Concubine Jiang so stupid that they don't care about their lives?
That Jinzhu is one, and so is Concubine Jiang.
Jiang Wanqing was unaware of anything. Seeing that His Majesty had a gentle demeanor and a calm expression, and showed no sign of being angry, she felt more and more that her test was the right thing to do.
She remembered that at the palace banquet on New Year's Eve the year before last, she was talking with Jiang Shuyi in the bedroom, joking and teasing her sister for having such a good brother-in-law. His Majesty happened to hear it when he came in.
Jiang Wanqing thought that His Majesty would be angry because of her presumptuous behavior, but unexpectedly His Majesty rewarded her with several pieces of silk with a smile.
Jiang Wanqing had a guess at that time that His Majesty might like to hear her call him "brother-in-law".
This was normal. Once, she overheard her second brother and her eldest brother's concubine having an affair, and she forced the concubine to call her uncle.
Jiang Wanqing quickly knelt and bowed, then stood up and looked at Pei Yan with a smile: "Oh, I forgot the etiquette for a moment, brother-in-law, please forgive me. Brother-in-law, do you still remember me?"
Pei Yan looked at her calmly without saying anything. He walked around her and went towards Jiang Shuyi who was still being polite.
He reached out and held Jiang Shuyi's arm with a little force. His voice was as clear and gentle as the sound of stream water hitting jade: "Why don't you get up yet?"
Because I couldn't hold back my laughter.
Jiang Shuyi stood up with the help of Pei Yan. Seeing his calm face even when faced with a catastrophe, she couldn't help but smiled with her shoulders shrugged.
Pei Yan sighed softly and lowered his voice in her ear: "Is it so funny? She is your sister. If she doesn't know the rules, doesn't it damage your reputation?"
Jiang Shuyi used to be a concubine, so she doesn't care about her reputation.
She smiled, winked at him, and whispered: "Brother-in-law~"
Pei Yan paused for a moment, then lowered his eyes and looked at her deeply, making Jiang Shuyi feel ashamed.
Jiang Wanqing, who was left aside, could no longer control her temper.
She came over and asked innocently, "What are you talking about with your sister and brother-in-law? Why don't you let me hear it?"
When Jiang Shuyi saw Pei Yan's expression suddenly fade, she knew that he was really angry.
Although Pei Yan is gentle and tolerant, refined and elegant, and is a rare sage and benevolent ruler, even a rabbit will bite when it is cornered, let alone an emperor.
This happened in the previous life, but it was even more embarrassing then. It was not in Zhaoyang Palace, but in Kunning Palace. During the morning meeting, Pei Yan came to tell the concubines that the Queen Mother's birthday banquet would be held in half a month, and asked everyone to prepare gifts to show their filial piety. Jiang Wanqing called Pei Yan "brother-in-law" in a loud voice in front of everyone in the six palaces.
It is no exaggeration to say that Jiang Shuyi wanted to dig a hole and bury herself at that time.
After she got over the embarrassment, she quickly pulled Jiang Wanqing to confess her crime. Pei Yan pondered for a moment and said that Concubine Jiang had just entered the palace and did not know the rules, so he fined her two months' salary as a warning.
In this life, Jiang Wanqing's behavior was obviously even more excessive. She kept chasing Pei Yan and calling him brother-in-law.
Jiang Shuyi no longer planned to protect her younger sister.
She took two steps back, calmed her expression, and knelt in front of Pei Yan: "Lady Jiang was rude and insolent, and I am unable to discipline her. I beg Your Majesty to deal with her impartially."
Pei Yan glanced at her and his expression became completely gloomy.
Led by Cheng Shouzhong, all the palace servants who followed the emperor were trembling with fear.
After all, their Majesty would not fly into a rage and smash plates and bowls. Such an expression was already very terrifying.
But Jiang Wanqing was totally unaware of it.
She was shocked when she heard her sister's words, then she looked at the emperor and saw that he did not scold her or pay attention to her sister, so she had a vague guess.
His Majesty is not angry at all, he is just annoyed by his sister's meddling!
She took two steps towards His Majesty, looked down at Jiang Shuyi, and said in a surprised tone: "Sister, what are you doing? Even if you are angry about the jade hairpin just now, you can't trick your brother-in-law into punishing me?"
Pei Yan said nothing, turned around and walked to the seat of honor, and said in a slightly cold tone: "Cheng Shouzhong, didn't you hear what Concubine Jiang said? Concubine Jiang is so presumptuous, how should she be punished according to the palace rules?"
Cheng Shouzhong came back to life all of a sudden.
He pretended to be dead before because he was concerned that Noble Lady Jiang was Concubine Jiang's sister, and he didn't know whether His Majesty would protect her out of love for her. Otherwise, he would have rushed over and scolded her as soon as he heard the first word "brother-in-law".
It’s hard to say how to punish him. At the most severe level, he could be beaten to death; at the least, he could be confined to his home and fined his salary.
Cheng Shouzhong glanced at His Majesty and, as usual, spoke the heavier sentence first. He bowed and said straightforwardly, "Your Majesty, Concubine Jiang violated the rules in front of the emperor and acted presumptuously and rebelliously. According to palace rules, she should be sentenced to death."
Jiang Wanqing, who was already stunned, almost fell to the ground because of this sentence.
Why, why was he sentenced to death?
Pei Yan, who was sitting high up in the seat of honor, regained his composure when he heard this and asked Jiang Wanqing, "Lady Jiang, when Miss Qiu was caned today, were you not in Kunning Palace?"
The bloody scene that she had just forgotten suddenly appeared in front of Jiang Wanqing's eyes.
She finally realized that His Majesty was angry. She unconsciously felt her legs soften and knelt down. She looked at the man in front of her and said in a trembling voice, "I...I am..."
Pei Yan nodded: "It seems that my efforts have been in vain."
Jiang Wanqing was confused, so Cheng Shouzhong took over the conversation: "Your Majesty is right. People who see others being beaten by the stick will never learn their lesson. Your Majesty is kind-hearted and wants everyone in the six palaces to behave themselves and be careful in what they say and do, but in the end, you were let down by Concubine Jiang."
Pei Yan said helplessly: "What should I do?"
Cheng Shouzhong's voice was fierce: "Then your majesty, there is no need to show mercy. Just take Concubine Jiang to the Ministry of Punishment and punish her!"
Jiang Wanqing couldn't believe it. Seeing that His Majesty seemed to be in hesitation, she felt a chill running from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.
She thought of her sister at this time, and quickly crawled towards Jiang Shuyi and grabbed her sleeve: "Sister, sister...I didn't do anything! I just called your majesty brother-in-law, and I called him that because of you, please save me!"
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