Chapter 3: Past Life
Because a newcomer was entering the palace today, all the concubines came to Kunning Palace early.
According to the rules of this dynasty, newly selected concubines would first be settled in their respective residences after entering the palace, and then they would come to the Central Palace to pay homage.
Concubine Wu sat in the first seat under the phoenix chair, fiddling with her armor lazily, and chuckled to the crowd, "Sisters, please be careful. There are so many talented girls in this year's selection. The niece of the Empress Dowager and Concubine Jiang's sister are among them. Although you have some qualifications, you still have to be humble in front of them."
Concubine Jin was impatient, and when she heard this, she immediately became indignant: "Forget about the niece of the Empress Dowager, after all, she is the daughter of General Wen and the cousin of Your Majesty, but what is Concubine Jiang's sister? She is the concubine's daughter of the Censor's family, and my family background is better than hers. Why should I give in to her!"
Concubine Wu pursed her lips and chuckled.
On the other side, Concubine Feng, who was eating cakes to fill her stomach, was immediately unhappy when she heard this. She quickly swallowed the cakes and said angrily: "What's wrong with Concubine Jiang's background? She comes from a family of scholars and has been a noble family for generations. It's much better than your mother's family that wields swords and guns!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Miao Zhaoyi closed her eyes.
Idiot, why would Concubine Jiang accept such a person under her command? He is loyal but he doesn't think before he speaks, and has brought trouble to Concubine Jiang for nothing.
Sure enough, the look of Concubine Wu, who had been lazy and casual just now, suddenly changed, and she looked at Concubine Feng sharply.
"Madam Feng, are you looking down on all the military officers who fought bloody battles?"
Lady Feng was stunned: "I, I don't have any."
"How dare you quibble!" Concubine Wu stood up, pointed at her and shouted, "Jinpin's father fought for Your Majesty on the battlefield, risking his life, but in your mouth he has become a man who wields swords and guns. If the soldiers knew about this, they would be so disheartened!"
Everyone in the hall fell silent. This hat was really justified. Even if His Majesty came, he would inevitably reprimand Concubine Feng. If Concubine Wu punished her severely for this, it would make her look noble.
Except for Jiang Shu's group, everyone else was gloating and ready to watch the fun.
Concubine Feng didn't know how to respond for a moment, and looked at Concubine Miao and Concubine Rou in confusion.
Concubine Rou frowned and gave a look that said, "I don't know what to do, let's wait for the Her Majesty to come."
Miao Zhaoyi did not even look at Concubine Feng. She stood up and knelt down in front of Concubine Wu. She said calmly, "Your Highness, please understand clearly that it was Concubine Jin who was the first to disrespect the civil officials. The censors spoke out for the country without fear of treacherous officials. I am afraid they must be sad to hear Concubine Jin's words. I am good friends with Concubine Feng and know that she respects the country's meritorious officials. I think she was angry just now and said something wrong."
Concubine Feng quickly knelt down and said, "Miao Zhaoyi is right!"
Miao Zhaoyi's words dragged Concubine Jin into the water. If Concubine Feng was to be punished, then Concubine Jin, who took the lead in provoking, must be punished more severely, otherwise this high-sounding banner would not stand.
But Concubine Jin is a person who is out of favor and has no brains. Dealing with her will not only be useless but also cause trouble.
Concubine Wu knew it very well, but she was unwilling to let Concubine Feng off just like that. She sneered, "Okay, I won't mention your "slip of the tongue". I'll just say that you, a beauty, dared to point fingers at Concubine Jin without even using a respectful title. You are so presumptuous. Who are you relying on behind the scenes?"
This is an attempt to involve Concubine Jiang as well.
Concubine Feng was smart for once. She was afraid of getting the Empress into trouble, so she gritted her teeth and said bluntly, "I have no one to rely on. This is all my fault. I am fed up with Empress Jin, so I spoke without thinking. I will let the Imperial Concubine punish me!"
Miao Zhaoyi's mouth drooped and she was speechless.
Everyone in the palace knows that you are Concubine Jiang's person, so why are you pretending to be so secretive now?
Concubine Wu smiled and said, "You are annoyed with Concubine Jin? Look at how bold she is. She is annoyed with Concubine Jin today and dares to go against her. If she is annoyed with me, the Empress, or even Your Majesty in the future, I don't know what she will do."
Lady Feng lowered her head, pursed her lips and said nothing.
Concubine Wu looked at her with contempt and said slowly, "Go out and kneel down. When the new bride comes to pay her respects, I will report to the Empress and have someone go out and slap you in the face. This will also let them see and take it as a warning, so that they know the order of rank in the palace."
This punishment is so humiliating.
If Concubine Feng was really slapped in the face in front of the newlyweds, her face would be trampled upon, and Concubine Jiang would also lose face.
But even when Concubine Jiang came, there was nothing she could do. Concubine Feng had already confessed her guilt, so how could you excuse her?
It was obvious that Concubine Feng could not bear this humiliation. With tears in her eyes, she knelt on the spot, staggering, until she was dragged out by the palace servants.
The palace soon became lively again. Many concubines who had been depressed by the arrival of newcomers to the palace became excited and waited to see the show.
*
Jiang Shuyi remembered the incident with Concubine Feng when she was about to reach Kunning Palace.
In her previous life, she was looking forward to her sister entering the palace, so she went straight back to Zhaoyang Palace after waking up from the Qianqing Palace, waiting for Jiang Wanqing to come. The two sisters hugged each other and cried. Then she diligently and considerately helped her sister put away her belongings, intimidated the servants who served her sister, and finally took her sister to Kunning Palace.
Jiang Shuyi deliberately arrived late in order to announce to everyone in the harem that Jiang Wanqing was her sister and that she should have the same privileges as she did.
Who knew that when he went to Kunning Palace, he saw Concubine Feng kneeling on the brick floor with red and swollen cheeks and dazed eyes.
The newcomers stood in the corridor and watched, whispering and pointing. Concubine Wu was smugly lecturing Concubine Feng. The Queen stood in the middle with grace, fiddling with a string of sandalwood beads in her hand, as if it had nothing to do with her.
Jiang Shuyi was immediately enraged. She rushed forward to help Concubine Feng up and asked the Queen for an explanation.
It was Jiang Wanqing who timidly pulled her back and said, "Sister, please don't be so disrespectful to the Queen. I'm afraid..."
Jiang Shuyi, out of consideration for her sister, could only hold back and not make a fuss for the time being, and asked Yuzhu to take Concubine Feng back to see the imperial physician first.
Lady Feng was a lively and cheerful person with a heart like a child, but she became introverted after that. She didn't like to go out, and no matter how sweet the cakes were, she couldn't be happy.
Jiang Shuyi went to comfort her several times, and she always responded obediently, but it was still like this. Later, Jiang Wanqing volunteered to go and comfort her, and it was quite effective. Lady Feng was no longer depressed, and she would smile at Jiang Shuyi for several days.
However, a few days later, he suddenly hanged himself one night.
Her personal maid Suli cried and said to Jiang Shuyi: "Before she died, the beauty sat for a long time holding the orchid hairpin given to her by the empress, sometimes crying and sometimes laughing, and said she was sorry to the empress and would never trouble the empress again. The beauty has been like this for the past few days, and I didn't take it to heart. Who knew that when I was on guard, I heard a noise from inside, and I couldn't push the door open. When I found someone, the beauty had already died!"
Jiang Shuyi was shocked and heartbroken, and refused to believe that Concubine Feng would commit suicide.
She was smiling at herself yesterday.
Jiang Shuyi knelt outside the Qianqing Palace for a long time and cried for His Majesty to investigate thoroughly. Pei Yan was so annoyed by her that he mobilized the Ministry of Justice and the emperor's personal guards to investigate further.
There is no doubt that Concubine Feng committed suicide.
Afterwards, Jiang Wanqing said that if it weren't for Concubine Wu, Concubine Feng would not have committed suicide. Concubine Wu harmed Concubine Feng today, and she would harm them and Yu'er tomorrow. She must be dealt with as soon as possible.
Now that I think about it, even if Concubine Wu was the instigator, Concubine Feng's sudden suicide was also related to Jiang Wanqing.
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