Chapter 40: Tribulation
"Don't talk nonsense."
Miao Wangshu pushed Feng Yiyue away from his arms and scolded her coldly, "The Queen is hostile to us and wants me to suffer. If you go, you will only bring shame upon yourself and be trampled upon for nothing."
Feng Yiyue tightly grasped her sleeves, with a little hope in her tearful eyes: "Then, then I will go and ask His Majesty. His Majesty is kind and compassionate, and will surely pity my sister..."
"No matter how tolerant and benevolent Your Majesty is, he cannot go beyond the word filial piety." Miao Wangshu interrupted her calmly: "I offended the Queen Mother. Our Queen is so favored, but she was still under house arrest. How could Your Majesty disobey the Queen Mother for me?"
Feng Yiyue suddenly felt despair.
The real masters in the palace are only Your Majesty, the Queen Mother and the Empress, and neither of them will help. What should my sister do?
She couldn't stop crying. Miao Wangshu sighed and subconsciously wanted to take a handkerchief from his arms and give it to her. But then he realized that he was wearing pajamas, so he could only lift his sleeves and touch her eyes gently: "Okay, didn't you say you would listen to me? Stop crying and go to sleep. Your crying makes my legs hurt even more."
Feng Yiyue became even sadder and cried harder.
Miao Wangshu's voice was weak, even pleading: "If it were any other day, I would have coaxed you, but today I'm really feeling very uncomfortable. Please go to sleep, okay?"
I have to continue kneeling tomorrow. If I don't have the energy, it would be ok if I faint. But if I don't faint, I will inevitably be scolded and beaten by Nanny Yan.
Feng Yiyue wanted to cry her heart out, but she heard the weakness in Miao Wangshu's voice, so she quickly held it back and nodded, panting: "Okay, okay, I'll go to sleep!"
"Put out the candle."
Miao Wangshu didn't want to be seen in pain.
Feng Yiyue hurried down to blow out the candle.
When I returned to the bed in the dark and lay down, there was no sound from the person beside me, not even a heavy breath.
Feng Yiyue silently told herself not to cry, she covered her mouth tightly, and tears flowed down in the darkness.
*
At the morning meeting on the second day, when Feng Yiyue and Miao Wangshu arrived at Kunning Palace, the scene before them was still similar to the previous few days.
A group of low-ranking concubines, led by Noble Qian, surrounded Wen Yao and showed their courtesy, praising her good complexion, rouge, clothes, and everything from her hair to the tips of her embroidered shoes.
Jiang Wanqing was among them, and she carefully followed suit and flattered: "Sister Wen's radiance is not only due to her clothes, but also because of her beautiful appearance."
Concubine Qian taunted: "Don't call everyone you meet your sister, Concubine Jiang. Your real sister is staying in Zhaoyang Palace."
Anger flashed across Jiang Wanqing's eyes, but soon disappeared.
She hated her sister for seeking death. Not only was she under house arrest and out of favor, but most importantly, she had implicated her. But she was inexplicably happy. No matter who was favored in the palace, she felt better than her sister.
Jiang Wanqing bit her lip and said softly, "When I was at home, I was not very close to Concubine Jiang. She was confined this time because she bullied Sister Wen. She deserved it and should reflect on it. I am sensible and will not visit her. I only hope that Sister will understand things after she comes out."
Wen Yao looked at her with a little more favor.
Concubine Jin sneered, "Come on, when we said your sister was domineering before, you always refuted it, pretending to be a loving sister, but now that you see Concubine Jiang in such a bad state, you start to distance yourself from her."
She hated Concubine Jiang, but she also hated the favored Wen Yao and the opportunistic Concubine Jiang.
There is not a single good person in the entire palace!
Jiang Wanqing's expression changed slightly after her thoughts were exposed, and then she looked aggrieved: "Sister used to have a bad temper, but I didn't care about it. I thought she should have learned some rules after entering the palace for a few years, but she became even worse than before..."
She hesitated to speak, looked at Wen Yao and said, "Sister Wen, please don't be angry with me because of Concubine Jiang. In my heart, I admire people with noble character like Sister Wen."
Feng Yiyue clenched her palms.
If it were in the past, she would have spoken up on behalf of the Empress, but now, even without Sister Miao’s signal, she knew she couldn’t do that.
We can't add any more trouble.
But even so, there are still people who don't let them have an easy time.
"As the younger sister of Concubine Jiang, Concubine Jiang is able to distinguish right from wrong and know to stay away from Concubine Jiang. Concubine Feng and Concubine Miao should follow suit."
Concubine Xue spoke gently, instantly shifting everyone's attention to the two people who had just entered the hall.
Feng Yiyue and Miao Wangshu instinctively sat down in their seats quietly, but they were being watched by everyone in the hall, so they could only step forward and pay their respects to the high-ranking concubines.
Concubine Wu has been thinking about how to win favor these days and was too lazy to pay attention to them. Concubine Xue picked up the teacup and took a sip without being told to stand up. The two highest-ranking people present did not say anything, so they could only continue to salute.
In the past, he could have stood up on his own, but now that he has lost Concubine Jiang's protection, he has to be cautious in every move to avoid being found out and making his current situation worse.
At this time, Roupin knew that she could not help, and she put her own protection first, so she did not say a word.
Wen Yao stared at Miao Wangshu coldly.
The scars on her face had long since healed with the imperially bestowed white jade beauty cream, but the scars on Miao Wangshu's face had not disappeared after four days.
But this did not make Wen Yao feel better.
She asked aggressively: "Miao promised, didn't you hear what Concubine Shu said just now?"
Miao Wangshu said respectfully, "I have heard it. I will follow suit and stop getting close to Concubine Jiang."
Wen Yao: "Then why didn't you answer just now? Are you still thinking about your old master and are dissatisfied with your aunt's punishment?"
Miao Wangshu knew that if he cried bitterly and acted as if he was deeply regretful, then knelt down at Wen Yao's feet and begged for mercy, he might be able to please her and get her to let him go for the time being.
But she couldn't do it. She had pride and could be respectful and humble, but she couldn't beg for mercy.
Miao Wangshu closed his eyes and said nothing, knowing that no matter how much he said, it would be useless and arguing would only make Wen Yao even angrier.
Feng Yiyue's heart tightened when she saw this, and she quickly knelt on the ground, forcing a smile to Wen Yao and said, "Madam Qingpin, Miao definitely didn't mean that! She only respects the Empress Dowager, and doesn't dare to think about Madam Jiang anymore!"
Miao Wangshu really wanted her to get up, even if she had to kneel, but not for himself.
In Wen Yao's eyes, Feng Yiyue, an unfavored beauty, was no different from an ant. She would naturally not let Miao Wangshu go just because of the ant's words.
"If you don't say anything, I will guess what you are thinking."
Under Wen Yao's vicious gaze, Miao Wangshu replied calmly, "I respect the Queen Mother and am sincere when I accept the punishment."
When Wen Yao saw her, he remembered the day when he knelt on the palace road and was beaten and humiliated, and he wished he could tear her to pieces.
His Majesty was ill the past two days, and Wen Yao was too worried to think about revenge, but now is the right time.
The corners of her mouth curled up with a slight smile of contempt: "Okay, then for the two hours of punishment today, you will kneel outside Kunning Palace, so that everyone in the six palaces can see your sincerity. If everyone thinks you are not sincere, then your crime is unforgivable. I will report it to my aunt and punish you!"
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