Chapter 54 A Painting
Wen Yao returned to Changle Palace in a daze and immediately wanted to write a letter to her father.
If her father knew that she had suffered such injustice in the palace, he would definitely come to support her, whether by threats or military remonstration. She wanted her father to take her home and never let her stay in this palace again!
However, when she was about to put pen to paper, she suddenly felt a little confused while holding the rosewood pen.
Who was she writing to? Her father had already gone to war, so how could he receive her letter?
Then I'll write to my mother. She should be able to find a way to have someone catch up with my father who is marching and tell him the news.
Wen Yao had made up her mind and was about to start writing when she heard a sudden noise of chaos outside the hall.
She was startled, put down her pen and went outside to check.
Several imperial guards were arresting people in a big way. A eunuch was arrested and was crying out that he was innocent. He was about to be dragged away.
"presumptuous!"
Wen Yao recognized the two eunuchs as the ones who helped her deliver family letters, and angrily shouted, "Are you rebelling? What are you doing in my palace?"
A royal guard turned around, saluted her, and said solemnly, "Madam Qingpin, this slave secretly made friends with foreign officials and repeatedly delivered messages. His crime is unforgivable. I am following your majesty's order to take him to the Ministry of Punishment for execution."
Wen Yao was so shocked that she shuddered.
Your Majesty even knows this...
Qing Rui was also standing in the courtyard, and asked the head guard, "And the maid Baoqin that Concubine Qing brought into the palace also knew about the master sending the letter in private. Is Your Majesty going to punish her?"
The guard leader waved his hand and said, "Take them together."
Because Baoqin had displeased Wen Yao, she was not allowed to serve her closely for the past few days. When she was caught from the palace maids' room, she didn't know what was going on and asked the empress in a daze what had happened.
Wen Yao didn't care about her, and said in a trembling voice: "You are committing treason. I want to go see my aunt, I want to go see my aunt..."
"Your Majesty has ordered that Concubine Qing be confined to her residence from today onwards. If you leave without permission, you will be punished for disobeying the order."
After the guard leader finished speaking, he said no more to her and left with two servants.
Wen Yao couldn't hold on any longer after hearing Baoqin's cries, and collapsed to the ground.
Qing Rui stepped forward to support her, and said in a neither humble nor arrogant tone: "Your Highness, don't worry. His Majesty has not blamed you. As long as you continue to listen to me and abide by the palace rules in the future, you will be able to live a peaceful life."
Wen Yao looked towards the northwest with empty eyes and slowly clenched her fists.
*
The news of Concubine Qing's house arrest reached the Empress Dowager's ears the next day without any deliberate concealment.
In the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Jiang Shuyi was serving Pei Yan with his writing.
Because she kept hinting last night that the name Aque sounded like a servant, Pei Yan was a little unhappy and punished her to do the work of a servant for a day.
Jiang Shuyi ground the ink intermittently, and stole a glance at Pei Yan who was painting. Pei Yan seemed to have noticed something, but said without raising his head: "Stand up and grind. It's not good to grind like this."
Pei Yan sat behind the desk, and Jiang Shuyi moved a chair and sat beside him. Hearing this, she could only stand up, grinding ink while looking at the painting curiously.
"Is that a landscape painting, Your Majesty?"
Pei Yan: “No.”
Jiang Shuyi only saw a tree branch, but there were indeed no mountains or water.
She stopped grinding when she was almost done, rubbed her sore wrist, and sat back in her chair.
You can roughly tell what the painting is about: there are trees, flower beds, high eaves, and wind chimes tied with ribbons.
"It looks like a scene from a palace."
Pei Yan praised her: "Smart."
Jiang Shuyi was so embarrassed herself. The palace was already exposed, only a fool could not see it.
She held her face and continued to watch.
Pei Yan paused his writing and suddenly looked up at her.
Jiang Shuyi tilted her head: "Your Majesty, why don't you paint?"
Pei Yan didn't answer her. He looked at her deeply before continuing to write.
This time he was decorating the tree with flowers and leaves, and then he dipped the brush in ink to outline a round and lively bird among the flowers and leaves.
The bird tilted its head with its sharp beak slightly open, as if it was wondering about something, or as if it was begging for someone to touch it.
Jiang Shuyi exclaimed: "Wow, how vivid! Your Majesty's landscape painting is good, but it is a bit too rigid and lifeless. With the arrival of this bird, the whole painting has come alive!"
Pei Yan curved his lips and said, "It is very vivid."
At this time, there was a sudden noise outside the palace, and then Cheng Shouzhong pushed the door open and came in, reporting: "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother is here to discuss the matter of Concubine Qing."
Pei Yan stopped writing and suppressed the smile in his eyes.
Jiang Shuyi was familiar with this situation. Fearing that the Queen Mother might notice something, she tiptoed to move the chair back to its original position, then returned to Pei Yan's side, pointed to the inner hall and asked in a low voice: "Is your concubine still hiding in there?"
"No need." Pei Yan pressed the unfinished painting under the paperweight and said to Cheng Shouzhong, "Tell my mother to go back to the palace first. I will go to the Cining Palace to pay my respects after I have dealt with the matters at hand."
Cheng Shouzhong responded with “yes” and stepped back.
Pei Yan looked at Jiang Shuyi again, and just as he was about to speak, Jiang Shuyi understood and took the lead in making a solemn promise: "No matter who comes, I will not go out! I will stay in the palace and wait for His Majesty to come back!"
Pei Yan smiled and said, "Okay, very obedient."
How could she not obey? Wen Yao's barging in yesterday scared Jiang Shuyi half to death. Later she found out that Wen Yao came in the name of the Queen Mother, and Cheng Shouzhong didn't dare to stop her.
Pei Yan also told her that after Wen Yao went out, she would definitely tell others about the incident of a palace maid climbing onto the bed in the Palace of Heavenly Purity. In the next few days, it was estimated that many concubines would come over under the pretext of asking for a meeting to find out what happened. It would be better for her not to even leave the hall.
Jiang Shuyi listened carefully.
Not long after Pei Yan left, Fang Chu came again. In the past, Jiang Shuyi would happily take her to the inner hall to play, but today she didn't want to pay attention to her.
Fangchu bowed and walked over with a smile: "Your Highness, are you still angry?"
Jiang Shuyi still ignored her and walked to the flower table to fiddle with the two-eared vase on it. The pastel-painted patterns of flowers and birds on it looked very beautiful in the spring.
Fang Chu said helplessly: "I really didn't mean to do that yesterday. Your Majesty, think about it. If Qingpin finds you, it will be bad for you. Will Your Majesty forgive me when he comes back?"
Jiang Shuyi snorted coldly: "This is not the only reason why I am angry."
Fang Chu understood: "That means I will plead for Cheng Shou."
Jiang Shuyi turned her head and glared at her: "You knew that too? I thought that after spending so many days together, you valued me the most besides being loyal to His Majesty, but it turns out that you are still devoted to your colleagues. In that case, I don't need you to accompany me!"
"My lady." Fang Chu smiled bitterly and sighed, "Do you know what a person would look like after being beaten with twenty boards? Cheng Shou would be unable to get out of bed for days. He is only fifteen years old, and has not yet reached the age of...coming of age."
Jiang Shuyi was even more unhappy after hearing this: "Fang Chu, I am the master and he is the servant. He talked nonsense and angered me. I will beat him to death. What does it matter? Twenty strokes of the cane is already a mercy. Do you think I am unkind by saying this?"
Fang Chu immediately knelt down and looked at her innocently: "Your Majesty, please understand! I definitely did not mean that. If Your Majesty was unkind, I would have been beaten for my mouth long ago!"
Jiang Shuyi said with a stern face: "You know that too."
Fang Chu noticed that her attitude had softened, and quickly smiled and pulled the hem of her skirt to shake it gently: "So the queen is the most tolerant and loves this servant the most!"
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