Chapter 56
Consort Ling, who had raised the Emperor's illegitimate daughter, was extremely pleased with herself. What was Princess He Rui? Little Swallow had hurt her, but nothing had happened to her. The more Consort Ling thought about it, the more pleased she became. If she befriended Little Swallow and Little Swallow spoke well of her to the Emperor, not only would she be a Noble Consort, but even the Empress's position would probably have to be changed!
"Your Highness, Princess He Rui has entered the palace." La Mei whispered in her mistress's ear, noticing her smug expression. "I heard that Princess He Rui's expression was quite unpleasant when she entered the palace."
"Very bad?" Consort Ling looked at Lamei with suspicion. *Hmph, just because you heard Xiao Yanzi got a title, your complexion will only get worse from now on.* "Where did she go?" she asked, taking Xiao Yanzi with her.
“This… Princess He Rui went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.”
"Lamei, go to Shufangzhai. I'm taking Xiaoyanzi to meet Princess Herui." Consort Ling's face was gloomy. Over the years, Herui had ruined so many of her plans. She had to settle accounts with her.
What is He Rui doing in the palace? He Rui felt increasingly uneasy last night. Good heavens, Xiao Yanzi injured her and yet she still managed to become a princess? She was a princess of the Qing Dynasty! What were those censors doing? Having snapped out of her joy at saving her child, she needed to settle accounts with Xiao Yanzi. Becoming a princess was fine, but first, she'd better get a beating!
Little Swallow excitedly followed Consort Ling towards the Hall of Mental Cultivation, her round eyes darting around the whole way. The restless girl was truly uncomfortable after being confined for several days. Consort Ling looked at Little Swallow with disdain; what a lowly birth she was, with such an air of naiveté. She feigned a kind expression, explaining to Little Swallow where each path led. When Consort Ling spoke of the paths to Yongshou Palace and Chang'an Palace, she emphasized the details. Little Swallow, however, neither noticed nor listened.
Seeing the hurt expression on He Rui's face, Qianlong knew that if he didn't punish Xiao Yanzi, and the censors found out, they would likely submit another memorial. But if he punished Xiao Yanzi now, wouldn't that alert the enemy?
"Father, He Rui is a princess of the Qing Dynasty, and she considers herself to be of noble status. How can she be bullied by someone of unknown identity?" He Rui said with tears in her eyes as she looked at Qianlong's hesitation, wondering if Qianlong really thought of Xiao Yanzi as some kind of joker!
"He Rui, I have my own plan for this matter, and I will certainly not let you be bullied." Xiao Yanzi is just a person of unknown identity; what difference would it make if she were executed? Before Qianlong could make his decision, Consort Ling had already persuaded him to punish Xiao Yanzi.
"Your Majesty, Consort Ling has brought Princess Huanzhu to request an audience." Li Yu carefully reported to the Emperor. He had been reprimanded by the Emperor for a long time for what happened last time. He had investigated for many days but had not been able to find out which one had been bribed by Consort Ling.
Emperor Qianlong frowned. Consort Ling's intelligence network was truly impressive; she had received news of He Rui's arrival the moment he entered the palace. Was my palace filled with Consort Ling's spies? Qianlong's mood darkened. "What kind of place is the Hall of Mental Cultivation? Without my decree, who allowed her to enter?"
He Rui, standing to the side, smirked. "Consort Ling! How can you be so stupid? Consort Ling is probably not going to get away with this today!"
Enraged with Consort Ling, Emperor Qianlong made a decision without hesitation: "Guards! Drag Consort Ling out and punish her with ten strokes of the cane."
“Father, this is the front hall. If any court officials passing by see Consort Ling being punished, it might not look good. Besides, Consort Ling is, after all, the head of a palace. It’s not a good look for her to be punished like this.”
"What kind of empress does she think she is?" I'll remember this punishment. Qianlong thought that Rui's words made sense, so he thought, "I can't punish her. I have other ways to deal with her." "Issue an imperial decree: Consort Ling is not strict with the rules. She shall copy the palace rules fifty times and have them embroidered into a picture to be hung in a prominent place in Yanxi Palace. She shall not leave Yanxi Palace during this period."
Li Yu's decree was delivered quickly, and Consort Ling swayed upon hearing it. Had she made the wrong bet? No, the Emperor hadn't seen Xiao Yanzi; it must be that He Rui was preventing the Emperor from seeing them. She'd have Xiao Yanzi invite the Emperor again after He Rui left the palace. Consort Ling's expression was very unpleasant, and Xiao Yanzi was very worried. She greatly admired Consort Ling's fairy-like smile. "Consort Ling, why did Father punish you?" Xiao Yanzi didn't understand anything else, but what did "violated palace rules" mean?
“Little Swallow, this Hall of Mental Cultivation is not a place for just anyone. I originally wanted you to meet a new older sister, but... as you can see, we couldn't even get in.” Consort Ling didn't reflect on her own actions at all.
"Sister? I have a sister?" Little Swallow was very excited, then seemed to remember something, "Can't I come in here? Then why did Consort Ling bring me here?"
Consort Ling was startled, her expression turning somewhat unpleasant. She casually offered a reason, not caring whether Xiao Yanzi believed her or not. In her heart, she wondered if Xiao Yanzi was not as innocent as she appeared. "Perhaps Princess He Rui doesn't want to see you, which is why..."
Little Swallow was displeased. "If you don't want to see me, just say so. Why punish a beautiful fairy?" she thought. Furious, Little Swallow attacked the guards blocking her way and stormed inside. When Consort Ling saw Little Swallow rush in, she was terrified and quickly sent someone to fetch the Fifth Prince.
I don't know if I should say that Xiao Yanzi was unlucky. Today, the person in charge of guarding the courtyard of Yangxin Hall was Haricha Gai. Haricha Gai didn't care that Xiao Yanzi was some kind of Princess Huanzhu. He didn't hold back when Xiao Yanzi rushed in and beat her until she shouted, "I am Princess Huanzhu! How dare you hit me! I'll have Father Emperor take your head off!"
"Oh, where did this reckless fool come from, daring to take my husband's head?" He Rui was about to come out to pay his respects to the Empress when he heard Xiao Yanzi's fierce words. "Haricha, seize this reckless fool for me, and I'll show her who took whose head."
Emperor Qianlong, who was inside the house, also heard Xiao Yanzi's fierce voice and went out to see what was going on. "Xiao Yanzi, look at yourself! What kind of behavior is this?"
"Father, please teach this servant a lesson! How dare he hit me!"
"Father, I had no idea there were such sisters in the harem. This has truly broadened my horizons."
"Harichagai, put down Princess Huanzhu!" Yongqi rushed in, saw Harichagai capture Xiaoyanzi, and immediately charged over. Yongqi still had some sense; he didn't attack Harichagai. Yongqi knew he was no match for Harichagai, so naturally he didn't dare to make a move, and could only resort to verbal attacks. "You audacious servant, release Princess Huanzhu at once!"
Harichagai tolerated Yongqi. He was the emperor's servant, the princess's servant, not the servant of this prince who didn't even have a fiefdom. Harichagai released Xiaoyanzi, merely tossing her to the ground in front of the emperor, then knelt down, saying, "This servant has frightened Your Majesty."
Emperor Qianlong looked at Yongqi with a dark expression. What had he just said about Harichagai? Servant? "Yongqi, what did you just say? I didn't hear you clearly."
"Please forgive me, Father Emperor. I was just too hasty and forgot that Haricagai is He Rui's son-in-law." Haricagai had been granted a title and had received great merit. Yongqi's heart sank. He didn't even have a title yet; he was just a prince. In terms of ruler and subject, he wasn't the emperor, and Haricagai wasn't his subject. In terms of seniority, Haricagai was He Rui's son-in-law, his brother-in-law.
"Father, save me! This servant is going to kill me!" Little Swallow didn't pay attention to what followed; she only remembered that Yongqi called Haricha Gai a servant. At this moment, Little Swallow hugged Qianlong's leg and cried.
Yongqi inwardly cursed; he shouldn't have saved this fool. If he didn't handle this situation well, he might offend both the Mongols and the powerful Xilin Gioro clan. "Father, Huanzhu is new to the palace and doesn't understand many things. Please forgive Huanzhu's ignorance."
"Pfft," He Rui found it very funny to hear Yong Qi talking about "Huan Zhu" and couldn't help but laugh. "Father, is this the 'Huan Zhu' sister who climbed the cliff, injured our daughter, and was shot by Wu A's arrow? She has really broadened our horizons and made us understand what Master meant by 'a big forest has all kinds of birds'."
"You're the He Rui who wouldn't see me?" Xiao Yanzi, still kneeling and clinging to Qianlong's leg, looked up at the smiling He Rui, who was as beautiful as a flower. "You're the woman who...stopped me that day." Xiao Yanzi suddenly remembered where she had seen He Rui before. Her voice was loud enough for the surrounding guards to hear clearly. Some of these guards had been to the hunting grounds, while others hadn't, and one of those who hadn't was even the son of an imperial censor. One of the guards had an idea. He had to find out the truth; everyone knew that Princess He Rui was the emperor's favorite.
"Little Swallow, didn't Consort Ling teach you manners? Today I will personally teach you what manners are." Emperor Qianlong loathed Little Swallow. "Guards! Give Little Swallow thirty lashes!"
"Father, Xiao Yanzi is a girl, how can she endure thirty strokes of the cane?" Yongqi knew that he and Xiao Yanzi were in the same boat, so he had to speak up and plead for Xiao Yanzi.
"Yongqi, I've always thought you were a well-behaved person, which is why I let you get closer to Xiaoyanzi." Qianlong's face darkened. If Haricha hadn't captured Xiaoyanzi, and she had rushed into the house, and he hadn't noticed... Qianlong broke out in a cold sweat just thinking about it.
"Your Majesty, it was this servant who failed to teach the princess proper manners. Please punish this servant instead. Your Majesty, the princess has just seen her mother off. If Father were to further break her heart, how much pain would she suffer!" Consort Ling, who had been waiting outside the courtyard, rushed in to plead for Xiao Yanzi.
"Father, I've heard that Princess Huanzhu is your adopted daughter, which is a wonderful story. I'm quite puzzled to hear it coming from Consort Ling." He Rui took a step back. Consort Ling, who are you kneeling to?
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