Chapter 57
The words, spoken neither too harshly nor too lightly, sent a chill down Consort Ling's spine. She suddenly realized that Little Swallow (a character from Journey to the West) would never be a match for Princess He Rui, and felt incredibly foolish for mistaking a fool for a wise one.
"Consort Ling, how did you teach Xiao Yanzi? I think you don't want your head anymore." Qianlong glared at Consort Ling. "What are you all standing there for? Drag her out and beat her, beat her hard." Just leave her alive, he needs to find out what the fake Xia Yuhe's identity really is.
"Father, it hurts your heart as well as your son's body!"
"Seeing you unable to distinguish right from wrong makes me even more heartbroken. Yongqi, I ask you, what does 'It is the father's fault if he raises his child without teaching him' mean?" Qianlong looked coldly at Yongqi, increasingly certain that Yongqi and this Xiaoyanzi had a relationship that others could not explain.
Yongqi shut up. He could already feel his father's cold gaze. If he continued to speak, he was afraid that his father would dislike him.
The eunuch had already brought over the instruments for caning. Little Swallow's eyes widened as she stared at them. She had to think of a way; she didn't want to be beaten. Suddenly, Little Swallow burst into tears, crying, "Mother, why did you leave me so early? Why didn't you take me with you, leaving me all alone?" Little Swallow's crying and tantrums didn't elicit any sympathy from Emperor Qianlong; instead, they darkened his face, and his eyes grew even colder.
He Rui simply watched the spectacle from the sidelines, while wondering who the "mother" Xiao Yanzi was referring to was. "Father, judging from Huanzhu's words, she has a tragic fate. I wonder where Huanzhu's mother is buried? I'll have someone go and repair it after I leave the palace."
"I don't need your fake kindness. Father Emperor, hit me if you want." Little Swallow was genuinely afraid of going with Rui to find that grave. She had stolen her godmother's things to escape; it wasn't her fault, life had been too hard. "Godmother, I'm sorry. Once I've served my time as a princess, I'll take the things back to see you and my brother, and ask Father Emperor to bring you into the palace." Little Swallow lifted her leg and threw herself onto the executioner's tools, gritting her teeth, thinking that after all the suffering she had endured, this little pain was nothing. Little Swallow didn't know that after she stole the so-called treasure and left, the "home" she had lived in for several years was immediately deserted.
Looking at Xiao Yanzi's imposing manner, He Rui felt that Xiao Yanzi was intentionally hiding something.
Emperor Qianlong didn't rush to ask any further questions; he figured he could ask after the beating was over.
Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the sound of caning echoed. In the Palace of Eternal Longevity, the Empress heard Rong Momo return with news that Xiao Yanzi had been mistaken for an assassin and captured by the Fourth Prince Consort, and was currently being punished in the Hall of Mental Cultivation. After listening, the Empress thought for a moment, "Let's go, Rong Momo, come with me to see."
"Your Majesty, the Empress requests an audience." Li Yu cautiously reported to the Emperor. What's going on today?
"Announce!"
Little Swallow, with her sharp ears, momentarily forgot the pain of being hit. "Father, why does Consort Ling want to see you, but you refuse and even punish her? Yet you see the Empress as soon as she arrives?" Under normal circumstances, the Emperor might have answered Little Swallow's question, but in this turbulent situation, he would only be angrier.
"Consort Ling, now teach her about the difference between superior and inferior ranks." Qianlong glared at Consort Ling fiercely, gritting his teeth as he spoke.
Consort Ling was startled by Qianlong's words. "Little Swallow, shut up quickly, don't make your imperial father angry. The empress is the head of the harem, you should be the empress and the imperial mother."
As the Empress stepped into the courtyard, she heard what Consort Ling said and frowned slightly.
Xiao Yanzi stared in astonishment at the Empress. Compared to Consort Ling, the Empress was truly a fairy. Her aura, her beautiful face… “Empress Mother?”
"Your Majesty, I have come to confess my sins." The Empress knelt down in front of the Emperor and admitted her mistakes. "Please cure me for my lax management of the harem."
"What crime has the Empress committed? Consort Ling's poor upbringing has nothing to do with the Empress." Qianlong gestured to Rong Mama to help the Empress up.
Xiao Yanzi had never seen the Empress and didn't have a bad impression of her. Moreover, hearing the Empress's words, Xiao Yanzi was even more convinced that the Empress was a true fairy. For some reason, Xiao Yanzi suddenly became clever; she seemed to understand that this courtyard was not a place she could enter, nor was it a place that Consort Ling could enter. But why would Consort Ling bring her here to see her sister?
No one knows what Xiao Yanzi is thinking. Consort Ling will never know, and Xiao Yanzi will be very careful around her because of this.
"Father, Little Swallow is new to the palace, so it's inevitable that she might not behave properly. She's already been disciplined; let's just let her learn a lesson," He Rui advised after mentally counting to twenty. He Rui spoke slowly and deliberately.
"Since He Rui has spoken up, I will spare her." Qianlong was actually venting his anger for He Rui. "Stop it! Consort Ling, take Xiao Yanzi back and teach her manners carefully, so she won't have any useless thoughts."
Frustrated by the Emperor's words, Consort Ling, her face flushed and pale, had Xiao Yanzi helped up and escorted back to Shufangzhai. As she left the courtyard, Consort Ling looked at Princess He Rui. Had she truly been wrong? Was Xiao Yanzi inferior to He Rui? No, she couldn't be wrong. She had forgotten that the Hall of Mental Cultivation was not a place she could enter. If she remembered the rules, how could she have given herself a handle to be used against her? Consort Ling tried hard to calm herself down, but in truth, she had already realized what Xiao Yanzi meant to her, but… at least for now, she couldn't abandon Xiao Yanzi.
After this incident, Yongqi regretted saving Xiaoyanzi, and wondered what kind of importance He Rui held in the Emperor's heart.
After the incident, He Rui returned to Yongshou Palace with the Empress. Emperor Qianlong sat on his throne, his face dark, lost in thought. "Haricha Gai, how's Xiao Yanzi's kung fu?"
"Your Majesty, my skills are rudimentary," Haricha replied honestly. "Your Highness's lightness skill is quite good."
An assassin with decent lightness skills but only rudimentary martial arts abilities? Emperor Qianlong was increasingly puzzled.
Haricha recalled what Princess He Rui had said the night before: "If you have a grudge against someone, marry your spoiled daughter to their son, and their family will be ruined." Haricha naturally wouldn't say this aloud, but thinking of the Fifth Prince's plea, Haricha considered the possibility of this statement.
~~~
Returning from the palace, He Rui was in high spirits. Sitting on the soft couch, she squinted, her hand stroking her belly. "Baby, Mother has avenged you!" she thought. Remembering the "Mother" Xiao Yanzi had mentioned, He Rui felt she needed to investigate carefully. One advantage of being a transmigrator was that she knew far more than others. "Baozhu, have you heard of any poor places in the capital? Send all the clothes or items that no one in the mansion wears anymore, or that are no longer used, there."
“Master is truly compassionate.” Baozhu listened to He Rui’s words and thought for a moment. “I heard from the steward who went to purchase the items that there is a place in the capital called the ‘Big Tent’, where all the elderly and orphans live. It is a pair of brothers who support themselves by selling their virtues. If Master doesn’t care about those items, I will have them sent there.”
Brother and sister? Liu Qing and Liu Hong? If they really are that brother and sister, they should know who Xiao Yanzi has been associating with closely these past few years! "Take some people to see for yourself. If it's really as the steward said, in addition to the gifts, donate some silver as well."
"Yes, sir!" Baozhu responded readily, thinking that her master was a good person.
After instructing Baozhu on what to do, He Rui fell asleep due to exhaustion. Haricha, who had returned from his errands, saw the princess asleep on the soft couch and sat down beside her, grinning foolishly.
The servants who were attending to the prince consort were secretly laughing to themselves as they watched him.
"How long has the princess been asleep?" Harichagai chuckled for a while, then noticed that the servants in the room were watching him and smirking. He immediately put on a stern face and asked.
"Reporting to the Prince Consort, the princess slept for more than an hour."
"Bring up dinner." After instructing the servants, Haricha carefully woke He Rui.
"Mmm~" He Rui, who was sleeping soundly, turned over, found a comfortable position, and snuggled into the thin blanket that had somehow covered him. Then he squinted and met Haricha's gaze. "You're back."
"This servant has returned and pays respects to the princess."
"Get up! Did you get hurt today? That Little Swallow is a rascal; she doesn't know any rules when she attacks." He Rui squinted at Haricha Gai to see if he was injured.
"She can't hurt me. How does the princess know?"
"Before entering the palace, He Ya went out for a stroll and saw Xiao Yanzi stealing someone else's things from afar." He Rui felt that this matter should be discussed with Haricha Gai, and then he suggested that Haricha Gai investigate along the line of the Liu siblings.
"This must have happened six years ago, before the princess entered the palace. Princess Heya, did you look carefully? Don't mistake her for someone else."
"No, Heya said that Xiaoyanzi is exactly the same as she was six years ago, with no change." Six years ago, Xiaoyanzi was already in Heya's mind as a model of a bad person.
"When I see Prince Xun tomorrow, I will tell him that perhaps we can find something by following this rope."
He Rui nodded. "Today I told Baozhu to pack some old clothes and send them to the lonely and widowed. If you have anything you want to keep, just tell Baozhu."
Nodding, Harichagai recalled the gift that a palace guard had brought earlier that day. "Today, I received a bribe from a guard who asked me if Baozhu was engaged."
Who has such good taste to choose her maid? "Which family is she from? Baozhu has been with me since she was a child. I treat her like a treasure. Even if she were to marry into a wealthy family as their principal wife, I would still feel that it would be beneath her."
"They say they are descendants of Han officials, surnamed Li. I was afraid the princess wouldn't agree, so I just said I'd come back and ask."
"I'll ask Baozhu later. I think that girl is quite interested in Selemo, who's by your side. I was originally going to ask you if Selemo has a family." He Rui thought of how Baozhu often gave things to Selemo and hesitated whether to play matchmaker for Baozhu.
“Selemo is an orphan who has been by my side since he was a child. He’s a good man. But won’t that make Baozhu feel bad?”
"Whether we feel wronged or not is not up to us to decide."
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