"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..." Consort Yi couldn't refuse for a moment, and was afraid of implicating her family, so she kowtowed while crying: "Your Majesty, I know I was wrong, Your Majesty, I just... I just... I didn't mean to harm Consort Chen's life, I just wanted to tell her... to tell her that she can't serve Your Majesty for the time being."
She almost fell out of favor after giving birth at a young age, and His Majesty rarely visited her.
She used to see Mei Lingyi as a rival, so she took action against her.
But now, she feels that her rivals are not just Mei Lingyi.
She thought that if Consort Chen fell ill, His Majesty would always be able to find time to visit her.
The main reason is that Consort Chen had to serve the Emperor far too many times that winter.
She thought that eating the grapes wouldn't cause an immediate reaction, but if it flared up later, the food eaten during the New Year would be complicated, and by the time she realized what had gone wrong, she wouldn't be able to find out where she had gone wrong.
As for Lady Xinyang, even if she fell ill upon returning home, would she dare to say anything?
Dare you say that the food in the palace is unclean?
She had planned everything perfectly, but she failed at the very first step. Yan Nangui hadn't eaten a single bite...
"You have a heart of stone! I thought you were sensible in the past, but it turns out it was all an act. This time, I will not let you off easily," the Empress said angrily.
She was already trying to win over Mei Lingyi, and this time she certainly wouldn't let Yi Jieyu off the hook.
Coincidentally, Yan Nangui was someone who openly supported the Empress on several occasions.
What a coincidence, they're both from the Queen's faction.
"Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. Please forgive me, Your Majesty and the Empress. Waaah... I really miss Your Majesty. Since my miscarriage, I've rarely seen you. Please go to Zhaochun Palace, Your Majesty. I just... I just really missed you. I was confused for a moment. Please forgive me, Your Majesty..."
Shu Chengfeng remained silent with a cold expression.
"You think you can poison others just because His Majesty doesn't visit you? If everyone thought like you, wouldn't everyone in the harem be poisoning each other?" Consort Yi sneered.
“Yes, she’s just cruel, saying His Majesty won’t go. Whether His Majesty goes or not is not up to you to decide,” Wang Lingyi said.
“Such a wicked woman cannot be forgiven.” Consort Xiangxian rose and bowed, “Your Majesty, please punish her severely.”
Shu Chengfeng waved his hand: "I will spare your life because I think of your father's loyalty and duty. Your title is stripped, and you are demoted to Imperial Concubine. From now on, you are no longer required to serve the Emperor. You will be moved to a side hall of Linhua Palace. Consort Yi, you must properly teach and discipline her."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will certainly do my duty to the best of my ability." Consort Yi thought to herself, feeling utterly annoyed.
“There’s already Consort Shun in Linhua Palace, and she’s quite old. Why send her? His Majesty is showing favoritism,” Yan Nangui said.
“Okay, you’re the victim, so tell me, where should she move to?” Shu Chengfeng laughed.
“If it were up to me, I would naturally suggest she leave the palace. However, someone like Lady Qu certainly needs guidance. Or perhaps we could move Consort Shun out of the palace? Consort Yi has two princesses; they can’t all be living too cramped, can they?” Yan Nangui said.
“Hmm, what you said is also polite. In that case, Shunliang will move to Furong Pavilion,” Shu Chengfeng said.
Shunliangren was overjoyed: "Your Majesty, thank you very much, and thank you Consort Chen."
"Your Majesty..." Qu Yu Nu cried out.
Shu Chengfeng stood up: "Qu Yunu has done something wrong, so she deserves twenty slaps in the face. She should be slapped right here."
After saying that, he left first.
Led by the Empress, everyone hurriedly saw Shu Chengfeng off.
The Empress waved her hand, and someone pulled Qu Yunu to slap her.
Who would have thought that she was so popular last year, but has fallen to this state this year?
If you're courting death, no one can stop you.
Yan Nangui didn't say much, but everyone knew she wasn't someone who could tolerate things easily.
So everyone's waiting to see what happens.
Ideally, one should be too ruthless, causing His Majesty to despise them.
Upon returning to Zhaochun Palace, Yan Nangui received a reward from the Empress, which was naturally intended to appease her.
Yan Nangui smiled and told Jiang Xiang to go and express his gratitude.
He then ordered Shuanzi to go to the Imperial Household Department and said, "Dragon Bone, bring me back three or five basins of them."
"Yes." Shuanzi hurried off.
Dragon bones aren't actually anything particularly valuable, nor are they that attractive, but some people still like to keep them.
It's not hard to find.
It was delivered personally by Prefect Song.
As an official appointed by the imperial court, he could not easily enter the inner palace, but he was going to great lengths to deliver the gifts.
Of course, one cannot easily enter this position, but he did enter several times a year for this particular role.
So even though I brought people with me, no one gossiped.
"Your Highness, please forgive me for this oversight."
"Lord Song, you're too kind. Even if you're a thief for a thousand days, you can't guard against thieves for a thousand days. I know you've done your best. This matter isn't your fault." Yan Nangui's attitude was very good.
Hearing her words, Prefect Song felt much more at ease.
He hurriedly presented five basins of dragon bones, along with a large pile of other items, as a token of his filial piety.
The geese returning south naturally accepted everything.
He wasn't let his trip be in vain, so he was given a Huzhou brush: "His Majesty occasionally writes here, but he doesn't seem to like using this brush as much these days. I'm not used to using this one either. I was thinking of giving it to Lord Song."
Prefect Song was overjoyed and hurriedly accepted the gift before leaving, completely satisfied.
Luo Kui didn't quite understand: "Why is he so happy? It's an old pen."
“Are you silly? That’s something His Majesty used. Anything His Majesty uses will have his mark on it. He clearly received a royal item from us, and he can explain it clearly. Wouldn’t he be happy? He’s going to take it back and display it in the hall. It’ll be a great honor for guests to see it. How could he not be happy?” Yuanhua said.
"Ah? I see?" Luo Kui nodded.
"Yes, if you give him a new one, he might not be so happy. It has to be one that His Majesty used before, that would be better."
"Won't His Majesty be angry?" Luo Kui asked.
"No, Your Majesty isn't making this up. It's true that His Majesty doesn't like using this pen much. Besides, isn't Your Majesty's gift of this a favor from His Majesty? His Majesty values him, so His Majesty is happy with this gift. This makes Lord Song much happier than if Your Majesty gave him a hundred taels of silver or something."
Even the Prefectural Magistrate Song was a third-rank official; he could give different things to different people.
Yan Nangui can give nothing today, but she wants a reward of silver...
That would be a slap in the face.
This is different from the eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department. This one is a genuine official appointed by the imperial court.
Therefore, receiving an item from the emperor as a reward, no matter how small, makes a difference.
Yuanhua was very clear on this point. Although she didn't say it often, she understood Yan Nangui's thoughts most of the time.
It wasn't in vain that Yan Nangui realized that Jiangxiang and Yuanhua were the wisest people.
Chanyi is clever, but she has too many concerns. Luokui is honest and reliable, but her mind doesn't work as quickly.
They each have their merits; as long as they're loyal, they're both useful people.
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