Chapter 29 The Late Arrival Incident
An Lingrong dared not raise her head, her eyes fixed on the pair of boots embroidered with golden dragons on the Emperor's feet. Although he stepped into the hall, he did not walk inside, but instead pointed his toes outwards, as if he were about to turn around and leave.
An Lingrong kept recalling what Consort Xin had told her: "Don't let the Emperor think you're afraid of him."
The ten fingers hidden under the sleeves clenched tightly, so tightly that they almost embedded themselves into the palms.
She forced herself to look up, her gaze slowly sliding down to the chest of the imposing man in front of her and then stopping there. She took a deep breath, trying to suppress her trembling voice—"Your Majesty is the ruler of the world. This humble woman is naturally apprehensive, but not afraid."
Although she said this, her eyes were wide open like a startled fawn, with a slight redness under her eyes, and her eyelashes trembling uncontrollably.
This hypocrisy amused Yinzhen, who chuckled twice but did not call out to her. Instead, he moved forward and stood half an inch in front of her, looking down at the delicate and timid woman.
He slowly reached out and gently rubbed the back of his hand, still warm, against her cheek.
An Lingrong's heart, which had been pounding wildly, inexplicably calmed down at this moment.
Consort Xin didn't lie to her; this is indeed what the Emperor likes!
——
The Emperor went to Yongshou Palace, but did not stay overnight at Consort Xin's residence. Instead, he stayed at Consort An's residence in the West Side Hall.
The news that Consort Xin dared to compete with the Empress for someone spread like wildfire, and everyone thought that Consort Xin would not be able to sleep well tonight.
Indeed, some people were unable to sleep peacefully, but this person was not Lü Yingfeng.
Hongzhao rubbed his eyes as he came out of the room. He had gone to the study earlier, and Yongshou Palace was still quiet at this time.
Hongzhao's thinking was simple: since Consort An would eventually be favored by the emperor, it would be better for his mother to do the good deed than for the empress. Since Consort An was loyal to the empress for this, she could naturally be loyal to her mother as well.
And isn't there a saying that goes, "Whoever harms An Lingrong, An Lingrong harms Zhen Huan"?
In the original drama, the Empress almost completely exploited her, and she also seized the Empress's biggest weakness and gave it to Zhen Huan, but she did not retaliate in any other way.
Mother wouldn't have such a big weakness.
So he had this in mind when he wanted An Lingrong to move into Yongshou Palace, but he forgot to ask his mother if she was willing. Just like last night, his room was quite far away, but he could hear some rustling noises, whether it was psychological or not.
If he's like this, won't his mother be even more upset?
The answer is...
No, there really isn't.
When Lü Yingfeng woke up, the Emperor had already gone to court. Xuexin helped her wash up while saying, "The Emperor left a message saying that Your Highness and Consort Jing often play chess. He asked Eunuch Su to bring out the warm jade chess pieces from the storeroom for you. He also left a reward for Consort An. This servant thinks the Emperor is in a good mood."
Lu Yingfeng sat in front of the mirror, trying to clear her head. She smiled as she listened to the woman muttering to herself. "It's good that she's in a good mood. At least she remembers that this person exists. I can't keep an eye on her all the time. It's not good for people from Yongshou Palace to go out and be bullied at will. With her name on the Emperor's list, she'll know where to go if she has something to complain about in the future."
She is clear-headed, and perhaps she has been indulging in it before, but perhaps it was during the countless long, silent days in the Prince's mansion that she was worn down, or perhaps it was when she was at her weakest after giving birth to Hongzhao and Hongjin that no one cared about her. Now she sees things very clearly.
You cannot treat the emperor as a husband, but as a monarch. You can admire and respect him, but you cannot fall in love with him.
Now, apart from her three children, nothing else matters in the deep palace.
So when she took An Lingrong to Jingren Palace to pay her respects, she did the same.
Lu Yingfeng followed An Lingrong into the hall. The two looked quite well, and even chatted and laughed as they entered, which drew the attention of many people.
"Has Consort Xin gone mad with anger?" Consort Qi had originally planned to watch the show, but now she couldn't hide the shock on her face.
Her voice was quite loud, and she immediately received a warning look from the Empress, which made her shut her mouth in a huff.
Everyone watched as An Lingrong bowed three times and kowtowed nine times to the Empress, receiving a few words of encouragement about having many children, before sitting back down.
Consort Hua arrived quite early today, but not to watch An Lingrong's antics. Looking at Consort Jing, who was fidgeting and constantly looking towards the door, and the empty seat next to her, Consort Hua smiled smugly.
Following her gaze, Lü Yingfeng naturally understood why Consort Hua had arrived so early today.
Whoever they wanted to come, everyone remained silent as footsteps approached hurriedly from the doorway.
"Oh, Consort Shen has arrived quite early," Consort Li said sarcastically, glancing at her.
Knowing she was in the wrong, Shen Meizhuang didn't say much. She immediately bowed respectfully to the Empress and admitted her mistake: "Your Majesty, I am late in paying my respects. Please forgive me."
Yixiu naturally wouldn't be too harsh. "It's good to show your respect with your heart. It's nothing to do once in a while. Get up." Her virtuous and magnanimous words not only forgave Consort Shen but also entangled Consort Hua in the situation. She was truly shrewd.
Who was late more than once? Of course, it was Consort Hua. Thinking of this, Lü Yingfeng couldn't help but smile.
She watched as Consort Hua and Noble Lady Li, one after the other, finished putting on the hat and decided on Noble Lady Shen's punishment, and the Empress couldn't get a word in edgewise between the two of them.
Such struggles occur daily in the palace, numbering innumerable. Lü Yingfeng did not want to get involved, but Consort Jing spoke up anyway.
"Your Majesty, although Consort Shen has made a mistake, she has always served Your Majesty diligently. Please forgive her this once."
She didn't address Consort Hua, who had been making trouble, but instead spoke to the Empress, who sat silently at the head of the table.
Lü Yingfeng understood her. Back in the Prince's mansion, she was a concubine in Consort Hua's quarters and had suffered a lot of mistreatment, both openly and secretly. Even now, people were somewhat afraid of her. The only reason she was allowed to speak up like this was because Shen Meizhuang was someone from her palace.
But Lü Yingfeng understood Nian Shilan's temperament better; if Consort Jing spoke up, she herself would likely be implicated.
As expected, Consort Hua's expression turned cold, and her sharp gaze swept over Consort Jing—"You are the mistress of Xianfu Palace, and Consort Shen's shortcomings are due to your poor upbringing."
She then looked at the Empress, and seeing that Yixiu was completely handing the matter over to her, she became even more smug. She leaned forward slightly, propping her head up, and said, "Noble Lady Shen has shown contempt for the Empress and should be punished with thirty strokes of the cane." She paused here, looked around at the shocked faces of the crowd, and then smugly curled the corners of her mouth—"Considering this is her first offense, she will be fined two months' salary. Consort Jing will also be fined two months for her poor teaching."
Just when everyone thought the matter was settled, a pleasant laugh came from the other side.
Lü Yingfeng covered her mouth, laughing and shaking her head, which infuriated Nian Shilan.
She said through gritted teeth, "You must tell us why Consort Xin is laughing!"
Lu Yingfeng covered her mouth with a handkerchief, waved her hand at her, and then said to the Empress, "Your Majesty, I was reminded of a funny incident involving Hongzhao when I saw what happened today, which is why I couldn't help but laugh."
Yixiu knew that someone as clever as Lü Yingfeng would not just be telling a joke, so she gave her a way out and asked, "What did Hongzhao do to make you laugh like this, sister? Tell us about it."
Lu Yingfeng shrugged at everyone and began to speak casually, as if the tense atmosphere in the hall had never existed.
“Hongzhao has now gone to the Imperial Study, where he works from dawn till dusk every day. He is young and inevitably sleeps in the winter. One day he overslept and rushed out in a hurry, but he was still too late and missed Master Zhang’s class.”
As she spoke, she turned to Consort Qi, who was listening attentively across from her, and asked, "Consort Qi, have you heard Hongshi mention Master Zhang?"
“Yes, yes, yes! Of course I’ve heard of it!” Consort Qi replied with a face full of agreement, her sincerity making Nian Shilan roll her eyes.
Consort Qi continued her incessant chatter, seemingly oblivious to the fact that "Teacher Zhang is the strictest. He punishes even the smallest mistakes severely. Hongshi is terrified of Teacher Zhang's lessons..."
Seeing that Consort Qi agreed with Lü Yingfeng, she continued, "That's right. I thought Hongzhao would definitely be severely punished this time, but unexpectedly, he still skipped back to Yongshou Palace that night without showing any signs of distress. Do you sisters know why?"
She looked around at everyone, and the clever Consort Cao had already understood the meaning behind her words, so she just nodded and didn't say anything.
There was a moment of silence, but Lü Yingfeng didn't mind. "Hongzhao told me that Master Zhang said being late is not a small matter and should be severely punished. He was to be punished with ten strokes of the ruler and to copy books a hundred times. However, he didn't carry it out immediately. He would wait until the next time the offense was committed before tripled the punishment."
After going around in circles, we finally got to the point. Lü Yingfeng turned to the Empress and bowed slightly, saying, "When Hongzhao comes back, tell me that this is called having a balance between strictness and leniency. I wholeheartedly agree. Hongzhao is wary of being punished three times over, and he has never been late again since."
Consort Hua sensed something was amiss and wanted to interrupt, but Yi Xiu gently smiled and took over the conversation—"Indeed, with rewards and punishments, a balanced approach, and impartiality, it will never go wrong. In that case, let's continue learning from Hong Zhao today. Let's remember the punishments for Consort Jing and Noble Lady Shen, and punish them together if they make the same mistake again."
Consort Jing received a subtle glance from Lü Yingfeng and hurriedly led Shen Meizhuang to bow in gratitude: "Your Majesty, we thank you for your magnanimity. We will certainly not dare to do it again in the future."
Looking at the two bright, sparkling eyes she had received that day, Lü Yingfeng was so happy that she practically walked on air.
As for Consort Hua?
It doesn't matter. Even without today's incident, she has given me plenty of cold shoulders in the past, and she will certainly not stop giving me cold shoulders in the future.
——
Next chapter preview:
Consort Hua – “I called you here today to help me check on how I’ve handled the New Year’s Eve banquet.”
Lü Yingfeng said, “This plum blossom is not good. It would be better to change it to peony. Winter peonies cultivated in the greenhouse can bloom in the snow. When the emperor sees them, he will remember your contribution.”
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