Chapter 29 Trying to steal a woman from the Emperor? Ha, let's see. ...
She knew it!
She knew it!
She knew it!
Seeing Ah Zhu, who made no attempt to hide his hostility, leave with his head held high and tail wagging.
Qingwen, who couldn't even get into Hanyuan Hall, could only suppress his heart palpitations and hand the food box to Eunuch Chen.
On the way back to Nianfu Palace, Qingwen was inwardly screaming – she knew it, she knew that Azhu harbored ambitions of climbing the social ladder and planned to settle scores later.
Given A-Zhu's flamboyant manner, would she be content to serve Prince Rui?
The palace selection process only ended a few days ago.
In the blink of an eye, he ambitiously climbed onto the Emperor's bed!
Indeed, whenever Kunning Palace sends another palace maid to the Emperor, Nianfu Palace will only wonder if the Empress has some other scheme.
But it was Ah Zhu who went, Ah Zhu who would be a disservice to her looks if she didn't have this ambition!
Once you've seen what Ah Zhu looks like, and then see her appearing before the Emperor—you'll have absolutely no other thought than that she's determined to climb into the Emperor's bed!
No need to even think about it!
Qingwen thought it through even more clearly—
Once A-Zhu rises up, she doesn't even need a high position. Given her character and personality, while I can still have Consort Zhang protecting me in Nianfu Palace, Mingxia will definitely not be able to escape!
***
"Your Majesty!"
"Your Highness, Imperial Concubine!"
Inside the palace, Consort Zhang frowned and scolded Qingwen as she listened to his hurried commotion.
"What kind of behavior is this, all flustered and in such a state?"
Because of Emperor Xuanpei, Consort Zhang paid extra attention to the outward manners of the other palace servants in Nianfu Palace, fearing that the emperor would be displeased.
But for Consort Zhang herself... yes, the fact that she didn't directly break ties with Empress Wang and was still willing to pay her respects morning and evening was already a result of Consort Zhang's exceptional attention to etiquette.
Upon hearing Consort Zhang's reprimand, Qingwen knelt down without hesitation as soon as he entered.
"Alright, alright."
Before Qingwen could admit his mistake, Consort Zhang waved her hand impatiently, "Look at you in such a hurry, tell me, what exactly did you see in front of the Emperor?"
"Your Majesty, the person specially dispatched to the Emperor by Kunning Palace today is Azhu."
Ah Zhu?
Hearing Qingwen emphasize the last two words, Consort Zhang blinked. Why did the name sound so familiar to her?
"It's that A-Zhu who was personally selected by the Empress to go to Kunning Palace before the palace selection."
"Oh, now that you mention it, I do recall it."
Consort Zhang nodded, finally remembering the unfortunate fellow who had given the fortress to Prince Rui.
However... "You said she went to the Emperor's presence."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Seeing that Consort Zhang's expression was relatively calm, Qingwen began to carefully and subtly add details.
"...A-Zhu entered the hall early, and the gates of Hanyuan Hall remained closed. No matter how much I pleaded, Eunuch Chen refused to enter the hall to announce his arrival."
"This servant could only wait outside for quite a while."
"When Ah Zhu came out... well, he didn't say a word, he just walked away with a beaming smile."
What did Consort Zhang think when Qingwen mentioned Azhu?
She confidently asserted that it was the woman Empress Wang had chosen for Prince Rui.
The words were still ringing in her ears, but they had already become a slap across Consort Zhang's face.
Imagine a palace maid who bears a striking resemblance to her, fawning over the Empress while simultaneously resorting to despicable and vile means to climb into the Emperor's bed—
"You old wicked woman! How dare you use such a lowly servant to humiliate me!!!"
If A-Zhu was merely an unlucky girl used to appease Prince Rui, even if she resembled him, Consort Zhang could barely tolerate her, and might even feel sorry for her, considering her purpose.
But Ah Zhu is not!
And then there was Qingwen, who was particularly adept at exaggerating and stirring up trouble—
Enraged and filled with resentment, Consort Zhang felt her internal organs surge with anger and her fury burned fiercely.
Her eyes were sharp, and she gave a cold laugh.
"OK."
"I'm going to go and see for myself what kind of person our Empress has chosen after all these years of careful selection!"
Qingwen felt a slight surge of joy, but then he saw Yindong anxiously stopping Consort Zhang.
"Your Majesty, you must not act so impulsively."
"Get out of my way!"
In a fit of anger, Consort Zhang kicked Yin Dong.
Yin Dong, who was kneeling, swayed and quickly crawled over to block Consort Zhang's way.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this servant knows you are utterly disgusted by such underhanded and despicable methods, but, but Empress Wang is, after all, the Empress, the mother of the nation."
"Your Highness, Imperial Concubine."
Qing Shuang also knelt down in front of Consort Zhang to stop her.
"Your Majesty, I know you have suffered greatly this time, but your aggressive demeanor is exactly what the Empress wants."
“Those petty men in the palace are always jealous of Your Majesty’s favor with the Emperor, and they always try to cause trouble even when there’s nothing wrong with them.”
"I'd love to have a chance to kick someone when they're down."
"If you storm into Kunning Palace in a fit of anger, I'm afraid the Empress will immediately use the pretext of offending the Empress to give you a good scolding."
"Your Highness, that Ah Zhu is just a lowly maidservant from the Inner Palace who climbed into someone's bedchamber. With that status, how long can she be so smug?"
"It's just a cheap, worthless thing that can't be served in public. Who knows where it will be sent to in the future."
"Your Majesty, you are a noble lady of the palace and a consort personally appointed by the Emperor. Why would someone of your noble birth bother to get yourself into trouble for this lowly servant who deserves to die?"
Kneeling before Consort Zhang, Yin Dong pleaded earnestly, "Your Majesty, please reconsider!"
"Your Majesty, you must not fall for the tricks of these villains and let them have their way!"
In this palace, some things simply cannot be made public.
Even if Consort Zhang cursed Empress Wang incessantly in the Nianfu Palace, as long as the Emperor and Empress Wang didn't catch her in the act, it would be considered mere speculation.
But if she were to speak in front of Empress Wang, even just a single slip of the tongue... not only would Consort Zhang be doomed, but the entire Zhang family would also be ruined.
Similarly, didn't Empress Wang hate Consort Zhang?
I hate it, I hate it so much.
Why didn't she adopt the status of Empress, seize the Phoenix Seal, and directly arrest Consort Zhang, subjecting her to all kinds of torture to vent her hatred?
It's not that I don't want to, it's that I can't.
The more pleased Consort Zhang was with the Emperor's favor, the less she wanted to lose it.
Taking advantage of the Emperor's mood, the people of Nianfu Palace pleaded with him until they finally managed to stop Consort Zhang.
Furious and annoyed, Consort Zhang finally went to Lanxiang Palace to calm down.
Yin Dong breathed a sigh of relief, his kneeling body swayed, and his gaze toward Qing Wen turned somewhat somber.
"Qingwen".
"We've been serving the Imperial Concubine together for so many years."
"You must know what kind of person our Empress is, but what you said today... was really inappropriate."
Qingwen's heart tightened for a moment—in this palace, you can be foolish, but you absolutely cannot be disloyal to your master.
If it weren't for Mingxia... Qingwen really wouldn't have resorted to such a desperate measure.
Knowing full well that one should not speak too much when others are suspicious, Qingwen did not argue with Yindong. He just shook his head with a dazed look in his eyes, his tone somewhat unsteady.
"You haven't seen A-Zhu in person."
"If you had met her, you wouldn't think that way."
Upon hearing this, Yin Dong frowned, while Qing Shuang, who was always close to Qing Wen, moved closer.
"Now that you mention it, I'm getting so curious!"
"Tell me, what exactly does this Ah Zhu look like?"
Qingwen's fleeting gaze fell on Qingshuang, but she opened her mouth without saying a word.
In the end, Qingwen just shook his head again and sighed, "I can't explain it."
After saying that, Qingwen didn't explain further. He lowered his head, got up, and went to the clean room to prepare the moisturizing lotion that the imperial concubine usually used.
Qing Shuang clicked her tongue twice and looked at Yin Dong: "Hey, you know what, I really want to see who this A Zhu is."
"Alright, haven't you had enough of all the beautiful concubines in the palace?" Yin Dong pulled Qing Shuang aside.
"She's just a little palace maid, let's just enjoy her for a while."
"But the matrons in the inner palace... I don't know how they teach manners these days, letting such a lowly maid who climbed into the bed cause the Empress trouble."
"I'll have to make sure they're properly skinned another day, and not forget the rules of the palace."
As he was about to leave the palace, Yin Dong's expression turned serious.
"Also, keep a close eye on our palace."
"We must not have another traitor, greedy, and despicable person who tries to climb the ladder in one step."
***
Crown Prince
"You said she went to the Emperor's presence on the Empress Dowager's orders."
"Yes, Your Highness, it is absolutely true."
Chang Shun nodded repeatedly.
"At that time, only Miss Azhu entered the palace to serve."
"Chief Steward Chen was waiting outside the hall, and even the people sent by Nianfu Palace later were stopped."
Listening to Chang Shun's words and thinking about A Zhu's appearance, the Crown Prince felt a sense of surprise at this matter, yet it also made perfect sense.
After twirling the string of nanmu beads in his hand for a while, the prince nodded slightly.
"...Alright then."
Judging from the Crown Prince's expression, Chang Shun dared not ask any further questions about what was good about this.
After thinking for a moment, Chang Shun added, "Your Highness, someone just came to report that Prince Rui is having a lively time right now."
The crown prince was taken aback for a moment, then immediately realized what was happening.
He didn't have time to say anything, he just set off himself and hurriedly went to Guangyang Palace.
*
Guangyang Palace
"Smack—!"
"Ouch."
Guifu, who had just received a solid slap, spun around in place, seeing stars and hearing a ringing in his ears.
Look at them, look at them! They've tasted so much sweetness by fawning over their masters, but if they lick the wrong boots, they'll suffer just as much.
Seeing that the Empress had not sent A-Zhu over yet, Gui Fu, who had been clutching a precious treasure ever since he received the news from the Imperial Household Department, couldn't help but eagerly go to Prince Rui to present the treasure.
He encouraged Prince Rui to admire the "treasure," and even though the Crown Prince interfered halfway through, Prince Rui was still extremely satisfied with the "treasure" itself.
Unexpectedly, the "treasure" that I saw that morning was gone before I even had a chance to warm it up for a day, and it was taken to the Emperor before nightfall.
That's just the case; the more satisfied Prince Rui was with A-Zhu, the angrier he became when he learned that A-Zhu had gone to serve in the imperial court.
If you encounter Emperor Xuanpei in this palace, then Prince Rui's so-called "doing whatever he wants" is a joke.
Prince Rui hasn't gone mad yet.
It was precisely because he hadn't gone mad that he became even angrier.
Would he dare to steal a woman from his father?
His father was the emperor!
It's easy to imagine that Prince Rui not only couldn't show his humiliation, he had to swallow it all down, clean it up completely, and not let even a single drop escape!
With a sinister look in his eyes, Prince Rui casually pulled out a riding whip embroidered with gold and red threads and lashed it across Guifu's face.
"Ouch!"
"ah!!!"
"Your Highness, Your Highness, spare my life!"
Amidst the whooshing sounds of air being cut, Guifu's constant wails and pleas for mercy could be heard.
Prince Rui never knew how to be ruthless when he struck.
A few lashes sent Guifu into a writhing, agonizing pain, leaving him rolling on the ground like a gourd.
"brush--!"
The continuous, sharp whistling sound suddenly stopped.
Covered in blood, Guifu forced himself to lift his head despite the excruciating pain of his torn flesh, only to be shocked to see that the one holding the other end of the whip was... the Crown Prince.
A note from the author:
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Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! Hahaha, sending kisses to all my little cuties.
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