Chapter 110 The Empress is brewing tea; there's really nothing else for other women to do!
"His Majesty has arrived—" The eunuch's voice rang out before the emperor even reached the palace gate.
The palace maids and eunuchs of Kunning Palace.
Almost reflexively, they bowed their heads and shrugged, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.
Only the Empress.
Her red lips curved into a barely perceptible smile.
She's a bad woman now!
Bad women shouldn't be so sensible and rule-abiding.
So she didn't act the way she used to.
Eagerly awaiting its arrival.
Instead, just do what you're supposed to do.
She was even in a good mood and had her personal maid pour her a cup of tea.
Until the emperor entered the palace.
The Empress then slowly rose and, with a hint of nonchalance, went to greet her.
The pace was slow.
Some even deliberately slowed down.
She silently counted in her mind, calculating the moment when the emperor would step into the main hall of Kunning Palace.
Just as that tall, imposing figure in bright yellow appeared at the intersection of light and shadow at the palace entrance.
She happened to arrive in the hall, preparing to bow and pay her respects according to palace rules.
But the Empress was a step slower than the Emperor.
Before she could even bend down properly, her arm was firmly supported by a strong hand.
"Shu'er, there's no need for such formalities." His palm was warm.
The Empress straightened up, revealing a hint of grievance at just the right moment.
Seeing her like this.
The emperor's voice rang out, filled with obvious urgency and even a hint of barely perceptible reassurance: "I heard that Consort Yan angered you today?"
His tone softened, carrying a tentative undertone, as if he were afraid that raising his voice even slightly would disturb her.
How could that be?
The Empress sneered inwardly.
It was clearly her.
In front of all the concubines in the palace, he slapped Consort Yan repeatedly and without mercy.
That crisp sound.
Even now, thinking back on it, it still echoes in my ears.
Is this one of the benefits of being a pet?
She clearly got the huge advantage.
They trampled the face of that arrogant imperial concubine underfoot.
At this moment, the emperor, the supreme ruler, had to be so careful, as if he had done something wrong, to apologize to her, the "victim."
The emperor's favor was truly intoxicating.
Like the finest liquor, just a sip is enough to make one addicted, and then... crave more.
Since that's the case...
Why doesn't she just go even further?
In the blink of an eye.
The Empress lowered her eyelashes, and when she looked up again, her beautiful phoenix eyes were filled with tears, a mixture of grievance and lingering fear: "Consort Yan... she really makes me angry."
The emperor was startled upon hearing this.
The Empress feigned a great injustice: "Consort Yan... she deliberately arrived almost an hour late for her morning greetings, and didn't even send a maid to inform us that all the other ladies had arrived except for her. This clearly shows that she disregards me and all the other ladies..."
It has to be said.
If the empress were to start drinking tea...
There really wasn't anything else for the other concubines to do!
They were clearly only half an hour late.
She said it took almost an hour.
They clearly don't respect the Empress at all.
After all, the other concubines had to pay their respects to Consort Yan.
The Empress insisted that Consort Yan disregarded her and all her sisters!
She paused, sniffed, and said, "It's just that she was late. I only asked her a couple of questions according to palace rules, but Consort Yan actually... actually contradicted me in public, her words were sharp and barbed. In the end... in the end, relying on His Majesty's usual favor, she made wild threats, saying... saying that she would make His Majesty execute the entire family of every servant in Kunning Palace who dared to lay a hand on her!"
Speaking of which...
Those tears that had been hanging there for so long.
It finally rolled down just in time, leaving a glistening trail along her smooth cheek.
"emperor!"
Her voice was choked with sobs, each word seemingly soaked in tears, striking the emperor's heart heavily. "The servants of Kunning Palace, no matter how bad they are, are still those who serve me, they are my dignity... How dare she? Today she dared to say she would exterminate their entire clan, tomorrow... tomorrow, will she also..."
The conversation ended abruptly at this point, just as it should have.
They were all complaining.
However, there is a world of difference between filing a complaint and filing a complaint.
As for Consort Yan's side...
Upon hearing this, the emperor merely frowned, considering it a trivial matter of women vying for favors, and offered a gift as a form of appeasement.
But the effect was immediate when the Empress was crying her eyes out.
The emperor's brows furrowed instantly.
"Outrageous!" the emperor sneered, reaching out to pull the weeping empress tightly into his arms. Feeling the slight trembling of her thin shoulders, his anger and pity surged within him.
He wrapped one arm around her and gently patted her back with the other, his voice more tender and firm than ever before: "Shu'er, don't cry. It's my fault. I've made you suffer."
At this moment, the Empress remembered that the Emperor liked to be treated rudely.
So at this moment...
So the Empress playfully punched the Emperor's chest with her little fists: "It's all your fault. It's all your fault... You spoiled her so much that she became unruly!"
Her little fists are different from other women's little fists.
The Empress really put in extra force!
"Rest assured," the emperor's voice rang out above her head, carrying an undeniable determination, "I will definitely avenge you and will never allow anyone to humiliate you!"
He raised his head, his gaze instantly turning sharp as a knife: "Issue my decree! Consort Yan, relying on the Emperor's favor, has become arrogant, disobeyed palace rules, offended the Empress, and uttered wild words. She is hereby confined to her quarters for three months, effective immediately, and is not to step out of the palace gates without my written order! Furthermore, she is stripped of her power to assist in the management of the six palaces and is handed over to the Empress for full disposal!"
The eunuch bowed and accepted the order, then hurried away.
This imperial decree was like a thunderclap, and it would instantly spread throughout the entire harem.
A three-month confinement is already a severe punishment.
Stripping Consort Yan of her power to assist in managing the six palaces was a direct severing of her influence and ambitions within the harem, which she had cultivated over many years.
His Majesty's protection of the Empress has reached such an extent.
Does this mean the political landscape of the imperial harem is about to change?
From then on, the inner palace was no longer a place where the Empress and Consort Yan were locked in a power struggle.
Instead, the Empress's family held absolute power!
The imperial decree was issued.
The emperor then lowered his head again to look at the woman in his arms.
He reached out his hand, his fingertips calloused, yet his movements were extremely gentle as he carefully wiped away the tears from the Empress's cheeks, as if handling a priceless treasure.
“Shu’er,” he gazed into her eyes, his tone more solemn than ever before, “I was wrong before, but from now on I will never let you suffer any more grievances.”
His promise was firm and resounding.
The Empress nestled in his arms, nodded gently, and gave a soft "Mmm" with a heavy nasal tone.
She buried her face deeper into his chest, drawing warmth from what seemed like solid and reliable support.
However.
Within this small space, tightly embraced by the emperor, and concealed by the bright yellow fabric embroidered with gold dragons.
The empress's stunningly beautiful face.
All the feigned grievances, fears, and vulnerability faded away like the tide.
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