Meeting Hongli's probing gaze, Yuying lowered her head shyly, stood up and curtsied to him, "Your Majesty, this concubine greets you."
Hongli walked up to her and looked her over. However, his gaze did not fall on her heart, but on her face. His expression was solemn, and he did not say a word.
His silence made Yu Ying tense, unable to tell what Hongli was thinking.
Hongli's dark eyes narrowed slightly, and his handsome brows furrowed. "Who told you to dress like this?"
His tone was indifferent, and it was impossible to tell whether he was praising or displeased. After hesitating for a moment, Yu Ying said, "I just bathed and changed my clothes. I saw that this ruqun is exquisitely embroidered. I have never worn a ruqun before, so I was curious and wanted to try it on."
However, there are some things that she cannot try as she pleases. "Ruqun is a Han-style garment. How can you, a Manchu woman, wear ruqun?"
Yu Ying thought to herself that this was just a small matter, so why did Hongli react so strongly? "Your Majesty said that the Manchu and Han are one family! So I thought it wouldn't hurt to give it a try."
She makes it sound so easy! "Han culture does indeed have its unique charm. Precisely because of this, many Manchu nobles have been unconsciously Sinicized. I have repeatedly ordered that Manchus must not forget their roots and must wear Manchu clothing. As the current Empress, you must be careful with your clothing and accessories, yet you openly lead the way in wearing Hanfu. Won't everyone in the world follow suit? If they all take you as an example, how will I control them then?"
Is it really as serious as he makes it out to be? Yu Ying felt he was making a mountain out of a molehill, but she didn't dare to argue, so she could only swallow her anger.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. I only wanted to give you a surprise; I didn't think that much about it."
Hongli felt no surprise. Her deliberate change of herself, disregarding her status, only disgusted him. "You are clearly causing me trouble!"
Hongli's harshness was clearly aimed at her. Yuying felt more and more aggrieved and couldn't help but complain, "Consort Chun also wore Hanfu before. Didn't Your Majesty tacitly approve of it? Why can't I wear it?"
Mentioning this matter, Hongli's thoughts drifted, and he still remembered that Yushan was painting a portrait of herself in Hanfu that day. After seeing it, Hongli praised her for painting it very vividly.
Holding the small portrait, Yu Shan exclaimed, "Look how beautiful this ruqun is! It's more elegant and graceful than the qipao."
Her eyes were full of admiration, so Hongli took the initiative to suggest, "You like it? Then I'll have someone make you a ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress)."
A glint of light flashed in Yu Shan's eyes, but it quickly turned into worry. "Can I wear it? This is the palace! If I wear a ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) and someone sees me, what will happen?"
It was indeed inappropriate, but since she liked it, Hongli would naturally try to fulfill her wish. "Then just wear it in the bedroom, and wear it only for me to see."
Later, Hongli ordered someone to embroider a set of lotus-colored ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) for her, which Yushan liked very much. However, she only wore it in her bedroom and never wore it outside. Considering the Empress's words, Hongli couldn't help but become suspicious.
"How would you know what clothes Consort Chun wore in her own palace?"
Yu Ying's heart tightened; she secretly cursed herself for being blinded by anger and forgetting about this! Now that the words were out, she couldn't deny them; her only option was to find an excuse.
"I only heard about it..."
Hongli, however, refused to give up easily and continued to press, "Who told you this?"
Yu Ying lowered her head in fear, her eyes darting around, and said vaguely, "I can't remember what the palace servants said."
Even if the palace servants of Changchun Palace were to spread gossip, they should have a source. Without much thought, Hongli had already considered a possibility, narrowed his eyes, and asked sharply, "Who are your spies in Jingren Palace?"
Yu Ying denied it in a trembling voice, "I have no eyes or ears, Your Majesty, you are overthinking it."
If she didn't have informants, how would she know that Su Yushan was wearing a ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress)? "You'd better confess honestly, or all the palace servants of Changchun Palace will slap you, force you to kneel, and interrogate you severely!"
Based on Hongli's personality, he would probably investigate thoroughly. If he didn't confess, the palace servants of Changchun Palace would suffer. Wouldn't it be even more embarrassing if things got out of hand?
After weighing the pros and cons, Yu Ying had no choice but to give up the chess piece, saying that the cleaning eunuch Xiao Huaizi had received her favor and that she had heard about it from Xiao Huaizi.
As expected, there were spies! Hongli was furious and immediately ordered someone to bring Xiao Huaizi over for questioning.
It was getting late, and Xiao Huaizi was not on night duty tonight and was preparing to rest when he was summoned away, told that the Emperor wanted to see him. Xiao Huaizi was uneasy but dared not refuse, so he hurriedly put on his clothes and left Jingren Palace.
The commotion outside startled Su Yushan, who asked Changyue to go and check. Changyue went out to investigate and returned quickly, saying that Xiao Huaizi had been suddenly summoned away by the Emperor.
Xiao Huaizi? Su Yushan had only heard the name but had no impression of the person. She vaguely remembered that he was a palace cleaning eunuch, but she didn't know what he had done to be summoned by Hongli!
"Is His Majesty at Changchun Palace tonight?"
Chang Yue nodded in agreement, "That's right."
Since they were in Changchun Palace, Su Yushan didn't want to ask too many questions, thinking she would wait until she saw Hongli the next day.
When summoned by the emperor, Xiao Huaizi dared not delay and hurried along the way. When he arrived at Changchun Palace, Hongli was too lazy to say much and let Li Yu interrogate him.
The Empress had already implicated him, and Xiao Huaizi dared not lie. He cried and explained that the Empress had given him ten taels of silver to report the situation at Jingren Palace.
"This servant is of lowly status and has no power to disobey the Empress's wishes. I have no choice but to comply. This servant knows his mistake and begs Your Majesty for mercy!"
Looking at the person kneeling below, Hongli tightened his knuckles and questioned in a deep voice, "You are just a lowly eunuch, and a member of Jingren Palace. It's impossible for you to speak directly to the Empress. There must be someone relaying your message. Confess honestly, and I will spare your life."
"This..." Xiao Huaizi hesitated, trembling, wondering whether to confess, when suddenly the Empress spoke up:
“Every five days he would write a note and place it under the rocks in the flower bed outside Changchun Palace.”
Hongli, seated at the head of the table, glanced at Yuying and said, "I didn't ask you! Why is the Empress so eager to clarify? Whom are you trying to cover for?"
Yu Ying replied timidly, "I feel ashamed, which is why I have confessed honestly."
Since the Empress had said so, what could Xiao Huaizi say? He could only reply according to her words, after all, he still had family outside the palace, how could he dare to offend the Empress!
Hongli became suspicious, feeling that there was someone else relaying the message, so he ordered his men to take Xiao Huaizi away for further interrogation.
As for Yu Ying, Hongli would not let her off easily and would deal with her severely. "Empress, how dare you! The women in the harem should not fight over each other. You actually planted spies in Jingren Palace to try to monitor Consort Chun's every move!"
Such despicable behavior makes her unfit to manage the inner palace! From this day forward, the Empress is no longer to concern herself with the affairs of the inner palace; she shall remain in Changchun Palace to reflect on her actions!
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