Chapter 16: Complete
[Isn't it?! This blessing is given to you, do you want it?] I roared madly in my heart.
"I dare not!" Yun Zhao hastily denied, and in a moment of urgency, she came up with a "reasonable" excuse. "I am afraid of exhaustion. What if... what if I faint while serving Your Majesty? Wouldn't that be extremely disrespectful?"
[I can't even imagine it! Serving tea and keeping secrets until the third watch, only able to close his eyes when the dog emperor falls asleep, and then having to get up at the 11th hour to serve him in court! Even a body made of iron wouldn't be able to endure three days! This is clearly a scheme to kill someone with a borrowed knife, hoping to make me 'die from overwork'! What a sinister dog emperor!]
Her mind raced, and she decided to change her strategy. She steeled herself and spoke, "Your Majesty... I dare to ask, if Your Majesty truly values me so highly... could you... could you cancel my engagement with the King of Qin?"
Xiao Jin's eyes suddenly fixed, and his tone was indistinguishable from joy or anger: "You serve me, what does your engagement with the King of Qin have to do with it?"
[Pretend! Keep pretending! You treated Su Mingli, who lost her virginity before marriage, like a treasure and brought her into the palace as a concubine. It's your business if you're happy to wear that green hat! Why do you have to tie me up and act out a scene with that hypocrite, the King of Qin? Don't drag me into this, even if you're stupid!]
The villain in Yun Zhao's heart was jumping up and down like crazy.
She risked her life, raised her head, and tried to put on her most loyal expression: "Your Majesty, please understand! If I worry about the engagement with the King of Qin every day, I will inevitably be distracted and unable to serve Your Majesty wholeheartedly. Your Majesty relies on me so much now, I just want to be completely focused and serve Your Majesty at my utmost! I beg Your Majesty to show mercy and cancel this engagement. I will be loyal to you forever!"
Xiao Jin looked at her "righteous" performance, and the muscles at the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably, almost ruining his performance.
He quickly picked up the teacup to cover up, but his voice was tense: "Nonsense! The King of Qin is about to go south on business. How can you cancel the engagement now? Don't mention this matter again!"
[Tsk! You tyrant! I knew you wouldn't want to! You stingy guy!]
The faint flame of hope in Yun Zhao's heart went out with a "puff", leaving only a pile of ashes of resignation.
"Collect the memorials! Stop the nonsense!"
[I'll tidy it up, but don't accuse me of peeping into your secrets again! ]
Just as he had sorted through the volumes of memorials, Zhang Fuan came in, hunched over and shuffling. His voice was extremely low: "Your Majesty, Consort Wu is outside seeking an audience... She seems... unaware that Miss Yun has been transferred to the position of Chief Secretary."
Xiao Jin paused, his ink spreading a small dark cloud across the memorial. Without even raising his eyelids, he asked, "Why? I want to transfer someone, but I need to submit a letter to Wu Lingyi first to ask for her approval?"
Yun Zhao knelt beside the table, his heart trembling.
[Here it comes! The Empress Dowager's "stabilizing force" is finally getting restless! Yingluo was just scolded and sent away, and now she's calling for punishment and replacing the head secretary. Are they really pushing the issue against the Cining Palace?]
[Tsk, that bastard emperor's trick is quite mean, he's putting my newly minted "shield" directly on the fire! The Queen Mother can't control the former dynasty, but she's worried about the harem, especially the removal of the imperial spies. How could she not be anxious?]
[Alas, what a terrible misfortune! ]
Xiao Jin listened to the crackling "Dog Emperor" three-hit combo in his mind, his back teeth grinding with a creaking sound, and suppressed his anger: "Let her get out!"
The palace door opened gently, and Wu Lingyi, dressed in the attire of a fifth-rank palace maid, walked steadily and her overall demeanor was even more dignified than that of an ordinary palace concubine.
Her gaze swept across the hall like a searchlight, precisely passing over Yun Zhao, who was kneeling with his head bowed. A barely perceptible cold glint flashed across her eyes, and then she bowed solemnly to the throne: "Your Majesty, your servant Wu Lingyi, pays homage."
Xiao Jin slammed his pen down, his voice icy, "The Yanying Palace's night curfew rules. Concubine Wu is in charge of the six palaces. Have you forgotten? Without my permission, what will be the punishment for trespassing?"
Wu Lingyi's expression remained unchanged, only her waist bent deeper. Her tone was respectful yet full of unquestionable confidence, "Your Majesty, I beg your forgiveness. I have come here on the orders of the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager has presided over the harem for many years, and now that the throne is vacant, Her Majesty is deeply concerned about the affairs of the entire palace and dares not slack off even a little."
"Heh," Xiao Jin sneered, breaking the stagnant atmosphere in the hall. "So, the Queen Mother wants you to question me about why I changed my necklace?"
"I dare not question Your Majesty." Wu Lingyi raised her head, her eyes calm and composed. "Yingluo has served the Empress Dowager for over two years. She is a relative of the Zhou branch of the Empress Dowager's maternal family and has always been diligent. When Your Majesty heard that she had been dismissed, she was worried that she had failed to serve properly and had angered the Empress Dowager. If she has indeed failed in her duty, according to palace rules, she must be beaten to death as a warning to others! Therefore, I have been sent here to investigate thoroughly and give Your Majesty an explanation. I will punish her severely and show no mercy!"
"Good fellow! How audacious!" Yun Zhao was horrified. "She's just a maid, yet she dares to come straight to the Emperor's study under the guise of the Empress Dowager and demand an explanation? She even wants to be beaten to death? This isn't an investigation, it's clearly an attempt to force her to abdicate!"
[Oh, right! I remember now! Wu Lingyi is the Empress Dowager's niece. She's been living in the palace for twenty years. She relied on her aunt's power to make even the Empress give her some respect! No wonder she's so disrespectful to the Emperor!]
[Alas, the pitiful and incompetent emperor. The previous dynasty was constantly under pressure from the Qin Wang clique, and the harem was completely controlled by the Empress Dowager. This dragon throne is leaking from every side. I think he is only three months away from being a "dragon-riding guest of honor"... Forget it, just bear with it, and endure for another three months!]
"Bang--!"
Xiao Jin slammed his palm down on the imperial desk, shaking the pens, inkstones, and paper. His face was ashen, and his chest was heaving violently. Compared to Wu Lingyi's aggressiveness, Yun Zhao's lighthearted words, "Three months at most," were more like a thousand arrows piercing his heart! Like a poisonous sting, it pierced his lungs!
She hoped for his death every day! She watched him sink into the quagmire with cold eyes every day, but never thought about why he was struggling!
Being pushed onto the throne was not his wish. Over the years, he has been dealing with the Queen Mother, both openly and covertly, and playing games with powerful officials. He has exhausted all his energy and been in a state of panic at every step. How much does she know?!
"Explain?" Xiao Jin's voice trembled slightly with extreme anger, his scarlet eyes fixed on Wu Lingyi. "I can use whoever I want! I don't like Yingluo, I'm tired of her! Change her! How about it?! I want to ask you, ask the Queen Mother! In this imperial palace, in this vast country, who is the master?! Do I have the final say, or does the Cining Palace have the final say?!"
The emperor's wrath would result in the death of millions! A terrifying pressure instantly swept across the entire Yanying Palace. The air seemed to freeze into ice. The young eunuchs standing in the corner trembled like sieves, wishing they could shrink into the cracks in the ground.
[It's over! There's going to be blood!] Yun Zhao was terrified. [This is a fifth-rank court lady! The Empress Dowager's own niece! If she's killed in Yanying Palace, every last one of us in this house will be buried with her! Who will the Empress Dowager spare? The Prince of Qin's followers are only adding fuel to the fire! It's over! The Prince of Jin is away, and the Prince of Qin is just watching the show. There's no one to stop the fight today! It's all over!]
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