Chapter 96 The Dog Emperor is Still a Dog Emperor
The two palace maids knelt on the ground, trembling like sieves, and begged for mercy repeatedly: "Please spare my life, my lady! I know I was wrong! I will never dare to speak nonsense again!"
Yun Zhao's face was frost-covered, and his voice was as cold as ice: "How dare you say such filthy things! I'll spare your lives today, but you can't escape this punishment! Go to the Imperial Household Department and receive twenty strokes of the cane each. This will teach you a lesson!"
The two men retreated in a hurry as if they had been pardoned, and went straight to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to receive their punishment.
When Xiao Tao came over, she saw Yun Zhao standing alone in the corridor, his face gloomy and his aura frighteningly low.
"Sir," Xiao Tao stepped forward cautiously, "Please don't let those gossips get you upset. They're all just groundless nonsense..."
Yun Zhao glanced at her sharply and interrupted, "Investigate! Find out who is behind this and spreading these rumors!"
"Yes!" Xiao Tao agreed, but her face showed hesitation. After a moment's hesitation, she whispered, "But... Your Majesty was in Zichen Palace last night. He really... really almost hurt Sister Sudie. It seems he can't see clearly again. And that Ayun did stay in Zichen Palace last night. She also... she even spread the word that she would be conferred the title of Beauty soon..."
Yun Zhao's brows suddenly furrowed. "Ayun? Does she really look like Su Mingli?"
Xiao Tao quickly shook her head: "I don't think so. It's more like... more like another old friend."
Yun Zhao glanced up at the sky, figuring the emperor would be in the Purple Palace. She said decisively, "Follow me." She hurried to the main hall of the Yanying Palace. "Your Majesty's biological mother's portrait should be kept here."
She vaguely remembered seeing Xiao Jin carefully placing a scroll high on the bookshelf.
Xiao Tao understood instantly: "Shang Gong, you want to confirm...?"
"good."
Yun Zhao walked into the main hall, which was now unattended, and accurately took out a dusty rosewood painting box from the top shelf of the bookcase.
Opening the scroll, the charming face of the woman in the painting gradually emerged - Yun Zhao's breathing suddenly stopped!
Ayun's eyebrows, eyes, lips and nose are surprisingly similar to the late Concubine Zhao in the painting!
She had not carefully examined it before, and accidentally sent such a woman who looked very similar to the former imperial concubine to the emperor!
She was about to roll up the scroll in a state of panic when a cold voice suddenly rang out from behind her, nearly frightening her to death: "What? Concubine Yun personally selected the person she sent here, and you didn't even see her appearance clearly?"
Yun Zhao was so frightened that her grip loosened, and the scroll tumbled to the ground with a thud. She knelt hastily, frantically picking up the scroll, carefully rolling it up, and returning it to its place, her heart pounding like a drum.
[It's over! Why did he catch me at this time?! He must have thought I was concerned about those rumors and came here to find out what his biological mother looked like!]
In a desperate situation, she had no choice but to lie: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty simply came across this painting by chance and was curious. I'm actually here to look for a travelogue, thinking it might be useful when I travel outside the palace someday..."
[There's nothing I can do, I can only make up a story! Being caught red-handed is so embarrassing! Xiao Jin will definitely be furious again... Sigh, today is really not a good day for anything!]
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jin's expression instantly darkened. Whenever she mentioned the word "leaving the palace," he would become furious. "Are you always thinking about leaving? And who allowed you to enter the main hall without my permission? From now on, you are not allowed to set foot here again!"
"I obey your command." Yun Zhao replied in a low voice, "I will take my leave now."
[I'm still angry. I was just momentarily curious about what his mother looked like... Never mind. There's a difference between ruler and subject. I overstepped the bounds after all.]
Xiao Jin sat back on the dragon throne with a sullen face and no longer looked at her.
Yun Zhao bowed and bowed, then quietly retreated.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he left the palace, he ran into Ah Yun, who was very popular recently. She was walking towards him, holding a cup of tea.
Yun Zhao looked at it carefully and was shocked - the profile and expression of Ayun were so similar to those of Concubine Zhao in the painting when she was young!
Is Xiao Jin... Oedipus? Yun Zhao shook his head secretly and was about to leave when A Yun stopped and bowed gently, "Your servant greets Concubine Yun."
"No need to be so polite." Yun Zhao didn't want to say more and waved his hand to signal her to stand up.
Unexpectedly, Ayun didn't retreat, but took two steps forward, almost sticking to Yun Zhao. Before Yun Zhao could react, he saw Ayun screaming, the teacup in his hand flew out of his hand, and the whole person fell forward as if he had been tripped by something!
“Snap!”
The white jade teacup shattered, scalding tea spilling all over the floor. Ah Yun fell to her knees, raised her tearful face, and choked out a sob, "Palace! I don't know how I've offended you. Why did you trip me? This tea is for Your Majesty... This is His Majesty's favorite white jade cup... Palace, spare me!"
Yun Zhao was so angry that he almost died - when did she become so vicious that people would always ask her to "spare her life"?
The angle just now was tricky and no one saw the details. Even if she had a mouth full of words now, it would be difficult for her to prove her innocence.
But Yun Zhao knew very well that this was a deliberate act by Ayun to intimidate her in front of the emperor!
"The teacup is broken, just replace it. You made a mistake yourself, why are you blaming me?" Yun Zhao said in a cold and hard voice.
Ah Yun wept even more bitterly, her eyes glancing towards the palace door as she raised her voice, "This white jade cup was a gift from the Emperor. Your Majesty loved to drink tea from it... Now it's broken. How can I bear this, Imperial Concubine?"
Yun Zhao followed her gaze and saw Xiao Jin, who had been standing at the palace gates for some time, observing the scene with a cold gaze. She said sternly, "I never tripped you. It was you who was careless. Since His Majesty is here, you should explain yourself."
Upon seeing this, Ah Yun suddenly rushed over and hugged Xiao Jin's legs, sobbing uncontrollably: "Your Majesty! Please help me! I was really tripped by Concubine Yun... Maybe it's because I've been serving Your Majesty recently, and I made Concubine Yun unhappy, so..."
To everyone's astonishment, Xiao Jin personally helped A Yun up in front of everyone, his tone unprecedentedly gentle: "Okay, I know I've wronged you. It's just a cup, no need to panic."
He paused, his eyes swept over Yun Zhao, and he said in a clear voice: "I hereby decree that the palace maid Ayun, who is gentle and docile, and deeply favored by me, shall be canonized as a talented person from today, and shall move to Zhaixing Tower today."
Everyone was shocked! Ah Yun was even more overjoyed, almost unable to believe it, and hurriedly knelt to thank the emperor: "Your servant...your concubine thanks your majesty for your grace!"
Xiao Jin's gaze then fell on Yun Zhao, with a businesslike aloofness. "Mrs. Yun, all matters concerning Zhaixing Tower will be handled by you. Yun Cairen is young and has never experienced this. You must select a few capable and reliable people to serve over there. There must be no mistakes."
Yun Zhao lowered his eyes, concealing all emotion, and replied respectfully, "Yes. I will immediately send someone to clean and arrange the place. Yun Cai will be able to move in safely before sunset."
Xiao Jin seemed to be still not satisfied and added another sentence. His voice was not loud, but it was clearly heard by everyone: "Empress Yun, Ayun is different from you. She is obedient and sensible, which is very much to my liking."
[You mean I'm disobedient and ignorant? Then why don't you make her the queen? What's the point of making her a talented lady?]
[The dog emperor is still a dog emperor after all! Fortunately, I never fell in love with him! He changes his attitude faster than turning the pages of a book!]
[You're blind! This is clearly a false accusation, yet you didn't even ask a single question. You're slapping me in the face in public!]
[Forget it! My father will be returning to Beijing tomorrow, so I can ask him to take me home! This is a damned palace, whoever wants to stay here can stay!]
Yun Zhao looked at his nose, and then at his heart, suppressing all his surging emotions. He only had the most respectful attitude left, and replied clearly: "Your Majesty, I obey your command."
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