Chapter 97 The Xiao Family is Cold and Indifferent
When Xiao Jin heard Yun Zhao's extremely respectful and calm "I obey your order", he felt as if something was tightening in his heart, making him feel bitter and painful.
Was she really so eager to leave the palace? Did she really not have the slightest bit of any other feelings towards him?
If she had him in her heart, and saw him openly favoring another woman and even embarrassing her in public, she should be angry, annoyed, and aggrieved. She should even be like an ordinary woman, unable to control her temper and explode, even beating and killing this deliberately provocative palace maid!
If she really did that, he would have thousands of ways to cover for her, and he would even be secretly happy.
But she didn't.
She was terrifyingly calm and almost cruelly rational. She would rather suffer injustice and bear the brunt of the injustice than fail to handle everything flawlessly, advancing and retreating appropriately, leaving no room for fault.
This kind of "understanding" was like a basin of ice water, which chilled him to the core.
Xiao Jin's heart raged with anger, mixed with an indescribable sense of loss and frustration. He suddenly threw his sleeves and turned to return to the hall. However, in his excitement, he forgot about the high threshold, stumbled, lost his balance, and fell forward!
With a dull thud, the emperor fell to the ground in disarray in full view of everyone.
This scene undoubtedly confirmed the rumors that his "eye disease has not healed" and "his vision is unclear." The surrounding palace servants were terrified and stood there in amazement, no one dared to step forward to help him.
Zhang Fuan, who had just arrived, saw this from afar and was so frightened that he almost lost his soul. He ran over and his voice changed: "Oh my God! My Majesty! You idiots! Are you all wooden stakes? How do you serve me?!"
However, the one who was faster than Zhang Fuan was Yun Zhao.
Almost the moment Xiao Jin fell to the ground, she subconsciously rushed forward, knelt down without hesitation, and reached out to help him. Her voice was filled with an anxiety and worry that she herself had not noticed: "Your Majesty! How are you? Where did you fall? Are you able to stand up? I will go and call the imperial physician!"
She held his arm and tried to help him stand up. Xiao Jin raised his eyes and saw her concerned gaze close to him.
But then, her words "I obey your order" and her inner voice of "I have never been tempted" and "I hope to leave the palace" pierced his heart again like ice thorns.
He suddenly swung her hand away with such force that Yun Zhao staggered.
Xiao Jin used this force to struggle to stand up. His voice was cold and hard, with obvious anger and resentment: "No need! I'm fine!"
He stood firm, not even looking at Yun Zhao, and directly ordered A Yun, who was standing there in shock, "Talented Lady Yun, why don't you come and help me in to serve?! Concubine Yun, you have nothing to do here, leave!"
Yun Zhao was suddenly and roughly pushed away by him and stood there in a daze. The indescribable feeling of suffocation in his heart surged up again, even worse than before.
[What the hell is wrong with you?! Your Yuncairen was just standing there like a log, why didn't you yell at her? Why are you mad at me? What on earth did I, Yunzhao, do wrong today?!]
[The royal family is truly heartless and unfeeling! Just because there's a new person, even the old ministers are becoming so annoying and picky?]
She suppressed her turbulent grievance and anger, bowed her head deeply once more, and said in a voice without a trace of emotion: "Yes, Your Majesty. I will take my leave."
Upon hearing the order, Yun Cairen quickly put away the remaining anxiety after the shock, and even a barely perceptible smugness flashed across her face. She quickly stepped forward and deliberately used her shoulder to gently push away Yun Zhao, who had not yet fully straightened up. She squeezed to the side of Xiao Jin and said in a coquettish voice: "Your Majesty, you scared me to death! Are you really okay? Let me support you..."
Yun Zhao was knocked off balance by her and fell to the side. Fortunately, Zhang Fuan arrived in time and held him up.
"Shang Gong..." Zhang Fuan called out worriedly.
Yun Zhao used his strength to stand firm, shook his head gently to indicate that he was fine, and no longer looked at the figure walking into the hall together. He turned around and left resolutely.
What she didn't know was that the moment she turned around, Xiao Jin's gaze passed over Ayun's shoulder, following her back with worry and burning passion until she disappeared at the end of the palace road.
Zhang Fuan sighed and hurried out to see her off. He waved away the palace servants who were still trying to poke their heads around, "Get out of here! This is where you can watch the fun?!"
After the palace servants had dispersed, Zhang Fuan looked at Yun Zhao's tense face and whispered soothingly, "Palace Lady, don't take it to heart. His Majesty might be unhappy today. He must have a deeper meaning for doing this..."
It would have been better if I hadn't said this, but once I said it it felt like some kind of fuse had been lit.
Yun Zhao's anger was boiling in her chest, but she had always been very good at controlling her emotions. Her tone was just a little colder than usual, "Eunuch Zhang, you are worrying too much. I am not unhappy at all, and I dare not be angry with Your Majesty. The thunder and rain are all the emperor's grace. As a female official, I must abide by my duty. I understand this."
In her heart, she sneered: "The Xiao royal family is indeed a family of heartless and disloyal people! Why should I get angry with such a heartless person? It only adds to my troubles and is meaningless!" When Zhang Fuan heard this tone, he knew that the misunderstanding was not only not resolved, but had deepened.
He lowered his voice and said, "Oh my Lady Shang Gong! His Majesty's feelings for you, are you really not..."
"Eunuch Zhang," Yun Zhao interrupted, his tone distant but firm, "My father will be returning to the capital tomorrow, and the Shanggong Bureau still has many matters to prepare in advance. I will not disturb you from serving Your Majesty."
After saying this, she nodded slightly, not giving Zhang Fuan any more chance to persuade her, and turned to leave, her back straight but with an indescribable loneliness in her eyes.
Zhang Fuan looked at her receding figure, opened his mouth, and finally all the words turned into a long sigh: "What kind of thing is this..."
…
Inside the Yanying Palace, the gentleness that Xiao Jin had deliberately maintained on his face disappeared without a trace in an instant.
He shook off Ayun's supporting hand, exuding a terrifying low pressure. He walked step by step to the main seat and sat down. His cold eyes fell on the trembling Ayun as if they were real.
"Yun Cairen," he said, his voice chilling to the bone, "I really underestimated your courage."
Ah Yun's legs went limp, and she fell to her knees with a thud, kowtowing profusely: "Your Majesty, please calm down! Your Majesty, please calm down! I know I was wrong! I won't dare to do it again!"
"Don't dare?" Xiao Jin sneered, his fingertips tapping lightly on the table, each tap seeming to strike at Ayun's heart. "I think you're very brave! You flatter the powerful and bully the weak, and frame your superiors. Which one of them wasn't your doing? A dog will always eat shit, do you think I believe you can easily change?"
His tone suddenly became sharp. "Yun Zhao is a fifth-rank imperial concubine appointed by me personally, in charge of six bureaus! In this harem, apart from the Empress Dowager, not even the Four Concubines have the right to boss her around! Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you use such unseemly tactics in front of her?!"
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