Chapter 109 Do you need to pick a day to beat me up?
Jiang Nan shook her slightly numb hand and chuckled.
"So what if I hit you? Do I need to pick a day? Empress? In my eyes, you're just a restless, stupid fool who needs to be disciplined. If you dare to make another sound, believe me, I'll hit you again!"
"Rebellion! Rebellion!"
The Empress was so angry that she trembled all over and screamed at the eunuchs and maids of Kunning Palace around her.
"Are you all dead? Can't you see this madwoman is defying her authority? Seize her, seize her!"
Jiang Nan's eyes flashed sharply as she surveyed the entire room. Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable authority.
"Zhao Deyi!"
"Your servant is here!" Zhao Deyi immediately bowed and replied.
Jiang Nan's voice was laced with a chilling intensity.
"If any servant in the palace dares to move, seize him on the spot, and after I finish my reprimand, drag him outside the palace and beat him to death."
"Yes, sir!"
Zhao Deyi responded with a fierce look on his face.
The eunuchs of Yongshou Palace all had fierce looks on their faces, ready to strike.
Qin Huai'an felt his scalp tingle under Zhao Deyi's gaze, and quietly lowered his hand that he had just raised.
The eunuchs under his command were all terrified and lowered their heads; if he jumped out again, he would only be throwing his life away.
Seeing that she had intimidated the crowd, Jiang Nan turned her attention back to the Empress, who was filled with shock and anger.
The tone was condescending and reprimanding.
"It seems Your Majesty the Empress really doesn't learn your lesson. Instead of properly recuperating after childbirth, you insist on playing this trick of reprimanding the concubines. What? You gave birth to a son who can't be raised, and now you think you're all that again? You can put on your Empress's airs in front of me again?"
She paused, then spoke in a commanding tone.
"If you don't want to get beaten again, stand properly and shut your mouth. I am in charge of the six palaces. Now, I will begin my lecture."
The empress, supported by her maids, managed to stand steadily.
Hearing Jiang Nan's merciless humiliation.
Hearing the words "son who can't be raised" was like a knife stabbing her heart, causing her pain so intense she could barely breathe.
Her eyes were bloodshot, and she screamed desperately.
"I am the Empress, Consort Jin! You have struck me, committing a grave offense of disrespect, and I will..."
"Smack!"
Before she could finish speaking, Jiang Nan's second slap was already whistling through the air.
He slapped her hard across the face again.
The force was even greater than before.
The empress was beaten until her vision went black, her ears rang, and she became completely mute.
Jiang Nan withdrew her hand, her voice gentle, her tone carrying a hint of exasperation.
"Didn't I just say that I was going to give you a lecture and tell you to shut up? Why won't you listen to me? Did you get slapped and hurt your ears, or did I accidentally damage your brain so that you can't even understand what I'm saying?"
Jiang Nan's slap to the Empress was crisp and loud, instantly plunging the hall into a deathly silence.
The palace servants of Kunning Palace trembled with fear, their faces pale and their eyes filled with disbelief and terror.
This is the Empress.
Consort Jin actually dared to hit him? And she did it twice.
They knelt on the ground, burying their heads even lower, fearing that Consort Jin's thunderous wrath would be unleashed upon them at any moment.
Only the empress's humiliating and painful gasps remained in the hall.
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Seeing that the Empress was indeed obedient, Jiang Nan nodded with satisfaction, looked around, and cleared her throat.
"I am in charge of managing the six palaces. A serious incident has occurred in Kunning Palace, where a concubine committed murder. Why has no one reported this to me? Hmm?"
She paused, then her tone suddenly sharpened.
"Does my power of assisting in governance mean nothing more than a decoration in the eyes of Kunning Palace? It's one thing for Her Majesty the Empress to be foolish and ignorant, but are you servants also so ignorant? Or perhaps... you simply don't respect my authority, and consequently, you don't respect the decree that His Majesty has given me?"
These accusations of disregarding imperial authority and contempt for the emperor's will have been slapped on his head.
The eunuchs and maids of Kunning Palace were terrified and prostrated themselves on the ground, inwardly lamenting their misfortune.
Why... why is Consort Jin speaking like this?
They were servants of the Kunning Palace, so naturally they obeyed the Empress.
How did this turn into disrespecting the Emperor after going around in circles?
They had never seen such a way of reasoning before; they felt that every word was a twisted logic, yet it was overwhelming and suffocating.
"When the Emperor arrives, you will all kneel down and beg for forgiveness."
Jiang Nan snorted coldly and stopped looking at the trembling lackeys.
His gaze shifted to the empress, whose face was ashen, and he changed the subject.
"It's not a big deal that you didn't report to me; I could have come myself if I had received the news. But what's most hateful is, who gave you the audacity to abuse your power?"
She pointed at the Empress, her tone undisguisedly sarcastic and didactic.
"Her Majesty the Empress is young and impetuous, perhaps foolish and lacking in foresight, but what about you old servants who serve her? Instead of admonishing and stopping her, you aid and abet her? What, are you the Emperor? Or are you the chief officials of the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review? If a concubine in the palace is suspected of murder, you can convict and punish her yourself without the need for a joint trial by the three judicial departments or even reporting to the Emperor?"
Jiang Nan's voice suddenly rose, filled with thunderous rage.
"In my opinion, the entire Kunning Palace is a den of lawless and disrespectful rebels. Are you trying to ascend to heaven?"
Her sharp gaze turned to the Empress.
"Your Majesty, please give me an explanation. Has His Majesty already convicted Consort Niohuru, or are you acting on your own initiative, trying to decide for His Majesty? Aren't you afraid of implicating the Hesheli clan with this unilateral decision? Could it be that your Hesheli family truly intends to overstep its bounds and covet His Majesty's power of life and death?"
These probing questions struck the Empress like thunderclaps.
She initially felt she was in the right, but now she was dizzy from Jiang Nan's distorted and contradictory reasoning.
But upon closer reflection, it actually seems to make sense?
Yes, why did she resort to private torture before the emperor could make a decision?
Doesn't this make it seem like she really doesn't respect the Emperor?
She opened her mouth, but found herself speechless, a chill rising from the soles of her feet.
Seeing her panicked expression, Jiang Nan pressed closer.
"Your Majesty, please tell me, was it right for me to slap you just now? Did I stop you from making a grave mistake in time?"
The empress's lips trembled violently, her heart filled with unspeakable resentment.
This is utterly robber logic.
Is that wrong?
That would mean admitting that one indeed harbored disloyal intentions and made decisions on behalf of the emperor, and thus could not escape punishment.
To say it's right would be to admit that you deserved to be beaten and suffered this humiliation for no reason.
She could only remain silent, having once again deeply experienced the venom of Jiang Nan's words.
Seeing this, Jiang Nan softened her tone, but it carried a deeper sarcasm.
"I am doing this to stop you from making a mistake in time, so that your recklessness and confusion will implicate the entire Hesheli family. I don't want your actions today to burden your entire family with the crime of disrespecting the imperial authority or even treason, and I don't want our family members who served in the previous dynasty to be unwittingly labeled as rebels."
Niohuru, who had been holding back her laughter, could no longer contain herself and let out a soft laugh upon hearing this.
The Empress is truly formidable; she slapped several accusations on the Empress, leaving her utterly speechless.
The last sentence, "I hit you to stop you from making mistakes, it's for your own good," really made her feel relieved and instantly happy.
The Empress was secretly resentful that she couldn't win an argument with Jiang Nan, and could only listen in humiliation.
But who is Niohuru? How dare she mock her?
The Empress suddenly turned her head and glared angrily at Niohuru.
"Niohuru clan, you have committed murder and harmed lives. There are witnesses and physical evidence to prove it. How dare you still smile? I think you won't shed a tear until you see the coffin."
"Empress!"
Jiang Nan's voice suddenly rose, carrying an unquestionable authority, directly interrupting the Empress.
"You may speak only when I ask you a question. I have not finished my lecture, how dare you interrupt me at will?"
Jiang Nan had just finished speaking.
Suddenly, Liang Jiugong's voice rang out from outside the hall.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
This sound was like a spell to freeze, instantly bringing all the chaos in the side hall to a standstill.
The empress's angry, distorted expression froze, then turned into a hint of panic and anticipation.
Jiang Nan raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of understanding flashing in her eyes. She thought to herself that it was a pity that Kangxi had arrived just as she was getting into the game.
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Empress: I have no way to defend myself.
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