Chapter 32 Beauty
Of course, Liu Xi couldn't have been happier to have such an interesting scene.
Before Liu Xi could answer, He Chongyuan immediately added.
"The best solution now is to ask the Empress Dowager to secretly help us by leveraging the influence of her maternal family to replenish the missing disaster relief grain as soon as possible."
Liu Xi suddenly understood. No wonder He Miaoling, who had always disliked her, was willing to put aside her pride and try to make peace with her. It turned out that she had her eye on the Empress Dowager.
This inadvertently reminded Liu Xi that if she could make good use of the Empress Dowager's power, it wouldn't be difficult to find a way out for Liu Yu.
Even if an emperor possesses immense power and influence, he will still fear the will of the people.
What Liu Xi needs to do now is to win the hearts of the people for Liu Yu, so that the people know that there is a seventh prince in the palace who loves the people like his own children.
This disaster relief effort presents a perfect opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
"Your Highness should know better than I do that the Empress Dowager never participates in power struggles, much less interferes in court disputes."
This is one of the reasons why the emperor could still tolerate the empress dowager even though she held great power.
He Chongyuan's tolerance of Liu Xi was ultimately an act. Liu Xi knew that He Chongyuan's patience was limited, so she appropriately showed that she was in a difficult position but had to compromise for Liu Yan's sake.
"I will try my best to persuade the Empress Dowager, but Your Highness had better be prepared for both possibilities, since no one can make decisions for the Empress Dowager."
He Miaoling's move was the most desperate measure she could think of.
But she forgot that the Empress Dowager's maternal family's power was mostly entrenched in Huizhou, not far from Yinzhou.
He Qing's act of embezzling grain and fodder to support his personal guards in Yinzhou was a classic case of taking advantage of the situation, believing that the most dangerous place would also be the safest.
He never imagined that his own daughter would bring trouble upon him.
Liu Xi breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that it was only a matter of time before the He family's power was completely overthrown.
After the discussion, He Chongyuan instructed Xiangying to escort Liuxi to Chuyun Pavilion.
Liu Xi glanced at Xiao Wenwen next to He Chongyuan out of the corner of her eye and saw the two of them whispering to each other.
After leaving Xingyun Pavilion, Zhixiang helped Liuxi walk slowly along the palace road.
“Princess, if the He family continues to be so wary of Xiangying from now on, how will we be able to investigate their daily movements?”
"She didn't intend to secretly deal with Xiangying; she probably just had suspicions about Xiangying but no evidence."
"Don't worry, I have my own way of shifting this suspicion onto someone else."
Liu Xi thought for a moment and then continued.
"This Xiao Wenwen is a variable who comes up with bad ideas. I didn't pay attention to her before; it was my carelessness."
"However, I firmly believe that human nature is ultimately difficult to change."
In her previous life, Xiao was quite ambitious. As a maidservant favored by a favored concubine, this identity could not satisfy Xiao's desire to rise to power and become a phoenix.
"In the next few days, find a few reliable guys to whisper in Xiao's ear and praise her stunning beauty and charm that attracts men."
“Ambition is nurtured, and this Xiao family member will one day climb into the emperor’s bed.”
Meanwhile, inside Xingyun Pavilion, Xiao Zhiwen had already helped He Chongyuan to redo her makeup and get dressed properly.
He Miaoling shed her imperial concubine attire and wore only a light, soft gauze dress. Her beautiful body could not be completely concealed and was faintly visible under the lamplight.
"Does Your Majesty truly intend to forgive the Fourth Princess?"
Immediately afterwards, a crisp slap landed on Xiao Wenwen's face.
"idiot."
Xiao Zhiwen's eyes were slightly red. He covered his cheeks and knelt on the ground, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I spoke too much."
"That little bitch caused me to lose the prince I had finally conceived. I will tear her to pieces!"
"It was that vile woman who had that old hag, the Empress Dowager, completely under her spell. If it weren't for the fact that she still had some use, why would I lower myself to conspire with her!"
The bronze mirror reflected He Miaoling's ferocious face, devoid of any trace of beauty.
Noticing this, He Miaoling quickly touched the corner of her eye with her finger and rubbed it on her skin a few times.
"His Majesty will be here soon. I cannot let that little wretch spoil my mood."
After saying that, she glanced down at Xiao Wenwen, who was kneeling on the ground.
"You, go and kneel in the side hall. You may rise and return to serve me whenever His Majesty leaves Xingyun Pavilion."
Xiao Wenwen said tremblingly, and then shuffled away from the bedroom.
He Miaoling enjoyed torturing the maids around her, especially the young, beautiful ones with some charm. She would slap them, force them to kneel, and whip them. Before Xiao Wenwen arrived, Xiangying had always silently endured all of this.
Further ahead is Xiangying's older sister, Huaixiang.
Inside the side hall, all the lights were turned off. Xiao Wenwen knelt alone in the center of the hall, the fresh whip marks on her back radiating a burning pain.
Xiangying, carrying an oil lamp, slowly walked to Xiao Wenwen's side and squatted down, looking at her with feigned sympathy.
"This kind of pain must be very difficult to endure."
Xiao Zhiwen looked up pitifully, large tears rolling down her face.
"Sister Xiangying, why is Her Majesty treating me like this?"
Xiangying reached out and gently cupped Xiao Zhiwen's cheek with her palm.
“Sister, you possess so much that the Empress has gradually lost. You are still young, but the Empress is growing old. You have a face that makes men dream of you, but the Empress’s beauty has quietly faded with age.”
Upon hearing Xiangying's words, Xiao Zhiwen couldn't hold back his tears any longer.
"But it's not my fault."
Xiangying coaxed softly, "In this harem, if you can't be a master, you can only be a dog. What's the point of right and wrong then?"
She wiped away Xiao Wenwen's tears with her fingertips and continued speaking.
"It's because His Majesty glanced at you a few more times that the Empress punishes you by making you kneel in this side hall before His Majesty's arrival, just to prevent His Majesty from seeing you."
Xiangying sighed, her voice full of regret.
"If anyone has a problem, it's that my sister wasn't born into a noble family. Otherwise, with her beautiful face, she would have been a concubine enjoying a life of luxury in the harem."
After saying that, Xiangying seemed to hear some noise outside and got up alertly, looking around carefully before giving him some instructions.
"My dear sister, you've suffered. After you finish serving Her Majesty tomorrow morning, get some rest. I'll tidy up the inner palace for you."
Xiangying left, and the side hall returned to silence.
Xiao Wenwen braced herself against the ground with her hands, tears blurring her vision.
"You'll kneel here all night, and then you'll have to keep working tomorrow morning..."
She choked up, her voice becoming increasingly strained as she spoke.
"Why, why should I be the only one who has to endure this pain?"
After tears streamed down her face, a deep sense of resentment appeared in Xiao Wenwen's eyes.
“Jealous of my youth and beauty, jealous of His Majesty’s affection for me, Consort He, you have such a vicious heart.”
As she spoke, Xiao Wenwen clenched her fists, her nails digging into her flesh.
As the night passed, the emperor rose early to prepare to leave Xingyun Pavilion for the morning court session.
Consort He was still fast asleep in her bedchamber, but Xiao Wenwen was no longer kneeling in the side hall.
She took the basin of water from Xiangying and moved quietly to the emperor's side.
"This servant will wipe Your Majesty's face."
Xiangying retreated to a dark spot not far away, observing everything before her with a half-smile on her face.
It wasn't until He Chongyuan slowly woke up and opened her eyes to find that it wasn't Xiao Wenwen beside her, but Xiang Ying, that she angrily began to scold her.
Where is Xiaowen?
Xiangying immediately knelt on the ground and told He Chongyuan everything that had happened that morning.
As expected, He Miaoling grabbed a vase from beside the bed and threw it at where Xiangying was kneeling. Fortunately, her aim was a little off; the heavy vase grazed past Xiangying and shattered into several pieces on the ground.
"Who gave that little slut the audacity to seduce His Majesty right under my nose!"
Xiangying kowtowed to the ground, "Your Majesty, it's all my fault for being useless. I failed to keep an eye on that little slut and let her sneak out of the side hall! Please, Your Majesty, punish me with death!"
Despite being angry, He Chongyuan was still able to calmly assess the situation.
She had indeed doubted Xiangying's loyalty, but Xiao Wenwen on the other side dared to openly betray her.
"Go and have someone tie that little slut up and lock her in the woodshed. Without my permission, she's not even allowed to drink water!"
"But if Your Highness still needs to serve me tonight..."
"Does that mean I can't hold His Majesty's heart without her?"
He Chongyuan became more and more agitated as she spoke, and slapped Xiangying across the face several times in a row, which Xiangying silently endured.
"Get out! Just looking at you annoys me. All of you, get out of here!"
Seeing her daughter gagged, tied up, and thrown into the woodshed, the wet nurse, Xiao, was so anxious she jumped up and down.
Fortunately, she was able to maintain a respectable position in the palace because of her status as the fifth prince's wet nurse. Taking advantage of He Miaoling's inattention, she quickly ran to the entrance of Yihuai Pavilion and started crying and making a scene.
Liu Xi didn't even need to guess to know why Xiao Shi had come to see her. She quickly asked Zhi Xiang to bring Xiao Shi into the house for a quiet chat before the news spread throughout the palace.
As soon as Lady Xiao stepped into the hall, she knelt down with a thud, her head hitting the ground with a loud thud.
"Your Highness is going to kill this old servant's daughter! She's my only daughter! I beg you, Princess, please save my daughter for the sake of raising you and the Fifth Prince!"
Liu Xi pretended not to know what had happened while suppressing her laughter.
Lady Xiao downplayed the seriousness of the matter, only saying that Xiao Wenwen was serving the emperor while he was washing up when Consort He inexplicably ordered her to be tied up.
"Your Majesty is trying to starve her to death!"
Xiao cried so hard it was unsightly, and her voice was hoarse from crying so hard.
Liu Xi looked worried and pretended to be helpless.
"There is nothing I can do about this matter."
"It's not that Xiao Niang doesn't know the rules of the inner palace. Right now, the only one who can save her is His Majesty."
Xiao didn't understand what Liu Xi was trying to say. She thought Liu Xi simply didn't want to get involved, so she became shameless and persistent.
"Given Xiao Wenwen's current situation, it's better to rely on herself than on others. Even she understands this, so why can't Xiao Niang comprehend it!"
Liu Xi's stern rebuke finally managed to stop Xiao Shi from crying.
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