"I'll go find my aunt right now and get justice for you! Let's see how she gets things done for you!"
Consort Shu's threat, though fierce in appearance, was like a pebble thrown into water; it created ripples, but could no longer stir up any waves as before.
The palace servants present had gone from initial shock to a numb, amused state of watching a good show.
They watched as the usually arrogant Consort Shu was gradually defeated by the Empress's clear and scathing rebuttal, and in the end, she could only resort to the Empress Dowager as her backer for a last-ditch effort. They had already made up their minds.
The difference in quality is immediately apparent.
Lin Wanwan looked at Consort Shu's outwardly strong but inwardly weak appearance, as if she was about to cry at any moment, and couldn't help but find it amusing.
She had lost even the last shred of desire to argue with her.
She simply stood there calmly, her expression serene, her gaze detached, as if watching a farcical spectacle that had nothing to do with her.
Go find the Empress Dowager?
Go ahead and do it.
She wanted to see whether the Empress Dowager, after hearing her scathing critique of "whether it's His Majesty's harem or the royal family's harem," would openly oppose her, the Empress, and even the Emperor behind her, for the sake of this foolish niece who was more trouble than she was worth, or would choose to keep the matter quiet and suppress it.
Just as Consort Shu turned around aggressively, preparing to lead her entourage to attack Cixi Palace, a clear, cold voice, tinged with displeasure, yet powerful enough to send shivers down the spines of everyone present, rang out leisurely from not far away.
"What are you doing making such a racket here? What kind of behavior is this?"
The sound wasn't loud, but it seemed to possess a strange magic, instantly silencing the entire Imperial Garden.
Everyone seemed frozen in place, turning to look in the direction of the sound.
A person slowly walked out from behind the Taihu stone rockery that Lin Wanwan had just been silently criticizing.
The man was dressed in a bright yellow casual robe, with a tall and upright posture and a handsome face. Who else could he be but the current emperor, Xiao Che?
He was followed by several personal eunuchs, their faces bearing just the right amount of "doubt," as if they had genuinely been strolling in the Imperial Garden and had been "accidentally" drawn here by the commotion.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty?!"
Consort Shu's foot, which was about to step out, froze on the spot. Looking at the figure that had suddenly appeared, the anger and grievance on her face were instantly replaced by great surprise and delight.
Savior!
Her savior has arrived!
In her opinion, no matter how eloquent Lin Wanwan was, as long as His Majesty was there, he would definitely side with her!
After all, she was the Empress Dowager's niece and a member of the Wang family! Lin Wanwan, on the other hand, was just an unlucky girl with no power or influence who was brought in to bring good fortune!
"His Majesty!"
Consort Shu's tears came suddenly. Lifting her skirt, like a butterfly that had suffered a great injustice, she ran towards Xiao Che, crying.
She ran to Xiao Che, immediately knelt down, hugged his legs, and began to tearfully complain.
"Your Majesty! You must do justice for me!"
She cried so hard that tears streamed down her face; she looked utterly miserable.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty only came to greet me out of kindness, seeing that the Empress was here. Who knew... Who knew that the Empress not only ignored me, but also, relying on her status as Empress, publicly humiliated me, saying that I was ignorant and disrespectful... Waaah..."
She embellished the story, twisted the truth, and glorified her provocative behavior as "a kind greeting," while distorting Lin Wanwan's reasoned rebuttal as "bullying others by abusing her power."
As she sobbed, she glanced triumphantly at Lin Wanwan out of the corner of her eye.
She waited, waiting to see Xiao Che fly into a rage, waiting to see this arrogant woman be severely reprimanded and punished by His Majesty!
The palace servants around them also held their breath in tension.
Everyone knew that the emperor's appearance would provide the final, decisive verdict in this struggle for the empress's favor.
His attitude will determine the final fate of these two empresses today.
Lin Wanwan stood still, her expression remaining calm.
She curtsied respectfully to Xiao Che, and softly said, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects. Your Majesty, what a coincidence."
That "What a coincidence!" was said with a lot of meaning.
Xiao Che's gaze finally shifted from the crying "pink object" on the ground to Lin Wanwan.
His face remained indifferent and aloof, revealing no emotion whatsoever.
After listening to Consort Shu's distorted accusations, he neither became angry nor offered any comfort.
He didn't even glance at Consort Shu on the ground again, but instead fixed his gaze firmly on Lin Wanwan's face, asking in an extremely calm tone, as if he were merely inquiring about the weather:
"Your Majesty, is what she said true?"
This question, seemingly fair, is actually full of bias.
Instead of asking "what happened", he directly asked Lin Wanwan if what Consort Shu said was "true".
This is tantamount to directly handing over the power of judgment to Lin Wanwan.
Consort Shu, who was kneeling on the ground, paused in her sobs and raised her head in disbelief.
She didn't understand why His Majesty didn't just make a decision for her directly, but instead had to ask that vile woman.
When Lin Wanwan heard this question, the last weight in her heart finally lifted.
She knew it was time to wrap this up.
She met Xiao Che's deep gaze with a faint, composed smile.
She curtsied again and replied in a clear voice:
"Return to Your Majesty."
"Your Majesty, I did not quarrel with Consort Shu, much less humiliate her."
"Your Majesty, I was simply inspired by your insightful views on the concept of 'origin' and had the urge to discuss with you in depth what 'virtue', 'speech', 'appearance', and 'merit' are."
She paused, glanced at the stunned Consort Shu on the ground, and said with just the right amount of "regret".
"Perhaps... I was too engrossed in my speech, and my words became somewhat dry, which led my sister to misunderstand my meaning. This is my fault."
These words were spoken so flawlessly, they were truly an art form.
She neither admitted to "disrespecting the concubines" nor did she cleverly attribute the whole incident to an elegant "academic discussion."
Finally, she feigned remorse, adopting an extremely humble posture to appear generous and modest.
Everyone present was stunned.
Is this another way of explaining it?
What was clearly a tense argument turned into a cultural salon discussing "virtue, speech, appearance, and skills" in the Empress's words.
This ability to twist the facts is truly amazing!
Consort Shu, kneeling on the ground, was so angry that she almost spat out blood.
"You...you're lying! We didn't..."
She wanted to refute and expose Lin Wanwan's lies.
However, Xiao Che didn't give her that chance at all.
After listening to Lin Wanwan's explanation, which could only be described as "sophistry," he actually nodded slightly on his usually expressionless face.
He looked at Lin Wanwan, and a very subtle, fleeting hint of approval flashed in his deep phoenix eyes.
Then, in an appreciative, condescending tone, as if affirming his own students, he casually uttered a sentence that sealed the fate of this farce.
"The Empress is well-educated and reasonable, and speaks appropriately. She is truly a model for the six palaces."
After saying that, he cast his cold gaze at Consort Shu, who was lying on the ground with a deathly pale face.
"Consort Shu should learn more from the Empress."
After saying that, he didn't look at anyone again, flicked his sleeves, turned around, and leisurely left in the direction he came from.
It was as if he had simply happened to be passing by and incidentally resolved a trivial little problem.
He left gracefully and decisively.
Only Consort Shu remained, kneeling on the spot, utterly devastated by his last words, her face ashen, swaying precariously.
And, the palace servants throughout the garden were utterly astonished.
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