Palace maid Shuoning

(Up)

Feng Xi followed beside the palanquin, the scorching sun beating down on him, his back soaked with sweat, sticking stickily to his body.

The emperor didn't say where he was going, but just wandered aimlessly down the long street.

Sweat beaded on Feng Xi's face, but his heart was burning hotter than the sun. His molars ached from clenching them, and with every step he took, he relived old grievances in his mind.

That brat Baozhong is getting more and more outrageous.

Once they've grown strong enough, they'll turn their backs on their nest.

He'd been calling someone his godfather for so many years, and in the end, he paved the way for others without even a word.

Feng Xi had lived half his life in this palace; what hadn't he seen? He'd seen plenty of children he'd raised turn on him.

It's time to clip his wings. If we don't, he might drag us down with him one day.

He kept his eyes down, walking slowly alongside the palanquin, sweat dripping from his chin.

"Go to... Huihe Palace." The Emperor spoke suddenly with his eyes closed.

Feng Xi was taken aback upon hearing this, then bowed and responded. His mind raced, and a hint of uncertainty flashed in his eyes.

Huihe Palace.

Consort Mei looked at the nightgown that Zhou Yan had just embroidered with a sense of annoyance, and slowly ran her fingertips along the satin surface.

Suddenly losing interest, he casually put the item on the table and looked up at Zhou Yan, who stood in front of him with her head bowed and eyes downcast.

"Yan'er, I heard you went out to see that Jiang Shuoning again yesterday?"

Zhou Yan lowered her head even further, twisting the silk sash hanging from her waist with both hands, her voice timid: "...It was just a coincidence."

Bi Ti added fuel to the fire from the side: "My lady, the princess's trip wasn't a coincidence. I saw it with my own eyes; the princess went out specifically to find Jiang Shuoning."

Upon hearing this, Consort Mei slowly shifted her gaze from Bi Ti's face back to Zhou Yan, staring at her for a moment before speaking in a neutral tone:

"A coincidence? Yan'er, you've learned to lie now?"

Zhou Yan's knuckles clenched until they turned white, and her lips moved, but she couldn't utter a word.

When Consort Mei saw her pitiful appearance, a fire suddenly ignited in her heart.

She suddenly stood up from her chair, strode forward, grabbed Zhou Yan's arm, and twisted it hard.

"It's all your fault. Who told you to get so close to that Jiang Shuoning? Were you plotting something with her behind my back? Are you saying I'm abusing you? Or that I'm not good to you?"

She grew angrier as she spoke, pinching and twisting the same piece of flesh repeatedly with force.

"Zhou Yan, you eat my food, wear my clothes, use my things, and in the end you turn your back on me? I raised you for eleven years, and you turned out to be an ingrate?"

Zhou Yan was pinched so hard it hurt, and tears welled up in her eyes, but she bit her lip tightly and didn't utter a sound.

Lady Mei was overcome with anger and frustration.

Thinking that Xiao Duanzi is still in the Censorate, what if she can't withstand the pressure and exposes her?

Even Su Fei, who was usually on good terms with her, is now making excuses and refusing to speak up for her.

None of the people in the palace can be trusted.

The more she hated him, the more she disliked Zhou Yan.

A surge of anger rushed to her head, and she abruptly raised her hand, shoving Zhou Yan violently to the ground:

"You little beast, you're just like your birth mother, so unlucky."

Zhou Yan was caught off guard and fell to the ground, her forehead hitting the brick surface with a dull thud.

Blood seeped from his temple, slowly trickling down between his brows, dripping onto the blue bricks and spreading into a small, dark red patch.

"Who are you calling unlucky?"

The Emperor's deep voice accompanied his steps into the hall. Upon seeing Zhou Yan on the ground, his gaze fell on the blood on her forehead, and his face suddenly turned ashen.

He then looked up at Consort Mei, his eyes as cold as ice.

The moment Consort Mei saw the Emperor, her body went limp, and her voice trembled, as if forced out:

"Your Majesty...Why have you suddenly come to Huihe Palace? Why was no one informed of your arrival outside?"

Biti was already kneeling on the ground, her forehead pressed against the brick surface, her voice trembling: "This servant greets Your Majesty."

The emperor ignored him, put his hands behind his back, stepped forward, and sat down, lifting his robe.

He glanced down at the nightgown on the table. The stitches were fine and even, each stitch landing steadily.

The sachet that Jiang Shuo Ning presented also used this embroidery technique.

His gaze lingered on it for a moment, but he didn't speak.

Feng Xi immediately bent down to help Zhou Yan, deliberately raising his voice a few decibels: "Oh dear, Princess, you're bleeding."

Ignoring the blood on her forehead, Zhou Yan broke free from Feng Xi's grasp, turned and knelt before the Emperor, her voice timid:

"Your subject... greets Your Majesty."

Consort Mei also knelt beside Zhou Yan, her face deathly pale, her lips trembling, wanting to laugh but daring not to, and stammering:

"Your Majesty... it has been two years since you last stepped into my palace. What brings you here today?"

The Emperor didn't look at her; his gaze was fixed on the wound on Zhou Yan's forehead. His voice wasn't loud, but it sent chills down one's spine:

"If I hadn't come today, I wouldn't have known that my daughter was living such a comfortable life in your palace."

Consort Mei's body trembled, her lips opened and closed, but she couldn't utter a single word.

Feng Xi stood to the side with his hands at his sides, his eyelids lowered, and his lips twitched almost imperceptibly.

(under)

The Emperor frowned as he looked at Consort Mei, his tone unhurried yet barbed:

"How could such a wicked woman like you be by my side? I entrusted the princess to your care, and what did you do? You raised her until her head was covered in blood. If I had arrived any later, would I already be collecting the Eighth Princess's corpse?"

Consort Mei trembled, her lips quivering, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, I didn't mean to..."

"Not on purpose?" The Emperor chuckled, glancing down at his fingernails, his tone casual as if in idle conversation. "Well, I didn't mean to give you a beating, do you want it or not?"

Consort Mei's face turned deathly pale, and she couldn't utter a single word.

The Emperor stopped looking at her and instead focused his gaze on Zhou Yan. Blood had already trickled down to the tip of her chin, hovered for a moment, and then dripped onto the floor tiles.

Silence for a moment.

The Emperor's tone carried a hint of disdain, yet he couldn't suppress his heartache:

"Get up. What kind of behavior is it for a princess to kneel in blood?"

Zhou Yan paused for a moment before slowly getting up.

The Emperor gestured with his chin toward Feng Xi: "Summon the imperial physician. From today onwards, the Eighth Princess will temporarily move to Zhaoyang Palace. Arrange for a reliable palace maid to serve her."

Feng Xi bowed: "Yes, Your Majesty."

After speaking, the Emperor's gaze fell on Consort Mei again, and his voice suddenly turned cold:

"Consort Mei has lost her moral character and is unfit to educate the princess. Effective immediately, she is demoted to the rank of Lady and moved to a side palace, where she may not leave without being summoned."

Consort Mei's body went limp, and she collapsed to the ground, her lips trembling, unable to even utter a word of begging for mercy.

The Emperor ignored her, glancing down at Zhou Yan still standing in the center of the hall, blood still flowing from her forehead, and said sternly:

"What are you standing there for? Waiting for me to carry you out?"

Zhou Yan was taken aback, and hurriedly curtsied, saying, "Your subject dares not..."

"Then go by yourself."

After the emperor finished speaking, he turned and walked out of the hall at a moderate pace, as if waiting for her to catch up.

Zhou Yan bit her lip and followed. As she passed Consort Mei, she paused for a moment.

Consort Mei slumped to the ground, as if all her energy had been drained, without even lifting her head.

Zhou Yan lowered her eyes, said nothing, and continued to follow the Emperor's steps.

Feng Xi stood there, watching Zhou Yan follow the Emperor out of Huihe Palace, looking like a little sparrow just released from its cage, completely bewildered.

He lowered his eyes and followed them out.

Biti lay prostrate in the corner until the hall was completely quiet before slowly raising her head.

She looked at Consort Mei, who was slumped on the ground, and tears welled up instantly. Her voice was shrill and trembling:

"My lord, we're doomed... Little Duanzi must have already betrayed us, otherwise why would the Emperor suddenly come to Huihe Palace?"

"If we had known we would pay such a price, we shouldn't have messed with Jiang Shuoning..."

Consort Mei slumped to the ground, as if she hadn't heard her words.

She stared at the empty hall outside, where the slanting sunlight fell on the few dark red bloodstains on the floor tiles.

She stared for a long time before speaking, her voice hoarse like sandpaper scraping against wood: "...What's the point of saying all this now?"

Beatrice cried even harder, crawling to her side and grabbing her sleeve:

"My lord, what should we do? You've been demoted and moved to a side hall. Can I... can I still follow you in the future?"

Consort Mei slowly turned her head, looked at Biti's tear-streaked face, and asked, "You want to leave?"

Beatrice paused in her sobs, her eyes flickered, and she did not answer immediately.

Consort Mei suddenly smiled, looked away from her, and slowly stood up, supporting herself on the ground.

The nightgown was still on the table.

She reached out and picked up her nightgown, then slowly clenched it tightly.

"...I pushed her out myself." The voice was soft, as if saying to himself, "She'll never come back..."

The cicadas chirped intermittently outside the window, while only Biti's suppressed sobs could be heard inside the hall.