Feng Zirui knelt on the ground with proper etiquette. Standing in front of him were two concubines and two noble ladies. Adding on their palace maids, there was a group of people, and they were all women. The smell of cosmetics assailed his nostrils, and their gazes were filled with ill intent.
Zirui knelt for a long time before he heard someone speak, but that person said: "Feng Zirui? Who is Feng Zirui? "
Without waiting for Zirui to reply, another person immediately said: "Does elder sister not know? Feng Zirui is the son of the former left prime minister, Feng Jin Yuan! It's that good-for-nothing prime minister who was chased away by the Emperor to feed the horses. Do you remember? "
The person who spoke earlier let out an "oh" sound and said in a daze: "So it's a child of the Feng family. Then wouldn't that be Royal Consort Yu's younger brother? Tsk tsk, he has a good appearance. What a pity … "She dragged out her words, but the following words pierced Zirui's heart," What a pity, he lost a finger. "
A broken finger was a humiliation to Zirui. It was not that he cared about being crippled, but it was because this broken finger was given to him by his father. Every time he thought of this, he would think of the Feng family of the past. Thinking of the unfair treatment he received from the Feng family, his heart would feel as though it was being cut by a knife.
But he could not say anything at the moment because these words came from the mouth of a concubine. He did not have the right to refute them. He did not even dare stand up. Even if his legs hurt from kneeling on the ground, he could not say a single word. He could only hope that these women would be kind and not deliberately make things difficult for him. It was fine if they said some unpleasant things, and it was fine if he knelt for a while longer, but they must not cause any more trouble. In this imperial palace, it was better to have less trouble than more trouble. Moreover, the current imperial palace was no longer the imperial palace that he knew of in the past.
However, things would never develop in a good direction according to people's wishes. These imperial concubines that were focused on currying favor with Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu, how could they be willing to let Zirui off like this. To them, Feng Zirui's appearance was not only a distraction, but also a great opportunity to curry favor with Consort Yuanshu. Therefore, the four of them looked at each other and immediately came to an agreement. That was, they would not let this young man off easily.
At this time, everyone was standing beside a small lake in the Imperial Garden. The lake was not big, but it was flowing water, so it did not freeze. But even though there was no ice, it was still chilling to look at in the middle of winter. One of the nobles rolled her eyes and pulled out a hairpin from her hair. Without saying a word, she threw it into the water. It was only when the hairpin sank into the water that she pretended to exclaim, "Aiya! My hairpin fell into the water. What should I do? That's my favorite hairpin! "
Someone at the side immediately chimed in, "Is it the golden hairpin inlaid with the five-colored gem? That's a very rare item! "
"That's the one." The noblewoman who threw the hairpin into the water was very good at acting. As she spoke, her eyes were filled with tears. "That thing was sent to the palace by my maternal family last year for me to play with. It's said that you can't find a second one in all of Dashun. Even the Empress praised it for its beauty, but now …"
"Then you have to quickly go down and fish it out!"
The two of them, one singing and one shouting, were very lively. One of the concubines standing to the side also opened her mouth. She looked at Feng Zirui and said, "Going into the lake to fish for a hairpin is not something a woman can do. When we came out, we only brought maids and did not bring eunuchs. Right now … Feng family's young master, you're the only man here. What do you think should be done?"
"Concubine Mei!" Without waiting for Feng Zirui to speak, Yue Rong spoke first and pointed out the identity of the person in the concubine seat. She said, "The Feng family's young master is still young. After the New Year, he'll only be eleven years old. It's not known if he knows how to swim. How is he supposed to fish? Besides, in this kind of winter, the lake water is bone-chillingly cold. If someone goes down, even if they don't freeze to death, they'll lose a layer of skin. The Feng family's young master was invited into the palace by the Emperor. If he falls ill and the Emperor asks, I'm afraid this servant won't be able to explain. "
"Impudent!" Concubine Mei stared at Yue Rong. She felt this girl was a bit familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen her before. Thinking about it again, Feng Zirui was an outsider. The maids at his side were all from the palace. After staying in the palace for a long time, who wouldn't be familiar? Thus, she hatefully said, "When the masters are talking, how can a servant like you interrupt?"
"But …"
"No buts!" Concubine Mei interrupted Yue Rong's words and said to the maid beside her, "Go, slap her!"
The maid didn't say another word. She rushed forward and grabbed Yue Rong's collar. She slapped her left and right, slapping Yue Rong's ears until she couldn't say a word.
Zirui became anxious and quickly kowtowed, saying, "I beg Concubine Mei to forgive Sister Yue Rong. Don't hit her anymore. Zirui knows how to swim. Zirui can go down to fish for the hairpin. I beg Concubine Mei to quickly make her stop!"
"Stop!" Concubine Mei raised her hand and stopped the maid from continuing to hit her. Yue Rong's mouth was already bleeding and her face was swollen beyond recognition. Concubine Mei sneered and asked Zirui, "You're really willing to go down to fish for the hairpin? You're willing. Don't blame me for not reminding you. It's freezing cold right now. If you go down, be careful that you won't be able to come back up. "
"Concubine Mei, don't worry. Zirui is willing. This matter has nothing to do with Concubine Mei."
"Good!" Concubine Mei and the others were very satisfied with this result. Thus, she said to Zirui, "Then go! If you're late, I'm afraid that the hairpin will float to who knows where. "
Zirui knew that today's matter couldn't be avoided. Thus, he gritted his teeth and stood up. He walked straight towards the lake.
Yue Rong was anxious and wanted to stop him. However, four maids immediately came forward to stop her. She helplessly begged, "Concubine Mei, have mercy! Young Master Feng is too young and can't endure this torment. How about … this servant go down instead! Although this servant doesn't know how to swim, this servant will risk her life to find the hairpin for Concubine Mei. "
"You?" Concubine Mei suddenly laughed, "Who do you think you are? Do you have the qualifications to touch Noble Lady's five-colored gemstone golden hairpin? Humph! Watch over her for this concubine. Don't let her make any noise. " Under Concubine Mei's orders, the maids simply covered Yue Rong's mouth to prevent her from making too much noise in the imperial garden and attracting more people.
At this time, a "splash" sound was heard. Feng Zirui had no other choice but to jump into the lake. The lake's icy cold instantly invaded his body. It was so cold that Zirui couldn't even stretch his limbs. His entire body didn't swim more than three times before he sank to the bottom of the lake.
Despair rose in his heart. This lake was too cold. His body was frozen stiff in an instant, let alone find the hairpin. Could it be that he was going to die here today? Zirui faintly regretted it. It would have been better to stay in that small courtyard. Why bother coming to this garden? Sure enough, the palace was full of cannibals. Moreover, the more beautiful a person was, the more venomous their heart was. He couldn't understand. These concubines could do anything, but why did they have to make things difficult for others?
Of course, Yue Rong's words also echoed in his mind. These were all close to Consort Yuanshu. They were all close to Consort Yuanshu! Consort Yuanshu was the Eighth Prince's mother. She was the opposite of the Ninth Prince. Wasn't it natural for her to deal with him?
Thinking this, his body continued to sink to the bottom of the lake. Zirui felt a chill that was about to penetrate his soul. It was like a knife stabbing his entire body. He already didn't want to look for the golden hairpin. That was just an excuse that the other side casually found. Their goal was to kill him. Wouldn't the other side only be satisfied when he died?
Seeing this child sink to the bottom of the lake and not move for a long time, Yue Rong became frantic. She bit down on the hand of the palace maid who was covering her mouth. The palace maid felt pain and let go. She didn't care about anything else and ran away. Concubine Mei and the others saw Yue Xiu run away and immediately ordered the palace maids to chase after her. Noble Lady Qi asked worriedly: "He won't die, right?"
Another noble lady, Noble Lady Liu, followed up: "If he really died, wouldn't we be in trouble?"
Concubine Xiang, who hadn't spoken until now, opened her mouth: "The Emperor should be fine. After all, Consort Yuanshu niang is protecting him! I'm just afraid that the Ninth Prince will go crazy and come in with a whip … … "
When these words were mentioned, everyone couldn't help but shiver. Even Concubine Mei shuddered. However, she quickly came back to her senses and couldn't help but smile: "Don't worry. Today is different from the past. The palace is the Eighth Prince and Consort Yuanshu's world. Do you think that the Ninth Prince will be able to easily enter the inner palace? Don't even mention using a whip to whip people. I'm afraid that as soon as he enters the palace, he will be caught by the Imperial Guard. We just have to wait and watch the show. "After speaking, she glanced at the lake again. Her brows were still slightly furrowed. Although she said this, Concubine Mei's heart was still a bit nervous. If Feng Zirui really died, would they really be fine?
Just as she was thinking, she heard the sound of hurried footsteps behind her. Before they could turn around to look, they heard a "splash." Someone jumped into the water and quickly sank to the bottom of the lake.
Noble Lady Qi's eyes were sharp. She said in a daze: "It seems to be a eunuch."
Concubine Liu was even more detailed: "It's one of Her Highness the Empress' personal eunuchs."
Only then did the group manage to react. They all turned around and saw Yue Rong leading the Empress over. While walking, she pointed at them and said: "Your Highness the Empress, it's them. They deliberately threw the hairpin into the lake then forced the Feng family's young master to jump in to get it."
At the Empress' side was a girl in red clothes. On such a cold day, she wore very thin clothes. She did not even wear a cloak. That girl was none other than Feng Zhaolian, who was still in Jingtsu Temple and refused to leave. To a person that had grown up in Qian Zhou, the winter in Dashun was truly too childish. He really did not feel cold in the slightest.
But this feeling of not feeling cold was just his body not feeling cold. His heart, however, became colder with each passing day.
When the group approached, Concubine Mei's group saluted the Empress. Feng Zhaolian looked at them with a look of disgust. Without another word, he kicked one of them in. That person also fell into the lake with a "splash." It was Noble Lady Qi, who had taken the initiative to throw the hairpin.
Concubine Mei was extremely shocked. Staring at Feng Zhaolian, she wanted to criticize him, but when she saw Feng Zhaolian's face, she did not know what she should say. This person was too beautiful, and it was a good thing. He was so beautiful that even the person that wanted to criticize him was too embarrassed to say anything. What sort of realm was this?
But Concubine Mei was too embarrassed to say anything, while Feng Zhaolian did not have that sort of understanding. He pointed at the remaining three and said to the Empress: "Women with evil hearts should be chased out of the palace and sent to a temple for nuns. What is the point of keeping them in the palace? It's no wonder that the old Emperor did not touch them for over 20 years. They're too ugly. "
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