Yue Xiu came up with an idea for Noble Lady Yuan. It would be better to think of a way to have the Lu Family's young miss not enter the palace during the new year, or she could not even leave her home. If the Emperor could not meet her, this marriage would naturally be inconvenient. Either way, every day that could be delayed was one day at a time.
Noble Lady Yuan felt that this idea was very good. She thought for a bit and came up with an idea based on this: "It would be best if the Lu family's young miss fell ill and was unable to recover from her illness. This sort of sickly person would naturally not be a good match for a prince. Either way, after the new year, Mo 'er will be returning to the South in a month at most. The matter of the marriage will also be forgotten. "As she spoke, the corners of her lips curled up, finally revealing a smile. This smile was very sinister, and even the corners of her eyes curled up. "Let's go!" Noble Lady Yuan stood up once more, "Let's go and take a look at Her Highness the Empress. While it's still not too late, let's go and speak with Her Highness the Empress."
Noble Lady Yuan led palace maid Yue Xiu toward Jingtsu Temple. While walking, Yue Xiu sighed, "Fortunately, His Majesty only demoted master's position and did not confine her like Noble Lady Li. This is already a great fortune amidst the misfortune. Otherwise, with even our movements being restricted, wouldn't our days be even more depressing?"
When she brought up Noble Lady Li, Noble Lady Yuan could not help but snort coldly, "Who could be as foolish as her? She hasn't harmed anyone in decades. The one time that she did, she was caught. Even if she was caught, she still does not know how to absolve herself. She just keeps pinning those crimes on her head. Demoting her and confining her really is light."
"I heard that it was Princess Ji 'an that pleaded for leniency."
"Then it's even more dangerous." Feng Yu Heng's figure appeared once more in front of Noble Lady Yuan's eyes, causing her to gnash her teeth in hatred. "That Princess Ji 'an has never had any good intentions. Pleading for leniency on her behalf once, who knows where she will find it in the future. Don't think that it's that easy to owe that girl a favor."
The two walked all the way to Jingtsu Temple. When they arrived, the sky had already darkened, and it was night. Fang Yi was at the entrance of the bedchamber receiving a bowl of bird's nest that a palace maid had brought over. Upon raising her head, she saw Noble Lady Yuan walking over, and she immediately began to feel impatient. But in the end, she was a servant, and the other party was her master. She still had to be polite, thus she saluted to Noble Lady Yuan and said: "Noble Lady, for you to come to Jingtsu Temple at this time, is there something you need? Her Highness the Empress is not feeling well and is about to rest. She instructed this servant to say that she will not be receiving guests. If Noble Lady has nothing important to do, please come again tomorrow to pay your respects. "
Yue Xiu glanced at Noble Lady Yuan and saw that she did not have any intention of leaving. She knew that the Empress had to be seen today, thus she quickly picked up the conversation and said: "I'll trouble Aunty Fang Yi with sending a message. Our master really has something to ask of Her Highness the Empress. I fear that waiting until tomorrow will be too late!"
Fang Yi was puzzled. "What's the hurry?"
Yue Xiu did not speak; however, she just said: "I'll trouble Aunty with sending a message. As for whether or not she will be seen, I trust that Her Highness the Empress will make her own decision." The meaning of these words was that whether or not she would be seen would be up to the Empress. Fang Yi, you just need to be responsible for sending a message, but if you can't even send a message, that would be a loss of your job.
How could Fang Yi not understand the meaning behind these words, thus she did not say anything. She just slightly shook her head and turned to enter the bedchamber. There were many imperial concubines in the palace. Because the Emperor had not entered the inner palace over the years, it was inevitable that these imperial concubines would feel wronged. There were even some that could not be described as wronged. It should be said that they were twisted. With their master being twisted, even the maidservants at their side would become abnormal. A lowly noble lady's personal maidservant dared to speak to the Empress' personal head palace maid like this. She really was lacking in discipline.
Fang Yi held in her anger; however, she still went to the Empress to speak. The Empress did not pay any attention to Noble Lady Yuan's matter, instead asking Fang Yi: "Who was it that caused you to suffer?"
Fang Yi repeated what Yue Xiu had said, but she saw the Empress' expression sink, as she angrily shouted: "They really are becoming more and more outrageous. If the inner palace is not cleaned up, those people will become arrogant!" After saying this, she waved her hand, "Call that Noble Lady Yuan in. This One wants to hear what sort of incredible matter she has to come at a time like this. If it is as urgent as she said, this One will definitely argue with her."
With the Empress' words, Fang Yi could only invite the two into the bedchamber. Noble Lady Yuan brought Yue Xiu to kneel and salute; however, they did not hear the Empress call for them to rise. The two kneeled until their feet were numb. Finally, Yue Xiu could not hold back and looked up. She saw that the Empress was leaning against the couch with her eyes closed. It looked as though she had fallen asleep. She could not help but gently cough to remind her.
But it was this cough that almost took away half of her life!
The Empress opened her eyes upon hearing this cough. Her brow was tightly furrowed, and her face was filled with anger. Fang Yi scolded Yue Xiu: "Damn thing, Her Highness the Empress is a light sleeper. Even His Majesty said that Her Highness' body is not well and that nobody is allowed to disturb her while she is resting. You're just a lowly palace maid at Noble Lady's side, yet you actually dare to deliberately wake the Empress up?"
Yue Xiu trembled and knew that she had indeed overstepped her boundaries, thus she quickly kowtowed and begged for forgiveness. Who knew that the Empress, who had always been generous, did not want to forgive her, as she directly ordered: "Take her away and punish her with ten strokes of the cane."
Ten strokes of the cane did not sound like much, but when it actually landed on her body, it would cause her skin to split open. Noble Lady Yuan was extremely shocked upon hearing this and wanted to plead; however, she saw that two strong eunuchs had appeared out of nowhere and dragged Yue Xiu out of the bedchamber. Regardless of how Yue Xiu cried and screamed, once the door to the hall was closed, the master inside remained indifferent.
Very quickly, the sound of the cane hitting filled the air, causing Noble Lady Yuan's heart to clench. When she looked at the Empress again, she could not help but feel a bit resentful.
The Empress finally stood up and asked her: "You came to see this One for what reason? Apparently, it's something important that must be said today. This One must hear what it is. If you do not speak clearly, this One will not forgive you easily. "
Noble Lady Yuan's teeth itched angrily; however, she had to be the Empress. She was currently nothing more than a lowly noble lady. The disparity in status was too great, and it already caused her to feel a sense of powerlessness. When she finally managed to calm down, Yue Xiu's punishment with the cane outside had also come to an end. A palace servant came in to report that she had already fainted, but she was still breathing. The Empress had someone carry her back, and only then did Noble Lady Yuan let out a sigh of relief.
When the palace servants had all left, she said: "Your Highness the Empress, this concubine truly had no other choice today, thus I shamelessly came to beg Your Highness."
"Oh?" The Empress was puzzled, "Beg this One? Then tell me, what is it? "
Noble Lady Yuan glanced at Fang Yi and saw that she did not have any intention of leaving, thus she did not insist, only saying: "It's about to be the new year. His Majesty has said that he will sanction a marriage between His Highness the eighth prince and the Lu Family's young miss during the new year. This concubine has boldly come to beg Your Highness. Can you think of a way to cancel this marriage? "
"What?" The Empress was puzzled, "His Majesty's words are gold. How could a marriage that was announced in front of so many people be canceled? Noble Lady Yuan, this One thinks that you've become muddled, right? "
Noble Lady Yuan looked at her but shook her head, "No, this concubine is not muddled. This concubine just hopes that this marriage can be canceled. Also, this concubine knows that as long as Your Highness is willing to help, this matter will definitely succeed."
"Why should this One help you?" The Empress became furious, "Noble Lady Yuan, everyone has their own lives. You have all given birth to princes, and this One has no children. Whoever wants to fight for the throne can fight for it. This One has no control over it, and I don't want to control it."
"Although Your Highness has no children, you are the Empress Dowager. All of the princes in Dashun must respect you as the first wife. In the future, regardless of which prince succeeds the throne, you will be the Empress Dowager without question; however, you say that none of this is related to you? " Noble Lady Yuan stared at the Empress and did not relent in the slightest, "You clearly know that the marriage between His Highness the eighth prince and the Lu Family was secretly tampered with by someone. This concubine has come to beg you. Do you really not plan to do anything about it?"
The Empress became furious once more: "What do you mean by this One clearly knows? What does this One know? This One only knows that His Majesty has agreed to this marriage. This One only knows that this is something that has been set in stone and cannot be changed. Noble Lady Yuan, this One has no intention of looking into your disturbance today. You can go back. "
"This concubine cannot leave." Noble Lady Yuan's attitude was very resolute, "This concubine came today with the intention of definitely achieving my goal. Even my personal maidservant was sent to Jingtsu Temple. How could Your Highness send this concubine back so easily?" While she spoke, she shook her head, "No, this concubine cannot leave like this. If I leave, I would have come for nothing, and Your Highness will definitely regret it in the future."
"What?" The Empress was puzzled and practically thought that Noble Lady Yuan had gone crazy, "This One will regret it? What is there for this One to regret? "
"Your Highness!" Noble Lady Yuan suddenly raised her voice and even leaned forward, "Your Highness must not speak too harshly, and you must not reject this concubine too straightforwardly. You must think about it carefully. Think about it carefully. Think about the things that many people do not know about from beginning to end. After you've finished thinking about it, think about whether or not you want to help this concubine out or simply kill this concubine to silence her? "
"You …" Suddenly, the Empress was rendered speechless by Noble Lady Yuan's words. She stared intently at Noble Lady Yuan and slightly squinted her eyes. It was as though she wanted to see some information from Noble Lady Yuan's eyes. Unfortunately, Noble Lady Yuan slyly looked at her. Neither side was willing to be at a disadvantage. In the end, the Empress was unable to achieve her goal. She could only take the initiative to say: "This One does not understand what you are saying."
"Your Highness really does not understand?" Noble Lady Yuan suddenly began laughing. It was as though she had heard the funniest joke in the world. She reminded the Empress once more: "Your Highness has already said it. You do not have a son, but this concubine's son is a general stationed at the border. Say, is it this concubine that has the most information, or is it Your Highness that has the most information? Your Highness, there are some things that you have kept in your heart for so many years and have never been willing to bring them out. This concubine does not believe that you do not feel uncomfortable holding them in. Of course, there is no way to talk about this sort of thing. As long as you want to remain in this position, that sort of thing must remain a secret forever. But even if you can keep it a secret, can others keep it a secret? For example, this concubine. The matter of His Highness the eighth prince's marriage has been stuck in this concubine's heart, and it has already become an illness. If you still refuse to lend a helping hand, it's hard to guarantee that this concubine will not be able to endure it when His Majesty decrees the marriage and accidentally let it slip. Your Highness, say, if that matter is found out by others, the consequences … "
"Enough!" The Empress suddenly waved her arm, and the bowl of bird nest on the small table beside the soft couch was swept to the ground with a "pa" sound. The bowl broke into pieces, and the top-notch tonic spilled on the cold ground, making one's heart tremble. Who knew how much time had passed. Just as Noble Lady Yuan was wondering if the Empress would want to fight to the death, right? At this time, however, she heard the Empress say: "Go back for now. Allow this One to think of a better way to handle this matter."
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