"This concubine dares not presume. This concubine is merely curious. If His Majesty's words are still law, and the Empress disobeys His Majesty's orders, then will His Majesty's words still be law in the future?"
Jiang Feixue's eyes gleamed with smugness. She had already sent someone to inform the Emperor, and she believed that the Emperor would arrive soon. Now she needed to find a way to provoke Jiang Hailing and make her beat her in anger. If the Emperor saw all this, he would definitely punish Jiang Hailing severely, and might even banish her to the Cold Palace in a fit of rage.
Doesn't that bring her one step closer to becoming empress?
Jiang Feixue's calculating expression didn't escape Hai Ling's notice. A fleeting smile crossed Hai Ling's eyes. Good, this woman wanted to scheme against her, but little did she know that she could use her to cause trouble, provoke Feng Zixiao, and then leave the palace.
"You audacious Consort Shu, how dare you, a mere concubine, criticize me? I am the Empress."
Hai Ling's face flushed with anger and embarrassment, and her plump body rushed over quickly, pointing a finger at Jiang Feixue's nose.
Jiang Feixue was overjoyed when she saw her current appearance. This woman was really easy to fool. What a talented woman in the world, she was just a good-for-nothing.
She thought disdainfully, but her face showed panic: "Your Majesty, what do you want to do? What do you want to do?"
As Jiang Feixue spoke, her body instinctively tried to dodge, but her dodge was a bit strange. Instead of retreating, she moved forward, as if she was so frightened that she lost her composure. At this moment, the group of women behind her started making a ruckus. Someone, whether intentionally or unintentionally, quietly pushed Jiang Feixue, causing her to bump into Hailing.
Hai Ling sneered when she saw this, but since Jiang Feixue had delivered herself to her doorstep, she had no choice but to take action. She had wanted to beat this woman up for a long time. Wasn't she just trying to play the victim to attract the emperor's attention? Well then, she would grant her wish. With that thought, Hai Ling raised her fist and punched Jiang Feixue high in the air.
The crowd erupted in chaos, shouting, "The Empress has hit someone! The Empress has hit someone!"
Although Jiang Feixue desperately wanted Hailing to hit her so that the Emperor would depose her, she couldn't help but cry when the fist actually landed on her. When had she ever suffered such a loss? She really wanted to fight Jiang Hailing to the death, but for the sake of realism, she could only dodge.
Hai Ling, however, was having a great time, a faint smile playing on her lips. "You like to pretend, don't you? I'll see what you can handle," she thought, and punched Jiang Feixue with all her might.
Although there were many concubines around, everyone was happy to watch the show and no one really wanted to break up the fight. They just pretended to be anxious and shouted a few times from the outside.
"Your Majesty, please stop hitting me! Your Majesty, please stop hitting me!"
Unfortunately, Jiang Feixue was so persistent in pursuing Hailing that she was practically offering herself up for a beating, and Hailing was not about to give in to her desires.
Just as things were getting chaotic here, a thunderous voice suddenly rang out.
"stop."
Everyone stopped what they were doing, turned around, and knelt down in horror. The Emperor had actually come! Some of the smarter ones realized that Jiang Feixue must have sent someone to deliver a message to the Emperor, which was why he had rushed over.
Feng Zixiao led several eunuchs and guards over, his body radiating murderous intent, his black pupils filled with cold malice.
The imperial court was already in turmoil, and now the harem was even more chaotic.
His narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes shot straight at Jiang Hailing, whose cheeks were red from hitting someone. This woman was truly stubborn and incorrigible. As the empress, she not only contradicted the empress dowager but also beat and scolded the concubines. He could no longer tolerate her.
"Jiang Hailing, how dare you leave Zhengyi Palace without permission and now you're here beating and scolding the concubines! What is your punishment?"
Jiang Feixue cried so hard that her face was streaked with tears, her hair disheveled and her clothes in disarray. She looked utterly miserable. She got up a few steps and looked sadly at Feng Zixiao.
"Your Majesty, I only said something because I saw that the Empress did not take Your Majesty's words to heart. Who knew that the Empress would become so angry that she hit me?"
After she finished speaking, she revealed the marks on her face, indicating that she had indeed been badly beaten.
After Jiang Feixue finished speaking, some of the concubines in the harem testified: "Consort Shu is indeed innocent."
Everyone's common wish was for the Emperor to banish Empress Jiang Hailing to the Cold Palace or depose her; that would be truly gratifying.
Feng Zixiao frowned, his eyes flashing coldly as he glanced at Jiang Feixue and the other concubines. A sense of disgust welled up inside him. Don't think he didn't know their little schemes, especially Jiang Feixue. She was the eldest daughter of the Jiang family, and she was incredibly clever. She even knew to give him a map of the Jiang family's army. Did she think she was someone to be easily manipulated? She was only doing this to deal with Jiang Hailing. He knew that the two sisters had always been at odds.
So, the beating she received today was probably something she orchestrated herself. However, Feng Zixiao didn't forget that he had indeed issued a stay-at-home order. Jiang Hailing dared to disobey the order and even beat someone, which was truly hateful. Feng Zixiao's face was gloomy, and his eyes, like icy blades, shot straight at Hailing.
"How dare the Empress defy my imperial decree! I will not tolerate this!"
Feng Zixiao really hated this woman. She was ugly and always caused trouble, so he wanted to send her to the Cold Palace so he could see her and not be bothered by her.
However, before the emperor could finish speaking, a eunuch rushed over, walked up to the emperor, bowed respectfully, and reported: "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager knows about the Empress's beating and has sent me to summon the Empress and Consort Shu."
Everyone was disappointed. Jiang Feixue touched her face, her eyes filled with resentment. Had she fought for nothing? The Empress Dowager sent someone to summon them over at this time. Was it to appease everyone? If so, she had suffered a huge loss.
Feng Zixiao frowned and looked at the concubines who were still kneeling on the ground: "Alright, you may all go back. If anyone causes trouble again, they will be severely punished."
"It's Your Majesty," the concubines all retreated. Feng Zixiao glanced around and noticed that Consort Yu and the others hadn't come over. He felt a pang of emotion; it seemed there were still a few composed people in the harem.
After everyone else had left, Feng Zixiao gave Hai Ling a cold look, then walked up to Jiang Feixue, reached out to help her up, and said gently, "Feixue, come, I will take you to Qingxin Palace."
Jiang Feixue was initially feeling wronged, having been beaten for no reason. But upon hearing the gentle and caring words above her, she couldn't help but beam with joy. She felt that the beating was worthwhile, nodded, and, with the Emperor's help, went to Qingxin Palace together.
Feng Zixiao took a few steps, but seeing no movement behind her, she stopped and shouted angrily, "Empress, the Empress Dowager has issued a decree, why aren't you going?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, I was moved by Your Majesty's deep affection."
Hai Ling blinked as she spoke, and Feng Zixiao almost fainted from anger. She hit someone and didn't know how to repent. She even had time to be moved. Fine, that's great. Gritting his teeth, he helped Jiang Feixue all the way to Qingxin Palace. He wanted to see what his mother was up to. If she hadn't sent people over, he would have crippled this woman by now and made her reflect on her actions in the Cold Palace.
"Miss, let's go."
Rouge and Shimei reached out to help Hailing, who followed behind Feng Zixiao toward the Empress Dowager's palace.
The group quickly entered Qingxin Palace. The Empress Dowager was sitting upright in the main hall. When she saw Feng Zixiao helping Jiang Feixue in, a sharp glint flashed in the Empress Dowager's eyes, followed by a look of heartache on her face.
"Feixue, what's wrong?"
Hearing the Empress Dowager's gentle words, Jiang Feixue's eyes welled up with tears, but she did not throw a tantrum or make a scene. Instead, she spoke slowly.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Her Majesty the Empress has been confined to her quarters by the Emperor, but she disregarded His decree and wandered around the palace. Fei Xue happened to see her and ordered Her Majesty to return to the palace, at which point Her Majesty angrily beat Fei Xue."
Hai Ling stood behind her, her eyes cold. This woman was good at pretending. You could say she was brainless, but sometimes she was quite intelligent. However, when facing Feng Zixiao, she lost her sense of propriety and wisdom.
"Your Majesty, is what Consort Shu said true?"
The Empress Dowager looked at Hai Ling with a stern expression, while Feng Zixiao, who had helped Consort Shu to sit down on one side of the hall, also glared at her angrily.