“Auntie Zhu, it hurts to hear what you said!” Consort Yue was originally very sad, but Auntie Zhu’s words were like arrows, which pierced her heart deeply. She raised her tearful face, “It’s clear that the bitch Yun Fenghuang…”
Auntie Zhu interrupted her impatiently, “You have poured out these words to His Majesty and the Queen Mother for hundreds of times! They are so kind and patient to hear you passing the buck over and over again, but I’m impatient to allow you to be wayward! The Queen Mother had told you clearly that the Imperial Harem was not our family, and you couldn’t afford to be wayward. What did you say? Ah?”
“You said that as long as you could be with His Majesty, you were not afraid of anything!”
“What now?”
“It’s been eight years since you jointed the Imperial Harem, and you almost cry or complain every day. In your heart, the concubines are either miserable or diabolical! Do you really think you are the only one who is innocent in the Imperial Harem while others are not?!”
Consort Yue drew the handkerchief and exclaimed, “Aren’t they?!”
Each of the concubines in the Imperial Harem tried to take away Gongxiang Ji from her!
No one was innocent!
“You are innocent?” Auntie Zhu sneered. Her wide sleeves flickered, and she made a circle around, “Don’t you know how many wrongly ghosts with injustices and grievances in this Imperial Harem are looking at you? Except for the high-ranking concubines like Ms. Ji and Ms. Zheng, among all the concubines dead in your hands, how many of them were born in good families? Do you really think they all coveted wealth and were willing to serve His Majesty? It was just because the royal family asked them to enrich the Imperial Harem and they dared not say ‘no’! You dared not voice out your discontent to Ji Lingzi and other dignified concubines, so you vented your anger on these low-ranking concubines as scapegoats! Although Yuan’s Family in Fuyang is not as powerful as Ji’s Family, we are also an aristocratic family of renown and a distinguished family in our county. Your father and brothers are all recognized as talented and handsome men in our county, and your mother and sisters also have the reputation of being virtuous and wise. How did they raise such a girl bullying the weak and fearing the strong like you?!”
“Auntie Zhu, are you here particularly to taunt me today?!” Consort Yue shivered with anger, and her pure gold eardrops with the patterns of mandarin ducks and lotus kept on shaking beside her ears. She quavered, “Or Mother and (Gongxiang) Ji have been bored with me, so…”
Before she finished her words, Auntie Zhu came forward a few steps, clutched her chignon, and slapped her twice!
Consort Yue was born in a rich and dignified family, and her sib aunt was the Princess of Lord Duan, then the High Consort, and now the Queen Mother. Consort Yue had never been blamed before she joined the Imperial Harem. Although she had come to grief in the hands of Empress Ji, Noble Consort Gui and others, at least they pretended to be close sisters on the surface. She had never been insulted by others with slapping.
Especially she was slapped in front of the servants who served her in daily life!
For a while, she didn’t react, and only subconsciously froze as she covered her face.
“Aggrieved?” Auntie Zhu’s face was dark, and asked coldly, “Bitterly disappointed? Didn’t see that coming?”
Before Consort Yue answered, she smiled coldly, “If your words were heard by His Majesty and the Queen Mother, they would be 10,000 times aggrieved and disappointed than you! I’m afraid they have never thought you would say anything frenzied like this!”
“Given your dump mind and vicious acts, does it ever occurred to you that without the protection of His Majesty and the Queen Mother in every possible way, you would have been consigned to the Cold Palace or pushed to drink poisoned wine a long time ago? Because of them, you have been living with pleasure until now, but you’re still unsatisfied and envious towards everyone—His Majesty and the Queen Mother are good in every aspect, but they are too kind!”
“They can still tolerate you being stupid like this, but your father and mother have already been intolerable!”
Auntie Zhu hided the emotions on her face slowly, approached Consort Yue who was still in tears, and said seriously, “I’m here because your father and mother begged the Queen Mother. They want me to prevent you from being a dragger. Do you understand?”
Consort Yue froze for a moment, and made a self-deprecating smile, “My father and mother… They only know I act recklessly in the Imperial Harem. Why don’t they ask me how I get through these all these years?”
“Either you get through these peacefully or miserably, that’s your choice.” Auntie Zhu sneered, “How many people are relaxed and careless to live in this world? Do you think you are wronged? Then what about the Queen Mother? Was she not? Before the Queen Mother got married, she was also the pearl holding in the palms of her parents, and gained all the love of Yuan’s Family in Fuyang County!”
“Later, she became the wife of Lord Duan of Fuyang County. Her mother-in-law, High Consort Zhuang, was weak, so Lord Duan was also born weak. As a result, the Queen Mother and Lord Duan didn’t have any child after they married for several years. Would High Consort Zhuang blame Lord Duan or herself? No, she would only blame the Queen Mother for lacking luck of permanency, which delayed her chance to have grandchildren!”
“Especially after Ms. Qu gave birth to His Majesty, do you know how High Consort Zhuang tortured the Queen Mother over those years? Compared with her, Ji Lingzi and other high-ranking concubines are young, not hard-hearted enough, and arrogant for their family backgrounds, so they don’t want to use dirty methods… If you were the Queen Mother at that time, I am afraid that you would not be able to survive for one day!”
“But the Queen Mother endured it!”
“After the death of Lord Duan, High Consort Zhuang fell ill later because of great grief. Kunze hadn’t been born, and His Majesty couldn’t inherit the title of Princedom Fuyang because he was the son of the concubine… Lord Fuyang’s Mansion had an uncertain future. At that time, the Queen Mother acted decisively to do everything possible to let His Majesty be the heir, keeping the situation stable. If it weren’t her, could you live such a good life?”
“From Princess to High Consort, only the Queen Mother herself knows how many hardships, tears, and unspeakable grievances she has suffered!”
Auntie Zhu sneered coldly, “Although now she is the Queen Mother, does she live comfortably? Not to mention the Empress Dowager and Queen Mother Ji, even if the Queen Mother just faces Ji Lingzi, have you ever seen her slacking off?!”
“Furthermore, although His Majesty is the son of the concubine, he has been raised by the Queen Mother as soon as he was born. She treated him as her own son. When it comes to nobleness and arrogance, he goes even farther than you!”
“But since his ascension, what kind of life did he live?”
“Is the Queen Mother comfortable? No.”
“Is His Majesty comfortable? No.”
“Both of them are living hard, but have they complained a word to you?!”
“They even have to tolerate your unreasonable troubles over and over again… Ask yourself! Can you have one tenth of their patience if you were them?!”
Consort Yue opened her mouth. She wanted to say something but could say nothing. After a while, she burst into tears, “Yes, I’m not as good as Mother, and I failed His Majesty… I’m such a useless person! So, leave me alone! Let me die, okay?”
“… I have told you so much sincerely, but you can only think of crying, making trouble, and hanging yourself?!” Auntie Zhu laughed with anger, “It doesn’t matter if you really want to die. Just seize your time and do it! Anyway, for so many years in the Imperial Harem, you have done nothing but making troubles, let alone supporting and helping your natal family, His Majesty, or the Queen Mother! They were lucky if you didn’t get into trouble. After your death, no matter how sad His Majesty and the Queen Mother will be, they will recover after a long time. At that time, your cousins and nieces will grow up. We have many daughters in Yuan’s Family in Fuyang County, and there are always some girls whose looks and personalities are like yours. They can be sent here to replace you to serve His Majesty in the Imperial Harem. Maybe they will have children for His Majesty and revitalize our Yuan’s Family in Fuyang County…”
Before she finished her words, Consort Yue had changed her face. She covered her ears with her hands, and screamed, “You bullshit! You bullshit! His Majesty and Mother would never forget me! I’m the one who grew up with His Majesty. I’m His Majesty’s fiancée! Although there are other girls in Yuan’s Family, how can they compare with me?!”
Auntie Zhu taunted, “Why can’t they? What else do you have except being wayward and stupid? Speaking of family background, identity, and His Majesty’s favor, the adoptive daughter of Yun’s Family is just insignificant to be compared with you. However, after she joined the Imperial Harem for a few hours, she had framed you and used you as her stepping stone, but you didn’t even realize it… You’ve lost the face of Yuan’s Family in Fuyang County! If the Queen Mother and His Majesty hadn’t protected you, your father and mother would have sent your sisters in the Imperial Harem to serve His Majesty long ago. Sending them here is not to strive for His Majesty’s favor, but to prove that not all the girls of Yuan’s Family are disappointing like you!”
“That bitch Yun Fenghuang just relied on (Empress) Ji!” Consort Yue refused to accept her words, “If she had got no one to rely on, I would have killed her with a finger!”
“Does it make any sense for you to excuse these in front of me?” Auntie Zhu sneered, “All the concubines in the Imperial Harem know it clearly that you, Consort Yue, is a dignified Deputy First-Grade official concubine and the hostess of Hu Zhu Palace. You never paid attention to those concubines or maids who were beaten or killed by you before. However, you meet someone who is not so docile and timid this time, so you suddenly showed your timidity! You not only have been helpless to deal with her so far, but also can only knock your teeth and swallow them!”
Speaking of the last point, she became gloomy, “Although your reputation was not good when you bullied the others in the Imperial Harem in the past, at least they were afraid of you. But now? As long as this bitch, Yun, doesn’t die, you will always be a joke!”
“Even if you don’t care about being a joke, Yuan’s Family in Fuyang County thinks highly of reputation!”
“When the Queen Mother promised that His Majesty would be the heir of Emperor Xiaozong, our family agreed you to come to Dijing City to be a consort, but they didn’t expect you to be a decoration for those people in Dijing City forever!”
Speaking of this, Auntie Zhu raised her finger to point to the direction of Yan Lan Palace, and said lightly, “Fortunately, Noble Consort Gui is pregnant now, and the Imperial Harem and the Imperial Court both pay attention to Xin Li Hall. Although Ji Lingzi dislikes you, now she has to pay less attention to you. This is our chance…”
Consort Yue quickly said, “You can’t let that bitch Yun die too fast. I want to personally…”
“…” Auntie Zhu was silent for a moment, and then sighed, “Forget it, all you care about is just an insignificant Yun.”
She shook her head, and was in the mood to say the words she originally wanted to say. She only instructed Consort Yue, “A leopard cannot change its spots. I can’t change your nature within a short time and I can’t expect you to be mature suddenly. I will be by your side as the leading maid of Ning Bi Hall in the future. If anything happens, just do what I say!”
Seeing Consort Yue wanted to say something, she narrowed her eyes, “My Lady, what I told you is very important. Before I came, the Lord had given me the order. If you are not obedient, don’t blame me for punishing you seriously!”
… When Auntie Zhu forced Consort Yue to be compromised in both hard and soft ways, Yun Fenghuang had returned to Xi Xing Building. She was thinking as she stared at the calabash-shape gilt silver eardrop with a pearl.
This was Nian Xuan’s eardrop.
As for what Qing Die said about “after Consort Yue had been informed of Her Highness’s imperial decree, she particularly prepared the rewards” … Yun Fenghuang certainly did not believe these words.
Consort Yue was not such a tolerant person.
Coupled with the fact that Qing Die had come out so promptly, there probably was a third person in the inner hall. The one understood Yun Fenghuang’s purpose of “reporting the good news”, so they gave these rewards to let her go.
The identity of this person was unknown, but the person must be able to suppress Consort Yue, at least was able to act in the Ning Bi Hall without being realized by Consort Yue… The person probably stood with the same side with Queen Mother Yuan.
So, it seemed that Queen Mother Yuan did not want to conflict with her directly.
To be honest, if Yun Fenghuang could live a peaceful life, she didn’t want to be restless.
However, despite her wishes, she was unwilling to be bullied without resistance…
Yun Fenghuang’s eyes flashed. Putting the eardrop into her sleeve, she called Xin Qing in, rewarded her the worst pair of bracelets she had, then packed and chose some things, and divided them into two parts, “Send them to Tong Xia Palace and give Noble Consort Shu and Mei Ren Yun. Tell them I’m lucky to have their caring, and I’m very grateful, but I had few valuable things before. Taking advantage of the opportunity that Consort Yue rewards me today, I want to send these things to express my appreciation.”
Xin Qing did not know Yun Fenghuang had gone to Yan Fu Palace and had betrayed Duke Yi’s Mansion, so she was happy when she was enjoined to go to Tong Xia Palace. In her opinion, Noble Consort Shu and Yun Qingman both stood the same side with Yun Fenghuang, so this trip would definitely be smooth, and she might get generous rewards.
Therefore, she nodded, then held the rewards and went away happily.
Behind her, Yun Fenghuang tasted the tea slowly, waiting for the answer with a smile.