In truth, Feng Chen Yu did not know when that multicolored stone made it onto her person. She clearly…
“Feng family’s daughter to the first wife!” Not giving her a chance to think, the Empress coldly said: “Sneaking into the Imperial palace is a serious crime, but this palace is willing to be lenient given the splendor of the gift presented by the Feng family. You and Qing Le will be punished with protracted kneeling outside of the palace.”
Hearing that she would also be punished, Qing Le was so angry that she wanted to tear Chen Yu apart; however, her having brought Chen Yu into the palace had been seen by so many pairs of eyes. What could she possibly say?
But before going to kneel outside, she had to present her gift. Thus, she went forward and presented her gift: “Qing Le does not have anything as grand as Lord Feng, but this topaz carving of Guanyin is also made from the most exquisite of gemstones. Empress usually likes Buddhist pieces, so Qing Le hopes that this topaz carving of Guanyin is worthy of the Empress.”
A granny went forward and received Qing Le’s wooden box. Qing Le then retreated and prepared to serve her punishment of protracted kneeling with Chen Yu.
But who could have thought that the moment that granny opened the box before the Empress, the Empress would let out an odd scream then dive into the Emperor’s lap.
The Emperor was also startled and looked inside the box to see its contents, angrily asking: “What is inside that thing?”
Qing Le was confused: “It is just a small piece of topaz!”
“Impudent!” The Emperor waved his sleeve and activated his internal energy. With a blast, he sent the box flying back to Qing Le.
Everyone looked on and saw that there was no topaz carved into the shape of Guanyin inside the box. Inside, there was only a dead cat. The cat was colorful and bloody, but it was not yet completely dead. Its body was still moving slightly.
The Empress feared cats the most. She feared living ones, so dead ones were even more off limits. Perhaps she would wind up hiding in bed for a few days after being given this shock.
Everyone looked towards Qing Le, and none could understand why she would present the gift of a dead cat on this day in the middle of the month.
Yet, at this time, Qing Le and Chen Yu were both baffled.
They absolutely could not have presented a dead cat to the Empress. This dead cat should have been handed over to Feng Yu Heng, but when had it been returned to their possession?
Qing Le looked sideways at Chen Yu and saw that she also had a look of surprise on her face, thus she knew asking was a waste of time.
The Empress was afraid of cats, yet she had presented a cat. Furthermore, it was a dead cat… Qing Le’s face changed colors a few times, as her legs turned to jelly, and she collapsed sideways.
The Emperor was furious “Take her away!”
Lord Ding An followed up by scolding Qing Le: “The Empress told you two to go kneel outside of the palace, so why have you not gone yet!” Kneeling outside the palace was definitely better than the alternative. Only the heavens knew if the Emperor would add the words “execute them” after saying “take them away.”
Seeing both Chen Yu and Qing Le be taken away by eunuchs and grannies, the Emperor snorted and no longer pursued the matter. He could choose not to give any face to Lord Ding An, but Feng Jin Yuan was a prime minister after all. In regards to the court, perhaps it would be better to be a bit lenient. If he wanted to hit a dog, he would need to seek permission from the master first. No matter how much he disliked seeing Chen Yu, he still had to give Feng Jin Yuan some face.
Xiang Rong stood next to Feng Yu Heng and watched this scene unfold, finally understanding what her second sister meant when she said “Watch a good play.”
Sure enough, it was a very interesting scene. Eldest sister had actually dared to participate in the palace banquet wearing red clothes. This was truly… she suddenly recalled the time when they had gone to pay respects to the matriarch. Second sister seemed to have said something about the seventh prince liking the color red. Could it be…
Xiang Rong sneakily looked towards where Xuan Tian Hua sat, but she found that Xuan Tian Hua was currently looking in her direction. She could not help but blush and quickly lower her head.
Mo Bu Fan gave the Empress a medical pill and fortunately managed to help her through the situation. Feng Jin Yuan glanced at Lord Ding An and snorted, saying: “My Lord, the matter of imperial daughter Qing Le arbitrarily deciding to bring my daughter into the palace, this minister will not pursue because the Empress did not pursue it. However, why did imperial daughter bring such a thing into the palace? And to even present it to the Empress?”
The dead cat on the floor had been cleaned up by a palace servant, but the image of the cat falling out was one that none could forget. This banquet had truly been too entertaining. There was a murder and a dead cat. The things that these madams and young misses would never see in their entire lives had been seen in one night.
Feng Jin Yuan’s pressing questions caused Lord Ding An to have no choice but to kowtow once more towards the Emperor: “Your Majesty, please investigate!”
“Investigate?” The Emperor suddenly frowned, “Is it not clear enough already? Lord Ding An, We just sanctioned a marriage for Qing Le, acknowledging the love between the two. Furthermore, We have supported Qing Le when the groom did not want to get married because of her ugliness. Why is it that your Ding An palace does not give Us thanks, instead trying to come harm Our Empress?”
Lord Ding An was so angry that his eyebrows became vertical. How many years had it been that the Emperor did not pay any attention to the matters of his Ding An palace. Today’s matter, however, was clearly odd, but the Emperor still did not investigate. Instead, he painted a rather unfair picture.
He was angry and wanted to reason with the Emperor, but Feng Yu Heng suddenly spoke up towards him: “My Lord there is no need to seek an explanation. The cause and effect of what happened will become known when you return and ask imperial daughter Qing Le. His Majesty has not wronged you.”
How could Lord Ding An not guess what Qing Le and Chen Yu were planning. He was only angry over the Emperor’s attitude. But hearing Feng Yu Heng’s words, he looked to the side and saw the nine princes. He realized that it did not matter how many complaints he had, it was all pointless. If he were Lord Wen Xuan, then he would be the Emperor’s younger brother-in-law. Perhaps he could even get into an argument with him, but he was not related to the Xuan family in the slightest. No matter what he said, it would not affect the things he had.
After thinking things through, he immediately let go of his anger. Letting out along sigh, he faced the Emperor and said: “That child Qing Le has suffered not just severe injuries but some mental scars from the palace fire. There are times where she is not too clear on what she is doing. Thinking about it, she must be worried because of the marriage. Only then did she forget about the things the Empress dislikes. I hope that Empress will pardon this crime.”
With just a few words, he managed to push the reason for Qing Le’s actions on the fire.
Feng Yu Heng felt this was extraordinarily funny and could not help but look at Xuan Tian Ming. She saw him leaning back in his wheelchair with a cup of wine in his hand. His other hand was fiddling with the whip at his side, as he said: “The one who started this problem should be the one to fix it. Following that line of thought, because a big fire was the root of her problems, then a big fire should also cure her. How about this, this prince will take some responsibility. Lord Ding An, tell me where you are currently living and this prince, Ming’er will go start another fire to cure imperial daughter Qing Le.”
“No! No need!” Lord Ding An cried wholeheartedly. What sort of people were the Xuan family? The father was unreasonable, and his sons was also unreasonable. Most especially was his youngest son. Everything depended on his mood. The basic principle was “enjoyment.” Now, he wants to play at curing Qing Le’s illness, my ass!
Lord Ding An nearly began swearing, but he truly did not dare. He could only face Xuan Tian Ming and continuously beg.
Feng Yu Heng gave Xuan Tian Ming a thumbs up and mouthed silently: “Well done.”
The Emperor saw this scene and also acted like a good person, advising his son with Lord Ding An: “Forget it, We will send an imperial doctor tomorrow for Qing Le. They only have that one residence left in the suburbs of the capital. Thinking about it, they are not willing to use it to treat their daughter’s illness.”
Everyone in the hall began laughing, as they watched Lord Ding An be meddled with by the father and son of the Imperial family. The only words that came to their minds were: Serves you right!
Oh right, it was not just the father and son. There was also the daughter-in-law.
Nobody had ever thought that the always serious Prime Minister Feng Jin Yuan would actually have such an interesting daughter.
Lord Ding An could neither cry nor laugh. If he accepted the Emperor’s words, then it was “I am unwilling to part with a residence to treat my daughter” If he did not accept them, then it would be “I want to use my residence in the capital’s suburbs to treat my daughter. Your highness, the ninth prince, please go ahead and burn it.” Whether he accepted them or not, he would be losing face.
Lord Ding An was in a predicament that hurt his heart. He endlessly cursed Qing Le silently. This daughter of his has never once allowed him to be at ease. Especially after she somehow became fond of Xuan Tian Ming, she has done nothing but cause problems even the heavens could not resolve.
But this time, since Feng Chen Yu was also dragged down, Lord Ding An suddenly felt it was not too bad. Qing Le had not lost face just the one time, but the Feng family’s daughter to the first wife was like a treasure that was kept hidden. Now, she had actually done such a thing… He looked at Feng Jin Yuan and felt that neither was worse off than the other.
“Lord Ding An!” The Empress had finally recovered and suddenly spoke, “This one has managed the six palaces for many years and have caused people to openly and secretly despise me. Although I do not know when the Ding An palace was offended, but it must have been because of a lack of consideration. Otherwise, why would imperial daughter take revenge on this one today. Imperial lord Ding An” She did her best to support herself and looked towards Lord Ding An: “Regardless of when this one has caused offense, Qing Le has already taken her revenge today for the Ding An palace. This one fears cats the most and hope that imperial lord will forgive this one after today.”
Lord Ding An was so frightened that he remained kowtowed on the ground and did not dare rise. He endlessly repeated: “This one does not dare! This one does not dare!”
“This one sees that you really do dare!” The Empress became angry.
Speaking of, over the many years, there were very few people who had seen the Empress of Da Shun truly become angry. Although this Empress was the Empress, she was mostly just there to accompany the Emperor on official business and act as a figurehead. Da Shun needed an Empress. That way, the harem had a master, the courts would be stable, and the citizens would be at ease. Thus, the Empress was just an empress. She had the identity of an empress and the powers of one, but she knew that she was not the one the Emperor loved the most. She was very smart. Not being able to attain the Emperor’s heart, she instead formed a cooperative relationship. That was the reasoning behind her being able to remain in her position.
The Empress very rarely get angry. Normally, she did not let her emotions show. When she spoke with the Emperor, she would also remain peaceful.
Today, however, the Empress had become furious! She was truly furious!
“This one fears cats. This is something everyone knows. If Ding An palace feels that this one has sat on this seat too comfortably and wishes to provoke me, the bring it on.” After she finished speaking, the mother of all under heaven, the Empress, suddenly left Liu Li courtyard in a huff with Mo Bu Fan’s help, leaving the Emperor and everyone else.
Lord Ding An knelt on the ground, his heart feeling ashen. He knew that this was the end of Ding An palace.
Sure enough, after the Empress left, the Emperor determined that he had the moral right to take revenge “Eunuch! Hand down my judgement. In regards to Lord Ding An’s position, he has not done anything for the country, he has not aided the citizens, his daughter was dishonest and harmed the Empress. From this day onward, he is no longer an imperial lord and is now a commoner.”
With these words coming out, everything came to an end.
Feng Yu Heng twitched the corners of her lips but could not smile.
This was imperial power. With a few words, it could be an imperial favor, or it could send you to hell.
She was not, after all, someone who had lived in a feudal dynasty. Such direct power had caused her quite a great deal of shock.
When she raised her head, she looked towards the Emperor up on the stage. With a person like this, just a few words could control all of the lives in Da Shun. There was nobody who could escape and there were none who could rebel.
There was a bit of panic in her heart. Turning her gaze away, she reached for her chest. She felt that there were two sets of eyes on her coming from a certain direction.