Chapter 22

Emperor Chongzheng paced and came over to this side: "All of you get up." Those who were familiar with the Emperor would have noticed that the eunuch Lian Gui, who was always by his side, had disappeared and was replaced by another eunuch about the same age.

    "Thank you, Your Majesty." After receiving permission, the crowd stood up.

    Emperor Chong Zhuan seemed to be in a good mood, with a faint smile on his face, "You all make yourselves at home, there is no need to pay attention to me, I am just passing by and casually came over for a walk."

    The Empress was worried that the matter could not be settled, and now that the Emperor was here, it was not convenient to continue the conversation. The Empress wanted to take Yang's mother and daughter away from Consort Xian and Consort Shu, but to her surprise, Consort Xian said, "Your Highness, is there nothing you wish to say to His Majesty?"

    The Empress was shocked, it seemed that this Consort Xian did not intend to leave her alone.

    On the contrary, when Emperor Chongzheng heard this, he asked the Empress curiously, "Oh? Does Zitong have something to say to me?"

    "My concubine, my concubine." The Empress lowered her head and her eyes dripped around in confusion, thinking of a response.

    "Your Majesty, there is something the Empress cannot say about this matter," Xian Guifei twisted her slender waist and walked up to Emperor Chongzheng, "can I say it on behalf of the Empress?"

    "Your Majesty, it is better to let me speak." The Empress thought that it was impossible to hide this matter, and that it would be better to let Consort Xian speak than to let her speak herself, for God knows what she might say against her. Thinking of this, the Empress said with a smile on her face, "Just now, Princess Huajia tripped and fell over by the flower girl."

    "The Empress is really avoiding the important and making light of it," said Xian Guifei in a sinister manner, "why don't you tell the whole story?"

    "How dare the Empress say it," Shu Guifei also came over and stood on the same front as Xian Guifei, "wouldn't it be a slap in your own face if you said it."

    The Empress gritted her teeth, "You must not talk nonsense here!"

    "How can we be talking nonsense? The Empress can gag both of us, but not so many people here."

    "At this point in time, the Empress is still so tough-mouthed.

    The Empress could not swallow her anger and immediately disliked her, "His Majesty has not yet ruled, yet you are the first to draw such a conclusion. Do you want to decide for His Majesty?"

    There was no reason for the Empress to have been the head of the harem for so many years. On the surface, the words just now appeared to be a fight with the concubines, but in reality, they were a hint to the Emperor that the mother's family of Consort Xian and Consort Shu was too powerful in the court, and if they were not eliminated early, the Emperor's power would be hollowed out and he would become a puppet emperor.

    The Emperor could not bear it any longer: "Shut up!"

    He swept his gaze around the three women and then looked at Princess Huojia, who was standing at one side: "Huojia, tell us what is going on here?"

    Princess Huojia replied, "Father, when Huojia and concubine De were walking past, Miss Hua suddenly stretched her leg out and tripped me. I don't know why Miss Hua hurt me. It is the first time we have met today and we have no grudge."

    "How can there be no grudge?" Shu Guifei could not help but speak up. Although the concubines were not there, they all knew about what had happened between Hua Ling and Yang over there. They had also heard what Hua Ling had said just now, so Consort Shu Gui spoke briefly about it.

    Emperor Chongzheng's gaze went back to Hua Luyao: "Is that so?"

    The Emperor was not angry but powerful, and he had the majesty of a natural superior, which scared Hua Luyao, "I didn't mean to do that. I don't know what happened just now, but my leg suddenly stretched out ..."

    The more she said, the smaller her voice became, to the point where she didn't even believe that she had tripped over Princess Hu Jia unintentionally.

    The first time I saw her, I was so happy to see her," she said, "Your Majesty, she was blinded by lard. Please forgive her for the sake of her young age."

    The Emperor ignored him and turned his head towards Hua Ling, who was standing not far away with his head bowed to minimise his presence: "Your Highness, has Miss Hua ever scolded you often?"

    "Back, back to the words of my father. My sister has a bad temper, so I have to give in to her as a brother." Hua Ling's pretty face was filled with fear, as if he was frightened by Emperor Chong Zhuan.

    "Your Majesty, the royal wangfei was not only scolded by Miss Hua when he was at home," said Shu Guifei, stepping forward, "I heard that even his young brother scolded the royal wife at every turn. On the day of his return, his younger brother was even punished by the Prince for scolding him."

    "Father, I still don't know why the Prince punished my younger brother and sister on that day. Can you tell me?" Hua Ling looked at Emperor Chongzhuan with confusion, "My mother always said that the younger siblings of other families also treated their older brothers in this way, because I am the older brother, so I should give in to them."

    At this moment, Emperor Chong Zhuan's heart was already full of anger, what the Duke of Kangle's family had done today had really touched his scales. No matter how unpopular Yan Shi and Huijia were, they were after all imperial sons and princesses and could not be belittled by others. This is a matter of royal dignity, and Hua Ling used to be a member of the Kang Le family, but now that he is married to Yan Shi, he is a member of their royal family. However, the Kangle State House had no scruples at all, and even scolded him at every turn, which was a slap in the face of his Majesty.

    And that Hua Luyao, how dare she, the daughter of a public official, insult the princess in front of the public! The Emperor looked at Princess Huajia, who was looking at him with her head bowed and her eyes timid, as if she was a little afraid. It was ridiculous to say that although they were both in the palace, they had not seen each other for many years.

    How many years had it been? The Emperor could not remember. All he could remember was that the last time he saw her, she was just a little girl, but now she had grown into a big, elegant girl, with the elegance of the Queen of Yuan in her brow.

    The Emperess said, "Your Majesty, although the Princess had been scolded by his younger siblings in the house, the State Lady did not know about it."

    Since the matter could not be denied, it could only be admitted, and the only way to save the day was to abandon the pawn.

    "Is that so?" The Consort Shu Gufei sneered, "Is it true that Madam Guozhi did not know? Why do I remember that on the day of the Prince wedding, Madam Guo lost the tablet of the late wife? If you really respected the late wife and treated Hua Ling like your own son, how could you have lost his tablet?"

    The Emperor raised his eyebrows at this and looked at his Empress and said in a stern voice, "Is this really true?"

    The Queen Mother was so frightened that she bent her back again and again, "I don't know."

    "Of course the Empress would not say she knew." Shu Guifei looked at the Empress's appearance, "How dare you say this to His Majesty?"

    The atmosphere in the imperial garden was so oppressive that the air seemed to have a weight to it, weighing down on people uncomfortably.

    No one noticed that while Shu Guifei was speaking just now, a lady quietly tugged at Xian Guifei and winked at her, and Xian Guifei followed her and quietly moved a few steps away from Emperor Chongzheng. The lady whispered a few words in Consort Xian's ear, and after hearing them, Consort Xian smiled brightly and returned to stand beside Emperor Chongzheng without a trace, looking at Yang with great satisfaction and saying, "Madam Guo, I would like to ask you, where did the hairpin on your head and Miss Hua's bracelet come from?"

    As soon as Hua Luyao heard her talk about the bracelet, she sheepishly hid the bracelet on her left wrist inside her sleeve.

    When Yang heard this, she heard it like a thunderstorm, and her body broke out in a white sweat.

    Instead, she looked at Hua Ling and asked, "Your Highness, do you recognise the two items I mentioned just now?"

    Hua Ling stepped forward and looked at them carefully for a moment and affirmed, "I don't recognize them."

    Consort Shu smiled smugly, "Your Highness, what else can you say about this? If you don't dare to say anything, let me tell you that the two items I mentioned earlier were the dowry of the previous wife. The Crown Princess is already married, so how could the dowry of the previous wife be worn by you both?"

    Hearing Lady Shu Gui's words, there was a whisper in the imperial garden. Embezzling the dowry was frowned upon, no matter what dynasty it was in. If this man was found to have embezzled the dowry, then his reputation would be finished.

    There was also a specific item in the law of the Great Abyss dynasty that dealt with dowry.

    Yang knew that she was finished today, so she trembled and kowtowed to Emperor Chongzheng, "I have lost my mind for a moment, I deserve to die, please spare my life."

    When Hua Luyao saw her mother kowtowing, she was so scared that she was trembling like a sieve, her face was bloodless and she could not even speak, so she could only kowtow after her mother.

    In her heart, she hated and resented her sister, how could she be so careless? But even if she was wrong, she was still her sister. The Empress opened her mouth to speak, but was struck back by a cold look from the Emperor and immediately shut up.

    The Emperor looked at the mother and daughter kneeling at his feet and made a decision - she was to go to the Zen Grove to meditate on her past for three years, and she was to copy a copy of the Meditation Mantra every day and submit it to the palace.

    The Zen Forest Nunnery is hundreds of miles away from the imperial city, deep in the mountains, and was built by the imperial court for the women and concubines of the imperial officials. It is said that the owner of the nunnery was eccentric and extremely difficult to get along with. Because of its secluded location, the money for incense was also very small. The nuns in the nunnery are all self-sufficient and not only have to recite the sutra but also to make ends meet every day. When Yang and Hua Luyao go there, their good times will come to an end.

    Yang and Hua were dragged down by the eunuchs in tears.

    Hua Qiancheng was fined one year's salary for his incompetence in teaching his family.

    The Queen Mother, who is biased and harbouring, is not allowed to step out of Ganquan Palace for a month and is in seclusion. For this month, the affairs of the harem were temporarily handled by Xian Guifei and Shu Guifei.

    The Emperor then looked at Princess Huijia and realised that a princess was not as well dressed as a daughter of a marquis. You can ask me for the same reward."

    Princess Huojia was delighted: "Can I ask for any kind of reward?"

    The Emperor nodded, "Any reward will do."

    Princess Huojia boldly said, "I haven't seen my eldest brother for a long time, can I go out of the palace to see him?"