"You are heartless, don’t blame me for being unrighteous."
The Princess Consort De thought, the worst outcome would just be going to the Cold Palace, with her aunt there, the Cold Palace wouldn’t be that unbearable.
But Noble Lady Ying was different.
As the former owner of Noble Lady Ying, before she went to the Cold Palace, she would definitely help Noble Lady Ying choose a "family."
The traces of tears she had just forced remained on Noble Lady Ying’s face, and at this moment, looking up at the Princess Consort De, whose personality had suddenly changed, a bad foreboding rose in her heart: "I, I..."
"Noble Lady Ying has lost her virtue, disrespected high-ranking concubines, spread rumors and caused unrest in the harem. I am greatly displeased, from today onward, her title as ’Ying’ is abolished, she is downgraded to a Talented Lady and sent to Jingxin Palace to reflect!"
Yan Xiu bluntly interrupted Noble Lady Ying, coldly commanding.
Jingxin Palace was the place where concubines who had made mistakes, during the time of the late Emperor, resided, which is the Cold Palace.
Noble Lady Ying opened her eyes wide in horror: "Emperor, I know my mistakes, Emperor, I don’t want to go to the Cold Palace, I..."
"Take her away." Yan Xiu said coldly.
Immediately, two old women, lowering their heads, quickly stepped forward, one of them grabbing Noble Lady Ying’s, no, Sun Cairen’s arm, and dragged her away as they had just dragged Feng Yin.
The Princess Consort De had a smile hanging on her face, and when she saw Yan Xiu looking over, she directly kneeled and said: "I acknowledge my guilt, please punish me, Your Majesty."
Yan Xiu did not say how to punish the Princess Consort De at the first moment. His deep phoenix eyes seemed to be pondering, looking past the Princess Consort De’s face, to Li Yuyu who was still kneeling on the ground.
"Are you satisfied with the punishment for Sun Cairen, Lady Li?"
Li Yuyu looked up at him and said warmly: "The decision made by the Emperor is naturally the fairest, and I am certainly very satisfied."
Yan Xiu raised a barely noticeable eyebrow, which meant dissatisfaction.
But if the Princess Consort De is to be punished... Yan Xiu lifted his gaze toward the Empress Dowager, saying nothing, yet his eyes clearly conveyed his intent.
To appease and compensate Li Yuyu.
The Empress Dowager received this signal clearly, remained silent for a moment, but her face still maintained a dignified appearance. She pondered for a moment before slowly speaking: "Lady Li has suffered wrongful accusations, truly an injustice. I will personally compensate Lady Li adequately."
"Emperor, why not promote Lady Li’s rank, Chong..."
"Mother speaks truly, Lady Li has indeed been greatly wronged this time. Fortunately, I arrived promptly; otherwise, who knows what slander Lady Li would have suffered." Yan Xiu said as he walked slowly toward the main seat, speaking as he sat down.
The Empress Dowager: ...
Understood, the Emperor doesn’t want anyone in the concubines’ ranks to overshadow Lady Li.
Currently, only Zhang Chongyuan is in the nine concubines, directly promoting Lady Li to Xiu Hua position would openly signify to the harem that the Emperor intends for Lady Li to outrank Zhang Chongyuan.
If it’s not to be so obvious, then only the Xiu Rong and Xiu Yuan would do, the Shun rank is after all a bit too high.
"The Emperor’s words are indeed sensible. From Aijia’s standpoint, why not promote Lady Li to Xiu Rong?" The Empress Dowager asked casually, using a tone of idle conversation.
Xiu Rong?
Beauty Qing lowered her eyes, pressing her lips together, her fair pink face losing a slight bit of color.
She predicted that Lady Li would soon become one of the nine concubines, but she hadn’t expected the Empress Dowager to directly elevate Lady Li to a Xiu rank.
Could it be that even the Empress Dowager holds Lady Li in extraordinary regard?
Beauty Qing’s long nails dug into her palm, the sharp pain anchored her, ensuring no one noticed any abnormality.
"Since Mother finds it appropriate, I shall follow Mother’s counsel. Shen Quan, go draft the decree, and order the Imperial Household to prepare Yao Hua Palace for Li Xiurong to move in once the investiture ceremony is complete."
A palace, a place reserved for concubines of higher rank, how can the Emperor...
The Empress Dowager was about to speak.
"Mother, how should the Princess Consort De be handled?"
The Empress Dowager: ...
——
(Official Third Grade of the nine concubines: Shun Yuan, Shun Rong, Shun Hua, Xiu Yuan, Xiu Rong, Xiu Hua, Chong Yuan, Chong Rong, Chong Hua.)