Not only did the He family not know how to repay a debt of gratitude, they had even offended Consort Xuan. The fact that they had dared to frame Consort Xuan had instantly spread throughout all the noble families in the capital.
While everyone was wondering how King Xuan would deal with the He family, Feng Yuran really lived up to other’s expectations. Before the banquet finished, he had driven the He family away from his house. He had also gotten people to say that his relationship with the He family was over. From then on, anything that the He family did had nothing to do with him, and they were just strangers.
All of a sudden, it caused a big uproar in the capital.
Some thought that the He family was too shameless and too bold that they dared to plot against King Xuan. They really did not want to live. If King Xuan had not considered that they were related by blood, they would have been sentenced to death.
However, some people thought that Feng Yuran was too arrogant. Even if the He family was wrong, how could the blood ties be severed? After all, the He family was still Consort Xian’s parents’ home and the two were his biological uncles. How could he be so heartless to drive them away?
Anyway, there were all kinds of rumors and comments. Most people could see that King Xuan’s Manor had really broken off the engagement with the He family. A servant held a stick and drove the two masters of the He family into a terrible state. And it was said that First Miss He was living in a brothel.
There were even observant people who waited quietly for what happened next. No matter what, Consort Zhao was from the He family. Since King Xuan had created such a scene, what should Consort Zhao do? What was Consort Zhao, who had been doted on for 10 years, going to deal with this matter? One of them was the Emperor’s most beloved and arrogant prince, and the other was his favorite consort for 10 years. How would the Emperor face them? Or how would this matter be resolved? It seemed like it would be worth watching.
The news about the He family plotting against Consort Xuan was spread out after lunch. Then, the He family was thrown out of King Xuan’s house by his servants without mercy. Then, at the next lunch, someone discovered that the two masters of the He family had been rescued from a gutter. They were already beaten half to death. Things happened one after another, but nothing was good.
In the Mingyue Palace, Consort Zhao accompanied Emperor Zongwen to have their dinner. She wore a light green dress and had a jade phoenix hairpin on her head. She looked beautiful and was dancing in the hall. Her steps were light and elegant like that of a fairy. Her body swirled slightly. Then her feet lifted slightly, and the veil hanging from her arms scattered like clouds. She was as beautiful as a fairy descending from the immortal realm.
Suddenly, Consort Zhao staggered and her body tilted. She stepped on her dress and fell to the ground heavily. The musicians on the side were so frightened that they all stopped and looked at Emperor Zongwen who was sitting on the high platform. They didn’t know whether they should continue to play or not.
Emperor Zongwen put down the goblet in his hand and ordered unhappily, “Somebody, come and help Consort Zhao up.”
“Yes,” a palace maid who was standing by the side answered. She came over, helped Consort Zhao to her feet, and helped her to Emperor Zongwen’s side.
“My beloved consort, please take a seat,” Emperor Zongwen said gently.
“Your Majesty, I’m not tired. let me pour you some wine,” Consort Zhao said with a smile. She let go of the maid’s hand and tried to get the wine pot next to Emperor Zongwen. However, she couldn’t stand steadily, and tilted to the side as soon as she stopped. Luckily, Emperor Zongwen was quick to hold her soft waist.
“Many thanks, Your Majesty. If not for you, I would…” Consort Zhao’s face was filled with shock and fear. She looked at Emperor Zongwen pitiably with her beautiful eyes. The clothes she wore appropriately outlined her slender figure. There were tears in her eyes. She looked a little aggrieved and sad at the same time, but she intentionally forced a smile that made one feel pity for her.
“What’s wrong?” Emperor Zongwen asked gently. “Now that you’re not feeling well, why are you still trying to force yourself? Sit down and have a few drinks with me.”
“Your Majesty…” Consort Zhao held Emperor Zongwen’s hand and sat down. Her small mouth was slightly open, as if she wanted to say something, but did not dare to do so at that moment. The beauty was shy but also seemed to be filled with affection. It was the most attractive. Furthermore, the beauty was Emperor Zongwen’s favored concubine who had been doted on for many years.
Emperor Zongwen picked up the goblet and took a sip. Then, he gently brought the wine to Consort Zhao’s lips. “Dear, are you upset by some unkindness? Tell me, I’m going to help you vent your anger.”
In the light, although the Emperor’s eyes were as deep as a pool of water, there was a gentle smile in them. It seemed that he didn’t blame her at all. Consort Zhao breathed a sigh of relief in her heart. Suddenly, she stood up and knelt down directly. She sobbed, “Your Majesty, I’m guilty. Please forgive me, Your Majesty.”
At this time, the more heartbroken and aggrieved she appeared, the better it would be. Consort Zhao had been in the imperial harem for so many years that she had been familiar with this. She looked so sad that she lifted her sleeve to wipe her face.
Emperor Zongwen did not expect Consort Zhao to be like this. His face immediately darkened and he asked unhappily, “What’s the matter?”
Consort Zhao covered her face and wailed. The palace maid standing behind her hurriedly knelt down, kowtowed to Emperor Zongwen, and said, “Your Majesty, Her Highness is asking for your forgiveness. Your Majesty, please forgive Her Highness for failing to supervise her family.”
Failing to supervise her family? Emperor Zongwen’s brows furrowed. He immediately realized what she was talking about. He turned around and asked Consort Zhao, “Are you talking about what happened in King Xuan’s Manor, dear?”
It was a big thing and had already spread throughout the whole palace. Of course, Emperor Zongwen knew it.
“Yes, it is all my fault for neglecting to supervise. I don’t know why Yufen would do something like that to offend King Xuan in order to become his legal wife. How, how can I face King Xuan in the future? How can I face my elder sister? In the past, when my elder sister was still alive, she always told me that I should protect my family. But now… now King Xuan and his uncle’s family have become enemies, and King Xuan is even accused of disrespecting his elders. It’s all my… it’s all my fault.”
Consort Zhao lifted her head and looked at Emperor Zongwen with tears in her eyes.
When a woman gazed at someone with tears in her eyes, she could move people’s minds the most, especially the kind of look full of grievances. Consort Zhao looked at herself in the mirror and made the expression a million times. She knew that this was the most touching way to move a man’s heart. Her teary eyes, her pretty nose, her half-closed lips, and her beautiful eyes that were full of grievance…
It sounded that she had put the blame on herself, but she hinted that King Xuan didn’t respect the elders, and cut off relations with his uncle’s family for a woman. It was too much for him to be so heartless.
Emperor Zongwen’s eyes grew even darker. This time, he did not reach out. Instead, he picked up the goblet that had been pushed to Consort Zhao earlier and raised it to take a sip. Even though one could not see any expression on his face, his eyes were not sharp and he looked as if he was thinking deeply about something. He was silent.
“Your Majesty.” Concubine Zhao still looked pitiable when she saw that Emperor Zongwen did not speak. There was a trace of guilt in her eyes but she then started to cry again. “This is my fault. I do not dare to pass the buck. Please, please punish me, Your Majesty.”
After that, she sobbed and heavily kowtowed to the ground. Her face was moist.
When such a beautiful woman cried with grievance and sadness, even a man with a hardened heart would not be able to see it.
“Please stand up, my beloved consort. We’ll discuss this when Old Eight comes back. Furthermore, this has nothing to do with you. You are in the palace every day. How could you be able to fully aware of what happened outside? Your brothers and niece were so daring that they instigated Consort Yu’s younger brother to do something like that. It would be fine even if they died. Consort Yu went to visit his younger brother in the afternoon, and when she returned, she even cried and told me that she was going to avenge his brother.”
One could not tell whether Emperor Zongwen was happy or angry from his face. However, he still extended his hand, took Consort Zhao’s hand gently, and pulled her to a stool by the side to sit down. She had been secretly happy and heaved a sigh of relief. However, when she heard the second half of Emperor Zongwen’s statement, her heart tensed up. Consort Yu had already taken action earlier than her?
“That bitch is so sly!”
Since Consort Yu had told the whole story to the Emperor, it would be a little pretentious for her to talk about it again. Her mind was racing. She wiped her face with her handkerchief and said with a smile, “I heard that Sir Yu has been injured. How is he? Should I go out of the palace tomorrow to see him? After all, it’s our He family’s fault. If they knew Sir Yu’s character, how could they go and instigate him? Weren’t they all going to the road of death?”
She had wanted to take all the blame for Feng Yuran’s disgracing his elders and having little regard for the kinship. Furthermore, the two masters of the He family had been beaten to half death tonight. It was unknown whether they were still alive or not. This caused Emperor Zongwen to suspect that it was Feng Yuran who did it. He wanted to punish Feng Yuran and at the same time placate the two brothers. Only then would Feng Yuran be able to get rid of the rumors that he treated his elders with disrespect and were cold-blooded.
She did not expect Consort Yu to get involved in the matter. Furthermore, she had already complained tearfully to Emperor Zongwen. If she continued to complain to Emperor Zongwen, it would only cause Emperor Zongwen to suspect her. She was a little slower than Consort Yu and could not do anything about it. She remembered how she had sent someone to invite Emperor Zongwen earlier, but the servant said that the Emperor was busy. It turned out that he was appeasing Consort Yu. Consort Zhao was both envious and angry when she thought of that.
However, she could not reveal anything on her face. Her previous thoughts had been completely overturned. She had to be even more careful with her actions. As such, she had to make concessions in order to gain an advantage. Who was Yu Mingyong? He didn’t deserve the Emperor’s favorite concubine’s visit.
As expected, Emperor Zongwen’s expression darkened. “This has nothing to do with you, my beloved concubine. You don’t have to worry too much about it. Alright, let’s have a few drinks. I will go and take a look at Consort Yu later. The baby in her belly was stirred when she left the palace. She is lying in her palace.”
Consort Yu’s baby was stirred?
Consort Zhao was very angry and only thought that this bitch was so hypocritical. Consort Yu had long past the three-month dangerous period. How could her baby be stirred for no reason? It was clear that Consort Yu was on guard against Consort Zhao. So she deliberately pulled the Emperor to her side and said something in front of the Emperor so that the Emperor would suspect Consort Zhao.
She also hated that the brothers of the He family didn’t know how to do things and that He Yufen was too stupid. It was so well-prepared, but these people still failed. Instead, it was investigated thoroughly. Now that they had failed, they still dared to come to her and asked her to protect them. But she didn’t expect that she would be affected by them.
“Didn’t they get beaten half to death? Why didn’t they die? Why did they even come to Lian An’s Manor? It makes me unable to get rid of them even if I wanted to.”
“No, I have to find time to send a message to Lian An. It’s best for the two brothers of the He family to leave the capital as early as possible.” Not only did they not help her, but they had also caused her trouble. She did not want to cause trouble and be killed. She looked up at Emperor Zongwen who was seated by her side. Even though there was a smile on his face, Consort Zhao could not help but shiver. It was an ominous feeling.
“Yes, I will obey the edict.” Even though she felt uneasy, she did not show it on her face. She filled Emperor Zongwen’s goblet and pushed it in front of him. “A toast to you, Your Majesty.”
There were still tears in her beautiful eyes, but she still looked at Emperor Zongwen tenderly. She looked very affectionate and charming. She knew that he did not like the topic before, so she did not mention it again. She looked as if she only had eyes for him. This made Emperor Zongwen very happy. He could not help but laugh loudly as he hugged her in his arms, took the wine cup, and drank it all.
