"Does she have that intention? Only she herself is clear, why do you need to plead for her? Maybe the other party won't appreciate it." Su Jing glanced at Shang Guan Mei with a sarcastic expression, seeing her face twisted and her eyebrows filled with a few hints of smile.

  Shangguan Mei was indeed already extremely angry, her identity was special, from a young age she knew that she was different from others.

  She is the daughter of the Grand Princess, even though her mother was no longer around later on, but still nobody dared to bully her. During festivals and holidays, the Empress Dowager would send people to pick her up from the palace, and normally also often sent people to visit her at the Wang family home. Even her grandmother and father all treated her like a precious gem, since she was young, there were only things she didn't want, no things she wanted that she couldn't get. A life as pampered as the moon surrounded by stars was normal for her.

  Even if she entered the palace later and didn't receive the emperor's favor, no one dared to speak to her like that, let alone give her attitude like Su Jingfeng did, including the empress.

  No matter how many times the empress dowager taught her that nothing can be done rashly and everything cannot be impulsive, but her nature is hard to change. She has been treated like this by Su Jing since she was a child, and she couldn't bear it anymore.

  Can't bear it anymore no need to bear it again

  She swept the two men who were trying to stop her with a sarcastic gaze, turned around and said, "Whether Ben Niang is clear or not is one thing, but what does it have to do with you, Su Jing?"

  "Please spare Xiangyun's life, she is innocent." The palace maid beside Shangguan Mei knelt down to plead.

  Shangguan Mei originally had a wet nurse bestowed by the empress dowager who usually accompanied her and occasionally reminded her of things. Although she had been in the palace for a long time, she hadn't gotten into any major trouble, but that wet nurse had contracted a cold a few days ago and wasn't attending to her as usual.

  This palace maid was also rewarded by the empress, but she was a person of few words and very clear about her master's character, so she didn't dare to speak out to dissuade him. She just watched as things developed to this point, and if she didn't speak up now, she feared that when she returned, she would definitely be punished.

  "What are you, who let you speak for Ben Niang?" Shangguan Mei didn't wait for Su Jinglian to speak and turned around to give the palace maid a loud slap. A thread of blood flowed down from the corner of her mouth.

  The palace maid didn't dare to cry out in pain, nor did she dare to cover the wound with her hand. She just kept kowtowing and saying "Master, spare my life! Master, spare my life! Slave knows her mistake."

  Su Jing furrowed her brow, "Why must you do this? Although she is only a palace maid, she too has parents who gave birth to and raised her. By treating her so poorly, aren't you reducing your own good fortune?"

  He Lian Lingyu, Yu Congmei and Du Wanyue stood on one side. At first, they were afraid of being implicated and tried to stop her, but after that glance from He Lian, they didn't dare to intervene anymore. After all, they were all high-ranking nobles who had been pampered since childhood, and none of them wanted to suffer unjustly.

  Let's just say that Su Jing and Shang Guan Mei are getting more and more agitated, almost to the point of physical confrontation. Putting aside whether it will affect me or not, this is actually quite beneficial for them. At worst, if something really happens, they can just push all the blame onto Su Jing.

  He Lian Lingyu and Yu Congmei exchanged a glance, each turning away in tacit understanding. Only Du Wanxiang's eyes revealed a hint of worry.

  "This is Ben Niang's palace maid. Whatever Ben Niang wants, she gets. You have no say in this." Shangguan Mei said, turning around and slapping the palace maid on the ear.

  Taoyuan is not just a garden, but also an open space. Even when the concubines came to play, some slaves were already standing around in case they needed anything. Now seeing Shangguan Mei treating her palace maid like this, either beating or scolding her, it's unbearable for everyone.

  They all entered the palace as children to serve their masters, although they were risking their lives, but after all, no one really took their lives lightly. No one was willing to be born poor and lowly from birth. Seeing this, some of them felt resentful and their hearts were always fluctuating.

  Su Jing suddenly reached forward with a "slap" and wiped her hands with a handkerchief, then threw it back to Xun Xiang behind her. She coldly hummed, "Can Ben Niang manage or not?"

  Shangguan Mei's hand instinctively covered half of her face as she stared at Su Jing in disbelief, the other hand pointing at her "You dare to hit me"

  Since she was young, no matter how much trouble she caused, no one dared to scold her, let alone hit her. Even the empress dowager would not lay a hand on her, at most just saying a few words or ignoring her for two days.

  Shangguan Mei reacted and stepped forward, raising her hand. "What are you doing?" Zong Zhengjin strode over, one arm wrapping around Su Jingxian's waist and the other grasping Shangguan Mei's wrist, saying sternly:

  "The three consorts and concubines pay their respects to His Majesty" The three people beside her all bowed.

  "Your Majesty," Shang Guan Mei was dazed for a moment, then suddenly thought of something and immediately turned her gaze to Su Jing Xian "Are you..."

  Su Jing leaned into his arms, half hiding her body, and smiled at him in a very cooperative manner. However, the smile was extremely sarcastic. Silently, she mouthed a few words: "You lost."

  Shangguan Mei suddenly felt a surge of instinct to move forward when her eyes met Zong Zheng's, but she shrank back when she caught sight of Su Jing's triumphant smile. "It's always her, it's all about her."

  "It's enough. Su Shun, you are demoted to Guiren and confined in Jingying Xuan. You are not allowed to come out without imperial edict." Zong Zhengjin seemed unwilling to even look at her, saying coldly.

  "Uncle, you..." Shang Guan Mei's eyes dropped two lines of tears, unwilling to believe it would come to this.

  Her mother had passed away very early, and the Empress Dowager pitied her and often summoned her to the palace. She had been seeing this uncle of hers since she was old enough to remember, but at that time she did not know he would be her future husband. She instinctively admired him for his handsome appearance and exceptional talent. Her teacher often praised him, and in her heart, she was delighted.

  She studied hard to master the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, familiar with the rules of the palace. For him, she slowly began to endure the dull and tedious lessons. For him, she worked hard to learn to be a qualified lady. For him, she refused the marriage proposals from other noble families' sons. For him, she gradually became who she is today.

  Later, the empress dowager asked her if she was willing to enter the palace. Although she said that everything would be decided by the empress dowager, in her heart, she was overjoyed and excited, and couldn't sleep well for several nights. Only then did she realize that she had unknowingly placed him in her heart.

  No matter the age, no matter the ethics, no matter the worldly good opportunities in front of her, she always wanted to actively grasp them. For the sake of being the Empress Dowager, she had been suppressing her jealousy and discontent towards Consort Shu and Su Jingyun, because she knew that as long as there was an Empress Dowager, he would ultimately be hers.

  She can endure for a moment but cannot endure forever

  Su Shun-xian immediately stepped forward as if he had seen nothing "The slave will go now"

  "Her Majesty has arrived" accompanied by the eunuch's shrill voice, the empress slowly walked forward.

  "I have an audience with Your Majesty"

  "Get up!" Zhong Zhengjin waved his hand and glanced at the other three people "You all get up too"

  "Concubines and maidservants pay their respects to the Empress Dowager." Su Jing's struggles in his arms only brought about his displeasure, so she could only placate him with a smile.

  "A few sisters needn't be too polite" The queen smiled and waved her hand.

  "Thank you, Empress Dowager"

  "I heard that the peach blossoms in Taoyuan have bloomed and I wanted to come take a look." The empress glanced at Shangguan Mei, who was standing alone to the side, and hooked her mouth. "I heard from the palace staff that Qi Mei and Su Mei had a dispute and I wanted to come take a look, but unexpectedly the emperor also came and handled it well."

  "Hmm, I demote her to a noble lady and confine her" Zong Zhengjin's hands were leaning against the back, faintly

  The empress nodded, "I've already heard about the situation. Since it's Guizhen who has erred in her behavior, then let her take advantage of this period of confinement to copy out some 'Admonitions for Women' and 'Women's Precepts'. It will be good for cultivating her temperament."

  Shangguan Mei was extremely angry with the Empress, who normally treated her with great respect and never made things difficult for her. But now she took advantage of the situation to kick her while she was down, casting a resentful glance at her before standing still, her heart hoping that the Dowager Empress would help her.

  "Sister Su has suffered injustice. I heard that Sister Su loves crystal, and I just got a new set of nine-curve patterned colored crystal hair accessories, so let's give them to Sister Su." The empress then turned her head and said to Su Jing

  Su Jing hastily made a bow and said: "Concubine thanks the Empress Dowager, but this is too valuable, Concubine dare not accept."

  "What's the big deal about some expensive jewelry? It would suit Su Mei better, so don't decline it anymore." The queen said with a hint of a smile, as if she was being sincere.

  "The queen gives you something, just take it." Zong Zhengjin said casually, apparently not taking it seriously.

  Su Jingxiang had no choice but to thank her "In that case, Concubine thanks Empress Dowager"

  "No need for formalities, little sister," the empress said, turning her head. "I'm not feeling well, so I'll take my leave first."

  "Hmm" Zong Zhengjin nodded and watched as the Empress's figure disappeared into the distance.

  Su Jing stood beside him and also saw off the queen. It had been several days since she last saw the queen, whose complexion was somewhat haggard, but her figure seemed to be getting thinner by the day. Already in spring, the queen still wore thick winter clothes.

  "Let's go." Zong Zhengjin turned around and saw that she was also staring blankly in that direction, so he had to speak up.

  "Oh" Su Jing nodded and responded with a voice, the two lifted their legs and left in another direction.

  He Lian Lingyu and others stood in place, as if transparent, directly ignored by the two of them. However, after experiencing what just happened, they didn't dare to speak out randomly now. Anyone could see that the emperor's mood was not good, so it wasn't the best time to compete for favor.

  Su Jing walked a few steps and suddenly realized "Your Majesty, where are we going?"

  Zong Zhengjin glanced at her and said "go settle the bill"

  Palace Concubine (Yi Shu)

  Gong Shu