"What's going on here?" Su Jing asked with a hint of nervousness, pretending to be unaware.

  Zong Zhengjin raised an eyebrow. "What do you think?"

  Su Jing pulled on his arm and smiled foolishly. "Is the emperor joking? The concubine thinks it's hilarious."

  Zong Zhengjin originally had a stern face, but upon hearing this, he was amused by her and stared at her with piercing eyes, not saying a word.

  Su Jing was stared at by him and felt a chill run down her spine. She shrank back, "Your Majesty is smiling, so perhaps you will show mercy this time and spare the concubine."

  Zong Zhengjin was speechless. "What if it's me?"

  "At most... at most His Majesty will be punished and return from somewhere else." Su Jing said, her voice getting smaller as she spoke.

  Zong Zhengjin naturally could hear her words clearly. His eyes had a hint of smile in them. "Really?"

  "What the emperor says is what it is."

  He's recently become obsessed with taking on more advanced and difficult moves, even going so far as to bring that shameful book of sinful illustrations to the Guan Yu Palace in order to better mimic them. In the evenings, he often half-jokingly, half-coercively asks her to cooperate, and although the pleasure he gets from it is several times greater than before, it's really quite embarrassing.

  But for his sake, I'll let it go this once.

  Zong Zhengjin hooked the corner of his mouth. "It's settled then." However, he also knew that this sentence was useless to her. From their long-term interaction, she had changed her mind countless times.

  "But still, this account must be settled." Zong Zhengjin said coolly.

  Su Jing puckered up her face. "Your Majesty, you just said that you wouldn't bother with the consorts."

  "I never said that." Zong Zhengjin clearly didn't recognize it. "It's just Feier wanting it, I agreed to you only."

  Su Jing glared with her eyes wide open. Although he had just indeed not explicitly expressed that he would not take revenge on her, what did she want? He had simply agreed to her.

  "I already agreed to your request, why didn't you wait for me to arrive before speaking? If it's true that something happened... if I wasn't here, how would they bully you?" Just now, if he had arrived a bit later, they might have even started fighting. If Helian Lingyu and the others hadn't stood by idly, but instead joined in, then the one who would definitely be bullied would be herself.

  Su Jing suppressed the emotions in her heart, shook her arm and said: "The concubine believes that the emperor will come, and the emperor really came, coming just in time."

  Zong Zhengjin saw that she was smiling somewhat insincerely, somewhat speechless. But he also didn't want to pretend those assumptions again. "Forget it. I and you always can't communicate."

  "It's still the emperor who doesn't bother with his concubines." Su Jing had never been stingy with her praise, as long as he was willing to listen.

  Zong Zhengjin chuckled. Having experienced many things, he had become somewhat immune to them. However, it did not prevent him from enjoying himself greatly. "These days, if the Empress Dowager summons you alone, send someone to inform me first before going. Remember."

  "En. Concubine remembered." Su Jing nodded. Matters concerning one's life must be remembered firmly.

  Zong Zhengjin patted her little head. "Let's go. I'll send you back."

  Guan Yu Temple

  "Master, everything has been taken care of." Yiao hurriedly said as soon as she saw her return.

  Su Jing raised an eyebrow. "That's good."

  Actually, everything that happened today was within Su Jing's expectations. She just didn't think he would punish her so severely. After all, in this deep palace, the most important thing for a woman is her status. With imperial favor, it still comes down to status. He actually reduced her to her original state in one go, equivalent to erasing all her achievements over the past few days.

  She had long thought of taking revenge. That's why she sought his help that night. Because she always believed that no matter what happened in the palace, big or small, as long as he wanted to know, he would definitely find out. With his current favor towards her, if he found out about her actions from elsewhere afterwards, her favor would certainly come to an end.

  After being together for so long, although I don't say that I fully understand him, but at least 50% is there. Deep down he's a typical male chauvinist, what he says goes. If he promises to do something, he'll definitely get it done. That's why she dares (to rely on him).

  Someone had previously instructed people to sprinkle some anger-inducing powder in the peach garden. In addition, the dishes sent by the imperial kitchen to Jingying Pavilion these days were all nourishing foods. Eating too much of them would easily cause internal heat. Shangguan Mei had heard that Zong Zhengjin would go to the peach garden to admire flowers, so she went almost every day. With frequent contact, it naturally took effect.

  Her mother-in-law. Although she really caught a cold, such a coincidence must have another reason. As for how it was done, that's Zong Zhengjin's business.

  Today, Su Jing only uttered a few words of anger, and she was moved by what she saw. After that, all this happened. As for whether she really detected anything afterwards, the evidence had long since disappeared with the wind.

  Besides, the person behind her is the Emperor. It's cool under the big tree.

  "The master does it this way, not afraid of Empress Dowager..." From the beginning, Yao had some disagreements. Although she didn't advocate for revenge, doing it so openly was somewhat disrespectful to the Empress Dowager, at least in other people's eyes.

  Su Jing hooked the corner of her mouth. Maybe there's a better way. But this method is not available to vent. It's necessary to bully back openly and brazenly. The Empress Dowager can't find fault with Su Jing in the same open and brazen manner again. The same trick, use it once and it's enough, more than that is useless.

  After all, as long as the empress had a bit of brains, she would be able to guess that the person standing behind Su Jing was the emperor.

  Nothing's wrong. And there's the Emperor too." She said in the end. She was also arrogant because of her favoritism. Because she believed that he was behind her back. So she had nothing to fear.

  "Daiman is better." Su Jing didn't want to think deeply about it, nor did she want to discuss the matter further, so she changed the subject.

  Ting Yao understood her meaning and went along with it. "It's better now. However... Master, don't worry. When the time comes, it will recover on its own."

  "Hmm." Su Jing let out a sigh and turned her head to say, "Let her rest well. She must recover fully before anything else."

  "Besides, let's not keep this matter hidden anymore. What should be done? You should know."

  "Yes." Yāo nodded. Not only can't hide, but also want to think of a way to let Guān Yǔ Gōng's slaves know unknowingly.

  …………

  Qihuan was demoted to Guiren by the Emperor's edict due to her dispute with Zhen Ronghua, and was forbidden from leaving Jingying Xuan. The news spread throughout the entire palace in less than half an hour. For a time, almost everyone looked at Zhen Ronghua, who was normally gentle and soft-spoken, with new eyes.

  Cining Palace

  The empress dowager listened to the palace maid's report, and in anger, she threw the teacup in her hand to the ground. The sound of the shattered porcelain was particularly jarring in the sudden silence of the hall. "The emperor is indeed worthy of being the emperor, ruthless and decisive, just like his father."

  Liu Momo knew that the Empress Dowager was reminiscing about past events. When the Empress Dowager was still a virtuous concubine, Concubine Xi had just gained imperial favor. The Empress Dowager loved to raise cats, but someone plotted against her and her favorite cat went mad, colliding with Concubine Xi.

  Although the palace maid and the timely rescue, Concubine Xi was not actually harmed. However, when the late Emperor found out, he was still extremely furious. He ordered the Empress Dowager to be confined for three months and decreed that all cats and dogs in the harem be slaughtered. He also issued an edict forbidding anyone from raising pets again.

  It was also from that time on. The Empress Dowager hated Consort Hee extremely. Later, although it was because of Consort Hee's plea, the Empress Dowager was able to lift her house arrest ahead of schedule. But in her eyes, the Empress Dowager seemed not to appreciate Consort Hee's feelings.

  Liu Moumou stood to one side, not daring to interrupt casually. The Empress Dowager's temperament was also becoming increasingly sinister and unpredictable. Even after serving her for so many years, she was still unable to see through her.

  "First send someone to take care of Jingying Xuan, Ah Jia's granddaughter. She didn't come to the palace to suffer."

  Liu Momo responded with a sound. According to the Empress Dowager's meaning, it seemed that she did not blame Qi Guiren. So he opened his mouth and said, "Master Qi must have regretted it too."

  "Regret." The empress dowager snorted. "She has been framed by someone and doesn't even know it herself."

  "What the empress dowager means is..."

  "All those sinister means, I've used countless of them. It's all because of me. Her mother died early. I couldn't bear to have an old man send off a young life. I didn't want to take her in and raise her myself. The Upper Official's family, those sycophants, only knew how to flatter her, teaching her nothing. That's how she developed this arrogant personality of hers."

  The empress dowager did indeed have some regrets, with a hint of remorse in her tone. At the time, she had only thought of herself, unable to help but think of others when seeing her own reflection, and was overly self-pitying. This was why she neglected Mei'er's growth.

  "It's also hard to blame Empress Dowager. It's all fate playing tricks on people." Liu Mu didn't know what to say, so she could only dryly comfort her.

  "You're right, it's all fate. The Empress nodded in agreement. "At this point, I can only pave the way for her a bit more, so she'll have an easier time later on."

  "The Empress Dowager will surely discuss with the Emperor and lift the ban on Qi's movement, I suppose the Emperor will also agree."

  "Mei'er's temper should be tempered too, it wouldn't hurt to teach her a lesson." The Empress Dowager shook her head and said, "However, those who framed her cannot be let off. We can't let those women think Mei'er is easy to bully."

  "The Empress Dowager is right... but what is she preparing to do..."

  "It's better this way. The unexpected is always the best. When one is at their peak, climbing to the highest point, it's only when they fall that they realize how painful it is." The Empress Dowager said coolly, as if she were merely discussing a trivial matter.

  Liu Momo was startled in her heart. She had always known the Empress Dowager's temperament. Yu Xi Fei was like that from the beginning, and Yu Huang Hou was also like that. So today should be no exception.

  She's just a slave girl. There's no turning back now. Suppressing the emotions in her heart. "The Empress Dowager is right, I suppose when the time comes, Zhen Ronghua will regret what she did today."

  "I remember that Old Lady Yu is almost gone, and King Yong'an won't last much longer either. Some things are not far off now. Let's just wait and see."