Chapter 555 - In the Tianfeng Palace, the Empress Plan (1/2)

Since such a thing happened in the palace, 30 to 40 people were beaten to death overnight. The Empress knelt outside the Qianqing Palace to ask for forgiveness. Anyway, she was the master of the imperial harem. After such a thing happened, she could not absolve herself from the blame. Later, even the Empress Dowager, who had been sick, was alarmed and came to the Qianqing Palace with some servants.

Then, some people were beaten to death. It was said that some of them were from the Empress’ palace.

It was not until about four o’clock in the morning that the Empress returned to the Tianfeng Palace with the help of her maids. She had knelt for so long that her legs had become numb. She was almost carried back by the two palace maids. Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen also came back with her. She asked maids in the palace to take hot water to warm the Empress’ feet while asking people to put the Empress on the couch.

Some of the people in the Tianfeng Palace were taken out, and the rest of them were so scared that they didn’t even dare to move their hands and feet. There were three or four candles in the hall, making the hall appear empty. Tianfeng Palace was too big. The people in the palace didn’t feel anything uncomfortable before, but now since there were only a few people, they felt that there were many shadows in it.

The Empress took a cup of hot tea from Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen’s hand and took a sip, trembling. Then, she exhaled deeply and waved her hand, signaling the people around her to leave.

The Empress’ teacup shook when she saw the palace maids and eunuchs retreating fearfully like startled birds. A few drops of hot tea fell on the back of her hands and immediately a patch of her skin was burned red.

Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen hurriedly took the teacup from the Empress’ hand and said with concern, “Your Majesty, be careful. I will put the cup aside and you can drink it when it cools a little. Don’t burn yourself.”

Was it hot? The Empress looked at the red scald on her wrist dully and sour tears welled up in her eyes. She had once scalded herself on her wrist by hot water, and that man was so worried about her and said that she was not allowed to take the hot water again. From then on, the water served to her was cooled a little.

However, he seemed to be getting further and further away from her!

When did it start? Was it when that woman came into the palace? Everything seemed to have changed because of that woman. The Empress thought with a trace of coldness and hatred in her eyes.

“A scald? Even if I die now, he won’t look at me.” The Empress’ voice was low and hoa.r.s.e. She reached out to touch the injury on her arm. Although there was no blood, it was very painful. It was the part that the Emperor smashed with a cup.

His eyes were so gloomy at that time. He threw the cup at her without mercy and did not care about her dignity as the Empress at all. Although she had long known that he was ruthless to her, she thought that he still cared about the face of Ding General Manor. But today, he reproached her as if she were an ordinary imperial consort.

Even when the Empress Dowager came to his palace, he still did not let her go.

“Your Majesty, don’t say that. After all, you are His Majesty’s wife. You’re different from us. Besides, you can’t be blamed for what happened today. It’s just about a servant. With so many people in the imperial harem, if everything is blamed on you, what can you do, Your Majesty? His Majesty knows that even if so many things have happened, he had to do something on the surface to save the dignity of the royal family.”

Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen persuaded her gently. Her words sounded like an explanation for the Emperor, but in fact, they meant something else when one thought about it carefully. It sounded as if the Empress were a person who was meant to be abandoned. This made the Empress’ tensed heart break down and she immediately lost control.

There was a flash of sharpness in the Empress’ gloomy eyes. She suddenly sat up straight and held Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen’s hand tightly as if she were getting hands cramp. She yelled, “The dignity of the royal family? Am I not of the royal family? Would the dignity of the royal family be saved if I lose face? Everything that happens in the palace has something to do with me. Is that a crime? Who would have thought that something like this would happen? I, the Empress, knelt before so many people’s eyes for so long. Whose dignity would be hurt?”

She held Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen’s hand like mad and gritted her teeth. Her eyes were filled with pain and despair.

Even in the past, the Emperor also suspected that the Empress had killed that woman. In the end, he did not do anything to her but reproached her for her poor supervision. What about now? It was just a maid’s death. Why did he act as if it were all her fault? The dead girl was only a servant in the palace. Who knew who had ordered her to do that? Why didn’t the Emperor care for her dignity? Instead, he let her, the Empress, be humiliated in public and even ordered people to beat her servants to death.

“Your Majesty, don’t worry. Take it easy.” A meaningful look flashed through Imperial n.o.ble Consort Wen’s eyes as she lowered her head. However, she comforted the Empress gently and patted her on the hand. Then, she pulled her hand away softly. The Empress pinched her pale wrist so hard that it was red and swollen.

“Your Majesty, it’s not only you but also Consort Zhao who get into trouble today. But Consort Zhao is fine while you are punished. It’s hard for both of you to explain it clearly. It seemed to hurt Consort Zhao’s reputation too. She has an ambiguous relations.h.i.+p with Minister Lian. Why is she fine? You should learn more from Consort Zhao.”

“Learn more from that b.i.t.c.h? What do you want me to learn from her? Seductive means? That b.i.t.c.h has been dead for so many years, but she is still restless. Even now, she is still in His Majesty’s heart. If I had known earlier, I would have cut her into pieces and ruined her face. I’d like to see if she would still stay in his heart.”

Under the light, the Empress’ eyes widened. She looked at the empty hall with wildness in her eyes. She gritted her teeth and said ferociously. She seemed to be cursing Consort Zhao or someone else.