zChapter 1023 - Disgusting People (1/2)
Feng Zirui kneeled on the ground while adhering perfectly to etiquette. Standing in front of him were two concubines, two noble ladies and the palace maids accompanying them. This was a large group, and they were all women. The smell of cosmetics wafted over with their gazes full of wicked intentions.
Zirui kneeled for a long time before hearing someone speak, saying: “Feng Zirui? Who is Feng Zirui?”
Before Zirui could respond, someone immediately said: “Elder sister, do you not know? Feng Zirui is the son of the former left prime minister, Feng Jin Yuan! The failure of a prime minister who ended up being instructed by the Emperor to feed horses. Have you remembered?”
The person who had spoken earlier let out an “oh” sound and pretended to come to a sudden realization: “So it was a child from the Feng family, then wouldn’t he be Princess Yu’s younger brother? Tsk tsk, he looks good. It’s just a pity…” She dragged out the last word before saying something that stabbed Zirui in the heart, “It’s just a pity that you lost a finger.”
Losing a finger was a humiliating matter for Zirui. It was not that he minded being crippled, but this missing finger was a result of falling to his father. Every time that he thought of this, he would recall the Feng family and the unfair treatment that he had endured there. This would cause his heart to ache.
But right now, he could not say anything because the words had come from a member of the imperial harem. He had no right to argue back, nor did he dare stand up. Even if his legs were starting to hurt from kneeling on the ground, he could not say a single thing. He just hoped that these women would be benevolent and not deliberately cause him too much trouble. It was fine if they said some mean things. It was also fine if he spent a bit more time kneeling, but absolutely nothing else must go wrong. In this Imperial Palace, it was always better to have one less problem. Moreover, the current Imperial Palace was no longer the Imperial Palace that he once knew.
However, things very rarely developed in the way that people desired. These members of the imperial harem who were deadset on currying favor with Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu could not possibly be willing to let go of Zirui. To them, Feng Zirui’s appearance was not just perfectly timed, but it also represented a chance to leave a good impression on Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu. Thus the four exchanged glances and immediately reached an agreement, which was: They would definitely not let this young man go so easily.
At the same time, everyone standing in the garden was near a small pond. It was not large, but it had flowing water, thus it had not frozen over. Even if there was no ice, looking at it on a cold winter day was still quite chilling. One of the noble ladies came up with an idea, as she removed a hairpin. Without saying a single word, she threw it into the water. It was only after the golden hairpin fell into the water that she let out a shrill scream: “Ah! My hairpin fell into the water! What should I do? That’s my favorite hairpin!”
Someone to the side immediately went along with it, saying: “Is it that golden hairpin with many gems? That’s something that’s quite coveted!”
“That’s the one.” The noble lady who threw it into the water was very good at acting. While she spoke, tears began to well up in her eyes. “That’s something that my family sent to my last year. Apparently, it’s the only one that exists in Da Shun. Even Her Highness the Empress praised its beauty, but now…”
“Then someone must quickly go and fetch it!”
With these two causing a fuss, the two concubines to the side also chimed in. Looking at Feng Zirui, one said: “Going into the water to search for a hairpin is not something a girl can do. When we came out, we only brought out maids and did not bring any eunuchs. Right now… the Feng family’s young master is the only man here. Say, how should this be handled?”
“Your Highness Concubine Mei!” Before Feng Zirui could speak, Yue Rong could no longer bear to continue watching and immediately pointed out this person’s identity, saying: “The Feng family’s young master is still young. He will only be eleven years of age after the new year, and he still does not know how to swim. How are you hoping to have him go and find it? Also, on such a cold day in winter, the water in the pond will be freezing. If someone went down to look for it, even if they did not freeze to death, a layer of skin would be lost. The Feng family’s young master was personally invited into the palace by His Majesty. If he fell ill, and His Majesty inquired about it, I fear that this servant would have a hard time providing an explanation.”
“Impudent!” Concubine Mei glared at Yue Rong and felt that this servant was a little bit familiar; however, she was unable to remember where she had seen her before. After thinking a bit more, Feng Zirui was an outsider, and the palace maid at his side was someone from the palace. Having been in the palace for a long time, who would not look familiar? Thus she viciously said: “The masters are speaking. Where is there any room for you to interject?”
“But…”
“No buts!” Concubine Mei interrupted Yue Rong then turned to her palace maid and said: “Go and slap her for this One!”
Without saying a single word, the palace maid rushed over and grabbed Yue Rong’s collar to begin slapping. The slaps came so fast that Yue Rong could not say a single word.
Zirui became frantic and quickly kowtowed, saying: “I beg Your Highness to forgive sister Yue Rong and stop hitting her. Zirui knows how to swim. Zirui will go in and look for the hairpin. I beg Your Highness to quickly stop!”
“Stop!” Concubine Mei raised her hand and stopped her palace maid’s beating; however, blood was already dropping from the corner of Yue Rong’s mouth. Her face was also quite badly swollen. Concubine Mei sneered and asked Zirui: “Do you really want to go down and look for the hairpin? This is your own desire. Don’t blame this One for not reminding you that today’s is a cold day. If you go down, be careful that you can’t come back up.”
“Your Highness, don’t worry. Zirui wants to do this. This matter will be unrelated to Your Highnesses.”
“Good!” Concubine Mei’s group was very happy with this outcome, thus they said to Zirui: “Then go on! If you delay any longer, who knows where that hairpin might end up.”