Chapter 16: Will My Cousin Kill Me Again?

Ning Wanyin rose from the embroidered stool, and Lianrui quickly supported her, “Mistress, where are you going?”

“To pay my respects to His Majesty,” Ning Wanyin said.

Xiao Guizi was very surprised, hesitating, “Danli has been driven out, if you go now, His Majesty won’t see you, it will only add to his annoyance…”

Ning Wanyin didn’t explain much to him, and walked straight out.

Xiao Guizi only dared to advise, he didn’t stop her. If Ning Meiren wanted to humiliate herself, he couldn’t control it, he should quickly find a new mistress.

Lianrui supported Ning Wanyin out of Lingxue Pavilion, and just as they reached the entrance of Yonghe Palace’s main hall, they ran into Jieyu Li, who had just returned.

“Oh!” The moment Jieyu Li saw Ning Wanyin, she fell to the ground.

“Mistress!” The accompanying maids rushed to help, “Mistress, what’s wrong with you?”

“Ning Meiren bumped into me…” Jieyu Li pointed at Ning Wanyin, looking aggrieved and shouting loudly, “Ning Meiren, you’ve lost favor, you can’t take your anger out on me, you deliberately bumped into me!”

Ning Wanyin’s deep dark eyes looked at her coldly, “I didn’t touch you.”

“You bumped into me!” Jieyu Li repeated emphatically, then commanded two accompanying eunuchs, “A lower-ranking concubine deliberately bumped into a higher-ranking one. Someone, slap her mouth!”

Jieyu Li had just returned from the Imperial Garden with a group of concubines accompanying Zhaoyi Xue.

Too many people were trying to curry favor with Zhaoyi Xue.

She couldn’t even speak.

To please Zhaoyi Xue, she deliberately bumped into Ning Wanyin today, to teach her a lesson.

Two accompanying eunuchs rushed forward to beat Ning Wanyin.

Lianrui quickly stood in front of Ning Wanyin, angrily scolding, “None of you are allowed to touch my Mistress! Get out of the way!”

But she couldn’t stop two eunuchs alone.

Ning Wanyin didn’t panic at this sight, she said to Lianrui:

“Go and ask for His Majesty, don’t worry about me.”

“Mistress, but they…” Lianrui looked worriedly at Ning Wanyin.

Ning Wanyin just nodded firmly at her. Seeing the Mistress’s composure, the tacit understanding they had developed growing up together made her know that at critical moments, listening to the Mistress was always right.

Lianrui turned around and ran towards Qianxin Palace.

The word “His Majesty” actually stopped the two eunuchs, they looked at Jieyu Li in astonishment:

“Jieyu, what if His Majesty comes later…”

Jieyu Li stood up with the help of a maid, sneered, “Didn’t she go and ask once today, did His Majesty care about her? Humph, a concubine who has lost favor, trying to scare whom? Slap her mouth!”

As soon as she finished speaking, a clear female voice came from nearby, “Stop!”

Tang Miaoling, in a blue dress, came out from the bamboo forest.

A quarter of an hour ago.

She had been wandering near Yonghe Palace, holding a bruise-relieving ointment she had specially brought for Ning Wanyin.

Qiuxia was very puzzled, “Ning Meiren has lost favor and is disliked by the Empress Dowager. You’re going to give her medicine now, aren’t you offending the Empress Dowager?”

“Sigh, you don’t understand.” Tang Miaoling sighed.

She didn’t know the consequences of offending the Empress Dowager. But the consequences of offending her cousin were death!

She didn’t know if she was still safe in her cousin’s eyes. Her cousin was a vicious and ruthless person.

Don’t look at her smiling at you.

She’s already planned to cut you into pieces in her heart…

It was clear as day.

Tang Miaoling wasn’t sure if she had saved her life. She felt like she hadn’t done enough!

So Tang Miaoling tried to use her little brain, taking advantage of her past life’s memories, and decided to act out a “helping hand in the snow” sisterly love.

When everyone thought her cousin had lost favor, only she, her elder sister, would offer a helping hand and comfort her cousin.

She had gone this far!

Her cousin wouldn’t kill her again, would she?

“You have a deep sisterly bond with Ning Meiren, then why did you have to move out of Yonghe Palace?” Qiuxia was even more confused.

You have such a good relationship with her that you wouldn’t abandon her even after she lost favor.

Why did you have to move out?

“Sigh, you don’t understand.” Tang Miaoling sighed again. Who wouldn’t be afraid of living next to a ruthless person who kills people like chickens? And she even killed me.

Qiuxia was completely lost. She really couldn’t understand what this young noble lady was thinking?

Could it be that she’s getting old and can’t keep up with the young people’s ideas?

Tang Miaoling was truly scared of her cousin, she lingered nearby for a while, silently chanting “My cousin is kind and gentle” a hundred times, finally mustering up the courage to give her cousin the medicine, and witnessed Jieyu Li’s deliberate bump.

“Stop! I saw it with my own eyes, Ning Meiren didn’t touch you at all, you deliberately fell!” Tang Miaoling glared at Jieyu Li fiercely, then turned to Ning Wanyin, the fire in her eyes instantly dimmed.

She quietly moved two steps away from Ning Wanyin, and continued to shout at Jieyu Li, “You’re slandering Ning Meiren!”

Jieyu Li was a little surprised, Tang Miaoling would actually stand up for Ning Wanyin.

Although they were cousins, their relationship was so good that Tang Miaoling wouldn’t be in a hurry to move out.

She didn’t want to offend the Tang family, but compared to pleasing Zhaoyi Xue, the Tang family wasn’t much.

“You’re cousins with Ning Meiren, naturally you’re siding with her.” Jieyu Li brushed it off lightly, and continued to order, “Slap her mouth!”

“Don’t touch her! Who dares to hit my cousin!” Tang Miaoling quickly stood in front of Ning Wanyin:

“Cuiping, Qiuxia, quickly protect my cousin!”

Her accompanying maids and eunuchs immediately shielded Ning Wanyin behind them.

Ning Wanyin looked at Tang Miaoling in surprise, her personality had changed, and she had changed quite drastically.

Ning Wanyin would never let her guard down because of someone’s kindness.

There were countless cases of people pretending to be friendly and then stabbing you in the back.

She remembered favors, but she wouldn’t relax her vigilance because of them.

The commotion outside alarmed the maids and eunuchs of Lingxue Pavilion, but they didn’t dare to act, they didn’t want to offend Jieyu Li for a disgraced Ning Wanyin, so they watched from the side.

Just as the two sides were at a stalemate…

“His Majesty has arrived!” A eunuch announced loudly from afar.

Jieyu Li looked up in shock, the Emperor’s procession came into view, amidst the rows of dragon flags and canopies, a man in a bright yellow dragon robe sat on the dragon chariot.

He had a handsome face, but his expression was emotionless, exuding an aura of authority.

“This concubine greets the Emperor!”

Everyone knelt down.

Helian Qi stepped down from the dragon chariot and walked straight to Ning Wanyin.

He had heard Lianrui’s cries and urged the eunuchs to come quickly. But the moment he saw Ning Wanyin, he knew his worries were unnecessary.

The woman stood quietly, her expression calm, not nervous or afraid.

It seemed like he was the one who was anxious.

“I heard Jieyu Li was going to punish you, but you seem quite at ease.” Helian Qi looked at Ning Wanyin, his voice as clear as a spring, devoid of emotion.

Ning Wanyin looked up at him, her watery eyes sparkling, filled with three parts joy and seven parts obedience, “Because this concubine knows that Your Majesty is just, and will surely uphold justice for this concubine!”

Helian Qi couldn’t help but curl his thin lips.

It was clearly her own intelligence, composure, and calmness, but she could still flatter him. Ning Shi was indeed interesting.

Helian Qi reached out to Ning Wanyin and helped her up, then said calmly,

“Jieyu Li, slandering a concubine, demoted to Gui Ren.”

“Your Majesty, I’m innocent! It was really Ning Wanyin who bumped into me, Tang Miaoling is her cousin, she’s helping her to lie…” Jieyu Li hurriedly pleaded her innocence.

Helian Qi ignored her and continued, “Move out of Yonghe Palace.”