Chapter 32: The Empress Intervenes, the Emperor Rewards

The Empress disliked Consort Yu the most, but now her feelings had shifted somewhat. She said, “Consort Qiao, you are too ignorant of the rules. It seems you still need to properly learn the regulations of this palace. Otherwise, if you offend His Majesty in the future, even I won’t be able to save you. For now, I am withdrawing your green plaque. Use this time in the palace to reflect carefully. When you have truly learned the rules, then I will have your green plaque reinstated.”

This meant she was no longer allowed to attend to the Emperor.

“Your Majesty the Empress, I—your humble servant—know my fault,” Consort Qiao said, eyes wide. “I understand my mistake and will never dare to do it again. Please, Your Majesty the Empress, forgive me.”

The Empress didn’t want to hear more. She ordered someone to drag Consort Qiao away.

Shen Qing bowed toward the Empress: “Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress.”

The Empress wasn’t angry at Shen Qing for being weak and bullied so easily. Smiling, she said to Shen Qing, “This matter was because she didn’t understand. I have punished her. With her around, no one would dare cause you trouble casually.”

Shen Qing looked extremely touched: “When I entered the palace, I was fortunate to be cared for by Your Majesty. Your great kindness is truly beyond repayment.”

The Empress continued to smile as she sent Shen Qing off.

After leaving Fengyi Palace, Shen Qing looked back at Chunhua and smiled: “Let’s return to the palace.”

Chunhua followed closely under her umbrella, her demeanor somewhat sneaky but her eyes full of joy. “Please be careful with your steps, my lord.”

The withdrawal of the green plaque was not a big matter, but the Palace Service Office had to know. Xuanyuan Ling had a good memory and naturally noticed suddenly one green plaque was missing. “Whose green plaque has been withdrawn?”

Wang De reported, “Reporting to His Majesty, it is Consort Qiao’s. Today, the Empress herself ordered the plaque withdrawn, saying Consort Qiao had beaten Shen Qing by the door of Fengyi Palace.”

Zhao Hai raised his eyebrows as he listened. Oh, how arrogant! Didn’t this remind him of Consort Yu?

Actually, the Emperor hadn’t minded arrogance before. Consort Yu was far more arrogant than Consort Qiao and was favored for many years. But Zhao Hai saw clearly that from the moment Consort Yu fell out of favor, the Emperor’s attitude changed.

Men are like that—when they like you, all your flaws seem charming. When they stop liking you, just looking at you becomes annoying.

Of course, the Emperor didn’t dislike Consort Yu enough to hate her outright—after all, she had a child and was pregnant. But what was Consort Qiao compared to that?

Xuanyuan Ling sneered slightly while listening. “The Empress handled this very well. Such a temperament definitely needs to be taught proper manners. Have your men watch over her. If she doesn’t improve, she shouldn’t be sent before me again.”

Zhao Hai’s expression changed upon hearing this.

Originally, when the Empress ordered the green plaque withdrawn, it didn’t mean it would never be reinstated. But now the Emperor said if she doesn’t learn well, there’s no need to send her to him again—this was very different.

What does “not learning well” mean? How well must she behave? If the subordinates still send her up and she offends the Emperor again, won’t they also suffer consequences?

With this, who could guarantee that Consort Qiao would really learn proper manners?

Sure enough, after giving these instructions, Xuanyuan Ling ordered: “Go see her.” After a pause, he added, “Give her some gifts to appease her.”

He didn’t say exactly what to give.

But Zhao Hai didn’t delay; he immediately ordered preparations.

When the time came at Zhaohua Palace, Zhao Hai noticed the palace was still lit by candlelight. Entering, he happened to meet Fang Yun and asked, “How is your lord doing now?”

Fang Yun already knew about Consort Qiao’s incident and replied, “Thanks to the Empress who ensured justice was done. But my lord fell to the ground and has some bruises.”

Oh, it was a real injury.

Zhao Hai hurriedly said, “His Majesty sent me to have a look. Please come in quickly.”

Shen Qing had been resting on the couch, but with Zhao Hai’s status, it would be improper for Shen Qing not to rise.

However, Zhao Hai said before she could get up: “Rest, my lord, don’t get up. Be careful of your body.”

If this had been before, even Consort Yu couldn’t be neglected in front of Zhao Hai. Someone like Shen Qing would have had to bow to him. No one would have been as polite to him as now.

Times had indeed changed.

Shen Qing said, “Serve tea to Manager Zhao.”

Fang Yun had already gone and brought it in.

Even the tea had its significance—whether to accept or drink it was a matter of etiquette. Zhao Hai was someone close to the Emperor. Even if you wanted to curry favor, they might not allow it, but Zhao Hai accepted the tea, which was quite meaningful.

Shen Qing noticed this and said, “Manager, coming at such a late hour is…”

“His Majesty heard about Consort Qiao’s matter and that your lord was hurt, so he sent me to check on you,” Zhao Hai said. Behind him, the young eunuch brought in some things. “His Majesty also thought your lord had been wronged, so he sent a reward.”

“Thanks to His Majesty,” Shen Qing said, then did not forget to thank Zhao Hai as well: “Thank you, Manager, for making the trip.”

At that moment, Chunhua immediately brought a large pouch.

Zhao Hai accepted it and said, “If your lord still feels unwell, call the Imperial Physician.”

Shen Qing said, “Just some external injuries, I have already applied medicine.”

Zhao Hai understood it wasn’t serious. He smiled, “Then I will report back. Please rest well.”

Since Shen Qing was ‘injured,’ she could not personally deliver the gift, so Chunhua was sent instead.

Consort Qiao was punished. Zhao Hai went to Zhaohua Palace, so naturally the Empress also heard about it. She curled her lips and said, “His Majesty values rules strictly. There are always some careless people in the harem. Now with Consort Qiao severely punished, things should settle down for a while.”

In the harem, these open secrets weren’t really secrets. Privately, everyone already knew.

They said the palace was a place that devours people. In these few months since entering the palace, Lady Wang was deposed, and now Consort Qiao had been deposed too.

Among the eight new arrivals, two were gone after only a few months, leaving six. Among those six, Consort Fang was pregnant. Now, there were only five who still had favor.

Ordinarily, even if one didn’t wish ill on others, one couldn’t help but feel glad to have fewer rivals in the palace.

But some who were more thoughtful considered the situation in the harem differently.

For example, Consort Shen thought something was off. Although Consort Qiao was unruly, this was a minor matter. It could have been handled by servants. The Empress personally dealt with it and even punished her harshly.

Consort Shen’s rank was low, but she had a pretty face. The Empress still protected her like this.

There must be some deeper meaning behind all this.