mesbooks Chapter 109 Punishment
Chapter 109 Punishment
The silver pot in her hand fell with her movement, rolled on the ground for a few times, and then landed at the emperor's feet. The mouth of the pot was knocked open, and the remaining milky white juice inside slowly flowed out.
When Concubine Ying and Concubine Ke saw the emperor's sudden visit, they were frightened out of their wits and quickly knelt down before the emperor to apologize.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I...I..." Concubine Ke was so frightened that she couldn't speak. She knelt on the ground and talked for a long time but couldn't make any sense. She didn't know how much the emperor had heard, and cold sweat kept coming out of her forehead.
"Speak up! Why aren't you talking? Weren't you quite talkative just now? It was my intention to favor Concubine Ling. What? I'm the great Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and I have to look at your face to favor someone? How could I not know that my Concubine Ke has so many prejudices against me? When did the Kunqu Opera that I like become a vulgar and decadent song in your mouth?"
The emperor almost squeezed out these words from his teeth, veins bulging on his face, and he was very angry at the arrogant words of these two people.
"No, what I meant is..."
When she met the emperor, Concubine Ke no longer had the domineering attitude she had when she was making up stories about Concubine Ling. She wanted to explain in panic, but was interrupted by the emperor.
"Or do you think my tastes are vulgar? Or is it the Concubine Ling beside me who is vulgar?"
"I dare not..."
Seeing how frightened they were, the emperor's forced smile was very creepy.
"No, I think you are quite brave. You are worthy of being the daughter of Mongolia. You have a cheerful personality and speak your mind..." The emperor emphasized the last word. It was the first time he heard himself say this from someone else. For a moment, he was so angry that he laughed.
He was the emperor, and it was the first time he heard someone say that his tastes were vulgar.
The palace guards following the emperor were also sweating profusely, fearing that they would be in trouble as well if the emperor became furious.
This was the first time Concubine Ying had seen the Emperor since entering the palace. She knelt trembling with fear and quietly defended herself, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. It was because I didn't know the rules that I offended Concubine Ling. Please forgive me, Your Majesty. Please forgive me, Concubine Ling."
Hearing her say this, Concubine Ke was very moved. She glanced at Concubine Ying beside her, made up her mind, and took all the responsibility on herself.
"Your Majesty, it's all my fault. It was my words and actions that led me to drag Concubine Ying into this mess. That's why she entered the palace and doesn't know the rules. It's my fault."
Noble Lady Ke did not dare to look directly at the emperor and could only kowtow and admit his mistake.
The emperor simply tilted his head slightly to look at her frightened expression, and said disdainfully, "Are you scared now? Why weren't you scared when you were secretly slandering Concubine Ling and me? I am the emperor of the Qing Dynasty. Even if Concubine Ling was born a palace maid, I am now two ranks higher than you and the mistress of a palace! Who allowed you, a mere noble, to slander Concubine Ling behind her back? You slandered me!"
He shouted loudly, and the palace servants following him knelt down one after another.
"Your Majesty, rest your anger."
Seeing this, Yan Wan was about to kneel down and apologize, but was stopped by the emperor.
He grabbed Yan Wan's hand and glanced at her sideways. Seeing that she looked so scared that her eyes were filled with tears, his originally cold and hard voice softened unconsciously.
"You're not at fault, so why kneel down? My Concubine Ling has suffered a great humiliation today, and they should kneel down and apologize to you."
Only then did Concubine Ying and Concubine Ke come to their senses and quickly apologized to Yan Wan.
"Empress Lingfei, this is all my fault. I am guilty. I was jealous of your favor from the Emperor, and that's why I committed such a serious mistake. Please forgive me, Empress Lingfei, and spare me and Noble Lady Ying this time."
"Empress Ling Fei, it was my words and actions that offended you. Please forgive me..."
This was the first time in two lifetimes that she saw these two people who had sneered at her kneeling down and begging for mercy in front of her. Yan Wan felt so happy.
An expression of pity appeared on her face. She raised her hand and grabbed a small piece of the emperor's clothes, begging for mercy on their behalf in a soft voice.
"Your Majesty, this matter is all caused by me. My two sisters are still young and inexperienced. It's just a little girl's idle talk. Your Majesty, why don't you forgive them this time for their young age?"
Hearing this, the two kneeling in the audience looked at each other in disbelief. They had thought that Concubine Ling would kick them when they were down, but they had not expected that she would actually speak out to plead for them at this moment.
Yan Wan was able to make a big deal out of a small matter with just a few words. She turned a big matter into a small matter and a small matter into nothing. She described the two people's slandering of herself and the emperor behind their backs as little girls who didn't know the rules. It seemed that she really wanted to speak well of them.
Seeing that Yan Wan also helped to plead, the emperor's expression eased a little.
He looked at the two trembling concubines below with a look of impatience on his face, and sneered, "Hmph! I think they are completely inexperienced. They rely on the support of the Mongols behind them and look down on me as the emperor from the bottom of their hearts, right? I really want to ask how the King of Bahrain raised such a rebellious daughter."
"Your Majesty, what happened today is all my own fault. It has nothing to do with Mongolia! I also ask Your Majesty to consider the fact that the forty-nine Mongolian tribes have wholeheartedly followed Your Majesty and not involve my maternal family. I am willing to accept the punishment." When Concubine Ying heard the emperor mention King Bahrain, she panicked and quickly looked up to beg for mercy.
"Yes! Your Majesty, this is all my fault. Please don't let this hurt the friendship between the Manchus and the Mongols!
When Concubine Ke heard that the emperor was bringing the matter up to Mongolia, she immediately panicked and hurriedly took the blame on herself, fearing that if the emperor was displeased, her mother's family would be implicated.
"Your Majesty, this is too serious. If it is because of me that Your Majesty and Mongolia become alienated, I will be held responsible even if I die a thousand times!"
Seeing that the situation was almost over, Yan Wan decided that the emperor should not be placed under too high a wing, otherwise it would end badly, so she hurried to help plead for mercy.
"Humph, who do they think they are? They think they are worthy of representing the entire Mongolia."
The emperor also realized that he had just said too much and walked down the stairs that Yan Wan handed him. How could two concubines who came to pay tribute to please him represent the Manchu and Mongolian peoples?
Seeing his attitude soften, Yan Wan cautiously pleaded, "Your Majesty, please forgive them this time as this is their first offense."
"Since Concubine Ling has pleaded for you, I will spare you this time. Since you don't like me being with Concubine Ling, you don't have to continue accompanying Mulan on this hunt..."
"Li Yu, send someone to escort them back to the palace. Once they get back, have them copy the palace rules a hundred times and send them to the Queen. Also, send the nanny to teach them about the palace rules for Concubine Ying. Remove their green cards for the second half of the year. I really don't want to see them."
The Emperor was about to lead Yan Wan back when he suddenly thought of something. He turned back and lowered his eyes to look at the two kneeling on the ground. "Also, Concubine Ying is new to the palace. Considering her young age, I will spare her. But you, Concubine Ke, you have committed insubordination and disrespected Concubine Ling and slandered her. You will be stripped of your title and demoted to a concubine. The Mongolian maids accompanying them will also be sent back to Mongolia. I will assign you someone who understands the rules to serve you. You should work on your temper."