thefictionvixens Chapter 147 Consort Xue Takes Action
Chapter 147 Consort Xue Takes Action
After Shen Shixi returned, she took a simple bath and slept until dawn.
There will be a court ceremony today, but since the Empress has just had a miscarriage, she will be excused from the ceremony. However, she will have to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager, as all the affairs of the six palaces have now been handed over to her.
Lan Ying came in and said, "Your Highness, the palace stewards have all arrived and are waiting in the warm pavilion."
Shen Shixi chose a set of silver-red and gold-embroidered formal dress, with a coral-colored front-opening jacket underneath, a high-waisted ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) with a lotus flower pattern embroidered on the bodice, and a wide-sleeved shirt on top. The collar was trimmed with white fox fur, and the fur was very well done.
On her head was a set of gold filigree inlaid with jewels and kingfisher feathers. On each of the seven upright flower branches was an oval pearl about the size of an adult's thumb. What was rare was that they were all the same size, and they were all glittering and precious.
She wore a dark red cloak embroidered with plum blossoms and carried a hand warmer as she entered the warm chamber.
The palace stewards were all waiting, and they were immediately struck by her beauty. Some of the bolder ones even stole a glance at the Empress, and were truly amazed by her.
"We, your humble servants, extend our New Year's greetings to Consort Chen. May Your Highness enjoy boundless blessings and peace!"
"No need for formalities!" Shen Shixi took her seat.
Several prominent stewards brought gifts for Shen Shixi, but she smiled and said, "I'll accept the gifts. You don't need to be so polite in the future. Just do your jobs well. As I've said before, it's only for this month. If nothing goes wrong and you don't embarrass me, I'll give you gifts in return!"
"We wouldn't dare!"
"Whether you dare or not is not just talk. You are all people whom Her Majesty the Empress has served for a long time. You must have all heard about what happened at yesterday's New Year's banquet. I really have no intention of working so hard every day. What do you mean by that?"
So there's no need for you to rush to make things difficult for me. If I really can't keep up with my work, I'm afraid I won't even last a month. Don't blame me for not being considerate of Her Majesty the Empress.
"We would never dare to do such a thing!"
"Very well, I've said my piece. It's New Year's Day, everyone wants to be happy," Shen Shixi said. "Grant the reward!"
One person's monthly allowance.
Whether it was the gifts from Consort Li's palace yesterday or this wave of rewards today, they all came from the palace's silver, and Shen Shixi was happy to be so generous.
The reward for accepting a gift is heavier, but this money comes from Zhaoyang Palace. To put it bluntly, Shen Shixi would never accept a gift, but he would not refuse to give face to these stewards.
With such a large harem and numerous people, Shen Shixi didn't spend much time reviewing the stewards' summaries from yesterday and today's plans. After everyone went over them together and found nothing amiss, Shen Shixi dismissed them.
Before long, the imperial concubines arrived, and Consort De, as always, requested leave.
Shen Shixi was more than happy to ask for leave at this time.
A messenger from Fengyi Palace announced that there was no need to attend court today, which saved Shen Shixi a lot of trouble. She then led the ladies-in-waiting, including those of the rank of Consort, to Cining Palace.
There were only a few people in total: her, Consort Xue, Consort Qiong, and Consort Jin.
Yang Tingyue wanted to go along, but said, "Shen Shixi, that's my aunt. Why can't I go?"
"Slap him!" Shen Shixi said.
Lan Ying stepped forward and slapped her twice. Yang Tingyue was stunned. On New Year's Eve, Shen Shixi actually treated her like this. "You... I'm going to tell my aunt!"
"Go ahead, you may go, but don't follow me. And next time, if you call me by my name again, it won't be as simple as a slap!"
Consort Jin said, "Consort Ping, why can't you ever learn your lesson? Now that you've entered the harem, you should put away all those kinship terms. What you call us in private is none of our business, but there's no need to do that in front of us."
We're all serving the Emperor; rank is determined by position, do you understand?
Consort Xue's eyelids drooped, and no one could see the expression in her eyes.
Shen Shixi gave Chao En a wink, and Chao En nodded and went to make the arrangements.
Li Yuanke was a complete idiot. He killed three generations of a family and then kept the person alive so he could roam around. He was practically a walking sword.
It's also very close to the Empress Dowager's Cining Palace from Zhaoyang Palace. Just go out, turn right for a moment, and walk along a long street to get there.
Consort Xue looked around. Not only was Zhaoyang Palace no less impressive than Fengyi Palace, but the twin towers in front of the gate and the small garden in front of it were also remarkable. There were no auxiliary buildings in the palace, and everything was exquisitely decorated, showing the emperor's favor everywhere.
She increasingly felt that the favor she had once taken for granted was a joke.
It was precisely because she always told her father and brothers how good the Emperor was to her that they believed the Emperor was sincere towards the Duke of Wei's family and were therefore not on guard. As a result, when the Emperor took action, her father could not believe that the Emperor would actually take the lives of their three clans.
Consort Xue pulled out the gold hairpin from her hair, let out a cry, and turned to pounce on Lin Guiyou.
She knew she couldn't kill Lin Guiyou, but as long as she could disfigure her, it would be enough to vent her anger.
Unfortunately, she was too frail and had never done anything so intense before, so much so that she had to shout a warning beforehand, which doomed her to failure.
Chao En was already very close to her, and he was on guard against her. When she went crazy, Chao En kicked her, and Xue Fei fell to the ground. She tried to get up, but was held down.
Lin Guiyou was so frightened that she lost her mind, her legs went weak, and she almost fell to the ground.
Consort Qiong was also quite frightened.
Consort Xue lay on the ground, cursing, "Lin Shi, Shen Shi, you will all die a horrible death! You have ruined my Duke of Wei's mansion! You will all die a horrible death!"
Shen Shixi walked over and looked down at her. "Xue Yazhang, do you still remember your name?"
Consort Xue was momentarily stunned.
Shen Shixi had someone help her up. "The destruction of the Duke of Wei's mansion is not my responsibility, nor Lin Guiyou's responsibility. It is your father and brothers' own fault. The Great Zhou can forgive a defeated general, but it cannot tolerate a traitor who colludes with the enemy."
The Emperor is benevolent; out of consideration for your many years of service, he has spared you from being implicated. If you can think more positively, you might be able to spend the rest of your life peacefully in this palace.
"My parents and brothers are all dead, all dead! The Emperor must hate me so much. Shen Shixi, the Emperor is so good to you and spoils you so much, of course you feel good about it, but how does the Emperor treat me?"
He won't come to see me anymore, never again. In the long, dark nights, I sit by the window, counting the stars as they light up one by one, and then watch them go out one by one. Do you know what that feels like?
Shen Shixi didn't know that whether the emperor came or not made much difference to her.
If the emperor comes, she can have a good meal; if he doesn't, she simply won't eat. It won't endanger her life.
Consort Qiong was deeply saddened; she turned her face away, tears welling in her eyes.
Everyone except Shen Shixi was feeling bad.
Lin Guiyou is the same.
She was unable to have children, and the emperor had forgotten her.
She never had the chance to serve the emperor again.
Shen Shixi would never say something like, "Women can live without men," as that would be incredibly tactless.
However, if Xue Yazhang were to expect Li Yuanke to show any pity, he would be making a grave mistake.
"You wouldn't know, how could you understand now? But, Shen Shixi, you'll understand sooner or later, you'll be just like me sooner or later, two years? Three years? There will be more talent shows in the future, and new people will enter the palace, haha, you'll be just like me in the future!"
Don't think you're so different from me. You, you, you will get your comeuppance. I want to watch you be despised in the future, and like me, spend your days counting stars in the sky...
Lin Guiyou dared not listen and covered her ears.
Shen Shixi took a step closer to Xue Shi, but Xue Shi was so frightened that she took a step back.
(My darlings, please give me a shout-out for my love! (* ￣3)(ε￣ *))