Ch 500: Schemes In The Deep Palace

Ning Xueyan met the current Emperor in the Empress’ Palace.

She was with Princess Xianyun when they paid respects to the Empress. Ao Chenyi, of course, was also carelessly following them. Princess Xianyun was wearing a bright red dress, Ning Xueyan was in light purple, and Ao Chenyi was still wearing the dark ink color robe embroidered with bright red Manjusawa.

When Princess Xianyun and the Emperor and Empress were paying respects, she deliberately took a step back and knelt behind Princess Xianyun.

Ao Chenyi had long since languidly taken a seat on a chair to the side. He had just slightly bent his waist, intending to kneel, when the Emperor called him up.

The Emperor, seated on the main seat, revealed a slight smile on his face, not looking as solemn and serious as imagined. His attention was not on the female relatives either. After a slight indication, he began speaking to Ao Chenyi.

The Empress looked like a woman in her thirties, and her appearance was not outstanding, but she looked dignified and full of audible breath. She properly accepted Princess Xianyun and Ning Xueyan’s respects and then raised her head and called out, “Rise!”

The Palace was complex, and moreover, one had to act steadily and calmly. Many people who entered the Palace for the first time, if they had not studied, would certainly lose face. The reason Ning Xueyan could act so familiarly was, of course, due to her previous life. In this life, she had not studied much. It was only when she was at the Duke’s Mansion that the Old Madam found a Nurse who had retired from the Palace and hurriedly taught her some things.

Princess Xianyun and the Empress were, of course, familiar with each other, so after they sat down, they pulled Princess Xianyun and chatted about daily life in detail. Ning Xueyan, on the other hand, lowered her head, looked at her nose, and observed her mouth, sitting quietly there. There were also several Imperial Concubines who were on good terms with the Empress, and they would interject from time to time.

“Concubine Ning’s complexion doesn’t seem quite right. Could it be that she is not feeling well?” An Imperial Concubine made a sound of surprise and asked in a low voice.

“Thank you, Madam, for your care. Your servant is fine.” Ning Xueyan looked up and saw an Imperial Concubine who was not old, looking at her with a speechless expression. She held a handkerchief in her hand, covering her lips, staring with her eyes, and her gaze fell on her own corner of the mouth, as if something major had happened to her.

Ning Xueyan sighed, thinking that she just wanted to sit here peacefully, but someone really wouldn’t let her.

Hearing the Imperial Concubine’s not-so-small exclamation, everyone’s gaze fell on Ning Xueyan’s face, especially at that corner of her mouth, where even lip balm couldn’t cover the scar. A few older ones only showed a knowing smile and did not continue to ask, but today, there was clearly not just one young woman beside the Empress; these were all Imperial Concubines who had just entered the Palace in this Imperial Selection.

Both young and in their prime, they had just become favored recently.

“Is Concubine Ning alright? This is the day of a new wedding, so why is it… this way? Could it be that you have been wronged? How come, as soon as you enter the door, you are so unhappy?” That one, self-assured of her favor, didn’t really think before speaking. The words just came out, and she looked at Ning Xueyan with a few points of gloating.

Ning Xueyan had seen these two before when she had been selected, and felt that she had not offended them. Yet she didn’t know why they were both aiming at her today, saying that she had been wronged. Having just entered Prince Yi’s Mansion, what wrongs could she have suffered, and whose wrongs had she suffered?

The meaning of these words really made it difficult not to delve deeper.

“Thank you, both Madams, for your concern. It’s really because I am not feeling well…” Ning Xueyan said faintly, her watery eyes carrying a hint of light indifference, and the smile on her face also revealed a sense of disregard.

Being disregarded by a Concubine, these two young Imperial Concubines felt they had lost face, and one of them “chortled” and said, “Concubine Ning is not feeling well? This is a matter that may injure the offspring. Why not ask the Imperial Physician to come and see Concubine Ning, lest you truly injure the Royal Family’s offspring!”

“Indeed, Concubine Ning, you are truly pitiful. You are so beautiful, and at such a young age, you have become this appearance. It is truly…” The other one immediately followed up, and these two had been vying for favor every day for a while. When they met, it was like they were fighting, and now they were of one mind, and they wanted to deny Ning Xueyan’s face.

As if Ning Xueyan was already terminally ill and directly couldn’t have offspring!

Princess Xianyun, at this moment, seemed to be paying all her attention to the Empress. The Empress asked a question, and she answered a few words, as if she didn’t hear the sounds of talking here at all. Instead, the Empress raised her eyebrows, looked at Ning Xueyan, her complexion was very calm, but she didn’t say anything.

“Bang!” A heavy sound came from the side, startling everyone. Turning their heads, they saw Ao Chenyi’s cold and fierce face, with a few points of sharp anger. His slender eyes were almost as if they were poisoned, and fell on the two Imperial Concubines: “How are this King’s offspring, it really doesn’t need outsiders to care. Are you two worried about this King, or are you concerned about this King?”

His face was handsome, with a hint of evil coldness. These words didn’t sound heavy either, and even made people feel a kind of cold teasing, but if the object of the teasing was the Emperor’s woman, then the meaning here was different.

Moreover, what does it mean to worry about him, to care about him? Is this something that they, as Imperial Concubines, should do?

Upon hearing this, the two young Imperial Concubines were greatly shocked, and hurriedly began to explain: “Prince, I didn’t mean that. I mean that the Prince’s offspring are important…”

“This King’s offspring are important, but this King wants to have offspring with whom, it seems I don’t need to inform others!” Ao Chenyi said without being polite.

“No, I mean…” These words made people even more doubtful. The Imperial Concubine’s face flushed red, and she explained anxiously.

“This King knows, you don’t need to say it. Your intentions have already been expressed! You must remember your current identity; you are the Imperial Brother’s woman, and you can no longer pay so much attention to this King!” Ao Chenyi said languidly, the corner of his thin lips curling, and the smile was suddenly, making people feel as brilliant as a flower.

At this moment, he shed his usual coldness, and on that exquisitely handsome face, there was also a few points of deep affection for an unexplained reason, looking at the Imperial Concubine, his voice unconsciously softened a few points, as if he was whispering to his lover.

The two young Imperial Concubines had never seen Prince Yi speak to them so gently. In their eyes, there was only that handsome face with a sense of luxury, and the gentle and elegant smile on the face. For a moment, they only felt that there was that handsome face before their eyes, and they didn’t even hear clearly what he had said just now.

Seeing him smile, they also revealed dazed smiling faces, and even nodded subconsciously, as if they had really had an affair with Ao Chenyi.

The Emperor sat on one side, his face turned pale, then purple. The veins on his forehead, in the shape of a fork head, twitched involuntarily a few times. He could hardly control himself. Of course, he knew that Ao Chenyi could not possibly have anything to do with these two women, but the problem was that now, these two women of his were actually infatuated with Ao Chenyi.

How could he not be angry? It wasn’t that he liked these two women very much, but in front of his face, these two women showed this kind of performance. Not to mention the Emperor’s face, even as a man’s face, he had also lost face completely.

“Pa” Heavily slapped the table, the Emperor’s eyes revealed a few points of gloomy coldness: “Come, drag these two women who have offended Prince Yi down and put them in the Cold Palace.”

The heavy slap sound pulled back the two young Imperial Concubines’ reason, but before they could fully recover, the ending had already been decided: the Cold Palace. For women like them, who had no power or influence, and were only new favorites, being sent to the Cold Palace was equivalent to a dead end.

“Emperor, your servant has not.”

“Emperor, spare life!” The two were greatly shocked and knelt down together. Helplessly, two eunuchs came over, directly stuffing cloths in their mouths, and then a few more, dragged them away horizontally.

The fate of the two people, and even the fate of the two families, had been decided in an instant.

Several older Imperial Concubines secretly and fearfully looked at Ao Chenyi’s side, but they didn’t dare to look at his face. They secretly ridiculed the two newly entered Imperial Concubines in their hearts, also not considering who Prince Yi was. The Emperor and Empress themselves were not convenient to intervene in the affairs of his mansion. The small Concubines dared to imply and ridicule that side Concubine.

Even when beating a dog, one must look at the owner. Even if this Concubine Ning was said to be not very favored, she was still the Concubine of Prince Yi’s Mansion, and now it seemed, she was still the only Concubine. And the Imperial Concubines in the Palace, from top to bottom, big and small, there were definitely over a hundred, which was not at all a rare thing.

Having said that, the two newly favored Imperial Concubines had been executed. The Emperor’s eyes were jumping with rage, gloomy. Although he had specifically chosen other topics to talk with Ao Chenyi, everyone could see that he was not in a good mood. Even the voices of the Empress and Princess Xianyun speaking beside them, unconsciously became lower.

The Emperor and Ao Chenyi spoke for a while, seeming to have spoken about something important. They left the Harem and went to the Imperial Study. When Ao Chenyi passed Ning Xueyan, he deliberately smiled languidly at her, patted his Manjusawa robe, and then left.

As soon as the Emperor and Ao Chenyi left, the entire atmosphere of the Main Hall immediately relaxed. Even the expression on the Empress’ face unconsciously relaxed.

Ning Xueyan impassively glanced at this Empress a few times. An Empress without a child. It was said that this Empress’ mother’s family was also not a great powerful clan, but a newly promoted nobility, not even as good as Noble Consort Ya’s mother’s family, and at most on par with Consort Shu’s mother’s family, and these two had given birth to Princes.

Although it was said that after ascending the throne in the future, the Empress would naturally be promoted to the Empress Dowager, but with the Emperor’s own birth mother present, would he really value this Legal Mother? Whether it was Noble Consort Ya or Consort Shu, neither seemed like they were willing to be subordinate to others. Looking at the Empress’ Palace at the moment, not only had Noble Consort Ya not come, but Consort Shu was also not seen, and was this Empress really as indifferent and incompetent as the legend said?

If she were really incompetent, how could she, a woman of not very high status, stably sit on the Empress’ position when she had no children, and how could she be a simple person? So, would she really be willing to live and get by in the future, under Noble Consort Ya, or under Consort Shu?

At this moment, the Empress seemed to have discovered that she had been talking with Princess Xianyun all along, obviously neglecting Ning Xueyan. At this moment, she raised her head, looked at Ning Xueyan with a smiling face, and said, “I heard that a car accident happened before, and you fainted yesterday. Are you not feeling well at the moment? If there is anything you lack, just tell This Palace.”

“Yes, thank you, Empress.” Ning Xueyan respectfully said. At their first meeting, she couldn’t quite grasp the meaning of this Empress, so she tried not to speak.