Chapter 347: The Empress Enters the Cold Palace
The servants outside the hall broke through the door and rushed in.
Following them was the Emperor.
"Jingshu!"
The Emperor rushed forward, knelt on the ground, and lifted the person lying in a pool of blood.
The Empress stood frozen in place.
She had considered countless possibilities, but never imagined Li Jingshu would resort to such a tactic.
At fifty years of age, she was still playing the same games young concubines used to compete for favor. At her advanced age, wasn't she afraid she might actually die by the Empress's blade?
With difficulty, the Empress spoke: "Your Majesty, it wasn't me, it wasn't..."
"It has nothing to do with Her Majesty the Empress..." Li Jingshu weakly parted her lips, "I... I offended Her Majesty. She slapped me as a warning, but I remained foolish and said some inappropriate things. That's why Her Majesty... Don't blame the Empress, it's my fault, all my fault..."
The Emperor saw the clear handprint on Li Jingshu's face and her clothes completely soaked in blood.
His eyes instantly turned crimson: "The imperial physician! Where is the imperial physician? Someone, come quickly!"
Gao Gonggong hurried forward: "The imperial physician will arrive shortly. Consort Jin needs to lie down on a couch. Your Majesty, where shall we take Consort Jin for treatment?"
Without hesitation, the Emperor said: "To the Hall of Mental Cultivation."
Gao Gonggong was taken aback.
The Hall of Mental Cultivation was where the Emperor usually rested. Even the Empress had never stayed there. For an unrelated noblewoman to reside there now was highly improper.
But it was clear the Emperor wouldn't listen to reason at this moment. Gao Gonggong had no choice but to summon the matrons to carry Li Jingshu away...
"Your Majesty, she cannot enter the Hall of Mental Cultivation." The Empress raised her eyes and spoke, "She is the widow of the Duke. If she enters the Hall of Mental Cultivation, what will the people say?"
"If not the Hall of Mental Cultivation, then how about the Palace of Earthly Tranquility?" The Emperor enunciated each word clearly, "Are you willing to vacate the Palace of Earthly Tranquility for her?"
The Empress felt a sudden tightness in her chest.
Before she could gather her thoughts, a sharp slap landed hard across her face.
Born with a silver spoon in her mouth, she was the eldest daughter of the Gongsun family, cherished since childhood. After her coming-of-age ceremony, countless suitors sought her hand until she was bestowed in marriage to the Second Prince, becoming his princess. Soon after, the Second Prince was named Crown Prince and ascended the throne, and she naturally assumed the position of Empress, mother of the nation. She quickly gave birth to the Crown Prince... Everything in her life had been so smooth. This was the first time someone had ever slapped her.
The Empress trembled from head to toe.
"Vicious woman!" The Emperor's face was full of disgust. "Jingshu has never competed with you, always respecting you as Empress. Slapping her was bad enough, but to use a blade? Can you not tolerate anyone else?"
"Your subject..."
The Empress's lips quivered, and it took her a long moment to find her voice.
The Emperor's look of disgust pierced her heart like a blade, leaving it riddled with holes. The pain was so intense she nearly fainted.
She had never dared to confront Li Jingshu directly because she knew the Emperor would unhesitatingly choose that wretched woman.
But when this moment truly arrived, she realized how much it actually mattered to her...
"Devoid of magnanimity, you are unworthy of being the mother of this nation!" The Emperor's words struck the Empress like sharp blades. "Guards, by my decree: The Empress, lacking virtue, is hereby stripped of the Phoenix Seal and immediately confined to the cold palace!"
Tears streamed down the Empress's face: "Just to let her recuperate in the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, Your Majesty would send me to the cold palace?"
The Emperor flicked his sleeve: "Guards!"The matrons outside the door swarmed in, but instead of roughly taking the Empress away, they made a gesture of invitation.
"Fine, fine, fine!"
The Empress raised her hand to wipe away her tears.
"I understand, Your Majesty, I see it now, hahaha!"
She lifted the phoenix crown from her head and threw it to the ground with a clatter, then strode out.
At the doorway, she paused for a moment, a faint glimmer of hope in her heart that the Emperor might call her back.
Instead, she heard: "Jingshu, does it hurt..."
The Empress turned her head and saw the lingering smile on Li Jingshu's lips.
Having schemed against others all her life, she had been outwitted by this wretched woman. How laughable life was.
The Empress was taken away from the Palace of Earthly Tranquility and moved to the cold palace.
Li Jingshu, with a panicked expression, said weakly: "Erlang, I cannot—cannot stay in the Palace of Earthly Tranquility..."
The Emperor hesitated only briefly: "Go to the Hall of Mental Cultivation."
Though the Empress had made mistakes and been sent to the cold palace, she remained the Empress.
Li Jingshu's face went blank.
She had only been feigning retreat to advance—why was she truly not allowed to stay in the Palace of Earthly Tranquility?
But the Hall of Mental Cultivation... was also a good place to be.
The matron picked up Li Jingshu, placed her in a sedan chair, and four young eunuchs carried the sedan steadily to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
All the imperial physicians were already waiting to examine Li Jingshu and prescribe medicine...
Such a grand spectacle had made the matter known to everyone.
"Heavens, Consort Jin has moved into the Emperor's Hall of Mental Cultivation?"
"I heard Consort Jin had a dispute with the Empress and was stabbed by her, which led to the Empress being sent to the cold palace."
"Could it be that Consort Jin and the Emperor..."
"Have you forgotten? Back then, Consort Jin almost married the current Emperor..."
"So that's how it is."
"With the Empress in the cold palace, will Consort Jin enter the harem next?"
"Ah, this... she's already fifty, isn't that inappropriate?"
"Whether it's appropriate or not is for the Emperor to decide."
"..."
Rumors spread throughout the palace and beyond.
The servants of the Prince of Pacifying the West Manor heard all the gossip outside and reported it to Yun Chu.
Yun Chu's lips curved into a smile.
Li Jingshu had truly gone all out. Unfortunately, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind... Of course, it was not yet time for the oriole to strike.
Chu Mo, in desperate straits, would target the Prince of Pacifying the West Manor after dealing with the Empress.
"Princess Consort, Xie Shiyun is here," Luwei came in to report.
Yun Chu nodded: "After the children have had their snacks, have him come to me."
This was Xie Shiyun's first visit to the manor in over half a year. He thought Chu Changsheng had long forgotten him, never expecting to be invited again.
"Shiyun, you're here," Chu Changsheng greeted him warmly.
Over the past six months, her mother had been pregnant with her younger brother, and she feared any potential danger, so she hadn't allowed Xie Shiyun to visit.
At first, she hadn't understood the situation with the Xie family, but after her brother explained it in detail, she realized the Xies were not good people and gradually began to distance herself from Xie Shiyun.
Today's invitation was her mother's idea.
After the children finished their snacks, Xie Shiyun was brought to the drawing room.
"Greetings, Princess Consort!" Xie Shiyun bowed with his head lowered.
"Yun Ge'er, you've lost weight..." Yun Chu sighed. "Has your eldest brother been mistreating you?"
Xie Shiyun remained silent.
Yun Chu continued: "You can tell your eldest brother that you often visit the manor. I believe he will show some restraint.""Thank you for your concern, Princess Consort," Xie Shiyun said. "The Little Commandery Princess is my friend. I don't wish to take advantage of her, and things are already quite good as they are."
Yun Chu had someone reward him with some fruits before sending him back.
Before the carriage reached the Xie residence, Xie Shiyun got off early. He didn't want anyone in the Xie family to know he was friends with Chu Changsheng.
As he entered the gate, he happened to see Xie Shi'an returning home and noticed him holding a strange doll in his hand. Because the doll was so unusual, he couldn't help but take a few extra glances.
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