The Crown Prince Chases His Wife
Chapter 36 Punishment (2/2)
“Looks like you came from the direction of the imperial tent. Why can’t you get in?” Imperial Concubine Shu’s tone was slightly ironic.
“Oh, I just finished serving His Majesty, and I’m very tired. His Majesty said that I should go back and have a good rest first. His Majesty is still busy with business.” Concubine Ning stroked the hair as if she was shy and pretending to be a fake.
When Imperial Concubine Shu heard this, she laughed.
Concubine Ning looked at Imperial Concubine Shu suspiciously.
“His Majesty is indeed sympathetic to you. Have a good rest. I still have to go to the imperial tent to serve His Majesty.”
After Imperial Concubine Shu finished speaking, she walked past Concubine Ning and towards the imperial tent.
Concubine Ning’s eyes followed Imperial Concubine Shu’s figure and suddenly couldn’t hold back her anger.
Concubine Ning turned around, stared at Imperial Concubine Shu who had her back turned to her, and said loudly, “Stop, what do you mean? What did you slander in front of His Majesty?”
“How audacious! How dare you be disrespectful to Imperial Concubine Shu again and again. Little Master Ning, don’t forget your identity!” The mama next to Imperial Concubine Shu was so angry. She had never seen a concubine with such rudeness in the palace in all these years.
Imperial Concubine Shu chuckled lightly, raised her hand to wave back to the mama, walked two steps towards Concubine Ning, and stood before Concubine Ning. She looked at Concubine Ning up and down disdainfully, and that gaze made Concubine Ning have goosebumps.
Imperial Concubine Shu stretched out her right hand, her index finger lifted Concubine Ning’s delicate chin, and a mocking smile appeared in her eyes.
Concubine Ning turned her head and shook off Imperial Concubine Shu’s hand, gazing vigilantly at Imperial Concubine Shu.
Imperial Concubine Shu smiled and said: “Don’t be serious. You have to smile more. You have to remember that your smile is your only capital in front of the Emperor.”
After Imperial Concubine Shu finished speaking, she turned and left.
Concubine Ning was silent for a moment, what did she mean?
Concubine Ning hurried two steps to stop Imperial Concubine Shu.
“Bold.” The mama blocked Concubine Ning.
“Let her speak.” Imperial Concubine Shu looked pleased.
“What do you mean by that?” Concubine Ning asked.
Imperial Concubine Shu looked at the angry little girl, really pitiful.
“You all step back.” Imperial Concubine Shu withdrew the palace maids.
“I’m in a good mood today, so I’ll reluctantly say a few words to you. Come here.”
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Concubine Ning moved forward suspiciously. She was a little afraid that she would hear something unpleasant. But what could be worse than the current situation when the newcomers in the palace were replaced by the old people?
“Have you ever found that His Majesty likes your smile?” Imperial Concubine Shu said.
Concubine Ning thought for a moment and nodded hesitantly.
Imperial Concubine Shu smiled, she was just guessing, but it turned out to be true.
“Do you think you are young and beautiful, lively and lovely? Don’t be silly, girl. His Majesty has seen so many beauties and are you so naive to think that you are the special one to His Majesty? That’s just because your smile is very like a person, a person His Majesty once wanted but never got.”
“Who is it?” Ning Concubine asked anxiously.
Imperial Concubine Shu raised her feet to leave.
Concubine Ning hurriedly reached out her hand and grabbed Imperial Concubine Shu’s sleeve, “Tell me, who is she?”
Imperial Concubine Shu glanced displeasedly at Concubine Ning who grabbed her hand, and Ning Concubine carefully let it go.
“Tell me, please tell me.” Concubine Ning said humbly.
Imperial Concubine Shu took a deep breath, and then calmly said the name that had caused the devil inside her for many years.
“She is Shen Shiying.”
Concubine Ning frowned slightly, who was she as she had never heard of this name?
Seeing Concubine Ning’s puzzled expression, Imperial Concubine Shu said again.
“Shen Shiying, the mother of Princess of Zhaoren, Qin Yan.”
Concubine Ning opened her mouth in shock, it turned out to be like this, then at the horse race field today…
Imperial Concubine Shu added another fire.
“You’re just a substitute.”
——
Imperial Concubine Shu’s remarks completely angered Concubine Ning.
“I’m not, I’m not, I’m just me. I’m not a substitute. No, ah…”
Concubine Ning grabbed her hair with both hands and shouted erratically.
Imperial Concubine Shu subconsciously took a step back, that was it.
But she didn’t think Concubine Ning would lose her mind and go crazy. She pounced at Imperial Concubine Shu in front of her, and they both fell to the ground.
Concubine Ning was burning with anger without rationality. She had forgotten that she was a low-rank concubine, and the other party was the highest-rank imperial concubine with a much higher family background than hers.
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“Ah……”
Following Imperial Concubine Shu’s scream, the palace maids quickly stepped forward and pulled Concubine Ning away.
Imperial Concubine Shu’s hair was ruffled by that scratching, and her face was scratched with blood marks by that crazy woman.
——
After getting up, Ning Concubine seemed to have finally regained some sense, but she just collapsed on the mud floor with a blank look.
Could she blame Imperial Concubine Shu? Imperial Concubine Shu just told the truth, the cruel truth.
She was just a substitute.
Then who could she blame? Blame Shen Shiying? Blame Qin Yan? Blame His Majesty? Or blame herself?
She blamed herself for being whimsical, thinking that with her young body with good looks, could reach the sky in one leap.
She blamed herself for being unsavvy, thinking that she could run amok in the palace just by relying on the Emperor’s favor…
She blamed herself for being young and frivolous without self-knowledge…
——
Imperial Concubine Shu was helped up by the palace maids, her hands nervously stroking her stinging face, and screaming out as she looked at the blood on her fingertips.
“Ah……”
It didn’t matter if she ruin today’s serving on the bed. The original purpose of Imperial Concubine Shu coming to the paddock in the western suburbs was not to serve His Majesty.
But Concubine Ning went as far as to raise her hand to strike her.
“Seize Concubine Ning and beat her to death.” Imperial Concubine Shu said with a stern voice.
Concubine Ning had already fallen out of favor. It was not a big deal for a highest-rank imperial concubine to kill a low-level concubine who fell out of favor.
Imperial Concubine Shu felt a little regretful at this time. She told Concubine Ning the secret of the palace, intending to provoke Concubine Ning’s resentment towards Shen Shiying and Qin Yan, and add another enemy to Qin Yan.
But she hurt her face for this, the gains totally outweighed the losses.
Concubine Ning limped to the ground, feeling sad in her heart.
People said that good things appeared for a short time. So, was her road to the harem about to end from here on?
——
The palace maids held up Concubine Ning and prepared to pull her out for punishment.
Suddenly, a male voice interrupted their movements.
“Who is making a noise!”
It was Master Song next to His Highness Taizi.
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“Master Song.” The palace maids saluted Song Zhi.
“Imperial Concubine Shu, what’s going on?” Song Zhi saluted Imperial Concubine Shu.
Imperial Concubine Shu covered her face with one hand, only looking coldly at ashen-faced Concubine Ning, without saying a word.
The mama who supported Imperial Concubine Shu said: “Master Song, Concubine Ning has committed the crime and dared to beat Imperial Concubine Shu, causing Concubine Shu to injure her face. She should be beaten to death.”
His Highness Taizi’s tent was not far away. His Highness was preparing to rest after returning from the hunting grounds. There were women making noise outside, and it was getting more and more intense.
Feng Zhan hated the pandemonium of women in the harem and ordered Song Zhi to deal with it as soon as possible.
Song Zhi didn’t know what Concubine Ning said to His Majesty at the horse race field about letting the Princess of Zhaoren tame the horse today.
He only knew that Imperial Concubine Shu had a prince and was one of the four imperial concubines.
And Concubine Ning was the current favorite of the Emperor.
Song Zhi frowned, which was a bit difficult to deal with.
Everyone knew that Song Zhi was a personal confidant of His Highness Taizi. In front of Song Zhi, it was inappropriate to allow a ranked Imperial Concubine Shu to beat a concubine to death.
After all, it was Imperial Concubine Xian, not Imperial Concubine Shu, who was in charge of the Phenix Seal on behalf of the harem.
His Highness didn’t like noises, so he must deal with them as soon as possible.
Song Zhi deliberately said: “Imperial Concubine Shu, after all, Concubine Ning is the concubine of the Emperor. In the end, this matter must report to the Emperor before making a decision.”
“But Concubine Ning did commit the crime and will be punished with twenty sticks. What does the imperial concubine think?”
——
With twenty sticks, a woman would lose half her life.
The Taizi was so powerful, and Imperial Concubine Shu couldn’t refute Taizi’s face.
“Then I will trouble Master Song.” Imperial Concubine Shu gave Concubine Ning a cold look, and then the palace maids helped her back to her tent.
Song Zhi glanced at Concubine Ning who was still stunned, asked the guards to take Concubine Ning to carry out the punishment immediately, and then left.
Concubine Ning didn’t say a word from beginning to end. She only vaguely felt that she seemed to have survived the catastrophe.
This was exactly the harem, where life and death depend on the person above.
This place was not too far from the imperial tent. With such a big movement, the imperial tent probably had already heard the news, but His Majesty’s people had not come, so it was up to Imperial Concubine Shu to deal with herself.
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She was once so naïve in vain…
Did she just get back her life?
His Highness Taizi?