The years I was in the human world

The nanny who was about to continue persuading was choked for a moment. She looked at Concubine Zhao in disbelief and could not understand what she said for a while. Not to mention that Xie Ling was a military general, the twenty strokes of the cane given by the emperor was just a formality. How could it be compared with the current situation?

The stick that hit Su Qing drew blood at the first blow, and now the person was lying there lifeless. Even if she was an unfavored princess, she was still the emperor's flesh and blood, and a legitimate princess. No matter how favored Concubine Zhao was, she definitely did not have the power to beat or kill the princess without authorization.

The nanny said nothing more. She lowered her head and retreated behind Concubine Zhao. She had already begun to think about a way out. If Su Qing was lucky enough to survive and the matter did not come to the emperor's attention, then nothing serious would happen. She was just afraid that if Su Qing died and the emperor knew about it, Concubine Zhao would be favored and at most would only be given a minor punishment, but they, the palace maids, would inevitably suffer. Sending them to the laundry department to do hard work would be the lightest punishment.

"My lady, please don't hit her." Chun Tao was loyal after all. Seeing that someone was about to be beaten to death, she spoke up to dissuade Zhao Meiren from getting angry. She was smart and didn't confront him openly. Instead, she raised a big flag and said,

"My queen, the death of a princess in the cold palace is not a big deal, but there are so many eyes watching you now. His Majesty pities you and will naturally not blame you, but Madam Du may make a fuss about this matter, and then your queen will inevitably have more troubles."

Chuntao's words were well-reasoned and understandable enough that Lady Zhao really ordered them to stop. She sat in her seat and watched Su Qing fall into a coma in silence for a long while, then said, "But Chuntao, I can't let her go just like that."

"With such injuries, if you don't allow medical treatment or take medicine, you will definitely die. Your Majesty, go back to the palace and have a good rest. The people below will take care of it. Why do you have to stay here in the damp air of the cold palace?" Chun Tao followed Concubine Zhao's words. How to deal with Su Qing afterwards was a matter for later. The most important thing now was to persuade him to go back.

Afterwards, Su Qing died. When the emperor investigated, he had no evidence. As long as he insisted that it had nothing to do with them, and considering the emperor's partiality for Concubine Zhao, the crime could not be blamed on them anyway.

"That's right. Then let's go back to the palace." Lady Zhao thought about it and agreed. She put her slender white hand on Chuntao's hand and stood up slowly. She held her head high and looked very domineering.

The black cat that came back from outside with a sack in its mouth just jumped onto the top of the wall and saw Su Qing lying on the ground, not knowing whether he was dead or alive. There was a large area of ​​blood under him. A woman with an arrogant look was holding the hand of a palace maid and swaggering out of the cold palace. It was clear what had happened.

The black cat cried out shrilly, loosened the sack in its mouth, and pounced on Lady Zhao from the top of the wall. Its sharp claws left several bloody marks on the woman's fair face. Lady Zhao fell to the ground, and she covered her face in shock and anger and screamed, "Where did you come from, little beast!"

"Why are you still standing there? Kill the black cat quickly. You are not worthy of disturbing the queen." Chun Tao gave the order and squatted down to help Concubine Zhao up in a hurry. She said in a panic and worried voice, "Your Majesty, are you okay?"

"Imperial Physician, call the imperial physician for me quickly! My face, my face is injured," Concubine Zhao's voice was so sharp that it almost broke, piercing people's eardrums and causing pain. Su Qing, who was lying on the ground pretending to faint, couldn't help but want to cover his ears.

The palace servants tried to catch the cat in a panic. The black cat was agile and jumped up and down on the heads of a group of people. In the chaos, someone accidentally knocked over the fire that was lit for Concubine Zhao. Sparks fell on the dry grass next to it, and the fire grew bigger in an instant.

Lu Zhouxue was worrying about how to make the matter bigger, so seeing this, he simply went with the flow. On the one hand, he was preventing the fire from burning people, and on the other hand, he was secretly "adding fuel to the fire". The fire grew bigger and bigger, and the flames that shot up into the sky were accompanied by billowing thick smoke, which soon attracted the patrolling imperial guards. Naturally, the news reached the ears of the emperor.

"There's a fire in the cold palace?" Madam Du was sitting on the chaise longue when she heard the news. She folded her hands and let the palace maids paint her nails. She didn't react much and said lightly, "If there's a fire, you just send people to put it out. Do you want me to teach you?"

"Your Majesty, Concubine Zhao is also in the cold palace." The palace maid who came to report said meaningfully.

Madam Du's nonchalant expression suddenly became playful. She stopped painting her nails and laughed, "This is interesting. What is Lady Zhao doing in the cold palace for no reason? Go, there's a fire in the cold palace. I want to go and see what's going on."

"Wait." Madam Du walked out a few steps, then suddenly thought of something and changed direction. "Isn't Lady Zhao always likes to slander me for using her power to bully others? Let's invite His Majesty first, so that she won't accuse me of bullying her again."

There was a fire in the cold palace and it almost hurt the emperor's favorite concubine. The incident caused a big stir and the news spread like wildfire. Concubine Zhao relied on her favor and was arrogant and domineering, and she had offended many people. Naturally, many concubines came to watch the fun.

By the time the emperor and Madam Du arrived, the fire had been put out. A group of concubines had been waiting in the cold palace. Concubine Zhao was supported by palace servants and sat on the ground. Her expensive dress was covered in black ash, and her face was covered in blood and ash. She looked very embarrassed.

When the emperor saw her, he thought the beauty was injured, and hurried forward to ask, "My beloved concubine, are you injured?"

"Your Majesty!" Concubine Zhao had her face scratched by a cat and choked on the smoke. She also had the concubines, whom she disliked on weekdays, watch the commotion for a long time. She felt very aggrieved. Now that she saw the emperor coming, she felt like she had found her backbone and burst into tears immediately.

"It's okay, it's okay, I'm here." Although the beauty had scars on her face, she was still a beauty after all, which only aroused people's desire to abuse her. The emperor was not a gentleman, so he naturally felt more pity for her. He held her in his arms and comforted her with great pity. But when he raised his head to ask for accountability, he had a different face.

"Where is the steward of the cold palace? How does he do his job? How did the fire suddenly break out?"

Su Qing lay on the ground pretending to be dead and pretended not to hear the emperor's questions.

The cold palace originally had a manager, and even had meals delivered to it every day. There were straw mats in the summer and charcoal fires in the winter. Although life was hard, it was still survivable. But when the emperor deposed his mother, Madam Du interfered and not only removed the manager of the cold palace, but also stopped the daily supply.

Now, many years have passed, and the cold palace is covered with weeds and ashes, with no one to take care of it. If Concubine Zhao's fire had not been overturned, there would probably not even be a spark.

"Where is the steward? My words are useless?" Seeing that no one came out to confess, the emperor's tone was tainted with displeasure. Seeing that he was about to get angry, Madam Du spoke slowly to smooth things over, "Your Majesty, you don't know that there is indeed no steward in the cold palace now."

To prevent the emperor from asking why she hadn't taken care of the matter, Madam Du quickly changed the subject: "This cold palace is remote and dry, so it's not surprising that there's a fire. Concubine Zhao just had a miscarriage, and now she's choked by the smoke in the cold palace. It's possible that she has some kind of illness. Let's let the imperial physician take a look at her first."

Upon hearing this, the emperor let go of Concubine Zhao and let the imperial physician who had rushed over to check her pulse. However, he began to think about it. Madam Du's words woke him up. Concubine Zhao had just had a miscarriage, and the palace where she lived was so far away from here that it would be inconvenient for her to give birth and raise her in the palace. Why did she run to the cold palace?

"What are you doing in the cold palace?" Concubine Zhao was a favorite concubine, but the emperor did not love her very much. He did not allow others to mention the people living in the cold palace. At least they were half a sensitive spot. The reason why he did not allow people to mention them was not known for the time being, but at least Concubine Zhao's importance was lighter than theirs.

So the emperor asked this question with a cold tone, and the look he gave Concubine Zhao no longer had the pity he had just now, but instead became cold and scrutinizing. Such a look was too strange, and Concubine Zhao was stunned and speechless for a while.

Su Qing, who was lying dead beside him, saw that the time had come, and hurriedly pretended to wake up from a coma. He raised his eyes to look at the gorgeously dressed figure in front of him, and said weakly: "Father, is that you... You are here to see your son..."

Su Qing's voice sounded weak, but in fact it was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for the emperor and the people around him to hear. The emperor heard the weak voice and looked in the direction of the sound, only to see Su Qing lying there with blood dripping from his lower body, his face as pale as paper.

Madam Du winked at the maid beside her, who understood and stepped forward to check on Su Qing's injuries. The emperor frowned, perhaps because he felt that Su Qing's miserable appearance was too glaring, and he quickly looked away and returned his gaze to Concubine Zhao:

"My beloved concubine has not answered me yet. Why are you coming to the cold palace instead of recuperating in the bedroom?"

The emperor's tone became increasingly cold. The concubines who knew about the past looked at Concubine Zhao with a look of gloating, and were happy to see the emperor's usually arrogant concubine in trouble.

"Your Majesty, are you blaming me?" Concubine Zhao had never expected that the emperor, who usually responded to her requests, would now accuse her of a crime for a princess in the cold palace. The grievance suddenly surged in her heart, and tears welled up in her eyes. She cried like a pear blossom in the rain, as if she had suffered a great injustice.

"Your Majesty, do you know that the slave who caused my miscarriage had been to this cold palace before? How could such a coincidence happen that she died in the imperial garden right after she arrived? She also caused my miscarriage. This girl must be mentally twisted and deliberately harmed me, Your Majesty."

Concubine Zhao's groundless speculations were unbelievable to many of the concubines present. However, the beauty's tears were really pitiful. The emperor had had enough of the shackles of the aristocratic family in the previous dynasty, so he fell for it. Looking at the beauty's tears, he couldn't help but soften his heart and said, "Don't cry, the princess has been beaten, and she should calm down."

The emperor's voice was not loud, but Lu Zhouxue heard it clearly. He could not help but look at the emperor. He really could not imagine how heartless a father could be to say such words. His own daughter had suffered an unexpected disaster, but in his mouth it seemed as if he was just saying something to vent the anger of his beloved concubine.

Lu Zhouxue helplessly covered Su Qing's ears, and said with some heartache and sadness: "Don't listen, he favors the concubine, then the teacher will make the decision for you."

After checking Su Qing's injuries, the head maid came back and reported Su Qing's injuries to Madam Du. Madam Du raised her eyebrows and interrupted Concubine Zhao's crying: "Concubine Zhao, you look like this. If you know that you have violated the rules and caned the princess, you might think that the princess bullied you."

Although there were cases in the palace of high-ranking concubines mistreating unfavored princes and princesses, most of them were kept secret and neither left any evidence nor made public. Concubine Zhao had committed both of these crimes. Her family background was ordinary and her rank was not high enough. The mistake of being caned to punish the princess today was enough to bring her to eternal damnation.

Mrs. Du has always been tactful. In the past, even when Concubine Zhao danced in front of her, she would usually just laugh it off, showing the magnanimity of a noble lady. However, once she caught Concubine Zhao's handle, her words were cruel and accurate, like a venomous snake who wanted to kill her with one blow.

"Madam Du, just say what you want to say. Why do you wrongly accuse me like this?" Concubine Zhao had been spoiled for a long time. She was dissatisfied with Madam Du who took advantage of her high position to act like a queen. Now that she was humiliated by Madam Du in person, she naturally retorted without any hesitation.

"Unfair?" Madam Du opened her eyes wide in surprise, then pretended to be distressed and squatted in front of Su Qing. She took out a handkerchief from her bosom and wiped the sweat off Su Qing's forehead, but she was talking to the emperor.

"Your Majesty, look, this child has been beaten so badly that his legs are rotten. I am a mother, and I feel so distressed. I don't know how Lady Zhao could have the heart to do this. Even if she was angry, she shouldn't have beaten him like this."

This sentence not only explained Su Qing's injury, but also implied that Concubine Zhao was vicious and killed the princess for no reason. Not only did it arouse the hatred of other concubines with children, but it also made the emperor, who wanted to keep things quiet, embarrassed to take sides. No matter how disfavored Su Qing was, she was still his flesh and blood.

"Your Majesty, I dare to request your permission to severely punish Concubine Zhao." Concubine Xie's palace was far away and news spread slowly. When she arrived, she happened to see Madam Du wiping the sweat off Su Qing who was lying on the ground. She casually pulled over a palace concubine who was watching the fun, and after understanding the whole story, she immediately knelt down and asked for your permission.

Her child died young, and she has been childless for many years, but the Xie family has always been prominent, and she herself is quite ruthless, so no one dares to mess with her. She had some friendship with Su Qing's mother in the early years, and now seeing Su Qing being bullied by the arrogant Concubine Zhao, she immediately got angry.

"Not to mention how many palace maids she beat and killed, and how many concubines she offended because of her favor. Su Qing is a legitimate princess. Although she was banished to the cold palace, her title was not abolished, so she is still of royal blood. Zhao Lan is just a beauty of the lower rank. How can she have the right to beat a princess to death at will? If she becomes a lady or a concubine in the future, won't she have to beat the prince to death?"

"The reason Lady Zhao beat Su Qing with a stick is that the palace maid who caused her miscarriage had been in and out of the cold palace before her death. She insisted that it was Su Qing who harmed her. But I also heard that the palace maid was originally from the Fifth Prince's mansion. According to her logic, the Fifth Prince also wanted to harm her, so he should also be beaten to death?"

Concubine Xie's words hit the nail on the head for a large number of people, including Concubine Zhao. That is, her rank and family background were not good enough. Otherwise, with her domineering personality, she would beat up anyone who was related to her, even the Fifth Prince.