Jinwei joins hands in rebirth: villains can also eat at the table

Jinzhong heard the call and hurried in, practically trotting into the hall. His feet were so powerful that the purple and gold fabric beside him fluttered in the wind, a truly beautiful sight.

"Has the Emperor given any instructions... Oh! What's going on? How about I... I go and get the imperial physician?"

Hearing Jinzhong's exclamation, the emperor was startled to feel a sharp pain in his palm. He looked down and saw that his palm had been pierced by the broken brush, the sharp tip of the brush deeply piercing his flesh.

Blood was continuously flowing out of the wound, slowly gathering on the back of the hand along the skin, forming blood beads, and finally dripping onto the ground, a bright red color that was very dazzling.

The emperor waved his hand, and the two ends of the broken brush fell to the ground with a slight sound. He casually pulled out a handkerchief and tried to pierce the wound.

But for some reason, perhaps because he was too angry, his hands were shaking violently, and he failed several times because of his shaking hands.

Jinzhong's eyes were glued to the emperor, and seeing this, he quickly stepped forward to help. Quickly and expertly, he carefully took the handkerchief from the emperor's hand and bandaged the wound tightly in just a few strokes.

His eyes were filled with concern, and as he bandaged the wound he whispered, "Your Majesty, please take care of yourself."

After the end, the emperor was silent for a while

After a long moment, he finally seemed to come back to his senses from his deep thoughts and slowly said, "You were Li Yu's apprentice, so you knew him best. Did he have a favorite woman back then?"

The emperor's voice was low and hoarse, and he turned his eyes to Jinzhong, with a look of inquiry in his eyes.

When he said this, Jinzhong's face first showed a puzzled expression, and then, as if he suddenly understood something, a look of sudden enlightenment flashed in his eyes, and he said, "Why does the emperor think of asking these questions..."

"There really is such a person. When Master wasn't even the Grand Chamberlain, he often loved going to the Yanxi Palace. Later, I heard other colleagues joking about it and found out that he had a fellow townsman working there. If he was just an ordinary colleague, there's no need to run so often. Later, I found out that the woman he loved was working there. Hiss..."

Jinzhong was talking while recalling the past.

"The Emperor also knows this person. It's Miss Suo Xin, who previously served the Empress. Back then, the Empress, or Consort Xian, lived in the Yanxi Palace..."

After Jinzhong finished speaking, there was a long silence in the hall.

The air seemed to be frozen, so quiet that one could hear the emperor's light breathing.

So, it was definitely Ruyi who instigated the incident of bribing the palace maids to report Concubine Ling and attempting to murder the royal heir in her womb.

The emperor's face was so dark that ink seemed to be dripping out.

"Announce my decree. The Empress is suffering from insanity. First, take back her imperial seal and lock her away in the Yikun Palace for proper recuperation. Leave only one maid to serve her. Send Xiao Lingzi to Eternal Lane... The rest of you can return to where you came from. The Empress enjoys chanting Buddhist scriptures, so build a shrine for her and have her kneel there for three hours every day to get rid of her insanity..."

He originally wanted to beat Xiao Lingzi to death with a club, but then changed his mind. For a filthy person like that, death was a lenient decision. He could just clean toilets in Yongxiang, so birds of a feather flock together.

He wanted to punish everyone around Ruyi and let her know the consequences of betraying him.

……

Ruyi sat in the palace and watched the Yiku Palace gradually become deserted. The once bustling palace now became deserted, and her heart was filled with sadness.

Knowing that Rong Pei was leaving the next day, she specially summoned her to her side.

Ruyi looked at Rong Pei, a hint of tenderness and reluctance flashed in her eyes. She wanted to talk to Rong Pei in this last moment. Perhaps this was the last time they would sit opposite each other like this.

Her lips trembled slightly. She wanted to say something but didn't know where to start. She just looked at Rong Pei silently, tears gradually welling up in her eyes.

Rong Pei has aged rapidly in the past two years. Her temples are covered with white hair and her face is covered with wrinkles. Although she looks old, her bright eyes have not changed.

All of this is because of her.

When Rong Pei entered the room, she saw Ruyi sitting there in a daze. The light in the room was a little dim, and Ruyi's figure looked particularly lonely. At that moment, her heart seemed to be grabbed by something, and tears welled up in her eyes unconsciously.

"Your Majesty? Your Majesty... I can no longer serve you..."

Her voice was trembling and choked, and every word seemed to be spoken with all her strength.

"Please accept my humble bow. The Empress has shown me kindness, and I have no way of repaying her. If there is an afterlife, I will definitely repay her kindness with a gift of grass and a ring..."

She slowly knelt down, the sound of her knees touching the ground being particularly clear in the silent room. Her body trembled slightly, and she could no longer hold back her tears, which flowed down her rough skin like beads from a broken string.

Ruyi nodded with a hint of satisfaction. She sat still in her seat, her posture still dignified, but her fatigue could not be concealed.

She stretched out her hand and gently stroked Rong Pei to help her stand up: "Rong Pei, it is you who should be thanked. Thank you for always being by my side these days..."

Ruyi's voice was soft and slow, filled with deep emotion.

"Now, with this fate of mine, and the people around me leaving or scattering, if you can leave the palace and live a good life, I will be relieved. Having you is my blessing..."

There was always a faint smile on her face, her eyebrows raised high, and you had to look closely to detect a hint of reluctance.

"Your Majesty, please take good care of yourself in the future. Once I leave the palace, there will be no one left in the Yikun Palace..."

Thinking of Ruyi's situation, Rong Pei was even more moved. If possible, she really wanted to stay in Yikun Palace and serve the Queen for the rest of her life.

It’s a pity that all good things must come to an end.

Ruyi took out a handkerchief, put it in her hand and asked her to wipe her tears, then picked up an embroidery from the table beside her.

As she looked at the painting, she said, "This embroidery was made with me by Hailan when she was still alive. It features my favorite green plum blossom. I'm giving it to you today as a token of my remembrance..."

It was said that the two of them embroidered it together, but in fact, most of it was done by Hailan. She only moved a few stitches and then let Hailan do the rest.

Rong Pei took it with trembling hands.

She knew the Queen's temperament. She was as gentle as a chrysanthemum. In her eyes, this embroidery was worth a thousand gold.

"I thank the Queen for her kindness..."

After taking the painting, Rong Pei kowtowed three times to Ruyi with tears of gratitude.

It can be considered as the last bit of affection between master and servant.

"Go ahead! You still have to leave the palace before sunset. Ruoxin and his wife live in the capital. If you have any difficulties, you can go to them and they will help you..."

Ruyi nodded with satisfaction and gave careful instructions.

"Yes, then I will leave. May the Queen be well and happy in the future."

Rong Pei wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve before leaving the inner hall, looking back every few steps.

After returning to her residence, she carefully stroked the fine stitches on it, then solemnly placed the embroidery into the innermost part of her bundle, and then hurried to wait for the roll call with the other palace maids who were about to leave the palace.

All palace maids who reach the age of retirement will receive a reward, which can be considered as resettlement fees.

All the money Rong Pei had saved was spent on medical treatment during the last disaster at the Ministry of Punishment.

The reward is given according to the number of years in the palace. She has been in the palace for decades, so she should have received a generous reward.

She thought that with this reward, she could leave the palace and settle down, buy land and houses, or open a shop and do some small business. At least there was hope...

"Next one, Rong Pei~"

The eunuch's voice interrupted Rong Pei's thoughts.

She walked forward expectantly, watching the eunuch in charge move the silver again and again, and finally put it in her hands, which contained only two light silver ingots.

"Eunuch, this... this number doesn't seem right. I've been in the palace for over thirty years. Logically, I should have received a reward..."

The number is wrong, Rong Pei asked hurriedly.

"You are Rong Pei from Yikun Palace, right?"

"Yes, that's right. I used to be the head aunt of the Empress..."

"That's right. The Empress is seriously ill, and the higher-ups have ordered that all rewards be halved and donated outside the city to pray for the Empress..."

Rong Pei stood there in a daze as if struck by lightning.

I didn't know what to say for a while.

The eunuch in charge of distributing the rewards had no time to argue with her. Seeing her standing there in a daze, he scolded her with a stern face, "Do you want it or not? Don't come back if you don't want it. Don't stop us here. After we deliver it, you still have to hurry back to report!"

Seeing this, the young eunuch standing by also stepped forward and started pushing.

"Take the reward and get out of here! There are a lot of people behind you!"

Rong Pei was pushed and staggered, and finally stood with other people who received rewards, holding two silver ingots in a daze.

According to the rules, the reward had to be shared with the eunuch in charge. After halving it and adding her commission, she only had ten taels left.

Ten taels, a sum that is neither too high nor too low.

Not to mention buying land and houses, if she can't find a way to make a living, it will be difficult for her to enjoy her old age.

"Isn't this Aunt Rong Pei, the Queen's favorite? Look at her now. Why does she look even poorer than us?"

"You don't know this, right? The most important master in this palace is the emperor. If she offends the emperor, it's strange that she can have a good life..."

"Tsk tsk tsk, after all, he is a favorite of the Empress. Why doesn't the Empress reward him with some gold, silver and treasures? If he leaves like this, it will only bring shame to the Yikun Palace..."

There was a lot of discussion around me.

These words hit Rong Pei's heart one by one, creating ripples.

But the absurd idea was dismissed by her in just a moment.

For a person as noble as the Empress, it was a great favor to have her embroidered work presented to her personally. Those vulgar things would only sully the sincere affection between them, master and servant.

Not giving is good...

It’s better not to give...

Rong Pei put the two ingots of silver into her arms and said disdainfully, "Even if the Empress is about to leave the palace, is it still your place to discuss her?"

As soon as the reprimand came out, countless people rolled their eyes at her, but it did work, and everyone around her quieted down.

Her disturbed thoughts gradually calmed down.