The queen is crazy and spoiled, and the tyrant bows to her

Concubine Jia spoke beautifully. Before Ji Wuyuan dealt with her, she took the initiative to admit her mistake and proposed punishment.

It seems that he is sincerely repenting and humbly accepting punishment, but in fact he is taking the initiative.

She knew very well that this matter could be a big deal or a small one, depending entirely on Ji Wuyuan's mood.

She did not make any excuses and admitted her mistake honestly. According to Ji Wuyuan's previous attitude towards the harem, he would most likely let the matter go for the sake of her father.

Unfortunately, all she saw was the surface, and the same was true of her understanding of Ji Wuyuan.

Ji Wuyuan's expression remained extremely cold. He looked at Concubine Jia, who was both repentant and promising. He couldn't help but sneer and said coldly, "Those who make mistakes must be punished."

"It's just that this punishment is not your turn to comment!"

Every time Concubine Jia heard something he said, her heart sank a little.

Her little face was pale, and her eyes were red as she looked at Ji Wuyuan. Tears gathered in her eyes, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall.

He had an unyielding and pitiful attitude.

Concubine Jia tried to imitate Jiang Wantang's behavior of lying in the rain and pretending to be pitiful that day in exchange for a little his sympathy.

She spoke, her tone was affected and sad: "Your Majesty..."

"shut up!"

However, her words disgusted Ji Wuyuan enough that he shouted, "If you say one more word, you won't have to keep your tongue."

Concubine Jia covered her mouth in horror, and the tears in her eyes could no longer be held back and fell.

She didn't dare to make a sound and could only cry silently.

Ji Wuyuan completely lost his patience and said in a deep voice to the palace servants outside, "Concubine Jia's moral conduct is flawed and unworthy of her position. From today on, her title will be stripped and she will be demoted to Concubine Jieyu. She will also be fined one year's salary and confined to her house for one month to reflect on her mistakes."

As soon as these words were spoken, Concubine Jia was struck by lightning and collapsed to the ground with her eyes wide open.

Looking at Ji Wuyuan's back as he left, his face was full of tears, and his eyes were filled with unspeakable desolation and sadness.

She didn't dare cry out loud until he left.

The next morning, the news that Concubine Jia was demoted to Concubine Zhao spread throughout the harem. Many concubines gloated over the news, and the most outrageous was Concubine Wang, who lived in the same palace.

When the emperor came last night, she heard the noise and quietly hid in a side hall to eavesdrop.

At first, she also thought that His Majesty came to ask Zhao Shujia to sleep with him.

Fortunately, it is not.

She had been unhappy with Zhao Shujia for a long time.

Early in the morning, Concubine Wang started humming a little tune in the side hall, and her gloating attitude was too obvious to be true.

However, the one who was the most angry and upset was Bai Weiwei, the virtuous concubine of Yuhua Palace.

Last night, Ji Wuyuan cruelly rejected her and she felt such an unbearable pain in her heart. Then this morning, when she heard that Concubine Jia was demoted, the anger in her heart was even more pent up and lingered for a long time.

She didn't expect that Zhao Shujia, the legitimate daughter of the Duke's Mansion, who seemed to be very cunning and ambitious, was so useless.

A chess piece that had just been placed was now in a semi-wasted state.

Bai Weiwei leaned on the couch, her face pale. She closed her eyes slightly, and all the things that had happened in recent days kept emerging in her mind.

From the confinement of Concubine Qi to the dethronement of Concubine Zhang, and even the current demotion of Concubine Jia, everything is inseparable from Jiang Wantang.

She was not favored by anyone in the harem, but she was the only one who rose to prominence quietly.

Thinking of this, Bai Weiwei suddenly realized the strangeness of Jiang Wantang's previous fall from favor.

It was her who underestimated the enemy.

She originally thought that Jiang Wantang came from a rural background and was not presentable, but she relied on her good looks and some techniques to seduce men on the couch to confuse the emperor.

But now it seems that she is extremely scheming.

Perhaps she had started planning from the moment she entered the palace.

Bai Weiwei realized belatedly that she had discovered it too late and failed to kill Jiang Wantang before she entered the palace.

Several years of favor made her overestimate her importance in Ji Wuyuan's heart, so much so that she almost forgot how she got this favor.

Bai Weiwei felt as if her heart was being tightly gripped, her chest heaving, and she was almost unable to breathe.

Lan Xin, the personal maid, looked at her with concern and gently advised, "Your Majesty, you must take care of yourself. The imperial physician has repeatedly warned you not to get angry like this again."

Bai Weiwei slowly opened her eyes and smiled sadly, "This palace knows it too, but I just can't help it."

"Lan Xin, you've never fallen in love with a man, so you don't understand the complexities involved."

"He is obviously very close to me, as if I can touch him with just one hand." As he said this, Bai raised his head slightly, raised his hand to the misty sky outside the window, looked at his empty palm, and smiled bitterly.

"But, I have reached out countless times, and all I have caught is a vague illusion."

"Forget it, why would I say this to a little girl like you?"

After saying that, Bai sighed slightly.

Lan Xin really didn't understand what she was saying, so she could only comfort her: "My Lady, I don't understand these things. In my opinion, nothing is more important than being alive."

"If loving someone makes you so uncomfortable, it's better not to love them."

Bai chuckled softly, his expression gloomy: "Silly girl, love or not is in the heart, not in oneself."

"If he were not here, what would be the meaning of my life?"

"Then you..." Lan Xin hesitated to speak.

"No problem, it's just that if gods stand in my way, gods will be killed, and if Buddhas stand in my way, Buddhas will be killed."

"Whoever stands in my way shall die!"

The cruelty that inadvertently flashed in Bai Weiwei's eyes made Lan Xin tremble with fear.

……

When Jiang Wantang returned to Changle Palace, he learned from Yun Shang that Concubine Jia had been demoted to Jieyushi.

For a moment, I was a little surprised.

Even though she guessed that Concubine Jia would be punished, she thought it would just be confinement, but she didn't expect that she would be demoted two levels.

After all, Duke Zhao still holds some weight in Ji Wuyuan's heart, which can be seen from the fact that Zhao Shujia firmly sits in the position of concubine in the harem in the previous life.

In the previous life, the two most stable and powerful people in the harem were Concubine Xian and Concubine Jia.

However, before Jiang Wantang had time to think about it, his attention was attracted by another piece of news.

The young eunuch came to report that the Dali Temple Minister Xie Zhiyan had returned.

He just returned to Beijing this morning, and as soon as he arrived, he rushed to the palace to report to the emperor.

Jiang Wantang's pupils suddenly trembled, and he quickly asked, "Where is Master Xie now?"

The young eunuch said, "Master Xie is in Xuanzheng Hall right now and has been inside for half an hour."

Hearing this, Jiang Wantang stood up and walked out.

Xie Zhiyan's trip to the south of the Yangtze River lasted less than a month, which was much shorter than she expected.

Jiang Wantang had previously inquired with his subordinate Zhang Long, and the information he received was without exception: The master is fine, and his return date is uncertain.

He kept his mouth shut and we couldn't get any information out of him.

Apart from that, Concubine Yu, whom she had people keeping a close eye on, was also acting as usual, with no trace of any signs.

Jiang Wantang didn't go directly to wait outside the Xuanzheng Hall, as that would be too obvious.

She and Xiuzhu sat in the pavilion in the Imperial Garden, drinking tea. Xie Zhiyan would pass by here when he left the palace...

The Imperial Garden is just right. We can meet in broad daylight and no one will be suspicious.