Dressing as Ziwei makes the Qing Dynasty more powerful

The palace was in an uproar!

"The high and mighty Empress Ling Fei was actually forced to stand in the Imperial Garden in iron clothes and iron shoes."

"It is said that the Emperor has forced her to wear only iron clothes and iron shoes from now on, and to stand in the Imperial Garden every day as punishment."

"What on earth did she do to deserve such punishment? It's so shameful. If it were me, I would have died long ago."

"She deserves it. I heard that the servants in the Yanxi Palace were often beaten and scolded by her, but she was too favored, so no one dared to complain."

"Not only that, there is no concubine in the harem that hasn't been kidnapped by her, openly or secretly."

......

After the news spread, the palace maids and eunuchs all looked for opportunities to secretly come and see if it was true. After seeing it, they would brag about it to those who had not seen it.

The queen did not stop them, but only told them not to leave their posts without permission.

Later, more and more concubines came to watch the fun. They stood in front of Concubine Ling openly, looking at her and laughing at her.

Concubine Ling gritted her teeth, lowered her head, and said nothing. She knew that she had completely lost the emperor's favor. Now she was like a stray dog, and anyone could come and step on her.

Concubine Ling was filled with grief. She had done so much, and she had no idea how much the emperor knew. She feared she had no chance of regaining his favor. Those sweet words he had once spoken now sounded more like a mocking joke.

Concubine Ling's injuries had not yet healed, yet she had to bear the weight of a thousand-pound iron armor. This iron armor was like a heavy mountain, pressing down mercilessly on her frail body, making it difficult for her to breathe.

Ever since receiving this imperial edict, her heart had been frozen like an ice cellar, too cold to be warmed, and the icy iron armor couldn't warm her broken heart. She stood there silently, her face ashen, and showed no reaction to the abuse and insults from those around her.

Behind a large tree not far away, Yongqi quietly watched everything that happened before his eyes. He was filled with disappointment and anger. Concubine Ling was so easily tricked by the Queen. She was so useless! He didn't even have the chance to ask Concubine Ling for cooperation, and she had already ended up like this.

Given her current disgraceful state, she surely would never receive the Emperor's favor again. Thinking of this, Yongqi decided to visit Kunning Palace more often to pay his respects to the Empress as a sign of loyalty. He stared fiercely in the direction of Kunning Palace, his eyes gleaming with anger. Finally, he crushed the dry branches beneath his feet, venting his inner dissatisfaction, and then left the place with a burning rage.

Xiaoyanzi learned the news from Mingyue Caixia after she returned to the palace. She frowned. Didn’t the Emperor dote on Concubine Ling very much? How could he bear to punish her like this?

Xiaoyanzi ignored Mingyue Caixia's attempts to stop her and flew all the way to the Yanxi Palace. The empty palace was truly deserted. She walked straight into Concubine Ling's chambers, only to find her lying on the bed in iron armor and iron shoes. Her pale face was devoid of any color, and her hollow eyes stared at the ceiling. Her pristine white undergarment peeked through the crevices of her iron armor, some of it stained red with blood.

"Empress Ling Fei, you - how did you become like this?" Xiao Yanzi couldn't help but be shocked. She never thought that the Empress Ling Fei, who was once so high and mighty and glorious, would end up like this.

She still remembered that when she first entered the palace, Concubine Ling was like a fairy descending from the sky, noble and elegant; but now she seemed like a prisoner trapped in prison, exuding despair and sadness.

Xiaoyanzi's shouting did not make Concubine Ling move at all. She still lay there quietly, like a rag doll that had lost its life.

Seeing this, she leaned over to Concubine Ling's ear and whispered, "Empress Ling, I sincerely thank you. If it weren't for you, a small-time scoundrel like me wouldn't have the wealth and glory I have today. I heard that the Emperor only drove away the servants, so can you leave your money to me?"

Concubine Ling tilted her head and stared at Xiaoyanzi without focus.

Xiaoyanzi was startled by Concubine Ling's sudden words and subconsciously slapped her in the face. She said arrogantly, "You still think you're the most favored Concubine Ling in the harem, the one no one dares to offend! You've been punished like this by the Emperor, so what's the point of all that money? I might as well use it to help those poor people in the slums! Oh, and I don't have to help them either. Liu Qing and Liu Hong are actually the owners of the Huibinlou. They must make a lot of money every day. But I can give this money to Xiao Jian as my apprenticeship fee."

The corner of Concubine Ling's mouth was hit by Xiaoyanzi until blood flowed out, but she remained expressionless and did not react at all. Seeing this, Xiaoyanzi felt a little dissatisfied and began to search everywhere in Concubine Ling's bedroom, but found nothing.

She thought for a moment and decided to leave the palace to look for Dongxue and Lamei. After some effort, Xiaoyanzi finally found Dongxue and Lamei happily enjoying hot pot in the small kitchen of Yanxi Palace.

When they heard the noise, they turned to look at the door, the chopsticks in their hands fell instantly, and then they quickly stood up and saluted Xiaoyanzi.

"Your servant Dongxue greets Princess Huanzhu."

"Your servant La Mei has met Princess Huan Zhu."

Xiaoyanzi giggled and pulled them to sit down. She picked up a piece of meat and put it in her mouth. She squinted her eyes and said, "You two really know how to enjoy yourself. Has Concubine Ling ever eaten it? What did she eat?"

"This...this..." Dongxue and Lamei stammered and couldn't explain clearly.

Xiaoyanzi slammed the table and shouted angrily, "How dare you leave Concubine Ling there and eat all by yourself? You have more meat than vegetables, so you must have spent a lot of money, right? You dare to embezzle Concubine Ling's money without permission? Damn it! Hand over all the money immediately, or I will tell the Emperor."

Lamei and Dongxue lowered their heads and looked at each other, then tremblingly took out a gold ingot from their pockets and placed it in front of Xiaoyanzi.

"Princess, the Yanxi Palace has been out of money for a long time. Concubine Ling likes ostentation, and many of them are beyond her allowance, which can only be bought with money. After she fell out of favor, she no longer received any rewards, and her monthly allowance was deducted. There is no money left at all."

When Xiaoyanzi saw the two gold ingots, her eyes lit up. She took out a handful of silver from her purse and put it on the table, saying generously, "Don't blame me for not leaving you some money. These are for you to eat and drink." After that, she rolled up the two gold ingots and left.

Closing the gate of Yanxi Palace, Dongxue spitted twice, "What Princess Huanzhu? She's nothing but a bandit."