The Reborn Princess Has Turned Evil

Yichun Palace.

"Your Majesty, now that the Empress Dowager is about to return to the palace, we must make proper plans." The speaker was Cai Xing, Consort Chen's personal maid.

Consort Chen examined her face in the mirror from side to side. Jing Anle's slaps were really hard; it took several days for her to fully recover.

"That vile Consort Lin! All she does is play the victim. Wait until my aunt returns, and I'll teach her a lesson!" Consort Chen said fiercely.

But when she thought of Jing Anle, Consort Chen unconsciously swallowed. It was best not to offend this madwoman. However, she couldn't suppress her anger and threw the bottle on the dressing table.

Seeing Consort Chen's anger, Cai Xing comforted her, "The Empress Dowager is your own aunt. Now that Consort Yu has been demoted, although Consort Li still holds the power to manage the inner palace, it is only temporary."

Consort Chen's face, which had just been contorted with anger, instantly brightened. "You're right. If Aunt returns, the power in the harem will naturally be returned to Aunt. What difference does it make whether it's given to Aunt or to me?"

“Your Majesty is right.” Cai Xing replied when she saw that Consort Chen had finally come to her senses. In the harem, servants and masters share the same fate, whether it be prosperity or ruin.

……

"Today the rain has finally stopped and the sky is clear. When I saw the rain these past few days, I thought the sky had broken!" Afang said, glancing at Jing Anle.

Jing Anle was sitting in the sedan chair, resting her chin on her hand, lost in thought. She had just come out of Emperor Jing's study and was thinking about what had just been said.

She knew what Emperor Jing meant. The Empress Dowager would be back soon. Emperor Jing didn't require Anle to behave herself; he just wanted her to avoid being around the Empress Dowager too much.

She snorted inwardly. No matter how willful she was in her past life, she would never dare to act recklessly in front of the Empress Dowager. But was the Empress Dowager a good person?

Jing Anle still remembers that in her previous life, Jing Rou always pretended to be filial in front of the Empress Dowager, and would always drag her along as an accompaniment. She was forced to follow many rules. More importantly, this Empress Dowager loved power and status from beginning to end, and never had a shred of sincerity from a grandmother to her granddaughter.

This inevitably made Jing Anle suspect that Prince Qing was involved in a rebellion. She might even be aware of it, since she would be the Empress Dowager no matter who became emperor.

"Princess?" Afang asked in a low voice when she saw Jing Anle remain silent.

Hmm? Jing Anle turned her head to look at Afang. Just as she was about to speak, one of the sedan bearers slipped, and the sedan chair swayed a few times, about to fall. Jing Anle also lost her balance and began to stagger. The sedan bearer broke out in a cold sweat and struggled to finally bring the sedan chair to a stop.

"Is the princess alright?" Afang rushed over anxiously to check on Jing Anle's condition, then pointed at the sedan bearers and scolded, "Are you all blind? The princess is of noble birth; if she is injured, you'll all lose your lives."

"This servant deserves to die, please spare my life, Princess!" The four sedan bearers knelt down and begged for mercy.

The road was slippery from the rain. Jing Anle looked at the moss-covered cobblestone path, then at the four people kowtowing in front of him, waved his hand, and said, "That's enough. It's not entirely your fault, but you should be punished for your mistakes. Go to the Ministry of Justice and receive ten strokes of the cane each."

"Yes," the sedan chair bearers replied.

"Afang?" Jing Anle extended her left hand, and Afang quickly reached out to support her, continuing, "You may all leave; I wish to take a walk."

“Princess, we are still far from Yongfu Palace!” Afang couldn’t help but speak up, worried that Jing Anle might be tired.

This is Mingguang Gate. Although it is next to the inner palace, it is quite far away because the area is so large and the palace servants' residences are located nearby.

"It's alright," Jing Anle said. The weather was fine today, and she wanted to go for a walk. She was getting restless staying indoors all the time.

Afang could only mutter "yes" and follow Jing Anle forward.

Before they had even finished walking through Mingguang Gate, they heard a woman sobbing and a string of scolding.

Jing Anle took a few more steps forward and saw a palace maid kneeling on the ground. Her hair was disheveled and her face was not visible. Her clothes were stained with blood, which looked like the result of being whipped. There was a nanny standing next to her, and two eunuchs behind the nanny.

"You can only blame your bad luck for not being able to properly show up in front of His Majesty," the old woman said in a sarcastic tone, occasionally poking the palace maid's forehead with her finger.

Afang recognized the old woman and whispered, "Isn't this the old woman who serves Consort Tang?"

"Consort Tang?"

The Jing Kingdom replenishes its harem every three years, and this Consort Tang entered the palace this year, no wonder she sounds unfamiliar.

The kneeling palace maid had clearly been beaten badly. When she spoke, her voice was weak, "Granny, this servant... this servant really didn't, didn't seduce His Majesty!" As she spoke, she tried to pull at the old woman's clothes.

"Granny, I am truly innocent, utterly innocent! If I utter even the slightest lie, may I be condemned to be a prostitute for all eternity, and be scorned by all." This is the most vicious curse a woman could receive.

The old woman sneered, slapped the maid's hand away, and said, "We servants only listen to our masters. If the master says you're wrong, then you're wrong. If the master wants you dead, I wouldn't dare let you live!" Her tone was vicious as she continued, "Don't worry, I'll leave you with a complete corpse."

The palace maid suddenly looked up. Although she looked disheveled and pale, she had a sickly beauty about her. No wonder Consort Tang wouldn't let her go. Which concubine would leave a beautiful palace maid in the palace? A tear fell from her eye, her eyes filled with fear of death.

"Do it!" the old woman commanded, and the two eunuchs behind her went to pull the person away.

"Wait!"

As everyone was puzzled, they turned around and saw that the person was a palace maid. The old woman probably didn't recognize Afang and said, "Who are you? How dare you order me around?"

"What a grand display!" Jing Anle said as she walked out from behind the door, dressed in princess attire, her graceful steps and imposing presence making her look at the old woman with a tone full of mockery.

Upon seeing this, the eunuchs behind him quickly knelt down, their tone respectful: "Greetings, Princess Anle!"

Princess Anle? The old woman had never seen her before, but she knew that she was the current emperor's beloved daughter. She quickly knelt down and said, "This old servant was blind and did not recognize your greatness. Please forgive me, Princess."

The kneeling palace maid was terrified, but she clung to Jing Anle as if grasping at a straw, desperately kowtowing, "This servant greets Your Highness! Please, Your Highness, save my life!"

"You better behave yourself!" The old woman warned sharply when she heard the palace maid speak.

Jing Anle gave Afang a wink, and Afang immediately understood. She stepped forward and slapped the old woman hard across the face, saying, "The princess hasn't spoken yet, so how dare you speak?"

The old woman was used to being arrogant, and her first reaction after being hit was to fight back, but she was scared back by a look from Jing Anle. "It seems that Consort Tang has been too lenient with you. Then I will deal with the servants for her!"

"Guards! Give this old woman thirty lashes!"

Upon hearing this, the old woman's legs went weak. Thirty strokes of the cane would surely break her old bones. She quickly kowtowed and begged for mercy, "Please, Princess, have mercy! Please, Princess, have mercy!" In no time, her forehead turned bruised and purple.