Harem Daily Life

Chapter 212 The Punishment Is More Than Just This

He Linzhang was really speechless about his cousin Shu Fei. If it weren't for the Empress Dowager's favor and the Shu family's status, she might not have been given the title of concubine.

"I will take care of it. I have previously instructed Zhao Liangyi not to tell anyone about your rescue of Prince Yong. Now that she has said it, it will not be enough to just demote her. The punishment that awaits her will definitely not be limited to this."

When Zhao Liangyi came to inform on him, He Linzhang warned her not to tell anyone and damage the reputation of Prince Yong, otherwise he would banish her to the cold palace and never let her out again. He didn't expect Zhao Liangyi to turn a deaf ear to his words. (This was mentioned in Chapter 60, and those who have forgotten can go and read it.)

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, in the afternoon when Zhao Cairen was demoted to Zhao Liangyi, Zhao Liangyi was demoted to a commoner and sent to the cold palace. She became the first concubine to be sent to the cold palace since He Linzhang became emperor.

When Shu Fei heard the news, she was so angry that she summoned the imperial physician directly.

After the doctor left, Fu Xin advised: "Your Majesty, the matter of Zhao Liangyi is over, don't take it to heart, or you may get pregnant."

"I didn't expect that the Queen Mother and His Majesty would side with her. She and Prince Yong were in such a mess, yet they still side with her!"

Shu Fei was lying on the chaise longue, her breathing rising and falling with anger.

Zi Ling came in with the pregnancy-preserving medicine and quickly advised: "My queen, anger is harmful to your health. Now that you are pregnant, you must stop worrying about those messy things."

"Why do they like her so much? My aunt was always on my side before, but now she recognizes a child she brought back as the emperor's grandson. She made a mistake and they still protected her. I can't understand why."

Suddenly, her abdomen felt tight, and she was so scared that she shut up immediately.

Zi Ling stepped forward and patted her back to calm her down: "Your Highness, the heir to the throne is the most important thing. If you give birth to a prince, the Queen Mother and the Shu family will do their best to assist you. Why do you have to bother with a concubine who has no children of her own! You are almost four months pregnant now. By the end of June, when the child is born, you will definitely be promoted to the first-rank concubine, which is far superior to her. There is really no need to waste your energy on her!"

Shu Fei shed two lines of tears: "You don't understand, what I care about is his position? What I care about is his heart!"

Shu Fei has liked her cousin since she was a child and always wanted to become his princess. Unfortunately, fate played tricks on her. The daughter of the Duke of Zhao was chosen as her cousin's Crown Princess. Even the daughter of the Grand Tutor Wen was chosen as the Crown Princess. She could only enter the palace and become a concubine after he ascended the throne.

But even if she was not his legal wife, she was still full of him, but it was a pity that he had favored the Imperial Concubine and the Virtuous Concubine before, but he had always been indifferent to her. She had let it go and didn't want to expect more, but Tao Jieyu appeared and let her know that a man would look at a woman with such admiration and tenderness, put down his imperial majesty to listen to her jokes, and accompany her to do things that an emperor would not do.

His Majesty always treats Concubine Tao differently, but Concubine Tao never seems to be afraid of the majesty of God. She acts coquettishly when she wants to, gets angry when she wants to, ignores people when she wants to, and never takes the initiative to compete for favor. She doesn't even feel jealous of Concubine Xian, which makes her really angry.

She always felt that the emperor cousin loved Concubine Tao terribly, but Concubine Tao might not love him the same way. This love was not even one tenth of hers. But the emperor cousin still treated Concubine Tao the same way. How could she be willing?

So, when she found that Prince Yong looked at Concubine Tao with an innocent look, she thought of the southern tour and how Concubine Zhao was demoted to a talented person, so she wanted to win her over. Unexpectedly, when Talented Zhao heard her mention Prince Yong, she spilled all the beans and told him everything she knew about Concubine Tao and Prince Yong.

Shu Fei was so shocked and surprised at the time that she didn't have time to think and directly took people to report the matter to the Empress Dowager.

"This time, I was careless." Shu Fei took a deep breath and said coldly: "I shouldn't have gone to the Queen Mother. I should have let someone spread their story first, so that everyone would know. I wonder how she can turn things around, and how the Queen Mother can protect her!"

Fu Xin and Zi Ling were shocked and immediately advised: "Your Majesty, you can't spread it now. Prince Yong is a first-rank prince, and Concubine Hui's family is also extremely powerful. This matter is not only related to Concubine Tao, but also Prince Yong's reputation. Besides, the Queen Mother will not let it go, so you must not spend any more time on this matter!"

The two maids were really exhausted. Not only did they have to worry about Shu Fei's pregnancy, but they were also afraid that she would do something stupid at this time and put everything into trouble with Concubine Tao. Concubine Tao was in great favor at the time and was not so easy to deal with.

As they were talking, a eunuch came in and said that it was Eunuch Zhang who came to announce the emperor's oral order.

Shu Fei calmed herself down and was helped by the two men to sit up straight.

After entering the room, Eunuch Zhang greeted the emperor first, and then said, "I have been ordered to convey the emperor's instructions. The emperor said: Shu Fei is now pregnant with the dragon's offspring, so she should cultivate her character and rest in peace. She must not get close to villains, listen to one side and make a big mistake, which will disappoint the emperor's grace and the empress dowager's high hopes. Since Shu Fei is a first-time offender, she will be punished lightly and fined for half a year's salary."

After Eunuch Zhang finished speaking, he gave another piece of advice: "Your Majesty, I have not changed a single word of what His Majesty said. I hope that Your Majesty will think twice before doing anything in the future."

After saying that, Lord Zhang walked out, leaving Shu Fei standing there in a daze.

"Haha, haha, did you hear that? He said a small punishment is a big warning, and told me to cultivate my character. He's disgusted with me, wuwuwuwuwu, he's disgusted with me..."

Fuxin and Ziling tried to persuade her again. Seeing that the situation was not good, Ziling quickly asked someone to call the imperial physician.

As for Tao Yanyan, she felt nothing at all whether she heard the news that Zhao Liangyi was sent to the cold palace or that the emperor sent Eunuch Zhang to reprimand Concubine Shu.

In her opinion, it was all their own fault.

It would have been fine if everyone just lived in peace, but they chose to harm her and accuse her of deceiving the king. The crime of deceiving the king would implicate the entire family. They were unkind in the first place and tried to harm others. They brought this upon themselves and do not deserve sympathy.

After dinner at Changle Palace, He Linzhang went to the study. Although he was on leave, he was not idle. He read several memorials submitted by ministers a year ago. The contents of these memorials were not urgent to reply, but they were also about the long-term stability of the country. Now that he had time, he thought about it carefully.

Tao Yanyan didn't scold him, but took Xiao Jinan to tell stories. The two of them told each other stories to train Xiao Jinan's language ability.

Xianglan waited outside the door for a long time, and finally went into the inner room with her head held high. As soon as she came in, she knelt down in front of Tao Yanyan, leaving Tao Yanyan confused.

"Xianglan, why are you kneeling down for no reason? Hurry up and tell me what you want to say."