amaotonovel Chapter 270: Intimidating Concubine De
Chapter 270: Intimidating Concubine De
Chapter 270: Intimidating Concubine De
In Shoukang Garden, an exquisitely decorated carriage slowly rolled out of the gate, the wheels creaking softly as they rolled. The driver flicked his whip and galloped the horses along the wide street toward the Forbidden City.
The carriage continued along until it suddenly slowed down and finally came to a steady stop by the roadside. It turned out they were waiting for an important person—Liang Jiugong. A moment later, Liang Jiugong hurried over, climbed aboard, and the driver whipped the horse again, continuing the journey toward the Forbidden City.
After a long journey, the carriage finally arrived at the majestic gates of the Forbidden City just before lunch. Concubine Yi, who remained in the palace, had already received the news and had escorted Concubine De to the Yikun Palace to await her arrival. The harem was a forbidden area. Even Prince Yong, the son of the retired emperor and the younger brother of the current emperor, was forbidden from entering without permission. Furthermore, the harem was now occupied by the retired emperor's young concubines.
When Yinzhen entered the Yikun Palace, Concubine De immediately came forward to greet him. Her wrinkled face revealed an irrepressible excitement, and every deep and shallow wrinkle seemed to be jumping with joy.
Concubine De tightly grasped Yinzhen's hand, her voice trembling as she spoke, "Zhen'er, are you here to take Mother out of the palace? Great! Mother will pack her bags and leave with you immediately. By the way, where's your wife? Why isn't she with you? This is too presumptuous and totally unruly!"
At first, Concubine De was overjoyed and couldn't wait to leave the palace. However, when she found that Yinzhen had arrived alone, her bright smile disappeared in an instant and her face turned gloomy.
Seeing her series of actions, Yinzhen's heart finally settled down. The person before him was still the mother he remembered so deeply! Even though they hadn't seen each other for many years, she seemed to have never changed in the slightest. This familiar appearance made Yinzhen's already unwavering faith even stronger.
Yinzhen stared at the other person with a sharp gaze and said in a deep voice, "Fujin will not come here today. I am the only one here today. So, what exactly do you want? Isn't your life in this deep palace good enough? Why do you keep making such a fuss?"
Before she finished speaking, Concubine De could no longer suppress her inner excitement. She covered her chest tightly with one hand and pointed the other hand directly at Yinzhen, shouting angrily: "You...how can you say such words! I am your biological mother! You are so disobedient and unfilial. It is simply a heinous act!"
At this moment, Liang Jiugong, who had been standing by, suddenly stepped forward and shouted in a stern voice, "How dare you! Stop your nonsense! Prince Yong's biological mother is Empress Xiaoyi. How could a mere concubine of the late emperor like you be worthy of her? Who gave you the audacity to claim to be Prince Yong's mother?"
Concubine De had never expected someone to dare interrupt her. When she looked closely, she saw that it was none other than Liang Jiugong, the man who had served the late emperor. In an instant, she involuntarily shrank her neck, as if frightened, and swallowed back the second half of her sentence.
After this plan failed, Concubine De's eyes rolled around, as if she had suddenly come up with a new idea. Then, she pretended to be pitiful and hesitant, and slowly walked towards Yinzhen.
When she came closer, she stretched out her hand without hesitation, grabbed Yinzhen's sleeve tightly, and began to cry: "Zhen'er, mother, I am really miserable!" However, just when she said this, Concubine De caught a glimpse of Liang Jiugong standing beside her and his eyes began to widen, and he looked like he was about to burst into a curse in the next second.
Startled, she quickly changed her words and said, "Uh... No, no, it's really me who's suffering! Think of this deep palace, the mansion is vast yet overcrowded. So many concubines are crammed together, and each person only has two rooms.
The number of palace maids serving her was pitifully small, only two. As for the daily dishes, they were mostly vegetarian, and it was almost impossible to find even a little meat. "I can't even endure such a frugal life for a single day! Zhen'er, please take me back home quickly. I'm still thinking about helping you take care of your grandson!"
Yinzhen had never expected Concubine De to make such a fuss, only to end up with such a small matter. He frowned helplessly, gently exerted force, and pulled back his sleeve. Then he patiently explained to Concubine De, "Actually, your life now is quite good. My second brother cleared out the entire West Six Palaces to accommodate the Emperor's concubines. For someone of your rank, being able to get two large rooms is already quite good. Those of lower rank have to squeeze two people into one room."
After a pause, Yinzhen calmed down a bit and continued, "Besides, you are the only one being served there. Two palace maids are more than enough to meet your daily needs. If you send a few more people there, wouldn't the house become even more crowded and unbearable? And regarding the fact that you can't see meat..."
At this point, Yinzhen tried hard to suppress his dissatisfaction, but he couldn't help but ask with a tone of reproach: "Have you really forgotten that we are still in the one-year mourning period for the retired emperor? Throughout the palace, even the emperor and empress strictly abide by filial piety and resolutely abstain from meat. And you, as the retired emperor's concubine, are not thinking about how to express your grief and sorrow at this moment. Instead, you are obsessed with eating meat! What's the logic behind this?"
At this point, Liang Jiugong didn't need to question him; Yinzhen couldn't stand it any longer. Although the Emperor's father might not have doted on him as much as his other brothers, he still harbored deep resentment over his father's passing. For the past six months, he had been diligently observing the rules of mourning. In his own house, not only did he not eat meat, he even reduced the amount of cooking oil in his dishes by half.
However, compared to others, Concubine De's current living conditions are quite good, but she is not only not grateful for the emperor's kindness and sympathy, but also does not remember the deceased emperor. Instead, she is still complaining about the hardship of life. Such behavior is really unbelievable and incomprehensible!
Yinzhen didn't care about Concubine De's expression at this time. His face was as gloomy as water, and he talked to himself about the plan he had already made up. His tone was firm and unquestionable: "You, there is no need to say anything more! If you still want to live a peaceful life in this deep palace, you should stay here honestly from now on, and don't make any more trouble! Otherwise, there is only one dead end waiting for you - being locked up in the cold palace and left to fend for yourself.
In my opinion, someone as smart as you should not be willing to go down this road of no return. As for wanting to leave the palace to retire, you'd better give up this idea as soon as possible. It is absolutely impossible! I will definitely not agree to it. Even if my fourteenth brother wants to help, it will be in vain. In the future, I will send someone to deliver you a full amount of silver and seasonal clothes on time every month to ensure that you have enough food and clothing. Apart from this, don't mention any other requests. I really can't do anything about it. "After saying this, Yinzhen turned around and left without looking back, strode out of the Yikun Palace without caring what Concubine De thought.
Liang Jiugong did not leave with Yinzhen, but remained where he was. He leaned slightly closer to Concubine De's ear and whispered something in a low voice. This simple sentence struck Concubine De like a bolt from the blue, freezing her in place. She felt as if she were under a spell, unable to move, and even the slightest thought of trouble could no longer arise in her mind.
It turned out that the words Liang Jiugong said were enough to frighten Concubine De: "If you dare to act recklessly and stir up trouble again, the late emperor has already left an order, allowing Concubine De to be buried alive with him."