amaotonovel Chapter 209: Concubine Zhou and the Queen's Battle
Chapter 209: Concubine Zhou and the Queen's Battle
After these words were spoken, the hall became even quieter.
Concubine Zhou looked at Shen Qionghua with an extremely vicious look.
It was this lowly merchant girl who actually dared to trick her a few times and even implicated her brother and An'er. The Yongning Marquisate was demoted to an Earl's Mansion. During this time, I wonder how many people laughed at her behind her back!
The Queen frowned slightly when she saw Concubine Zhou like this. Princess Anle beside her also spoke up immediately, "Yes, Mother. The last time we went to the palace for hunting, Princess Jialin acted so willfully that she annoyed me and almost got spanked by me."
Shen Qionghua frowned when he heard this.
She brought up all sorts of things, as if she was afraid that Princess Yongle would not remember her.
Upon hearing this, the Queen glanced at Princess Yongle, but saw her own daughter holding the teacup and drinking sip by sip, as if she didn't hear anything.
The Queen smiled and said, "You are a girl who holds a grudge. Your elder sister has probably forgotten about it, but you remember it clearly."
Holding grudges is not a good reputation for a girl, so Concubine Zhou naturally wanted to protect her daughter. "Anle is naive and powerless. If someone offends her, she will forget it after a while."
"No one can compare to the eldest princess, who wields a whip with such skill that no one dares to offend her, for fear that she will destroy someone else's appearance in a fit of rage."
"But let me say that although the eldest princess has a bad temper, it's for a reason. The Jialin County Lady has always been bold, and she must have done something excessive, which is why the eldest princess is so angry."
"Your Majesty, don't you think so?"
For a moment, all the noble ladies who had attended Princess Yongle's banquet in the palace had a strange look on their faces.
What happened at that time was crystal clear. Wasn't it that Princess Jialin mistakenly wore Princess Yongle's clothes?
Princess Yongle has already forgiven Lady Jialin, and the incident has happened for so long. I wonder what the imperial concubine's intention is in suddenly bringing it up today.
At that time, the incident was just a small episode, and Princess Yongle did not punish Shen Qionghua, so it did not make a big deal. Some ladies who went to the palace did not know about it, but this did not prevent them from noticing the unusualness in Concubine Zhou's words.
They are all as quiet as quails.
When those in power fight with each other, they should not get involved beyond their capabilities.
After hearing what Concubine Zhou said, Shen Qionghua felt a pang in her heart and thought to herself, "This is bad."
Concubine Zhou still refused to give up and brought up what happened last time in the palace, trying to force the queen to punish her.
If the Queen denied it, wouldn't it prove that Princess Yongle was cruel and merciless, punishing others for no reason, which would be detrimental to Princess Yongle's reputation?
The Queen only has this one daughter, how could she bear to let her bear such a reputation.
If the queen admitted it, she would be labeled as bold and presumptuous and offended the princess. According to the palace rules, wouldn't she be punished?
Since the incident had not been brought to the attention of the Queen, she had turned a blind eye and let it go.
Now Concubine Zhou has informed the Queen about what happened last time. If the Queen does not punish her according to the palace rules, it means that the Queen disregards the palace rules and is derelict in her duty as the master of the harem. How can she manage the harem with such authority in the future?
No... Besides, if the Queen punished her, she would be a meritorious official who had made outstanding contributions to disaster relief and was personally conferred the title of Princess Jialin by the Emperor.
The first time she entered the palace, she was punished by the Queen. Where would she put the Emperor's face?
Where will the victims who receive relief be placed?
Even if the emperor wanted to silence the gossips, he would punish the queen and might even become estranged from her.
But if she is not punished, Princess Yongle will have such a reputation, and even if the Queen protects her now, she will definitely hate her in her heart.
The two high-ranking officials in the harem regard her as a thorn in their side, and it is only a matter of time before something bad happens to her.
The imperial concubine's plan was extremely vicious. No matter what, she would be the one who benefited from it.
If used well, it would kill three birds with one stone: punish her, alienate the emperor and empress, and make the empress hate her.
Shen Qionghua's palms were slightly sweaty. She didn't dare to bet on who was more important in the Queen's heart, her or Princess Yongle.
Isn't this clearly asking for humiliation?
Seeing the Queen's gaze looking at her, Shen Qionghua was about to speak, but a clear voice spoke first.
"Your Highness, Princess Jialin did indeed do something minor wrong, which is why the eldest princess got angry. However, I, your son, pleaded with the eldest princess on her behalf."
"Grandma, you did it for my sake, and since it was just a trivial matter, you are very generous and not the kind of person who would care about trivial matters, so you let Princess Jialin go."
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was the Fifth Prince who spoke.
After the Fifth Prince finished speaking, Concubine Shun beside him timidly tugged at his sleeve, obviously not wanting him to be involved in the fight between the Queen and Concubine Zhou.
The queen's brows softened all of a sudden, and she waved at the fifth prince, motioning him to come over.
"Good boy, since your eldest sister has promised you, how can your mother be such a bad person again? Then..."
Concubine Zhou sneered and spoke first, "Your Majesty, this isn't very good. The country has its laws, and the palace has its rules. We still have to follow the rules."
The Queen paused, and the Fifth Prince immediately said, "Your Highness, this incident all started because of me. If I hadn't accidentally spilled water into Princess Jialin's bag, nothing would have happened."
"If that's the case, shouldn't I be the one who deserves the most punishment?"
The fifth prince was lying with his eyes open, but no one dared to object now.
When the queen saw that the final blame fell on the fifth prince, her eyes suddenly turned cold.
His voice was cold as he spoke: