378 Challenged the decision [Bonus chapter]
“Why are you crying, Princess Jingfei?” Zhu Liling asked Jingfei, who did not utter a word. She nced at Xiaolian to speak and asked her to tell her about it. Xiaolian described to the Queen how Li Hua and her brother hurt Jingfei’s feelings first, and then, Liu Jin Yu insulted her.
Xiuying and Ruoxi looked at Zhu Liling. They taunted her about how the Crown Princess had already started to abuse her power over the princesses.
“Royal Mother, the Crown Princess, is from a nameless ss. Yet she has enough guts to insult the First Sister. Sister Jingfei was trying to make everything good with Commander Huang Xi. But Li Hua and her brother surely did something to make him hate Sister Jingfei.” Xiaolian left no grounds to involve Li Hua in that matter.
“Where are the Crown Princess and the Princess Consort?” Zhu Liling asked her.
“In the Sixth Prince’s manor,” Xiaolian replied.
Zhu Liling asked Jingfei not to cry about it and nced at Lady Mi Yao. “Bring them here,” the Queen ordered her. Mi Yao bowed and left the room.
“Princess Jingfei should not cry on such trivial matters,” Noble Consort Xiuying told her. She wiped her tears when Zhu Liling asked the two princesses to take their respective seats.
“Jin Yu did not deserve to be the Crown Princess in the first ce. I wonder why Her Majesty chose her. Crown Prince Xiaoming did a mistake by bringing her into his life. But Her Majesty could have rectified it,” Virtuous Consort Ruoxi opined. Xiuying agreed with her words and advised Zhu Liling to bring at least one concubine for the Crown Prince from a noble family.
“My stepbrother’s daughter is a beautiful young woman. If Her Majesty allows, then I can ask her toe to the pce,” Xiuying gave Zhu Liling the suggestion of a youngdy, who could be Xiaoming’s concubine.
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“Thank you, Sister Xiuying, but for the Crown Prince, if there is a need to bring a concubine, then I will select her carefully,” Zhu Liling affirmed and politely refused the offer of Xiuying.
Jin Yu and Li Hua entered the room led by Mi Yao. They kowtowed before the Queen and the two Consorts. Li Hua saw that Jingfei’s face did not look good. She shifted her gaze to the Queen, who had opened her mouth to speak.
“May I know what Li Hua and her brother talked about with Commander Huang Xi that made him despise my daughter?” Zhu Liling’s question confused Li Hua and Jin Yu at the same time. Jin Yu realized that Jingfei lied in front of the Queen.
“We said nothing to Commander Huang Xi, Your Majesty. I wanted to help the First Princess by making her converse with Commander Huang Xi, but she interpreted the wrong meaning of my intention,” Li Hua asserted.
“Li Hua, do not lie in front of the Royal Mother,” Xiaolian said.
“I do not dare to lie in front of Her Majesty,” Li Hua answered. “If Her Majesty does not believe me, then she must wait for Commander Huang Xi’s return to know the real truth. However, if Her Majesty cannot wait for a long time, then she must ask the First Princess what made Commander Huang Xi hate her. She is well aware of this,” Li Hua proimed.
Zhu Liling looked at Jingfei, who was beaming at Li Hua in fury.
“Since Li Hua is speaking with such confidence, I believe we have to wait for Commander Huang Xi’s return,” Xiuying opined. She was terrified of Lóng Wei. Upon his return, he would definitely gather information about the days when he was not around. If for some reason, he found that Li Hua was troubled behind his back, he would not spare any of them. So, she decided to take Li Hua’s stand.
Zhu Liling wanted to punish Li Hua for the wrong that she did to her daughter, but not in this way.
“Princess Jingfei, let’s not talk about this matter until Huang Xi returns,” Zhu Liling announced. Her decision was shocking to both Jingfei and Xiaolian.
The Queen looked at Jin Yu and asked her why she was not in her chamber. “Did the Crown Princess leave the manor without fearing my order? Did she think after bing the Crown Princess she had authority over the others? She cannot treat the royal princesses badly,” Zhu Liling scolded her.
“I hadpleted my morning lessons, Royal Mother. I cannot stay in one ce for a long time. So, I thought to visit Li Hua. I never thought of having authority over the others, Royal Mother.” Jin Yu answered with a confident tone. She looked into the eyes of the Queen, and for a brief moment, she looked at Jingfei.
Zhu Liling announced the punishment for Jin Yu. “The Crown Princess is not allowed toe out of her chamber for one day and she will not be given food.”
“What? May I know why I am being punished for no reason?” Jin Yu was not scared to raise her voice.
“Is the Crown Princess challenging the decision of Her Majesty?” Rouxi asked her.
“Yes. If the Royal Mother is punishing me because of her daughter, then it is definitely wrong. The First Princess called me a nameless woman without any background. She should be punished for saying wrong about me. I am not an ordinary woman. I am the Crown Princess,” Jin Yu pronounced before them.
Zhu Liling could not bear that insult. Jin Yu was more rebellious than she had thought. She asked Mi Yao to give her a stick, and soon a stick was arranged.
“The Crown Princess should lift her skirt because she will get beatings from this stick. She must know that when a Queen orders in the imperial pce, then themand must be followed without raising any voice,” Zhu Liling said. She would punish Jin Yu today at any cost.
Two maidservants caught Jin Yu’s arms when she pushed them away. “I will appeal to His Majesty then. The Queen cannot punish me when I have no fault,” Jin Yu challenged Zhu Liling.
Li Hua found the matter was turning bigger, so she decided to intervene.
“If Her Majesty allows, then may I speak? I want to tell Her Majesty that whatever the First Princess and the Third Princess said here, was a lie, which made the Crown Princess as a wrong person when she was not,” Li Hua affirmed and waited for Zhu Liling’s decision.
“Stay out of it, Li Hua. It is not about the matter you are speaking about,” Zhu Liling stated, and gestured to Mi Yao to start.