eurekapd 300 Sowing Discord
300 Sowing Discord
300 Sowing discord
In the Empress Dowager's palace.
Previously, Jing Anle would almost never come to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager, but today she deliberately went to Cixi Palace.
As expected, Consort Li was about to give birth and was inconvenient, so the Empress Dowager exempted her from paying her respects. Consort Lin was disliked by the Empress Dowager, so naturally she was not allowed to come and get in the way. Therefore, only Consort Chen, a few noble ladies, and... Princess Yongping came.
“Princess Anle is quite a rare guest today.” The one who spoke was Consort Chen, who had always disliked her; the other noble ladies dared not utter a word.
Jing Anle gave her a cold glance. A leopard can't change its spots. Chen Fei was startled and remembered the slaps Jing Anle had given her. Her face burned with pain. She pouted and dared not speak again.
Princess Yongping, standing to the side, thought Consort Chen was a good-for-nothing and wondered why she was so afraid of this girl.
Jing Anle glanced around, then her gaze settled on Princess Yongping. "Why didn't Princess Laili come? Oh, Anle forgot, but the princess hasn't fully recovered yet?"
Because Emperor Jing had executed Lai Li's personal maid last time, Lai Li was still throwing a tantrum at her. Knowing that Jing Anle was deliberately provoking her, Yongping smiled gently, "Anle, don't worry, Lai Li is just a little weak."
He's just a newborn tiger, yet he dares to offend her.
Seeing Yongping get the short end of the stick, Consort Chen couldn't help but chuckle to herself. Sure enough, it takes a bad guy to deal with a bad guy.
"Anle still has some donkey-hide gelatin bestowed by the Emperor, it's of the highest quality, I'll have someone send it to Princess Laili later." Jing Anle deliberately mentioned Emperor Jing, just to see Yongping's expression.
As expected, Yongping's expression changed subtly for a moment. Last time, Jing Anle noticed that Yongping seemed to particularly like to cling to Emperor Jing, just like... clinging to a sweetheart.
“I appreciate your kindness, Anle. My brother has also given Laili a lot of tonics. But children can’t handle too much nourishment, so you should keep yours.”
Jing Anle nodded, "Aunt is right, then let's give this donkey-hide gelatin to Princess Rou."
The expressions on everyone's faces changed instantly, but no one dared to respond.
Yongping felt that everyone around him was just a bunch of pretty but useless vases. Just as he was about to speak, he heard someone shout, "The Empress Dowager has arrived!"
Everyone quickly bowed in greeting.
"Rise, all of you." The Empress Dowager slowly took her seat. Today she was wearing a newly made purple fur robe, which looked extremely luxurious. Although she had few ornaments on her head, each of her hairpins and hair ornaments was priceless. She did not look like an old woman who was meditating.
Jing Anle sat to the side, but secretly observed the Empress Dowager. This old hag seemed to be in very good health. Not only did she have a good complexion, but she had also become quite plump. For someone of her age, she was truly living a life of luxury.
"I heard you all had a lively conversation. What were you talking about?" The Empress Dowager's gaze swept around the room.
Consort Chen hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, it was just some everyday talk." Having learned her lesson so many times, Consort Chen dared not speak out again.
The Empress Dowager smiled kindly and beckoned to Jing Anle, "Anle, good child, come here quickly. How have you been feeling lately?"
After Jing Anle fell off the cliff last time, she has been recuperating at Yongfu Palace, and has stopped attending classes and paying respects to her.
Jing Anle felt disgusted. This old hag was quite good at pretending. Jing Anle walked over gracefully and lowered her head charmingly, "Thank you for your concern, Grandmother. With the concern of Grandmother and Father, Anle feels much better."
Jing Anle, standing before her, was only fifteen years old, in the prime of her life. Chen Huaping looked at Jing Anle's face and found her to be incomparably beautiful. For a moment, she felt a pang of jealousy, even though Jing Anle was her nominal granddaughter. "Look at that little face, so adorable."
"Grandmother, you flatter me. You were truly stunning in your youth! Otherwise, how could you have won the Emperor's exclusive favor?"
These words are truly hurtful. Everyone knows that the late emperor's most beloved person was Consort Wan, the birth mother of Emperor Jing. Chen Huaping's becoming Empress Dowager was merely a matter of timing and circumstances, and had nothing to do with the late emperor's favor.
But the Empress Dowager was an old fox with decades of experience, and she wouldn't change her attitude so easily. So the two of them continued to interact with each other with forced smiles.
At this moment, Princess Yongping stepped forward and said, "Mother, just now Princess Anle said that she wanted to give the donkey-hide gelatin that the Emperor had bestowed upon her to Princess Rou."
"Oh?" The Empress Dowager subtly withdrew her hand from Jing Anle's.
"I'm afraid Anle has heard some rumors too," Yongping said with a malicious smile.
The Empress Dowager's tone immediately carried a hint of reproach, "Anle, as the legitimate princess, how could you be so easily swayed by those rumors? Did someone around you instigate you?"
This is Empress Dowager Chen Huaping. She appears kind on the surface, but is actually ruthless and cruel. If you make a mistake, she will immediately turn her back on you.
Jing Anle looked at the Empress Dowager with a wronged expression, "Empress Dowager, Anle only thought that Princess Rou was frail and had no other intentions. As for the rumors, Anle has been living in the deep palace for a long time, reading and writing every day, and has no idea about them at all."
Yongping winked at one of the nobles, who then spoke up: "Right now, rumors are circulating both inside and outside the palace about Princess Rou and the Crown Prince of Qi. There are even rumors outside the palace that... Princess Rou is pregnant, and Princess Anle is preparing to marry Ajiao. I'm afraid..."
Before the nobleman could finish speaking, Jing Anle interrupted, "How dare you!"
The nobleman was startled, and everyone looked at Jing Anle.
"Just now, the Empress Dowager said that rumors should not be believed. Which palace do you belong to? How can you be so unruly and disregard the Empress Dowager's words?"
"Princess Rou is a member of the royal family, a woman of noble birth. How dare you, a mere noblewoman, spout such nonsense!" Jing Anle's aura suddenly became fierce.
Upon hearing this, the noblewoman's knees buckled, and she immediately knelt down to admit her mistake, "Your Majesty, I dare not..."
Jing Anle turned to look at her grandmother, adopting a pitiful expression. "Grandmother, please believe me. Father taught us to be kind to our subordinates. Although there is a difference between ruler and subject, Princess Rou and Laili are still my sisters. I only asked a few words of concern, and I've been misunderstood like this. I'm truly heartbroken..."
After saying that, she burst into tears, her eyes blurry with tears, looking truly pitiful.
"Besides, Princess Rou and Crown Prince Qi are already engaged, so it's understandable that they're a little intimate. If it's really as the rumors say, then... then wouldn't that be an insult to our royal family's reputation?"
Consort Chen also didn't believe that Jing Rou would do such a shameless thing. She even thought that the rumors were spread by Jing Anle. She immediately chimed in, "Empress Dowager, the imperial dignity cannot be desecrated. It would be better to send Prince Qing and Princess Rou to the palace to shut those people up."
The Empress Dowager glanced at Consort Chen impatiently, feeling annoyed. How could her Chen family have such a fool?
Consort Chen lowered her head in fear, thinking to herself, "What? I didn't say anything wrong."