"Now that His Majesty is unwell, instead of praying for his health, each of you is stirring up trouble. If you find your current positions uncomfortable, I can make a decision to demote you several ranks, never to be promoted again!"
"This concubine remembers!"
Everyone knows how difficult it is to be promoted, but to be demoted takes but a word from the Empress. And if it’s about getting promoted, there is never a second chance. Who would dare to make a fuss now?
"Remembering this is one thing, but you must also remember Miss Yun, the fourth daughter of the Yun Family, entered the palace to detoxify His Majesty. Now that His Majesty has woken up, once she detoxifies His Majesty, she will become a great hero of Tianchu Country. You know what to do!" the Empress said coolly again.
In the future, not to mention tripping up Yun Jinnian, even upon seeing her, everyone must be respectful. And when they return, they must instruct their children to be courteous when they see Yun Jinnian and not provoke her.
"All of you may withdraw!"
After all the concubines had withdrawn, Noble Consort Wang still knelt on the ground.
The Emperor looked at her and coldly smiled, "Noble Consort, there’s a saying that goes ’Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself.’ If someone coveted your position and asked you to give it up to make way for another, or to come live with you in Ganyu Palace, ordering around your servants, would you agree to it?"
Noble Consort Wang slightly shook her head.
"See, such a simple thing and you’re not willing. Yet, you’ve been fooled into doing such a wrongful act. You should go and find out the truth for yourself before thinking about how to remedy it," the Empress said, then waved her hand dismissively.
She didn’t want to hear any more from Noble Consort Wang.
Noble Consort Wang knew she had caused trouble today. Although the Empress had not punished her, she would surely be severely punished by the Emperor and even more so by the Empress Dowager. Especially the Empress Dowager, who would not easily forgive her!
She got up and left Weiyang Palace.
Barely able to stand steady.
Noble Consort Wang took hold of the Palace Maid Zhi Bi’s hand, "Zhi Bi, back to Ganyu Palace!"
Zhi Bi too didn’t dare to breathe too loudly. Right now, the Noble Consort still had fear and was not in the mood to punish them. But once the Noble Consort came back to her senses, they would inevitably face a beating.
And that was the better outcome. If things went poorly, someone in Ganyu Palace might end up dead today.
It all started when Pan Yuan, the chief eunuch, came to visit Ganyu Palace to seek the Noble Consort’s favor, claiming that Miss Yun, the fourth young lady, was arrogant and did not regard the Noble Consort in the slightest. She found it strange because Miss Yun had never met the Noble Consort. Since the Noble Consort’s niece, Princess Yanran, was to be married into the main line of the Yun Family as Yun Zhen’s wife, the Noble Consort wanted to establish her authority for Princess Yanran and had people spread rumors everywhere.
Now, in less than two hours, the Noble Consort had slapped herself in the face. She now needed a way to silence the rumors as if they had never happened.
Easier said than done...
Upon returning to Ganyu Palace, Noble Consort Wang immediately had people disperse the news that several palace maids in Ganyu Palace who had spoken out of turn and slandered Miss Yun had been beaten to death. The other concubines also set a good example, prohibiting the palace staff from discussing the matter, whether now or in the future. Anyone caught talking about it would be beaten to death.
The rumors came quickly and disappeared just as fast; in less than two and a half hours, they were gone without a trace.
As if nothing had happened.