Chief Eunuch Weng Yi had keen eyes, spotting the Empress from a distance! I guess he couldn’t help it, considering how conspicuous Fat Queen’s figure was.
He immediately reported to Ning Xu, "Emperor, the Empress is waiting up ahead for Your Majesty’s arrival."
Ning Xu had just finished the morning court. Although Dongru Country didn’t suffer from regency by the Empress Dowager, he was still too young, so he depended on veteran ministers to assist him. To him, the harem was merely a fixture. His visit to the harem was solely to listen to songs and unwind. So, while he was resting with his eyes closed, Weng Yi’s words caught him off guard.
"The Empress? You’re saying Yuan Yuan, that fat one, has come out of Yikun Palace?"
Following Weng Yi’s gaze, who else could that fat woman standing under the peach tree be but the Empress?
Ning Xu twitched his lips, "She truly has a uniquely distinguishable fatness. Just her figure alone is worth two or three of me, isn’t it? How dare she come out ?"
Weng Yi bowed his head, not daring to respond, for even if the Empress was detested, it wasn’t a servant’s place to agree.
As for Yuan Yuan herself, she didn’t consider this barely fifteen-year-old boy worthy of her attention. In her eyes, this Emperor was just like her grandson; in what world would she romanticize a relationship with him? Only if she were out of her mind.
Thus, when Ning Xu’s Imperial Chariot approached, she merely bowed slightly as would any normal concubine, muttering,
"I greet Your Majesty, may Your Majesty live in peace."
"Yuan Yuan? Why aren’t you in your Yikun Palace, running around here instead?" Follow current novᴇls on NoveI(F)ire.net
He didn’t allow her to stand, so she kept her knees bent. It might be bearable for others, but it was awkward for her.
"Emperor, you haven’t told your subject to stand. My legs can’t withstand bending for too long."
Ning Xu looked at Yuan Yuan, who spoke without expression, his tone unintentionally turning hostile.
"If you can’t withstand it, then kneel for me! I won’t let you stand up, so don’t even think of standing, kneel!"
Grinding her teeth, Yuan Yuan, given her now lesser status, begrudgingly knelt down.
"Do you realize your mistake?" Ning Xu didn’t even dismount the sedan; he sat aloft, looking disdainfully down at the kneeling lump.
"I do not know, Your Majesty."
"Heh... a fine ’I do not know’. Since you’re clueless, then kneel there until you understand."
With a wave of his hand, the Imperial Chariot mercilessly passed her by, and Yuan Yuan remained kneeling on the ground until there was no sound around. Then she stood up abruptly.
A joke, she thought. Was she supposed to kneel just because a mere boy commanded it? What did he take her for, his pet dog or cat?
However, before she could take even two steps, a trembling voice came from behind, "Lady...,"
Yuan Yuan frowned, turning to look back. Whoa, she almost jumped; when had these cloaked figures in black hooded cloaks appeared behind her?
They held long swords at her companions’ throats, the leader, although not wearing a veil, had his entire face hidden in the black hood, making their faces indistinct.
"Empress, please kneel. The Emperor didn’t say when you could stand; you must remain kneeling until the imperial decree arrives."
To intimidate her, the swords pressed closer to the eunuch’s neck. When blood started to trickle, she knew these were probably the legendary Hidden Guards. Oh heavens, in this age of subservience, why was survival so stifling!
Yuan Yuan knelt in humiliation. As she looked up, those people had vanished into thin air, and following the Empress’s example, the palace maid and eunuch could not remain standing; thus, everyone who came with her now knelt down too.