novelraw Chapter 420
Chapter 420
A hush fell over the Palace of Earthly Tranquility.
Chu Ruoyan's lips curled up. Propping her face on her left hand, she leaned lazily against the soft cushions. "Who said to stop? Keep hitting."
The palace servants looked at each other, still not daring to make a move.
Yan Zheng laughed inwardly, thinking she truly had the air of a kingdom-ruining demon consort, but on the surface, he feigned anger. "Insolent! You won't even listen to My words anymore. Are you truly trying to turn the heavens upside down?"
Feng Ying had long been beaten into a dizzy stupor. Hearing these words, she was moved to tears.
She knew it; the Emperor had her in his heart, otherwise why would he have rushed over so hurriedly to save her from the fire and water!
"Your Majesty! This subject's wife is wronged! I truly do not know how I offended Her Majesty the Empress. I beg Your Majesty to seek justice for me!"
As she spoke, she tilted her head up, putting on a pitiful and helpless look.
Yan Zheng pinched his fingers tightly, trying his hardest to bear looking at her face, which was swollen like a pig's head. "Feng... cousin-in-law, rest assured, I will absolutely not lightly forgive anyone who bullies the Yan family!"
With that, he raised his hand. "Come! Take these servants who raised their hands—"
Before he could finish, he met the Empress's light, airy glance.
He paused, then changed direction and pointed at the servants of the Second Branch. "Drag these servants who don't know how to protect their master down and give them ten strokes of the cane!"
Feng Ying: "???"
Lady Xue: "???"
Chu Jing: "!!!"
Only Meng Yang replied with a blank expression.
He knew it. Let alone touching the Empress, this master couldn't even bear to lay a finger on the servants in her palace!
Chu Ruoyan's mouth twitched. How could they keep up the act at this rate?
She could only stand up to save the situation. "Stop acting in front of this Empress! Your Majesty, you punish your Yan family members here, but the moment you step out, you will pour dirty water on my head. As the dignified ruler of a nation, don't you find it shameful to use such underhanded methods?"
Everyone present was stunned.
Feng Ying and Lady Xue secretly praised her brilliance, and the latter immediately said, "Your Majesty, the Second Branch accepts the punishment! Commander Meng, what are you still standing there for?"
A question mark slowly rose above Meng Yang's head, as if asking her if she was sure.
Lady Xue shouted, "The Emperor's words are gold and jade; how can he go back on them? Carry out the punishment quickly!"
The pitiful people of the Second Branch were dragged down and beaten until their wails filled the air.
Chu Jing could no longer hold back and stepped forward. "Your Majesty, although I do not know what happened between you and Her Majesty, a day as husband and wife means a hundred days of grace. Please, for the sake of the Empress carrying the dragon seed, sit down and talk things over properly."
Chu Ruolan also said, "Yes, Emperor Third Brother, wasn't everything fine before? How could you just turn on each other like this? Please don't scare us!"
Yan Zheng remained silent, only looking at the Empress, meaning: They are your people, you deal with them.
Chu Ruoyan laughed coldly and raised her voice, "Don't beg him! Aunt, Third Sister, do you believe it now? Our new Emperor has no other skills, but he is an expert at burning bridges after crossing the river! If it were only that, it would be fine. But this Lady Feng previously instigated Yan Chenghao to forcibly abduct Jiang Yi, and he didn't punish her. Yan Xin of the Third Branch embezzled and accepted bribes of over ten million taels, and he didn't punish him either. Yet he fixates on my second brother, who has done absolutely nothing, insisting that he is plotting rebellion! Tell me, isn't this just trumping up a charge?"
Feng Ying was terrified, never expecting that Yan Chenghao had already sold her out.
Gritting her teeth, she scrambled forward, rolling and crawling. "Your Majesty the Empress! If you are angry, take it out on me, but you absolutely must not slander the Yan family and the royal family!"
Just as she rushed up the steps, she deliberately pretended to have been kicked.
Her body tumbled down like a rolling gourd. Blood from her forehead instantly covered her entire face, scaring Lady Xue into continuous screams: "Daughter-in-law! Empress, you are trying to take her life!"
Chu Ruoyan was secretly amused. She hadn't expected Feng Ying to be so willing to risk her life for the act!
Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly smelled the scent of blood drifting in the air and covered her nose in discomfort.
A dark look flashed through Yan Zheng's eyes as he said sternly, "What are you standing around for? Hurry and carry her to the Imperial Hospital and find Chief Physician Zhang to treat her!"
The palace servants woke up as if from a dream and hurriedly carried the person away.
Yan Zheng, however, didn't want to drag this out any longer, lest his wife disturb her pregnancy.
With a wave of his large hand, he said coldly, "I will waste no more words with you! Lady Chu, first you colluded with the remnants of the previous dynasty, and then, relying on favor, you arrogantly beat royal relatives. Considering the dragon seed in your womb, I have tolerated you time and time again, but instead of repenting, you have only gotten worse. From this moment on, the Empress title of Lady Chu is abolished. Confiscate the imperial seal, move her to the Cold Palace, and let her reflect on her actions!"
Chu Jing and Chu Ruolan knelt down in shock. "Your Majesty!"
Madam Li also couldn't help but advise, "Your Majesty, the Yan family's ancestral teachings say one must not abandon the wife who shared one's hardships!"
Yan Zheng gave a cold snort. "That was in the past! Now that the Yan family is royalty, how can we be as pedantic as before!"
Chu Ruoyan breathed a sigh of relief in her heart and mocked aloud, "Finally stopped acting? Yan Zheng, you are petty and seek revenge for the smallest grievances. I knew this day would come! If it's the Cold Palace, then the Cold Palace it is. I want to see how long your empire can last without my Lady Chu!"
After saying that, she stood up and walked down.
As her long black hair swept past his eyes, the man forcefully suppressed the urge to pull her into his arms. Thinking that it would be difficult to meet again once she went to the Cold Palace, his face turned as cold as the ice and snow in the dead of winter.
The people below trembled like sifting chaff, not daring to breathe a word.
They could only watch the Empress leave the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, silently lamenting the ruthlessness of the Emperor.
Chu Jing's expression changed several times. She hurriedly returned to the Cao family and, upon seeing her husband, said, "My Lord, did you know—"
Before she could finish, Cao Yang cut her off. "Madam, don't panic. I know everything."
"You know, and yet you can still sit still? Didn't you say you already submitted a memorial to the Emperor? Could it be that he didn't see it? How about writing another one?" Chu Jing was spinning around in anxiety.
Cao Yang sighed helplessly, dismissed the servants, and took her hand to sit by the bed. "Madam, the Emperor saw the memorial. He only said one sentence, telling me to capture the rebels of the Prince of Jin's lineage as soon as possible."
He deliberately emphasized the Prince of Jin's lineage. Chu Jing froze for a moment before remembering that her niece also had a cousin surnamed Yun.
She looked at Cao Yang. "My Lord, you mean..."
Cao Yang silently nodded. Chu Jing patted her chest and let out a long breath. "Heavens! So that's how it is. Those two acted so realistically that even I couldn't tell!"
Cao Yang smiled and stroked his beard. "If even my Madam could tell, how would outsiders believe it?"
Chu Jing nodded, then remembered something. "Rest assured, My Lord, I will return to my maiden home immediately. I won't let my sister-in-law and Ruolan cause any trouble."
Cao Yang gave a slight nod. It was not easy to marry a wife, and even rarer to marry such a virtuous one.
He only hoped that the new Emperor, seeing as he had contributed both effort and manpower, would wrap things up quickly. Otherwise, if it dragged on any longer, he couldn't guarantee that Chu Huaishan wouldn't come charging back.
However, things were not so peaceful in the royal court.
As soon as the news of the Emperor wanting to abolish the Empress came out, the entire court was in an uproar. Led by Xie Zhizhou and Pei Zhuo, and even including Mei Hexuan, who had rushed back from preparing for his wedding outside, they all knelt down to plead against abolishing the Empress. Meanwhile, a faction of officials led by Pei Ji forcefully laid out ten major crimes committed by the Empress, such as being "unvirtuous," "jealous," and "allowing maternal relatives to interfere in politics." In addition to abolishing the Empress, they also requested the Emperor to take concubines to fill the inner harem.
"My daughter, Pei Bingqing, is of peerless beauty, gentle, and virtuous. Furthermore, she has admired Your Majesty for a long time. I implore Your Majesty to give her a chance to enter the palace and serve you!"