You take on two husbands, I'll turn around and marry the tyrant and rule the world.

Shen Lanbing had just heard Consort Shu say that the shredded sachets were used to make shoe uppers.

Her beautiful eyes darkened with anger, and she bit her lip. Chu Nianci gently pulled her back and shook her head.

Now is not the time to confront Consort Shu directly... She is of a higher rank, and a head-on confrontation would only result in losses.

Just then, they heard the sound of a flute and followed the others towards Plum Grove.

When she arrived at Plum Blossom Pavilion, she saw Consort Bai dancing. She glanced at Duanmu Qingyu and saw the emperor suddenly clench his fists, his eyes turning as cold as ice.

That dazzling, beautiful face now seemed frozen in frost and snow, radiating a chilling and murderous aura.

His expression changed drastically. In the blink of an eye, the handsome young man who looked like a chiseled gem under the bright sun transformed into someone with sharp, cold eyes that seemed to pierce through flesh and bone like a sword.

Her icy, cold eyes seemed to have pierced through one's soul.

Consort Shu was so angry that her face turned pale.

She walked slowly to Bai Pin, looking down at the girl who was half a head shorter than her, her eyes as cold as ice: "Who gave you permission to dance this barbarian dance here?"

She clearly sent word out to catch the Empress, that tiger, but ended up catching only this vixen.

This Plum Grove is where I met my brother Qingyu.

She dared to dance here.

Consort Bai was so terrified that she froze, turning into a stone statue, forgetting even to bow...

...Isn't this the place where His Majesty first met the fairy in his dream?

Why is His Majesty so furious?

"How dare you! You don't even bow to His Majesty, and you dare to ignore him. Whose power are you relying on?" Consort Shu's sharp voice suddenly rang out, abruptly pulling Consort Bai back to reality.

Bai Pin finally came to her senses.

She hurriedly knelt down, tears welling in her eyes, her face showing a delicate, innocent, and wronged expression: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, I only heard that Your Majesty loves the Hu Xuan dance, so I rehearsed here, hoping to perform it at the New Year's Eve banquet..."

The Hu Xuan dance is inherently form-fitting, and when she wiped away her tears with her sleeve, her clothes unintentionally came undone, revealing a patch of snow-white skin on her neck.

Consort Shu was even more furious when she saw this. How dare this vile woman seduce people in public!

"Outrageous! This is the place where we worship the late Empress, Lü Qiao!" Consort Shu shouted sternly. "Drag this shameless woman away and punish her severely!"

Green Qiao, accompanied by several palace maids, stepped forward and surrounded Consort Bai.

Bai Yunchen, who was standing to the side, immediately looked grim.

Although he didn't know what taboos existed within Plum Blossom Grove, anything that could anger Duanmu Qingyu so much must be extraordinary.

Seeing his trembling half-sister kneeling on the ground, how could he, as a member of the Bai family, ignore her?

With a sigh, Bai Yunchen finally stepped forward, lifted his robe, and knelt down: "Your Majesty, Meiwu is a place for appreciating flowers and playing. My sister has only been here a short time and really did not know that it was a place for worshipping the late Empress. As the saying goes, ignorance is no excuse. Considering that she was confused for a moment, I beg Your Majesty to be lenient."

Duanmu Qingyu's bright eyes darkened slightly.

Chu Nianci hurriedly stepped forward and reported, "When I entered the palace, I was told that the late Emperor had offered sacrifices here to the spirits of the soldiers who fought in the northern expedition. When did it become a place for leisure?"

Bai Yunchen felt a chill run down his spine.

His thoughts were suddenly pulled back to ten years ago.

At that time, His Majesty had just recovered the capital region and fought a bloody battle with the barbarians at Yanmen Pass for seven days and seven nights, suffering heavy casualties. He then set up an altar in the palace to commemorate the fallen soldiers, which was in this Meiwu.

If not deliberately recalled, this past event would have long been buried in the past.

He then realized the enormity of his sister's mistake.

But he couldn't bear to watch her be punished, so he kowtowed again: "Your Majesty, we were foolish. We really didn't mention this to my sister at home. She truly didn't know. I'm willing to pledge my official position as collateral and beg Your Majesty's forgiveness."

Chu Nianci sneered, "Last time, when Consort Bai falsely accused someone, she also said 'I don't know.' Now she's using the same excuse again. Is she truly ignorant, or is she just taking advantage of her young age to repeatedly evade responsibility?"

Upon hearing this, Duanmu Qingyu's tone turned cold: "That's right. Consort Bai was previously punished with confinement, and it was only after the Empress pleaded with the Empress Dowager that she was released early. Instead of repenting, she has committed another offense. Does your Bai family perhaps believe that the power of the Grand Commandant's Mansion is greater than the palace rules?"

These words stung Bai Yunchen so much that his handsome face flushed red with shame and indignation.

With his youthful spirit, he had never been ridiculed in public like this before, so he could only lower his head and remain silent.

"Did you hear that, Consort Bai?" Consort Shu chuckled, lowering her eyes to fiddle with the jade ring on her finger. "You have defiled the sacred land. What is your punishment?"

Upon hearing her words, Yan Rong suddenly interjected in a low voice, "Your Highness, the young lady was merely dancing; how can you say she has defiled..."

Before she could finish speaking, Lü Qiao, who was beside Consort Shu, stepped forward and slapped Yan Rong hard across the face.

"What do you mean, 'you' and 'me'? How dare you not use honorifics when addressing Her Majesty!"

Caught off guard, Yan Rong was struck so hard that her vision went black.

She was a first-rank palace maid serving Consort Bai, one rank lower than Lü Qiao, and dared not refute such an insult.

He covered his face in humiliation, lowered his head, and dared not utter another sound.

Everyone lowered their heads, not daring to breathe.

"Brother Qingyu," Consort Shu said to Duanmu Qingyu with a sweet smile, "You let me handle this matter. If I handle it well, I might be able to help the Empress in the future. If I handle it poorly, I can learn from it."

Duanmu Qingyu smiled faintly and nodded. Jingxi had already brought over a round-backed chair, and he sat down with a flick of his sleeve.

Chu Nianci was slightly surprised.

I thought he would punish Consort Bai himself, but unexpectedly he handed over the power of punishment to Consort Shu.

Suddenly she understood.

He would not personally deal with the Grand Commandant's residence in order to provoke the Grand Commandant's dissatisfaction with him.

He preferred to hand it over to Consort Shu, so that the two would fight each other, which suited his taste better.

In this light, his indulgence and tyranny towards Consort Shu was merely a way of using her domineering nature as a useful tool.

However, this was only one aspect she could think of. As for other reasons, she couldn't think of any. No wonder the little germaphobe was able to secure the throne in just three years.

The heart of an emperor is unfathomable.

Consort Shu glanced at the ground, and the maid beside her immediately understood and quickly handed her the Qiang flute on the ground.

Consort Shu took the Qiang flute and sat on the chair brought by the maids. Her beautiful almond eyes revealed a hint of coldness as she disdainfully swept her gaze around the crowd. Her eyes then fixed on Consort Bai's Hu clothing, her gaze full of contempt. "This outfit is just to seduce His Majesty. It's something that can't be presented in public!"

"Tell me yourself, how should this be handled according to palace rules?" Consort Shu said disdainfully.

Consort Bai was so frightened that her legs went weak, and she knelt down with a thud, her voice trembling: "Your Highness, Consort Shu, I truly did not know that Plum Grove was a place of sacrifice..."

Chu Nianci smiled and said, "Your Highness, Consort Shu, have you studied the palace rules? As Minister Bai said, it's no wonder that some people don't know."

All the concubines learned palace rules from Aunt Lan in Chuxiu Palace after entering the palace.

Moreover, she learned it in public, so I'm not afraid she won't admit it.

Consort Shu didn't even lift her eyelids, but a "gentle" smile appeared at the corner of her lips: "When you entered the palace, didn't anyone teach you the palace rules?"

Consort Bai was taken aback upon hearing this.

While at Chuxiu Palace, I heard Aunt Lan publicly declare that this was a quiet place and should not be offended.

But at the time, she thought these things were unimportant, and she really didn't listen carefully.

She couldn't help but regret that she shouldn't have let the palace rules go in one ear and out the other when she was learning them.

"Yes...I did teach you..." Consort Bai collapsed to the ground, "I don't remember clearly!"

"Well, there's nothing I can do about that," Consort Shu sighed, waving her hand as if disciplining a palace concubine was an incredibly difficult task.

He glanced at Consort Bai, who was trembling on the ground, and was about to order her to be dragged away and flogged.

Bai Yunchen seemed to see through her thoughts and quickly stepped forward, saying in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, my younger sister's actions are absurd, but please forgive her for the sake of our grandfathers being ministers entrusted with the care of the emperor."

That means don't push people too far.

Consort Shu frowned slightly.

She could disregard the brother and sister's feelings, but she couldn't disregard the Grand Commandant's.

After a moment's thought, he sneered, "Since Vice Minister Bai has pleaded for you, then spare your physical suffering."

Consort Bai dared not defend herself, and could only kowtow repeatedly with tears in her eyes, saying "I am innocent."

Consort Shu's voice was both cold and seductive: "Consort Bai is the granddaughter of the Grand Commandant. The punishment of caning is waived. Tomorrow, we will inform the Empress and strip you of your Consort rank, demote you to Noble Lady, and confine you to Yongshou Palace."

Consort Bai was completely devastated and wanted to be stripped of her rank.

Without this concubine position, she would be completely abandoned by her family.

Consort Shu then looked at Yan Rong, who was trembling.

"Your mistress has been corrupted by you palace maids, which is utterly despicable," the seductive voice sent chills down one's spine. "Lü Qiao, how should we punish those who instigate the mistress?"

Green Flutters replied with a look of disgust, "To defile the sacred ground's feet, one must use Ice Cleansing to remove the grime!"

Consort Shu smiled and accepted her suggestion: "Oh? Then take off Yanrong's shoes and socks and let her go onto the ice to cleanse herself of the impurities!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Rong turned pale with fright and prostrated herself on the ground, screaming, "Your Highness, Consort Shu, spare my life!"

This is the coldest time of winter, when the ice is three feet thick!

If a person were to dance barefoot on the ice, wouldn't they lose their feet?

Lü Qiao immediately waved to the eunuchs beside her, and they stepped forward, grabbed Yan Rong, and dragged her away.

Everyone's faces turned pale.

Lady Lan was so frightened that her hands trembled as she asked in a low voice, "Wouldn't my legs be ruined like this...?"

Chu Nianci held her hand tightly and sighed.

Bing'er is still too soft-hearted.

So he whispered in her ear, "Don't feel sorry for her, just let her suffer a little..."

Several burly palace maids stepped forward to drag Yan Rong to her execution, and the surroundings were deathly silent.

Ignoring Yan Rong, Consort Bai pleaded with Bai Yunshen, her face streaked with tears, "Brother, save me! I can't lose my title as Consort!"

Bai Yunchen's handsome face turned deathly pale, his peach blossom eyes glaring angrily at Consort Shu like dragging swords, without pleading for mercy again.

A fierce, desperate look gradually appeared in Consort Bai's eyes.

If she didn't act soon, and her concubine rank was stripped away, everything would be over. She screamed, raising her hand to cover her face. Instantly, her breathing became rapid, and half of her face turned an eerie black...

"Ahhh!" She suddenly let out a bloodcurdling scream in pain...