Entering the palace means entering a high position; I'm His Majesty's cousin, who am I afr

In the ensuing silence, Shen Jiayu's sharp gaze swept over the assembled concubines, and she sneered, "I have a bad temper, please forgive me. But you've all seen the consequences of provoking me, so you'd better watch yourselves in the future!"

Having said that, Shen Jiayu ignored the reactions of the other concubines and left in a huff.

This can't be considered spoiling.

This is blatant arrogance and hubris.

The hall was quiet for a while, then erupted in chaos.

Empress Luo, sitting on the throne, looked very troubled, rubbing her forehead and sighing repeatedly.

Although the concubines were all talking amongst themselves, none of them dared to openly criticize anything. Only Consort Hui raised her voice and said, "This Consort Shen is really... she must have some backing."

What is it?

Arrogant and disrespectful?

Arrogant and domineering?

Even Consort Hui, who held a high position and had a son, dared not speak openly about it, so the other concubines naturally did not respond to the question.

Just as Consort Hui said at the end—Consort Shen has a strong foundation in this palace.

Moreover, this confidence comes from the two most esteemed people in the palace, people they cannot afford to offend.

If you can't afford to offend them, can't you at least avoid them?

Besides, they weren't the ones being hit, so just pretend you didn't see or hear anything.

Just remember one thing: don't provoke Consort Shen, or things might not end well.

Inside the hall, Ruan Xiaoyi covered her face, listening to the discussions of the crowd, and desperately pinched her palms.

But tears of humiliation still flowed down her cheeks.

In the early days of her favor with the emperor, although she was ostracized by the other concubines, it was only verbal ridicule, and she never suffered such a real grievance.

Later on, after she became dependent on Consort Li and got pregnant, who would dare to make her uncomfortable?

But today, she was publicly slapped in the face, twice.

This scene was clearly witnessed by all the concubines in the palace, who continued to laugh at it.

They lost all face.

Ruan Xiaoyi could hardly stand staying in Fengyi Palace. She finally managed to wait until the time for the crowd to disperse, and then she led her palace servants and headed aggressively towards Xuanzheng Hall.

*

In front of Xuanzheng Hall.

Ruan Xiaoyi removed her arm, revealing the wound on her lip, and said to Qing'an, "I want to see His Majesty."

"Ouch." Half of her face was swollen. Qing'an was startled and quickly asked, "Xiaoyi, what happened?"

Ruan Xiaoyi felt wronged and tears kept falling.

Her personal maid recounted the events to her.

When Qing'an heard the name "Consort Shen," his expression changed. After hearing the explanation, he said with difficulty, "If it were any other time, I would certainly go in and announce your arrival when Consort Shen comes. But now, His Majesty is dealing with state affairs, and I dare not disturb him rashly."

Ruan Xiaoyi came here today to file a complaint, so she's not going to give up easily.

Seeing Qing'an's repeated attempts to stop and refuse, she lifted her skirt, knelt down in front of the Xuanzheng Hall with tears streaming down her face, and cried, "Your Majesty, I beg you to make the decision..."

Qing'an truly couldn't understand how there could be such stupid concubines in the harem.

He had already given her some pointers out of consideration for the imperial heir.

But she was stubborn and refused to take the path to survival, insisting on finding a path to death.

Qing Anxin is exhausted.

He glanced coldly at Ruan Xiaoyi and ignored her completely.

Only when the emperor's voice came from inside the hall did he glance at Ruan Xiaoyi and carefully enter the hall.

The man behind the long desk put down his pen, his expression grim. "What's going on outside?"

Qing'an lowered his head and replied, "Consort Ruan has arrived and requests to see His Majesty. This servant told her that His Majesty is busy with state affairs and has no time to see her. Perhaps Consort Ruan felt too wronged, because she started crying and pleading outside the palace."

Pei Yan sensed something unusual in those words and narrowed his eyes. "What grievance?"

Qing'an sighed and said, "Ruan Xiaoyi was slapped by her superior, and her face is quite swollen."

Pei Yan frowned.

He had a vague impression of this Nguyen woman; she was quiet and timid, dull and wooden, like a puppet on a string.

But Pei Yan didn't care whether it was a puppet or not, as long as it wasn't too noisy and annoying, so he summoned her a few times.

However, he remembered that a few days ago, someone had come to report that Nguyen was pregnant.

He casually promoted Ruan's rank.

Who was so bold as to hit someone?

Pei Yan tapped his knuckles lightly on the table twice, signaling him to continue.

Qing'an looked up at him, then looked down again, and said, "It was Consort Gui who hit me."

There are two or three people in the palace who hold the rank of Noble Consort.

Pei Yan immediately knew who it was: "Consort Shen?"

He thought to himself, no one else but her would dare to do this.

Qing'an recounted everything he knew.

Finally, he bowed and asked, "How does Your Majesty intend to handle this matter?"

Pei Yan didn't answer, but instead looked intently at Qing An. "Are you saying that my cousin has to compete with lower-ranking concubines for a bowl of bayberry custard?"

Qing'an naturally sensed the anger in the emperor's tone, and immediately knelt down, saying in fear, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger."

Pei Yan remained silent for a moment.

Qing'an's forehead was covered in cold sweat; he dared not raise his head or wipe the sweat away.

Finally, the emperor spoke, ending the oppressive silence.

Pei Yan said, "My patience is limited. Deal with everything before I get angry."

Qing'an hurriedly got up and retreated.

As a pregnant concubine, Ruan Xiaoyi was naturally not to be hit or scolded.

If we're talking about what to do, the only option is to demote them.

But how many ranks will it have to be downgraded?

Judging from His Majesty's expression, lowering him by one rank isn't enough; the only option is to lower him further...

Upon arriving outside the palace, Qing'an went straight to Ruan Xiaoyi.

Seeing him go in and then come out again, Ruan Xiaoyi thought His Majesty wanted to summon her, so she hurriedly asked, "Chief Eunuch Qing, does His Majesty want to see me?"

But the next second, Qing'an's words froze her in place.

Qing'an coldly ordered, "Xiaoyi Ruanshi is incompetent in managing her subordinates and allows palace maids to rebel against their superiors. She is unfit for her position and is demoted to the rank of Cai Nu."

After saying that, without even looking at Ruan Cai Nu's instantly pale face, he raised his hand and signaled, "Someone, take Ruan Cai Nu back to the palace."

The palace maids immediately helped Ruan Cai Nu away.

Ruan Cainu did not struggle or resist. Just now, all her strength had been drained, and her limbs and bones were cold to the bone.

The rank she had worked so hard for vanished like smoke at that moment.

These days of glory seem like a dream.

Gazing at the solemn and majestic Xuanzheng Hall, only a sliver of consciousness remained in her mind.

she thinks.

How can Your Majesty be so biased?

She was the one who got beaten, and she was also the one who was pregnant, so why was she so biased towards her cousin who hadn't even served the emperor yet?

After dismissing Madam Ruan, Qing'an said, "Summon the two court ladies from the Sixth Bureau."

During the Jing Dynasty, the Grand Steward of the Imperial Palace was in charge of all palace attendants, and the Six Bureaus of Palace Attendants were in charge of all palace maids.

In principle, each department should be responsible for its own affairs and not interfere with each other.

However, Qing'an, the Grand Eunuch of the Imperial Palace, held the rank of Third Rank, while the highest-ranking female official in the Six Bureaus, the Palace Attendant, was only a Fifth Rank.

Normally, Qing'an doesn't want to get involved in the affairs of the Sixth Bureau, not that he can't.

Seeing his unfriendly expression, the palace servants quickly responded and left.

Before long, two palace ladies from the Sixth Bureau arrived in a hurry. Upon seeing Qing'an, they both bowed and greeted him, "Grand Steward."

Qing'an cut straight to the point: "Are you aware of what happened at the Imperial Food Bureau yesterday?"

The two court ladies exchanged a glance and understood the reason for the sudden summons today.

The two answered in unison, "Yes."

Qing'an said sternly, "Remove the current head of the Imperial Kitchen and replace him immediately. There must be no mistakes."

This was the fault of the Sixth Bureau of the Imperial Household Department, and the two Imperial Household Department staff dared not refuse, so they immediately agreed.

They also harbored resentment towards the Imperial Food Bureau's food service.

Ruan Xiaoyi's palace maids took away Shen Guipin's bayberry pastry, and no one stopped them?

They allowed them to argue and push each other without intervening in time.

This imperial chef has truly failed in his duty.

Looking at the two palace ladies' uneasy expressions, Qing'an said coldly, "You two, there will be no next time. If you offend them again, I'm afraid neither of you can bear His Majesty's wrath."