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

The slap was delivered, the challenge was issued, and Shen Jiayu understood everything.

She rose gracefully and left calmly amidst the awe and astonishment of the palace servants throughout the street.

Only after her entourage had disappeared into the distance along the long street did Consort Zhu's maid dare to step forward and help her up.

Seeing that Consort Zhu's lips were bleeding, the palace maid quickly took a handkerchief and carefully wiped it away. "Consort, please bear with it."

The pain throbbed in her mouth and cheeks, but Consort Zhu seemed oblivious, her gaze fixed on the direction Shen Jiayu had left.

After a long while, she finally left the long street.

*

After returning to Yihua Palace, Shen Jiayu went to the small study in the East Hall, where she sat down and wrote a letter home.

After she finished writing, she handed it to Hongling and instructed her, "Send it out when you have some free time. The household will understand once they see it."

The letter contained very little information, which could be summarized in the four words "Zhu deceived me".

My father had previously said that if anyone made her life difficult in the palace, he would make sure that person's entire family suffered as well.

Now that you've seen this letter, you'll understand her intentions.

The Zhu family were originally just ordinary minor officials in the capital. It was only through the influence of Consort Zhu in the palace that they achieved their current status and prestige.

Shen Jiayu didn't believe that the Zhu family could be innocent.

As long as they're not innocent, things will be much easier; the Duke's mansion has plenty of ways to deal with the Zhu family.

Hongling received the letter, responded, and then cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, if things get too desperate, what if Consort Zhu resorts to a risky move...?"

A cold smile curled at the corner of Shen Jiayu's lips: "I'm going to force her."

The incident involving Hu Manteng juice reveals Consort Zhu's ruthless mind and shrewd tactics.

Such people are very cautious and will not act rashly unless they are absolutely certain of success.

Even after what happened today, Consort Zhu is unlikely to make any rash moves.

Since that's the case, she forced Consort Zhu to take action.

Once she takes action, Shen Jiayu's goal will be achieved; she wants to use this incident to offer a "pledge of allegiance."

Shen Jiayu gathered her thoughts and said solemnly, "I hereby admonish everyone in the palace to stay alert and not slack off in the slightest during this period."

Hongling's expression was quite solemn: "Yes."

*

Letters from imperial concubines to their families had to undergo multiple layers of inspection by the Shanggong Bureau before being sent out of the palace.

Furthermore, according to the laws of the Dajing Palace, concubines are only allowed to send one letter outside the palace per month.

The female official in charge of registration and archiving, looking at the second letter from Yihua Palace this month, smiled shrewdly at Hongling and said, "Please rest assured, Miss, it won't take long after it's registered. I will send someone out immediately."

Hongling nodded and smiled: "Then I'll have to trouble you."

After taking her away, the female official of the Siyan Department immediately summoned her subordinates and instructed them, "Register her as soon as possible and arrange for someone to send her out."

The palace maid, holding the letter, agreed and left.

The Shanggong Bureau was one of the six bureaus under the control of Consort Li, and it housed many of Consort Li's spies and informants.

Within an hour or so, Consort Li received the news.

A young palace maid came to Weiyang Palace to report: "This morning, Consort Chen sent another letter from home."

The sun was shining brightly today, and Consort Li was sunbathing with her Persian cat on the veranda when she heard this. She raised an eyebrow and said, "Another letter?"

The young palace maid lowered her voice and said, "The female officials in our department agreed on the spot and said they would send it to the Duke's mansion as soon as possible."

Consort Li sneered repeatedly.

These people in the palace are used to currying favor with the powerful and opportunistic. Even the female officials of the Sixth Bureau are no exception.

This letter from Consort Chen should be treated with utmost care and sent out of the palace as soon as possible.

If it were a concubine of lower rank who sent a second letter from home, they probably wouldn't even accept it, and would just use palace rules as an excuse, let alone be so attentive.

The young palace maid took out a piece of paper from her sleeve and handed it to Consort Li, saying, "This is what I copied down while I was at it. Please take a look, Your Highness."

Consort Li reached out and took it, slowly reading it over. She frowned and said, "Is it really necessary for Consort Chen and Consort Zhu to complain to the palace over such a trivial matter?"

After reading the contents of the letter, Consort Li was somewhat puzzled.

As far as she knew, the conflict between the two stemmed from Consort Zhu's comment during a recent greeting that Consort Chen was the only one favored by the emperor.

This matter has been over for so long, shouldn't it have been resolved long ago? Consort Zhu was thoroughly slapped, so why did Consort Chen suddenly write a letter back to the mansion?

Her trusted palace maid, Cixin, quickly whispered in her ear, "After the morning greetings today, Consort Chen ran into Consort Zhu near the Imperial Garden. For some reason, she openly slapped Consort Zhu again. I heard it was quite a slap; half of Consort Zhu's face is now unrecognizable."

Consort Li's alluring face showed a hint of surprise: "Another slap?"

Ci Xin said, "Many palace servants saw it, and I heard it caused quite a commotion."

Consort Li smiled, stroking the cat in her arms with a pleased expression. "It seems that Consort Chen, after beating someone up, immediately returned to the palace and wrote a letter. Let them make a scene, the bigger the better, ideally both sides would be injured, so I can reap the benefits."

She was still looking forward to it just a few days ago.

They had hoped that someone would come along and challenge Consort Chen, and to their surprise, their wish came true. Within a few days, Consort Chen and Consort Zhu were already fighting.

That's perfect, just what she wanted.

Consort Li chuckled softly, picked up the cat, and returned to the palace. "Tell our people in the Palace Affairs Bureau to spread Consort Chen's letter as soon as possible."

She couldn't wait to see the results.

*

Because of Shen Jiayu's status and Consort Li's instructions.

However, by the afternoon, the letter had arrived at the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. When the people in the mansion learned that it was sent by a concubine from the palace, they hurriedly delivered it to the main courtyard.

The Duchess was taking a nap when she was gently shaken awake by her maid. Just as she was about to ask what was wrong, the maid handed her a letter. "It's a letter from our Lady, please take a look, Madam."

The Duchess's heart sank.

This month, Yu'er sent a letter home from the palace with good news. She said that His Majesty had issued an edict to confer the title of Consort, and she would be promoted to the rank of Second-Rank Consort and given power in the palace once the investiture ceremony was held.

She was delighted to see it and sent someone to speak to the Duke.

Why is there another letter from home today? Could something serious have happened?

The Duchess, thinking of the bad possibilities, began to tremble slightly as she opened the letter and hurriedly read it.

After quickly glancing over the text, the Duchess felt relieved. Her gaze then returned to the words "frequent discord with the Zhu family," and her expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

Lady Zhu? Is she the favored Consort Zhu in the palace?

Did she have a conflict with Yu'er?

The Duchess knew Shen Jiayu's temperament well. When Yu'er wrote letters home, she always reported good news and never bad news, for fear that her family would worry about her.

This is the first letter from her family to complain, which shows that this Zhu family member is truly not someone to be trifled with.

After a moment's thought, the Duchess gave the order: "Have the steward go to the military camp on the outskirts of the capital and tell the Duke that his daughter has been wronged in the palace and that he should come home."

The maid knew that the affairs of the empress in the palace were of paramount importance to the household, so she hurried off to deliver the message.

The Duchess read the family letter again, then stopped sleeping and had someone dress and groom her.

Before the Duke returned, she went back to her parents' home.

It should be noted that Yu'er's support is not limited to the Duke's mansion. Her maternal family, the Marquis of Yongping's mansion, is also a noble family in the capital and is not to be trifled with!