Favored concubine deposed empress? I'll seize your throne and marry you to a powerful minister.

Imperial Physician Qian hurriedly knelt down to pay his respects: "Your Majesty the Empress."

"Imperial Physician Qian is very thoughtful," Wei Rong glanced at him, then said to Qiaoyu, "Send this letter out of the palace and deliver it to Wei Jin."

Qiaoyu breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that there were no traces of crying on her face.

The envelope in her hand was very thick; she wondered what her mistress had written on it that she wanted to send back to the Wei family.

Wei Jin is the head steward of the Wei family. He was born into the Wei family and has been a household slave since his grandfather's generation. He is extremely reliable.

However, according to Wei Rong's rules, this letter was equivalent to a family letter and could not be made public.

If that's the case, then in front of Physician Qian—

Qiaoyu dared not show any unusual behavior, and only pretended to say, "This servant will take it to the Imperial Household Department."

Wei Rong watched Qiaoyu walk away, then looked at Physician Qian: "Your Excellency has been waiting for a long time, but I am fine."

Two slaps were all it took; her disappointment in Xiao Heng was far beyond what the pain of those slaps could erase. It was just that the anger that had been building up in her heart needed an outlet.

Someone has to pay the price for this.

"Let me help Your Majesty reduce the swelling," Physician Qian said, always with a meticulous yet meddlesome demeanor. "Otherwise, it will turn blue tomorrow."

Wei Rong ultimately did not allow him to apply the medicine.

While taking a shower, she looked at herself in the mirror and saw the finger mark on the corner of her mouth. Sure enough, it had swelled up and turned bluish-purple.

Qiaoyu stood by and served her, knowing that she was in a bad mood, and dared not try to persuade her anymore.

Even if you have eyes, you should be able to see His Majesty's favoritism. Such a heavy slap, the physical injury is secondary, how can you heal the broken heart?

For the past six months, I've been walking on thin ice in the palace.

If she were to spend the rest of her life living like this, Qiaoyu didn't know if her master would go mad.

"My mother's death anniversary is the second day of the second lunar month," Wei Rong touched the wound on the corner of her lip, "Tomorrow we will go and ask for permission to go home."

For 365 days, Wei Rong stayed in the palace.

She had almost forgotten what it was like outside the palace.

I've had too many days of this deceit and constant vigilance; I feel less like a human being and more like a wild beast.

Trapped in a large cage, they wake up to fight for a bite of meat, not giving up until blood and bones are spilled.

Qiaoyu was happy to be leaving the palace, but also a little worried: "Will His Majesty allow it?"

"I am still the Empress, and I have not committed any wrongdoing. I merely wish to return to my maternal home to pay respects to my late mother. What reason does he have to stop me?"

Wei Rong's prediction was correct. She submitted the procedures for leaving the palace, and Xiao Heng personally came to Fengluan Palace half a day later.

When returning home to pay respects to ancestors, certain details need to be taken care of.

Today, Wei Rong wore a plain-colored outfit, rolled up her sleeves, and actually busied herself in the small kitchen.

The dozen or so servants waiting outside were trembling with fear. The Empress insisted on doing it herself, and Wei Rong suppressed their attempts to stop her.

So what Xiao Heng saw was Wei Rong, who was wearing only a hairpin, with powder on her hands, putting the shaped dumplings into the steamer.

The scar on the corner of his lip was somewhat glaring in the light.

Xiao Heng acted as if nothing was wrong, beckoning the servants to disperse and walking inside herself: "Why are you busy with all this? Just leave it to the servants."

Wei Rong glanced at him briefly, then lowered her head again to continue kneading the dumplings, showing no intention of bowing: "The small kitchen is filthy, Your Majesty, please go to the palace for tea."

Her mother loved to eat these dumplings, and in previous years her father would instruct the household to prepare them. But now that her father is gone, she wants to make them herself.

Others might not understand, but Xiao Heng did. She knew Wei Rong well; in fact, she was annoyed by these rules.

When they first got married, the household was not like the palace, with fewer rules and no constant greetings. When Wei Rong occasionally did her favorite pastimes, this was how she would greet him when he came.

At that time, Xiao Heng was unaware of it. He had heard that ordinary couples in the countryside lived such a plain and uneventful life together.

Sometimes when he was busy with official duties and came back from outside, Wei Rong would find that his sleeves were torn or his hat was crooked. She would put down what she was doing, roll up her sleeves, and fix it for him.

At some point, it seemed that the ordinary relationship between them had disappeared.

At any time, they were more like ruler and subject.

"I have Zhu Er take care of things for you. Just tell him what you need."

After Wei Rong finished making the dumplings, she turned to look at him and said calmly, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

They didn't mention Shen Mingxiu at all.

After washing her hands, Wei Rong handed the rest to the imperial chef, but was stopped at the door by Xiao Heng as she was leaving.

He braced himself against the doorframe with one hand, and touched the corner of her lips with the other: "Does it hurt?"

That was such a hard slap, it would be a lie to say it didn't hurt.

Wei Rong turned her head away and chuckled, "The Noble Consort Xian also received a slap from me. Your Majesty should go and ask her if it hurts."

Xiao Heng's expression changed upon hearing the name Shen Mingxiu.

Although confined to Chuxiu Palace, Shen Mingxiu frequently summoned the imperial physician last night and even sent people to invite him several times.

He was told that the Imperial Concubine was unwell and was crying incessantly, and that he should go and see her.

Everyone knows this is just a tactic; she's afraid of losing him, so she's anxious and wants to keep him.

In comparison, Wei Rong seemed excessively indifferent.

If it weren't for the servants reporting that the Empress had requested to leave the palace, and he hadn't found an excuse to come and check on her, Wei Rong probably would never have asked for permission.

I don't know what they're being stubborn about.

"You know you hit hard. I've really spoiled you. You even dare to hit people in front of me and the Empress Dowager."

Wei Rong remained unconcerned: "Compared to killing, doesn't Your Majesty think I went too far?"

"Wei Rong!"

He tried to talk to her nicely, but Wei Rong deliberately provoked him with every word she said.

Then let's not talk about it.

Only after driving Xiao Heng away did Wei Rong feel a little more at ease.

The next day, her entourage returned directly to the Wei residence.

With his father gone, Wei Xing returned to the Southern Frontier, leaving only a few uncles and elders to greet him at the mansion.

Wei Jin helped her out of the carriage. When he saw the wound on the corner of her mouth, he was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head and sighed softly, "The letter that Her Majesty sent back the other day was actually about herself."

Wei Jinru's elder brother was one of the few people Wei Rong could trust: "Did you send out that excellent storybook for me?"

"Of course," Wei Jin reminded her of the steps, "This story, written by the Empress herself and performed by the most famous storyteller in Yunjing City, has been packed with people in all the teahouses these past few days."

Perhaps everyone thought that Wei Rong would try to settle the matter peacefully.

Three days have passed since the incident; if Xiao Heng wanted to investigate, she would have already obtained the results.

Wei Rong had already anticipated this, and he had always treated Shen Mingxiu with utmost care, never even causing her a scratch.

Therefore, she had no hope that Shen Mingxiu would be severely punished.

But if it's just a simple house arrest, it will keep Wei Rong up at night.

She insisted on making this matter known to everyone.

If this gets back to Xiao Heng, it might just be another slap in the face, but it doesn't matter.

Now that things have come to this, she is indifferent to Xiao Heng.

It doesn't matter what he wants to do, or what he will do to Wei Rong after he finds out.

The storyteller embellished the story, her aim being to expose Shen Mingxiu's crimes to the world.

The emperor was willing to keep such a woman by his side, and even bestow titles and honors upon her, to which she had no objection.

The ancestral tablets in the Wei Clan Ancestral Hall, arranged in dozens of rows, had already been cleaned before Wei Rong returned.

Her father's memorial tablet was placed next to her mother's, side by side, as if they were never separated.

Wei Rong's beautiful view of love all comes from her parents.