CHAPTER 68: CHAPTER 63: CORPORAL PUNISHMENT

"Clang!"

When the Empress set down her teacup, it made a noise louder than anyone could have anticipated.

She was very thin, her skin closely clinging to her muscles, making it hard to discern her anger even when pushed to the limit. Yet at this moment, she laughed calmly, "I didn’t feel it when I first picked it up, but after holding it for a while, I realize today’s tea is hotter than usual."

The palace maid who brewed the tea knelt to plead for forgiveness.

"Enough, it was a mistake without malice, and it was my fault for being too engrossed in Attendant Lady Xi’s words."

Concubine Jiang cast a worried look.

It wasn’t so much concern for the Empress’s wellbeing, but rather fear that the Empress might back down and not punish Consort Xi.

"The matter of Consort Xi is minor, but the Empress’s hands mustn’t be scalded, everything should be centered around the Empress’s well-being." Concubine Jiang hinted she would side with the Empress, supporting her decisions at this time.

"Heh,"

The Empress was still contemplating, her thoughts interrupted by a chuckle from Concubine Wei, "Concubine Jiang truly knows her place, being favored by the Empress Dowager and also caring for the Empress."

In the harem, there are three great buddhas. She has offered incense to two of them.

Yet somehow, she holds no sway before the Emperor.

Understanding the veiled message in Concubine Wei’s words, a flash of humiliation crossed Concubine Jiang’s eyes, but she quickly raised her head proudly, "This is the duty of the concubines, Concubine Wei praises me too much."

Seeking shelter under the mighty branches of higher-ranking concubines is a legitimate survival strategy in the harem, an opportunity others might covet but not obtain.

"Well put,"

The Empress glanced over with a faint gaze, "Concubine Wei should learn from Concubine Jiang, constantly competing with words and tongues is unbefitting of a woman’s expected gentle virtues."

The words "gentle virtues," if the world had a mute button, Concubine Wei could have certainly been worthy of them.

Concubine Wei excelled in music and painting, her demeanor and elegance impeccable.

When the Heavens dished out talents with a disregard for mere mortals, she happened to be unable to hold her tongue.

"I have learned my lesson."

After all, she was facing the Empress, so Concubine Wei stood up and bowed.

"As for Consort Xi..."

When the Empress’s gaze fell on Yun Jiao, she had to muster an immense effort to suppress the turbulent nausea in her stomach. Why could she win the Emperor’s favor? Her family was insignificant, her etiquette lacking, and sometimes she acted like a rascal from the streets. Did she deserve it? For so many years, Lady was like a thorn embedded in her flesh, painful to touch. Unexpectedly, now there’s another iron nail pierced in her eyes!

The Empress’s eyelids trembled slightly.

"The women of the harem must not bring disgrace to the Royal Family nor disturb the Emperor’s rest. Overstepping boundaries in vying for favor and flirting is a grave mistake. Previously at the Hanyang Hunting Ground, I had sent Nanny Mao to teach you the proper etiquette, and you did not take it to heart. Returning to the palace, you made the same mistake while serving the Emperor, and even I cannot let it pass lightly."

The Empress’s mind swirled, but in the end, her emotions took the upper hand:

"Consort Yun, with your manipulative words and lack of discretion, you shall kneel in Jianzhang Palace facing the wall for two hours as punishment, then copy the ’Palace Rules’ twenty times as a lesson. Reflect well on your duties as a palace concubine."

"I acknowledge my wrongdoing."

Yun Jiao stood up, accepting her sentence.

Usually, if the Emperor caused her any distress, she would be instantly annoyed, knowing that the Emperor is kind and lenient towards the women in the harem, and wouldn’t usually be harsh over trivial matters. But at this moment, she also knew, no matter what she said, it wouldn’t help. Pleading with the Empress would only make her a laughingstock, satisfying the Empress’s desire for revenge against her.

This sort of thing, she had expected from the day she entered the palace.

The only question was whether it would come sooner or later.

Whenever the Emperor’s gaze was upon her, she would attract the scrutiny of the Empress and concubines. They would bully her, directly and unabashedly. If they couldn’t deal with her covertly, they would do it openly. This was the hatred from the Empress, fear that no matter how many times history rewound, unless the Emperor suddenly died, that would never change.

Yun Jiao thought to herself, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Enduring a bit of physical pain was like paying rent and utility bills for her time in the palace.

...

After hearing the Empress’s decision, the faces of the concubines revealed an expression of pleasure and schadenfreude. They stared at Consort Xi, trying to detect any trace of terror or embarrassment on her face, but were disappointed to find none.

Only Lady, she didn’t look at Yun Jiao.

She looked at the Empress, her beautiful peach blossom eyes showing astonishment—

The Lady still couldn’t restrain herself, and three aspects of handling this matter were improper: firstly, Consort Xi called the Imperial Physician in the middle of the night last night, and the Six Palaces were aware of her current frail body, so physically punishing her was unkind. Secondly, kneeling is one thing, but why not send her back to Xianfu Palace and let her roll there? If the Emperor wanted to intervene, it would be to Xianfu Palace to placate her. By keeping her in Jianzhang Palace for punishment, if the Emperor wished to come, it would surely lead to a direct confrontation with the Empress.

Of course, punishing the concubine who was with the Emperor last night inherently meant slighting the Emperor.

Lady put herself in that position: if she had to handle such a matter, she would have left a way out first rather than, as the Empress did, not leaving one and digging a deep hole beneath, waiting to clash with the Emperor in an unfair one-on-one. What for?

The final inappropriate action was that Lady still didn’t understand why the Empress was dealing with Consort Xi.

Lady raised her hand, her fingernails lightly pressing against her temple, catching in the corner of her eye the worried look of her half-sister towards Consort Xi...

Her headache was truly starting to act up.

Are these people really here for palace intrigue?

Consort Ji watched the scene with a heart filled with anxiety, yet found herself at a loss for a solution.

The Consort Xi she knew seemed like an immature girl, capable of begging her for a few dozen silvers and intervening to save her when her elder sister tried to push her into the water, risking offending Lady, thrilled over trivial things, with thoughts and emotions always apparent on her face.

Unexpectedly, faced with the Empress’s heavy punishment, her expression showed not a hint of turmoil.

It didn’t seem like she was relying on something; it seemed more like tranquility after accepting the rules of survival in the harem. She could play the game, she held both the wisdom and the grace.

—What Consort Ji didn’t know was that before the court adjourned in Jianzhang Palace, the deep and composed Consort Xi had, in her mind, slapped the Empress thirty-eight times before she returned to her initial calm and departed.

Nanny Mao took the detained Yun Jiao to an open space on the side of Jianzhang Palace.

The Empress liked to stroll within her palace, planting many trees to shade her during her walks, so finding a spot without shade took Nanny Mao quite an effort. She smiled and said, "Little Mistress, we meet again. This time, I must truly offend you, but don’t blame the Empress. The Empress bears the heavy responsibility of managing the Six Palaces. Little Mistress, remember today’s lesson, and stick to the rules from now on."

"There’s a proper way and rules to this kneeling punishment."

Nanny Mao reached out to adjust her kneeling posture.

A standard kneeling posture doesn’t just ache your knees, maintaining such a position for a long time is also unbearable.

Meanwhile, on the paper window nearby, a shallow hole was poked through by fingernails.

The Empress was sitting there, watching Yun Jiao suffer.