The Reborn Princess Has Turned Evil

Chapter 134 The Prince is Punished

Rong'en Palace.

At this moment, Consort Li was pacing anxiously back and forth in the palace.

"Your Highness, please stop turning around. You're making me dizzy," Qingyu said.

Consort Li looked anxious. "How can I not be anxious? I was the one who arranged for the Empress Dowager's return to the palace. Now that she has fallen from her sedan chair and is unconscious, isn't this my fault for not supervising her properly?"

Seeing Consort Li's behavior, Qingyu suddenly realized that what the old folks said made a lot of sense. Wasn't this the saying that pregnancy makes you stupid for three years?

"Your Majesty~" Qingyu stepped forward and helped Consort Li sit down on the red pear-shaped couch, and whispered, "My dear Your Majesty, please rest assured, this matter definitely has nothing to do with our palace."

Consort Li was a little confused, and grabbed Qingyu's arm, asking, "What do you mean by that?"

"Your Majesty, think about it. You are pregnant, and the management of the inner palace is handled by Consort Chen. As for the Empress Dowager's return to the palace, if not all of it, at least 70% of it was done by Consort Chen. Even if we were to investigate, it would be Consort Chen's fault. At most, we would be accused of negligence in our management."

These words truly soothed Consort Li's heart, and she turned her anger into a smile. "That's right, Consort Chen is the Empress Dowager's niece. Even if the Empress Dowager wakes up, she won't really do anything to her. The Empress Dowager has just returned to the palace, so she won't openly show favoritism and punish only me."

"Furthermore..." Consort Li gently picked up a sour jujube with her jade-like fingers and continued, "Furthermore, we and Consort Chen are already adversaries, and the Empress Dowager naturally stands on Consort Chen's side. In the future, it's really hard to say whether we will be enemies or friends."

The master and servant exchanged a smile, everything understood without a word.

……

Royal study room.

"How is it?" Emperor Jing stood with his hands behind his back, his voice authoritative without being angry.

Jing Fengyao stood at the lower end and respectfully said, "Your Majesty, I have thoroughly investigated and found that the eight sedan chair bearers had upset their stomachs from drinking last night and could not bear it any longer, which is why they jolted the sedan chair."

"Your Majesty, it is indeed as the Crown Prince said."

Upon hearing Chu Nian speak, Emperor Jing turned around. For some reason, Jing Fengyao felt that Emperor Jing looked very tired today, unlike his usual energetic self.

"Detain him for now and await further instructions."

Jing Fengyao was puzzled upon hearing this and said, "Father, those sedan chairs committed a capital offense and should be executed immediately." He said this with Emperor Jing's intention in mind, after all, Emperor Jing valued filial piety the most.

"Besides, those sedan chair carriers are not worth pitying."

Emperor Jing's expression was solemn. Chu Nian had already noticed something was wrong and was about to speak up to stop Jing Fengyao when Emperor Jing preemptively flew into a rage.

"presumptuous!"

Emperor Jing suddenly spoke up and casually threw a memorial at Jing Fengyao.

“Father…” Jing Fengyao was quite frightened, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Emperor Jing narrowed his eyes, his voice filled with authority, and questioned, "Is this how your teacher taught you to treat human life so lightly?"

The hat was too big for Jing Fengyao, so he knelt down on the ground. "Father, I didn't mean that." He didn't understand what he had done wrong. His father was always the most filial to his grandmother.

"Your Majesty..." Chu Nian knew that Emperor Jing was angry. He had overheard most of what had happened on his way here, and Prince Qing was indeed too blatant. Jing Fengyao was even helping the Empress Dowager, which undoubtedly put him in a dangerous position.

But Emperor Jing's anger only grew stronger, and he continued to berate Jing Fengyao, "An official and a ruler who cannot distinguish right from wrong, who only knows how to execute fools, has no sense of propriety or justice!"

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince's mistake was unintentional. Please calm your anger."

Emperor Jing then stopped.

Jing Fengyao raised his head in surprise. He was very puzzled. Even if he had done something wrong, he shouldn't have been accused of such a serious offense. He muttered in dissatisfaction, "Your subject doesn't understand. Your subject has always put filial piety first. Why should it come to this?"

Emperor Jing's anger intensified. "Guards!"

At this moment, Emperor Jing's personal guard, Gu Ping, entered. He was dressed in full armor, looking exceptionally brave and skilled in martial arts. He bowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty."

“The eldest prince, as the legitimate son, is lawless and extremely foolish. He shall be dragged away and given twenty heavy lashes, made to copy the Four Books ten times, and confined to his room to reflect on his mistakes. He shall not be allowed to leave without being summoned.”

"Yes."

A king's decree is never easily revoked. Jing Fengyao knew this, and could only sigh in disappointment before collapsing to the ground. He had never been punished so severely in his life.

Chu Nian simply shook his head slightly. This eldest prince was still too young and ultimately couldn't see through the situation.

……

The moon rises above the willow branches, and the stars shine brightly.

Yongfu Palace.

Jing Anle was in a good mood today. She had made the face-conscious Empress Dowager lose face so badly and even take a big fall. She gently touched her nails and thought to herself: This is just a small gift. There are many more days to come.

But before she could even take a few sips of the lotus dew, a palace servant stumbled in.

"Ah Han, why are you running so fast?" Ah Fang asked from the side.

"Not good, not good."

Afang didn't like hearing this. "Shut up! What's wrong? Our princess and Yongfu Palace are doing just fine."

Jing Anle shook her head. She had only praised her for a few days, yet she was already being presumptuous again. She couldn't help but blurt out, "Afang..."

"Tell me, what exactly happened?"

Ah Han took a deep breath and steadied herself before saying, "The Crown Prince... the Crown Prince has been punished by His Majesty."

"What!" Jing Anle exclaimed in surprise, and the cup she was about to put into her mouth froze in mid-air.

"Princess……"

Afang looked at Jing Anle with concern.

Jing Anle was startled at first, then immediately realized something was wrong. This wasn't right. Not to mention that Emperor Jing had never been so angry with Jing Fengyao before. She had a feeling that Emperor Jing was acting very differently today, and her intuition told her that today's events must be related to the Empress Dowager.

Seeing Jing Anle in a daze, Afang assumed she was frightened and anxiously asked, "Princess, Princess, are you alright?"

"Afang, I'm fine."

Seeing Jing Anle's reaction, Afang felt a sense of calm settle down. Just as she was about to continue speaking, Mu Ping entered. Her expression remained as calm as ever, but seeing Jing Anle's state, she guessed what had happened, since the entire palace now knew.

"Princess, the Empress Dowager has awakened." Mu Ping said softly, her eyes meeting Jing Anle's. The mistress and servant understood each other's meaning.

Jing Anle took a deep breath and asked, "Where is Prince Qing's family?"

“Prince Qing has not left the palace yet, and is staying in a side hall of Cixi Palace. He is probably already at the Empress Dowager’s side by now.”

"What a cunning old fox," Jing Anle thought, narrowing his eyes. He stood up and said, "Let's go, we should also go see our Empress Dowager."

……

"Auntie is awake! Auntie is finally awake!"

The palace maids led the way with lanterns, and Consort Chen, supported by Cai Xing, ran forward.

"Your Majesty, it's dark now, let's be careful."

She was determined to climb the social ladder by clinging to the Empress Dowager, so naturally she didn't want anything to happen to the Empress Dowager. When she finally arrived at Cixi Palace, the entrance was brightly lit.

"Greetings, Consort Chen." The palace servants at the door bowed respectfully.

Consort Chen narrowed her eyes, thinking to herself: That vile Consort Li got there first again. But I am the Empress Dowager's own niece. With that thought, Consort Chen raised her head and walked gracefully into the hall, unaware that Consort Lin was slowly approaching to greet her.

Seeing Consort Chen go inside, Dongqing became very anxious and couldn't help but say to Consort Lin, "Your Highness, we must hurry."

But Consort Lin didn't care and said calmly, "Don't worry, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is very busy inside right now and has no time to attend to us."