Chapter 212
**Chapter 210: Hidden Meanings?**
“What are you doing?”
The Empress Dowager’s furious reprimand echoed through the hall.
Xie Fanglan turned around in delight, raising her voice to call out, “Auntie!”
The Empress Dowager’s expression darkened as she ignored Xie Fanglan’s call and hurried over to help the fallen Le You to her feet. Meanwhile, the pale-faced Li Chengyou rushed over, his small face flushed with concern. “Sister!”
The Empress Dowager took Le You’s chubby little hand, inspecting her from head to toe. Fortunately, Le You was unharmed, just a bit dusty from the fall.
“Grandmother, I’m fine,” Le You said, rubbing her arm, still a bit dazed from the tumble.
Not fully reassured, the Empress Dowager instructed Mama Qian to summon the imperial physician for a check-up on Le You.
Seeing the Empress Dowager’s attention focused on the little girl, Xie Fanglan felt a surge of dissatisfaction and called out again, “Auntie! It’s me, Fanglan! You used to hold me when I was little.”
The Empress Dowager shot Xie Fanglan a sharp glance, but lost in her own emotions, Xie Fanglan didn’t notice.
“Take Le You and Taiyou back to their room first,” the Empress Dowager ordered the old maid.
The maid led the two children away.
Xie Fanglan, oblivious to the gravity of the situation, cast a disgruntled glance at Le You’s departing figure and complained to the Empress Dowager, “Auntie, Consort Chen’s daughter is so uncouth and unrefined. Why keep her around? If I have another daughter in the future, I’ll send her to you. She’ll surely be more obedient and sensible than Consort Chen’s child.”
The Empress Dowager’s expression turned icy.
But Xie Fanglan was completely unaware of the Empress Dowager’s anger. She continued to ingratiate herself, “Auntie, I’ve suffered so much in the palace these past three years. I lost my baby for no reason and fell from a consort to a mere concubine. I’ve been waiting and hoping for you to return.”
“Auntie, please help me for the sake of the Xie family. The physician said that if I take good care of myself, I might be able to conceive again.”
Xie Fanglan pleaded desperately, squeezing out a few tears of grievance.
The Empress Dowager sneered, “What do you want me to do? The consort positions are all filled; there’s no place for you.”
The Emperor was implementing new policies, secretly suppressing the Xie family and other century-old clans, ensuring that the Xie family would never produce another consort or bear an imperial heir.
The Empress Dowager felt disgusted that the Xie family had sent such a fool into the palace. That Xie Fanglan had survived this long was already a stroke of luck.
“Go kneel at the entrance of Cining Palace. Kneel for two hours and think about where you went wrong,” the Empress Dowager said coldly.
With that, she swept away.
Xie Fanglan was left in shock, never expecting to be punished with kneeling. She wanted to plead for mercy, but the palace maids from Cining Palace coldly blocked her.
The marble floor at the entrance of Cining Palace was icy, and Xie Fanglan knelt there, feeling lost and humiliated.
Though Cining Palace was secluded, many palace maids and eunuchs passed by. Xie Fanglan felt like a thorn in her side, knowing that news of her punishment would soon spread throughout the harem.
She couldn’t understand why the Empress Dowager had punished her.
What had she done wrong?
A comforting maid spoke softly, “My lady, don’t be too sad. Perhaps the Empress Dowager’s punishment has a deeper meaning. Think carefully about what she just said. You and the Empress Dowager are family; she wouldn’t punish you without reason.”
Xie Fanglan furrowed her brows, lost in thought.
Suddenly, the Empress Dowager’s words echoed in her mind: *“The consort positions are all filled; there’s no place for you.”*
Could it be that the Empress Dowager was hinting at something?
Was she suggesting that if one of the four consorts were to be removed, the Empress Dowager would allow her to take that place?
The more Xie Fanglan thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. Currently, the four consorts in the palace were Consort Chen, Consort Shu, Consort Mei, and Consort Yu.
Consort Shu was cunning and difficult to deal with; Consort Chen’s brother was a general, making her a formidable opponent; Consort Yu had good relations with the other concubines, giving her a strong network; only Consort Mei spent her days holed up in her room writing poetry and painting, and the Emperor had been growing distant from her...
“Consort Mei,” Xie Fanglan’s eyes glinted with malice, “then I’ll bring Consort Mei down and fill the vacancy myself.”
...
Inside Cining Palace.
Two seasoned imperial physicians arrived to check on Le You, having been summoned by the Empress Dowager. After their examination, they confirmed that Le You was strong and healthy.
Only then did the Empress Dowager feel a bit relieved.
She instructed Mama Qian, “From now on, ban Lan Pin from entering Cining Palace.”
The Xie family was decaying, gradually becoming a parasite to the Da Qing nation. The Empress Dowager had repeatedly advised the elders of the Xie family to reform and eliminate their corrupt practices, but they continued to pursue their selfish interests, engaging in foolish acts that harmed the people.
The late Emperor could tolerate them, but the current Emperor would not.
The Xie family’s downfall was only a matter of time.
The Empress Dowager had already drawn a line with the Xie family; she no longer wished to be their protective shield.
She added, “All the palace attendants who were supposed to care for Le You will receive ten lashes.”
Le You was only four years old and had been pushed to the ground by Xie Fanglan, nearly injuring herself, yet there had been no attendants to look after her. This was a serious dereliction of duty.
Le You quickly grasped the Empress Dowager’s sleeve, her voice soft, “Grandmother, don’t blame them. It was my fault for running too fast and not watching where I was going when I bumped into that lady.”
Seeing the attendants being punished, Le You felt a pang of guilt.
The Empress Dowager smiled gently, affectionately stroking Le You’s chubby little face. “Good girl, you are the princess of Da Qing. You can be kind, but don’t be too kind.”
Le You blinked her big eyes, confusion evident in them.
Meanwhile, in the study of Cining Palace, Li Chengyou chattered excitedly to his brother about the incident with Lan Pin.
Li Chengyou took a sip of refreshing tea and grinned, “Grandmother punished that bad woman to kneel at the door and even punished the attendants who were looking after Sister. Hehe, Grandmother is so powerful!”
Li Chengtai, who was listening nearby, silently set down the book in his hands. Watching his younger brother still giggling, he felt a deep sense of helplessness.
Sister Le You had just returned to the palace for less than two days and was already bullied by a concubine.
The palace truly was fraught with danger.
Li Chengyou innocently said, “Hehe, with Grandmother and Father around, no one dares to bully us.”
Li Chengtai’s face fell. “Grandmother can protect us for a time, but can she protect us for a lifetime?”
Li Chengyou was momentarily speechless, unsure how to respond.
Li Chengtai, filled with worry, picked up the book again and continued reading. He couldn’t always rely on Grandmother’s protection; he needed to grow strong himself, like a towering tree, to shelter his mother, sister, and younger brothers.
...
...
In the afternoon, De Shun and Eunuch Zhou arrived at Yongning Palace with a group of palace attendants, bearing gifts from the Emperor for Shen Wei.
Gold, silver, jade, jewelry, silks, and satin filled two large chests to the brim.
Shen Wei couldn’t help but smile, her love for the Emperor’s gifts overwhelming her.
After delivering the gifts, De Shun leaned in to whisper to Shen Wei, “My lady, General Shen and the envoy from Yue Kingdom won’t arrive in Yanjing for another half month. Besides signing a peace treaty, the envoy also intends to propose marriage for the Yue Emperor to a princess of the Qing Kingdom.”
Shen Wei’s brow twitched with interest. “Have they chosen which princess?”
De Shun replied, “Our Da Qing only has one eligible princess.”
Princess Zhaoyang, Li Ruoling.
However, the news of the Yue Emperor’s marriage proposal had not yet been made public, and Princess Zhaoyang likely remained unaware of it.
De Shun continued, “The Yue Kingdom also plans to send a princess to the Qing Kingdom as a consort. However, their legitimate princess is still quite young and won’t be sent for another three years.”
Shen Wei silently noted this information.
The exchange of princesses between the two nations would mean that the Yue princess marrying into the Qing royal family would at least hold a consort position, potentially becoming a formidable figure in the future.
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