Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 87

Chapter 87 - Imperial Noble Consort De Releases Her Wrath

Xie Jingyu strode in.

The maidservants offered respectful greetings one after another, serving him a cup of clear tea.

"My lord seems to be in a good mood." Yun Chu looked toward him. "Has some auspicious event occurred?"

Xie Jingyu drank half his cup of tea, a smile blooming across his face. "Ping'er's dowry is almost entirely prepared."

Yun Chu smiled as well. "I knew leaving this matter to my lord would pose no problem. I shall inform Ping'er of this wonderful news shortly."

"There is even better news." Xie Jingyu's smile deepened. "The Emperor has ordered a thorough reinvestigation of the Crown Prince's grave illness. King Anjing's stigma has been cleared, and he will be able to return to the capital tomorrow."

Although not many people were aware that King Anjing had been banished to Qing'an Temple as a punishment, it was an inauspicious matter nonetheless.

Previously, he had worried that the Emperor would strip King Anjing of his princely title, but looking at it now, he had truly overthought the matter.

Three months from now, after Ping'er and King Anjing celebrated their grand wedding, their Xie family would be formal relatives by marriage to the imperial family.

If the Marquis of Xuanwu wished to give him the cold shoulder again, there would simply be no possibility of that happening.

The smile on his face was brilliant, yet he noticed Yun Chu's brows slowly furrowing.

He knew Yun Chu was the foremost beauty of the capital, but he had never known that even when troubled, she could possess such stunning beauty.

However, this was not the time to admire a beauty, so he asked, "Madam, is something amiss?"

Yun Chu shook her head. "King Anjing clearing his stigma is perhaps a fortunate matter for himself, but for our Xie family..."

Having said this, she did not continue any further.

Yet Xie Jingyu was a clever man; how could he fail to understand?

The sole reason their Xie family had managed to scheme their way into the position of princess consort was precisely because King Anjing had committed a fault and was punished, not daring to blow the matter into a massive uproar, which allowed the Xie family to exploit the loophole.

"Regardless of everything, things have reached this point." A trace of lingering worry crept between Xie Jingyu's brows as well. "Moreover, the Emperor personally issued an imperial decree bestowing the marriage. Could Imperial Noble Consort De possibly go back on her word?"

Yun Chu spoke, "An imperial decree is as heavy as a mountain; Imperial Noble Consort De naturally will not go back on her word. It's just that, as for Ping'er..."

Xie Jingyu's expression remained calm. "This is the path she chose herself; even if she has to crawl along it on her knees, she must walk it through to the end."

True to Yun Chu's expectations, on the morning of the second day, Mama Tang from Imperial Noble Consort De's palace arrived at the Xie residence to invite Xie Ping into the palace.

Xie Jingyu felt yet another wave of absolute admiration for Yun Chu. This wife of his seemed to have calculated every single step with unerring precision; with Yun Chu in the Xie family, why need they ever worry about soaring to the highest clouds...

Xie Ping followed Mama Tang and Mama Fu as they entered the palace together.

Bearing firmly in mind the rules of etiquette taught by Mama Fu, she kept her head slightly lowered and walked with extreme caution, striving to ensure that her skirt did not sway by even a fraction...

A short half-hour later, they finally arrived at the Evergreen Palace where Imperial Noble Consort De resided.

She stepped up the stone terrace, entered the great hall following behind them, and executed a standard palace curtsy. "This subject's daughter pays her respects to Imperial Noble Consort De."

Hearing no words of exemption from Imperial Noble Consort De, she could only maintain her posture and stand frozen. Roughly the duration of a single cup of tea later, that pair of feet within her line of sight walked over toward her, pausing right before her very eyes. Immediately afterward, her chin was pinched by fingers adorned with golden fingernail guards and forced upward.

The sharp golden guards poked into her flesh, causing her to wince and knit her brows in pain.

Compelled to lift her head, she met a brilliantly ornate face. Even though she had never set foot within the palace before, she knew this was Imperial Noble Consort De.

"Eldest Miss Xie, you truly possess massive daring, actually scheming all the way up to this palace!"

Imperial Noble Consort De violently shoved her away.

Caught completely off guard, she was hurled to the ground by the force of the push.

Daring not to rise, she shifted from a sprawling posture to kneeling flat on the floor, stammering, "Your Ladyship, this subject's daughter knows her wrong. His Highness and I shared mutual affection, unable to restrain our feelings, and thus..."

Hearing the words "unable to restrain our feelings," Imperial Noble Consort De was on the verge of exploding with rage, and she lashed out with her foot, delivering a vicious kick straight to Xie Ping.

The Xie family was truly too adept at scheming. Not a moment too early, nor a moment too late—they chose precisely the window when her fourth child was punished and exiled to Qing'an Temple to force her hand into consenting to this affair.

If she had hesitated for just a few more days, her fourth child would have cleared his stigma, and how could he possibly have been manipulated to this degree by the Xie family?

Xie Ping was sent sprawling by the kick.

A mere thirteen-year-old girl how could she withstand such a blow, and she instantly found herself struggling to draw breath.

Imperial Noble Consort De said coldly, "Eldest Miss Xie has offended this palace. Mama Fu, administer mouth-slaps on my behalf."

Mama Fu stepped forward, her hands moving in a flurry of alternating slaps. With over twenty blows delivered, Xie Ping's face swelled up massively.

She hurt to the point of near-fainting, tears streaming ceaselessly down her face.

"Truly an ill omen." Imperial Noble Consort De's expression was full of loathing. "Weeping like this—does it mean you think this palace has wronged you? Go stand outside, and don't come back inside until you've reflected and understood your faults."

Unable to steady herself on her feet, Xie Ping was hoisted up by palace maidservants and shoved out to the threshold of the Evergreen Palace's main hall.

The area was paved entirely with white jade stones, devoid of a single tree, and the blinding sun beat down fiercely, baking her until golden stars danced before her eyes.

She had arrived in the morning, but now it was approaching noon. Leaving aside her utterly empty stomach, the intense heat of the sun felt as though it was about to bake her alive.

She knew not how long she had stood there when her head spun and her entire body pitched forward in a collapse.

The maidservant standing guard on the side coldly hoisted her back up. "Stand properly, Miss Xie. If you anger Imperial Noble Consort De, the punishment won't be as simple as just standing in reflection."

Xie Ping felt as though the maidservant's fingernails were digging deep into her flesh, but the pain had already rendered her numb.

She desperately wanted to cry.

She could not understand why she, a future princess consort, had to endure such torment and humiliation.

Why did a mere palace maidservant dare to treat her in such a fashion.

If she had simply agreed to become King Anjing's secondary consort from the very beginning, as a secondary consort, she would likely have faced even more brutal torment.

Just as despair began to consume her, she caught sight of a tall, slender figure striding into the entrance of the Evergreen Palace.

Looking up, she saw it was King Anjing.

A flash of radiance burst forth within her eyes, and she stared unblinkingly at the approaching man.

King Anjing's gaze lingered upon her for a mere fraction of a second before he bypassed her entirely without even slowing his pace, stepping straight up the terrace to enter Imperial Noble Consort De's palace hall.

He acknowledged that he harbored a certain interest in Eldest Miss Xie, but it was purely a physical interest. His willingness to take responsibility meant he was willing to take her as a concubine.

Yet she was greedy beyond measure, refusing even the position of a secondary consort and actually forcing his birth mother to agree to taking her as his primary princess consort.

To marry the daughter of a minor fifth-rank official born to a concubine outside the main household as his primary consort—he was about to become the ultimate laughingstock of the entire capital.

Watching the indifferent back of King Anjing as he strode into the main hall, the despair on Xie Ping's face overflowed bit by bit...

Once again, she felt a grim sense of fortune that she was the future princess consort; even if the Prince held her in disdain, he would still be forced to bring her along to attend imperial banquets and was obligated to conceive an eldest legitimate son with her...

Xie Ping was not released from the palace until the approaching evening twilight.

The entire household of the Xie family had grown frantic waiting for her failure to return, dispatching guards to watch the front gates. The moment she stepped through the entrance, they escorted her straight to the Anshou Hall.

"Heavens, what happened to your face..." He Shi was the first to cry out in shock. "Who—who struck your face? You are the future Princess Consort of Anjing! This is giving zero face to King Anjing!"

A sour lump formed in the bridge of Xie Ping's nose, and she collapsed into He Shi's embrace, wailing bitterly.

The old madam asked anxiously, "Ping'er, you haven't yet told us who laid hands on you?"

"Who else could it be?" Yun Chu's voice was exceptionally faint. "Naturally, it was Imperial Noble Consort De.”