bayedsolid Chapter 152 Backtalk ①
Chapter 152 Backtalk ①
"What's all the commotion?"
Zeng Huan put her hand on Fujia's hand and slowly walked to Meiruo and Wanyin.
"I, my concubine, meet the Queen Mother."
"Grandson greets the Imperial Grandmother."
The moment Yongqi looked up, Zeng Huan also saw the slap mark on his face. She knew without a doubt that it was Meiruo who had done it. She had also heard about Princess Balin's entry into the palace. It was said that the King of Balin was a brave warrior, and that he and the Princess were deeply affectionate, never quarreling over trivial matters. As a Mongolian king, the King of Balin had never had any other women besides Princess Balin. Before meeting Meiruo, Zeng Huan had always imagined her to be well-educated, considerate, and sensible, but she had never imagined she was a vulgar, mean-spirited shrew.
Zeng Huan scolded her, "Concubine Ying, you've been in the palace for quite some time now. Why don't you control your temper? This is the imperial palace, not the grasslands. The Fifth Prince is the emperor's son after all, not a servant in your palace."
Meiruo pouted.
Last time, under the pretext of making her learn palace rules, Zeng Huan secretly caused Meiruo a lot of suffering. Meiruo remembered it all. The Empress Dowager? She was just the late emperor's concubine and Hongli's adoptive mother, not his biological mother. She wouldn't give Zeng Huan any respect.
Now Meiruo is pregnant, and even Hongli has to coax her. What kind of a mother is Zeng Huan, a voiceless foster mother? And she wants her, a legitimate daughter, to go to Anhua Palace to pray for a princess who is not a faithful wife?
Meiruo felt that it was a great honor for Zeng Huan to bow to her.
Meiruo held her belly, her eyes twinkling, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly, as if she was smiling, and said, "The Empress Dowager is right. The Fifth Prince is naturally not a servant in my palace, but I am still his stepmother after all. If he does something wrong, don't I have the right to teach him a lesson?"
Yongqi explained, "Empress Ying, it's all my fault. I left in a hurry and didn't see you. This matter has nothing to do with you. If you want to hit or scold me, then come at me. Grandmother, it's my grandson's fault..."
Wanyin, eager to protect her son, embraced Yongqi in her arms and said tearfully, "I know that Her Majesty Yingfei is of noble status, but I still want to advise Her Majesty that everything you have now is only the glory brought to you by your mother's family. Without it, I'm afraid you would not be able to make it as far in this palace as I am."
Wan Yin looked at Mei Ruo's belly and said, "I know that your majesty cherishes the child in your belly, and Yong Qi has also apologized. So I wish that your wish will come true and that you will give birth to a prince."
Meiruo certainly hopes that this baby is a son, so she has been eating sour things during this period. After all, sour things mean a boy, and spicy things mean a girl.
But she wouldn't be afraid if it was a daughter. She was strong and since she could give birth to one, she could naturally give birth to a second and a third.
Meiruo knew Wanyin was jealous and sneered, "Be it a prince or a princess, they are both the apple of my eye. Wanpin, you should focus more on yourself. You can't have any children. I heard that the late queen's only daughter was also married off to Khorchin. What a pity. If it were my daughter, I would definitely not use her marriage to protect my position."
After hearing this, Zeng Huan's face paled and sank. For days, Zeng Huan had been confined to Anhua Palace. For her own selfish desires, and even more so for the sake of the Qing, she had been forced to send her beloved daughter away in marriage. How could she, in front of this brainless woman, become someone who used her daughter's marriage to consolidate her position? If she could trade her status for Hengchu, she would rather give up the title of Empress Dowager.
He had originally wanted to pray to the Buddha to bless Hengchu so that his longing for his daughter would not be so strong. But he had not expected Meiruo to say such indecent words.
Zeng Huan had disliked Meiruo in the first place, and now after hearing her remarks, she became furious towards Lingxiao.
She snorted coldly, "Really? Concubine Ying is so arrogant."
Zeng Huan's majesty was so powerful that the fearless Meiruo trembled and knelt down.
Meiruo lowered her head and said, "Queen Dowager, please calm down. My words and actions were inappropriate and I did not mean to offend you."
Zeng Huan's brows were solemn, and her tone was stern. She said, "Fei Ying, you rely on your family background to act recklessly in the palace. I remember that you are the daughter of King Bahrain, and I want to teach you. That's why I asked Fu Jia to find a highly respected maid in the palace to teach you the rules. I was worried that one day you would say or do something inappropriate and offend the emperor. I didn't expect that my good intentions would not be rewarded with your gratitude, but instead I became the one to blame. I don't have many children, and as you said, I married my eldest daughter to Khorchin. But is this for my own sake? If possible, I would rather not have this honor, as long as Hengchu can stay by my side."
Meiruo looked uneasy and said in panic, "Queen Dowager...I didn't say what you meant, it's...it's..."
Zeng Huan: "What is it? Don't think I don't know. You keep talking about the Forty-Nine Tribes of Mongolia and look down on the other concubines in the harem. But you are also a woman, and you were sent to the Qing Dynasty by the King of Bahrain to marry. Did your Abu also send you to the Forbidden City to protect his position?"
"Oh, then such a father is too evil. It would be better for the emperor to send troops to eliminate him."
This time Zeng Huan was really angry.
Who made Meiruo so stupid?
Knowing Zeng Huan's longing for her daughter, she led her concubines to Anhua Hall to pray for the Qing soldiers, ostensibly to boost morale, but in reality, it was all for her ill-fated daughter. Agreeing to the late emperor's permission for Hengchu to go to Khorchin was a lifelong pain in her heart, so after Hengchu's marriage, no one dared to mention the term "peaceful marriage" in front of Zeng Huan. Yet, Meiruo openly brought up the past, undoubtedly exposing the wounds deep within Zeng Huan, and how could she not resent it?
Meiruo's eyes reddened slightly, and she said tenderly, "How can you say that, Queen Mother? Your Majesty, your Abu didn't mean that..."
Zeng Huan ignored Meiruo's pretense of weakness and said calmly, "I know you hate me. Wanpin's status is indeed lower than yours. But she has served the emperor for many years and has more seniority in the palace than you. But you are spoiled and arrogant. You rely on the favor of the Balin tribe and the emperor to allow you to be so arrogant in the palace. As a concubine in the harem and the stepmother of many princes, not only do you not set a good example in front of the children, you even dared to hit Yongqi. Wanpin has a good temper, and the emperor respects the Mongolian tribe. They don't bother with you for the sake of the Balin tribe, but you just like to push your luck. Otherwise, today, as a mother-in-law, I will teach you a lesson on behalf of the Balin King and the Princess."
"The Emperor and the other concubines in the harem are afraid of you, but I am not. Since you have entered the palace, you are the Emperor's concubine. Regardless of life or death, you are a member of the palace."
As long as Zhen Huan thinks about the marriage with Heng Chui, and now because of the Junggar riot, they can't see each other. Because of the civil strife in Junggar, Zhen Huan dislikes any Mongolian tribe.