Chapter 1246: Smoke Rises

s. Choosing a Shadow Guard is truly worrisome.""This is the duty of a handmaiden to the Holy Lord, unless you do not wish to be one."Xiao Li's face turned pale, and she hurriedly said, "This servant o...When the wind saw Li and didn't answer her, Liu Fei’s face grew paler and paler. Looking at Wan'er in her arms, then at the fierce maid stepping on Grandma's foot, Liu Fei's face could no longer hold up.

"What happened"

News of this reached Dugu City and the Empress Dowager quickly. The Empress Dowager, arriving at the sound, saw Xiaoli stepping on a nanny, her eyes full of puzzlement.

"See Empress Dowager."

When Liu Fei saw the emperor arrive, she hurried to pay her respects, but her body trembled uncontrollably.

Wind Lingxi holding Wan'er walked to Dugu City's face, and handed Wan'er to him.

"Xi'er, what's the matter"

"Your Highness, Lady Wan was playing and accidentally bumped into Lady Liu."

Xiaoli saw that the old nanny loosened her grip on her foot, "This nanny shouldn't be answering to servants. She slapped me and even wanted to hit Wanjun."

"What!"

When the Empress Dowager heard this, her face turned ashen. The maidservants on the ground hurriedly scrambled to their feet and knelt down, begging for forgiveness.

"Spare my life, Empress Dowager. I didn't know she was Princess Wan. If I had known, even if you gave me a hundred times the courage, I wouldn't have dared to lay a finger on her."

"Daddy, she wouldn't even let Little Li finish speaking before slapping her. She also tried to strangle Mommy's arm, and Mommy's hand isn't even healed yet! This old woman is so wicked, she wants to kill me."

Wan'er's words frightened Grandma so much that she hurriedly kowtowed and begged for forgiveness.

"Your Grace Wan, how dare a servant kill you I'm innocent! How could I possibly have pinched the arm of Princess Chen"

"You didn't succeed, but you did try."

Feng Lingxi looked down at the kneeling grandmother, “I apologized to Liu Fei first, you acted afterwards.”

"Come here, drag this lowly servant woman away and beat her to death with a club!"

When Liu Fei heard the Empress Dowager's anger, she hurriedly knelt down and cried, pleading for her grandmother, "Empress Dowager, this concubine knows her mistake, this concubine begs you to spare Grandmother Qin. This concubine is willing to accept punishment."

"Concubine Liu, this imperial consort knows you are jealous, but I never thought you would even harm a child. Wan'er is this imperial consort's granddaughter, and you dare to touch her What use do I have for you"

Liu Fei was so frightened that she fell to the ground. She regained her composure and crawled to the Empress Dowager's feet, sobbing, "Your Majesty, please spare me! I dare not again, Your Majesty..."

"She just called me a cheap slut, Daddy. What does cheap slut mean"

Du Gu Cheng's handsome face suddenly darkened. Looking at Wan Er's confused eyes, before he could speak, the Empress Dowager was so angry that she raised her hand and slapped Liu Fei across the face, her whole body trembling with anger.

"Come here, strike Lady Liu thirty times with a cane and confine her to the Cold Palace. For the rest of her life, she is not allowed to leave the Cold Palace even a single step."

The Empress Dowager roared, and Lady Liu was so frightened that she hurriedly kowtowed and pleaded for mercy, "Your Majesty spare my life, Your Majesty..."

"Drag it down!"

The Empress Dowager was furious, everyone trembled in fear. Liu Fei's wails echoed through the Imperial Garden, heart-wrenching and desperate, but no one dared to speak up for her. After all, Liu Fei had offended both the Crown Princess and the Honorable Miss Wan this time. With Yan Fei's punishment still fresh in their minds, now another Liu Fei had fallen out of favor. No wonder the Empress Dowager was so enraged.

In the end, this Wan Junzhu is also the Empress Dowager's only granddaughter. Now that the Emperor has no sons, how noble is Wan Junzhu's status One can only say that Liu Fei has walked herself to her death.

"Wan'er, are you hurt anywhere Let Ai Jia have a look."

The Empress Dowager stepped forward. Wan'er hesitated for a moment, then reached out and let the Empress Dowager hold her. This action moved the Empress Dowager to tears. She had finally held Wan'er, her beloved granddaughter.

"Wan'er is unharmed, thank you Empress Dowager for your concern."

Feng Lingxi apologized to Empress Dowager on behalf of Wan'er. The Empress Dowager did not punish Liu Fei like the Emperor had, likely because of Liu Fei's status. Moreover, although Liu Fei's actions were deplorable, they hadn't reached the point of execution.

The Empress Dowager looked at Feng Lingxi, her eyes falling on her right arm. "You weren't hurt, were you"

Feng Lingxi shook her head, looking at the worry in Taihou's eyes. Her heart warmed. Dugu Cheng said that Taihou had recovered her memory. Looking at Taihou's concerned gaze, Feng Lingxi felt as if she had returned to when she first entered the Prince's Mansion.

However, she was now the Empress Dowager, no longer her Imperial Consort. She could not speak her mind as freely as before, relying on her favor. Now, there were eyes everywhere around them. The warmth she felt was enough.

“Your Majesty, I suggest leaving the matter of Concubine Liu to the Emperor. Wan'er was wrong to confront her, and it is up to the Emperor to decide her fate.” Dugu Cheng advised, worried that punishing Concubine Liu would cause trouble for the Empress Dowager.

“As the Empress, I have the final say in matters of the harem. This Lady Liu is jealous, and this isn't the first time. While Wan’er did bump into her, causing a misunderstanding, Xi'er apologized, but Lady Liu still acted aggressively. She must be severely punished to prevent her from corrupting the atmosphere of the entire harem.”

The Empress said this to Feng Lingxi, as she was after all her daughter-in-law and granddaughter. She couldn't possibly tolerate others mistreating them like this.

"You don't have to worry about the Emperor. This concubine will explain everything to him."

Dugu Cheng responded with a sound, bowing to the Empress Dowager as he bade farewell.

"I'll head back first."

Being left in this palace, he felt uncomfortable all over. In just half a day, such an incident happened. He didn't want Xier and Wan'er to encounter such things. After speaking with the Empress Dowager, he decided to leave the palace early to avoid any unpleasant situations from arising.

"Go back quickly, and be careful on the way."

The Empress Dowager was reluctant to see them leave, but she also knew that they had no heart to stay in the palace with her for meals right now.

This palace, it truly is a place that devours people and spits out their bones. The inner court, even more so.

Take care, Empress Dowager.

Dugu City took them out of the palace, and Emperor Yuan Zhao learned about Concubine Liu's actions. His face darkened with anger. At the same time, a message for help from Concubine Liu came from the cold palace. Emperor Yuan Zhao, already furious, immediately ordered that Concubine Liu be given three feet of white silk.

"I didn't expect such an unpleasant thing to happen today when I entered the palace. From now on, let's try our best not to enter the palace."

Dugu Cheng looked at Wan'er sleeping in his arms, his eyes full of heartache.

Upon returning this time, both Wan'er and Xi'er suffered quite a bit of grievance. It truly is impossible to guard against everything.

Feng Lingxi, on the other hand, is open-minded.

“He is the sovereign, you are the subject. We entered the palace by order and could not choose for ourselves. Furthermore, today's incident is my fault. I didn't watch over Wan’er closely enough. However, this girl's disposition is just like mine, she won't suffer any losses.”

In front of the Empress Dowager, you can say anything. When I grew up, I really didn't know which man's family to make suffer.

Dugu Cheng hugged Wan'er onto the carriage, looking at the palace in front of him. "Xi'er, sometimes, we should endure."

"I know."

Feng Lingxi looked at the forbearance in Dugu Cheng's eyes. She knew that Wan'er had been bullied, and she knew Dugu Cheng was angry, but he didn't speak up for Wan'er immediately because of his current situation.

If he ignored Consort Liu in the palace and punished her out of anger, then this trip to Linxi County would be a one-way journey.

They barely managed to get the Emperor to let them go. If they failed now, she wouldn't be able to bear it. They had no power or influence here and no right to be arrogant.

A bit wronged, they're going to have to bear it.something to eat. In the afternoon, I'll have Xiao Li accompany you. Mother has some things to take care of."Wan'er nodded and didn't pester her."Your Highness, the Dowager Empress has ordered that th...