Because of the emperor's sudden decision to take a new consort, Li Wan had been in a bad mood all evening.
Who would have thought that the very next day, a palace matron would arrive at Yongkang Marquis Manor, saying that the Empress had invited Li Wan to the palace to keep her company and lift her spirits.
Li Wan guessed that she was feeling down and needed someone to chat with and help dispel her melancholy, so she followed the matron into the palace.
"Sister Wan, you've come."" Every detail of Jiaofang Hall was exquisite and costly—even the red walls were fragrant. Xu Ning'er was sitting at the round table, and when she saw Li Wan enter, her round little face broke into a charming smile. "Come, keep me company at dinner."
Seeing her acting as if nothing were wrong, Li Wan also pretended to know nothing. "Your subject's wife pays respects to Her Majesty the Empress."
"I've told you before, Sister Wan need not bow when you see me."" Xu Ning'er shot her a mock-annoyed look and personally helped her to her feet.
She said that Jiaofang Hall had prepared date-paste cakes and crab-flour pastries that Li Wan loved.
The two sat down to eat, and Xu Ning'er asked, "I heard Sister Wan was ill a few days ago." Are you fully recovered now?"
Li Wan nodded gently, her smile radiant and her expression lively. "Just yesterday I told my husband that I wanted to come to the palace to pay my respects to Your Majesty, and who knew Your Majesty would send someone to Yongkang Marquis Manor to summon me."
"Then Sister Wan and I truly share a connection of hearts."" Xu Ning'er knew she was trying to make her laugh, so she played along.
The matron beside Xu Ning'er cast an approving look at Li Wan. This Lady Pei really did have skill—with her here, the Empress's face had regained its smiles. Ever since the emperor had taken that wretch into the palace, Her Majesty's smiles had vanished entirely. If not for Lady Pei, who knew how many more days the Empress would have spent in gloom.
But this peace was soon shattered, as the shrill voice of a eunuch from outside came through: "Her Noble Consort arrives."
The smile on Xu Ning'er's face vanished completely, and a hint of worry crept onto her round little face. Li Wan took this in, forming an initial impression of this Noble Consort.
The next moment, a woman in a golden palace dress embroidered with peonies, her brows and eyes haughty, strode in with an aggressive air. She held her chin high, her gaze at Xu Ning'er filled with contempt.
"How dare you, Noble Consort—you see the Empress and do not bow!" It wasn't Xu Ning'er who spoke up first, but her matron. She truly could not stand Noble Consort Zuo's posturing. What did she take herself for? And what did she take their Empress for?
Zuo Wanting lifted her chin, casually revealing her neck. In a coquettish voice, she said, "Your subject pays respects to Her Majesty the Empress."
Xu Ning'er caught sight of the pink marks on her neck at a glance, and her face paled several shades. Zuo Wanting grew even more smug. "It seems His Majesty hasn't come to visit the Empress in quite a few days, has he? If sister truly misses the emperor, why not let your younger sister speak to His Majesty and have him come to Jiaofang Hall tonight to see you—so sister needn't lose sleep over food and suffer loneliness in vain."
Li Wan curtsied to Zuo Wanting. "Your subject's wife pays respects to Her Noble Consort."
"So it's Lady Pei. Has Lady Pei come to the palace to pay respects to the Empress?"
By all rights, Zuo Wanting should have tried to curry favor with Li Wan, since her husband was highly valued at court. As a qualified favored consort, she ought to make use of anyone and anything advantageous to her. But Li Wan was clearly one of Xu Ning'er's people, so there was naturally no need to flatter her.
"The Empress and His Majesty share a harmonious bond—surely their relationship is not something Her Noble Consort may presume to meddle in?" Li Wan asked in return with a smile, though her tone carried no small measure of anger.
"What do you think you are, daring to speak to me like that?" Zuo Wanting was used to throwing her weight around, and being spoken to this way sent her fury flaring. She raised her hand.
Pei Qing, entering with the emperor, saw this scene the moment he stepped in, and his face darkened instantly. His body moved faster than his thoughts—he was already in front of Li Wan, staring coldly at Zuo Wanting.
Startled by his hawk-like gaze, Zuo Wanting instinctively took half a step back. But in the next moment, as if spotting a savior, she squeezed two tears from the corners of her eyes and drifted to the emperor's side like a weeping pear blossom in the rain. "Your Majesty, you must seek justice for your subject!"
The young emperor, in a bright yellow robe embroidered with five-clawed dragons, possessed features so refined he seemed to have stepped straight out of a painting. He did not rush to help Zuo Wanting up, but instead turned his gaze to Xu Ning'er. "Oh? And what justice does the Noble Consort wish me to seek for her?"
Zuo Wanting's face paled, confusion flickering in her eyes. She had been bullied—shouldn't he seek justice for her?
"The Empress and Lady Pei have bullied your subject." Zuo Wanting tugged at the emperor's bright yellow sleeve, pouting coquettishly.
"Consort Guifei, aren't you spouting nonsense? I just walked in and saw you trying to strike someone. If I hadn't entered with His Majesty, your slap would have landed on my wife's face. Now you claim my wife bullied you—isn't that the most absurd thing in the world? Or do you take His Majesty for a blind man who can be fooled at will?" Pei Qing's lips curled slightly. His features were already sharp and cold by nature, and now, fueled by anger, they turned even more piercing, his presence radiating menace.
Zuo Wanting was rendered speechless by his questioning. Unfortunately, he was a favored figure before the emperor, and she dared not clash with him head-on. She could only stare at the emperor with a pitiful expression, believing he would surely side with her.
But she overestimated her standing in the emperor's heart, and she overestimated his tolerance for her.
"Guifei, do you know your crime?" The emperor turned his head to look at her, his voice carrying a hint of magnetism and a touch of coldness. Zuo Wanting looked bewildered, as if she no longer recognized the emperor before her. Know her crime? What crime had she committed? In the past, the emperor had always indulged her every whim and showered her with affection. What had gotten into him today?
"Your Majesty." Zuo Wanting looked at him with a face full of grievance, her voice soft enough to drip with water.
The emperor grew increasingly irritated—not only because of Zuo Wanting's lack of tact, but also because of Xu Ning'er's cold demeanor. He couldn't accept Xu Ning'er's indifference. "You strike someone and still think you're in the right? Do you have any idea who Lady Pei is? Have I been spoiling you too much all this time?"
So it all came down to Li Wan. Once she realized this, Zuo Wanting wiped away her tears and reached for Li Wan's hand. "Lady Pei, I truly apologize. I acted too rashly just now. I offer you my sincere apologies."
Everyone in the hall turned their gaze to Li Wan, for whether the consort would be punished depended entirely on her attitude.
Li Wan was naturally kind to those close to her, and she certainly wanted to help Xu Ning'er.
"Consort Guifei, you flatter me with such deference. I can endure a little grievance, but for you to rush to Jiaofang Hall at dawn to flaunt yourself and mock the Empress—that borders on the crime of great disrespect." Li Wan leaned gently into Pei Qing's embrace, and he cooperatively wrapped an arm around her, striking a pose as if he would champion her cause.
Hearing Li Wan casually pin the crime of "great disrespect" on her, Zuo Wanting's vision went dark. Did she even know what she was saying?
Zuo Wanting had no choice but to place all her hopes on the emperor. Her beautiful eyes brimmed with tears, her frail demeanor so delicate that any ordinary man's heart would have melted—he'd have fetched her the moon from the sky if she asked. But the man before her was a sovereign. He could pamper her to the heavens, or trample her underfoot.
"Convey my decree: Consort Zuo, relying on favor to grow arrogant, showing disrespect to the Empress, and attempting to lay hands on a minister's wife—truly detestable. In consideration of past affections, Consort Zuo is confined to Chengen Palace for three months and shall copy one hundred volumes of Buddhist scriptures."
Zuo Wanting felt as if the sky had collapsed. Such punishment was no less than a death sentence to her. She reached out to grab the emperor's bright yellow sleeve. "Your Majesty, I meant no harm! I know I was wrong—please, spare me!"
"Take the consort away." The emperor waved his hand without mercy. At his command, his attendants immediately dragged Zuo Wanting out. Li Wan's mood lightened considerably.
Once the inner hall fell silent again, the young emperor's brow relaxed somewhat. He spoke to Li Wan with a look of apology: "I've alarmed Lady Pei today. That was my fault. I'll have Xiao Quanzi deliver some gifts to Yongkang Marquis Manor later."
"This matter has nothing to do with Your Majesty. It's just that the Empress has suffered a grievance today—I hope Your Majesty will take care to console her properly." Li Wan shook her head gently, her voice soft and melodious.
That Zuo Wanting had been so arrogant was precisely because she relied on the emperor's favor. If the emperor had kept proper boundaries, she wouldn't have been so brazen. So ultimately, it was all the emperor's fault—if not for him, Xu Ning'er wouldn't have endured such humiliation. Of course, Li Wan dared not voice these thoughts openly, for an emperor was an emperor, exalted above all, beyond reproach from others.
Pei Qing gave her a deep look. His Wan Wan was always so kind—even when she herself had suffered a great wrong, her heart was still consumed with concern for others.
Xu Ning'er, who had been suppressing her emotions for days, suddenly broke down. Her eyes reddened. "Sister Wan, don't worry. I'll take good care of myself."
"Lady Pei's words are noted. I will not let Ning'er suffer any more grievances in the future." The emperor showed no anger, merely speaking in a calm tone.
As ministers, Li Wan and Pei Qing had no say in matters between the emperor and empress. Seeing that the two seemed inclined to reconcile, they took their leave.
But the moment they returned to the manor, Pei Qing carried Li Wan to the bed, pulled down the beaded curtain, and—