After delivering the message, Nanny Rong left with one person, while the other stood not far away, as if supervising their punishment.
Qing Ning felt incredibly aggrieved for Zhang Wanrou.
Clearly, such matters were for the Emperor alone to decide! Moreover, the Emperor had shown no tenderness toward Consort Zhang these past two days, tormenting her until she could barely stand! Why then did her Consort have to be punished for this?
No wonder Consort Zhang said that being late did not matter... Had she already guessed that coming to the Central Palace this time meant receiving punishment?
She had urged her so much on the way here; how was that any different from rushing to push her into a pit of fire?
She looked at Zhang Wanrou in frustration, her tears unable to stop, "Consort..."
"Shh!" Zhang Wanrou looked at her, raised a hand to her lips, and winked, a comforting smile lifting the corners of her mouth.
It was as if she were saying: "It is fine, your mistress had already anticipated this!"
Qing Ning's tears flowed even more uncontrollably; she was suffering such great hardship, yet she was still thinking of comforting her!
With her current body, could she endure kneeling on this cobblestone road?
After comforting Qing Ning, Zhang Wanrou turned her head back and felt a bone-chilling pain radiating from her knees, a dense, throbbing ache that made it almost impossible for her to breathe.
But now was not the time to collapse.
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At this moment, Zhang Wanyin of the Yonghe Palace was dressing. After hearing Chun Xu's report, a mocking smile appeared on her lips, "The Empress, is this all the means she has?"
Forced kneeling, is that what she calls a warning and a lesson? That is all the ability she has!
"What about the Empress Dowager? Did the Empress Dowager not come to manage this matter?"
Chun Xu replied, "There has been no movement from the Empress Dowager yet."
Zhang Wanyin paused while pinning her hair, then laughed, "That is quite good. The suffering Zhang Wanrou has to endure is still to come!"
Chun Xu dared not speak. In truth, Nanny Wang had just asked her to remind the Noble Consort that if she tormented Consort Zhang too much, it might affect her ability to conceive.
But now, she dared not say it.
Zhang Wanyin seemed unaccustomed to such a quiet, unresponsive scene. Her expression froze for a moment, and she asked, "Is Nanny Wang feeling better?"
Chun Xu hurriedly replied, "Nanny is better, though she still has some difficulty speaking clearly."
Zhang Wanyin gave a light hum.
Chun Xu felt her scalp tingle and asked cautiously, "Mistress, Nanny asked me to inquire if you would like her to get up and accompany you to the Central Palace to pay respects?"
Zhang Wanyin thought for a moment, then waved her hand, "Forget it. If that face follows me out, wouldn't it be telling others that I let the Emperor lose face?"
Although this news had long since grown wings and flown throughout the Harem, she was, after all, the Noble Consort; who would dare to gossip? But if she delivered a handle to the Empress, it would be a miracle if she did not suffer a round of cold mockery!
Chun Xu lowered her body again and whispered, "Nanny also said that if Consort Zhang's body is tormented too much, it might affect her conception..."
Zhang Wanyin's expression darkened instantly, and the ivory comb in her hand slammed onto the dressing table with a "clack," startling Chun Xu into kneeling and bowing her head by reflex.
"I have suffered such great anger, am I not even allowed to discipline her?"
There was silence below. Without Nanny Wang there, Zhang Wanyin could only regulate herself.
After a long while, her tense fingers relaxed, "If it were not for Father saying that we must have a child with the Zhang family bloodline, would it ever be her turn to be favored by the Emperor?"
"Go, have Imperial Physician Hu come to report!"
"Yes, Mistress!"
After Chun Xu left, the palace maids behind continued to help her dress and groom.
When Hu Yong arrived, the sky was already bright, and the time had reached the hour of Mao Zheng （ 6:00 ）.
Zhang Wanyin was dressed neatly, sitting on the Noble Consort's couch, closing her eyes to rest.
Hu Yong knelt to pay his respects, after which he heard the mistress above ask, "Hu Yong, I ask you, if Consort Zhang, who has just received favor, is punished by the Empress, will it affect her conception?"
"Replying to you, Mistress, it will!" Hu Yong assumed the Noble Consort was worried about Consort Zhang's pregnancy, so he spoke quite lightly and fluently, "Any punishment that causes compression or impact to the lower abdomen will greatly affect conception."
Zhang Wanyin frowned, "What specific punishments are there?"
Hu Yong thought for a moment and replied, "Similar to forced kneeling, caning the buttocks, whipping, etc... Strictly speaking, any punishment that severely affects a woman's emotions or body will affect conception."
Ancient texts recorded it as such, and he had indeed seen many women in the Imperial Palace suffer miscarriages due to punishment.
Zhang Wanyin's expression turned completely cold, "You mean to say that to conceive, she cannot be subjected to the slightest fright or injury?"
Hu Yong nodded in agreement.
Zhang Wanyin was so angry she wanted to smash the things beside her! She thought indignantly: So, in order for her to conceive successfully, I have to coax and pamper her? Not only that, if the Empress wants to punish her, I have to protect her?
Thinking of this, her expression changed again, and she rose instantly from the Noble Consort's couch, "Go to Kunning Palace!"
Outside Kunning Palace, only the Jieyu and Cairen were still waiting outside, as those of Pin rank and above had already entered the Central Palace to pay their respects.
Lady Wang, Wang Huixin, was a Jieyu from Zhongcui Palace, under the jurisdiction of Consort Shu, and her status was also extraordinary.
She looked at Zhang Wanrou, who had been kneeling for nearly an hour and a half, a hint of mockery appearing in her eyes: "Oh my, didn't Younger Sister Zhang just receive great favor? Why are you kneeling here today? Did you commit some offense?"
Zhang Wanrou was already covered in sweat, her body swaying, and she had no strength at all to respond to Lady Wang's words.
The Talent behind Lady Wang was a concubine's daughter from the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works' family. She had entered the palace for three years and had never received the Emperor's favor, so she was incredibly jealous of Zhang Wanrou, who had been promoted two ranks and surpassed her immediately after being favored.
She stood behind Lady Wang and said, "Elder Sister, how could you not even know about this?"
"This Consort Zhang, I don't know what kind of brothel tricks she used to seduce the Emperor into her room in broad daylight, ignoring even state affairs!"
"For such a vixen who brings disaster to the country and the people, do you think the Empress can just let it go?"
"So that is how it is!" Lady Wang pretended to be enlightened, but her face was full of schadenfreude.
How could she not know about such a thing? She said it on purpose so that the Guiren and Talent behind her would take a good look and not learn from this Zhang Wanrou in the future, otherwise, they would end up just like her!
Zhang Wanrou could no longer hear their words; the world began to spin before her eyes, and a ringing sound filled her ears. She felt she could not hold on much longer.
But she also knew that the forced kneeling was far from the end of this matter; it was only the beginning!
Qing Ning knelt beside Zhang Wanrou, supporting her with her own body, her face full of worry: "Mistress, can you still hold on?"
Zhang Wanrou's vision blurred, and she slumped toward Qing Ning.
"Mistress!!"
Qing Ning hurriedly held her, looking around anxiously, but apart from those gloating, there was no one else who could help them.
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