When the Empress came out with a group of Imperial Concubines, Zhang Wanrou had already begun her punishment.
The sound of Qing Ning’s panicked crying and shouting echoed in the air outside the main hall, sounding extremely helpless and desolate.
"Please, I beg you, my mistress has already fainted. If you keep hitting her, she will die! Nanny, sisters, I beg you, please spare my mistress!"
Seeing the Empress and the others come out, Qing Ning kept kowtowing toward them and shouted, "Empress! Empress, please show mercy and save my Consort!"
Zhang Wanrou was strapped to the punishment bench, her consciousness fading and her eyelids feeling incredibly heavy. She had already received two strikes on her buttocks, which burned with intense pain. Later, Qing Ning threw herself over her body to block two more strikes.
Watching Qing Ning beg for her everywhere, Zhang Wanrou’s eyes felt incredibly sore, and tears began to fall.
She tried hard to reach out, wanting to pull Qing Ning and tell her not to worry, that she would not die!
But the hand that was clutching her clothes could not muster any strength at all.
Standing next to the eunuchs carrying out the punishment was an old nanny with graying hair, drooping brows, and cold, indifferent, triangular eyes.
Seeing the Empress come out, she bowed toward the Empress and said, "I am Nanny Chu, greetings to the Empress!"
The Empress nodded and said politely, "Nanny Chu, did you come this time with an imperial decree from the Empress Dowager?"
"The Empress Dowager said that Consort Zhang, as an Imperial Concubine of the harem, does not think to urge the Emperor to focus on state affairs, but instead is bewitching the monarch and engaging in lewd behavior during the day! If she is not properly disciplined, she will surely turn the harem into a mess!"
"Thirty Great Boards are a warning, and also a reminder to all the Imperial Concubines in the harem!"
When Qing Ning heard this, she felt as if the sky were collapsing!
"Thirty Great Boards? Will our mistress still be alive after that?" Qing Ning knelt before the nanny, hugged her thigh, and cried as she explained, "Nanny, my mistress has lived in the mountains since she was a child and does not understand the rules of the Imperial Palace. Even if she is truly at fault, it is her first offense! I implore you to show mercy and not take my mistress's life!"
Nanny Chu glanced at her indifferently, then kicked Qing Ning away and said coldly, "I am only responsible for delivering the message; I do not have the authority to make decisions! Thirty Great Boards is the punishment. If she can survive it, then this matter is over! If she cannot survive it, then she can only blame her own bad luck and lack of fortune!"
After speaking, she looked at the Empress and said, "Empress, the Empress Dowager said that in managing the harem, one cannot be soft-hearted! Otherwise, where would the dignity of the mistress of the harem be?"
Facing these words that were half-reminder and half-reprimand, the Empress’s expression stiffened, but she quickly adjusted and maintained her dignified and elegant posture.
She smiled faintly and said, "The Empress Dowager is right; your subject has been taught."
Nanny Chu nodded slightly and then said, "Men, continue the punishment!"
The two eunuchs continued their work, while Qing Ning was terrified out of her wits!
She shouted "No!" and threw herself onto Zhang Wanrou’s back, attempting to block the punishment for her.
Seeing this, Nanny Chu looked at the palace maid behind her, "Pull her away! If you cannot pull her away, beat her to death with the sticks!!"
Zhang Wanrou was frightened into a moment of clarity by these words. She grabbed Qing Ning’s hand and said, "Go quickly! Qing Ning, don't worry about me! Go!"
Qing Ning heard these words, but at this moment, she could not think of Zhang Wanrou’s previous instructions. She only knew that she had to use her life to protect her young lady!
After some dragging, Qing Ning was pulled away and beaten by several eunuchs with sticks, having no power to resist!
Seeing her beaten and covered in wounds, Zhang Wanrou felt as if her heart were on fire with anxiety!
Why hadn't Zhang Wanyin arrived yet?
With Qing Ning’s obstruction gone, Nanny Chu gave the order again, "Continue the punishment!"
At this moment, Zhang Wanrou was struck again. The bone-chilling pain seeped into her marrow, almost causing her to lose consciousness. Sweat soaked her hair, sticking it tightly to the sides of her cheeks.
At this time, all the Imperial Concubines of the harem stood on the sidelines watching, their expressions varied.
"Stop!"
Zhang Wanyin hurried over. Seeing Zhang Wanrou beaten half to death, her expression was incredibly ugly!
She had received the Emperor's favor twice; she could surely conceive a royal heir! But after taking these boards, would it still be possible to conceive a royal heir?
Seeing Zhang Wanyin arrive, Nanny Chu’s demeanor did not change at all, remaining as unyielding as ever, "I greet the Noble Consort."
Zhang Wanyin was long used to her disrespectful attitude and only said coldly, "Nanny Chu, are you trying to kill someone?!"
Nanny Chu did not even lower her head, "The Empress Dowager is merely administering punishment, so how has it become killing someone? Noble Consort, aren't your accusations against the Empress Dowager a bit too serious?"
Zhang Wanyin hated the Empress Dowager’s constant interference in harem affairs, and given the subtle attitude of the Emperor Xiao Wenyi toward the Empress Dowager, she did not treat the Empress Dowager with the same caution and respect as the Empress.
"Nanny Chu, did you not hear me clearly? I said you are the one who wants to kill someone, not the Empress Dowager!"
"Besides, Consort Zhang was already forced to kneel by the Empress, and she has already lost half her life! If you hit her with a few more boards, you tell me, can a delicate girl withstand it? If this isn't wanting her life, then what is it?!"
Zhang Wanyin was also feeling extremely stifled. She had originally hoped for Zhang Wanrou to be disciplined by the joint efforts of the Empress and the Empress Dowager, but she had never intended for her to actually die!
After all, she still needed to use her womb to give birth to a Prince!
But the Empress Dowager’s thirty boards were clearly aimed at Zhang Wanrou’s life!
"Nanny Chu, don't forget, Consort Zhang is the Emperor’s new favorite concubine! If the Empress Dowager really takes her life, won't it cause the Emperor to harbor resentment toward the Empress Dowager?"
Nanny Chu did not care about this at all, "The Emperor has never cared much for women, so how could he harbor resentment toward his own mother for the sake of a concubine?"
Furthermore, the Empress Dowager wanted to use Zhang Wanrou’s life to remind the Emperor that she was not dead yet! Even if he had begun to handle state affairs, if he did not remain diligent, she would still impose further constraints on the Emperor’s behavior!
Zhang Wanyin snorted coldly, "The Emperor indeed does not care much for women, but Nanny, think carefully: among the three thousand beauties in the harem, has the Emperor ever been this attentive to anyone? He even delayed state affairs just to visit Yonghe Palace in person!"
"Does the Empress Dowager really think that my younger sister is comparable to ordinary women in the Emperor’s heart?"
Nanny Chu was stunned for a moment.
That’s right, if the Emperor could delay state affairs for Consort Zhang, could he really treat this woman like any other, letting her die if she dies?
What if the Emperor truly cared deeply for this Yatou, and the Empress Dowager beat her to death? Could the Emperor’s grudge against the Empress Dowager ever be erased?
Seeing Nanny Chu hesitate and waver, the Empress stepped forward and said, "Noble Consort, are you implying that in the Emperor’s heart, the Empress Dowager is not even worth as much as a lowly Consort?"
Zhang Wanyin’s expression changed slightly, and she wanted to speak, but then she heard the Empress say, "Besides, if this woman truly holds such an important position in the Emperor’s heart, then guess whether the Emperor will be bewitched by her in the future, thereby neglecting state affairs and favoring only her?"
And when that time comes, will your plan to borrow her womb to give birth to a child still succeed?
Zhang Wanyin was stunned. Although the Empress did not explicitly state the last sentence, her gaze had expressed it very clearly!
That’s right!
The Emperor could favor her like this now; if she were allowed to live, would she bewitch the Emperor into favoring only her in the future?
Would the Emperor’s favor for her exceed his favor for her?
Zhang Wanrou lay on the punishment bench, reached out toward Zhang Wanyin, and called out weakly, "Elder Sister, save me, please save me..."
Zhang Wanyin’s eyes flickered, her sharp gaze sweeping over Zhang Wanrou’s delicate and beautiful face.
She had hated this face since she was a child—this face that everyone praised when they saw it, even overshadowing her own radiance as the legitimate daughter!
✦✦✦