Jiang Yao clicked her tongue inwardly.
See? When I speak the truth, you get angry.
On the surface, however, she looked toward Luanhua Princess with confusion, her expression innocent and genuinely puzzled, as if she truly did not understand why the other party was suddenly enraged.
Before Consort Zhuang could speak, a calm yet authoritative voice rang out from outside the hall.
“Who is being presumptuous?”
Everyone in the hall was startled. Consort Zhuang changed her expression instantly.
A moment later, a figure in bright yellow imperial robes entered.
Emperor Yongkang arrived.
His expression was composed, yet carried unmistakable imperial pressure. The attendants inside the hall immediately knelt.
Jiang Yao subtly sensed that the Emperor’s mood was far less relaxed than it had been earlier in the Hall of Supreme Unity.
The Crown Princess Consort and others also noticed it. Only Luanhua Princess, still aggrieved, rushed forward as she always did.
“Father Emperor! It was the Pei Marquis’s wife—she was the one being disrespectful to me!”
She shot a triumphant glance at Jiang Yao, as though victory was already hers.
But unexpectedly, the Emperor did not respond. He simply pushed her aside and sat down.
Luanhua Princess froze, confused.
Consort Zhuang immediately sensed danger and forced a gentle smile, trying to smooth things over while pouring tea.
But the Emperor did not take it. Instead, he said coldly, “If not for this, how would I know you were deceiving me?”
Consort Zhuang’s heart sank.
Tears welled in her eyes as she quickly tried to explain.
The Emperor did not look away. His gaze was sharp and suffocating.
The hall fell into tense silence.
Then he ordered the Crown Princess Consort to recount what had happened.
The Crown Princess Consort spoke calmly and objectively, without embellishment.
When she finished, even she added lightly that perhaps Luanhua was only momentarily emotional.
Jiang Yao also softly added a few words in defense, lowering her voice as if she were afraid.
But the Emperor suddenly cut them off.
“Enough. Stop protecting her.”
His voice carried undisguised anger.
“I know exactly what she is like.”
Then he issued his decree.
Luanhua Princess was confined to her residence for three months and ordered to undergo strict etiquette training under the Imperial Rites Bureau. Consort Zhuang was punished for improper discipline and confined for reflection. Authority over palace affairs was reassigned.
The punishment landed like thunder.
Both mother and daughter cried out in shock.
The Emperor did not waver.
Finally, he turned to Jiang Yao.
“Madam Pei, your husband is waiting outside the palace. You may leave.”
Jiang Yao immediately understood the cue and departed without hesitation.
At the palace gate where court and harem intersected, Pei Zheng stood quietly beneath the steps.
He was dressed in purple official robes, tall and composed, his expression calm and restrained under the sunlight, like a solitary pine standing unmoved by wind.
A young eunuch approached and asked whether he would like to move to a shaded place.
Pei Zheng replied lightly, “No need. She will come soon.”
The eunuch was puzzled by his certainty.
Then he noticed the flower pinned at his waist and could not help but comment on it.
Pei Zheng said nothing. He simply handed over a silver coin.
“Take it for tea.”
The eunuch was stunned—then overjoyed, offering a string of blessings.
Pei Zheng’s expression eased slightly.
He listened, then handed over another silver coin.
The eunuch beamed even brighter, nearly unable to contain his joy.