In order to ensure Qi Jin Yu's safety, Zhao Bi Xuan not only tried to persuade Zhou Yun Sheng to send him a few capable ministers and guards, she also secretly sent a messenger to deliver a letter to Yu Guo Duchy, entreating Zhao Xuan for help, saying that for the sake of their childhood friendship, he should lend a few of the elite troops he brought back from the Northwest to Qi Jin Yu.
When they'd opened the city gates for them, the Northwest Army, covered in blood and surrounded by a dangerous atmosphere, had almost scared the common people who'd come out to welcome them to death. In the past, it's not that the Da Qi army has never had a victory, it's just that after victory, the capital would often be very lively, anticipating the troops' triumphant return the imperial court, the people would cheer and applause, wishing they could push the people in front of them aside to get a better view of the soldiers.
The girls would hide in the restaurants along the streets, tossing flowers, fruits, and other objects to the troops, a few bold ones would even throw their brocade purses and embroidered handkerchiefs at the Generals ridding upfront, hoping they would glance over at them. However, the return of Zhao Xuan's army was a special case, as soon as the city gates opened, the officers in charge of defending the walls almost stumbled at the strong smell of blood. It was not just their bodies that were stained, it was as if the bloody smell was attached to their souls, only soldiers experienced in numerous massacres and soaked in the blood of countless people could have such a bitingly cold aura.
The citizens' anticipatory cheers gradually faded, the girls hiding in the restaurants hurriedly pulled closed the bamboo curtains, scared white. After that day, Zhao Xuan's army gained a nickname – Tiger Wolf Army, because whether it was him, or the soldiers under his command, they gave off the genuine feeling of fierce tigers and hungry wolves. Don't say the Northwest's barbarian tribes were not his opponents, even if the three other major armies worked together, they couldn't even pose a small threat to the Northwest Army.
The Emperor didn't dare move against Zhao Xuan, because he was afraid of the Northwest Army's power. Zhao Bi Xuan was well aware of her older brother's ability, before, she relied on the favor he owed her to use him without worry, until she needed to beseech him, and became aware that she was over stepping her boundaries. She was an inner palace woman, and the Emperor's beloved woman, she naturally shouldn't have access to Zhao Xuan, but her sweetheart still needed his help.
Zhao Bi Xuan's heart was filling with regret when she realized, she was the Emperor's most beloved woman, whether it was the Wen Yuan March or the Yu Gou Duchy, their futures were in the palm of her hand. So, she was Zhao Xuan's biggest benefactor, she shouldn't be afraid of offending Zhao Xuan, Zhao Xuan should fear offending her. Zhao Bi Xuan's increasing arrogance spread from the depths of her heart to her beautiful face, picking out the most beautiful camellia from the bouquet arranged on the table with her long nail guards, she gave a self-satisfied smile.
"Consider my childhood friendship with Qi Jin Yu? Qi Jin Yu's a prince, he grew up in the palace, what kind of friendship do we have? What does it matter to me if he lives or dies? Did your Lady take leave of her senses? What I want to ask her is- she's just an inner palace woman, why does she care so much about Qi Jin Yu? Could this be a case of adultery? Being a promiscuous palace woman is a major crime, go back and report to your Lady, if she continues to behave so frivolously, be careful of being granted poisoned wine or three feet of white silk, her death will not be an easy one." Zhao Xuan lift up a brush and wrote down his response on paper, his expression was extremely gentle, but his words were knife sharp.
[Poisoned wine, etc- Emperor gifts these things as a subtle way to say "Kill yourslef."]
The chamberlain Zhao Bi Xuan sent nodded, deeply terrified. In fact, he had always been very confused by Hui Yi Imperial Consort's actions, she was clearly already the Emperor's most beloved woman, in all of Da Qi, only the Empress Dowager could suppress her, and as soon as the Empress Dowager passes on, she would become the country's highest ranked woman in name and in reality.
After she gave birth, the Emperor suggested setting the child up as heir to the throne when he was barely two months old, this kind of pampering to a favored concubine was unprecedented. Hui Yi Imperial Consort just has to casually mention it, and the Emperor will give her all the treasures in the world, how can she be dissatisfied? Why is she involving herself with the Gong Prince?
The Emperor was so wise, if he one day found out about the two's adultery, Feng Yi Palace would flow with a river of blood. The chamberlain was alarmed by his own imagination, faced with Duke Yu Gou's powerful momentum, he quickly left with his tail tucked in between his legs. When he returned to the palace, he relayed the Grand General's words to the imperial consort.
Zhao Bi Xuan never imagined that Zhao Xuan would refute her in such a way, her internal organs filled with anger, there was no place that didn't burn.
"Fine, if he doesn't want to help, the palace will have nothing to do with Yu Guo Duchy from now on." Zhao Bi Xuan lifted the hair off her temples with her pure gold nail guards, her tone lofty. So what if they didn't have Zhao Xuan's help, it's enough that the Emperor received her orders, he'll be sure to send a few effective assistants to her sweetheart, and with Luo Zhen requesting to follow, the Southwest's situation was already stabilized by half.
The next day, after the Emperor attended imperial court, Zhao Bi Xuan sent her servant to the throne room to inquire about the results. Fully convinced that Qi Jin Yu got the help he needed, she didn't expect reality to be contrary to her estimations.
"What did you say? He only sent Wu Yong, Liu Ping, and Qi Fan? No other people?" She repeatedly questioned the chamberlain.
The chamberlain shook his head, his face red and white. Those three masters could be considered quite famous in the imperial court, they took office in his ancestor's generation, experienced the previous Emperor's four king riot, and also experienced the current Emperor's battle to hold the throne, surviving intact through every change in regime. However, the reason they survived was not because of outstanding talent, but because they were too mediocre, whenever they met an inconvenient problem, they did their best to shirk it off, over time, they received the nickname "the three don't do's". They've been serving in the imperial court for a few decades, but have only climbed up two ranks. In the imperial court, they had the highest seniority, but they never did any work.
What's the use of letting these three follow Qi Jin Yu? Why didn't the Emperor listen to me? Zhao Bi Xuan felt very wronged, and immediately sent her servant to intercept the Emperor.
"You called for me?" Zhou Yun Sheng no longer needed to feign infatuation. When he entered Feng Yi Palace, he didn't even glance at Zhao Bi Xuan, who was kneeling at the doorway, he walked straight into the inner hall and bluntly sat on the couch, waving to the palace maids to bring out tea.
Zhao Bi Xuan was still kneeling at the palace doorway, remaining in that position for a while before standing up in a daze. She thought the Emperor would rush over to help her up, as he usually did in the past, she hadn't expected him to not even give her a corner of his eye. She composed herself, then walked over to sit down on the edge of the couch, fighting back nausea and resentment, she threw herself into the Emperor's arms.
"Ugh, stay away from me, I can't stand that smell." Zhou Yun Sheng shook his sleeves, disgusted. This woman was very fond of incense, inner garments to outer garments, brocade purse to embroidered handkerchief, gauze stockings to embroidered shoes, every article of clothing must be fumigated in perfume before worn. She probably thought a subtle fragrant breeze would blow every time she walked by, capturing the hearts of men, but in reality, those men were only swooning because her strong perfume made them dizzy. Zhou Yun Sheng worked hard to endure it throughout the last life, in this life, he endured it for a year, everyday wishing he could strip off her clothes and peel off her skin, then throw them into a pool of sulfuric acid for cleansing.
Zhao Bi Xuan was brushed away by his flick and tumbled off the couch, her knee hit the footrest and immediately started bleeding. The blood penetrated her light dress fabric and stained it, quite shocking. If it was the past, not to mention a bleeding injury, if a hair on her head was out of place, the Emperor would feel extremely distressed, how could he personally hurt her? Zhao Bi Xuan looked up, but the Emperor's expression didn't reveal the slightest concern, she couldn't help but feel stunned.
Some maids quickly ran over to help her, nervously asking about her condition, covertly glancing at the Emperor's expression from time to time, hoping he would show concern too.
Zhou Yun Sheng lifted his tea cup and took a small sip, then leisurely asked, "Today you sent a chamberlain to the throne room to block my path, who was it?"
Zhao Bi Xuan struggled to stand up, then dazedly replied, "Replying to the Emperor, it was Fang Fu."
The named chamberlain promptly kneeled and kowtowed, his cold sweat dripping to the ground. He was not like the imperial consort, thinking she could dazzle the Emperor to pamper her alone, always thinking the Emperor should be obedient to herself and at her beck and call. He understood more than anyone else, the Emperor was so smart, unwavering, and wise, he was by no means an Incapable Emperor, a King You of Zhou controlled by feminine charms. When he favored you, he could hold you up to the heavens, when he detested you, he could bury you in the mud. What's more, the imperial consort comes up with every excuse possible to avoid serving him in the bedchamber, and never dedicatedly waits upon him, how could she possibly maintain pet status forever?
If the imperial consort was counting on the Emperor frequently taking the initiative to visit her in the Feng Yi Palace, he feared she would be heartbroken.
The more the chamberlain thought, the more fearful he felt, already understanding that his carefree days were coming to an end. Sure enough, the Emperor, sitting languidly on the couch, lazily opened, "Lying in wait to ambush the Emperor, and making inquiries about imperial court politics, take him out and flog him to death."
Promptly, several imperial guards marched in, dragging away the repeatedly kowtowing and begging for mercy chamberlain.
Zhao Bi Xuan was stupefied, looking around the empty palace hall, then looking at the leisurely Emperor, she took a few deep breaths before choking out, her eyes flushed, "Your Majesty, what's wrong with you? Why did you treat my servant this way? I was just too worried about you, so I made him … …"
"Shut up, just say what you want to say. Stop whining all the time, it's very annoying." Zhou Yun Sheng slammed down his tea cup.
Zhao Bi Xuan was speechless, she unexpectedly didn't know how to ask him to exchange the imperial envoys, but thinking of the long journey facing her sweetheart, she had to bite the bullet, "Your Majesty, I fear that Master Liu and company won't be able to handle such a big disaster relief mission, for the benefit of the citizens, don't you think you should select alternative candidates?"
Zhou Yun Sheng's eyebrows raised slightly, then he slowly smiled, "Zhao Bi Xuan, do you remember what the first rule of the palace is?"
Zhao Bi Xuan was struck dumb, hesitating for a long while before unsteadily replying, "Imperial harem concubines must not interfere in imperial court politics."
"What are the consequences of interfering?"
"In less serious cases, they will be demoted to the Cold Palace, in extreme cases, they will be executed, death of a thousand cuts." Not only was Zhao Bi Xuan's voice quivering, even her body was now trembling, standing unsteadily. Although the man in front of her was wearing a light smile, his ice cold eyes were revealing killing intent, she'd never seen such a cold expression on him.
"So you do know the rules. Since this is your first offense, I will spare your life. Go to the Empress Dowager's palace to receive punishment." Zhou Yun Sheng stood up, intending to leave, but he suddenly stopped when he reached the door, and said without looking back, "While Qi Jin Yu is over there, I don't want him to die… I want him to hate life so much he begs for death." Finally, he flicked his sleeves and walked away.
The last sentence hit Zhao Bi Xuan like a lightning bolt streaking across a clear sky, making her completely go limp. Her most trusted head palace maid quickly sent the other attendants away, then helped her up, urgently whispering, "Lady, did the Emperor discover something? If not, how could he treat you this way?"
Zhao Bi Xuan's hands and feet were ice-cold, a layer of immense fear seemed to be clouding her mouth and nose, making her eyes water and her breath shorten, suffocating. She desperately pounded her chest and pushed out air, downing a few bottles of Qiong Ye to relax before muttering, "No, no, the Emperor can't know."
"Nowadays, the inside and outside of the palace is closely monitored by the Emperor, it's extremely possible that he knows. Lady, the Emperor has always treated you sincerely, he's gifted every good thing to you, even for ordinary couples, it's rare to find such a loving husband. That's why my Lady, please, you must serve him sincerely from now on, forget about His Highness the Gong Prince. With the Emperor at you side, you'll have everything you ever want, your future will be limitless, but if you fall out of favor, you'll be beyond recovery!" The head maid earnestly persuaded.
Zhao Bi Xuan froze, neither nodding nor shaking her head, she reclined on the couch, but just a quarter of an hour later, a chamberlain form Qian Qing Palace delivered a decree, proclaiming that Hui Yi Imperial Consort had violated a palace rule, and turned her back on the Emperor's grace, in order for her Phoenix Seal to be returned, she must quickly go to the Ci Ning Palace to receive punishment. The series of misfortunes happened too quickly, giving Zhao Bi Xuan no time to take it all in. When she finally broke out from her immense fear, she was already kneeling in the temple inside Ci Ning Palace.
She must abstain from cold food and winter clothing, devoting herself to studying Buddha, and must not leave for at least three months. Now was early autumn, the days were warm but the nights were gradually getting colder, Zhao Bi Xuan had to exchange her dress for crude and thin Buddhist clothes, and was pressed onto the cold floor by two palace maids, her knee injury opening up again.