"W-what?" Mei-ling asked.
"Mistress you are mumbling aloud." Li-na whispered. "You are scaring me mistress."
Mei-ling shut her mouth and saw that the other concubines were giggling and laughing at her.
Then the empress went on with what she was saying.
"The crowned prince will be returning back home." She informed. "You are all to be on your best behavior. Only the woman who behaves and looks her best will be chosen to be in the crowned prince's chamber for his night."
The other concubines giggled together and whispered of how they were excited about one of them spending the night with the crowned prince.
But Mei-ling already knew that the male lead didn't have interests in any of his concubines.
If he slept with a concubine, he would dispose of her off to harem and she would never graze his presence again.
According to the book, the crowned prince never repeated a woman that was why every concubine tried to make their best of it.
But Mei-ling was not interested in the crowned prince.
She wanted the Queen mother to be on her side.
Especially since the Male lead's wicked step brother was now having eyes on her.
"I will not tolerate any ill behaviors, the moment I see any of you try to disobey or embarrass me then I will deal with you personally." The empress said. "Do you understand me?"
The girls quickly bowed down.
"Yes Empress." They said.
Then the empress snapped her fingers.
A girl was dragged into the court, she looked miserable and like she had been beaten badly.
"This is the second reason why I have called you all here." She started.
The girl was thrown down to the ground.
"Fēn." One of the concubines gasped and then they began whispering to each other.
Mei-ling already knew what was going to happen.
This was a part of the book she had been dreading to reach all along.
"Yea, this is Fēn." The empress said. "A second class concubine who had dared tried to poison my son with witchcraft!"
Fēn was weeping and begging at the Empress's feet.
"Forgive your servant your majesty please." She begged. "I only wanted to please him! Nothing more!"
"You are a dirty concubine who tried to get pregnant for my son!" The Empress hissed venomously! "For what you have done you will pay with your life!"
It was not uncommon knowledge that the Empress did not want her son to bear any child of a lowly second class concubine.
She only had one person in mind and that was the FL who was supposed to be married to the ML.
It was a crime for a concubine too refuse to take dragon tea and attempt to become pregnant.
But if the concubine was discovered to be already pregnant then her life would be spared.
"For what you have done you shall be punished by death!" She hissed.
The girl fell on the floor weeping and rolling.
But the cold empress had decided her fate.
Mei-ling watched in horror as one of the guards went to the concubine with a large sword and severed her head.
The blood sputtered over their faces.
Mei-ling watched as the headless body poured of blood.
The Empress went back to talking. "And this is going to serve as a lesson. Until you are assigned to be fit to bear a child for my son then will you….
But Mei-ling was not hearing anything at all.
Rather she had collapsed on the floor and fainted instantly.