The last meal was another one Si Tu Chuan Qiong did not get to finish. He stormed out of Qin Ming Zhu's palace, intending to head straight to Leng Yuan Xiang.
However, after walking for a while, he remembered he had put that woman on confinement yesterday and it wouldn't be wise to immediately try to appease her. So, he turned back and walked towards his own palace.
"Wang You, did you know beforehand about Qin Ming Zhu's extravagant demands for a meal like this?" Si Tu Chuan Qiong asked Wang You, who was attending to him.
"Replying to His Majesty, this humble servant has not heard of this before. It is likely that recently Noble Consort has borrowed that Chef Sun, and due to the tight schedule, she has started to be so extravagant!" Wang You replied with his head lowered. "Besides, this Noble Consort is a consort of the inner court. Even if I knew, I would not have the authority to interfere!"
"That's true, affairs of the inner court consorts are indeed not your purview!" Si Tu Chuan Qiong recalled. "Then why doesn't the Empress manage it properly? Doesn't she know the national treasury is strained? Doesn't she know my people are displaced?"
"This... Your Majesty might have forgotten, but when the Chu family was convicted, didn't you already revoke the Empress's authority over the inner court?" Wang You reminded him. "So even if the Empress knew about this matter, she wouldn't be able to manage it?"
"Is that so? I might have been too busy and confused lately." Si Tu Chuan Qiong found an excuse for himself. "Then who is managing the inner court now?"
"It is... Noble Consort Qin who is acting as regent." Wang You knew His Majesty had forgotten again and deliberately sighed, "Perhaps Noble Consort is still inexperienced! When the Empress was in charge, there was no such extravagance."
"No wonder! Qin Ming Zhu is using the opportunity of acting as regent for the inner court to waste my money as much as she can!" Si Tu Chuan Qiong truly felt the pain for the money spent over the past half month. "Wang You, tomorrow issue my oral decree that the Empress shall continue to manage the entire inner court!"
"This humble servant obeys the decree!" Wang You first accepted the oral decree, then continued to ask, "However... the Empress is currently still in the cold palace. I wonder if Qin Noble Consort will listen to her, and be willing to hand over this authority?"
"Whether she hands it over or not, she must. This is my imperial decree!" Si Tu Chuan Qiong was truly furious with Qin Ming Zhu today.
However, on second thought, he realized that Empress Chu Yu Lan was indeed in a difficult situation. So, he added, "Later, I will draft an imperial decree to have the Empress end her period of recuperation in the cold palace early and quickly return to her Kun Ning Palace!"
"Her Majesty will surely understand Your Majesty's good intentions," Wang You continued to flatter.
"Alas~ the Empress was too resolute before. I was worried she wouldn't be able to bear it when her Chu family was dealt with!" Si Tu Chuan Qiong did not mention his own fault at all. "However, the Empress has changed a lot recently. It seems that after spending some time in the cold palace, she has also thought through many things!"
...
Meanwhile, Qin Ming Zhu looked at the abundant delicacies but grew more and more angry. Ever since Si Tu Chuan Qiong had thrown down his chopsticks and left, she hadn't eaten a single bite. She was so upset that she felt like she was going to vomit.
Later, she kept her personal maid, Xiao Ju, and sent all the other maids and servants away. After another series of crashes and bangs, Qin Ming Zhu finally threw herself onto her bed in anger. She bit the corner of the quilt and cried profusely.
Xiao Ju quietly squatted on the ground to clean up. The spilled soups, liquids, and greasy food were truly difficult to deal with.
In the end, Qin Ming Zhu did not have dinner and went to sleep crying. Xiao Ju also did not have dinner but had to clean up the mess alone on the floor. After cleaning the solid and liquid messes on the ground, she had to repeatedly wipe the floor with a rag. And she couldn't ask other palace servants for help, because her mistress wanted to maintain her dignified and composed image.
Poor Xiao Ju muttered to herself as she cleaned, "A dignified and imposing image? And wanting the position of Empress! It's simply a fool's dream. Does anyone in this palace truly not know Qin Ming Zhu's true nature? It's just that the servants are all smart and pretend to be foolish at times like this!"
Leaving Qin Ming Zhu's distress aside for now, Chu Yu Lan (Xiao Wen Qiang), who had slept soundly, received some good news.
"Empress, quickly accept the decree!" Wang You urged. After receiving this imperial decree last night, he was overjoyed for Her Majesty and rushed over early in the morning to deliver the good news.
"Thank you, Eunuch Wang!" Xiao Wen Qiang's face did not show any particular surprise. She just turned to Chu Li and said, "You've troubled Eunuch Wang to run over here early in the morning. Hurry up and give Eunuch Wang a reward!"
"Your Majesty, please don't! I came here out of my own happiness. Your Majesty should prepare to tidy up and quickly return to your Kun Ning Palace! His Majesty is in a hurry!" Wang You knew that Empress Chu Yu Lan was currently short on funds and did not want to cause her further expense.
"Wang You, thank you very much!" Xiao Wen Qiang's gratitude was much more sincere this time. She knew that if she could leave the cold palace so soon, Wang You must have secretly helped her.
"Your Majesty is too kind!" Wang You smiled, his expression still calm and indifferent. Having served by the Emperor's side for so many years, he had learned to conceal his emotions.
...
In her previous life, after the original owner entered the cold palace, she never set foot in Kun Ning Palace again. In the cold palace, she was disheartened, and with Emperor Si Tu Chuan Qiong's tacit approval, she was driven to a dead end step by step. Until she was finally burned into a charred corpse, becoming another forgotten soul in this vast imperial palace. Over time, no one would remember her.
Now, Xiao Wen Qiang, with the body of the original owner Chu Yu Lan, finally returned to Kun Ning Palace. Returning to this palace was not only a symbol of her status, but also meant that her power to manage the inner court had returned to her hands.
However, where there is joy, there is sorrow. The other women in the inner court who received this news were not happy at all.
Leng Yuan Xiang was still under confinement. As for that scoundrel Si Tu Chuan Qiong, who claimed to love only her and would dismiss the rest of the inner court, he immediately brought out the Empress, who was originally the biggest obstacle, from the cold palace. What was the point of dismissing anyone then!
Qin Ming Zhu woke up to such dreadful news! Not only had Chu Yu Lan, the Empress, emerged from the cold palace, but His Majesty had also taken back the authority over the inner court that she had been managing. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and she couldn't help but smash two more vases.
The Ninth Prince, Si Tu Zi Xian, was quite happy for Chu Yu Lan upon hearing this news. Yesterday, he had just found a suitable Red Tassel Spear, so he entered the palace early this morning to deliver it to Chu Yu Lan.
However, when he arrived at the cold palace, he discovered that Chu Yu Lan (Xiao Wen Qiang) had already left the cold palace and returned to Kun Ning Palace. Thus, he hurried towards the Empress's residence with the Red Tassel Spear...