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墨書 Inktalez
Perhaps it was Mu Junqi's voice that had enough power to shock everyone. They were all taken aback and looked up at her, not expecting the usually gentle Empress to be so furious, and for a moment, they dared not move.
Mu Junqi stood up and walked in front of Consort Qian. Before anyone could react, she raised her hand and slapped Consort Qian across the face. Consort Qian covered her face in surprise and looked at Mu Junqi, slowly straightening up. With a cold laugh, she attempted to return the slap, but Mu Junqi anticipated her move and intercepted her hand.
At this point, the tension between the two was palpable, while the others stood by in fear, not daring to breathe. “Consort Qian, if that slap lands, you can forget about staying in this harem!”
Consort Qian angrily withdrew her hand and mocked, “Do you really think I would be afraid of you? Everyone here saw that you struck me first. Even if this reaches the Emperor, I won’t be scared!”
As soon as she finished speaking, a voice came from outside the hall: “What is going on here? Why are you all gathered together?” It was the Empress Dowager.
Everyone was startled and quickly knelt down to pay their respects. Mu Junqi regained her usual expressionless demeanor. The Empress Dowager approached her and said sternly, “Empress, answer this old lady’s question.”
Only then did Mu Junqi look up at the Empress Dowager, giving a light smile before respectfully saying, “In response to Empress Dowager, it’s nothing serious. Consort was discussing a play with the other sisters. But why have you come here?”
Hearing this, the Empress Dowager's expression softened slightly. She reached out to help Mu Junqi up and instructed everyone else to rise before speaking again: “The Emperor sent someone to bring me here, saying that there is a play being performed.”
Upon hearing this, Mu Junqi frowned slightly. Perhaps everything had been arranged by Mo Xiao Li. Did she think that Mu Junqi would cause trouble for Consort Qian? Regardless of the reason, she did not wish to have conflicts with Consort Qian and others. Ever since she realized that no matter what she did, she would not be punished, she had grown tired of fighting with these pitiful women in the palace.
Once the performance ended, everyone paid their respects and dispersed. However, the Empress Dowager called out to Mu Junqi, wanting to return to Jingxian Palace with her. Although somewhat reluctant, she respectfully assisted her into the Phoenix Palanquin, leaving Consort Qian glaring at them in anger. Meanwhile, Pear smirked maliciously and leaned towards Consort Qian, whispering, “Don’t worry, Your Highness; I’ve already left a gift for you in Jingxian Palace.” Upon hearing this, Consort Qian instantly understood what Pear meant and laughed along with her, though there was a hint of sinister satisfaction in that smile.
Inside Jingxian Palace
As soon as the Empress Dowager entered, she frowned and looked at Mu Junqi, asking in confusion, “What is that smell in this palace? Why is it so nauseating?”
Since Mu Junqi arrived, I have felt the same way, but due to Empress Dowager's status, I have not spoken up. However, the scent still lingers. Apologetically, I replied, "In response to Empress Dowager, Consort does not know. Should I call a maid in to ask? If she is uncomfortable, should we go sit in the courtyard for a while?"
Empress Dowager continued to frown and waved her hand to indicate not to go outside. At that moment, Ziyue had already summoned the cleaning palace maid from Jingxian Palace. As soon as she entered, she knelt on the ground, trembling all over, and after greeting us with a shaky voice, she kept her head lowered.
"Why is there such a smell in this hall? How did you do this?" Mu Junqi asked in a deep voice.
The Palace Maid continued to tremble and replied softly, "This... this was according to the instructions given by the lady before... but I do not know what it is." After saying this, she hurriedly lowered her head again.
At that moment, Empress Dowager seemed to remember something. Her brows tightened as she looked at the Palace Maid and asked in a deep voice, "You said this is incense?"
"In response to Empress Dowager, yes."
Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager's expression changed drastically. She stood up in anger and fixed her gaze on Mu Junqi, then said to Jingxi beside her, "Bring me that incense. How dare you burn such incense in the palace!" Jingxi complied and walked toward the inner room.
Now, Mu Junqi felt somewhat puzzled and could not understand why Empress Dowager was so angry. Just a few days ago, she had instructed someone below to burn incense, but it did not smell like this. At that moment, she was unaware that danger was approaching her.
Before long, Jingxi emerged with several pieces of incense and respectfully presented them to Empress Dowager. However, Empress Dowager did not take them but instead asked softly, "Is it that one?"
After a moment of silence, Jingxi nodded. Immediately, Empress Dowager angrily threw the pieces of incense onto the ground and shouted, "Empress, kneel!"
Although Mu Junqi still did not understand what was happening, it seemed that she had fallen into a trap. Aware that speaking more would lead to more mistakes, she chose to remain silent. However, Empress Dowager stepped closer to Mu Junqi, sneering as she said, "I did not expect you to act this way. Do you know what the consequences of this action are?"
"Please forgive Consort for being dull; I do not understand what Empress Dowager is referring to. Please clarify."
"How could you not know? If it weren't for the evidence here, I would truly have been deceived by you. Everyone in the palace knows that musk is prohibited, yet you brazenly used it here. This is a crime against the emperor!" the Empress Dowager said, her expression still filled with anger.
"Musk? I, Consort, do not understand what this is about. If I knew about such matters, why would I use it? I ask the Empress Dowager to see clearly," at this moment, even Mu Junqi understood the importance of this matter. One careless mistake could potentially implicate those in the General's residence, but she couldn't figure out who was trying to frame her.
Within less than an hour, news spread throughout the palace that the Empress had used musk. Once this incident came to light, everyone in the palace was delighted. Musk was a great taboo in the palace, especially for someone like the Empress who was unaware of it. This naturally warranted a more severe punishment. It was said that the Empress had already been confined to the Cold Palace by the Empress Dowager and had reportedly received dozens of bamboo rod punishments. Such rumors spread like wildfire throughout the palace.
This was how things were in the palace; no matter what happened, news could spread instantly everywhere. This also served as a form of entertainment for them during their tea breaks.
However, at this moment, Mo Xiao Li was completely unaware of this. The atmosphere in Yun Jin Palace was somewhat tense. Mo Xiao Li furrowed her brows tightly as she looked down at General Mu and coldly said, "What do you mean by this, General? I will pretend that nothing happened, but you repeatedly challenge my patience. Do you believe I will send you to the frontier right now?"
General Mu's expression remained unchanged throughout, appearing calm and collected as if he believed that no matter what happened today, the emperor would agree to his request. What he did not know was that everything had long been under Mo Xiao Li's control.
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