Chapter 76 - The Emperor also felt sorry for himself

Yun Fenghuang was shocked and turned around suddenly. She saw a young man who was at the age of twenty frown slightly, looking at Qi Jiulu in disapproval.

“Who is he?” She simply walked back to Emperor Chunjia, holding her dress and sitting down, and then asked lazily.

The Emperor said calmly, “He is Earl Xingning’s nephew, Yuan Ke, also called Yuan Songlai.”

“Did he say that the entourage of Prince Regent’s Shizi peeped at me?” Yun Fenghuang sneered. “Does he imply that I am restless and deliberately seduce a male?!”

“I dare not.” Yuan Ke lowered his head and said calmly, “I did see the entourage of Prince Regent’s Shizi peeping at Pin Yun, and he looked at Pin Yun for a few seconds before he turned his gaze.”

Yun Fenghuang sneered unreservedly and turned to ask Emperor Chunjia, “My Majesty, is Mr. Yuan a gay? Then I have to say that how dare Yuan Ke to say this. Your Majesty, you are noble and handsome, while Mr. Yuan is weak and average in appearance. How dare Mr. Yuan covet you!”

“You!” Yuan Ke heard the words in shock and anger, subconsciously wanting to scold her. But he dared not take liberties in front of the Emperor, and just clenched his fists, looking angry.

Emperor Chunjia patted Yun Fenghuang’s hand gently and said with a smile, “Pin Yun, you should not talk nonsense.”

“I do not talk nonsense.” Yun Fenghuang said. “There are many men and women in this side hall. Everyone abides by the rules and does not dare to look at me and the two princesses. The maids who are able to serve My Majesty are all pretty. Mr. Yuan does not look at anyone but only pays attention to the entourage of Shizi. There must be something behind this.”

She said and then lifted her chin towards Ji Minggan, “Mr. Ji is closer to this entourage. Why didn’t Mr. Ji find that?”

Ji Minggan coughed and said, “At that time I was drinking tea and did not pay attention to him. However, Songlai has always been stable and I think he would not accuse the entourage of Shizi for no reason.”

“That’s true.” Gongxiang Xiao narrowed his eyes and agreed, which made Ji Minggan a little stunned. Gongxiang Xiao continued to say, “Qi Jiulu, did you just peek at Pin Yun? If you did so and dared to act rude to the concubines in front of My Majesty, I won’t spare you!”

Qi Jiulu went out in response, knelt down under the red steps and calmly said, “Your Majesty, this is my first time to enter the palace. Although I am not familiar with the etiquette, I remember the instructions of Shizi and dare not forget it. I dare not peep at the females in the palace and dare not offend you!”

Gongxiang Xiao chuckled and said, “Yuan Songlai is not good at riding and shooting. It can be seen that he has poor eyesight. Maybe his eyes deceive him.”

Yuan Ke sullenly refuted, “It is true that I am not good at riding and shooting. But Shizi, we are in the same level in riding and shooting. If I am a person with poor eyesight, I am afraid that Shizi is not capable enough to choose the right supporter.”

“My Majesty, I know why Mr. Yuan said it.” Yun Fenghuang interjected at this time, “I am afraid that Mr. Yuan has a problem with Shizi. At this time, he finds an excuse to argue with Shizi… But it is not my business. If you do not uphold justice for me today, I will not accept such a result!”

Emperor Chunjia smiled and coaxed her, “Yuan Songlai is not such a person. Besides, you are not related. Why does he drag you into an affair? Perhaps it is…”

“We are not related?” Yun Fenghuang interrupted him and raised her eyebrows. “Isn’t he a member of Jie Yu Yue’s family? Surely, Jie Yu Yue has always loved me. I dare not suspect her. It’s just when I first joined the harem, I was pushed into a pool at Ning Bi Hall…”

The Emperor’s mouth twitched as he heard that. How many times had the matter been mentioned?

People in the harem all knew the truth of this matter. Even if she was cheeky, wasn’t she bored with mentioning it repeatedly?!

“I have been tired of it!” The Emperor said to himself.

Of course, Yun Fenghuang was not bored with mentioning it. Moreover, she even tried to extend this matter to the Imperial Court, “Yesterday, when I moved, the maid who pushed me into the pool finally jumped out. But I still couldn’t figure out whom I had offended and who wanted to kill me at that time because I was just a newcomer of the harem. Seeing what Mr. Yuan did just now, I guess it is possible that Mr. Yuan did it without noticing Jie Yu Yue in advance?”

Yuan Ke was shocked, “When did I do such a thing?! I don’t know none of it!”

“More importantly, I have never seen Pin Yun before!”

“We are totally not related!” Yuan Ke thought to himself.

“Although I am not a member of Yun tribe, but Noble Consort Shu has confessed that I am her sister of the same clan…” Hearing this, Emperor Chunjia interrupted decisively, “Okay, this is just a misunderstanding. No one is allowed to mention it!”

Looking up at Yun Fenghuang, he said with a warning, “Aren’t you going to see Minghui? Just leave.”

He had just planned to see how Yun Fenghuang would do to deal with it, but Yun Fenghuang wanted to provoke the contradiction between Duke Yi’s Mansion and Earl Xingning’s Mansion.

The Emperor was convinced by her ability to engage in trouble. If he didn’t stop her quickly, who knew what nonsense Yun Fenghuang would say?

“It is a misunderstanding, but Mr. Yuan almost ruins my reputation. Shouldn’t he apologize?” Hearing the order, Yun Fenghuang sat still, held her head, looked at the Emperor and did not make the slightest concession, “Otherwise, if other people know it, they will think that I am in the wrong side. They will believe that I am favored by My Majesty, so I forced Mr. Yuan to trivialize the matter! I’m as clean as ice and as pure as jade. Why should I suffer such a humiliation? My Majesty, you said you like me the most. Now I am confronted with such a big issue, will you do me justify?”

In fact, she didn’t really care about Yuan Ke’s apology, because when Yuan Ke revealed Qi Jiulu, he was already a dead man in Yun Fenghuang’s eyes.

The point was that Qi Jiulu was still kneeling on the ground! She did not know whether the Emperor did it intentionally or unintentionally.

Why could Yuan Ke sit on the chair safely and steadily?!

Yuan Ke should also kneel on the ground!

Sooner or later, she would make Yuan Ke kneel down forever!

The Emperor squinted and looked at her indifferently.

Yun Fenghuang looked back calmly.

It was silent in the side hall at that moment.

“My Majesty, I…” For a moment, Qi Jiulu kneeling on the ground took the lead, but he did not finish speaking. Yun Fenghuang glared at Gongxiang Xiao, “Shizi, please teach your entourage manners well. I’m talking with My Majesty. How dare he disturb?”

Gongxiang Xiao coughed and said, “OK, I will. I will discipline him well when I return.”

“Pin Yun, you do not allow Shizi’s entourage to speak. Do you really think he is rude or you have ulterior motives?” Yuan Ke suddenly sneered, got up, bowed, and said loudly, “My Majesty, do you know that Shizi’s entourage has a special relationship with Pin Yun? He is Qi Jiulu and comes from Qi’s clan, a big clan in the north, and had an engagement with Pin Yun… before!”

“My Majesty! My clan indeed has cordially invited a woman for me, but I have cancelled the engagement with her a few years ago. I have been married and my wife is in Prince Regent’s Mansion now. Shizi can prove what I said.” Qi Jiulu lowered his head and said in a lower voice, “As for Pin Yun, I dare not look directly at her, and I am not clear whether Mr. Yuan is right or wrong. However, the girl who was engaged to me was not surnamed Yun.”

Yuan Ke said with a sneer, “We will know whether she is your former fiancée after checking it. My Majesty, Pin Yun is favored by you, but she still misses her former fiancé…”

“Former fiancé?” Yun Fenghuang sneered and interrupted his words. She said, “Mr. Yuan, perhaps we come from different hometowns. My hometown is not as free as Fuyang County! Even if a woman is engaged to a man since childhood, she also has to abide by the etiquette. She is not allowed to meet her fiancé until they get married. Therefore, please do not judge me based on your own experience because what you say will cause misunderstandings!”

These words made a clear mock that Yuan Lianniang had been staying with Emperor Chunjia since childhood and that the family education of Yuan’s Family was bad. Yuan Ke blushed. He said, “Everyone in the north knows well that you and Qi Jiulu have been together since childhood, and…”

“Who said that? Just let the one who said that come to Dijing City to confront me!” Yun Fenghuang disdained, “What you said is utter nonsense! Mr. Yuan, you have instructed a maid to push me into a pool to get me killed. Now, it’s not strange if you frame me up to kill me. I’ve been in my boudoir since I was young, and I am not allowed to meet even distant relatives, let alone meeting an unfamiliar male?”

Yuan Ke narrowed his eyes and said, “Pin Yun, you said that your family is with good traditions. But I heard that your sister had been housecleaned by your family because she was unfaithful to her husband!”

He did not forget to add an explanation, “Pin Yun and her sister are raised by the same mother.”

“Therefore, I’m still alive right now, which just proves that I am properly brought up!” Yun Fenghuang said confidently, “As for housecleaning means that the family education of a family is not right… This sounds like a joke. There are many prisoners who have been imprisoned and beheaded. Do you feel that My Majesty is ineffective in governing the country, or do you think that the officials of the dynasty all hold down a job without doing a stroke of work, and that the whole imperial court is full of people who concentrate on making profits and commit crimes in violation of the law?”

She looked at the Emperor and said, “My Majesty, the words he said are execrable! I feel very sorry for you!”

Emperor Chunjia also felt very sorry for himself. Why did he have such an uncompromising cousin and such a concubine?!

Then he had to cope with their aftermath…

“I said stop it.” The Emperor looked around and the people he met with, except Yun Fenghuang, immediately lowered their eyes to show their respects and fear, “There are some misunderstandings. You keep quarreling like this. Does this make sense?”

Yuan Ke knew that the Emperor wanted to patch up the quarrel and reconcile the parties concerned. He said unwillingly, “My Majesty, Pin Yun and Qi Jiulu are really…”

“My Majesty, I am very curious about why people in Earl Xingning’s Mansion hate Duke Yi’s Mansion…” Yun Fenghuang was unwilling to show her weakness and started labeling.

Emperor Chunjia shouted with a stern look, “Whoever quarrels, get the hell out!”

Yun Fenghuang and Yuan Ke glared at each other viciously and then stopped reluctantly.

The Emperor also lost his mood to mediate their dispute and said a few words with a straight face, “This is just a misunderstanding. Because you argue a point to death, the dispute intensifies.” He announced that they should stop here and no one was allowed to put forward it. “As for the fact that Pin Yun has been engaged to someone, both Noble Consort Shu and Duke Yi’s Mansion have made a report before. If it is not in compliance with the rules, why could she be cordially invited under the imperial decree?”

Yun Fenghuang and Qi Jiulu were both relieved after hearing the words. What he said was to testify Yun Fenghuang’s reputation and integrity with Empress Dowager’s imperial decree. If someone dared make a fuss about the issues that her sister was unfaithful to her husband and she had been engaged to her playmate in childhood, he or she would firstly face the question of the Empress Dowager!

Would the Emperor be so kind?

Yun Fenghuang was confused and did not believe that Emperor Chunjia was gentle and kind!

Not to mention that she had a problem with Yuan Lianniang. Even under such a situation in the palace, he still insisted on studying and living normally for eight years, not indulging himself in disappointment and the beauties. With such temper and perseverance, Yun Fenghuang could definitely not believe that he was not ambitious.

When she was thinking about this, Emperor Chunjia had already sent Ji Minggan and Yuan Ke away, but kept Gongxiang Xiao who originally wanted to resign.

As the entourage of Gongxiang Xiao, Qi Jiulu could not leave for granted.

As Yun Fenghuang frowned slightly, the Emperor asked the servants to leave.

The tall hall door was slowly closed. Only the Emperor, Yun Fenghuang, Gongxiang Xiao and Qi Jiulu were in the hall. The Emperor was not as gentle and kind as before. He asked Gongxiang Xiao indifferently, “What’s this about?”

This was to ask why Gongxiang Xiao brought Qi Jiulu into the palace.

After all, what Earl Xingning’s Mansion could find would be found by Prince Regent’s Mansion that controlled the Imperial City Division.

He knew that Qi Jiulu had been engaged to Yun Fenghuang and knew that Yun Fenghuang was “favored” by Emperor Chunjia, but he still took Qi Jiulu to the Emperor, and even met Yun Fenghuang… What did he want to do?!

Yun Fenghuang was just about to speak, but the Emperor first cast a sentimental glance at her, and said with a cold voice, “Pin Yun, I will say a few words with Shizi. Be patient, okay?”

The words were thoughtful, but the tone was cold and irresistible.

“…” Yun Fenghuang pursed her lips and didn’t look at him. She only focused on Gongxiang Xiao and prayed secretly that his answer would not be too stupid.