Who Would Understand, Her Ladyship Wrote A Hundred Palace Regulations - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Being Sent to the Cold Palace?

In Jingxi Palace.

Consort Shu was in a good mood. The emperor had favored a Guiren from a Count family, which would surely infuriate the two Jieyu.

This was going to be a great show.

Consort Zhuang, who disliked all concubines equally, was preparing to give Ning Guiren a good lesson when she arrived.

She didn’t remember what Ning Guiren looked like…

But everyone waited for a long time, and the protagonist didn’t appear. It wasn’t until Lian Rui arrived late that they reported. “My Mistress is unwell and can’t pay respects to the Empress Dowager. I’m here to ask for leave.”

The palace fell silent.

“What?” Consort Shu couldn’t believe it. This little noble consort was too arrogant.

Consort Zhuang also widened her eyes. Even she didn’t dare to offend the empress dowager, and this little noble consort dared to do so?

The entire Jingxi Palace was so quiet that a pin could be heard dropping.

Xue Jieyu immediately looked at Cen Jieyu, wondering if the Cen family was behind this, intentionally hitting the Xue family’s face?

But Cen Jieyu’s expression was also one of surprise, and Xue Jieyu felt a surge of annoyance towards Ning Guiren.

Without the Cen family’s backing, this little noble consort was seeking death on her own, and she was also making the Xue family lose face.

What a fool.

Consort Shu suppressed her shock and said, “It’s getting late. We should go pay our respects to the Empress Dowager. Ning Guiren is unwell, and I will explain the situation to the Empress Dowager. You can go back and take care of your Mistress.”

She didn’t punish Ning Wanyin.

It was the Empress Dowager’s face that was being hit, so why rush?

Lian Rui seemed to not notice the expressions of the others and bowed before retreating.

Consort Shu led the concubines, who had various expressions, to Cining Palace in a good mood.

When they arrived at Cining Palace, Consort Shu led the concubines in paying their respects.

Empress Dowager Xue scanned the concubines and asked, using the same tactic, “Which one of you is Ning Guiren? Come forward so I can take a look.”

The atmosphere was tense.

Consort Shu stepped forward and replied, “Ning Guiren said she was unwell and couldn’t come to pay her respects…”

The palace fell silent.

The eunuchs and palace maids in Cining Palace were all stunned.

Not to mention the person involved, Empress Dowager Xue, who was taken aback for a moment before reacting with great anger!

Daring not to pay her respects was a blatant slap in her face!

In front of the entire harem, Ning Guiren was not taking her, the empress dowager, seriously.

If she didn’t punish her severely, wouldn’t the concubines think that she, Empress Dowager Xue, and the Xue family were easy to bully?

“I’ve never seen such an impolite woman!” Empress Dowager Xue’s face was gloomy.

Xue Jieyu stepped forward and took over the conversation, “Aunt, Ning Guiren’s disrespect towards the Empress Dowager deserves to be stripped of her title and sent to the cold palace.”

“Consort Shu, go and send her to the cold palace,” Empress Dowager Xue coldly instructed.

The emperor was chosen by the Xue and Cen families.
Empress Dowager Xue had power and authority, and even the emperor had to show respect to her. Let alone a small Guiren?

The crime of not paying respects could be light or heavy. If she didn’t care, it was fine, but if she did, it would be considered a great disrespect and unfilial, making her unfit to be a concubine.

Consort Shu glanced at Cen Jieyu, seeing that she didn’t express any opinion, and then respectfully accepted the order.

Although the Cen family was opposed to the Xue family, they had a tacit understanding to eliminate third parties first.

…

Consort Shu led the eunuchs to surround Lingxue Pavilion. The attending eunuchs and palace maids were all frightened.

“Miss…” Lian Rui looked at Ning Wanyin in panic. Although her miss told her to do whatever she wanted without question…

Not paying respects to the empress dowager made her very uneasy.

“Don’t worry, help me up and I’ll go pay my respects to Consort Shu,” Ning Wanyin said, having only dozed off for a while and not feeling well, her expression languid.

Dan Li was almost frantic.
This wasn’t about paying respects to Consort Shu!
You were about to be sent to the cold palace!

She didn’t know if the empress dowager would be lenient and whether she would punish the people who attended to Ning Wanyin.

The morning sunlight scattered, illuminating Lingxue Pavilion, which was spotlessly clean.

A woman in a light lotus-colored dress, with her hair casually tied up, walked out with the help of a palace maid.

She wasn’t wearing any makeup, and her eyes showed signs of fatigue, but she could still be seen as a beauty.

Consort Shu glanced at Ning Wanyin and thought to herself, she was indeed a beauty, but the harem was full of beauties, and many had met their demise.

“The concubine pays her respects to Consort Shu. It’s too kind of Consort Shu to visit the concubine…” Ning Wanyin said with a smile.

Consort Shu didn’t want to waste time talking to this foolish woman and directly said, “The Empress Dowager has decreed that you will be sent to the cold palace to reflect on your actions due to your disrespect.”

Ning Wanyin’s face showed surprise, “Why would Consort Shu say such a thing? The concubine has always been respectful towards the Empress Dowager.”

“You were impolite and disrespectful, not paying your respects to the Empress Dowager. It’s a great act of unfiliality and disrespect!” the leading eunuch of Cining Palace angrily accused.

Ning Wanyin’s face showed a hint of grievance, “This concubine was unwell and it wasn’t out of impoliteness or arrogance. Besides, it was the Emperor who exempted the concubine from paying respects… Shouldn’t the concubine have listened to the Emperor? Is that what Consort Shu means?”

Consort Shu was taken aback.
Using the emperor’s casual words as an excuse…

She didn’t know whether to call Ning Wanyin arrogant or foolish.

She wouldn’t engage in this conversation, “I have no such intention. I’m just following the Empress Dowager’s instructions.”

Just at this moment, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside. Wang Degui rushed over with a group of eunuchs, looking at the scene before him and hastily bowing, “This servant pays respects to Consort Shu and Ning Guiren! It’s all because this servant was inefficient and didn’t arrive at Cining Palace early to convey the Emperor’s decree to the Empress Dowager. The emperor has decreed that Ning Guiren worked hard attending to him and exempted her from paying respects to the Empress Dowager today. We hope the Empress Dowager will be lenient.”

As he spoke, he looked at Consort Shu with an apologetic expression, “It was troublesome for Consort Shu to come here. Ning Guiren had no intention of disrespecting. She was just following the imperial decree. It’s all because this servant arrived late and couldn’t explain the situation to the Empress Dowager in time, causing this misunderstanding.”

The real situation was…

The emperor heard that Cining Palace had sent people to arrest Ning Wanyin and then told him to convey the decree to the Empress Dowager.

A servant couldn’t say that the Emperor was careless and didn’t inform Cining Palace in time. Naturally, he could only say that he ran too slowly…

Wang Degui thought to himself that the emperor didn’t seem careless. It was as if he was waiting for the empress dowager to make a move and then slap her face himself.

Consort Shu’s expression changed from casual to serious after seeing Wang Degui.

It turned out that this was the emperor’s intention.

She knew that the emperor didn’t get along with the two noble families. When the emperor first ascended the throne, he hinted that she should distance herself from the Cen family. After all, she was only related to the Cen family by marriage and wasn’t bound to them.

With her son and her power, she was the most suitable person in the harem to suppress the Xue and Cen families.

But Consort Shu pretended to be ignorant.

She was stable in her position, so why would she take risks and become a target of hatred?

Smart people liked to stay behind the scenes and watch others fight, waiting for the best opportunity. They wouldn’t put themselves in the spotlight.

This Ning Guiren seemed to be the target set up by the emperor. Consort Shu couldn’t help but look at Ning Wanyin. She had almost misjudged her earlier, thinking she was a fool.

It turned out that everything was planned with the emperor.

However, not everyone could play the role of a pawn.

One wrong move could mean death.

She had the courage to be a target, but she also needed the brains to survive.

Consort Shu wouldn’t intervene in the conflict between the emperor and the empress dowager. She looked at Ning Wanyin with a gaze like she was looking at a dead person and smiled at Wang Degui, “You are too polite, sir. Since the Emperor has decreed it, I will go back and report to the Empress Dowager.”

Consort Shu’s expression remained normal as she got on her palanquin. The leading eunuch of Cining Palace, however, looked furious and glared at Ning Wanyin with a fierce gaze.

After Wang Degui bowed to Ning Wanyin, he also followed Consort Shu to Cining Palace.