Two days of calm days have passed. When I say calm, I mean not only that Zhenliang has not had to sleep for two days because of the visit to Kuishui, but also that even though there are crazy rumors outside Qiongyu Palace that Concubine He is disrespectful to the Ninth Prince and even ruined his appearance.
, no one came to trouble Zhenliang about ruining his image, but her reputation became more and more infamous.
The third day was the day to greet the Queen Mother. Zhenliang felt like the end was coming. If the Queen Mother did not settle the accounts with her regarding the third prince's affairs, she would definitely be sorry for her insidious and hypocritical face.
Zhenliang was not the only one who went to Cining Palace to pay his respects. Apart from the queen who did not come, there were also other concubines.
The other concubines deliberately distanced themselves from Zhenliang, even sitting a certain distance away from her. However, the Queen Mother did not express any dissatisfaction with their behavior of rejecting Zhenliang, and she obviously condoned it.
Zhenliang sat helplessly, knowing in her heart that in the eyes of the Queen Mother, she might have become the most annoying woman, even though she had taken the sunflower water to get rid of the "good thing" of staying in bed for a month, which was in line with the Queen Mother's requirements.
However, because of the change of appearance for the Third Prince, the Queen Mother has already put her on a blacklist that will never make a difference.
At the end of the greeting, the Queen Mother sent away the other concubines, even Jinye Yinye who had accompanied Zhenliang here.
"Concubine Liang did something wrong a few days ago. Although the emperor will not punish you, the Ai family must give it a penalty for the sake of the overall situation. Since you are a first offender, the Ai family will be given a lighter punishment. Concubine Liang, what do you think?"
Zhenliang lowered her eyes and looked at the ground, and said obediently, "I am at the mercy of the Queen Mother."
"Very good." The Queen Mother stood up from the chair and said sternly, "Kneel down."
Zhenliang was startled, then knelt down obediently.
The Queen Mother walked step by step to Zhenliang and said harshly, "The Ai family has always cherished Yu'er and regarded him as life. Since you dare to bully him, you must accept the punishment from the Ai family. From now on, you will have a good memory."
, you just kneel like this, not allowed to eat or drink, keep kneeling until Aijia's anger subsides."
As soon as she finished speaking, the Queen Mother's figure disappeared into the hall.
Zhenliang slowly raised her head, looked at the empty hall, and curled her lips. She really didn't know how long she would have to kneel. If the Queen Mother couldn't let go of her anger, would she kneel to death here?
However, the Queen Mother's kneeling punishment was beyond her expectation. She thought that she might be lynched by the Queen Mother, such as beating her with twenty boards or wringing her fingers. However, the Queen Mother just made her kneel until she was angry.
She was not allowed to eat or drink until she was gone. Compared with being slapped with a board or wringing her fingers, this punishment was too light. Zhenliang felt that she should still be able to bear it. Who asked her to make fun of her precious son's hair and figure?
The big mistake had been made, and it was too late for her to regret it.
Zhenliang would never know that if Nangong Lie and Nangong Yu had not begged for her in front of the Queen Mother two days ago, what she was suffering at this moment would definitely not be as simple as kneeling down.
Zhenliang was kneeling calmly in the main hall, but Jinye and Yinye who were guarding outside Cining Palace were as anxious as ants on a hot pot. They really felt sorry for Zhenliang, so they couldn't bear the slightest grievance against her.
If they could kneel on his behalf, they would all be willing to kneel on Zhenliang's behalf.
Before coming to Cining Palace, Zhenliang and several girls considered the dangerous situation in the past, so they asked them to put Zhenqi in a cage and not let him out until she came back, so that Zhenqi would not be found.
What's wrong with her?
Several girls strongly requested that one or more of them take over all the responsibilities, but Zhenliang insisted on opposing it.
In her opinion, the Queen Mother had already confirmed that she had personally cut off the Third Prince's long hair and designed his clothes. If four girls were to interfere again, regardless of whether the Queen Mother believed it or not, the outcome would probably be the same.
Several people who want to bear the blame accept the punishment together.
Whether she suffers alone or several others accompany her, she is the one who has to suffer. Therefore, Zhenliang has sternly warned them not to do thankless things, that is, things that are meaningless.
.
If the Queen Mother's punishment was too severe, she could still rely on them to go to the Emperor for help, and even take care of her with all their strength when she was seriously injured.
When they learned that Zhenliang had been punished by kneeling, both Jin Ye and Yin Ye thought it was nothing. Although the empress' body was precious and her skin and tender flesh were too delicate to be punished by kneeling, compared with other more terrible punishments, this was already considered a very light punishment.
Jinye and Yinye waited peacefully outside Cining Palace. An hour passed. Instead of waiting for Zhenliang to come out, they waited for the news that the Queen Mother had forbidden Zhenliang to eat or drink.
Although Jin Ye and Yin Ye did not dare to curse loudly in Cining Palace, in their hearts, they were scolding the Queen Mother for being too inhumane.
Kneel down, kneel down, how can you deny food and water? It's so cruel.
In the eyes of the two girls, the empress did indeed do something wrong and she should not have taken action against the third prince. However, this was not entirely the empress’s fault. The third prince also had an unshirkable responsibility because it was the third prince who did not inform the empress of his true identity.
Before that, he kept asking his empress to change his clothes and image...
Therefore, it is actually pitiful and unjust for the empress to be punished like this.
The third prince is the culprit.
Yinye once experienced days without food or water, so he can best understand the painful feeling of not having food and water. It doesn't matter if he doesn't eat for a day, but if there is no water to drink, it feels like he has no food or water.
Fish nourished by water will surely die of thirst.
In addition, when Yinye thought that Zhenliang was too sleepy, so when he went to greet the Queen Mother, he neither had breakfast nor drank a sip of water, and felt that his mouth began to become thirsty.
After discussing with Jin Ye, the two immediately decided that Jin Ye would continue to stay outside Cining Palace to investigate the situation, while Yin Ye immediately went to the emperor and told the emperor that the empress was being punished. If the emperor allowed the empress to be punished,
At least please ask the emperor to come forward in person and have someone send some tea and snacks in.
However, Yinye obviously underestimated the Queen Mother's foresight and ability. The Queen Mother had long expected that they would go to the Emperor for help, so as soon as Yinye walked towards the Hall of Supreme Harmony, someone blocked her way in time.
Let her keep walking.
The guard who stopped her didn't say the specific reason, but said that the Queen Mother wouldn't allow it.
Yinye had no choice but to return, but was unwilling to return to Cining Palace. After thinking about it, she decided to go find the queen. Today she heard that the queen was unwell and therefore did not come to pay her respects to the queen mother. Yinye felt that she might be able to pay her respects to the seemingly kind-hearted woman.
The queen asked for mercy, and asked the queen to come to Cining Palace to plead with the queen mother, or directly ask the queen to go to the emperor to inform the emperor.
Once again, Yinye's road to Kunning Palace was blocked again.
In the end, Yinye could only return to Qiongyu Palace where the road was smooth.
As soon as she stepped into Qiongyu Palace, she immediately learned from other people that people in Qiongyu Palace could only enter but not leave.
In other words, once Yinye steps into Qiongyu Palace, she will have no chance to get out for the time being.
