“Who? Who jumped into the water?”

“I don’t know. It seems that the young lady does take things too hard.”

“Go down and save her. Quickly.”

“Why did she choose to do that in the imperial garden? Isn’t she afraid of affecting her own family?”

…

Many young ladies on the bank chattered about the accident with various opinions. The guards dragged the unconscious He Yuxiu ashore. Her clothes were soaked, and it was in Spring, so her good figure was exposed in sight completely. And her disheveled hair with some strands on the forehead made her more like a mad woman rather than a normal one.

Her palace dress had been snagged somewhere and was torn considerably, making her private area inside expose slightly and glutting the guards’ eyes.

Fortunately, it was in the palace. No one dared to act unruly, and all the guards retreated.

“This woman is crazy!”

“She must be crazy, otherwise she would not come to the Imperial Garden to jump into the lake.”

“Do you know her?”

“I don’t know!” “Nor do I!”

All the people shook their heads. Since He family had already fallen, they could not enter the circle of the wealthy. Besides, He Yuxiu was not a local citizen, so no one knew her there.

“Get out of here! Get out of here! Her Highness is coming!” Someone shouted in the distance, and all the people retreated voluntarily.

Surrounded by palace servants, Empress came first, followed by Imperial Noble Consort Su and Consort Zhao.

“What’s the matter?” Empress stopped and asked at the sight of the soaked He Yuxiu thrown randomly on the ground. Several eunuchs pushed He Yuxiu’s disheveled hair to reveal her face.

Someone came over and whispered some words to Empress. Then, Empress’ expression became weird, and she turned to look at Consort Zhao behind and said with a faint smile, “Consort Zhao, come to see whether she is your paternal family member.”

Consort Zhao, a little bit slower than Empress, changed her countenance at the sight of He Yuxiu. The palace dress was quite familiar, so Consort Zhao recognized He Yuxiu at the first sight. She wondered why her so-called niece from the paternal family behaved so disappointingly just after they had met just now. Looking at He Yuxiu’s embarrassing appearance, Consort Zhao felt her stomach ached with anger. But asked by Empress on the scene, Consort Zhao could not turn a blind eye to He Yuxiu, as she had advised Empress to allow He Yuxiu to be a second consort of the King Xuan’s Manor.

At the moment, Consort Zhao came up, gave a graceful salute, and smile softly. “She is my niece from my paternal family. It is the first time that she has been in the palace, so she knows nothing about the imperial rules. I’m afraid that she bumped into someone. I don’t know whom she bumped into, and the person threw the girl into the lake. Come here, help Miss He to get changed.”

What Consort Zhao meant was that someone deliberately threw He Yuxiu into the river. Compared to He Yuxiu’s current situation, it was the best explanation. To shift the responsibility to others and create a good reputation for herself was Consort Zhao’s wishful thinking.

A eunuch and a palace maidservant beside Consort Zhao held He Yuxiu to leave the scene.

The Empress’ face remained weird, and she curved her lips slightly and said, “My sister, you’re so generous. Shall I help you to inquire who bumped Miss He into the river? Miss He came to the palace for the first time and just claimed kin with you. But the accident happened. Just now, she was reduced by the guards, and her reputation was stained. What should she do now? Besides, King Xuan…”

Consort Zhao’s face stiffened instantly, and a gleam of coldness flashed under her eyes. She had been restrained in the deep palace for a decade. Seemingly, it was said to protect her, but in fact, she was imprisoned there without any freedom. This time, she could manage to come out of the palace by the name of attending the Spring Wind Feast, so in any case, she was unwilling to return to the old days when she had to live in the palace alone for her whole life.

Others did not know, but Consort Zhao knew clearly that every time Emperor came to her palace, he just talked about her elder sister. Being the only young sister of Consort Xian in the palace and having a similar look with her, Consort Zhao knew Emperor used her to cherish the memory with her sister, which was all her role in the palace. Emperor said to restrain her in the deep palace just for fear that she might be framed by Empress. But the restriction lasted over a decade. Perhaps, the Emperor’s tenderness and expectation had deteriorated already.

Now she just wanted to appear in front of everyone as a favored consort, enjoying the superiority above others. She wanted to get greater rights. Whether with the original motivation or in the current purpose, she felt that she was the right person to enjoy the glory and wealth.

With ten years passing, perhaps Consort Zhao had gradually entered Emperor Zongwen’s heart, and she thought she was able to replace Consort Xian. With her face and gentleness similar to Consort Xian, Consort Zhao did not believe that Emperor Zongwen remained indifferent to her. In the past, he always ignored her requests, but now, he allowed her to appear in front of people.

She believed that as the Emperor’s mind changed, she could get more!

Of course, she also needed someone’s support. At this time, the He family that emerged became her best tool, as she could bond herself to Feng Yuran by using He family and show great kindness to him. Consort Xian had passed away for years, and Consort Zhao thought, as Feng Yuran’s aunt, she was his closest person in the palace, and she could even put in a good word for him in front of Emperor at an appropriate time.

If Feng Yuran could succeed to the throne, she, as his aunt, could ascend to the position of Empress Dowager. It was all Consort Zhao’s plan. Of course, she had totally forgotten Consort Xian’s death, and believed that woman was too stupid and died indirectly in her hands, leaving her husband and son to her. What a stupid person Consort Xian was!

He Yuxiu was Consort Zhao’s niece whom she planned to marry to Feng Yuran. That was, He Yuxiu was a necessary means for Consort Zhao to associate with Feng Yuran, so Consort Zhao was so kind to He Yuxiu. But out of Consort Zhao’s expectation, He Yuxiu, such a foolish woman, had such an accident when she had just left Consort Zhao for a while. How could Consort Zhao not get angry?

What kind of person secretly set to destroy her plan? Consort Zhao thought that she would not let the person go if she found out who the person was.

Just now, since those guards were men, and He Yuxiu was pulled up by them, even her clothes was torn, her reputation was stained. How was such a woman able to marry into King Xuan’s Manor? King Xuan was Emperor’s beloved son. How could Emperor let his son feel aggrieved?

Thinking of what she resented most, Consort Zhao could not help gritting her teeth secretly, but she disguised it well on her face and gave a gentle smile, and continued the Empress’ topic. “Your Highness, thank you so much. If Your Highness could help my niece find out the person who hit her into the water, I would be grateful to Your Highness. Pity that she is just a girl at her 15 years old and knows little about the world. Even if she does offend someone accidentally, it is unintentional. Why did the person make so hard reprisals to her?” Sorrow came over her face, mixed with tenderness and fragility, which could arouse others’ fondness.

The people present were all sophisticated. Imperial Noble Consort Su took a sideways glance at Consort Zhao, waiting to see her play.

Everyone knew that Consort Zhao must extremely resent the person who had pushed He Yuxiu into the water, but she still pretended to be magnanimous and aggrieved. Who did she show that look? All the women there did not like Consort Zhao’s seductive appearance.

The most powerless consort in the palace was Consort Zhao. Except a few old maidservants, there was no one else around this consort who had been restrained in the deep palace for over ten years. Therefore, other consorts had got the news that it was King Xuan, Feng Yuran, who had kicked the woman into the river, but no one told Consort Zhao, just waiting to see her play.

“Sister Zhao, just forget it. It’s not a big deal to be accidentally hit into the water. Just tell Miss He to be careful next time.” Consort Wang who had just entered the palace covered her lips with a handkerchief and suggested with a smile. She blamed all on He Yuxiu. A boorish woman from a humble family annoyed arrogant King Xuan. Could she get a good result? Impossible!

“That’s right. Your Highness, don’t hold onto it. This time, the people entering the palace are all from well- known and influential families, and they are noble. Miss He hasn’t entered the palace before, so it is normal for her to encounter that. Well, it’s fine that His Majesty gives some warns later.” Another young consort took the hint and said smilingly.

Of course, no one knew whether Emperor Zongwen would reprimand Feng Yuran or not. After all, Feng Yuran was so unruly that anyone who dared to provoke him would be given a hard time without doubt. All the people were worldly-wise to protect themselves.

However, Consort Zhao was rather annoyed at the remarks. What was called “don’t hold onto it”? What were called “hasn’t entered the palace”, and “it is normal to encounter that”? Consort Zhao was almost unable to remain her smile, and the smile became a bit stiffened. Just now, it was Empress who claimed to investigate for her, but why did all the fault fall on her, and why did she become a mean person now?

Besides, they dared to satirize Consort Zhao’s paternal family member was not noble-spirited. But for being restrained for over ten years, and having cultivated herself well, Consort Zhao must have burst into anger. But even so, Consort Zhao’s hand which held a palace maidservant’s hand pinched it so heavily that the maidservant turned pale with pain, but did not dare to make a sound.

Empress took the topic and said mildly, ”

“Sister Zhao, it seemed that the sisters are unwilling to cause trouble. How about forgetting it? It is not a big deal. Be more careful next time.”

“What’s happening here?” A majestic voice came behind the crowd. And all the people turned around involuntarily. It was Emperor Zongwen followed by a group of people. He saw Empress and other people were there, so walked towards them slowly.

“Your Majesty, my niece was kicked into the lake and almost died. I, I…” Before Empress answered Emperor, Consort Zhao walked first with a face of tears and said with grievance. Her tearful eyes similar to Consort Xian were full of depression and sorrow, which instantly caught the Emperor’s heart.

She completely ignored the presence of Empress, Imperial Noble Consort Su, and other consorts, which made all the people shocked and looked at her askance. Was she showing off the Emperor’s enduring favor to her?

“My loved consort, don’t be afraid. I am here and I will redress the scales for you.” Emperor Zongwen held Consort Zhao’s hands and appeased gently.

At that moment, including Empress, all the consorts present cast their jealous eyes on Consort Zhao.

“Empress, go to investigate for Consort Zhao to see who pushed Consort Zhao’s niece into the water. How can the harem be messed up like this? Who will dare to come to the banquet afterward?” Emperor Zongwen turned back and said unhappily.

This was not only about He Yuxiu, but also a slap on Empress. Not long ago, Empress was sick, and Imperial Noble Consort Su helped to manage the harem. And now, Empress recovered and took charge of it herself. But unexpectedly, just after a few days, Empress was reprimanded by Emperor for Consort Zhao. Her dissatisfaction should turn into fury.

However, Empress did not show any discomfort in her eyes, but smiled more gently. She stepped up calmly and said softly in the Emperor’s ears, “Your Majesty, Second Miss He acted frivolously and dared to speak flirtatiously to King Xuan. So she was thrown into the lake by King Xuan. I don’t know how to handle it…”

King Xuan, Feng Yuran, was Emperor Zongwen’s most beloved prince, and no one wanted to offend him for nothing.

Feng Yuran had such an enchanting face that those women who did not know him would try to approach him obsessively . And quite a few had been kicked into the water before. But what the difference was that Feng Yuran was not so flamboyant as this time, and in the past, those kicked women had people to rescue them, so the disturbance was not so terrible. And Emperor Zongwen also knew that his son hated those women looked at him with infatuation.

“How could Second Miss He behave this way?” Emperor Zongwen frowned and looked at Consort Zhao displeasedly. He knew his son well and believed that it must be Miss He who offended Old Eight and caused the trouble. “If it is case, just do it.”

After finishing his words, Emperor Zongwen released Consort Zhao’s hands, turned around and left, showing no willingness to handle the matter.

The tearful Consort Zhao was left behind, and was at a loss whether to catch up or not!

She just felt that other consorts beside had a good laugh at her, so she gritted her teeth, smiled obsequiously to Empress, and said, “Your Highness, it is all my fault that got you into trouble. It is due to my brother’s terrible education of his child. I will send her out of palace soon.”

Consort Zhao knew well that she had no strength in the palace, and had to rely on the Emperor’s favor, so she could not turn hostile to Empress at this moment. Fortunately, she also had the evidence against Empress. As long as she backed down, Empress would not deliberately embarrass her.

“It has nothing to do with you. But I have no ability to help you.” Sure enough, Empress let out a sigh and answered casually with a generous expression. But the sigh did not sound sincere at all!

Just now, when Emperor was here, Consort Zhao’s performance was extremely disgusting…