The Daily Life of a Concubine

Chapter 37 - Punishment

The more Lan Guifei spoke, the more overbearing her words became, yet not a single person spoke up in defense of Bai Jingxian.

Instead, a few people, led by the Lan Guifei, chimed in, "Exactly, Lan Guifei is right. People with such malicious intentions should be confined."

"Indeed, such ill-hearted individuals should go and sort Buddha beans to calm their minds, rather than constantly thinking about causing harm."

Bai Jingxian's eyes turned red with fury, but she saw all the expressions on the faces of those present. As expected, once the issue of heirs was raised, these people united as one.

But if they knew that the Empress was pregnant, would they still be able to laugh?

Especially that Consort Shu, who always pretended to be indifferent, as though nothing ever concerned her. Right now, her Third Prince was the only surviving child in the palace. If the Empress... how would she react once she knew the news? Would that calm and lofty facade finally crack?

"Your suggestion is quite good. This Noble Consort shall act on behalf of the Empress this time. He Liangdi, who went out while ill, intended to spread her illness to the other concubines. For that, she will be confined for one month and will copy the scripture Qingxin Sutra one hundred times as punishment."

Lan Guifei toyed with her embroidered handkerchief nonchalantly, as though she were discussing a trivial matter.

Bai Jingxian couldn't argue. After all, Lan Guifei had the authority to manage the other concubines. Although the phoenix seal was in the Empress's hands, the Empress wouldn't embarrass herself by overruling Lan Guifei's punishment of a mere Liangdi.

"Thank you, Noble Consort." Bai Jingxian knelt with a face full of grievance to express her thanks. "After paying my respects to the Empress, I will retreat to my palace and not step out again."

Upon hearing this, Lan Guifei immediately became displeased. "Hmph, so what? Is the Empress's word more effective than mine? Guards!" Lan Guifei suddenly stood up. "Drag her out! What if she spreads her illness to me?"

Everyone knew that Lan Guifei was favored. She sometimes didn't even give the Empress face, let alone a small Liangdi like Bai Jingxian.

At this moment, the Empress entered with her entourage.

"What is all this noise about? The Emperor and I were dining inside, and we could hear your commotion."

Indeed, the Empress wasn't alone. Emperor Rui was with her, and there was a deep smile on his face.

Bai Jingxian only cast a glance at the two of them on their high seats, but she clearly saw Emperor Rui's expression. It seemed the Emperor already knew about the Empress's pregnancy.

Ha! The Empress was truly bold. Regardless of whether the Emperor was truly excited or merely pretending, their relationship surely wasn't as harmonious as it appeared, right?

She sensed something deeper in Emperor Rui's smile, but she couldn't quite grasp what it was. After all, she wasn't a mind reader.

"Greetings to the Emperor, greetings to the Empress," everyone quickly knelt to pay their respects.

Lan Guifei felt a pang of discomfort in her heart when she saw the Emperor and the Empress appear together.

"The Emperor is so considerate of the Empress, coming to accompany her so early in the morning." Last night, she didn't hear of the Emperor staying at Kunning Palace.

"It's only natural for me to dine with the Empress. After all, she is my wife," Emperor Rui responded, but his tone was noticeably colder toward Lan Guifei.