However, Qin Yining inadvertently stepped on her hem as she tried to scramble away from the snarling princess and fell backwards.
The floor was covered with a thick, heavy carpet, which cushioned her fall, so there wasn’t much pain to speak of. But to her back was an eight-sided table and four rounded, intricately-carved stools.
As Qin Yining’s luck would have it, she didn’t crash into the table or the stools, yet there was quite a thwack as she dropped to the ground. She yelped from the pain.
However, Li Helan failed to check her charge, and she tripped on the girl’s leg. “Ah!” She screamed and tumbled onto a stool. Her elbow smashed against the edge of the table as she fell.
The Qin fourth miss laid on the floor, mewling in pain.
Li Helan was in so much anguish that she couldn’t even speak. Her elbow throbbed from the crash so much, it didn’t look like it could bend; her knee was in even worse shape.
Eyeing Qin Yining by her side, the eldest princess pounced again. “You bitch! Keep bragging, huh?! I let you have Pang Zhixi because I didn’t want him! What right do you have to flounce around like this?! You vicious harlot! Shameless slut!”
Li Helan would’ve had been half-dead had Qin Yining decided to really fight back. But the younger girl had made up her mind to stay put and thoroughly play the role of a subject’s fragile wife bullied by the eldest princess.
The maids and mamas staffed in empress dowager’s palace were stunned by eldest princess’s shrew-like, hissy fit. Everyone secretly denounced such behavior. It was absolutely ludicrous that Li Helan’s unrequited love had curdled into so much hate that she behaved so repulsively towards the man’s official wife.
The servants bustled forward to untangle Li Helan from the mess she’d created. They felt a tinge of sympathy for the princess consort in a heap on the floor. Her hair was undone and her hairpins askew.
“Stop pulling me! Let go of me!” Li Helan shrieked, her voice unyielding.
The empress dowager stalked forward and bent to grip her daughter’s chin. The elderly woman’s face was only an inch away.
She lowered her voice and hissed, “You need to come to your senses! This is the Palace of Serene Piety, where the empress dowager lives! This is not some princess manor where you can fly into a drunken rage as you wish!”
Li Helan’s chest heaved violently. The pain on her elbow and legs was agonizing, yet her fury was hardly quelled by this much distress.
“Royal mother, do even you not love Lan’er anymore? You always want me to listen and obey, listen and obey! Fine, I did that! But look what I got! I’ll never be able to get what I like! Every aspect of my life is dictated by someone else! I can’t get the man I love! What kind of princess does that make me!”
“Shut your mouth! Look at the nonsense you’re sprouting after drinking a bit of horse urine! You like Prince Consort Ji, so your royal brother decreed a marriage for you. What else do you want?! You flew into a drunken rage after having a little to drink, and your head’s so muddled that you mistook the princess consort for a palace servant! I’ve coddled you too much and made you into the spoiled girl you are today!”
Qin Yining lay on the floor and took in every subtle facial cue on the faces of the empress dowager and Li Helan.
The empress dowager kept flashing the eldest princess meaningful looks, anxiety writ all over her face. Yet all those passes were lost on Li Helan, who continued her ranting and raving.
Now that everything had blown up in their faces, she might as well stir it up some more.
Chapter 422.2: Severe Punishment
Qin Yining held up her forehead, her face streaked with tears as she sobbed out, “What is Your Highness doing? How did this subject-wife offend you that you want to strangle me? My husband is an official faithfully dedicating his efforts to His Majesty. Even though I am the daughter of a surrendered official, my father is also the emperor’s right-hand man. Does the princess think my family is unneeded with how you’re acting? Were we wrong to throw ourselves on His Majesty’s mercy??”
The empress dowager looked over her shoulder to glare viciously at Qin Yining.
The ill-will this woman harbored! Her little speech seemed to champion self justice, yet every word clearly provoked Li Helan into more drama.
The empress dowager commanded in a low voice. “Why aren’t you helping the princess consort up? Are you all dead?!”
“Understood!!” The shout recovered the servants’ wits and they scrambled to support Qin Yining.
The princess consort held up her head with her hands, her face pallid and her body limp against the arm of a palace servant. What a vulnerable, frail, and pliant woman!
The sight incited Li Helan’s fury to no end. Her arms were gripped tight by the mamas, so she sat on the floor and kicked Qin Yining’s legs with all her might instead.
“Go ahead and flaunt! Try boasting some more, why don’t you! You play the victim even though you’ve made out like a bandit! What does big brother Xiao see in a slut like you?! Drop dead already!”
“Quiet! Take the eldest princess away!” Angered and worried by Li Helan’s unseemly harangue, the empress dowager’s expression grew darker.
What sort of daughter have I raised?!
How could she turn into such an unsightly mess over a man thanks to a few vicious words from an evil woman! This will no joking matter if other people hear of this!
Her status as empress dowager might appear lofty, but she was only where she was today because of her son. Her days were numbered should she be stripped of Li Qitian’s favor.
The palace servants moved to support Li Helan to her feet, while the empress dowager turned to help Qin Yining up.
“Are you alright? Do get up. The floor is cold.”
Qin Yining smiled sardonically to herself. So you want to trivialize what happened today?
Even though this incident was largely the result of her scheming, what had set off Li Helan so badly was her unwillingness to reconcile with the hard truth. She still coveted Pang Xiao and was jealous of Qin Yining because she was now the princess consort.
The bitterness of Li Helan’s heart had borne fruit of poison, so therefore everything was toxic to her. The eldest princess had been her own undoing in falling into Qin Yining’s trap. There was no longer any need for the Qin fourth miss to be lenient or forgiving.
However, the empress dowager obviously had no intention of setting her daughter straight even after such an outburst. She was intentionally taking Li Helan’s side!
Does she really see me as easy pickings, to be plucked and squashed at will in the Palace of Serene Piety?
Qin Yining looked at the empress dowager, her gaze unfocused. She smiled feebly. “I am fine, Your Majesty.”
That put the empress dowager slightly at ease. All things considering, the girl’s appropriately sensible and astute.
No sooner had the empress dowager ordered the servants to help Qin Yining back to her feet than the young woman swayed to the side. Her eyes rolled back into her head, color drained from her face, and she toppled backward.
This development stunned the empress dowager.
She’d seen clearly that when Li Helan gave chase, Qin Yining hadn’t fallen onto the table or the stools. However, it also didn’t seem like she was feigning her faint!
A chill of genuine horror ran down the empress dowager’s back.
Should Qin Yining really be hurt, how would Li Helan deal with the repercussions if word got out? How would the empress dowager herself face the parties involved, especially her son? Her position was already nominal to begin with!
Setting Pang Xiao’s fury aside, it just so happened that Li Qitian was making heavy use of the prince and Qin Huaiyuan at the moment. How could their respective newlywed wife and daughter suffer at the hands of Li Helan right here in the Palace of Serene Piety!
“Hurry! Summon the imperial physicians!” Her daughter no longer the priority, the empress dowager fired off
orders. “Carry the princess consort to the platform!”
“Your Majesty,” a mama advised. “We aren’t sure what caused the princess consort to faint. We better not move her around. If she’s experiencing palpitations from shock, the move could easily cost her life.”
The empress dowager came to her senses at the servant’s reminder. She nodded in agreement. “You’re right. This forlorn one was plagued by worry that I didn’t think of that! Help the princess consort lie down and let the imperial physicians have a look.”
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
The conversation between the empress dowager and the palace servants, and the sight of Qin Yining lying prostrate on the floor were just too much for Li Helan. Hands restrained, she started howling, bawling like a lost child.
“I don’t care, royal mother! All you do is twist my arm! Why don’t you ever put yourself in my shoes? How many presents has this bitch given you? Have you forgotten that I’m your daughter??”
Before the empress dowager had a chance to retort, snippets of conversation wafted into the palace, followed by the shrill announcement of a eunuch. “His Majesty is arrived! Prince Consort Ji and the Faithful Prince of First Rank is arrived!”
Li Helan’s howling ground to a stop. The empress dowager’s expression was livid.
Pang Xiao and Ji Zeyu walked side by side, trailing Li Qitian to walk into the hall.
The prince’s hands turned icy-cold at the sight of his wife lying on the floor. He asked in fear, “What happened? She was fine just a minute ago!”
“Have the imperial physicians been summoned? What happened, royal mother?”
Chapter 423.1: Cause and Effect
The three of them had actually heard Li Helan loud and clear when they were outside.
Li Qitian played deaf; it was simply too embarrassing to acknowledge that his younger sister had such loose morals, and that the two subjects of her desire had bumped into her in the act!
Pang Xiao’s attention was wholly caught by the unconscious Qin Yining on the ground. The sight of her scared him out of his wits. He had no mind to spare for anything else.
Ji Zeyu took a deep look at Li Helan before taking a spot behind the emperor. He refused to voice a single word, his expression was as stiff as it’d never been before.
Hands clammy, an appropriately regal smile hung on the empress dowager’s face.
“Ah, Anyang’s had a bit too much to drink and blabbed some drunk nonsense. The princess consort tripped in a moment of inattention. Maybe she hit something, which is why she fainted. I’ve already sent servants to fetch the imperial physicians.”
Hands tightly balled into fists behind his back, Pang Xiao kept himself calm with effort. If he didn’t keep his cool, all manner of swear words would erupt from his mouth.
His wife had been perfectly fine when she arrived. Fit enough to put on an act with him, here she was a short while later, rendered unconscious on the floor??
Pang Xiao stalked up and cradled the girl, pillowing her head on his arms. He wanted to express concern, but didn’t dare do it too obviously for fear of eliciting greater suspicion.
Therefore, what the group saw was a glowering prince holding Qin Yining. Black as could be, his expression spoke of gloom and promised wretchedness. They couldn’t tell if he felt badly for his wife or if he’d been personally offended.
Though Li Helan had calmed down by now, her mind was still buzzing because she’d been overwrought earlier, as well as ranted and raved for a satisfying amount of time.
Reason returned with the calm, and it told her that she’d messed up, big time.
Her prince consort had heard those words!
Heart in her throat, she snuck a cautious glance at Ji Zeyu. He was as coolly removed as always. Maybe this would be his expression even if the skies caved in.
Her heart sank.
She had servants deliver a constant stream of meal boxes, clothing, and her own embroidery during this time. All of her actions to curry favor had likely just gone down the drain. I wonder if he heard what I said earlier? If so, she might not ever again have the chance to obtain this man’s heart.
Would hot-blooded men of the battlefield such as Ji Zeyu and Pang Xiao tolerate another man filling the heart of their wife, and such a huge fuss developing from it?
This was viciously slapping Ji Zeyu’s face, and doing so in front of outsiders!
He was remaining silent probably only because she was the eldest princess, and he her prince consort. If it wasn’t for her identity, she would've long been served with divorce papers.
Looking at Ji Zeyu’s handsome face and the taciturn Pang Xiao stooped on the ground, Li Helan felt that her entire basket of eggs had been smashed. She had nothing left. Nothing more.
“Announcing the imperial physician!”
As thoughts ran rife across everyone’s minds, a eunuch stumbled in, dragging an imperial physician with him.
Seeing that the emperor and both war gods were present, the physician blanked with shock and dropped to his knees. “This old subject, greets…”
“You may forgo the courtesies. Hurry and take a look at the princess consort.”
“Understood!” Hearing the urgency in Li Qitian’s voice, the physician quickly trotted over to the prone girl.
On his way here, the young eunuch had subtly indicated the empress dowager’s desires. The physician had planned to deliver his diagnosis accordingly, but the brooding, main generals of the nation’s armies and an acquisitive emperor off to the side left him at a loss.
What should he pronounce for the diagnosis? What the empress dowager wanted? But then he might offend the others. But if he opted otherwise, he might offend the empress dowager instead.
There was no right decision!
Seeing sweat bead the physician’s brow, Pang Xiao ground his teeth anxiously. “How is she?”
The magnetic voice gave the physician a fright. He blurted out, “The princess consort is fine. Maybe she fainted because she suffered some sort of shock…”
Color drained from his face when he recalled his original instructions.
“What shock?”
“Uh, eh, of the emotions.” The stammering physician didn’t dare meet the empress dowager’s eyes. “Extreme anger, sorrow, or joy can all cause emotional turmoil. It’s not a strange occurrence that she fainted if then."
He’d spoken the truth and couldn’t take it back. There was nothing to do but to keep to the truth.
“I see.” Pang Xiao turned to look at the empress dowager and Li Helan. “It looks like my wife didn’t hit something when she fell down. Since all is well with her, this subject will take her home.” The last sentence was directed at Li Qitian.
Absolutely livid, there was actually no reason for the emperor to turn the request down. He didn’t have anyone from his camp on the council. The only noble who could say a few words for him was Pang Xiao. Li Qitian wanted to tap the prince for greater things as well, but to think there’d be two brainless fools in the palace who would so blatantly offend the prince like this!
Chapter 423.2: Cause and Effect
“Since there’s no great affliction, it would be good to go home and rest.” Li Qitian nodded worriedly.
Pang Xiao stood up with his wife in a princess carry, addressing the imperial physician when something suddenly struck him. “Since you took my wife’s pulse, this prince will have to trouble you to take care of my wife’s health in the future.”
A simple request was enough to enable the physician’s lungs to work again. Because the prince wished for him to take care of the princess consort, as furious as the empress dowager might be, she wouldn’t dare hurt him.
The prince purposefully said this because he’s worried that I might be wrapped up in this after telling the truth. He wants to save me.
The physician quickly bent in a bow. “Understood, this old man will do everything in my power.”
Pang Xiao nodded, then turned back to lo
ok at the empress dowager and teary Li Helan.
“This prince would really like to know what precisely took place here. She was perfectly fine when entering the imperial palace, but somehow fainted of shock after a conversation in the Palace of Serene Piety? And just what did the Princess of Anyang spew in her drunken rage?”
In his fury, his threatening tone loomed over the group like thunderclouds over city walls. Even the emperor felt a sense of menacing oppression. The terrified women didn’t dare meet Pang Xiao’s vicious eyes at all.
In an effort to alleviate the atmosphere, Li Qitian bade the servants to prepare a carriage and gave the physician clear orders to take care of Qin Yining.
With his reply of acknowledgement, the imperial physician left the palace with the newlyweds.
It wasn’t until their figures vanished into the distance, and the hall devoid of all palace servants, that Li Qitian furiously flipped over a table.
Crockery smashed onto the floor in an ear-piercing mess, further adding to one’s frustrations.
“What happened here?! Didn’t We say that Pang Zhixi is Our right hand man that We will be making heavy use of? You turn straight around and bully his wife at the drop of a hat! Just what are both of you thinking?! Are you here to hold Us back or embarrass Us??”
“Royal brother, you’ve misunderstood. I really did have too much to drink earlier and lost control of my emotions. That née Qin showed absolutely no respect to me. If she really did faint from anger, that’s on her.”
“How dare you quibble with Us??” Li Qitian snorted dismissively. “Do you think everyone’s blind and dumb? You’ve insulted Our two right hand men, just what kind of straits do you wish to throw Us into?! We value Ji Lan highly and wanted to be one family, which is why he was chosen to be your prince consort. What’s so bad about Ji Lan, hmm? With his accomplishments in keeping the Tartars in line, stunning competency and appearance, you tell Us in what way he’s inferior to you!”
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