Chapter 180 - 181: Mudslinging
Hua Qingqing, consumed with worry for her grandmother’s safety, didn’t notice the change in her younger sister’s expression.
"I want to go home! I need to see my grandmother!"
As soon as she said this, Hua Qingqing tried to rush out, but Hua Manman grabbed her.
Hua Manman said urgently, "Don’t be rash! You’re one of the Saint’s Concubines now. You can’t just leave the palace without permission."
How could Hua Qingqing care about any of that right now?
"I’ll go beg the Saint right now. I’ll beg him to let me leave the palace to visit my grandmother.
Even if I’m punished or demoted, I’ll accept it.
As long as I can go home and see her, I’ll do anything!"
As the two sisters struggled, a little palace maid ran in, frantic and flustered.
She said through her tears,
"Hua Jieyu, something terrible has happened! Xi Xiang was taken away by the Empress’s people!"
Hearing this, Hua Qingqing stopped in her tracks and hurriedly asked what happened.
The little palace maid wiped her tears and recounted the entire incident from beginning to end.
A little while ago, Xi Xiang had taken some silver to the Imperial Kitchen, hoping to buy some food from the Chief Eunuch there.
Normally, this kind of private transaction to buy food was against the rules.
But many people in the palace did it, so everyone was used to it. No one usually bothered with such trivial matters.
But for some reason, today was different. The moment Xi Xiang took out the money, the Chief Eunuch’s expression changed. He grabbed her hand and accused her of breaking the rules, claiming she was trying to bribe him!
Right after that, the Empress’s female official arrived. Without a second word, she ordered her men to tie Xi Xiang up and take her to Fengyi Palace, where the Empress resides.
After hearing the story, Hua Qingqing was utterly confused.
’Why would the Empress suddenly concern herself with such a petty issue out of the blue?’
But no matter what, Hua Qingqing couldn’t abandon Xi Xiang.
After all, she was the maid who had grown up with her.
Hua Qingqing could only suppress the thought of leaving the palace for now. She hastily changed her clothes and said to Hua Manman,
"Wait here for a bit. I’ll be right back."
Hua Manman had a bad feeling. She felt the Empress was up to no good and quickly said,
"I’m going too!"
Hua Qingqing patiently told her,
"I’m going to see the Empress, not to play around. Don’t just tag along and cause trouble."
Hua Manman deliberately acted stubborn and unreasonable. "I don’t care, I’m going!"
With that, she gripped Hua Qingqing’s wrist tightly, making it clear she wouldn’t let go unless Hua Qingqing agreed.
Hua Qingqing was frantic and had no time to dawdle with her, so she could only reluctantly agree.
"You can come with me, but when you see the Empress later, you are not to speak carelessly."
Only then did Hua Manman release her hand.
She followed Hua Qingqing out of the Moon Viewing Pavilion and headed straight for Fengyi Palace.
As they were about to reach Fengyi Palace, Hua Manman suddenly stopped. She handed a Token to Si Yun and whispered a few instructions in her ear.
Si Yun looked confused after hearing the orders, but she still nodded obediently.
"I understand."
Then she took the Token and ran off.
Hua Qingqing asked, "What did you send her to do?"
Hua Manman deliberately lifted her chin. "I’m not telling you!"
When they walked into Fengyi Palace, they immediately saw the barely-breathing Xi Xiang.
She must have just been tortured. Her body was covered in injuries, and she lay motionless on the ground.
Hua Qingqing was horrified, but with the Empress present, she didn’t dare act rashly. She could only suppress her anxiety and unease, curtsying to the Empress.
"This Concubine pays her respects to the Empress."
Hua Manman followed suit with a curtsy.
The Empress looked much thinner than before, and her whole aura seemed to have changed.
Previously, no matter what the Empress was thinking, she could at least maintain a dignified and magnanimous facade.
But now, it was as if she’d suffered a great shock. She couldn’t even be bothered to keep up the pretense anymore. Not a trace of a smile remained on her face, only a cold and gloomy viciousness.
Her gaze lingered on Hua Manman for a moment before shifting to Hua Qingqing.
"Hua Jieyu, you’ve arrived at just the right time. This Empress was about to send for you."
Then, the female official stepped forward and recounted how Xi Xiang had bribed the Chief Eunuch of the Imperial Kitchen.
Hua Qingqing pleaded.
"It was I who sent Xi Xiang to the Imperial Kitchen for some food. I had no intention of bribing anyone.
I beg the Empress to be merciful and spare Xi Xiang this once."
If it were the past, the Empress would never have bothered with such a trivial matter.
But things were different now.
Her only son was gone. She had suffered the greatest blow of her life.
’She was so miserable, so why should anyone else get to live so well?’
More importantly, Hua Qingqing was Hua Manman’s biological sister.
And Hua Manman had once clashed with the Crown Prince, even kicking him so hard she’d ruined his "family jewels."
With such a grudge between them, how could the Empress possibly let these sisters have an easy time?!
The reason Xi Xiang was caught red-handed was that the Empress had sent someone to instruct the Imperial Kitchen’s Chief Eunuch in advance. As soon as anyone from Hua Jieyu’s side appeared, he was to find a way to frame them.
As luck would have it, Xi Xiang walked right into the line of fire and was caught.
The Empress was trapped in the inner palace, unable to seek revenge on Prince Zhao.
So, she could only start with those connected to him.
Today, she would make an example of Hua Qingqing!
If Hua Manman dared to step up, she would deal with her as well.
The Empress ignored Hua Qingqing’s pleas and said condescendingly,
"Openly bribing people in the palace. Who gave you the audacity?
If everyone acted like you, wouldn’t the palace descend into chaos?
As the Empress in charge of the inner palace, I will absolutely not tolerate such rule-breaking behavior!"
Hua Qingqing fell to her knees, begging.
"Empress, this Concubine knows she was wrong! I won’t dare to do it again!"
The Empress looked at the female official beside her and asked, "For behavior like Hua Jieyu’s, what is the proper punishment?"
The female official replied cooperatively.
"Demotion by one rank and thirty slaps to the mouth."
The Empress said coldly, "Then so be it."
Hua Qingqing’s face turned pale.
A "slap to the mouth" in the palace wasn’t a slap with the hand. It meant being viciously struck on the lips with a ruler.
After thirty strikes, not only would her lips be a bloody mess, but most of her teeth would be knocked out as well.
Hua Manman was also horrified.
’I never thought such a small thing could escalate to this point.’
’If Hua Qingqing’s face is ruined, how is the rest of the plot supposed to unfold?’
Just then, she heard the system’s notification sound again.
"BEEP! Host has successfully triggered a special mission!"
"Please protect Hua Qingqing and prevent her from being injured."
"The mission is limited to one day. A special lucky bag will be awarded upon completion."
"If the mission fails, the host will be sentenced to the heartache punishment."
"Please do your best to complete the mission!"
Hua Manman keenly noticed that the system’s voice was just a tiny bit faster than usual as it announced the mission.
’For the perpetually cold and emotionless system to sound rushed, this mission must be extremely important.’
An idea sparked in Hua Manman’s mind, and she spoke to the system internally.
’The previous mission isn’t even over yet, and now there’s another one. I’m only one person. I can’t complete so many missions at once.’
The system did not respond.
Undeterred, Hua Manman continued.
’I can only complete one of the two missions. If you insist on marking one as a failure, there’s nothing I can do about it.’
The system finally deigned to reply.
’Aren’t you afraid of the heartache punishment?’