Chapter 1125 - 1127 Imperial Concubine Liu Blocks the Way to Find Fault_1
It’s not surprising that Wan Caiyue felt uneasy; in the capital, officers’ families often took concubines, especially since her first child was a daughter.
However, the next day, Lin Ping’er quietly pulled Wan Caiyue aside and shared some private words with her.
"Caiyue, no matter how wealthy our family gets, we cannot forget our rules. When you manage the household, you must be strict when it’s required," Lin Ping’er said with great emphasis.
Wan Caiyue listened with some nervousness, fearful that she might fail at these tasks.
"Nowadays, we have more maids in the house, and although they have been carefully selected, we cannot guarantee that none of them have ulterior motives. The Bai Family absolutely does not allow maids to crawl into their masters’ beds," Lin Ping’er said with deep meaning, giving Wan Caiyue a significant glance, "Don’t be too soft-hearted and condone such behavior. You must keep a close watch! The rules of the Bai Family cannot be broken, unlike peasant families who don’t have such customs of taking concubines."
"Mother..." Wan Caiyue understood, and her voice was choked with emotion, "I understand."
Lin Ping’er looked at Wan Caiyue affectionately. If Bai Ruozhu hadn’t reminded her, she would have carelessly overlooked this matter. Moreover, Caiyue had moved to the capital later on, making it difficult for her to command respect from the servants in the residence.
In the following days, Lin Ping’er took Wan Caiyue with her to familiarize herself with the affairs of the residence and gradually handed over some responsibilities to her, so the servants slowly began to recognize the status of the family’s Young Mistress.
During these days, Bai Ruozhu quietly administered an antidote to Chu Hai and took the risk of immersing him in the hot spring within the space again, finally cleansing the poison from his body. However, afterward, Jiang Yichun found out that Bai Ruozhu had been alone with Chu Hai in a room and out of jealousy gave Bai Ruozhu a few spankings.
Two days later, the Empress Dowager issued an imperial edict, instructing Bai Ruozhu to bring Diao Yao to meet her at the palace. Early in the morning, Bai Ruozhu dressed up Diao Yao, making her look less like a wanderer from the River Jiang and more like a noble young lady. Chu Hai watched Diao Yao with a face full of satisfaction, his gaze clearly expressing ’seeing one’s own daughter coming of age.’
However, Diao Yao was thrilled by her "Brother Han" staring at her in a daze, feeling as excited as a deer in love. She made up her mind to dress as elegantly in the future to catch Chu Hai’s discerning eye.
Bai Ruozhu nodded to Chu Hai and took Diao Yao out with her. However, just as they reached the gate of the yard, she instinctively looked back and saw Chu Hai looking up in the direction of the Imperial Palace. Although he stood within the Bai Residence and couldn’t see anything, his gaze seemed to penetrate the surrounding walls and reach into those towering palace walls...
"Does your senior brother also want to enter the palace? Why do I sense his expression is so melancholic?" Bai Ruozhu quietly asked Diao Yao once they were far away.
"Really? He never mentioned wanting to go," replied Diao Yao with innocent bewilderment.
Bai Ruozhu knew she wouldn’t get anything more from Diao Yao and dropped the subject, leading her to the Palace Gate. They were allowed entry after presenting the Empress Dowager’s edict.
It was Diao Yao’s first time entering the palace, and with her mentor now in good health, she was in a playful mood, curiously looking around in wonder as if she couldn’t get enough of everything.
Suddenly, a sharp voice of a woman sounded from not far away, "Who is this person behaving so improperly, gawking around in the Harem?"
Upon hearing this, Bai Ruozhu looked toward the source of the voice and saw a thin woman dressed as a palace maid with a pointed face. She looked very slender, and her facial features, combined with her current expression, made her seem extremely mean-spirited.
Behind the woman, a eunuch carried a sedan chair, upon which a coquettishly poised woman sat. Unpainted eyebrows naturally arched, lips small and charmingly red, cheeks carrying a faint blush, and her feline eyes were half-closed in languor—a woman as ravishing as the peach and plum blossoms.
Such a beauty would ordinarily be appreciated by Bai Ruozhu, but at this moment, her body was tense, as if facing a formidable enemy, solely because the woman before her was the Imperial Concubine Liu Xiyu, whose favor reigned supreme in the Harem.
It was indeed not easy for a legitimate daughter of a prominent official family to be as enchanting as she was, which made her the most special one among those high-ranking concubines in the Palace.
Diao Yao was scolded by the sharp-faced palace maid and was startled, not realizing she was being addressed. She didn’t know there was anything wrong with looking around. There was no sign forbidding it, after all.
Imperial Concubine Liu glanced lazily at Diao Yao, but her gaze lingered on Bai Ruozhu. Impatiently, she said to the palace maid, "She has no manners; slap her and save your words."
Receiving her command, the palace maid rushed towards Diao Yao with a face full of spite, as if facing her mortal enemy.
As she moved to slap her, Diao Yao, though young, was a top disciple of the Bihai Sect and the pride of the sect leader. How could she stand there and take a beating?
Diao Yao caught the palace maid’s hand as it came toward her. The maid knew some Martial Arts, but how could those skills compare with a true warrior of Jianghu?
Diao Yao frowned in displeasure and said, "Where did this crazy woman come from, trying to hit someone for no reason? Check if you’re even at that level first!" As soon as she finished speaking, she flung the palace maid’s hand away, and with a scream, the maid was thrown into a roadside bush, eating a mouthful of weeds and mud.
"Oh my, the heavens have turned! Where are the Royal Guards? An assassin has entered the Palace and is hurting people!" The sharp-faced palace maid cried out in pain as she shouted.
Bai Ruozhu looked at Liu Xiyu disdainfully, her expression saying: Are these the kind of skills your subordinates have, causing such a fuss and not feeling ashamed?
Liu Xiyu straightened up, her face losing its previous sluggishness, her cat-like eyes emitting a dangerous light.
"Royal Guards, arrest these two assassins! If they resist, execute them without hesitation!" Imperial Concubine Liu ordered sternly.
The nearby duty Royal Guards rushed over. Upon hearing the Imperial Concubine’s instructions, a team immediately surrounded Bai Ruozhu and Diao Yao.
Noticing something was amiss, Diao Yao asked nervously, "Sister Ruozhu, did I hit the wrong person?"
"No worries; that was a good hit. Some people just need to be taught a lesson." Bai Ruozhu said, then she looked at the Royal Guards Captain, raising the Empress Dowager’s decree and said, "We are acting on the Empress Dowager’s decree to go to Cining Palace. Not only did Imperial Concubine Liu block our way, but are you also planning on adding insult to injury by going against her wishes?"
The Royal Guards Captain, who was about to advance, paused, gesturing hastily to his men to calm down. Who didn’t know that the Emperor was extremely filial and had a close relationship with the Empress Dowager? Who in the Palace would dare provoke her?
Imperial Concubine Liu’s face turned ashen with rage, and she coldly swept her gaze toward the Royal Guards Captain, saying, "That decree is fake, but them injuring someone in the Palace is real. You dare to doubt my words now?"
Bai Ruozhu unfolded the decree and said, "I have been checked at the Palace Gate and let in. How can this decree be fake? I didn’t realize that it is now the Imperial Concubine who makes the rules here, daring to slander the Empress Dowager’s decree!"