The Empress of Zhen Huan Reborn

The Queen Mother saw that Nian Shilan was not frightened and just knelt quietly on the ground. She was not in a hurry to explain anything to her. She looked at Nian Shilan's expression which gradually became complicated and difficult to read. A hint of intriguing smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. "I haven't seen Concubine Hua for a while. I didn't expect that Concubine Hua has become more calm now."

When Nian Shilan heard the Queen Mother speak, she knew that she was going to target her. She was not in a hurry, and with a flattering smile on her face, she looked at the Queen Mother and said, "Your Majesty, you are praising me, but there are more and more concubines in the harem, and new sisters will soon enter the palace. As a noble concubine, I must restrain my temper and set an example for my sisters. I must not lose the face of the royal family."

The Queen Mother's smile deepened, and her eyes turned sharper as she looked at Nian Shilan. "Then I summoned you to Shoukang Palace today. Do you know why?"

Nian Shilan looked at the Queen Mother neither servilely nor arrogantly, "Forgive my ignorance, I don't know."

When the Queen Mother heard what Nian Shilan said, her face changed drastically, and she slammed her hand heavily on the tea table, making a "bang" sound. Song Zhi, who was kneeling behind Nian Shilan, couldn't help but shudder. Looking back, Nian Shilan was still kneeling straight on the ground, without moving. The Queen Mother glared at Nian Shilan and pointed at him: "You don't know? What a good ignorance! I heard that you were in the Emperor's Yangxin Palace this afternoon, right?"

After hearing this, Nian Shilan nodded without comment, "To answer the Queen Mother, yes, I received a reward from the Emperor today, and I went to express my gratitude to the Emperor."

The Queen Mother's chest rose and fell slightly at this time, and she was obviously furious. "The Emperor is busy with government affairs in the Yangxin Palace, but you are doing something there! The rules set by our ancestors are that you cannot commit adultery during the day, but you have been seducing the Emperor in the Yangxin Palace. Do you want to be a demon concubine who brings disaster to the country and the people?"

Although these words were questions, combined with the Queen Mother's expression and actions, it seemed as if she was going to convict Nian Shilan and drag her out to be beheaded immediately. Of course, Nian Shilan could not admit it, and said in a crisp voice: "The Queen Mother, please understand clearly that the Emperor is a wise ruler of a country. How could he be obsessed with love affairs? I don't have the ability to seduce the Emperor to ignore state affairs. Today, I just went to the Yangxin Palace to express my gratitude. After a few words, the Empress came to the Yangxin Palace and said that she wanted to ask the Emperor about the sisters who were about to enter the palace. The Empress wanted me to help. I knew that this was the Empress's business, and I didn't dare to interfere. I declined and stayed in the Yangxin Palace for a longer time. I definitely did not seduce the Emperor in the Yangxin Palace."

How could the Queen Mother believe what Nian Shilan said? The Queen had already told her. In addition, the Queen Mother was dissatisfied with Nian Shilan for many things and wanted to punish her through this incident. So she said arbitrarily, "You guys' tricks can't be hidden from my eyes. You are the Emperor's concubine, but you can't be careful about your words and deeds. You did such a shameless thing. From now on, you will be removed from your position as a concubine and punished to be confined for three months."

Just as Nian Shilan was about to continue speaking, she heard footsteps behind her. The emperor's cold voice rang out from behind her, "Why is the Empress Dowager so angry? But Shilan was ignorant and angered the Empress Dowager?"

When the Queen Mother saw the Emperor coming, she was even more furious. She looked at the Emperor with a meaningful look and a hint of anger in her voice, "How come the Emperor has time to come to my Shoukang Palace? Are you afraid that I will embarrass Concubine Hua?"

When the Emperor heard the Empress Dowager mention "Hua Fei", his face showed no expression, but a trace of displeasure flashed through his eyes. He walked to the Empress Dowager's seat and sat down, "I thought that I had finished my government affairs today, so I came to Shoukang Palace to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager. How did this Concubine Hua anger the Empress Dowager? She even wanted to demote me, someone who had not heard about the affairs of the palace for a long time?"

The Queen Mother naturally heard the favoritism towards Nian Shilan in the Emperor's words, and she became even more angry. She looked at the Emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I am not saying anything bad to you, but concubines in the palace must behave themselves and must not go to the Yangxin Palace to seek favor. Otherwise, everyone in the harem will follow suit and the discipline will be disrupted."

The emperor naturally knew that the queen mother was targeting Nian Shilan, and he did not make any excuses and said, "Yes, the queen mother taught me that."

The empress dowager had just calmed down a little when she heard the emperor admitting his mistake, but the next second she heard the emperor instruct Su Peisheng.

"Pass on my decree. The Queen's words and actions are inappropriate for her status. She will be confined for three months from today. The affairs of the harem will be handed over to Concubine Xi for the time being, with Concubine Hui and Concubine Jing assisting."

When the Queen Mother heard the Emperor's next words, her face instantly turned darker than the bottom of a pot. Her eyes almost spit fire as she looked at the Emperor: "Emperor, what do you mean by this?"

The emperor pretended to be innocent, looking at the queen mother with clear and innocent eyes, "Didn't the queen mother just say that I should manage the harem well? Today, not only did Shilan come to my Yangxin Palace, but the queen also came. If I only punish Shilan but not the queen, after the decree is announced, I am afraid that everyone in the harem will think that the queen mother is deliberately favoring the queen and that her handling of the matter is biased. I can't let everyone in the harem speculate about the queen mother like this!"

Nian Shilan knelt on the ground with her head lowered very low. She wanted to laugh out loud but tried her best to hold it back. Her body twitched slightly. The emperor glanced at Nian Shilan sideways, cleared his throat and coughed twice. Nian Shilan immediately put on a serious expression and continued to kneel straight on the ground.

The Queen Mother had no idea what was going on. Her expression gradually calmed down and she looked at the Emperor. "Emperor, you insist on going against me, don't you?"

The emperor no longer pretended to be deaf and dumb, and looked at the empress dowager with a serious face. His eyes were deep and had a faint light that was not easily noticed. "I just don't know why the Empress Dowager punished Shi Lan so severely today. Is there anyone whispering something in the Empress Dowager's ear?"

The Queen Mother naturally understood that this was an excuse given to her by the Emperor. The Emperor had already made up his mind to favor Nian Shilan. If she did not give up the excuse at this moment, the Emperor would only embarrass her even more. Then the Queen Mother softened her voice and said earnestly, "I am not targeting Concubine Hua. It's just that today I heard people say that Concubine Hua went to the Yangxin Palace to seduce the Emperor. Regardless of whether this is true or not, it can be said that Concubine Hua is now regarded as a benchmark by everyone in the harem, and her every move is being watched by those with ulterior motives. If I do not deal with this matter seriously, I am afraid that everyone in the harem will follow suit, which will damage the reputation of the royal family, and cause others to misunderstand Concubine Hua and spread that Concubine Hua is a demon concubine. In the end, the court officials will petition the Emperor to deal with Concubine Hua, which will hurt the relationship between you two."

The Queen Mother acted as if she was thinking about the two of them, and she expressed her little thoughts so righteously that Nian Shilan admired her very much. Nian Shilan felt that it was her time to perform, and then she used a pair of innocent eyes, first looking at the Queen Mother, then turning to the Emperor, her face a little pale, and then she spoke the next words very slowly, with clear pronunciation, and one could hear the righteousness in her tone that she was willing to purge the harem, "I don't know the good intentions of the Queen Mother, please forgive me, I ask the Queen Mother and the Emperor to demote me to a concubine and deprive me of my title. I will be careful in my words and deeds in the future and set an example for the newcomers in the harem."

After saying this, Nian Shilan bit her lower lip lightly, lowered her eyelashes, and looked at the ground pitifully.