Yuqiongyin

The sky was so gloomy that it seemed to be dripping with water. The red walls and yellow tiles of the imperial palace looked particularly solemn in this dim sky.

The palaces along the way are scattered in an orderly manner, and the palace lanterns under the corridors sway slightly in the wind, emitting a faint light.

The stone road leading to the imperial study was wet, as if it had just been moistened by a drizzle.

Xie Chenning, the queen of the Great Wei, was sitting in the imperial study.

She has a pretty face, eyebrows like distant black, eyes like autumn water, and a cold temperament when she is not smiling, which makes people dare not approach her easily. Her manners are elegant, and every movement is just right. Every move is elegant and calm, showing her good upbringing and noble birth.

Seeing that Xie Chenning still refused to give in, Wei Ming couldn't help but feel anxious. He knew that if this matter was not handled well, Xie Chenning would not give up.

He quickly signaled with his eyes that Li Bin should apologize to Xie Chenning.

After seeing Wei Ming's gesture, although Li Concubine was very reluctant, she also knew that now was not the time to fight with Xie Chenning, so she had to lower her head and sincerely admitted her fault to Xie Chenning: "Empress, it is my fault for not teaching well. Please forgive me. If you are still not satisfied, feel free to punish my maid Ying'er."

After saying that, Li Bin glared at Ying Er again, signaling her to quickly plead with Xie Chenning.

"Please forgive me, Queen! This misunderstanding is caused by my poor eyesight."

However, Xie Chenning was not moved by Li Bin's apology. She still sat there expressionless, looking at everything in front of her calmly.

After a while, she slowly put down the teacup in her hand, turned around, and asked Nanny Lu beside her softly: "According to the rules of the Wei harem, how should we deal with those who falsely accuse the mistress of the six palaces?"

Xie Chenning's voice was not loud, but it revealed an unquestionable majesty that people dared not ignore easily.

Madam Lu bowed slightly and said respectfully, "In reply to your Majesty, according to the Great Wei Harem Rules, anyone who falsely accuses the mistress of the six palaces shall be punished with twenty strokes of the cane and demoted one rank.

Based on this incident, I dare to ask the Queen to order the maid Ying Er to be beaten to death, and Li Concubine to be stripped of her rank as a concubine and banished to the cold palace."

Upon hearing the punishment, everyone present couldn't help but gasp. Such a punishment was quite harsh for a concubine.

She is the old lady who has taken care of Xie Chenning since he was a child. She had been serving Xie Chenning in the Xie Mansion before, and she is still accompanying him after entering the palace, loyal to him. Now, of course, she is thinking about her own queen and taking the opportunity of punishing Concubine Li to establish the authority of her own queen.

And as the Queen just said, people should always be responsible for their mistakes. Even if Xie Chenning was an unpopular queen, she was still the master of the six palaces. It would be too kind to forgive someone who was falsely accused. It would only leave her with endless troubles.

Every country has its own laws, and every family has its own rules. Everyone who enters the palace must memorize the palace rules and there are special people to examine them. So how serious is it to frame the master of the harem? How could you not know?

In Nanny Lu's opinion, Concubine Li committed the crime knowingly, and the maid even tried to use the Queen's kindness to escape responsibility, which was an even greater crime.

After listening to what Nanny Lu said, Xie Chenning nodded slightly to show his agreement.

She looked at Emperor Wei Ming and asked for his opinion: "Then let's do this? What do you think, Your Majesty?"

The living conditions in the cold palace were extremely difficult, and no one cared about them. The concubines sent to the cold palace were basically abandoned by the entire harem. For Li Bin, who had once enjoyed wealth and glory, this punishment was undoubtedly extremely cruel.

However, before Wei Ming could say anything, Li Bin was so frightened that her face turned pale and bloodless, her lips trembled, and she couldn't even utter a complete sentence.

When she heard that she was about to be banished to the cold palace, she completely collapsed and her body fell limply to the ground, as if she had lost all her strength and support. Tears gushed out like a dam breaking, and she cried miserably.

While crying, she threw herself towards Xie Chenning and tightly grasped the corner of Xie Chenning's clothes, as if that was the last straw in her life. Her body trembled involuntarily, and her voice was filled with despair and pleading.

"Empress! You can't do this to me! I know I was wrong, please give me another chance!"

Xie Chenning quietly looked at the woman in front of him who was crying so sadly, without any sympathy in his heart.

"I've said it before, people should always be responsible for their mistakes."

At this time, Wei Ming on the side spoke up at the right time and reminded Xie Chenning: "Queen, don't go too far on this matter." His voice was low and serious, revealing a kind of majesty.

However, Xie Chenning was not shaken by his words. Instead, he responded, "Is what the emperor did excessive, or is what I did wrong? If I don't do this, then this matter cannot be reversed."

Wei Ming understood after seeing her like this that Xie Chenning would not give up this opportunity easily. He sighed and could only give up the Li family.

"That's it, just do as the Queen says."

"Your Majesty--!!!" Concubine Li and her servants were dragged away.

Xie Chenning took the opportunity to leave the imperial study.

After watching her leave, Wei Ming was so angry that he swept everything on the table to the floor.

One day, he will get revenge!

Trample the Xie family under your feet!

*

Kunning Palace is located in the southwest corner of the imperial palace, surrounded by green pines and cypresses, and is elegant and quiet.

The roof has a high ridge and flying eaves, which is solemn and mysterious. The doors, windows and columns are carved with exquisite patterns, such as auspicious dragons and phoenixes and blooming peonies.

Hundreds of palace lanterns were hung with golden chains in the bedroom, and candles with auspicious patterns of dragons and phoenixes were lit. The candlelight flickered and the light was overflowing. Smoke was rising from the incense burners in the hall, and the fragrance was everywhere.

Xie Chenning suddenly sat up from the bed, the scent of sandalwood lingering at her nose. She felt dizzy and a little dazed.

Looking at the thin, warm gauze bed curtains that were tributed from the Western Regions beside the bed, she stood up and slowly steadied herself from the dizziness. She stood barefoot on the ground, which was covered with thick velvet carpets. Stepping on them felt more like walking in the clouds.

She stood quietly in front of the window, the soft gauze curtains fluttered gently in the breeze, the jade window frame was inlaid with crystal clear glass, through the window, she could clearly see the tranquil scene outside the window.

"Mother, are you awake?"

The bedroom door was carefully pushed open with a slight creaking sound, and the kind-looking Nanny Lu walked slowly into the room with light footsteps.

Seeing that Xie Chenning did not respond, Nanny Lu skillfully hung up the bed curtain and looked at her with concern, but her expression could not be seen clearly in the dim candlelight.

"Your Majesty has been feeling unwell ever since she came back from the imperial study that day. Why don't we ask the imperial physician to come and take a look..." Nanny Lu kept nagging while paying attention to the changes in Xie Chenning's expression.

Glancing at Xie Chenning's pale face, she couldn't help but feel nervous and asked hurriedly, "Madam, are you having a nightmare again?"

Xie Chenning shook her head slightly, indicating that she was fine, but deep fatigue could still be seen in her eyes.

Nanny Lu looked at her with pity, sighed softly, and then retreated silently.