Su Jin knew that Queen Mother Zhou regarded Princess Zhaorong as her darling. Ever since Princess Zhaorong left the capital, Queen Mother Zhou had not thought about her even a day.
When Zhaorong was a child, she was lively and naive, which made her very popular with Empress Dowager Zhou. In addition, before Zhaorong's mother passed away, she personally entrusted Zhaorong to Empress Dowager Zhou. Empress Dowager Zhou cherished her even more than her own daughter. His love for the eldest princess was far less than his love for Princess Zhaorong.
At this time, when I heard that Princess Zhaorong was slapped by the queen, how could I let Shen Ning go
"Very good. It's a pleasure to admit your guilt, Su Jin. The queen has insulted the royal family's face. How should she be punished based on the palace rules?" Empress Dowager Zhou said sternly.
Su Jin hesitated for a moment: "This... depending on the palace rules, it should... should..."
Before she finished speaking, Shen Ning had already raised her head, her face calm.
"Mother, it is indeed a serious crime to insult the royal family's face and should be severely punished. However, the queen mother just said that my daughter-in-law sent people to beat Princess Zhaorong, which is a dishonor for the royal family. Then my daughter-in-law would like to ask my mother, if there is more Is it a higher crime to insult the royal family?"
Queen Mother Zhou was stunned for a moment, and then said angrily: "Of course, the Ai family has forgotten that you not only beat Zhaorong, but also scolded Zhaorong. Now you don't bring it upon yourself!"
When Su Jin heard this, she was so anxious that sweat broke out on her forehead. She winked at Shen Ning repeatedly and told her to stop talking.
Hey, the Queen Mother really made many mistakes. Didn't she remind the Queen Mother to give her a heavier punishment? The Queen is usually such a smart person, but why is she so confused today
"Queen, you insulted and beat the princess and committed a major crime in the palace. The Ai family is now going to punish you. Do you agree or not?" Empress Dowager Zhou looked down at Shen Ning coldly.
"Mother, of course my wife and I will not accept it."
Shen Ning's answer was completely unexpected by Queen Mother Zhou.
"You...what did you say?" Queen Mother Zhou thought she heard wrongly.
Shen Ning lowered her eyebrows and replied in a submissive tone: "My daughter-in-law has committed a crime, so she deserves to be punished, but it is not just my daughter-in-law who should be punished, Princess Zhaorong should also be punished together with my daughter-in-law. "
"What nonsense are you talking about! You scolded Zhaorong and hit Zhaorong. The person who deserves the punishment is obviously you. What does it have to do with Zhaorong!"
"The Empress said just now that she already knew everything that happened in the imperial study. How come she didn't hear Princess Zhaorong's insults to me? I am the queen who was named the empress by the emperor himself, and the crown on my head is that of the empress. I wear it with my own hands. If the princess insults me, it is equivalent to humiliating the emperor, humiliating the queen mother, and humiliating the entire Xichu royal family. Shouldn't I be punished for this? "
"What? What did you say? How dare Zhaorong scold you?"
Queen Mother Zhou didn't believe her words at all, and her expression became even more severe.
Su Jin opened her eyes wide, with a look of disbelief on her face. She had watched Princess Zhaorong grow up. Although she was a bit arrogant, she was knowledgeable and would never do such a thing as insulting the Queen. .
"At that time, the minister's daughter-in-law and the princess were not the only two people in the royal study. Zhui Feng and Xiaosi also witnessed the incident and the reasons behind it. Whatever the princess said and did, they both agreed. It is clear that my daughter-in-law would never dare to wrong the princess. If Zhui Feng had not stopped her in time, my daughter-in-law would not appear in front of the queen now. "