The Queen had many spies in the palace, so she naturally knew the whole story in a moment.
In fact, even if Ye Jun didn't come, she would take this opportunity to suppress Shufei.
Unexpectedly, Ye Jun didn't go to see the emperor, but came directly to her.
Such behavior naturally made the queen feel more comfortable. After all, the queen was the master of the harem. If she always went around complaining to the emperor, it would make her lose her dignity.
But Ye Jun had other ideas.
The emperor would certainly not ignore this matter, but for the sake of the eldest princess, he would probably just give her a few mild reprimands. But it's different for the queen.
It has been a long time since Concubine Shu was regarded as a thorn in the side of the Queen. Although Concubine Wende has given birth to the eldest prince, which makes the Queen even more wary, it is unfortunately the case that Concubine Shu was the first to give birth to a child.
She had outwitted the Queen in this matter, which was enough to make the Queen hate her for the rest of her life.
Therefore, when the queen comes to deal with this matter, it will definitely not be as simple as a scolding. Even if she punishes the person to copy the palace rules, it will be more satisfying than just saying a few words.
During these times, she also realized that Ning Chen respected his legitimate wife. As long as the queen did nothing wrong and did not go too far, he would not offend the queen.
"What's going on? Hurry up and stand up and talk. Why are you kneeling for no reason?"
The queen came out from the inner room, her tone full of concern, and instructed Nanny Ding to help the person up.
Ye Jun came here to complain in the first place, and she didn't hide it on purpose. She stood up and looked up at the Queen, tears rolling down her eyes.
"Who hit you?" The queen was surprised, and finally her face turned black. "How can you, the emperor's concubine, destroy your appearance at will? Even if you made a mistake, you should be hit by the hand, not the face. Look at the mark on your face, it hurts me. Tell me what happened?"
"Replying to the Empress, just now the Concubine invited me to the Imperial Garden to appreciate the plum blossoms. When I was paying my respects, perhaps because Concubine was busy talking, she forgot to call me up, so I stood up on my own. This made Concubine angry with me, and she said that I was disobeying the palace rules. She slapped me without any explanation and ordered me to kneel in the Imperial Garden for two hours."
Ye Jun shed tears, wiped her tears with a handkerchief and continued.
"Your Highness, you also said that concubines should not casually damage their appearance. I feel wronged by your slap. Even if I am wrong, you shouldn't slap. Even the servants in the palace are afraid of making their masters feel bad, so they don't slap easily. After all, I am a proper concubine. If a high position really allows you to slap someone in the face, then I am wrong first, and I admit it. But if you can't, please make the decision for me."
She was about to kneel again, but Nanny Ding was quick to hold her up.
"Don't cry yet. I will make the decision for you, but I can't just listen to your one-sided opinion. Suqin, go to Changchun Palace in person and ask Concubine Shu to come over."
The queen waved her hand, asked someone to bring a chair, and asked Ye Jun to sit down first.
Ye Jun refused. "Although the matter of slapping has not been decided yet, I have angered the Empress Consort Shu. The Empress ordered me to kneel in the Imperial Garden for two hours. I will kneel first and wait for the Empress's decision."
This is definitely not what she meant, but she has to make it look good, right
Otherwise, if you trace it back, she would still be at fault.
But the Queen naturally would not ask her to go, she just said to deal with the matter first and then make arrangements.
Shufei came soon, and Zhang Baolin followed, looking unhappy.
I secretly hated Concubine Shu for her stupidity.
Originally it was just a punishment of kneeling, and Ye would have accepted it, but he slapped him in the face. Given Ye's temper, it was likely that this would not end well.
If it happened in front of the emperor, it wouldn't be a big deal for the sake of the eldest princess, but if it fell into the hands of the queen, how could it be good
"Shufei, you are also an old person by the emperor's side. Don't you know the rules of the palace?" The queen came up and scolded her, "Look at Ming Meiren's face, how tender her skin is. Even if she is wrong, you can't slap her in the face!"
When everyone looked over, they saw several finger marks on Ye Jun's fair face, which was a little red and swollen.
"Lady Ming committed treason and disrespect to me. I was so angry that I acted impulsively. But if Lady Ming is not punished, everyone in the palace will follow suit. Wouldn't it be chaos?" said Concubine Shu.
The queen looked at her and felt puzzled. This was not the kind of thing Shufei would say.
Just saying that she was angry and impulsive made it seem that Ye Jun had brought the blame upon herself. She also brought up the rules of the harem. This method of retreating to advance was obviously not something that Concubine Shu could have thought of.
The queen's eyes fell on Zhang beside her, and they darkened, and she knew what was going on.
So she slowed down her tone and said, "You are the biological mother of the eldest princess, a concubine in the palace, and the head of the concubines in the palace. Naturally, you are noble. But Ming Meiren is new to the palace, so it is inevitable that there are some omissions in the rules. Don't always care about it."
This tone and attitude made Concubine Shu feel as if the Queen was showing weakness and trying to persuade her, and she felt proud.
He glanced at Ye Jun, raised his chin slightly, and snorted coldly.
"I don't agree with what the Queen said. The palace rules are strict. If you can't always abide by the rules, you will inevitably make big mistakes. Your Majesty is soft-hearted, but I want to take your place and teach these ignorant people a lesson. Don't let anyone say that the harem is in chaos."
As soon as she said this, a trace of annoyance flashed across Zhang's eyes.
The queen sneered in her heart.
As expected, he was still the same greedy person, and he tested the waters with just a few words.
At this moment, Ye Jun added fuel to the fire and said, "If we talk about palace rules, Concubine Shu often doesn't come to Fengqi Palace to pay respects. She always says that she is taking care of the eldest princess and can't spare the time. Could it be that those maids and concubines are all dead, and Concubine Shu must do it herself? If not, then can I guess that Concubine Shu is unwilling to pay respects to the queen? This is treason!"
"Stop slandering me!" Concubine Shu shouted angrily, but her eyes looked a little weak.
After all, Ye Jun’s guess was absolutely correct.
Concubine Shu stiffened her neck and said, "You have never given birth, so how can you know the hardship of raising children? I am a loving mother and I miss the princess. Even the emperor would not stop me. You are so sharp-tongued and want to slander me. Today, I will pry open your mouth and see what you are like!"
"Shut up!" The queen slammed the table, anger evident on her face.
She raised her hand and pointed down, "What a Shufei, you intentionally destroyed the concubines' looks, you have a vicious heart, you keep saying that you will teach the people in the six palaces a lesson for me, is it to give you the position of empress! You gave birth to the emperor's eldest daughter, I thought you had done a great service, so I didn't care about it, but you have become so arrogant that you even take it for granted that you don't greet me. Well, since you said that the emperor won't stop you, then I think it's better to let you, Shufei, take care of the harem!"
"Madame Ding, you can take my seal and send it to Jiuchen Palace. Since Concubine Shu is in charge of the harem, I will give way to her!"
When things developed to this point, Concubine Shu panicked. Even though she was not very smart, she knew that this matter should not be brought to the attention of the Emperor.
She immediately knelt down and said, "Queen, please calm down. I am not good at speaking and I said the wrong thing. Please don't blame me. You are my wife and I dare not have any disrespectful thoughts. Please forgive me this time for the sake of our many years of acquaintance!"