"Your servant pays her respects to the Empress." Shen Qingwan moved and walked a few steps in front of Xiao Shushen, leaning forward slightly and bowing to her.
But her words seemed to have melted into the air, and there was no response from Xiao Shushen. If it were in the past, she should have responded and asked her to get up long ago, but today she was reluctant to let her get up, which made her very puzzled.
At this moment, the people around also stopped talking silently, as if they were infected by the strange atmosphere. They began to be quiet tacitly, looking at Xiao Shushen in front of her quietly. Some people with bad intentions had already smelled the prelude to a good show.
She had been keeping her head down, waiting patiently and quietly, but after waiting for quite some time, Shen Qingwan felt her left leg was slightly numb, and there was no response from Xiao Shushen.
After thinking about it, she finally raised her head and saw Hsiao Shushen sitting on a yellow wooden carved chair. She was wearing a long red satin dress embroidered with hibiscus flowers and a brand new pink cloak. She was hugging the stove with her hands, looking down at her with a condescending attitude, and her eyes met hers with burning gaze.
Xiao Shushen pursed her red lips with a mocking smile on her lips. Shen Qingwan's eyes narrowed, as if she understood what she wanted to do in an instant. She frowned, knowing that she couldn't escape what was coming, and today she had delivered herself to him.
Seeing Shen Qingwan looking up at her, Xiao Shushen opened her mouth coldly, "Xian Fei, do you know your mistake?"
Shen Qingwan naturally knew that she was the one who let the concubine go, but she didn't think she had done anything wrong. There was no fear in her eyes when she looked at Xiao Shushen. She was silent, but looked at her with neither arrogance nor servility.
"You!" Xiao Shushen saw that she had no intention of repenting and was still stubborn at this time. Her anger was immediately aroused and she scolded coldly: "You are a virtuous concubine, but you don't know the rules! The emperor entrusted you with the selection of concubines, but not only did you not take responsibility, but you also cheated for personal gain and let the concubines go casually. What exactly do you want to do?"
She looked at Shen Qingwan, who was bowing her head in silence, and sneered, "I think you are just pursuing your own selfish interests, and you haven't done anything to relieve the emperor's worries. The final decision of the concubine is related to the arrangement of the harem. You are just worried that you will be replaced by a newcomer. You are really unworthy of the emperor's trust in you by doing this!"
Shen Qingwan, who had been silent at first, had been forbearing and listening to her accusations. But she didn't let these concubines go because she was worried that she would be replaced one day. She didn't want to let her slander herself.
The depth of the palace is not a place that everyone desires to go to. She had been through the same thing in the past. Now that she is in charge of the selection, she does not want to let these young ladies in their prime fall into the deep palace.
She rubbed her sore knees with her hands, then slowly raised her head and calmly met Xiao Shushen's angry face. She retorted in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "Since those concubines don't want to enter the palace, why force them to do so?"
"Oh!" Xiao Shushen sneered, "Xian Fei, don't forget that this is the imperial palace. I warn you, this is not a place for you to do whatever you want!"
"I have no other intention." Although Shen Qingwan was dissatisfied in her heart, she continued to speak in a flat tone. She had maintained the posture of saluting for a long time, and her legs were a little numb.
"I didn't expect that you had no intention of repenting. As a virtuous concubine, you should set an example, but you broke the law knowingly. If I don't punish you today, it will be difficult to convince the people. Kneel down immediately!" Xiao Shushen raised her voice slightly and gave the order.
Shen Qingwan's eyes darkened, her lips pursed tightly, her heart full of reluctance, she wanted to argue, but seeing the current situation, she knew she had no choice but to accept the punishment. She glanced at the white patch on the ground, gritted her teeth, put down her right leg, and knelt on the snow in front of Xiao Shushen in front of all the concubines and palace maids.
The biting cold came through her clothes, but even when she knelt down, her waist was straight and she did not show any sign of surrender.
"Oh my, why is Concubine Xian kneeling on the snow?" Hua Xiangwei, who had heard the news and rushed to see the joke, said in surprise as soon as she reached the gate of the courtyard, "I'm late. What did I miss?"
As Hua Xiangwei spoke, she quickened her pace and walked to Shen Qingwan's side, looking at her and the Queen as if she had no idea.
"The virtuous concubine let the concubine go without permission, and the queen is punishing her." The nanny standing beside the queen explained.
"I see. Sister, weren't you very determined in your decision at the beginning? How could you forget that the inside of the palace is different from the outside world? How could you easily act according to your own ideas?"
Hua Xiangwei, who had finally caught Shen Qingwan's handle, stood beside her, watching her kneeling on the cold ground with her head bowed. The helpless and regretful tone in her voice could not hide the mockery behind it.
Shen Qingwan gritted her teeth and continued to kneel. The cold winter wind showed no sign of abating. The hard, cold ground had made her legs lose all consciousness. She simply stood there, waiting for Xiao Shushen's further instructions.
After hearing what Hua Xiangwei said, similar voices began to emerge from the originally silent crowd.
"Yeah, this palace isn't a place where you can come and go as you please."
"So many people are trying their best to get into the palace, but there are still some who want to quit."
"This virtuous concubine deserves it."
Li Xinyu and Lin Lianlian stood closer to Xiao Shushen, and did not dare to speak easily, but just looked at each other. The girls near the gate of the courtyard were talking in low voices, and some of them defended Shen Qingwan.
"The Queen has gone too far. Since she doesn't want to enter the palace, Concubine Xian is just fulfilling her wishes. And she's kneeling in the snow in such a cold day..."
"Yes, the queen is a little unreasonable. The harem is really not as simple as we thought. We should be careful in the future."
Shen Qingwan heard all these words, but she did not feel any regret. Even if Xiao Shushen punished her at this time, she still felt that she had done nothing wrong. The harem was a deep pool with too many people who were forced to go there voluntarily. She did not want those women who were forced to come here to regret it in the future and be trapped in the deep palace.
Xiao Shushen watched Hua Xiangwei flaunting herself in front of Shen Qingwan and did not stop her. Instead, she was in a very happy mood. She curled her red lips slightly, gathered her cloak, and looked at the person who was still kneeling in front of her.
Today she killed two birds with one stone. Not only did she teach Shen Qingwan a lesson, but she also established her authority in front of the other concubines, making them clearly realize that this harem is her territory as the queen, and she will not tolerate any grain of sand in her eyes.