The wicked sister-in-law is in charge; meals include fish and shrimp.

Chapter 102 Cutting off her tongue

Huaqing Palace.

Jun Shuyan came straight here after court. Those old scoundrels in the court today must have infuriated him, but at least he could find some comfort here.

Qin Wanyue gently massaged his legs, making him groan with pleasure.

"Your Majesty, this General Longxi has gone too far! How dare he utter such treasonous words in public? He clearly shows no respect for you."

"Your Majesty, I feel so sorry for you. Unlike my sister, the Empress, who always makes you unhappy."

As she spoke, she raised her hand and wiped away the few tears that she had managed to squeeze out from the corners of her eyes.

The women in the inner palace were not allowed to interfere in politics. Whenever Jun Shuyan was upset, he liked to run to her to talk about matters of state, and he would often ask her for her comments.

How could she know any of this? She could only find an opportunity to speak to her father and ask him for advice. In front of Jun Shuyan, she only said a few nice words to please him.

Just like now, seeing her like this and hearing her words that made him feel so comforted, Jun Shuyan couldn't help but want to be affectionate with her. "Yue'er, you still care about me the most." He held Qin Wanyue's hand tightly with deep affection.

Of the three thousand beauties in the harem, Qin Wanyue was the one who won his heart the most. She was considerate and gentle, unlike the Empress who only knew how to be cold and indifferent.

Qin Wanyue was extremely pleased with herself, and wrapped her slender arm around his neck to give him a sweet kiss.

"Your Majesty, I wish to have a child."

Upon hearing this, Jun Shuyan frowned, and Qin Wanyue quickly continued, "You are so busy with state affairs that you have no time to accompany me. If there were a little princess, she could relieve your boredom, and she would be very considerate."

She spoke softly, but what she said was that the princess was secretly plotting to get pregnant with the prince!

Now that Shen Sangning has given birth to a princess, and given the strained relationship between Jun Shuyan and her, it's unlikely they'll have a prince.

She'll have her father figure out a way to bring her down! The Left Prime Minister is demoted now, so what does he care? Isn't the Empress's position hers for the taking?

As for the other foolish women, she wasn't worried at all! Who could take better care of this man than her?

Her mother wrote again, telling her many methods, which she would try tonight!

Jun Shuyan's tightly furrowed brows relaxed upon hearing her words. He now had several princes in the harem, but they were all born to concubines who did not favor him, and he was too lazy to care about them. As for the princesses, there was no need to mention them.

However, Qin Wanyue was thinking that her daughter would be more considerate of her father, the emperor, which was truly thoughtful of her.

However, it wouldn't be good if all the children turned into haggard old women like the Empress, since what he valued most was Qin Wanyue's appearance.

"Moon, just let things take their natural course."

He neither said he wanted it nor he didn't, and Qin Wanyue secretly pursed her lips and said nothing more.

After she had served the emperor, the nanny would bring her contraceptive medicine. Doesn't this "letting nature take its course" mean that if there is an accident, then nothing will happen and everything will be normal?

Haha, she just won't!

She was determined to give birth to a prince so she could show off in front of that crazy woman, Shen Sangning.

After Jun Shuyan left, Qin Wanyue called her personal nanny and whispered a few words to her. The nanny's eyes lit up with joy, and then she hurriedly left.

Bored to no end, Qin Wanyue stood up and ordered the palace maid beside her, "Bring me a few bowls of ice and a large umbrella; I want to go for a walk in the Imperial Garden."

Nothing happened day after day, and the concubines in the harem were envious of her, so of course she disdained to befriend them.

"Your Majesty, you haven't gone to see the Empress yet today..."

"Snapped!"

Before a palace maid could finish speaking, Qin Wanyue slapped her across the face, her eyes fierce. "What did you just say?!"

"Slap!" She slapped the maid back again, and the maid knelt on the ground, covering her face with fear in her eyes and unable to speak. The others dared not utter a sound.

These past few days, Consort Qin has been going to Jiaolan Palace, where she kneels for two hours at a time. The Emperor doesn't know what got into him, but he didn't try to persuade the Empress. Instead, he made Consort Qin accept the punishment, and he had to coax her for a long time every time she came back.

If she missed going to Jiaolan Palace for two days, the Empress would choose the hottest and sunniest time to come in person, making sure that the Consort knelt for those two hours no matter what.

Upon closer inspection of her copy of the Admonitions for Women, the handwriting was noticeably different, indicating that someone else had helped her copy it a hundred times over and she had to start over!

And it even caused those lackeys to get ten more lashes! Their buttocks are still sore!

Not only that, but from that day onwards, those who served him closely were also forced to kneel as punishment!

Not only was he not thinking about this matter, but he also wanted to go play in the Imperial Garden, which would inevitably lead to him being punished by the Empress again.

If she had put her heart into it, perhaps the Empress would have been pleased by her sincerity and spared her the punishment?

The young palace maid knelt on the ground, trembling like a leaf. The others only glanced at her with pity, and no one dared to stand up for her.

Everyone says that Consort Qin is gentle, charming, quiet and mild-mannered, but only they know that she is a madwoman!

At that moment, she directly ordered outside, "Drag this talkative servant away and cut off his tongue. He's even meddling in his master's affairs!"

Qin Wanyue sneered twice, looking at the little palace maid as if she were looking at a corpse.

"Your Highness, please spare me! Your Highness, please spare me! I know I was wrong, I will never dare to do it again, please forgive me this time!"

The young palace maid kept banging her head on the ground, her disheveled hair sticking to the blood on her forehead, making her look pitiful and miserable.

Qin Wanyue remained unmoved, instead smiling as she watched her being dragged out, telling the others, "If any of you dare to act like her, next time you'll have your tongue cut out and your mouth sewn shut."

After she finished speaking, she placed her hand on the back of the eunuch's hand, and the people around her followed behind her with their heads down, not daring to utter a single word.

The young palace maid outside had already fainted, and blood was still flowing from her mouth.

Several people were cleaning up the bloodstains, and one of them was holding a bright red tongue wrapped in a rag.

Qin Wanyue merely glanced at it indifferently. She had seen this kind of thing many times before in the manor, so this was nothing.

The group behind them lowered their heads even further, turning their heads away to avoid looking at the bloody scene.

The breeze in the Imperial Garden was cool and fragrant with flowers. With an umbrella overhead and several large bowls of ice around her, her mood improved considerably.

Picking the most vibrant pink peony and tucking it into her hair, Qin Wanyue sat in the pavilion, leisurely enjoying her snacks.

"My little sister hasn't come to play with me for quite a while."

"Sister, please don't be offended. Chun'er has been quite restless lately due to illness, and I was afraid that bringing her out would disturb you."

Cheng Chang looked at Consort Liang apologetically, while the little prince in her arms babbled and reached out his little hand to her.

"Oh my! It wants to get closer to me!" Consort Liang exclaimed with delight, carefully taking the little monkey-like child into her arms and weighing him in her arms.

"Little sister, I think Chun-ge'er is much better than before, but we must keep an eye on him."

Cheng Changzai nodded, looking at her thin son in her arms with heartache.

It's all her fault for being incompetent. If she had been more ambitious, she might have been able to give him a better life.

She came from a poor family and only became a concubine in the palace, but luckily her belly was full of children and she became pregnant with the emperor's son.

But what good is being out of favor? After giving birth to a child, she was merely promoted from a beauty to a low-ranking concubine. The emperor was just trying to silence the gossip.

People in the palace always treat others differently based on their status; if she herself is not doing well, it will drag her child down with her and make her suffer as well.

She doesn't eat well and doesn't produce enough breast milk, so her child is very thin and weak. She was sick a few days ago, but she's feeling better now. The imperial physician told her to take the child out for some fresh air, otherwise she would stay in her own place and not leave.

Consort Liang sighed and asked, "Did you eat the bird's nest and the top-quality donkey-hide gelatin that I sent you last time?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Changzai looked at her in confusion, "When did you send someone to deliver anything, sister? I haven't received anything."