The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

"Personal grudge?" Xie Yuzhen smiled. She glanced at the two of them meaningfully. "Mrs. Chen, if I remember correctly, didn't you and Mr. Lin make it clear about the misunderstanding between you and Mr. Lin because of the two girls?"

Chen Peiluan and Lin Qiao had never met each other. It was Xie's mother who ordered someone to send an apology gift to the Mansion of Duke Shen, but it was delivered to the wife of the Grand Duke. Because the wife of the Grand Duke and Chen Peiluan had always had a grudge, the former only informed Chen Peiluan that the Mansion of Marquis Yongjia had come to apologize, and also told the other party that she had returned the apology gift.

Lady Shisun, who had been at odds with her sister-in-law for many years, had not forgotten to mock Chen Peiluan for not being able to choose concubines properly, and for having to choose those who were unwilling, thus bringing shame to her family.

"It's not this, Madam!" He Sangrou said quickly, "She told me in person..."

"Enough! How long are you going to keep talking nonsense!" Chen Peiluan glared at He Sangrou, "Your Majesty, this person has an arrogant personality. When I was with him before, I was always tolerant and forgiving. Before... Before, I found out that my husband seemed to have other women outside, and he regarded Miss He as a friend, so I complained to her a few times."

"But I don't know how, she actually thought that the person my husband had outside was...Mr. Lin." Chen Peiluan's heart began to beat wildly. She was extremely grateful that Lin Qiao had not yet really come to the fore, and had not exposed her identity as a woman, and Tao Er... had not been forced by her to make progress like in her previous life, and had met Lin Qiao at some point in the recent past.

Otherwise, if Empress Xie knew about the secrets of her family, then...

She forced herself to remain calm: "This is really nonsense. I hate this person's unwarranted slander of others, so I... I pretended to be angry and admitted what he said, trying to find out how they planned to throw dirty water on Mr. Lin. Unfortunately, I was still a little stupid, and I only learned a little bit from her."

"This is a serious matter. I originally wanted to investigate it more thoroughly and expose them after getting evidence. But I never thought that Miss He was so bold and presumptuous that she couldn't bear it at the palace banquet." She said.

He Sangrou, who was listening to the story, felt increasingly disappointed and could not help but scream, "You are talking nonsense! It is clear...it is clear that you yourself admitted that your husband and Lin Qiao had an affair..."

"I was just kidding you." Chen Peiluan said in a cold tone.

He Sangrou was stunned for a moment: "Madam! Madam, don't believe what she said!"

She blinked rapidly, and Xie Wei really felt that at this moment He Sangrou seemed to treat him as the kind of elder who could easily favor her without regard for evidence or facts just because she acted coquettishly and said a few words.

After being married for many years and having children, this lady of the Yao family, Miss He, still retains her rare "innocence and pampering" in some aspects.

Xie Yuzhen ignored her and continued to look at Chen Peiluan: "Mrs. Chen is very clever with her words."

"Why don't you also tell me how this family intends to 'expose' my cousin?"

Her comfort and ease were like an invisible mountain pressing down on the two of them. He Sangrou dared to scream and accuse Chen Peiluan, but when she realized that Xie Yuzhen did not have much goodwill towards her, she became a dumb person who knew what was going on. She wanted to go crazy but couldn't, and she wanted to throw a tantrum but didn't dare to. Her troubled stomach seemed to be poured with cold water mixed with crushed ice, and she naturally felt a sense of despair and fear.

Chen Peiluan did not dare to relax and carefully told everyone about the day when He Sangrou said that Yao San planned to find a few old scholars to pretend to be careless and actually deliberately strip Lin Qiao's clothes in front of everyone on the day of the Spring Examination.

As soon as she finished speaking, she heard Empress Xie opposite her laughing very happily. Her laughter was hearty and without any anger at all. It was really as if she had just heard something interesting from her and was laughing because of that.

After laughing for a while, Xie Yuzhen raised his hand and wiped his eyes: "Miss He's imperial decree was originally granted along with Yao San's position as general. Yao San was convicted and dismissed from office. Your Majesty and I did not issue an imperial decree to deprive Miss He of her imperial decree because of General He's hard work and great contributions."

He Sangrou knelt on the ground, looking at the patterns on the sleeves of her dress that could only be used by ladies of this rank, and she couldn't help but shudder.

"Li Zong, strip Miss He of her imperial robe and return her to General He. He is old now, so I will not hold him responsible for raising such a vicious daughter. Remember to tell him to watch Miss He and learn the saints' words of kindness again, and never make the same mistake again."

He Sangrou reacted and immediately trembled like she was having a seizure: "No! You can't do this! Queen!"

She wanted to resist, but she was no match for the four hands. Her outer robe was quickly torn off by the palace servants. Even though she was wearing many clothes because of the cold weather and only her outer robe was taken off, it was far from the point where she would be rude in front of others if she walked out. Moreover, there was only an incomplete "man" like Li Zong in the palace, and the rest were female officials and palace maids of the same sex. However, He Sangrou still felt extremely humiliated.

Xie Yuzhen looked down at He Sangrou, who was lying on the ground and sobbing softly, and said coldly: "I'll teach you a little lesson. Remember when you go back, don't provoke people you can't provoke without permission."

After saying this, he ordered the palace servants to take He Sangrou, who had been stripped of her outer robe, away.

Chen Peiluan, who was standing by, became more and more frightened the more she watched - not because He Sangrou's evil thoughts ultimately led to such an extremely humiliating end for her, which made Chen Peiluan feel empathy, but because she instinctively realized that Xie Yuzhen seemed to have another purpose in doing this.

After thinking for a while, Chen Peiluan boldly said, "The Queen is kind and benevolent, but Miss He's personality is really arrogant and unreasonable. I'm afraid she can't understand the Queen's mercy on her..."

Compared to He Sangrou's plan to make Lin Qiao dishevel in front of so many men, Empress Xie only took off her outer robe that represented her imperial status, and had people escort He Sangrou back to the He family. Although this move was indeed intended to humiliate her, Chen Peiluan believed that compared with He Sangrou and Yao San's plan, the latter was much more vicious.

"Your Majesty, I dare to let the tiger go back to the mountains. This is a kind thought of people who cannot bear to kill it. However, the tiger is a wild beast that does not know good or evil. If you let it go out of your kindness, after it hibernates and recovers from its wounds, I am afraid it will still have the intention to hurt people..."