“How hateful it is!”

Lengmei picked up the exquisite vase on the shelf and smashed it onto the floor. Then she smashed her censer and cosmetics to vent her anger.

“Please calm your anger, Your Grace.” Her palace maids and eunuchs all knelt on the ground apprehensively and kowtowed.

“Calm my anger? How can I calm my anger?” Lengmei shouted angrily, “How could His Majesty ground me without any explanations or reasons? Ha! How powerful he is!”

As Lengmei’s ruthless eyes were as sharp as knives, she kicked off the chair and toppled the table suddenly with a sneer.

“When had I been bullied like this? Who can bully me like this? I cannot take this any more!” Lengmei gasped and was about to go out.

“No! Please stop, Your Grace!” Palace maids and eunuchs were all so terrified that they screamed out. Some servants even jumped up and grabbed Lengmei’s clothes so that she could not leave.

“Damn! Let me go!” Lengmei was pissed off immediately. She kicked the palace maid off and slapped her face. “When the wolf grows old, the crows ride him. I am just grounded, you dare to bully me now?”

That palace maid fell to the ground covering her swollen face with her hand. However, she dared not cry with tears in her eyes and knelt on the ground again.

“Please calm your anger, Your Grace. I dare not disregard you. But His Majesty orders you not to go out…”

Lengmei kicked that palace maid in the shoulder with homicidal intent in her eyes and pointed at her, saying in a cold voice,

“I am just unfairly treated and I feel wronged. How could you rub salt in the wound?”

“Am I too nice to you? So you forget to revere me?” Lengmei used a rising tone towards the end, which sounded as dangerous as rigid strings.

“I’m sorry, Your Grace. We dare not,” the palace maids said.

“I’m sorry, Your Grace. We dare not,” the eunuchs said.

Palace maids and eunuchs were all terrified with pale looks and kowtowed for forgiveness.

“Humph! Don’t think that I don’t know your thoughts. Aren’t you mocking me in your mind? You’re all waiting for me to fail so that you can find another master.

Ha-ha, it is just your wishful thinking! I will be fine!”

Lengmei was so angry that her face was contorted. She was like a flying arrow which carried determination with it but more precipitant.

And palace maids and eunuchs were so terrified that they became speechless lowering their trembling bodies and shrank into themselves.

Lengmei lost her temper recklessly and finally became quiet after a long time. She drank a cup of cold tea before she calmed down. Then Lengmei looked at the door behind the bead curtains as if there were a blue sea and clear sky outside the room.

However, she could not go out and dared not.

After she calmed down, Lengmei realized clearly what kind of country she was. This was a feudal country where people believed in regalism and the emperor owned the ultimate power.

She could not get away from the palace even if she owned skill in wielding the 18 kinds of weapons or the brightest mind.

Moreover, she did not want to run away. The word ‘run’ did not exist in her dictionary. Whether in the past or the future, she would endure all the difficulties. Also, she would become stronger in the field of playing tricks and scheming.

And Lengmei would never admit that she was less competent than Tang Xia, and neither would she throw in the sponge.

Lengmei clenched her fist with her nails into the palm, took a deep breath and said slowly, “OK! I am just framed by someone. I might act too aggressively. I hope you can understand me.”

“We… we dare not.” Everyone replied cravenly.

“Good! I won’t say more now that you can understand. I hope we can unite together to live a better life in the palace!”

Lengmei helped the palace maid who was slapped by her up and said in a gentle voice, “Now that you are my maid, we are interconnected and our fates are united.”

“I… I understand.” That palace maid trembled with fear but had to bite the bullet and wore a smile constrainedly.

“I’m glad that you understand. You’re a smart girl. I won’t treat you unfairly as long as you are loyal to me.” Lengmei tapped the palace maid’s hand. “Tell me, why did you stop me from going out?”

“… I know you feel wronged, Your Grace. But we dare not obey the order of His Majesty. So please wait patiently, Your Grace.” The palace maid replied tamely, lowering her head.

“You all go out.” Lengmei interrupted her suddenly and said to other servants.

“Yes, Your Grace.” Other servants obeyed and left the room quickly.

“Go on.” Lengmei straightened a chair and sat on it.

“I know that you feel wronged, Your Grace. But it is asking for troubles to run counter to His Majesty. So we can find another way to achieve our aim.”

“What do you mean?”

“The tongue breaks bone, though itself has none.” The palace maid bowed to Lengmei and knelt on the ground.

“Ha-ha, you are so smart!” Lengmei laughed out wearing a quite joyful look.

“I’m flattered.”

“Hm.” Lengmei pondered squinting her eyes and said after a long time, “I cannot be the only one who is suffering. I’ll let you do something for me. I want to mud Tang Xia’s reputation.”

“What you need me to do, Your Grace?”

“Just spread the words that His Majesty blindly favors the empress, whether she is right or wrong.”

“Yes, Your Grace.” The palace maid bowed and stepped out respectfully.

As expected, the palace maid did not let Lengmei down. Scandals about the empress seducing the emperor to blindly favor her became more and more among the palace in a day or two.

In a word, as scandals became more, they would inevitably become crazier. Some of the scandals even slandered Tang Xia.

Those scandals were heard by Chu Tiankuo shortly afterwards.

“Damn it!” Chu Tiankuo slammed down his hand on the table, “Find it. Let me see who dares to slander the empress.”

The eunuch felt awkward and said hesitantly, “Please calm your anger, Your Majesty. Scandals are apt to slander people, but it will be quite hard to control them as the law cannot be enforced when everyone is an offender…”

“What do you mean? Is everyone in the palace spreading those scandals?” Chu Tiankuo frowned.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” The eunuch said apprehensively, “The imperial palace is a busy but lonely place. People in the palace always act without delay upon hearing something.”

“Humph! So according to what you mean, I cannot deal with those scandals?” Chu Tiankuo snorted, looking at the chief eunuch with a faint smile, “Or should I compromise and avoid them? Where is my prestige or power then?”

“I beg for your forgiveness, Your Majesty. I dare not ask you to do so. But you cannot kill them all,” the chief eunuch said tensely.

“Do they think that I have no way to deal with those rampant snobs? Humph! It is just a low-level attempt.” Chu Tiankuo said wavering his hand, “Award my empress 7.5 kilograms of pearls, 10 kilograms of jade, 10 pieces of brocade together with numerous gold and silver.”

“Your Majesty? Your award now may do harm to the empress’s reputation!”

“I’m supporting her. I’ll see who dares to say something about it!”

“But the scandals…”

“Do I need to hide my love for her? Just do what I ordered. I want to tell everyone that I favor her!”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

As expected, when Tang Xia got the awards, scandals became rifer like a hurricane devastating the palace in a short time.

“See? I told you that the woman is a demon.

“She is charismatic and knows the way to fascinate His Majesty. Look at the awards which can afford several ordinary people over a lifetime! What a pity! They all get into her pocket as she seduces His Majesty!”

“Right! There were no quiet days since she became the imperial concubine. Something bad happens every day.

“Someone died, someone got injured and someone was grounded all because of her, alas! Only she is safe and sound. Everyone regards her as an enchantress!”

“Right! I heard that an enchantress has the power to confiscate people’s soul.”

“Alas! That is terrible! The emperor should drive her away or let the Master get rid of her!”

“Right!”

As scandals snowballed, some people even said that Tang Xia was a demon and Chu Tiankuo should drive her away. Chu Tiankuo thought he could ignore it. However, the voice of denouncement became louder and louder so that Chu Tiankuo could not shut his eye to it.

“Your Majesty, it seems that someone is adding fuel to the fire with an ulterior motive!” The chief eunuch sorted out the scandals and reported to Chu Tiankuo.

“I know.”

Chu Tiankuo fixed his eyes on the memorial, wearing an obscure look. “Everyone involved in this matter cannot get rid of punishment.

I don’t want to pay attention to it now. Humph, but hurting her in this way is their wishful thinking! I won’t allow it! I will never allow it!”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

And Tang Xia heard the scandals, too.

“Your Grace, don’t you think that Lengmei planned all this?” Lyuyou said angrily.

Tang Xia shook her head slowly, “No, it cannot be achieved only by Lengmei.”

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like