Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Chapter 477 1 Arrow

On the afternoon of the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, Daiyu, accompanied by her princess' ceremonial procession, leisurely arrived at Kunning Palace.

Dou Jieyu lived nearby and was the first to hear the news. She was horrified and wanted to rush over to help, but was stopped by her son, the Third Prince:

"That princess aunt is both scheming and courageous. She must have something to rely on to dare to go to Kunning Palace at this time.

"Mother was worried, so she sent someone to ask quietly if she needed help. If she needed it, we could go later.

"But if you go there rashly, it might cause some complications, which would not be good."

Dou Jieyu then gave up and, after thinking about it, hurriedly sent someone to tell Kou Zhaorong, and then sent someone to see Daiyu.

Kou Zhaorong became anxious when she heard the news, and hurriedly asked Concubine Dou what she thought. The person told her the truth. Kou Zhaorong breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly did as she was told.

So Daiyu received the kindness of the two concubines before she even reached the gate of Kunning Palace. She smiled and declined: "Thank you very much. I just came to pay my respects and go through the formalities. There is no need to trouble you two ladies."

Before he could finish his words, he heard a scream from the direction of Kunning Palace!

Daiyu's face changed, and she left the two palace servants behind, shouting, "Hurry! Hurry!"

The four sedan bearers knew something was wrong, so they used all their skills, using their arms, waists and legs to run over as fast as they could without shaking the sedan.

When the group hurriedly arrived at Kunning Palace, they heard total silence inside, while the guards surrounding outside were dumbfounded.

This must be a big deal.

Daiyu did not dare to delay, and as soon as she landed, she ordered the curtain to be raised and stepped out of the sedan chair. As she walked over there, she spoke in a loud voice and asked:

"Where is Prince Zhongshun and the internal guard Situ Ang? Ask him to come and see them."

The imperial guards woke up as if from a dream, and hurriedly stood at their designated positions, and someone passed the message inside.

After a while, Situ Ang, holding a bow in his hand, came over with two of his men and bowed to Daiyu as a greeting.

Daiyu returned the greeting and asked anxiously, "What happened just now?"

"This guard shot and killed a palace maid who broke into the palace. She spoke disrespectful words and ignored Your Majesty's ban..." Situ Ang's face looked extremely ugly.

The subordinate stole a glance at his expression, bowed to Daiyu, and said, "That palace maid is full of nonsense and is shaking the morale of the army.

"Guard Situ acted decisively and did nothing wrong!"

Full of nonsense...

Daiyu frowned: "Which palace maid was it? What did she say?"

"She is the Queen's personal maid, named Zhu Ying. She said..." The subordinate glanced at Situ Ang's flushed face and repeated himself:

"She said that when the emperor is not at home, the queen is the ruler of the world. Not to mention the harem, even the government affairs should be decided by the queen...

"He also said that the harem is where the concubines live, and told the guards to get out, otherwise they would have bad intentions...

"They also said that Prince Zhongshun and the Wan family have been friends for more than ten years, and that the prince is not afraid of being punished by the prince when he returns home..."

Daiyu listened and remained silent.

To be honest, from a certain perspective, Zhu Ying wasn't talking nonsense.

But such words are not quite appropriate in the current situation... The words "shaking the morale of the troops" are not unfair to her.

"If the princess asks me about the crime of killing someone, I will admit it." Situ Ang stiffened his neck but abided by the rules.

Daiyu shook her head and asked, "What happened next? What's going on inside?"

"I was frightened for a moment." The guard replied, "I just saw that all the palace maids and eunuchs ran to the back hall, and I thought they were going to complain to the queen.

"Given the Queen's temper, this matter may not end well..."

Although it is a bit of a headache, it can be considered as killing the chicken to scare the monkey.

It doesn't cause too much trouble.

Daiyu glanced at Situ Ang and softened her tone: "It's never easy to be a clerk in Kunning Palace.

"General Feng has no suitable royal family members to use, so he has trouble hiring a new guard for His Highness the Crown Prince."

Turning his hand, he pointed to the box Qingwen was holding in her hand and said, "I came here with the amulet. Leave the contents to me for now.

"Sir, please go and rest for a while.

"Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival. Although there will be no grand court meeting in Hanyuan Hall, there will still be a banquet. Everyone still has things to do.

"If General Feng can't take care of it, don't forget to arrange shifts, so that everyone won't get too tired."

Situ Ang's tense body finally relaxed, and he continued quietly, "I was impatient. The princess is in charge of Daming Palace under the order of the emperor, and I should ask for the princess's instructions on this matter."

Daiyu waved her hands hastily. Before she could finish her next words, she heard the sound of chaotic footsteps inside, followed by Empress Wan's angry voice:

"Are you crazy? Or are you planning a rebellion?! Regicide!?"

Daiyu closed her open mouth, smiled helplessly after a moment, nodded towards Situ Ang, made a slight gesture, lifted her skirt, and walked in through the side door.

Empress Wan stood angrily at the entrance of the palace, looking down at Daiyu as she entered. Her eyes flashed with surprise and jealousy, and then she angrily rebuked:

"You still have the guts to come?! Zhu Ying is my maidservant who came with me as a dowry, a third-rank female official in the palace, how can you kill her without a trial?!"

"How dare you do this in front of Kunning Palace? Are you planning to rebel and usurp the throne?!"

Daiyu was not flustered, nor did she rush to argue. She took out the imperial gold medal from the open box in Qingwen's hand and showed it to the empress:

"Your Majesty has ordered that the Queen be confined to her residence, and that no one in Kunning Palace be allowed to enter or leave unless absolutely necessary."

He pointed at Zhu Ying's body on the ground and said, "You violated the imperial order and broke into the palace, attacking the imperial guards.

"Don't even mention her, a mere maidservant; even if she is the Queen's brother, Minister Wan, the Imperial Guards will kill her without mercy."

Queen Wan was furious: "How dare you curse my brother!?"

Daiyu ignored her and turned to look at Chu Kui who was following closely behind her, and ordered: "The Queen has been ordered to recuperate, and the imperial physician has also advised that you should concentrate and rest.

"Now they are still getting angry over such trivial matters. This shows that the people serving are not competent. They are ignoring the emperor's orders and the health of the queen.

"All of you, kneel here. Each of you will be whipped ten times and kneel for an hour as a warning to others."

He also reminded, "Watch the weather and don't miss the Queen's dinner."

Queen Wan's face changed: "How dare you!"

Daiyu smiled and held the gold medal up to her, saying, "I really don't dare to do anything to you.

"But for others, even if she is a female official of the first rank or a eunuch of the upper rank, I will arrest those who should be arrested and kill those who should be killed, as long as the imperial edict and the law are here.

"If you don't believe it, let's try it."

While she was talking, Chu Qian had already brought people to capture all the eunuchs and maids in Kunning Palace. He cracked the whip and scared everyone to their knees.

Queen Wan's expression changed.

After a long while, he didn't dare to say anything more and returned to the inner hall with gritted teeth.

Since Daiyu had spoken, every whipping she deserved was given.

Queen Wan stayed deep in the bedroom at the back, looking anxious but not daring to say a word.

outside the temple.

After counting carefully, Chu Kui whispered to Daiyu, "Xia Shouzhong is not here."

Daiyu raised her eyebrows.