Sheng Lengshuang had nothing more to say about the matter, feeling that all these palace consorts had issues with their brains. Everyone knew that her relationship with Mo Lingxi was close, and she had little interaction with the Emperor. Moreover, the Emperor treated her as his young aunt.
Yet, these palace consorts all treated her as a love rival, mistakenly believing the Emperor wanted to take her as a concubine.
Was this not hilarious?
Mo Lingxi gave Zi Cheng a look and, holding Sheng Lengshuang's hand, returned to the side hall. He no longer wished to deal with matters here.
Zi Cheng looked at the deposed consort with a mocking and sarcastic gaze. "Your brain, has it been in the harem for too long? Spending all day only knowing how to fight for favor, seeing other women as rivals?"
"When I ascended the throne, I said that as you were born a commoner's daughter, you could not be enfeoffed as Empress according to ancestral law. Therefore, I enfeoffed you as Noble Consort, but I did not expect you to be dissatisfied.
Or perhaps, you are dissatisfied with the ancestral laws of the imperial family?"
The deposed consort's already pale face turned almost transparent. She trembled and prostrated herself on the ground. "Is there truly no possibility at all?"
Zi Cheng knew very well why each of them had become this way, just like the late Emperor. When the late Emperor first ascended the throne, he was a diligent and benevolent emperor who loved his people. But as time passed and he gained complete control of power, the late Emperor gradually became a decadent ruler who only cared for his own pleasure.
Power could bewilder many.
"When I wanted to enfeoff you as Empress, did you not see how much the imperial clan and the court officials opposed it? Some officials even threatened to die for their remonstrance. If I hadn't agreed, do you think you could have become Noble Consort?"
The deposed consort remembered the events of that time and cried until her eyes were swollen. "Then Sheng Lengshuang..."
"She is merely my young aunt." Zi Cheng was so disgusted he didn't want to look at her again. "Is my attitude not clear enough? I have always addressed her as young aunt. If I truly had any intentions, would I not have changed my address?"
"All of you only think of vying for favor and eliminating other women, never thinking of sharing my burdens. This is one of the reasons why I am unwilling to frequent the harem."
At this moment, the deposed consort finally realized how many foolish things she had done, pushing the Emperor away. She had thought that Sheng Lengshuang's threat was the reason she couldn't become Empress and the reason the Emperor didn't favor her.
But in reality, it had nothing to do with Sheng Lengshuang. She had shifted all the blame onto Sheng Lengshuang to make herself feel better and to have a reason to vent.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!" She suddenly knelt on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing. "I beg Your Majesty to spare my life, considering I accompanied you in the prince's residence. I beg Your Majesty to spare my life."
She had worked hard to achieve her current honor and good life, and she did not want to lose it like this.
Zi Cheng was not about to let her go. With a wave of his hand, imperial guards dragged the deposed consort away to be dealt with.
He rubbed his temples. What was all this? These people were truly out of their minds.
...
Meanwhile.
In the harem, in a palace.
"Mistress, Consort Xiang is also gone. Before she was killed, she was made a deposed consort," a cute-looking palace maid said, bowing to the consort seated at the head.
The consort picked up her teacup and took a sip, smiling proudly and arrogantly. "All of them are fools. Anyone can see that His Majesty has no romantic feelings for Sheng Lengshuang, yet they believed a few words they heard and took them as truth. It's no wonder they met such an end."
"This is a good thing for me. Not only is one less person above me, but I've also eliminated two rivals."
The palace maid massaged her shoulders, flattering her. "It is still Mistress who is wise. You've eliminated two people so easily. I believe that soon, Mistress will surely ascend to the position of Empress."
The consort enjoyed it. "You are right. Only I can ascend to the position of Empress. As for the others, whoever dares to snatch my position as Empress, I will take their life."
The position of Empress could only be hers!
...
As soon as Xiao Feng woke up, the first thing he saw was his mother and father. His large eyes immediately filled with tears. "Mother, Father..."
Sheng Lengshuang felt immense heartache. She carefully helped him sit up and placed a pillow behind him. "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Mother and Father are here. You won't be harmed again."
Xiao Feng held back his tears. His pale little face was pitiable. "Yes! With Mother and Father here, I'm not afraid anymore."
He had been so scared at the time, seeing so much blood. He thought that if he really died, his father and mother would be very, very sad. He didn't want his father and mother to be so sad.
Sheng Lengshuang wiped his tears with an embroidered handkerchief and gently coaxed him. "It's okay, it's okay. Our Xiao Feng is a little man, he's not afraid."
"Not afraid," Mo Lingxi said, stroking Xiao Feng's head to comfort him. "I will arrange more people for you, and such a thing will not happen again. But you must also be more careful yourself."
Xiao Feng nodded obediently. He knew very well that he couldn't rely on others. His father and mother had always taught him this.
Furthermore, his position did not allow him to rely on others.
"Drink some porridge." Sheng Lengshuang took the warm meat porridge from the palace maid and scooped a spoonful to feed it to Xiao Feng. "You must stay in the palace until your injuries have healed. Don't worry, Mother and Father will stay with you in the palace."
Xiao Feng obediently drank the porridge, his quiet and well-behaved demeanor making him even more endearing.
After drinking the porridge, Sheng Lengshuang gave him medicine and then helped him lie down. "Sleep well again. Mother and Father will be by your side, so don't worry."
Xiao Feng held his mother's hand, closed his eyes, then opened them, then closed them again.
"Sleep," Sheng Lengshuang said, gently patting his little hand and coaxing him softly.
Mo Lingxi sat by the bed.
Xiao Feng finally closed his eyes and fell asleep, but he tightened his grip on Sheng Lengshuang's hand.
Sheng Lengshuang and Mo Lingxi sat there, and even after Xiao Feng fell asleep, they did not leave.
"I'll stay with Xiao Feng tonight," Sheng Lengshuang said softly.
Mo Lingxi was too worried, and more so about her health. "Let me do it. This is too tiring. You took care of him during the day, and you were in charge of brewing the medicine, which I wasn't too confident about. It's too easy for things to be tampered with in this palace."
Sheng Lengshuang thought for a moment and agreed. "Take good care of Xiao Feng at night. My only worry is if the child develops a fever. If he has a fever, you must call me and the imperial physician immediately."
Mo Lingxi agreed. "Don't worry too much. The imperial physician is here at night. Even if I don't understand, the imperial physician can take good care of him."
Sheng Lengshuang felt more at ease. She still gave a few more instructions and then brought up another matter. "We must send someone to inform my parents about Xiao Feng's situation, otherwise they will overthink things."
Although she was reluctant to worry her parents, not telling them would make them worry even more.
Mo Lingxi replied, "I will arrange this properly."
Sheng Lengshuang hummed, touched Xiao Feng's head, and thought that this child had truly suffered.
With the nourishment of countless good medicines and the care of the entire Imperial Hospital, Xiao Feng's injuries healed very quickly. Correspondingly, a major cleanup was carried out in the harem. Consorts who were to be deposed were deposed, and consorts and their families who were to be punished were punished.