Chapter 426: Chapter 296: A Little Bit of Abuse Is Healthier, The Hong Family Couple (Part 2)
"Mother, I’ve said it many times, I don’t want to get too close to Brother Luo. Let brother accompany him instead." Hong Mingyue’s beautiful eyes dimmed, showing a bit of displeasure.
"Alright, alright, when have your father and I ever forced you? I need to enter the Imperial Palace soon to avoid being late and making the Empress wait too long." Zhuge Rou, smiling cheerfully, said this and then got on the carriage to the Imperial Palace with several nannies.
Upon arriving at Chaohua Palace, the Empress had already sent people to greet Zhuge Rou at the palace gate.
"I wonder what matter the Empress has summoned me for today." Zhuge Rou took out some gold and slipped it to the palace maid, hinting sideways.
"This servant does not know, but from the tone of the Empress, it might be about the Sixth Prince’s choice of a concubine." The palace maid replied with a smile.
Choosing a concubine? Zhuge Rou’s eyes lit up.
Previously, she wanted her daughter Hong Yuying to become the Fourth Prince’s concubine, but unfortunately, the Fourth Prince had no interest in women. However, the Sixth Prince was different; he was the future Crown Prince. Being his concubine would essentially make one the Crown Princess Consort.
And now the Empress was seeking her out at this time, could it be she intended for her daughter... Thinking of the Hong Yuying at home, with her age, appearance, and family background, she was indeed one of the best candidates for Crown Princess Consort.
Zhuge Rou, with joy in her heart, hurriedly walked towards the Empress’s palace.
Halfway there, the palace maid led her to a side hall.
"The Empress is not in the main hall?" Zhuge Rou asked, surprised.
"The Empress has set up tea in the side hall, please come this way, Madam."
Zhuge Rou no longer doubted and, accompanied by two nannies, entered the side hall.
"Please wait here for a moment, Madam. This servant will go and inform the Empress." The palace maid said as she casually closed the door.
As she walked out of the side hall, the palace maid took out the piece of gold that Zhuge Rou had given her and sneered.
"Shameless mistress, you’ll never belong in the upper echelons. The reward that the Commandery Princess gives you is far more than what you’ve got." Saying this, the palace maid took out a pouch full of glittering golden leaves, put the piece of gold into the pouch, and wandered off humming a tune.
Full of joy, Zhuge Rou waited in the side hall for a long time, having several cups of tea, yet the Empress was nowhere to be seen.
"Nanny Chen, go out and see why the Empress hasn’t come yet." Zhuge Rou said, suspicious.
The brawny nanny, Chen, stepped out.
Having barely taken a few steps out of the side hall, she saw two people coming down the flower path ahead.
"Is that Nanny Chen? The old servant of Mrs. Zhuge?"
Chen had never seen the two young girls before but could tell from their delicate features and extraordinary demeanor that they were masters here.
"It is indeed this old servant, may I ask who these two young masters are?" Following Mrs. Zhuge for many years, Nanny Chen also picked up a bit of the skill in sizing up people, assuming these two were beauties or concubines from within the palace.
"Me? Nanny Chen, don’t you recognize me? When I was a child, you’ve seen me before." The young girl on the right giggled, her eyes curving into crescents, such charm made even an old woman like Chen look stupefied.
"This old servant has a poor memory." No matter how hard she tried, Nanny Chen could not remember when she had seen this young master before.
"It’s alright if you don’t remember, maybe a reminder will jog your memory." The beauty in red clothes also smiled, and suddenly, she had a burlap sack in her hand, which she then threw over Nanny Chen’s head.
"Ling Yue! Beat this dog of a servant to death; teach her a lesson she’ll never forget!"
Upon hearing this, Nanny Chen was scared out of her wits, now realizing that the girl in white was none other than Ye Lingyue, who had recently turned the Hong Residence upside down.
But by the time she understood, it was already too late. Before she could say more, countless punches fell upon her like raindrops.
These two girls were naturally the sisters Ye Lingyue and Lan Cai’er.
Both had the cultivation of the Elixir Realm, but in this instance, they did not use their Primordial Power. Each punch struck deep into the flesh and bone.
It didn’t take long before Nanny Chen fell silent.
"You two are supposed to be experts, yet you resort to such methods against a Postnatal Martial Artist." Nie Fengxing had been watching the whole affair with amusement and only casually stepped forward when the two girls had beaten the old servant within an inch of her life.
"Uncle Nie, that’s not right of you to say. Who was it again that suggested we summon Zhuge Rou to the palace under the Empress’s name?" Lan Cai’er pouted.
Nie Fengxing chuckled, swiftly sweeping up a burlap sack with his long legs and delivering a beautiful side kick, sending it right onto a rockery. The sack, with Nanny Chen inside, didn’t make so much as a grunt before she was dead.
"As your elder, what I mean is that you must be swift and decisive in your actions. Having dealt with one, there are still two left. What do you plan to do with them?" Nie Fengxing couldn’t sit still after knowing the grievances Ye Huangyu had suffered in the Hong Residence.
"The other one will be taken care of similarly, as for Zhuge Rou, after all, she is Hong Fang’s wife. If something happens to her in the palace, it wouldn’t be easy to explain." Ye Lingyue smiled. "However, I have my ways of dealing with her."
Saying so, Ye Lingyue whispered a few words into Nie Fengxing’s ear.
Hearing her plan, Nie Fengxing was stunned, and after a moment, coughed a few times and gave Ye Lingyue a thumbs-up.
"Princess Ye, I, Nie Fengxing, have never admired anyone in my life, but you are the first. This move is vicious."
Zhuge Rou, waiting in the side hall, waited and waited but saw no one, full of suspicions.
"Nanny Zhang, go out and see if Nanny Chen has a bad memory and has lost her way," she ordered another nanny.
After waiting another while, still, nobody returned.
Zhuge Rou couldn’t sit still any longer. She rose to leave the side hall but suddenly felt something wrong. A sensation of heat was spreading rapidly from her belly to other parts of her body.
"What’s happening to me?" puzzled Zhuge Rou. She grabbed a teacup and eagerly gulped down several mouthfuls.
However, the tea did not quench her thirst but instead intensified the burning sensation.
"It’s so hot," Zhuge Rou’s face flushed as her eyes tinted red.
At this moment, the room door was pushed open, and through her delirious eyes, she saw someone entering.
The person began to undress Zhuge Rou as soon as they came in. Overwhelmed by the heat, Zhuge Rou was unaware of what was being put on her after her clothes were removed, everything a blur.
"Lord Qu, haven’t you always been looking for the right ’dish’? Well, take a look at the woman inside," one said.
Two eunuchs entered the side hall, one a young, rosy-cheeked lad leading an older, pale-faced, white-haired eunuch.
He pointed at the woman inside.