latelenovela Chapter 154 The Maids in the Palace Are on Strike (24)
Chapter 154 The Maids in the Palace Are on Strike (24)
It seemed to her that apart from seeing Song Liaoye kneeling before the emperor, nothing else mattered.
Prince Qi has always been incompetent and dissolute, and has no knowledge of etiquette. Sometimes when he sees Your Majesty, he won't even kneel to greet her, but Your Majesty usually doesn't bother with him.
Your Majesty has this attitude, let alone others.
Before the prince could say anything, Song Liaoye stood up and spoke first: "Please forgive me, Your Highness, but why is my maid like this? Your Highness, should you explain to me?"
The humiliation of a maidservant can be a big or small matter. In the eyes of most people, it is just a worthless life that may not even see the sun tomorrow.
Song Liaoye knew very well that if Shen Fanli had not injured the prince, he could still go to His Majesty and complain about the prince, vent his anger, and then take revenge later.
But Shen Fanli injured the Master of the East Palace, the future Crown Prince.
No matter which level, Shen Fanli's life is in danger, so Song Liaoye must seize the opportunity, otherwise...
Unless the prince doesn't care.
Otherwise, even if the matter was brought before the emperor, the prince would be punished, but at most he would just have to reflect on his mistakes in the East Palace. The prince was his own son and had not committed any substantial mistake, yet he had his head broken by a maid.
Would the emperor be angry that the prince bullied the maid, or would he be angry that the maid dared to murder the prince!
Song Liaoye knew it without thinking too much.
Zhu Kairui gritted his teeth, he certainly couldn't admit that he wanted to humiliate this maid, so he said: "It was you, the maid, who wanted to seduce me, but failed and instead tried to murder me!"
His mind was spinning very quickly, and he was about to put the blame on King Qi, "King Qi, did you send your maid to murder me?"
"King Qi, are you planning to rebel?"
When Song Liaoye heard this, his expression did not change at all, instead he smiled.
"Your Highness, you are joking. This maid has been with me for many years. I can't bear to let her seduce others. She has always been very timid. I guess Your Highness must have done something to make her do this. What do you think?"
"Besides, where do I get the courage from? My character is known to all the civil and military officials in the court, and Your Majesty knows it too. Your Highness, are you forcing your maid to do something wrong? Instead, you want to put a big accusation on me."
When Song Liaoye came to his senses, Zhu Kairui's face turned pale and blue. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that he was the one who was going to bully the maid.
He gritted his teeth and said, "No matter what, you, a maid, murdered me, you should be beaten to death!"
Zhu Kairui looked directly into Shen Fanli's eyes and found that the glass-colored eyes were really beautiful. He didn't want to kill her, so he changed the subject, "Or, give her to me, and I won't care about this matter anymore."
When Song Liaoye heard this, a fierce look flashed across his eyes, but no one noticed.
It felt like something was pulling on my sleeve.
At this moment, he noticed a subtle movement and looked down, and saw Shen Fanli grabbing his sleeve.
The force is very light.
Maybe I'm scared!
Song Liaoye resisted the urge to hold the person in his arms and comfort him.
"I am used to being served by this maid and cannot live without her. If Your Highness wants a maid, I will send a few to the Prince's Mansion tomorrow..."
After saying this, Song Liaoye took two steps forward and arrived right in front of Zhu Kairui.
He was less than twenty years old and a little taller than Zhu Kairui.
Zhu Kairui naturally could not retreat even a bit in front of so many personal guards, thus losing the dignity of the Lord of the Eastern Palace.
Shen Fanli saw a tall figure in front of him walk up to the prince, and then the two of them talked about something.
The prince's expression eased slightly.
"......"
At this time, the imperial physician was also brought over.
The people brought by Song Liaoye stood on one side, and the prince's people stood on the other side.
Seeing the two confronting each other, I swallowed hard and felt so scared that my legs went weak.
Seeing the imperial physician coming, Song Liaoye took two steps back.
He stood in front of Shen Fanli and said in a deep voice: "Go, apologize to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and thank him for not killing you."
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was injured by a maid. No matter what the reason was, as long as it gets out, Shen Fanli's life will be in danger!
What Shen Fanli said was just hearsay in the eyes of others.
Firstly, she did not have any witnesses present; secondly, the other party was the Crown Prince, a distinguished person; thirdly, she was the maid of Prince Qi, and if she was not careful, Prince Qi's mansion might be implicated.
And Song Liaoye's secret plan must not be revealed at all...
Shen Fanli's first reaction when he heard this was disbelief.
Her slightly disheveled face turned pale, and her eyes stared straight at Song Liaoye.
Looking at the person's eyes that were looking at him stubbornly, Song Liaoye avoided her gaze.
He turned his head to signal someone to come forward and apologize.
Shen Fanli followed his eyes and saw the prince sitting on a chair that had been brought in at some point, with a leisurely look on his face, watching the fun.
Shen Fanli gritted his teeth and refused to take that step.
The people around were too afraid to even breathe, for fear of being used as cannon fodder for the purpose of venting anger.
It was a summer night and the wind should have been cool and comfortable, but Shen Fanli clearly felt the chill from the person in the center.
Like the wind that blows.
Chilled and cold...
She turned her head away, bit her lip hard, and didn't look at anyone.
Zhu Kairui turned the jade ring in his hand and looked at Shen Fanli. He didn't seem to take Prince Qi seriously. He said in a light tone, "If she kneels down and kowtows to apologize to me today, I will show mercy and spare her life. Otherwise..."
A flash of coldness passed through Song Liaoye's eyes.
When he succeeds, I will chop off his head with my own hands!
Song Liaoye turned to look at the prince who was being bandaged by the imperial physician, lifted his robe and knelt down, "Your Highness, I have spoiled this maid. I will definitely punish her when I go back tonight. I hope Your Highness will forgive me and not make a fuss about her, a maid."
"I will definitely pay you a visit tomorrow and give you an explanation."
Seeing Song Liaoye kneeling in front of him, Zhu Kairui's face relaxed a lot, and he felt extremely happy. He left her alone for a while, letting her kneel on the ground. After the imperial physician finished bandaging her and left, he slowly spoke, "Since Prince Qi is so sincere, I am a prime minister who can hold a boat in my stomach, so I will let her go."
"As for King Qi, you must not forget what you promised me tomorrow."
After saying this, he waved his sleeves and said, "Prince Qi, please stand up. If the officials in the court and my father see this, they will think that I am bullying you."
Only then did Song Liaoye stand up.
When he raised his eyes, the emotions in his eyes were well concealed.
Without leaving a trace.
Song Liaoye said in a deep voice: "Yes, I will never forget it!"
After the prince and his entourage turned and left.
Song Liaoye dragged Shen Fanli, who was still a little panicked and weak-legged, away.
He waved his hand, said a few words to Gao Yu, and asked someone to ask the emperor for permission, saying that he could not drink much and had to return to Prince Qi's palace.
There was silence all the way in the carriage.
Shen Fanli gradually reacted at this time.
She looked up at the gloomy and cold man and asked carefully, "...Prince, what did you just promise him?"
Song Liaoye had been staring at her since she started talking.
There was silence for a long time.
Until the carriage stopped in front of Prince Qi's mansion, he got off the carriage before Shen Fanli.
As Shen Fanli's feet landed on the ground, a cloak fell in front of him.
At this time, Shen Fanli looked at her body and found that the top button of her clothes had disappeared at some point, revealing some of her fair skin.
Maybe after getting on the carriage.
If it had happened before, Song Liaoye would have definitely taken action.
She put the cloak on herself, adjusted it, and was about to speak.
Song Liaoye didn't even turn his head and said, "Didn't I tell you not to run around? Why did you provoke that lunatic?"
If it weren't for him, Shen Fanli would have been seriously injured if not dead.
After saying this, Song Liaoye walked into the palace.
Shen Fanli was stunned for two seconds before moving forward.
She was almost humiliated and had to use a lot of effort to escape from the tiger's mouth. She thought that Song Liaoye and others would hug her and comfort her when they came back.
This was also the first time she hit someone, and the person she hit was the Master of the East Palace and the future Crown Prince.
Shen Fanli originally thought that Song Liaoye would go to the emperor to report Zhu Kairui. It was shameless that the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace would do such an improper thing.
But Song Liaoye did not do that. Instead, she knelt in front of Zhu Kairui and begged him to forgive her.
When Shen Fanli saw it, her eyes were so sore that she almost burst into tears.
When Shen Fanli returned to the palace, before he could even stand firmly on his feet, he heard these words that could be considered as reproach.
She never wanted to encounter such a thing!
Song Liaoye walked straight forward, heading towards Mingkaiyuan.
Shen Fanli followed silently behind him.
Arrived at the yard, but hadn't even entered the house.
Shen Fanli heard the words, "Kneel down."
Song Liaoye didn't look back and stood in the middle of the yard.
When Bier and Jing'er saw the prince and the girl coming back, they were about to step forward to pay their respects, but when they heard this, they immediately knelt down on the spot.
"My lord, forgive me."
"My lord, forgive me."
Shen Fanli glanced at the two people who were kneeling on the ground in fear, wishing they could crawl on the ground, and his hands gradually clenched.
How is she different from them?
In the eyes of their masters, the princes and the crown princes, she is just a mere maid.
When Shen Fanli heard the words "kneel down", he couldn't tell what he felt in his heart, and he knelt down slowly.
This was the first time Song Liaoye asked her to kneel down.
She used to kneel down before him, but he always told her not to kneel.
Now that she was told to kneel, Shen Fanli had no choice but to kneel.
This is what she meant by the difference in status.
She could die in a moment's thought.
Song Liaoye turned around and looked at the person kneeling on the ground with his head bowed. After a long while, he spoke: "Shen Fanli, do you know your mistake?"
When Shen Fanli heard this, she thought he was blaming her, blaming her for offending the Crown Prince and almost implicating him and Prince Qi's Mansion.
But, what was her fault?
Shen Fanli was speechless, his face lost all color, his lips turned a little pale, and his pair of glass-colored eyes stared at His Royal Highness Prince Qi, and his eyes soon became moist.
It seems like I will cry in the next second.
Before Song Liaoye's eyes looked over, Shen Fanli had already lowered his head.
A drop of water fell on the ground.
Today, it didn't rain...
Song Liaoye looked at the people, she clutched the hem of her skirt tightly with both hands, lowered her head and remained silent.
Seeing her like this, Song Liaoye was furious.
He had been avoiding him for some time because of that bastard Wen Honglang. Now he had offended the prince and almost lost his life.
Song Liaoye pressed his lips into a straight line and repeated in a calm voice, "Do you know you are wrong?"
"say!"
Shen Fanli held his head high and chest out, still looking unyielding and stubborn while kneeling on the ground.
It seemed like nothing could break her spine.
She raised her voice, looked angry, and said, "I'm not wrong!"
Although Fanli was just a maid, she had read books and knew how to read. She also knew that—
It wasn't her fault.
The fault lies with that powerful man, and also with the master in front of her, the prince, who scolded her without any reason and asked her to admit her mistake.
It was the prince who wanted to do that shameless thing, and she was the one who was almost humiliated. She did nothing wrong!
Shen Fanli was unwilling to admit his mistake.
Seeing the angry look on his face, Song Liaoye felt a surge of nameless rage.
Now is a critical moment. What should we do if that man insists on handing her over?
It would have been fine if she had just admitted her mistake, but she insisted on going against him.
She must be made aware of her own identity!
The man knew her character and used to think it was harmless.
Now it seems that she was indulged too much.
That's why she ignored the hierarchy and dared to talk back to him.
Furious, Song Liaoye clenched his hands into fists and frowned, "I'll say it one last time. Go with me tomorrow to admit your mistakes to the crown prince, and this matter will be over."
"If you don't go, I'll give you ten big slaps first."
Fanli knelt on the cold ground, and her heart felt even colder when she heard what the man said.
She was a maid, a slave, with no freedom, no human rights, and no dignity.
You can only allow yourself to be bullied and even kneel down to admit your mistakes!
How ridiculous!
But that is the reality.
She knew that this was the imperial power and the royal family!
It is also the thing that Song Liaoye hates and is most dissatisfied with.
But there was nothing he could do.
At least, for now, there is nothing that can be done...
She never lowered her head, as if this could help her maintain her meager self.
She refused to bow her head.
She did nothing wrong, why should she admit her mistake!
The person who was wrong was not her, but this era that uses power to decide other people's lives.
Fanli looked straight into his eyes, "...I am not wrong."
"It's up to the prince to beat or kill him!"
Song Liaoye was so angry that he kicked the tree on the left.
How could he not be angry when the man in front of him talked about death so easily.
He sneered, "Okay!"
"Where are you? What are you standing there for? Hit me!"
When Miss Shen and the prince were arguing, the servants in the palace didn't dare to ask about it and wanted to stay away from it.
It was not until the prince said he would punish him with a stick that the guards in the distance heard the sound and came to the courtyard trembling with fear.
Bringing a bench and a board, the two men pressed Shen Fanli onto the bench.
As soon as they moved, they saw that the prince's expression became even worse.
The others looked left and right and at each other.
No one made the first move.
"My words have no power over you anymore," Song Liaoye saw this and kicked the nearest guard, shouting, "Get out of here."
He snatched the board from the man's hand and looked at the slender figure pressed against the bench.
He lowered his head and looked into the person's red and stubborn eyes. His eyes were extremely persistent. When he met her eyes, he couldn't fight back no matter what.
He had no place to vent his anger, and the two guards who were pressing down on Fanli became the place to vent his anger.
He threw the board in his hand and kicked each of them. His chest seemed to be filled with turbid waves. Song Liaoye gritted his teeth and said, "I told you to hit me with the board but you didn't dare to do it. This time you hit me with such force!"
"let go!"