Pampered Consort of the Fragrant Orchard Chapter 71.4

Infected with Gu (4)

T/N: Chapter sponsored by lamekin, Anon, Gilly, and Mochakat9! Thank you for sponsoring!

Zhong Mei Qing and Madam Chen headed to the Empress Dowager's palace together. The Empress Dowager had finished tidying up and was just planning on heading to the banquet. Before even stepping out, she already saw her own younger sister and Madam Chen urgently walking over.

"Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager, help!" Zhong Mei Qing knelt down and grabbed the Empress Dowager's hand at once, shouting.

"What is this?" The Empress Dowager was startled, asking in surprise. 

"Elder sister, elder sister, save Xin'er, please save Xin'er." Zhong Mei Qing instantly started crying. 

"Xin'er? What happened to Xin'er?" The Empress Dowager asked, wanting to pull up her younger sister, yet the other party was unwilling to get up.

"Elder sister, in the afternoon, Xin'er said she wanted to go outside for a stroll with Chen Yue, thus headed out with some servant girls. But seeing as the banquet is about to start, yet still didn't see them come back, so I sent someone to go find them, only to find their servant girls. Soon after, we had all the palace that can be searched all searched, but still didn't find them. Afterwards, the servant girls finally said, they'd gone to the forbidden palace. Trespassing into the forbidden palace, that is a crime punishable by beheading! Elder sister, I beg of you, please save Xin'er." Zhong Mei Qing cried her eyes out, as she explained.

"The forbidden palace!? Why did they run to the forbidden palace?! That place, aside from the Emperor, no one else can enter without permission. Even this grieving one doesn't have that power! They actually dared to go there, they don't want their little lives anymore?!" The Empress Dowager heard Zhong Mei Qing's words and immediately berated. 

"Elder sister, I don't know what to do right now either. Right now, in the entire imperial palace, aside from the Grand Empress Dowager, only your position is the highest. I beg of you, please save Xin'er! If anything happens to Xin'er, how can I live!?" Zhong Mei Qing tearfully lamented. 

"Alright, you all get up first. Crying like this in front of this many people!" The Empress Dowager said, "Since it's like this, we can only go look for the Emperor now. Right now, the banquet is about to start, the Emperor should on the way to the banquet. Xi mama, go and have the Emperor invited over, just say this grieving one is looking for him. Have to move quick, if the Emperor has already reached the banquet, then we'll be too late."

"Yes." An old mama by the Empress Dowager's side, after hearing the order, quickly left. It was obvious she also knew martial arts. 

"Alright, help the two madams inside to redo their make up. This appearance right now really is ugly to death!" 

"Yes, Empress Dowager." The two servant girls walked out from behind, coming before Zhong Mei Qing and Madam Chen, "Madam, please."

"Thank you, elder sister." Zhong Mei Qing gratefully said as she got up, using her handkerchief to wipe her tears.

"Xin'er, I watched grow up. How can I bear to watch her go die. Alright, go in first. Later, if you lose your bearings in front the Emperor, then it won't be good." The Empress Dowager said.

"Yes." Zhong Mei Qing and Madam Chen curtsied, before finally following the servant girls inside.

A moment later, Zhong Mei Qing and them already finished reapplying their make up. Coming out to the main hall, they heard the Emperor's voice, "Imperial mother, you urgently called this emperor here, did something happen?" 

"Yes, this grieving one has something to ask of the Emperor." The Empress Dowager said.

"Imperial mother please speak."

"It's like this......" The Empress Dowager had Du Ke Xin's matter explained, and in the end, requested, "That's why, this grieving one wants to ask the Emperor to spare those two girls' lives, asking the Grand Empress Dowager for forgiveness." 

"Why did they go to the forbidden palace?" The Emperor said with a frown, "If they get discovered by grandmother, then even this emperor can't save them. Besides, are you certain they entered the forbidden palace?"

Zhong Mei Qing and them were brought into the main hall by the servant girls. After bowing to the Empress Dowager and Emperor, she said, "At the time, the servant girls they brought were guarding at the entrance the whole time, from when they entered to until now, they haven't come out." 

"This emperor knows that imperial mother has always liked Ke Xin. Since that's the case, then this emperor will help imperial mother." The Emperor said, "Xiao Danzi, go inform the front, tonight's banquet will start a little later." 

"Yes, this servant will go right away." Eunuch Dan received the order and left.

"Right now, let's quickly head over then." The Emperor said as he stood up and headed outside. The Empress Dowager and Zhong Mei Qing's group quickly followed after.

Arriving at the osmanthus flower forest, the Emperor saw the servant girl guarding at the entrance and asked, "Are they still inside?" 

"Greetings Emperor, Empress Dowager!" That servant girl instantly knelt to the ground, her body trembling uncontrollably, "Reply-replying to your Majesty, miss is still insides, and hasn't come out yet."

"Then this emperor will go in first for a look." Han Ming Ze said and entered from the Plum Blossom Entrance. Standing in place, he closed his eyes and sensed the surrounding for a moment, before directly heading towards the hundred year old osmanthus flower tree. As expected, in front of the osmanthus flower tree, he found Du Ke Xin and them, just their appearances made him somewhat want to laugh.

------Because the two of them already weren't sitting on the ground anymore, but rather, hanging from the tree tree branch!

"Your Majesty." Meng Gu suddenly appeared before the Emperor. 

"Meng Gu, Is imperial grandmother's body still well?" Seeing Meng Gu appear here, the Emperor thus knew that the Grand Empress Dowager already knew about this matter. And now, things will be different.

"More or less the same as before." Meng Gu coldly replied. "Master has ordered, tonight is the mid-autumn festival, Prime Minister Du is our Feng Ming's meritorious official, this time, she'll spare their lives, hanging them on the tree as punishment. However, need for everyone to all come before letting them down."

"Everyone?" Han Ming Ze still haven't asked who everyone was referring, when he saw the Empress Dowager and Zhong Mei Qing's group entering. 

"The Grand Empress Dowager has ordered, next time, if anyone dares trespass the forbidden palace again, killed without question!" Meng Gu finished saying, and then quickly disappeared before everyone.

"Such quick qinggong!" The Emperor watched Meng Gu seemingly leave in a blink of an eye, exclaiming in admiration. Soon after, he said to the others, "Imperial grandmother said, today is the mid-autumn festival, thus will spare their lives, having only hung them on the tree as punishment. Right now, go and have them let down."

"Thanking Grand Empress Dowager's grace for not killing." Zhong Mei Qing said, and then turned to the servant girl behind her, "Still not quickly going to let your miss down?" 

"Yes, madam." Du Ke Xin and Chen Yue's personal servant girl walked forward, wanting to have their own miss let down, but before their hands even touched them, Du Ke Xin and Chen Yue woke up.

As soon as they woke up, they saw that they were suspended in a high place and instantly panicked. Their bodies instinctively moved a few times as they shouted, "Help!" 

The branch that they were hanging was already very thin, and having been hung for that long, it already had signs of breaking. Now, getting jolted by the two of them, the branch sounded with a 'kacha' and snapped. The two directly fell to the ground from the tree.

"Aiyooo-----"

"Ah-----"

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