Even though the young emperor was still young, the aura emanating from him was so intimidating that no one dared to look him in the eye.
After all, the person in front of them was the Son of Heaven, someone they could never defile.
Lin Sun was shocked by the young emperor's aura but quickly regained her composure.
She lowered her head and said respectfully, "I've done something meritorious this time. I helped the Empress Dowager and others obtain the Hundred - Poison Herb without putting them in any danger. With this alone, Your Majesty won't punish me."
Hearing her confident words, a flicker of admiration flashed in Ji Heng's eyes. As expected, she was worthy of having served under the King of the Western Regions. She was brave and resourceful.
However, this was not the time to praise her. What she said needed to be verified in the future.
"You're indeed intelligent and courageous. I'm willing to give you a chance to atone for your sins with merits."
With the young emperor's words, that was enough. Lin Sun nodded with a smile.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
This matter was almost settled, and now it was time to deal with another one.
Just thinking about it made the young emperor's face turn grim.
Shi Muyuan knew that he must have encountered something thorny, so she took the initiative to speak.
"Is Your Majesty worried about the recent plague of the bubonic plague? Don't worry. Now that we've brought back the Hundred - Poison Herb, the cure will soon be developed."
The young emperor shook his head and sighed. Anyway, the people below were all trustworthy. Moreover, what he was about to say was well - known, so it wasn't a secret.
"Your Majesty may not know that during the days when you were away, Concubine Rui, regardless of everyone's opposition, went out alone with the palace servants to distribute congee. If we hadn't sent people to secretly protect her, there might have been trouble."
Hearing this, Shi Muyuan's gaze immediately turned cold.
"Some people really don't learn their lessons. She must have had other motives for going out to distribute congee this time. Your Majesty had better be on guard."
Sure enough, the Empress Dowager had the same thought as him.
"Then does Your Majesty want to go and take a look in person?"
"Of course I will. I don't believe that some people will really turn over a new leaf."
The group discussed it like this. Shi Muyuan was already annoyed because of the common people in Changjing City. Now that someone was causing trouble, she would never tolerate it.
So, after a brief moment of thought, with a gloomy face, she led the palace servants and went to investigate.
As soon as they arrived at the slum, they saw a shed.
She walked over, ignoring the palace servants who tried to stop her.
"What? Are you so eager to build a new image for yourself, sister? But everyone remembers what you did before. Do you think what you're doing now can make up for your past deeds?"
Some people didn't recognize the current Empress Dowager. They only thought that Concubine Rui, who had been distributing congee here for days, was a good person and that they should protect her.
A big man rushed forward first. The stench of his long - unwashed body was overwhelming. "Who are you? How dare you lay hands on the Concubine? Do you believe I'll beat you until your parents won't recognize you?"
Ze Ze was so angry at this man that he gasped for breath. He hadn't seen anyone so rude in front of the Empress Dowager for a long time.
"Have the guts to say what you just said again! Who do you think you are? How dare you act so arrogantly in front of the Empress Dowager! You're really bold!"
The big man, who had been like a rooster ready for battle, was stunned by these words.
"What did you say? This is the current Empress Dowager?"
Ze Ze rolled his eyes and looked at this man as if he were a fool.
"What? Do you have any objections to the current Empress Dowager? But from what you've done today, it's not just a matter of having objections."
The big man didn't expect this lawless woman to have such a powerful background. Realizing that he had just committed a great disrespect, he immediately panicked and knelt on the ground.
"I didn't know that the Empress Dowager was coming. I accidentally offended the Empress Dowager. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Shi Muyuan didn't say a word. She just calmly watched the big man kneeling on the ground.
With a nonchalant expression, she was just waiting for Concubine Rui beside her. For such a great opportunity to show off, she was sure Concubine Rui wouldn't miss it.
Just as she was thinking this, the person beside her began to plead for the big man.
"Sister, don't be so hard on a commoner. I'm sure this commoner didn't do it on purpose. Otherwise, it would seem that our royal family has no grace."
"Oh? So what you're saying, sister, is that I, the Empress Dowager, have no grace?"
There was mockery on her face. Concubine Rui quickly knelt down and apologized on the ground.
"Sister never meant that. I just can't bear to see the commoners suffer. If sister is happy, you can do whatever you want."
After she said that, looking aggrieved, there were still quite a few commoners around. They watched this scene and whispered to each other.
"Concubine Rui has been coming here to distribute congee for so long, but the Empress Dowager has never shown up. Now that she's here, she's causing all sorts of trouble. I'm really upset for the Concubine."
"Yeah, the Concubine didn't do anything wrong. She just pleaded for that person, and that person also said it was an accident. How can the Empress Dowager be so petty? I'm really disappointed."
"You guys don't know anything. This is what they call bullying the weak. I've heard from the maid beside the Concubine that the Concubine was often bullied by this Empress Dowager in the palace. Now that she finally gets a chance to do some good deeds, the Empress Dowager comes to ruin it. It's really despicable."
Hearing what the people around were saying, Xiao Xiao gritted her teeth. Her sword was about to come out of its scabbard, but at the critical moment, her mistress stopped her.
"Now is not the time to be impulsive. If you act impulsively now, you'll definitely regret it."
Xiao Xiao was so angry that her body trembled. She tightly held the sword in her hand. "Mistress, you know the truth. What these people are saying is a slander against you. We might as well make an example of one of them. Once we teach one person a lesson, the others will naturally shut up."
Shi Muyuan knew this truth very well, but now was not the time to argue.
There were all commoners around. If they injured one of them in public, the palace gates would surely be swarmed by people today.
"Calm down first. Don't let these people's words affect you so easily. It's not worth it. As long as you believe that I'm innocent, that's enough."
As she said this, she looked down at the person kneeling on the ground, understanding in her heart. Sure enough, some people were still not obedient. In that case, it was time to teach them a lesson.