However, that also required the other party to have a sense of shame. If the other party had none, why should she still hold back?
She slapped the little maid with all her might. Blood trickled from the maid's mouth, and her own hand went numb.
"How dare you! Who gave you the nerve to question the royal authority?"
The little maid had just lost her head for a moment, hoping to gain fairness for herself. Now she suddenly realized what an absurd thing she had done and immediately regretted it.
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, this servant made a thoughtless mistake. I lost my composure in the heat of the moment."
"Since you can't control your mouth, someone should teach you a good lesson."
She waved her hand, and the guards stepped forward to drag the maid away.
The maid kept regretting in her heart that she had turned a good hand of cards into such a mess.
But no matter how loudly she wailed, it was of no use. None of the people present cared. They all watched coldly.
With the matter mostly dealt with, Shi Muyuan thought there were still a few last words she needed to specifically tell this recently arrogant person.
"The rest of you may leave first. I have important matters to discuss with the Emperor and the Concubine Rui."
"Yes."
After the door was closed by the palace servants from the outside, Shi Muyuan spoke with a cold face.
"Do you know why I'm sparing you this time? According to what you've done, it would be reasonable for you to lose your position now."
Concubine Rui knew that the Empress Dowager was going to settle accounts with her. For now, it was time for her to endure.
"Sister, I don't know. I hope sister can enlighten me."
"Humph, you're really oblivious. I thought you had truly turned over a new leaf after going out to distribute porridge these days. I never thought you'd still be like this."
Being lectured like this, Concubine Rui was angry but couldn't show it.
"Sister is right. It was my fault this time. Thank you, sister, for not exposing me in front of others."
"If it weren't for what you've done recently, I wouldn't have spared your life. If you do this again next time, even if the late Emperor were to come back to life, he wouldn't be able to protect you."
After saying that, she turned around gracefully and left, with the young emperor following beside her.
What she didn't see was that Concubine Rui was staring at her back with a look of hatred.
"Just wait. I will never give up so easily. This is just the beginning."
She rubbed her slightly aching knees. Suddenly, as if thinking of something, she impatiently called out to the outside.
"Go and call that dead girl Ziyi over right away. It's been so long, and she hasn't achieved any results at all."
Soon, Ziyi came. She didn't want to come at first, but thinking that someone needed to stabilize the situation here, she had no choice but to make this trip.
As soon as she entered, a cup flew towards her.
She frowned and dodged to the side. The cup shattered on the ground, but it still scratched her ankle, leaving a wound.
The wound immediately split open, showing the flesh inside. She seemed not to feel it and went straight to the main seat to bow.
"Your Highness the Concubine, I don't think you called this servant here just to vent your anger on me, do you?"
"You're quite self - aware. Tell me, when will you be able to help this palace accomplish that task? Is it that the conditions this palace offered you aren't tempting enough? Or do you simply not want to get it done?"
Thinking that this might really be the case, her temper became even harder to control.
"Don't you forget who saved you. If it weren't for this palace, you would have died in the mass grave long ago. You should be grateful to this palace."
"Your Highness has mentioned this so many times that this servant can recite it by heart. It's not that I don't take action, but there's simply no opportunity. Your Highness has seen it too. There are so many people guarding the Empress Dowager. I can only wait for a chance."
"It's been so long, and you still haven't found the so - called opportunity? Is it that you can't find the opportunity or you simply don't want to take action?"
"This matter needs to be planned carefully. Your Highness, please be patient and wait a little longer."
After saying that, Ziyi left without caring about Concubine Rui's thoughts.
Concubine Rui never expected that after only a few days of having her follow that woman, Ziyi would dare to talk to her like this. If she waited a few more days, she might even dare to openly refute her.
With this thought in mind, she felt even more uneasy.
No, this absolutely couldn't continue. She had to come up with a new plan. She couldn't rely entirely on that dead girl.
...
The young emperor followed Shi Muyuan to the Palace of Longevity and Health. He still didn't understand why, with evidence in hand, his mother didn't punish that vicious woman. This was not like his mother's character at all.
"Mother, it was such a good opportunity just now. No, wasn't it a pity not to take action against that person? It might be a long time before we get such an opportunity again."
"Your Majesty, don't be impatient. It might indeed be very difficult to get such an opportunity next time. But with our capabilities, it's not impossible. Concubine Rui made a mistake once, and she will make many more. She won't give up her plan to harm us. As long as there's a next time, we will surely bring her down in one fell swoop."
"If we wait for the next time, we don't know what more vicious tricks she will come up with. It was such a good opportunity today, but mother didn't seize it. It's really not right."
"We can't do anything today. Concubine Rui's previous actions weren't completely ineffective. Although she lost some face in the slums, after all, she has been distributing porridge there for these days. We must not take any action during this period."
"Is mother afraid?"
"No, mother just doesn't want Your Majesty to be misunderstood by the common people. In the end, it will be very difficult for Your Majesty to govern the Great Liang Dynasty."
It turned out that it was all for his own sake. The young emperor felt even more guilty when he thought of the many speculations he had about his mother before.
"I was wrong, mother. I will surely be filial to you from now on."
Seeing this little guy making a serious promise to her, Shi Muyuan couldn't help but be touched. She nodded slightly.
"Since Your Majesty is here today, I'll cook myself. It's been a long time since you've eaten the food I made, hasn't it?"
Hearing this, the young emperor's appetite was whetted.
"Then mother must cook a lot today."
"Okay."
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, they suddenly heard some bad news.
Since the antidote made by Sanqi needed someone to test it first, and it was inevitable that there would be casualties in the test. As soon as everyone heard this news, they all kept their distance.
There was no other way. Since Sanqi's antidote development had come to a halt, they could only turn to the most powerful people for help.