Chapter 112: Unwilling to be Wronged

Chapter 112: Unwilling to be Wronged

"I encountered Beauty Yun during the day, and I must admit, I didn’t speak very nicely. Beauty Yun also... It's all trivial matters. It was all my fault. Beauty Yun, after all, is young. Some inappropriate remarks from her are expected," Beauty Jia lowered her head.

He Jinli frowned, suddenly finding the whole thing uninteresting.

He could imagine that if he visited Le'an Palace today, that woman would definitely not behave like this.

That woman would also complain, but not in such a veiled way, and certainly not with such... slander.

She would probably have started cursing directly.

Finding it dull, He Jinli had no intention of compromising himself, so he stood up, "As you say, did Beauty Yun hit your servant? If so, I shall go and ask her myself on your behalf."

Beauty Jia was stunned. What kind of development was this?

She quickly stood up, "No, Your Majesty... that's not what I meant..."

"If that's not the case, there's no need for you to let me know. Now that I am aware, of course, I must stand up for you," He Jinli left these words and strode away decisively.

Meng Chang hurried to follow, barely suppressing a laugh. Beauty Jia really outdid herself.

"How long has it been since you served His Majesty alone? You had this opportunity, yet instead of trying to please His Majesty, you're complaining and trying to put eye drops on him."

"Are you not aware of which is more important? Have these years of favor made you foolish?"

He Jinli left Zhaixing Pavilion, passed by Yuqu Palace, and then crossed Yudai Bridge.

That was Consort Mei's Chaoyang Palace, but he didn’t glance at it and went straight to the right.

It was Le'an Palace.

Meng Chang internally chuckled, thinking that Beauty Jia was determined to be infuriated to death.

Ye Baolin was the first to greet him.

Yun Li, on the other hand, did not come out.

He Jinli gestured for Ye Baolin to rise and, without much conversation, headed straight for Yun Li.

Only when he reached the doorway did Yun Li come to greet him.

Her hair was loose, indicating she had been resting.

"Your Majesty, forgive me for greeting you late."

He Jinli helped her up, "No matter, were you asleep?"

"Not at all, I just removed my hairpins upon hearing Your Majesty was at Zhaixing Pavilion," Yun Li blinked, "Who knew Your Majesty would come here? You can't blame me for being disheveled."

He Jinli raised an eyebrow and sat down, "I don’t mind your appearance, but someone accused you of hitting them."

Yun Li…

"Has she lost all sense of shame now?" Yun Li was straightforward.

"She provoked me with her words, and when she couldn't win, she tried to hit me. Her servant kindly held her back, yet she ended up slapping her own servant. And now she's blaming me?" Yun Li huffed.

"Besides, such a trivial matter, and she brings it to Your Majesty... what kind of person does that?"

He Jinli wanted to laugh but restrained himself.

Indeed, this woman was ready to scold someone.

"So, Yun'er, you didn’t hit anyone?" He Jinli asked.

"Hmph, of course not at this moment." But I won't bear the blame for nothing.

He Jinli's lips curled into a smile, "It seems I was misled by one-sided words."

He Jinli spoke earnestly.

Yun Li walked over and sat on his lap, looking at him: "I don't believe it. Could Your Majesty, so wise and valiant, really be fooled by such talk? Surely, Your Majesty must have found her pettiness amusing, bringing up such trivial matters. You must have left because you were annoyed."

He Jinli wrapped an arm around her, "Oh? Yun'er understands me so well?"

"Would saying that I understand be considered presumptuous?" Yun Li asked.

He Jinli didn't respond, instead just taking another sip of his tea.

Yun Li didn't press further, just watched him drink his tea until he didn't know how to continue.

He Jinli sighed, "You, always staring at someone like that."

Yun Li smirked and leaned on his shoulder, "I do. That's just me."

He Jinli chuckled, not minding her use of "I".

After finishing his tea, he suggested, "Let's rest early. I have the morning court tomorrow."

As they walked, Yun Li murmured under her breath, "I hope Your Majesty keeps his word."

He Jinli raised an eyebrow, keeping his word...

Keeping his word was unlikely.

But due to Yun Li's lack of cooperation, the matter was dropped automatically. He Jinli would handle it himself.

As the rain ceased, He Jinli, holding someone in his arms, pondered over certain matters.

All the concubines in the harem were there to serve him.

He didn't need to care about their feelings.

In this regard, he was actually not wrong.

But at this moment, he was very clear: between Beauty Jia and Beauty Qiong, he had chosen the latter.

The beauty of Qi Yun Li was indeed irresistible to him.

Yet, this woman had more than just her absolute beauty and that aura she carried; there was something else.

Insight, taste, vision.

These were what Beauty Jia lacked.

In fact, every woman in the harem yearned for his extra glance.

However, Beauty Jia's tactics were far inferior to Qi Yun Li's.

Like today's incident, had he visited Qi Yun Li first, she probably wouldn't have mentioned it.

He Jinli had risen through the ranks from the harem's strife to the imperial court.

He had seen too much.

Therefore, even if a concubine was pregnant, he would deem her incapable if she couldn’t protect her child.

What more, those who couldn’t stand up for themselves in a verbal dispute?

Beauty Jia was indeed gradually losing the Emperor’s patience.

In other words, the Emperor does not favor those who easily succumb to grievances.

Today, what truly annoyed the Emperor was Beauty Jia's statement, "It's all my fault."

If it's all your fault, then why mention it? The hypocrisy was too blatant.

Unsightly.

He Jinli closed his eyes and gradually fell asleep.

The next morning, the Emperor went to court, and Yun Li followed, extremely sleepy.

Seeing her like this, the Emperor found her pitiful yet endearing.

He even teased her a few times.

After sending off the Emperor, Yun Li had a bowl of hot porridge and then went to pay her respects.

It was quite lively today.

Last night, it started with Beauty Jia attending the Emperor, but how did it end up at Beauty Qiong's place?

Now, as Beauty Jia seems to be losing favor, aren’t others eager to settle their scores and grievances?

After all, over the years, due to her favoritism, she had hurt many.

The entire session of paying respects was practically a public execution for Beauty Jia. How could she defend herself against so many?

Finally, it was over, and she thought that was the end of it.

But unexpectedly, another humiliation awaited her.

Just as she left the Phoenix Pavilion, Yun Li approached with a bright smile.

Beauty Jia, determined not to show weakness, lifted her head to face her.

Suddenly, Yun Li quickened her step, stepped forward, and slapped her across the face.

With a loud 'smack', everyone turned to look.

Yu Zhu, not expecting Yun Li to strike, didn't stop her. Only then she exclaimed, "What are you doing, Beauty Qiong?"

Beauty Jia, covering her face, was stunned.

Yun Li sneered, "Last night, didn't you tell the Emperor that I had hit your servant? Did I? No, I didn't. So, I was wronged. I refuse to carry this unjust blame. Now, I'll make it right. If I don’t hit your people, I appear weak and incapable. Isn't it better to slap you directly? Now you can go and complain again. This time, it's justified, isn't it great?"

"Qi Yun Li, you're crazy! You've gone mad!" Beauty Jia, unable to hold back anymore, lunged to hit her.

This time, Yu Zhu dared not intervene.

But Yun Li's people were there to stop her, so she couldn't land a blow.

"Oh my, what's happening here? Stop them quickly. Has Beauty Jia gone mad?" Wu Zhao Rong cried out.