bestfiction Chapter 299 Instructions for the Harem
Chapter 299 Instructions for the Harem
Morning light streamed through the carved window lattices, casting dappled shadows on the golden bricks of the Jiaofang Palace.
Su Liyue sat regally on the phoenix throne, the morning light gilding the edges of her palace dress embroidered with golden phoenixes. A palace maid hurried into the hall, curtsied, and whispered an announcement in Su Liyue's ear. Su Liyue paused slightly in her teacup, her brows furrowed, and a hint of displeasure flashed in her eyes.
"Such a thing is true? Ma Ruoli has only just entered the palace and she is already so arrogant. If she is not strictly disciplined, who knows what kind of trouble she will cause in the future?" Su Liyue put down her teacup, her voice cold.
"Your Highness, Ma Ruoli is arrogant and haughty because of her family background. She was dissatisfied with her failure to be selected in this imperial concubine selection, so she vented her anger on Miss Li Menglan," the palace maid said cautiously.
Su Liyue pondered for a moment and then instructed, "Go and summon Granny Liu, who is in charge of managing the imperial concubines. I have some questions for her."
Before long, Granny Liu rushed over, knelt down and bowed: "This servant greets Your Majesty the Empress, may Your Majesty live a thousand years!"
Su Liyue stared intently at Liu Mama: "Liu Mama, why didn't you report what happened in Chuxiu Palace in a timely manner?"
Granny Liu trembled with fright and hurriedly said, "Your Highness, please forgive me. I reprimanded Ma Ruoli and Li Menglan yesterday, thinking that the matter was settled, but I didn't expect..."
Su Liyue snorted coldly: "As the supervising matron of the imperial concubines, you should be paying close attention to their every move. If someone hadn't reported this, I would still be in the dark."
Granny Liu kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Your Majesty is right; it was my dereliction of duty."
Su Liyue frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Ma Ruoli is so arrogant and domineering that she must be disciplined strictly. Granny Liu, from today onwards, you will personally be responsible for disciplining her and make sure she understands the rules of the harem."
Granny Liu accepted the order: "This servant obeys! I will certainly not disappoint Your Majesty's expectations."
After returning to Chuxiu Palace, Granny Liu immediately summoned Ma Ruoli to her side. Although Ma Ruoli was dissatisfied, she dared not disobey and had no choice but to reluctantly come to Granny Liu's side.
"Ma Ruoli, do you know your crime?" Granny Liu asked sternly.
Ma Ruoli was indignant but dared not argue, so she could only lower her head and say, "Granny, Ruoli does not know what crime I have committed."
Granny Liu snorted coldly: "You quarreled and fought with Li Menglan in Chuxiu Palace, showing no respect for palace rules, and you still dare to say you are unaware of your crime? Her Majesty the Empress already knows about this matter and has ordered me to discipline you properly."
Upon hearing this, Ma Ruoli was startled, but still stubbornly insisted, "Granny, it was Li Menglan who provoked me first. I was just defending myself."
Granny Liu glared angrily: "Still dare to argue! In this inner palace, every word and action has its rules. No matter who is right or wrong, you should not quarrel or fight with others. If you are not properly taught a lesson today, you will cause even greater trouble in the future."
After saying this, Granny Liu instructed the maid beside her, "Go and fetch the ruler!"
The palace maid quickly brought a ruler, and Liu Mama took the ruler and said to Ma Ruoli, "Stretch out your hand!"
Ma Ruoli was frightened but dared not resist, so she slowly extended her hand. Granny Liu mercilessly struck Ma Ruoli's palm with a ruler, loudly proclaiming with each strike, "This is to remind you that in this palace, you must be careful with your words and actions!"
Ma Ruoli was in so much pain that tears welled up in her eyes, but she gritted her teeth and refused to let them fall.
After finishing the beating, Granny Liu put down the ruler and said to Ma Ruoli, "From today onwards, you will rise at dawn every day to study court etiquette, practice your makeup at dusk, and study poetry and songs at dusk. If you slack off, you will be severely punished!"
Ma Ruoli lowered her head and replied, "Ruoli will follow your instructions, Granny."
In the days that followed, Ma Ruoli began her arduous studies under the strict discipline of Granny Liu. Every day before dawn, she had to get up and practice etiquette in the cold wind, standing for hours at a time. When practicing calligraphy, even the slightest mistake would result in a scolding from Granny Liu. When studying poetry and songs, if she couldn't memorize them, she had to stay up all night copying them.
At first, Ma Ruoli was filled with resentment, feeling that Su Liyue was deliberately making things difficult for her. But as time went by, she gradually realized that the harem was not as simple as she had imagined, and without rules, one would inevitably face death sooner or later.
One day, Su Liyue came to Chuxiu Palace to check on the young ladies' studies. Upon seeing Su Liyue, Ma Ruoli immediately knelt and bowed, saying, "Ruoli greets Your Majesty the Empress! Long live Your Majesty!"
Su Liyue looked at Ma Ruoli, a hint of relief flashing in her eyes: "Ma Ruoli, you have made a lot of progress under Liu Mama's tutelage during this time. I hope you can continue to maintain this, abide by the palace rules, and get along well with the other ladies-in-waiting."
With tears in her eyes, Ma Ruoli said, "Thank you for your teachings, Your Highness. I will remember the palace rules and never make the same mistake again."
Su Liyue nodded slightly and turned to leave. Watching Su Liyue's retreating figure, Ma Ruoli secretly resolved to work hard to change herself and survive well in this harem.
The night in the Western Jing Kingdom's palace was quiet and deep. Moonlight, like water, spilled onto the palace's glazed tiles, casting a cool glow. Inside the Jiaofang Palace, candlelight flickered as Su Liyue and Jiang Youan sat facing each other, enjoying their evening meal. The table was laden with exquisite dishes, their aroma filling the air, but their minds were elsewhere.
"Your Majesty, how have things been going at court lately?" Su Liyue asked softly, gently picking up a leaf of vegetable with her chopsticks.
Jiang Youan frowned slightly, put down his wine cup, and sighed, "In the imperial court, the various forces are intertwined and constantly fighting. Although I have made great efforts to crack down on corruption, there are still many officials who outwardly comply but inwardly defy me, which gives me a lot of headaches."
Su Liyue reached out and gently took Jiang Youan's hand, comforting him, "Your Majesty need not worry too much. Reforming the bureaucracy is not something that can be done overnight. As long as we persevere, we will surely see results."
Jiang Youan looked at Su Liyue, his eyes filled with gratitude: "With you by my side, I feel much more at ease."
Just as the two were talking, a series of hurried footsteps broke the silence in the hall. Immediately afterwards, a maid rushed into the hall crying and knelt down with a thud: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, please save my mistress! My mistress has suddenly fallen ill and is writhing in pain on the bed."
Jiang Youan frowned and said unhappily, "You maid, how can you be so flustered! Speak slowly, who is your mistress?"
The maid sobbed, "Your Majesty, my mistress is Miss Ma Ruoli. After dinner tonight, she said her stomach hurt, and soon the pain became unbearable."
Jiang Youan was about to speak when Su Liyue interjected, "Your Majesty, Miss Ma has suddenly fallen ill. Let's go see her. After all, she has only recently entered the palace and has no family to take care of her."
Jiang Youan nodded: "Very well. Summon the imperial physician to accompany me and the Empress to Chuxiu Palace."
The group rushed to Chuxiu Palace. Ma Ruoli's residence was brightly lit, with palace maids rushing in and out in a flurry of activity. Jiang Youan and Su Liyue entered the room and saw Ma Ruoli lying on the bed, her face pale, her forehead covered in sweat, her hands tightly clutching her stomach, and she was groaning in pain from time to time.
"What's wrong, Miss Ma?" Jiang Youan asked with concern.
Ma Ruoli said weakly, "Your Majesty, after I had dinner, I suddenly had a severe stomachache and felt weak all over."
At this moment, the imperial physician quickly entered the room, came to the bedside, and took Ma Ruoli's pulse. After a moment, the imperial physician frowned and his expression became solemn.
"Imperial Physician, how is Miss Ma?" Jiang Youan asked anxiously.
The imperial physician knelt and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Miss Ma's pulse is erratic, suggesting she may have been poisoned. However, the poison is not fatal; she can recover after taking the antidote and recuperating for a few days."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Youan was furious: "How dare someone poison the palace! This is utterly lawless! Guards, investigate this matter thoroughly and find the poisoner!"
Su Liyue looked at Ma Ruoli lying on the bed, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes. She felt that something was amiss. Ma Ruoli had only recently entered the palace and had no deep-seated hatred towards anyone, so why would someone poison her?
"Imperial Physician, how did this poisoning occur?" Su Liyue asked.
The imperial physician replied, "Your Majesty, judging from her pulse, Miss Ma has likely ingested food containing poison. Further investigation is needed to determine the specific type of poison."
Su Liyue nodded slightly, then turned to the palace maid beside her and said, "Bring me all the food that Miss Ma ate tonight. I want to check it all."
The palace maids quickly brought up the meal that Ma Ruoli had eaten that evening. Su Liyue examined it carefully and noticed that one of the plates of pastries had an unusual color. She picked up a piece of pastry, held it to her nose, and smelled a faint, strange odor.
"Imperial Physician, please take a look at these pastries." Su Liyue handed the pastries to the Imperial Physician.
The imperial physician took the pastries, examined them carefully, and said, "Your Majesty, these pastries do indeed contain poison."
Jiang Youan looked at Su Liyue with admiration in his eyes: "Liyue, if you hadn't been so observant, it would have been difficult to notice the problem with this pastry."
Su Liyue frowned slightly and said, "Your Majesty, there are many suspicious points in this matter. We need to find out who made these pastries and who delivered them to Miss Ma."
Jiang Youan nodded and said, "I will immediately send someone to investigate. In the meantime, Miss Ma will be carefully cared for by the imperial physicians, and we will make sure she recovers as soon as possible."
Afterwards, Jiang Youan and Su Liyue left Chuxiu Palace. Back in Jiaofang Palace, Su Liyue fell into deep thought. She felt that a larger conspiracy seemed to be hidden behind this incident.
"Li Yue, what are you thinking about?" Jiang Youan asked.
Su Liyue raised her head and said, "Your Majesty, I have a feeling that this matter is not simple. Ma Ruoli was poisoned as soon as she entered the palace. Could it be that someone deliberately did this to stir up trouble in the harem?"
Jiang Youan pondered for a moment and said, "What you say makes sense. There has never been a shortage of people vying for power in the harem. It seems that I must strengthen the management of the harem to prevent such incidents from happening again."
Su Liyue nodded and said, "Your Majesty is absolutely right. However, when investigating this matter, we must also pay attention to our methods and avoid alerting the enemy."
Jiang Youan looked at Su Liyue with eyes full of love: "With you by my side, offering advice and strategies, how can I worry about the stability of this empire?"
The two looked at each other and smiled, their hands clasped tightly together.