vstars Chapter 211 Please Save My Daughter
Chapter 211 Please Save My Daughter
Upon hearing this, Qiao Qingling's face paled slightly.
But she forced herself to remain calm, glanced at the people around her, held back two tears, and choked out, "Sister Lu, we have no grudge against each other, why do you have to humiliate me like this?"
Lu Mingzhu looked at her coldly, then said to Qiao Qingling, "I know that being favored this time will be misunderstood as taking advantage of someone in distress. But we are all His Majesty's concubines. His Majesty has been depressed lately. As concubines of the harem, shouldn't we try to comfort him?"
Qiao Qingling forced herself to shed two lines of tears, looking as if she had suffered a great injustice.
The surrounding concubines, seeing this, immediately stepped forward to help her up.
"Sister Qiao is right. As fellow concubines, we should all share His Majesty's burdens. But Consort Lu has been unable to win His Majesty's favor for so long, so is she unwilling to let others win His Majesty's favor as well?"
"Exactly, that's just too much."
The concubines chimed in with their own words, and Lu Mingzhu's face turned pale and then flushed.
"You lot! You're just trying to curry favor with her now that she's gained favor and a higher rank!"
Lu Mingzhu looked around and sneered, "So what if she has achieved a higher rank? Can a mere daughter of a minister compare to the Lu family?"
After saying that, Lu Mingzhu became angrier and angrier, and stormed off!
Qiao Qingling wiped away her tears, looked at the concubines who had spoken up for her earlier, and said with a wry smile, "Thank you all for your protection earlier. However, Consort Lu came here today to target me. I'm afraid that if you all speak up for me, she will hold a grudge against me in the future... I would like to apologize to you all here now."
"That's not true at all. It was Consort Lu who made things difficult for you in public, said some unpleasant things, and tried to make things difficult for the palace maid beside you. Even if it reaches His Majesty's ears, we are willing to stand up for you and will never let you suffer any injustice."
Everyone was friendly, but their words also contained a lot of criticism of Lu Mingzhu.
Upon hearing this, Consort Qiao lowered her head with a look of gratitude, but a cold smile quickly curled up at the corner of her mouth.
***
That night, the Emperor once again graced Qiao Qingling's palace.
Qiao Qingling was overjoyed and quickly dressed up in her finest clothes, then served the emperor with utmost attentiveness as he washed and changed.
After everything was tidied up, Pei Yuanling sat on the edge of the couch, while Qiao Qingling knelt on the ground.
Seeing her beautiful eyes filled with tears and her head bowed, Pei Yuanling, though unwilling to concern himself with matters between women, still asked, "Have you been wronged?"
"When I told Your Majesty about this method, I knew I would suffer this injustice, but I am not afraid."
"But the palace servants beside me are innocent. Consort Lu, out of jealousy, wanted to take her anger out on my palace servants. I feel sorry for them."
"Lu Meiren?"
Pei Yuanling couldn't remember what that beauty Lu looked like at all, only that her name seemed to be Lu Mingzhu.
"You mean Lu Zhiheng's sister?"
Qiao Qingling nodded obediently, her eyes still glistening with tears as she looked up. "As fellow women of the palace, we should help and support each other and take good care of His Majesty. We shouldn't have sown discord over a few words..."
"It seems that Sister Lu misses His Majesty too much and wants to be by His Majesty's side often, which is why she came to see me so abruptly. Please, Your Majesty, do not blame Sister Lu for such a trivial matter..."
Pei Yuanling should have cherished the beautiful woman before him, but upon looking at her face, which bore a resemblance to Chu Qingyin, he couldn't help but feel disgusted.
"Lu is jealous and unworthy of being a palace concubine. I originally thought she could reflect on her past actions, but I never expected her to be so domineering."
Pei Yuanling raised his hand and pinched his brow bone, his tone indifferent, "In that case, let her go to the temple to await her birth and cultivate. With the company of the ancient Buddha and the dim lamp, she will surely understand better what a concubine should and should not do."
"This……"
Qiao Qingling lowered her head, her hands nervously clutching his sleeve. "Sister Lu only had a quarrel with me, and His Majesty sent her to the temple. I'm afraid rumors will spread in the palace saying that I'm arrogant because of His Majesty's favor. If it reaches your ears, Sister, it might cause you to misunderstand even more..."
Pei Yuanling didn't take it seriously. "Making her jealous, wasn't that your idea?"
Qiao Qingling choked for a moment, then said awkwardly, "But Consort Lu's cousin is the current Grand Secretary, and he is often by His Majesty's side. I dare not cause any discord between His Majesty and his loyal minister because of my own selfish reasons."
When Lu Zhiheng was mentioned, a barely perceptible shadow crossed Pei Yuanling's eyes.
"Once a woman from the Lu family enters the palace, she becomes one of my concubines. What, do I need Lu Zhiheng's permission to discipline my concubines?"
Seeing that His Majesty was determined, Qiao Qingling's anxiety finally subsided.
The imperial edict was issued the following day.
The beautiful Lady Lu was consumed by jealousy and behaved inappropriately. She was sent to the Imperial Temple and allowed to undergo spiritual practice until she atoned for her sins before returning to the palace.
This is life imprisonment.
When this reached Madam Lu's ears, she took a few deep breaths before she could finally calm down.
"How could this be? Quickly go and call the master back, and tell him I have something important to discuss with him."
Master Lu was outside when his wife hurriedly called him back to the mansion. Upon learning that his daughter had been sent to the royal temple, his vision blurred.
"How could this have happened out of nowhere?"
Master Lu looked terrified. "Didn't you arrange people around Mingzhu and spend so much money in the palace? How did things turn out like this?"
"You ask me, but who should I ask?"
Madam Lu was also at a loss, pacing back and forth, saying, "Mingzhu has been cherished by you and me since she was a child. She must have said something wrong and offended some noble in the palace to cause this. Now, I'm afraid the only person who can resolve this matter is Lu Zhiheng."
"Yes, Ah Heng! Quickly, go find Ah Heng."
Master Lu panicked and quickly pulled Madam Lu to Lu Zhiheng's courtyard.
"Aheng, I'm begging you, as her aunt, please, you absolutely must save Mingzhu!"
As soon as Madam Lu entered the courtyard, she began to shout loudly, "Mingzhu is the only daughter of your third uncle and me, the apple of our eye. If she is really to be trapped in a temple for the rest of her life, how can I live?"
Hearing the wailing from his study, Lu Zhiheng frowned.
He put down the book in his hand and stepped out of the room.
The couple standing in the courtyard were supporting each other, their expressions filled with grief and their eyes filled with desolation.
When Master Lu saw him, he quickly spoke up, “Aheng, Mingzhu is still your sister. If those people really send her to the temple, her life will be ruined. She has just turned sixteen. How can she bear that loneliness?”
"Yes!"
As she spoke, Madam Lu took two steps forward, then stumbled and knelt down in front of him.
Ignoring the pain in her legs, she reached out and grabbed Lu Zhiheng's sleeve, "My good nephew, please have some compassion for me as a mother and help my daughter."