Chapter 40 – Tit for Tat (1)

“God bless. A near miss.” Wan-shi emerged into the hall as she walked out of the curtain and sat down, pressing her bosom once the Duke of Gongyu left. She glared at Ren-shi. Ren-shi was still frozen in shock; she had no energy to quarrel with her. She staggered in front of Hua Zhengrong and knelt down. “I’ve known my fault.”

“Your fault has nearly brought a disaster to all of us!” Hua Zhengrong lost his temper after having kept calm for a long time. He glared at Aunt Ren and said, “I don’t care about your conflicts with Liufang. But is it proper to shoot your mouth off in front of the Emperor? What benefits would you have if the Hua family is punished?

Aunt Ren trembled as she was scolded by him. She choked, “I just wrote a letter to let Liuying ask the Emperor whether the Yongan Hall could be furnished. My master, you know that Liuying doesn’t live in a decent hall as a noble consort. She must have been laughed at by many people…”

“Don’t make judgement of the issues in the palace! Just stay in your room and don’t cause any trouble. No money this month and don’t leave the hall!”

Soon, Hua Chun returned, and her ears caught Master Hua’s shout. Such a mistake. Ren-shi would have never known of the present situation. Hua Zhengrong seldom lost his temper; he would be brutal if he turned angry. Even her allowance was deducted, and she was the mother of the Noble Consort.

Standing in the doorway looking at the miserable scene, Hua Chun sighed, “Don’t be that sad, my aunt.” How couldn’t she be sad? Ren-shi looked up at Hua Chun. She had no nerve to glare at her and just bore with the grievance. “Look at the bright side,” said Hua Chun, “sometimes you feel so unlucky of yourself, but actually there is always someone else that is in a worse condition.”

Wan-shi looked at her in surprise, approaching her, and pulled her sleeve, “Are you crazy? Why are you comforting her even if this woman has caused you so much trouble?”

But Ren-shi was not grateful at all. “Who would be unluckier than me now? It’s easy for you to say.”

“I’m serious,” said Hua Chun as she stared into her eyes, “Noble Consort Hua would be punished by the Emperor for falsely accusing me. She would be more miserable than you. In this case, do you feel better now?”

Ren-shi was speechless.

There was a fierce expression appearing in her face, hatred and loathing burning in her eyes. She hadn’t been insulted like this since she lived in the Hua Hall. But what Ren-shi saw at first sight when she looked up was the Kirin Jade, the symbol of the identity of the Prime Minister.

He was the Prime Minister.

She couldn’t do anything to him no matter what happened. Master Hua didn’t speak for her although Hua Jinghua taunted her. She had thought that the proud Wan-shi would drive her crazy, but now she found out that the most frustrating thing was that she couldn’t do anything when Hua Jinghua treated her like that!

For a moment she wanted to rush to Hua Jinghua and kill him.

“Take it easy,” said Hua Chun, seeing her eyes, “calm down then we can find the solution.” And she turned around and looked at Hua Zhengrong, “My father, something bad is going to occur. If I don’t suffer, Noble Consort Hua will suffer. What do you think?”

Master Hua had a marked preference for sons over daughters. The emperor wouldn’t always dote on some consort forever. Master Hua didn’t think much of Liuying even if she was a noble consort. But Hua Jinghua was different. He was the one that would win honor for Hua Family.

Therefore, he turned a blind eye to this even though he was clear that Hua Chun intentionally drove Ren-shi to the end of the cliff. He said with his hands behind his back, “Liuying deserves it. She is the initiator. We couldn’t protect her from this. You shouldn’t interfere with issues of the harem. Go back to deal with your official duties. I will send people to inform you of the final result.”

“Alright,” nodded Hua Chun.

The preference shown by Master Hua had almost aggravated Ren-shi to death. Hua Chun hurried to leave with Wan-shi before Ren-shi was about to cry.

Soon, they heard thundering wails before they could even leave the hall.

“Great.” Wan-shi’s mouth was about to stretch out to the tips of her ears. She held her hands and laughed, “I haven’t been delighted like this since I became married to the Hua family. I haven’t felt so good before. I’m proud of you.” Wan-shi kissed her cheek passionately at these words.

Hua Chun was delighted by her smile, and they returned to the yard dancing happily.