Seeing her bewildered expression, Ling Shu quickly placed a cup of tea in her hands and whispered, “Has Her Majesty forgotten?”
“It’s not that I’ve forgotten—I never knew what this was about in the first place.” Feng Yue blinked, pulling Madam Jin closer to ask quietly, “Where did this favor come from?”
Giving her a reproachful look, Madam Jin said, “Don’t you remember? Besides Duan Xian and He Chou, there were many others in our Meng Hui House with unresolved grievances.”
She certainly remembered that—she had even asked Yin Gezhi to look into it if he had time.
Wait… Her body stiffened, and Feng Yue turned to Madam Jin with a stunned expression, asking, “Their… grievances have been addressed?”
“Not exactly revenge, but rather all the old injustices and grievances from each family have been brought into the light of day. They received fair trials,” Madam Jin said with joy evident in her expression. “The reason they chose to enter Meng Hui House in the first place was because they had nowhere else to seek justice. Who would have thought that now the courts would be wide open, from imperial relatives to county officials? Anyone accused must face a trial. This way, they don’t need to take such dangerous paths—they can file their complaints properly through official channels.”
Feng Yue was momentarily lost in thought, somewhat dazed.
It sounded simple, but she knew how much pressure and effort it would take to actually implement. The new emperor had just ascended the throne—how would he have time for such matters? And looking at the progress, it must have begun even before Emperor Wei Wen’s death.
Could it be that her casual comment had truly resonated with him? And he had taken it so seriously?
Her heart stirred slightly, and Feng Yue took a deep breath, her gaze complex.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!” Madam Jin called out loudly to bring her back to reality, waving her handkerchief, “We can’t keep everyone waiting like this.”
True enough. Feng Yue blinked and turned back with a smile, dismissing the palace servants and closing the doors. Rolling up her sleeves, she declared, “Since you’ve come to my domain, let’s forget about formalities and enjoy ourselves properly! Let’s set aside the rules for now. Ling Shu, bring the wine!”
“Right away!” Ling Shu responded, bouncing off to fetch the wine. The group of ladies, who had been worried about breaking protocol, saw the Empress tucking her skirts into her waistband and immediately relaxed, laughing as they took their seats.
Sitting in the main seat with her feet propped up like a ruffian, Feng Yue looked at them with emotional eyes and asked, “Who’s the current top courtesan?”
“Her!” Everyone pointed, pushing Wei Yun forward.
Back in Wu Kingdom, Wei Yun had looked down on Feng Yue and often helped Duan Xian mock her. Now, seeing this person’s unpainted yet alluring features, she blushed and couldn’t raise her head, trembling as she bowed: “This humble one Wei Yun greets the Empress.”
“So it’s you!” Feng Yue raised an eyebrow, pulling her up to sit beside her. Squinting her eyes teasingly: “You didn’t like me at all back then!”
Wei Yun’s face paled as she quickly said, “This humble one wouldn’t dare!”
“Don’t try to deny it!” Feng Yue humphed, “Didn’t you even bribe a scholar to mock me during the Meng Hui House performance? Fortunately, before I could even go on stage, you all got mocked instead!”
Remembering the past events, everyone laughed even more heartily. Wei Yun wrung her handkerchief and mumbled, “That wasn’t entirely my fault… Your Majesty’s behavior at the time was really…”
“Not likable, right?” Feng Yue smiled and squinted, “I wasn’t trying to get along with any of you then—I was just focused on seducing men, so, of course, I wasn’t likable! Don’t learn from me, everyone, or you’ll get ostracized!”
Wei Yun was startled, and seeing Feng Yue’s straightforward expression, she couldn’t help but laugh, her anxiety dissipating.
She wasn’t someone who would hold grudges against them.
“If we could learn from Your Majesty and meet a gentleman like His Majesty, this humble one would be willing to learn!” Jin Zhu said with a giggle. “When our Emperor ascended the throne, even the baozi seller across from Meng Hui House celebrated spontaneously, reducing prices by one wen!”
“Indeed! The streets were crazy that day—soldiers were distributing grain, and many wealthy households opened their doors to give out wine and meat. Everyone knew we were welcoming a wise ruler.”
Hearing this, Feng Yue slapped her thigh: “I knew his ascension would win the people’s hearts!”
“Yes, especially our hearts!” Wei Yun said very seriously. “When we were first taken to the magistrate’s office for questioning, we were so scared. We didn’t dare say a word, not even about the wrongful cases. But do you know what the officiating magistrate said?”
“Oh?” Looking at her curiously, Feng Yue’s eyes sparkled, “What did he say?”
“He said, ‘With Prince Xiao backing you, who can’t you accuse?'” Wei Yun recalled with evident emotion, smiling happily. “Prince Xiao even overturned the Guan family’s case, so what case wouldn’t he dare to review? Now that the Prince has become Emperor, his support for us is even stronger. We’re not afraid of anything—whatever grievances we have, we can submit them all!”
As she spoke, her eyes reddened, and Wei Yun boldly took Feng Yue’s hand, choking up as she said, “We all thought we’d never be able to clear our names in this lifetime. Even if we got our revenge, we surely wouldn’t survive. We never imagined there would be such a day, never imagined we’d meet such a good master as you…”
Feng Yue chuckled softly, dabbing Wei Yun’s eyes with a handkerchief: “I was just lucky too. I wasn’t supposed to survive either.”
Who would have thought someone would care so much about her, even planning so far ahead just to keep her, laying down the path piece by piece, allowing her to walk smoothly without even realizing it?
“Master!” Ling Shu came rushing back, carrying wine jars, with Guan Zhi following behind holding a stack of wine cups.
Feng Yue’s eyes lit up, immediately casting aside her melancholy thoughts and waving her hand: “Fill everyone’s cups, and bring some snacks!”
“The snacks are already being prepared.” Ling Shu smiled, placing a wine cup beside her and using a small wine pot to pour her a cup.
Feng Yue was truly touched. Ever since discovering she was with child, Yin Gezhi hadn’t let her drink. Ling Shu was such a good child, knowing how to care for her wine-loving soul!
She drained the cup in one go, smacked her lips, and suddenly frowned.
“Ling Shu, what is this?”
The little servant girl beside her smiled sweetly and replied, “Master, it’s wine.”
The corner of her mouth twitched, and Feng Yue narrowed her eyes as she pulled her closer: “Your master is now the Empress, and this deception of passing off the water as wine is a punishable offense!”
Adjusting her eunuch’s robe, Ling Shu obediently replied, “Master, this is the ‘wine’ bestowed by His Majesty. He instructed that you should drink this when entertaining guests. If I were to disobey the imperial decree, I would also be punished!”
Feng Yue: “…” That shameless Yin Gezhi dared to buy off her people!
Taking another frustrated sip, she looked pitifully at Wei Yun: “Is yours tasty?”
Putting down her wine cup, Wei Yun wiped her mouth and smiled: “Your Majesty, this is Madam Jin’s Beauty’s Brew that we brought into the palace, of course, it’s delicious.”
Her eyes turned green with envy as Feng Yue licked her lips and swallowed: “Let me taste yours?”
Just as her hand was about to touch the wine cup, Wei Yun quickly raised it high out of reach.
“Your Majesty, before we entered the palace, His Majesty issued an oral decree saying that whoever lets you drink wine will be carried out of the palace horizontally! Please have mercy on us, don’t make things difficult.”
…Using others’ lives as threats now?! Feng Yue glared, looking around at everyone happily drinking their wine, pouted, and suddenly felt wrong.
“Why can all of you drink while I can’t?!” Waving her arms and twisting her body, she whined like a child: “I don’t care! I want to drink too!”
With that, she pounced like a fierce tiger, letting out a roar as she lunged at them!
Everyone laughed, screaming while protecting their wine cups. Those she chased ran about dodging, the wine’s fragrance spilling all over them.
Ling Shu watched anxiously, afraid she might fall or hurt herself, but unable to stop her. When the master saw Beauty’s Brew, she became like a frenzied lion, roaring and chasing people relentlessly!
What could be done?
The hall doors creaked open, but with everyone running about in excitement, no one noticed. Feng Yue angrily shouted while running: “Not even letting someone drink, where’s your humanity?!”
She rolled up her sleeves and lunged forward! Jin Zhu in front dodged sideways, and unable to stop her momentum, she unexpectedly fell into someone’s embrace.
The surroundings suddenly grew quiet.
Feng Yue blinked, suddenly feeling something wasn’t right. Secretly feeling the material of this person’s clothes, her heart skipped a beat. Maintaining her crashed position, she immediately changed her tone: “You’re all so mean! None of you are as good to me as His Majesty!”
“Oh?” A cold voice fell from above, hitting the back of her head like an ice cube: “We won’t let you drink either. Does that mean We lack humanity too?”
“No, no, no!” Looking up with a smile, Feng Yue said: “You’re the most humane person in the world!”
With a cold snort, Yin Gezhi reached out to grab the back of her eunuch’s collar, looked disapprovingly at the servant’s outfit, and then addressed the stunned crowd in the hall: “My wife has been discourteous. Everyone, please wait a moment.”
With that, he wrapped an arm around her and headed for the inner chamber.
“What’s wrong?” Feng Yue’s panicked voice drifted from the hall door to the inner chamber: “Hey? I can walk by myself! There are still people outside!”
“Hey!”
“…I was wrong, okay? I definitely won’t crash around like that next time!”
“Your Majesty… good Your Majesty…”
Listening in shock, the group of usually worldly-wise ladies all blushed. Soon after, Feng Yue was brought out again, now wearing the Empress’s casual clothes. The phoenix pattern was subtly embroidered and looked comfortable, but her face was full of pitiful expressions, like a wronged young wife.
Yin Gezhi sat in the main seat, placing his little wife beside him, then asked: “Since you’ve made the rare trip here if any of you have any difficulties, feel free to speak up.”
At these words, everyone immediately felt the power of having imperial backing, and they all knelt in respect: “Your Majesty’s grace is boundless, we humble ones have no other requests.”
Nodding slightly, Yin Gezhi looked at Madam Jin, who understood and spoke up: “Upon learning of Her Majesty becoming Empress, this old one has already sent word to Wu Kingdom. He Chou and Duan Xian are on their way, hoping to meet with Your Majesty.”