Lady Li lay listlessly on the bed, her legs wrapped in layers of gauze.
She was still in great pain, but her mind had cleared. She knew she couldn’t keep wailing; that would only disgust the Emperor.
She leaned back against the soft pillows, her eyes glistening with tears as she spoke in a wronged and helpless tone.
"Your Majesty, can my legs still be healed? Am I going to be a cripple?"
The Emperor soothed her. "Don’t worry. As long as you rest well, you’ll slowly recover."
Lady Li’s tears slowly stread down her face as she choked out her words.
"You don’t have to placate . I heard the Imperial Physician earlier. He said my legs might suffer permanent damage and never fully heal."
The Emperor sighed, gently patting the back of her hand to comfort her.
"Stop crying. The Imperial Physician only said you might not be able to run very fast, not that you’d be crippled. You should still be able to walk in the future.
And even if you were crippled, I wouldn’t abandon you. I would still treat you well."
Hearing this, Lady Li was not comforted in the slightest. In fact, it made her want to cry even more.
’I’m still so young! I don’t want to beco a cripple!’
The Empress spoke up at the right mont.
"From now on, just rest well in your own chambers. You no longer need to co pay your respects to every day.
If there’s anything you need, you can tell . As long as it is within my power, I will grant it."
With tears welling in her eyes, Lady Li thanked the Empress, but her heart seethed with an even greater resentnt for Prince Zhao.
She had been so severely injured that she might never walk normally again, yet Prince Zhao was perfectly fine, completely unscathed.
She was utterly indignant!
Lady Li sobbed.
"Your Majesty, Prince Zhao is truly terrifying.
Lady Hua clearly fell by accident, yet he insisted on blaming .
No matter how I explained, he refused to listen and even had his n torture .
*Sob sob sob*, I am your concubine!
How could he do this? How dare he?"
But the Emperor didn’t want to hear it. He frowned and said,
"Prince Zhao was just acting on impulse. I have already punished him. Let’s not speak of this again."
’What does he an, "already punished"?! Is docking a year’s salary and a month of confinent supposed to be a punishnt?’
’Compared to my grievous injuries, Prince Zhao’s punishnt was a joke!’
Lady Li sniffled and explained in a low voice.
"I know Your Majesty dotes on Prince Zhao. In your eyes, he is like your own son.
Even when he makes a mistake, you try your best to be lenient with him.
But don’t you realize, the more you indulge him like this, the less he’ll restrain his temper?
Today he dared to torture . In the future, he might dare to set fire to the Imperial Palace.
Your Majesty, true affection isn’t about blind indulgence. It’s about making him clearly understand what he should and should not do."
Lady Li spoke with such sincerity, as if she, like the Emperor, genuinely had Prince Zhao’s best interests at heart.
What she failed to notice was that when she uttered the two words "own son," the Empress’s gaze shifted slightly, as if pricked by a needle, looking quite unnatural.
But the change lasted only an instant.
In a flash, the Empress’s expression returned to normal, leaving no trace of what had happened.
The Emperor pondered for a mont. "What you say is not without reason, my dear."
’It seems the Emperor has been persuaded.’
The Emperor asked, "In your opinion, my dear, how should this matter be handled?"
Lady Li feigned great difficulty, hesitating for a long while before speaking softly.
"I know Your Majesty dotes on Prince Zhao. Too harsh a punishnt might break Your Majesty’s heart.
I don’t wish to see you heartbroken. I will be satisfied if Prince Zhao simply apologizes to in person, admits his mistake, and promises never to do it again."
Having the perpetrator apologize to the victim was, in fact, a reasonable request.
However, given Prince Zhao’s temperant, getting him to bow his head and admit fault was likely harder than scaling the heavens.
Just as the Emperor was hesitating over what to do, Wu Wang entered and spoke respectfully.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Lady Hua has arrived."
The Emperor was quite surprised. "Isn’t she injured? Why has she co here instead of resting in her own room?"
Wu Wang answered truthfully.
"Lady Hua says this incident started because of her, so she must give Lady Li Fei an explanation. She begs Lady Li Fei to give her a chance to apologize and admit her fault."
Upon hearing this, an idea sparked in the Emperor’s mind.
Getting Lady Hua to co forward and apologize was clearly much easier than making Prince Zhao bow his head.
Besides, the incident had indeed started because of Lady Hua. It made more sense for her to be the one to bring the matter to a close.
So the Emperor approved.
’She’s just a lowly nanny, what right does she have to apologize on Prince Zhao’s behalf?!’
Supported by Si Yun, Hua Manman slowly walked into the room.
Her face was still as pale as a sheet. A layer of cold sweat had broken out on her forehead from the intense pain of her wound, making her look quite pitiful.
She greeted the Emperor, the Empress, and Lady Li in turn, then spoke with red-rimd eyes and a trembling voice.
"Today’s events are all my fault. I was careless and not only caused Hua Jieyu to be injured, but also angered Prince Zhao, which in turn implicated Lady Li Fei.
This is all my fault. I cannot escape the bla."
The Empress soothed her in a gentle voice, "Don’t say that. You didn’t expect sothing like this to happen either."
The Emperor also offered a few perfunctory words of comfort.
Hua Manman pushed Si Yun’s hand away and reached for the teapot on the nearby table.
Just this small movent pulled at her wound, and the pain instantly doubled.
Her hands trembled uncontrollably, and she could barely hold the teapot steady.
Si Yun wanted to help, but Hua Manman stopped her with a look.
With great difficulty, Hua Manman poured a cup of tea.
In the process, under the cover of her sleeve, she secretly dropped a Truth Elixir into the tea.
The Truth Elixir dissolved instantly upon hitting the water, vanishing in a blink.
Holding the teacup with both hands, Hua Manman slowly walked to the bedside, an ingratiating smile on her face.
"Lady Li Fei, today’s incident was all my fault.
I hope you can be magnanimous and not hold this against a person of my low status.
I will reflect deeply upon my actions when I return and promise never to make such a mistake again.
I hope that by drinking this tea, you can quell so of your anger."
With that, she respectfully offered the teacup.
Lady Li didn’t want to drink the tea, nor did she want to accept Lady Hua’s apology.
But with the Emperor and Empress watching, refusing would make her seem too petty.
She had no choice but to take the teacup and reluctantly take a small sip.
She casually placed the teacup on the small table beside her, preparing to say a few polite words to display her own virtue and magnanimity. However, the mont she opened her mouth, the words that ca out were—
"You little slut, you dare apologize to on Prince Zhao’s behalf? Who gave you the nerve?!"
The Emperor: "..."
The Empress: "..."
Everyone else present: "..."
Hua Manman: ’Oho!’
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