Chapter 385: After Zhaohua Feng With his own hands to beat off the belly of the Princess

Chapter 385

In the grand hall, the imperial concubines were all dressed in their finest attire. As far as the eye could see, there was a sea of vibrant colors, each person more beautiful than a flower.

After Princess Zhaohua took her seat at the head, all the other concubines, except for Consort Hui and Consort Ning Wanshuang, rose and respectfully greeted Princess Zhaohua, saying in unison:

"We, the humble servants, pay our respects to the Empress. May the Empress live a thousand years in blessings and prosperity."

During the ceremony, Princess Zhaohua deliberately glanced at Consort Hui. Today, Consort Hui was dressed simply, wearing a light blue silk robe with minimal jewelry. Her hair was simply tied up with a wooden hairpin, and she wore a red coral ring on her right index finger, which she did not take off.

Xiao Jingheng practiced frugality, and Consort Hui followed suit, especially after becoming pregnant. Although she was one of the wealthiest consorts in the palace, she now lived a simple life to demonstrate her obedience to Xiao Jingheng.

Princess Zhaohua's lips curved into a gentle smile but she didn't say anything. She raised her hand to signal everyone to be seated and then spoke:

"Knowing that my sisters were coming today, I prepared gifts early in the morning to send you off."

As she finished speaking, Yun Shan, accompanied by two palace maids, presented each consort with a tray made of redwood, containing the gifts.

Some keen-eyed individuals noticed that these were the jewelry Princess Zhaohua had worn on previous occasions. However, they were well maintained and looked almost new, and each piece was extremely precious.

"This jade pendant was previously worn by the Empress. The Empress is giving her own jewelry to us. How fortunate we are!" exclaimed one of the consorts.

Princess Zhaohua smiled warmly and said, "Since we are like sisters, why should we adhere strictly to the rules? It would only create distance between us. I thought of using these gifts to show you all that regardless of my status, our sisterhood will remain unchanged."

As everyone expressed their gratitude, Consort Rongyue suddenly made a suggestion, "Since the Empress has been so kind to us and bestowed us with her personal accessories, it seems that we have all come empty-handed."

It was expected that the consorts would come empty-handed since the date of Princess Zhaohua's elevation to Empress had been moved up unexpectedly. Who would dare to be careless when giving gifts to the Empress?

Instead of giving something of lesser value, it would be better to wait until the formal ceremony and present more extravagant gifts.

However, Consort Rongyue's sudden mention of this matter caught everyone off guard.

With a smile, Consort Rongyue continued, "I was thinking, since the Empress has given us her personal accessories, why don't we choose something from our own belongings to present to her as a token of our friendship?"

Setting an example, she took off the jade bracelet on her wrist and respectfully offered it to Princess Zhaohua.

Princess Zhaohua received it with delight, and the other consorts followed suit, selecting personal items to present to her.

Even Consort Ning Wanshuang, who had remained aloof throughout, took off a jade hairpin from her hair and tossed it to Yun Shan, saying, "This emerald shade seems to suit the Empress. She can wear it."

Her words carried a sarcastic tone, but Princess Zhaohua was not offended. Instead, she smiled and said,

"Thank you, Noble Consort Chen, I really like this hairpin."

"Hmph." Ning Wanshuang snorted coldly, gave Consort Zhaohua a disdainful look, and ignored her.

The atmosphere became awkward for a moment, but then Consort Yin suddenly spoke up:

"It seems that Consort Hui hasn't presented a gift to the Empress yet, right?"

Consort Hui instinctively clenched her right hand, awkwardly resting it on her lap.

"I came in a hurry and didn't prepare anything. How about I have someone fetch it from the palace later and present it to the Empress?" she suggested.

Little did Consort Hui know that she would suddenly lose her temper. She stood up and forcefully pushed Ren Dong aside, then stared angrily at Zhao Hua, who was seated at the head.

She was furious, her delicate features contorted in a monstrous manner, resembling a mad beast.

"Do you think I don't know what you're planning?" Consort Hui approached Zhao Hua step by step, but was blocked by Xiao Fuzi and Yun Shan standing in front of her.

She squinted at Zhao Hua, lowered her voice, and said each word deliberately, "Do you really have amnesia? You know it deep down. How long can Zhang Imperial Physician hide in the Jing'an Marquis Mansion?

You better pray that he never returns to the palace in his lifetime. Otherwise, forget about becoming the Empress. You will be guilty of treason, mocking the Emperor like a monkey. Whether you can keep your life at that time is uncertain!"

After uttering these harsh words, Consort Hui forcefully pushed Xiao Fuzi aside and turned to leave.

She walked with great speed, approaching the entrance of the main hall, about to open the palace doors, when suddenly she heard Zhao Hua's soft and gentle voice from behind.

"Consort Hui, look at what this is?"

She was taken aback and reluctantly turned her head. However, without any defense, she received a heavy blow to her lower abdomen.

The pain made her black out for a moment, and she lost her balance and sat on the ground, unable to muster any strength.

After a short while, she regained her senses and saw Zhao Hua holding a curtain rod in her left hand, with a sinister smile on her face, looking down at her from a high position.

"Song Zhao! How dare you... how dare you plot against the Crown Prince... Ah!"

"Crack!"

Before Consort Hui could finish speaking, Zhao Hua raised the rod and struck her lower abdomen forcefully once again.

"Why wouldn't I dare?" Zhao Hua said calmly.

She was about to strike again, and Ren Dong was also dumbfounded by the scene.

She rushed over and protected Consort Hui, crying out, "Empress, our Lord is pregnant. How can you treat her like this?"

Zhao Hua remained silent and stopped for the moment.

Only when Xiao Fuzi took Ren Dong away did she notice the bloodstains under Consort Hui, staining her light blue skirt a deep red.

Consort Hui clenched her teeth, covering her lower abdomen, her expression filled with extreme pain.

She stared at Zhao Hua fiercely, beads of sweat appearing on her forehead, unable to speak a word.

Zhao Hua calmly lowered her gaze, looking down at her from above as if she were observing an ant.

"Laugh. Don't you love to laugh at me?" she said with a sudden fierceness in her eyes.

With that, she struck Consort Hui's lower abdomen again with the rod, accompanied by Consort Hui's agonizing screams.

Zhao Hua glared at her with a vengeful look and scolded loudly:

"Why aren't you smiling? This palace demands your laughter!"