Chapter 256 Malicious Slander
Ye Jiayao had to take care of the wedding banquet, the training class, and Tianshangju, and she was so busy that she was exhausted. However, the busier she was, the more excited she was. It was strange to say, she was not so diligent in her previous life, and it was good to be lazy. In ancient times, she became a workaholic and lived a hard life.

Two days before the wedding banquet, she moved into the palace and lived with A'ruan.

Xia Chunyu also took the initiative to request to stay on duty in the palace so that he could be taken care of.

As the wedding date approached, Aruan's mood hit rock bottom. Ever since the emperor granted her the marriage, she had accepted her fate. But when the day finally came, the reluctance, anxiety, fear of the future, and all the negative emotions that she had suppressed in her heart erupted like a volcano. She couldn't control them at all and became irritable. Fortunately, she had a friend who could talk to her and comfort her, otherwise, she would have gone crazy.

Seeing her like this, Ye Jiayao really felt sorry for her and could understand her feelings. It was the same before Chunfeng got married, and Chunyu had spent a lot of time to comfort him. Now, all she could do was to comfort him and hope that Prince Yu would treat Aruan well.

That night, Ye Jiayao and A'ruan were about to go to bed when Concubine Shu suddenly sent someone to invite them.

Ye Jiayao thought that Concubine Shu still had some concerns about the wedding banquet and wanted to tell her, so she hurried to Ronghua Palace.

As soon as she entered Ronghua Palace, Ye Jiayao was frightened.

A palace maid in the courtyard was forced to her knees, and a eunuch was slapping her face with a bamboo ruler. The maid's face was swollen like a pig's head, and blood was constantly oozing from the corners of her mouth. She looked extremely miserable.

Not knowing what the connection was between this scene and Concubine Shu asking her to come over, Ye Jiayao felt sympathetic and followed the palace servants into the main hall.

Concubine Shu sat upright with a very serious expression. Upon closer inspection, one could see anger in her bright eyes.

Ye Jiayao stepped forward cautiously and saluted.

Concubine Shu signaled the maid to show Ye Jiayao a seat, and dismissed the attendants before saying, "Do you know why that bitch outside was punished?"

Ye Jiayao thought to herself, I stay in the imperial kitchen all day and am so busy that I don’t have to rest. How can I know why?
Concubine Shu sneered and said, "I think you don't know, but this matter is related to you, so I think it's better to let you know."

Ye Jiayao was in a state of confusion, trying to reflect on whether she had done something wrong and offended Concubine Shu. The palace was different from the outside world, and the masters here were all untouchable.

Concubine Shu snorted coldly, "Those sinister villains just want the world to be in chaos. I have always been kind to others, but today I can no longer tolerate it."

Ye Jiayao was trembling with fear, and did not dare to ask, so she could only listen silently. She had reflected on her words and actions over the past two days, and really could not think of anything wrong.

Concubine Shu was angry and said to herself, "Do they think they can curse Prince Yu and Princess Aruan with a few bad words? What's more hateful is that they are throwing dirty water on you. You were personally selected by me and the Queen. I will never allow these people to deliberately slander you."

Uh...what on earth is going on? Concubine Shu, Madam Shu, could you please be more straightforward and stop letting people guess blindly? It will scare people to death.

Concubine Shu said, "I am really impressed by those people. They can come up with such a dirty trick. Don't be afraid. I will never believe those lies. If it weren't for Prince Yu's upcoming wedding, I would have ordered the execution of that bitch."

Ye Jiayao was speechless. What kind of nonsense was that? It made Concubine Shu so angry.

"In short, these days, just pretend that you didn't hear anything and focus on holding the wedding banquet. I will only make the decisions for you." Concubine Shu said.

Ye Jiayao laughed dryly. This was too weird.

What’s even more puzzling is that Concubine Shu just let her go like that.

However, she sent the maid to take her back. Ye Jiayao thought that Concubine Shu asked her confidant to take her back, and she must have wanted this confidant to pass on a message, but she really didn't want to pay attention to the disputes and infighting in the palace. She came here to work, and she would leave after the work was done. No matter what you say, I will just pretend I don't know if I didn't hear it...

Therefore, Ye Jiayao didn't say anything along the way. The nanny wanted to say something several times but stopped herself. Finally, she couldn't help but said, "Madam, although the imperial concubine has instructed me not to talk too much, I still think it's better to tell you something. Although the ultimate goal of this incident is to target the imperial concubine, it's targeting you. It's hard to guarantee that these people also hate Madam Xia."

Ye Jiayao listened silently.

"Here's what happened. That talkative maid is from Concubine Mei's palace. Today, someone heard her criticizing the Madam, saying that she was an unlucky person. When the Queen Mother held a birthday banquet at the beginning of the year, someone suggested that you be the one to host it, but someone else said that you were unlucky and would not have the blessing of having an heir, so you were not allowed to enter the palace for the Queen Mother's birthday banquet. They also said that you hosted Princess Liuli's wedding banquet, but not long after, Liuli had a miscarriage. Now you are asked to host Princess Aruan's wedding banquet, but Princess Aruan may not be able to give birth to a son..."

The nanny whispered.

Ye Jiayao really wanted to laugh out loud. What kind of logic was this? She had hosted so many wedding banquets and birthday banquets. Liuli's miscarriage was her own business, but they actually blamed her. These people's thinking was really strong and speechless.

The nanny observed Ye Jiayao's expression and continued, "When the imperial concubine learned about this, she was furious and immediately summoned the palace maid for interrogation. She found out the source of the rumor..."

Ye Jiayao frowned, and was really curious about who spread this rumor. But the nanny began to keep it a secret: "If there is no one to instigate this kind of rumor, these palace maids would not dare to say it even if they have ten courage. The Royal Concubine is angry about this. Some people resent Prince Yu for being favored by the emperor and marrying Princess Aruan, so they deliberately slandered him. In order to consider the overall situation, the Royal Concubine cannot investigate further, and can only kill the chicken to scare the monkey."

Ye Jiayao was also a very perceptive person. How could she not hear the hint in the nanny's words? Who else in the palace hated Prince Yu the most, besides the people on the prince's side? When Concubine Shu asked the nanny to tell her these words, was she hinting that the people on the prince's side were also dissatisfied with her?

But, what if she was dissatisfied? Even if it was really someone from the Crown Prince's side who said it, it would not be the Crown Prince's intention, nor the Queen's intention. If there was anyone in the world who was most likely to spread rumors about her, it would be Liuli.

She didn't want to find out the truth, and there was no point in finding out. If she took it seriously, she would be trapped. Ye Jiayao smiled and said, "Thank you for telling me this, Madam. Please tell the Imperial Concubine, thank you for protecting her."

The nanny seemed very satisfied with her reaction: "I will tell your Highness what the lady said."

When she returned to her residence, A Ruan was still awake and waiting for her.

"Sister Yaoyao, what does the imperial concubine want to see you about?" Ah Ruan asked with concern. After all, it was so late, and she had specially sent someone to tell her.

Ye Jiayao smiled and said, "It's nothing. The Imperial Concubine is still a little worried about tomorrow's wedding banquet, so she sent me to ask."

Ah Ruan was skeptical: "Is it really just like that?"

Ye Jiayao sneered: "What else could it be? It can't be so late at night, you want to chat with me!"

The next morning, Chunyu sent someone to call Ye Jiayao.

When they met, he asked anxiously, "Did Concubine Shu look for you last night?"

Ye Jiayao smiled helplessly: "You are really well-informed!"

Xia Chunyu frowned: "I have sent people to keep an eye on this place. Your every move is under my control."

He knew more than that. He heard that Concubine Shu was very angry last night and went to the emperor to cry and complain, which made the emperor also in a bad mood. But he didn't know what the specific matter was.

Ye Jiayao curled her lips and said disapprovingly: "It's not a big deal. Someone is using me to curse A'ruan."

Xia Chunyu was shocked: "Using your name to curse A'ruan? This is too ridiculous."

Ye Jiayao sneered: "What they said was very convincing. They said that I was an unlucky person and destined to be childless. I was the one who organized Liuli's wedding banquet, but it caused Liuli to have a miscarriage. Now I am going to organize a wedding banquet for A'ruan. Then, you can figure it out yourself..."

Xia Chunyu felt as if something had stabbed him in the head. Only he, his mother, and Imperial Physician Li knew that Yaoyao had difficulty conceiving. Of course, Liuli also knew about it. Someone used this as an excuse to slander Yaoyao. Could it be that someone spread the news? Imperial Physician Li or Liuli?

"What nonsense, Yaoyao, don't take it to heart." Xia Chunyu comforted her.

Ye Jiayao sneered: "Of course I won't take it to heart, but it's inevitable that I feel a little upset. The person who said this is really vicious. If A Ruan can't give birth to a little prince in the future, it will all be my fault."

"Ignore them. If this wasn't the imperial palace, I would definitely find this person and give her a slap in the face." Xia Chunyu said angrily.

"You don't need to fan her. Last night, the palace maid who gossiped was beaten into a pig's head by Concubine Shu. After the wedding banquet, I don't know how Concubine Shu will punish that person." Ye Jiayao said sarcastically.

Xia Chunyu knew that the maid was just a scapegoat. The palace rules were strict and criticizing the master was a capital crime. Who would dare to say such words unless someone instructed them to do so? Unfortunately, he could not investigate further.

"Okay, it's okay. You should go back quickly. You are the emperor's guard and cannot leave your post without permission. I also have to go to the imperial kitchen. There will be a tough battle to fight today!" Ye Jiayao smiled and urged him to go back.

Xia Chunyu wanted to hug her, to comfort and encourage her, but he didn't dare to do so. He could only smile and say, "After today, we can go home. I will comfort you when we get home."

Punishment, consolation, they were all the same thing in his mouth. She had experienced it countless times. She couldn't help blushing and spat lightly, "Who asked you to comfort me? Why don't you go back quickly?"

Seeing her blushing face and coquettish look, Xia Chunyu couldn't help but laugh: "I must comfort you. You have worked so hard. I'm leaving now..."

Fortunately, he ran fast, otherwise Ye Jiayao's eyes would have flown over. This guy is really annoying! Ye Jiayao couldn't help but lower her eyebrows and curl the corners of her lips. The unhappiness of last night also disappeared.

(End of this chapter)