The Emperor was sitting on the throne, looking shell-shocked, while Madam Ke sat on her chair, observing him. "Don't blame yourself too much," she said, her voice softening a bit. "This is something that has already passed. There is nothing that can be done. All we can do now is get justice for Meimei." She added wearily, "The elders also failed Mei; we should have known better."
"Since it seems as personal to you as it does to me, I will let you take action, but make sure Sun Di and Feng Chiang don't ever get to recover from the blows you deal them. I'm prepared to step in if required; do let me know, and I will rein in my old man. Don't let this old woman regret the decision she ever made."
"Thank you, Grandmother," the Emperor said, his voice resolute. "I won't let you regret this. For Mei and for all of us, I will take revenge. They also lied to us and manipulated this Emperor, and they will be heavily punished for that. Go home and just watch."
Madam Ke stood up, bowed to the Emperor, and left. Mei asked Ling'er to stay, as she would follow her grandmother to the carriage and then return. Ling'er nodded absentmindedly.
Immediately upon exiting the hall, they met Sun Rui with her entourage, carrying what appeared to be snacks. As soon as her eyes met Madam Ke's, she looked surprised and shocked. "Good morning, Grandmother," she greeted, expecting Madam Ke to bow to her as a Consort. But the Madam just looked at her, asking, "Do I know you?"
Rui looked surprised. "I'm Meimei's sister. My name is Sun Rui." Mei could see her grandmother already recognised Rui but didn't want to acknowledge her, so she simply left, leaving Rui standing there, shocked. Mei just followed her grandmother to the carriage and came back just in time for Sun Rui's entry.
"Your Majesty," she said, bowing with her usual nasal voice. "Rui missed you. You haven't come to visit Rui," she said, moving closer to the Emperor.
"Rui brought you some porridge," she said, handing over the bowl to the Emperor.
Ling'er put her finger in her mouth, gagging. "While she rolls her eyes again with referring, if in the third person," she said.
The Emperor just left her hand stretched for a while, and Mei could see his calculating look in his eyes; she knew some bad luck was about to befall Rui, and she was right.
The Emperor took a sip and crashed the bowl to the wall, shocking everyone in the room. Rui was so frightened she fell to her knees.
"Consort," he said, his voice chilly. "Has this Emperor ever mistreated you?" he asked.
"No, Your Highness, you have always been so nice to Rui," she said, shivering.
"Then explain why you are trying to kill this Emperor," he said, his voice sharp. Mei and Ling'er's jaws dropped. He had been just fine sitting on the chair.
"Then why did you give this Emperor hot porridge to burn my tongue, throat, and stomach?" he asked seriously, making Ling'er burst into laughter. "He is very dramatic," she said. "A theatre troupe would have been good for him were he not the Emperor," she added, making Mei smile.
Meanwhile, Rui was shivering on the floor, now fully prostrating. "Your Majesty, that wasn't this Consort's intention," she said.
"Eunuch, pass this edict: Sun Rui tried to harm the Emperor's well-being. She is grounded for three moons. Ask the Empress to send her a teaching Momo so that she learns the palace rules again," he said.
Rui, on the ground, was stunned by the Emperor's declaration. Mei could see she never expected that, and she returned to her senses. "Your Majesty, this Consort is very sorry, please forgive this Consort," she said, moving on her knees to hold the Emperor's robe hem. "Please forgive this Consort," she said, tears running down her face.
"Go call a maid to escort the Consort to her chambers," the Emperor said to the Eunuch. The Eunuch left, bringing strong maids who took the grovelling Rui by the shoulders to whisk her away.
The throne room was quiet. "Let's go watch her reaction," Ling'er broke the silence, dashing across the room, following Rui. Meanwhile, Mei remained to check the Emperor's reaction. Despite punishing Rui, it didn't do much for him. Mei could guess by his sighs that he was feeling down. He looked at his palms, and Mei looked down to see his palms bleeding.
That's when she realised he was hurting himself to keep his rage from exploding. He reached under his throne to remove a small jewellery box and removed a green jade bracelet, muttering, "Apologise." Then he realised the whole bracelet was stained with his blood. He reached into his pocket to remove his white handkerchief, gently wiping the jade. The more he cleaned, the more blood it got, and Mei could no longer watch the scene before her, so she left, following Ling'er.
She reached Sun Rui's chambers just to find the whole place a mess: shattered glass and vases everywhere. Ling'er was seated on top of the dressing table with her legs crossed, watching the scene before her with amusement.
"What happened?" Mei asked the moment she entered the room.
"She went berserk," Ling'er said, her eyes still trained on Rui. "She slapped her maids," she said, looking at the kneeling maids, "and broke everything in sight," she added.
"It's because of the old hag! The Emperor punished me!" Rui said, her voice shrill, prompting Ling'er to cover her ears. "Someone find out what she said to His Majesty!" she shouted at her maids. "It has been three years and he is yet to forget that sl*t! He even punishes me because of her grandmother!" she said, fully sobbing.
"Where did her 'Your Majesty' go?" Ling'er said nasally. "Now she can talk as a normal human being and curse like those marketplace women," she said. "And who is the sl*t here?" she said, fuming. "She was the one going to the Emperor on a midday, rubbing herself on him to seduce him, and she dares call anyone a slt!" Ling'er shouted. "I will jab her in the eye!" she said, rushing to her place and jamming her fingers in Rui's face, but they passed through her.
"Ugh!" she said, frustrated.
"Calm down, Ling'er," Mei said. "I know you are angry for my sake. Remember, you told me not to get angry. Why are you the one angry now? Let's calm down and listen," she said.