Peaceful Farm Life

Chapter 1673: Chapter 1674: Don’t Mess with Me...

In one swift motion, An Jing dislocated one of Empress Xu’s arms.

Empress Xu immediately screamed in agony.

The guards all rushed in, but none dared to attack An Jing. Since An Jing wasn’t trying to escape, if they laid hands on her, the Emperor would surely punish them severely, so they just stood by and watched.

”Help, quickly help me...” Empress Xu cried out, her forehead drenched in cold sweat from the pain, her beautifully made-up face contorted. She begged the guards for help, but none paid her any heed.

Once An Jing had dislocated Empress Xu’s arm, she gave her a push, and the frail Empress, who had no martial arts skills, immediately fell to the ground.

”My arm... my arm...” Empress Xu was extremely terrified, thinking her arm was broken.

An Jing felt no sympathy for Empress Xu at all. Observing her previous behavior, she knew that Empress Xu was nothing like the gentle and virtuous Ning Wenxian. Empress Xu was definitely not a benevolent person.

Not only did she not feel sympathy, but An Jing also returned to her seat, picked up a storybook, and leisurely began to read.

When Dongfang Tianyang rushed in, he saw An Jing reading a storybook leisurely while the eunuchs and palace maids all rushed to assist Empress Xu, with some even shouting to quickly fetch the Imperial Physician.

Before Dongfang Tianyang could ask, Empress Xu started crying out, ”Emperor, my arm is broken, it’s all the doing of that wicked woman, you must seek justice for me.”

Dongfang Tianyang first gave An Jing a complicated look. Initially, he thought An Jing would suffer a loss, but now it seemed he had worried unnecessarily. Then he walked over to Empress Xu, looked at her arm, and said indifferently, ”Your arm isn’t broken; it’s dislocated. It will be fine once it’s set back in place.”

As he spoke, Dongfang Tianyang applied force, setting Empress Xu’s arm back in place, causing her to scream in pain again.

Hearing her cries, Dongfang Tianyang felt a secret satisfaction.

Although her arm was fixed, it was still quite painful. Enduring the pain, Empress Xu didn’t forget to thank Dongfang Tianyang, ”Thank you, Emperor, for fixing my arm.”

Not giving Empress Xu a chance to complain again, Dongfang Tianyang took the initiative, snorting, ”I have ordered no one to enter the Quiet Heart Garden without permission. Empress, you barged in anyway; are you defying an imperial decree?”

Empress Xu and her attendants were all terrified, immediately kneeling down.

Empress Xu, enduring the pain, hastily said, ”I was merely concerned for my sister, Concubine Intention, as she’s been in the palace for some time. As Empress, I felt it was my duty to visit her. Please, Emperor, forgive me.”

An Jing listened and found it amusing.

Considering the power of the Xu family, Dongfang Tianyang pretended to believe her: ”Since the Empress was concerned for Concubine Intention and did not intend to defy the decree, I will be lenient and not heavily punish.”

After pretending to ponder for a moment, Dongfang Tianyang said, ”Let’s do this: Empress, you will be confined for a month and forfeit three months’ salary as a warning to others.”

Empress Xu did not want to be punished, but compared to the crime of defying an imperial decree, this punishment was rather minor. So, though she was inwardly reluctant to accept it, she had to be grateful: ”Thank you, Emperor, for the lenient punishment.”

Dissatisfied with her arm being previously dislocated, Empress Xu added, ”Emperor, I came with good intentions to see Concubine Intention, but she disregarded rank, showed me no respect as Empress, and even harmed me. I hope the Emperor will seek justice for me.”

Dongfang Tianyang snorted, ”I ordered no one to enter to prevent anyone from getting hurt. You insisted on coming in, and now that you’ve been injured, it’s nobody’s fault but your own.”