"On what basis can you reject my edict?" the emperor asked.
"Because I, as the head of the inner palace, have the right to punish any insolent consort as I wish, and I didn't even know if she was pregnant. How can my intention be to harm a royal heir?" she said.
"If at all I am to be punished by being sent to my father's home, so should Lady Elara. She also caused Lady Isabella to miscarry," she said, her nostrils flaring up.
"I will hold you to a standard higher than a then-maid who bumped into a consort by bad luck and who was punished by fifty cane strokes," he said, the veins in his forehead popping out.
"All I did was just slap her. She fell backwards on her own and hurt herself, and I will take no responsibility for something I didn't do."
