"IT IS HIM, then?"
"Aye, mistress. The Crown Prince says that the servant has admitted to everything."
I sucked in a deep breath. "This is our opportunity."
"Not even the Emperor will let this slide," Chiqian said gently from where he sat, swirling around his cup of tea.
I glanced at him. "This is our best chance of taking him down. Get all the evidence together. The Hengs will help us. If we can find evidence that Yunhua's assassination and Luo Xueying's miscarriage and death were all because of him as well and present it together..."
"We need someone to present it," Chiqian pointed out. "The Crown Prince would not be the best person for this. We need someone else involved enough in this to know and reasonably have a reason to present it to the Emperor."
"Would Lord Huo work?" I asked, frowning. "He was involved in the assassination attempt. And he's a close ally of the Crown Prince now these days."
"He might," Chiqian murmured. "Or perhaps Lord Huo's father? He's fairly prominent in court. And he's very obviously in the Crown Prince's camp now."
"Did the servant admit to anything else?" I asked Yan'er.
"The Crown Prince said he admitted to putting medicine in Side Consort Luo's food to cause her miscarriage."
"We need concrete evidence. The words of a servant are not nearly enough," I sighed.
"We can fake it," Chiqian said mildly. "It's risky to fake all the evidence, but if we have some real mixed in with the fake, it's far more safe. Besides, we know he's actually behind it all now. It would be difficult for him to get himself out of it."
"If we do not tear him down once and for all, he'll strike back.'
"Then let us ensure we do a good job."
I paused for a moment, turning to Yan'er. "You can go. Come immediately if there is any more news from the Eastern Palace."
"Aye, mistress."
With Yan'er now gone, Chiqian let out a loud sigh. "What an excellent plan, eh? It's all tightly put together. First, he attempts to kill Yunhua. Even if it does not work, surely the commotion might cause her child to be lost. And he succeeds in the latter. Then, he causes Luo Xueying to have a miscarriage. Kills her in the processâwhether or not that was intentional, I cannot tell, but either way, the Crown Prince still lacks an heir. And, well, if his intention was always to kill her, the Crown Prince loses the firm support of the Imperial Secretary. Next, to poison the Crown Prince. And even though Yunhua accidentally drinks it instead, he immediately sends someone to tell Dowager Lady Shangguan, whose ill health has been widely speculated in the past few months. Even if she wasn't ill, no one her age can react to the news of her dear granddaughter's life being put at risk. He kills her without moving a single finger. But it is far too on the nose. And now we've grabbed onto a strand to start slowly unravelling."
"We must take him down soon," I pointed out, "or who knows what else he will do next? The Eastern Palace is especially vulnerable now, with Yunhua out of commission. I apologise, but your cousin..."
"Is inept?" Chiqian suggested. "Yes. Yes, I can tell."
"If Yunhua was not married to him, there is no world in which I'd want him to be the heir."
Chiqian frowned. "Words like these you can say to me and me only."
"I know, I know," I said, exasperated. "I am not an idiot."
"I agree with you," he said, taking a sip of his tea before continuing, "but who else could it be? The Third Prince is vicious and cruel. He would not make a good emperor. The Fourth Prince, perhaps, but you've met him."
"Not the type to want such responsibility," I agreed. "And the Sixth Prince is yet a child of seven."
"Precisely. If the Emperor lives for much longer, perhaps, the Sixth Prince has a chance. I do not think the Fourth Prince is even slightly interested in the throne. At least for the next decade or so, it shall be between the Crown Prince and the Third Prince."
"The Emperor..."
"He's ailing," Chiqian sighed. "We've all tried to help."
"Is it true? The medicines?"
There'd been rumours now, of the Emperor trusting a monk who talked of fantastical medicines for long life. It was the way many emperors had fallen.
"It is not as... intense as the rumours may suggest," he replied, "but it is partially true. None of us can warn him off the path. Most of us do not dare. Well, I think both the Crown Prince and the Third Prince secretly want it to happen. More the better for them to take power."
"That is the imperial family for you."
"There is no father and son, only the lord and his subjects."
"What is blood in the face of power?"
"Only a mere constraint. A small barrier to gaining more, from climbing upwards."
"I shall never understand it."
"Neither shall I."
"There is not much time left, then."
"I'm not privy to insider's knowledge of the Emperor's health. But he seems to grow less energetic with each passing day."
"Oh dear."
"Oh dear indeed."
"The clock is ticking."
I glanced out of the window. "And the night grows darker. Come, darling, let us go to bed. Tomorrow shall be a long day, we must be well-rested."
"If my wife commands so."
â
I DID NOT, in fact, expect to be summoned into the Imperial Palace the very next morning.
I blinked in surprise, stealing a glance at Chiqian, before glancing back at the eunuch from where I knelt. "I thank His Imperial Majesty for the summon and shall come immediately after I change into more appropriate attire."
The eunuch nodded. "His Imperial Majesty awaits you."
When he was gone, I asked Chiqian, "Why would he wish to speak to me?"
"Seems like we do not require Lord Huo to present the evidence after all," Chiqian murmured, "it's in your hands now, darling."
Wasn't that comforting to hear. But Chiqian did not seem worried. He seemed perfectly calm. As if he was confident in the fact that I'd be able to handle this on my own. That was... nice.
He'd always been respectful of me. But everything I did, I tended to check through him first. I wasn't sure why. He'd told me I didn't need to, but I still always like it was wrong if I did anything without informing him. He was the reason I could do the things I did now.
It was nice to know he trusted me so completely.
It gave me a sense of confidence I did not think I'd ever feel.
Not that it meant I wasn't scared. The Emperor... I had not interacted with him all that much. I had little idea of what to say or do in front of him, of what I should reveal I know, and what I should feign ignorance too. I'd have to make those decisions based on what he says, the words he lets out.
It was not long before I set off. You did not leave the Emperor waiting. It felt strange, that he'd ended up choosing me to question about all this. Chiqian seemed to be a better choice if he wanted to pick between us. Perhaps he thought Chiqian would be more involved with the Crown Prince than me? Or he wanted a fresh perspective on this situation.
Oh, what was the point in speculating? I'd know when I spoke to him.
Once I'd arrived at the Palace, I was told to stay in the side house of the main hall while the Emperor finished meeting with some of his ministers. And that was where I waited, patiently (because you had to be patient), until I was summoned in.
Once I was before him, I knelt. "I, the Duan shizi Consort, humbly greet the Emperor."
"Rise."
"Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty."
I stood, keeping my head low.
"I am very sorry for your loss. Your grandmother was a wonderful woman. She was good friends with my mother in her youth."
"Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty. It is quite unfortunate she had to pass this way, a shame indeed. I shall miss her dearly."
"She's been sick for some time, I've heard."
"Aye, Your Imperial Majesty, but she'd been showing signs of stability and recovery until..." My voice trailed off and I shook my head. "Well, it is too late to do anything about it now, I'm afraid."
"Did the sickness suddenly take a turn for the worse?"
"I'm afraid it had more to do with her mood than her health, Your Imperial Majesty. The news of the Crown Princess Consort's poisoning was what triggered her health to worsen."
"Was the news not hidden from her? Surely, with her state," the Emperor's eyes narrowed, straightening, clearly realising what I was hinting at now. "Or is there something else at play?"
Now was my chance, of course, and I instantly went back onto my knees. "Your Imperial Majesty, I must tell you the truth: someone sent a letter to my Grandmother shortly after the Crown Princess Consort's accident. It was not we who told her, and I think the person who did this did it with the clear intent of threatening my Grandmother's life."
"Rise, rise. Do not panic. I will help you find justice if this is true. Do you know who may be behind this?"
I shook my head sadly as I got up. "Not a clue, Your Imperial Majesty. My uncle attempted to track down the letter-sender, but it came back up empty-handed. But I find it strange, for surely not many would have known the Crown Princess Consort had been poisoned, much less to react so quickly?"
"Is your cousin well?"
The abrupt change in topic caught me off-guard, but then I realised I must have pushed it slightly too far before. Immediately, I replied, "The Imperial physicians said she was stable, but she is still unconscious as of the last time I visited her."
He nodded. "I will send some of my own best physicians to watch over her. Her body must be tired and weary, with all the things that have happened. The death of Side Consort Luo as well, such a young girl. Birth is always such a dangerous thing for women."
"And she was so careful," I murmured. "It seems you can never be too careful with pregnancy, I suppose. All this time and the Eastern Palace remains childless with all these unfortunate accidents."
"The question is," the Emperor drawled out, "are they truly accidents or not?"
"Sir, have you been informed that the poisoner has already been caught? I do not know if interrogations have yielded results, but I was there for his capture."
"I've been told," the Emperor replied, "I was just about to ask if you knew anything else, as the Crown Prince has not yet passed on the information."
"If you have not been told," I murmured, "then there must have been no results yet, Your Imperial Majesty, for he'd surely pass it onto you immediately."
Lie. There had been some evidence found. Not enough, but some.
The Emperor looked thoughtful. "I will send down some of my own men to interrogate this servant. They will be more experienced than the Crown Prince's."
"Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty."
Yes. I'd achieved my goal. Well, part of it. I needed the Emperor to send his own men to do the interrogation so that anything he'd get out of them was trustworthy to him, without risk of it sounding like we were manipulating the information for our own purposes.
"I will send the Crown Princess Consort some of my best medicine and herbs. She'll need it to help us further our bloodline. A child is of utmost importance right now, and whoever is meddling behind the scenes must be stopped."
"Aye, Your Imperial Majesty! The Crown Princess Consort has been taking herbs for fertility ever since her miscarriage. She is as anxious about it as anyone else."
"Good. She knows her duty."
It was sad, wasn't it? That a girl like Yunhua with so much character and intelligence had one duty and one duty only: to have children. And so far, she'd failed. And Shangguan Yunhua was not someone who took failure lightly. I'd seen the bowls and bowls of herbal medicine that had been going into her hall. Yunxuan had expressed some concern over it, pointing out that overtaking it wasn't going to do her much good either.
But Yunhua wouldn't listen. And we all knew that her worries weren't unfounded.
"How is your life in general, shizi Consort, past recent events? I have talked to your husband about it, but I have never asked you."
"It has been wonderful with the exception of some misfortunes, Your Imperial Majesty. The Duan shizi is nothing but loving and kind to me."
"I hear he's refused to take any concubines for your sake."
"I am forever lucky."
"Just like my brother, eh? He refused to take any concubines as well. Must run in their family."
"Shall my husband wish to take a concubine in the future, he is more than welcomed to. It is his choice. I am but a woman, and shall obey him."
I hated saying those things. I hated it. Absolutely hated it. And I knew Chiqian hated it when I said these things to him as well. But I couldn't start talking about how wonderful it was that Chiqian refused to take any concubines to the Emperor, who had dozens of concubines. I had to go along with him, I had to play that role of the obedient, faithful wife to please him. Lying, pretending to be something I was not, was an important part of surviving here in Luoyang.
Even when it went against every single bone in my body.
But that answer seemed to please him. "He's chosen a good wife, it seems. If only all of the ladies were as clever as you."
"Thank you for your praise, Your Imperial Majesty."
Who were these other ladies he was referring to? The girls who'd been appointed marriages during the Bride Selection I'd attended? I hadn't heard much about them being in bad marriages or misbehaving, though.
"Is there anything else you'd like to tell me?"
"Your Imperial Majesty, I must confess that both the Crown Princess Consort and I are still very uneasy over the fact that the villains who attempted to assassinate her have still not been caught."
"Ah, yes," the Emperor mused, "you were there with her, weren't you?"
"Aye, sir. The Crown Princess Consort has confessed to me that she sometimes wakes up from nightmares over it."
That was a lie as well. Yunhua had far stronger nerves than that.
"It might be too late to discover anything now, but it doesn't hurt to try. I'll put some of my men on it, we'll see if there's anything left to ponder upon."
"I am eternally grateful, Your Imperial Majesty."
"Ah, yes, I've prepared a gift for you. Su gugu!"
A moment later, a middle-aged maid appeared. This was Su gugu, of course, who had been the Emperor's nursemaid and was not his most trusted servant. "Duan shizi Consort, His Imperial Majesty recently received some tribute from the surrounding land and saved a few pieces for you."
I dropped to my knees. "Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty!"
"Send the Duan shizi my regards. He has always been one of my favourite nephews, though don't tell anyone that. I'm rather pleased with you, shizi Consort. You may go now. Do go greet the Empress before you leave the Palace, I'm sure she'd be happy to receive you."
"I shall, Your Highness. I shall now take my leave. Thank you for your great kindness."
He waved his hand, and I took three steps back before turning to leave. The eunuch who had brought me in led me back out, bowing as we reached the front steps of the Hall. "The Emperor is deeply concerned about the events that have been occurring in the Eastern Palace."
"I hope the culprit or culprits are found soon," I said earnestly. "With the wise Emperor involved now, it shall not take long."
"Of course, shizi Consort," he said, bowing again. "Shall I find someone to lead you to the Empress's Hall to greet her?"
"That would be greatly appreciated, gong gong. I'm afraid I am not familiar with my way around the Palace."
"Of course. Yuexin! Bring the shizi Consort to the Empress' palace." One of the nearby maids strolled over, a fairly young girl of around fifteen. She curtsied.
"Please, my lady."
My visit to the Empress was short. I did not have much to say to her. She asked about my family life, about my in-laws and Chiqian himself, before telling me that I ought to visit the Eastern Palace more often to check on Yunhua.
I'd been avoiding that to make sure they didn't think Yunhua was too close to her maiden family, but with her words, now I had the perfect excuse to do so. I thanked her before I headed back to the Prince Duan Manor.
Now, I could only hope that the Emperor remained impartial enough to find the culprit behind the incidents and bring justice for all those the Third Prince had hurt.