Chapter 96

Standing before the door of Concubine Lan’s chamber and hearing the cries from inside, Tang Xia’s face turned gloomy. Her face was a little pale, and doubts arose in her mind.

“What? Concubine Lan is dead?”

Tang Xia stood still, aghast, murmuring to herself. It was herself that was meant to be poisoned. How come Concubine Lan was dead? She felt it was very weird and decided to go inside to check Concubine Lan’s corpse.

At right that moment, several concubines walked outside of the chamber. They were close to Concubine Lan before she was dead. After seeing Tang Xia standing outside the door, their faces turned dark at the thought of Concubine Lan’s innocent death.

They were thinking about themselves ending up with the same fate.

After seeing that Tang Xia was about to enter the chamber, they spoke one after another to stop Tang Xia at the door.

“Well! Isn’t it the empress? What’re you doing here?” said one of the concubines as she looked at Tang Xia, and the other concubines looked at Tang Xia, too, with some contempt.

“I heard Concubine Lan died abruptly, so I come here to see what the matter is,” said Tang Xia composedly.

“To see what the matter is? We didn’t know you cared about Concubine Lan so much! We are really abashed!”

“If you ask me, I would say the empress came here to check if the poison she put worked or not! As you wish, Concubine Lan is dead as a doornail!”

“Your Grace, you’re really cruel. Concubine Lan just had a minor row with you, and you killed her right away!”

“It’s not polite to gossip about the dead. Your Grace, you’d better not go inside to see her! Otherwise, Concubine Lan’s spirit will never rest in peace!”

“Watch your tongue! She is the exalted empress! People as abject as us are just dust in her eyes! Let’s just keep quiet!”

Those concubines all spoke out, dripping sarcasm at Tang Xia.

Tang Xia was speechless for a while at their words. What could she say? If she should say she didn’t kill Concubine Lan, would those people believe her?

“No, that’s not true,” said Tang Xia as she made up her mind to make herself clear, no matter how they would react, “I didn’t kill Concubine Lan. It was she who sent poisoned soup to me! And that’s why I came here!”

After hearing Tang Xia’s explanation, those concubines looked at each other, their eyes overflowing with mistrust.

“Your Grace, Concubine Lan is dead. Whatever you say will be the only version of the story. You don’t need to explain to us.”

“Yeah! I fear I will be dropped in some ‘accident’ if I know too much!”

Tang Xia looked at them and felt much aggrieved. So what? What she didn’t do, she didn’t do. She would never let others blame her unjustly!

However, those concubines were dead set on condemning Tang Xia as the murderer, and she found it hard to vindicate herself.

They looked at Tang Xia with contempt, and she was dropped in a dilemma, not knowing what to do. Those concubines who were close to Concubine Lan were all taunting and rubbishing her.

Just at that moment, someone let out a shriek from behind their backs, “His Majesty arrives!”

Those concubines all curtsied and said, “Blessings to you, Your Majesty!”

It turned out that Chu Tiankuo also heard about it and found it weird. He hurried here in fear of Tang Xia getting bullied.

“You hold back your words. I believe my empress would never do something like that!” Chu Tiankuo expressed his attitude clearly as soon as he arrived. It made those concubines turn pale, but they dared not say another word.

Tang Xia was filled with joy at Chu Tiankuo’s immediate support. Looking at him with burning eyes, she said, “Your Majesty, you believe me, don’t you? It wasn’t me!”

Chu Tiankuo stretched out his hand to touch Tang Xia’s cheek and said, “Of course I believe my empress. Whatever the others say, I don’t care!”

Those concubines’ faces turned even paler at Chu Tiankuo’s words. After a while, just as they came to the view that Chu Tiankuo was going to cover up this whole matter to protect Tang Xia, Chu Tiankuo added.

“Concubine Lan’s death was quite weird. To completely vindicate my empress, I made up my mind!” “I will have this matter thoroughly investigated!”

Seeing that Chu Tiankuo was willing to go to such lengths for her, Tang Xia was deeply moved and gazed at Chu Tiankuo closely.

Those concubines felt extremely unhappy with their lovey-dovey conversation, but none of them dared to say anything.

However, one concubine among them finally stepped out. It was Concubine Orchid.

She looked obedient and resigned, but a sneer crept up the hidden part of her face.

She curtsied to Chu Tiankuo, raised her head, and said in a tender voice, “Your Majesty, our big sister Concubine Lan died all of a sudden, and you won’t hold justice for her… Isn’t it unreasonable?”

Chu Tiankuo humphed coldly and said, “I said I would have this matter thoroughly investigated. Isn’t it for the truth of the matter and also the justice for her?”

Concubine Orchid was behaving in a tender and obedient manner, but her words were harsh.

“We all know who the culprit is,” said Concubine Orchid as she raised her eyes at Tang Xia. She then added.

“However, Your Majesty, you have no intention to trace the real culprit. If you don’t want to hold justice for big sister Lan, there is no need to investigate.”

“Oh? Are you blaming me for being blind to facts?” said Chu Tiankuo calmly as he looked at her.

“No, I dare not say such things. I’m just telling the truth. Nothing else.”

“Nothing else? I feel you have much else behind your words!” Chu Tiankuo was as calm as before, but his stare at Concubine Orchid became more and more dangerous.

“No, I dare not.” Concubine Orchid didn’t say much and kept kneeling down on the side, composedly.

“Hahaha!” Chu Tiankuo suddenly burst into laughter, and all the concubines looked at him in doubt.

“Concubine Orchid, how dare you speak to me like that! Such lack of respect!” Chu Tiankuo’s face turned grim, and he looked at her coldly.

“Concubine Orchid, you are disrespectful towards me and my empress. I order your confinement in your chamber for a few days. You may only leave your chamber after you think it through! Someone! Take her back to her chamber!”

After hearing Chu Tiankuo’s words, some maids stepped up and tried to take Concubine Orchid back, but she revolted vigorously.

“Your Majesty, you are being partial! It was the empress who killed Concubine Lan. You won’t hold justice, and you are blaming the wrong person! If you don’t want the facts, there is no need to investigate!”

“How dare you!” Chu Tiankuo was finally enraged.

“You are just a minor concubine, and you dare to suspect the empress? Now I suspect you know the real murderer, and you are infuriating me to stop the investigation!”

“You are covering up for the real murderer! By my verdict, Concubine Orchid committed the crime of harboring criminal. Confine her to her chamber, and forbid her exit until everything is clear!”

The other concubines watched as Concubine Orchid was dragged back to her chamber, and they were horrified and dared not say another word. Chu Tiankuo stayed here for too long, and he had many things on his plate. He decided to leave.

Tang Xia also saw no point in staying here. She didn’t want to care about what those concubines would say. After all, it was impossible to control other peoples’ mouths! So she left with Chu Tiankuo and returned to her own chamber with her maids.

After seeing the emperor and the empress had left, the remaining concubines finally felt relieved. They looked at each other, and their hearts sank at the thought of the confined Concubine Orchid.

“His Majesty went too far. He was favoring the empress in every single matter,” complained a concubine who used to be close to Concubine Orchid.

“Why didn’t I see you step up and defend her just now when she was punished?” thought the other concubines. Of course, they didn’t say what they thought but echoed her.

“That’s right! His Majesty and the empress went too far on this matter!”

Just as the concubines were prattling, a weak voice came from behind them.

“I…I don’t think it was the empress who caused Concubine Lan’s death. It should be someone else. I believe the empress should do no such thing.”

The other concubines all looked blankly at the concubine who just defended Tang Xia.

She paused and then continued, “In my judgment of her character, if she wants to teach someone a lesson, she will lecture her in public, not plot against her in secret. The murderer must be someone else.”

The other concubines looked at her and couldn’t help laughing out loud.

“We don’t care who’s right and who’s wrong. It’s none of our business!”

“Yeah! It’s just something worth chatting about. Why do you take it so seriously? You’re being critical!”

“Fine, fine. There’s nothing interesting here. Let’s just go back to our places.”

With these words, they left together, leaving the concubine who defended Tang Xia behind. “So you came here just for fun?” Her voice was so soft, almost like an illusion.

Strangely enough, the whole matter didn’t dissipate just because of Chu Tiankuo’s interference. The gossip spread everywhere, and the story evolved into far more incredible versions.

Some said the empress was extremely cruel and merciless. Some said Chu Tiankuo offended a certain god. The rumors were just so ridiculous.

Tang Xia also heard about these rumors from her maids later. She was almost speechless. The fact was that Concubine Lan was the evil planner, but instead, she suffered the fate she planned for Tang Xia. Why did people adopt a simple story into such a complicated novel?

However, what happened the next day exceeded Tang Xia’s expectation.

Early in the morning, a maid hurried to Tang Xia’s chamber to tell her the new development.

Concubine Orchid was found dead by the maids who took breakfast to her.

Tang Xia cried in surprise, “What!”