"Slap!"
As soon as those words left her mouth, the Xuanwu Emperor's palm struck her face: "Dare to insult Senior Concubine Xian again, and I'll rip out your tongue."
Jiang Xinyue felt quite sorry for Xia He. It seemed that the only two times the emperor had ever struck a servant with his own hand, both times it had been across Xia He's face.
The Empress and Consort De were startled by the loud slap, standing to the side without a word.
"What do you mean? What do you mean by saying I killed her?"
There was no reason for Xia He to say such a thing unprovoked.
"You're still pretending?"
"Your Majesty, Your Highness, earlier this evening my mistress said her stomach was unwell and asked me to go to the Imperial Hospital to request a doctor. I couldn't find a doctor, and fearing something might happen to my mistress, I returned early. I saw a figure, clearly Senior Concubine Xian running out from inside. I saw it all."
Jiang Xinyue, not feeling guilty at all, continued to ask: "You say you saw my back, around what time was this?"
Xia He stated firmly: "At 9:15 PM, I remember it clearly."
"Hah!"
Consort De laughed coldly: "At 9:15 PM, Senior Concubine Xian was at her investiture ceremony. Hundreds of eyes watched her receive her title from court officials in Taihe Hall. How could she have come to Yanxi Palace to kill your mistress?"
The Empress chimed in: "How convenient that you just happened to see her back, without even seeing her face clearly. I'm afraid someone killed your mistress and is framing Senior Concubine Xian, but didn't calculate the time properly."
Tears of shock had not yet fallen from Xia He's eyes, but she refused to believe it: "The items that Tang Shiliang and his men found in my mistress's chambers earlier, I've never seen before. Those aren't our lady's things. They must have been planted by Jiang... "
She was about to call out Jiang Xinyue's name directly, but catching the emperor's warning glance, she felt her back molars loosen. She quickly corrected herself: "They must have been planted by Senior Concubine Xian to frame my mistress."
Jiang Xinyue sighed: "I did not push Consort Li to her current fate. The grudge from when she made me kneel in the Imperial Garden was settled long ago when she fell out of favor. I don't keep such small matters in my heart. You say I framed her, but why would I risk being discovered to frame someone who is already beneath me in every way? Do I look stupid to you?"
Consort Li had dominated the harem for over a decade, offending countless concubines. There was no need for Jiang Xinyue to act - Consort Li's days wouldn't be easy after losing favor.
The Internal Affairs Department might be bribed by the Pei family to take care of her, but the harem concubines had countless ways to torment someone, and the court officials couldn't interfere in harem matters.
The Empress's resentment towards Consort Li must be the deepest after all these years. She would be glad to see other concubines cause trouble for Consort Li, so how could she restrain their actions?
If Jiang Xinyue had any sense, she wouldn't make a move against Consort Li, lest the emperor discover it and her carefully crafted image crumble.
Xia He looked like her entire understanding of the world had collapsed. She muttered: "Then who was it? Who would want to harm my mistress?"
She knelt on the ground, looking towards the Empress, Consort De, Senior Concubine Xian, the Empress Dowager, and the emperor. After surveying them all, she suddenly burst into laughter: "My lady, look at this. This is the man you loved. He won't even shed a single tear of sorrow for you, but he's willing to hurt you again and again for Senior Concubine Xian. My lady, only I truly feel for you."
She crawled up from the ground, as if trying to engrave all their faces into her mind: "I don't know who harmed my mistress, but I want that person to remember, even if I die... even if I become a vengeful ghost, I won't let the one who killed my lady go."
"Just wait for me to come back and claim your lives!"
With a shout, she violently smashed her head against a nearby pillar. There was a loud crash, and Xia He's blood splattered onto the face of the Empress Dowager standing near the pillar, causing a series of shocked screams.
The Xuanwu Emperor also pulled Jiang Xinyue back two steps, using his sleeve to cover her eyes, not wanting her to see the horrific scene.
Xia He lay on the ground, her eyes wide open, staring at who knows where.
Perhaps she was looking at the true culprit who had killed her mistress!
One side of her forehead was deeply caved in, with thick blood - or was it brain matter? - clinging to the sunken area of her skull.
Xia He's blood-splattered demise was meant to intimidate whoever had killed Consort Li.
The crimson carpet was stained a deeper color by the pooling blood. After midnight, a gust of cold wind blew through, flinging open all the doors and windows of the main hall with loud bangs.
All the candles were extinguished in an instant, and the Empress Dowager let out a scream before fainting from fright.
Just as everyone was thoroughly startled by this sudden turn of events, a single candle flame flickered to life.
An exquisitely beautiful face appeared behind the candlelight.
But even the most bright and fresh face, appearing in such an eerie atmosphere, took on a somewhat otherworldly quality.
For a moment, the Xuanwu Emperor almost thought he was seeing a ghost.
Pei Wu looked satisfied at having scared the emperor. She then used her candle to relight the other extinguished candles.
Yanxi Palace brightened once again, and Pei Wu's beauty was fully revealed.
Her voice carried a calming power: "This maid must have deliberately opened all the doors and windows, intending to use her own death and the atmosphere to frighten us. Those with clear consciences need not fear, but those with guilty hearts will surely be terrified in their dreams at midnight."
She pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve, dampened it slightly, and began wiping the blood from the Empress Dowager's face: "Of course, when I speak of those with guilty hearts, I do not mean Her Majesty the Empress Dowager."
The Empress Dowager was simply faint of heart.
This girl, who seemed both ethereal and demonic, instantly captivated everyone's gaze, their eyes following her every move.
The Empress Dowager awoke under her ministrations, her face pale as she said: "Ah Wu... Ah Wu, take me back to my palace and recite some Buddhist scriptures to calm my heart."
"Empress Dowager, your little eunuch Qian Zi is still in Hexi Palace!" Jiang Xinyue kindly reminded her.
But the Empress Dowager coldly replied: "Nosy dog servant, always causing trouble for me. Senior Concubine Xian, if you suspect him, just beat him to death and throw him out of the palace."
With that, she quickly left, leaning on Pei Wu's arm.
"I heard that a eunuch from Consort Rong's palace was also caught?" Consort De smiled slightly. "I thought Senior Concubine Xian and Sister Consort Rong had quite a good relationship. How is it that there are also Consort Rong's spies in Hexi Palace?"
Consort Rong hurriedly shook her head: "Little Yin Zi truly wasn't sent by me to gather information. He's not even one of my personal attendants. How could I keep track of his every move?"
"Then..."
Consort De wanted to sow more discord, but Jiang Xinyue smiled and said: "I believe Consort Rong."
Since she had said this, anything more from Consort De would be beneath her. She also smiled and said: "It's good that the misunderstanding has been cleared up. We are all still good sisters."
The Xuanwu Emperor's patience had run out: "Wang Dequan, posthumously title Consort Li as Noble Consort Li. Bury her with the rites of a senior consort, and send someone to inform the Pei family."
As for Xia He's fate, it would likely be an unmarked grave.
