All the mysteries finally had reasonable explanations.
Why did Consort De target her first back then, yet the Emperor protected her, forcing Consort De to redirect her attacks toward the Empress?
With both witness testimony and physical evidence, the Mansion of the Duke of Cheng would certainly have helped Consort De eliminate the Empress.
Even though the Emperor could anticipate this situation, he still brought these people together - wasn't he just giving the Old Lady an opportunity?
No wonder the Empress always said the Emperor wanted her dead.
While Consort De was despicable for being the Emperor's weapon, it was equally chilling how Xuanwu Emperor would stop at nothing to consolidate his power.
From the Emperor's perspective, Jiang Xinyue understood that his actions were meant to centralize imperial power, benefit the common people, and eliminate corruption from court.
But she wasn't the Emperor - she was a consort in a position similar to the former Empress.
She had family members she cared about. Compared to loving the Emperor, the empire, and its people, she was more selfish - she loved herself more.
If she didn't have to pay an unbearable price, she was willing to be a good Empress Dowager who cared for the people and benefited the masses. She would do anything that was good for the country and its citizens.
But all of this couldn't be built upon her suffering.
It was precisely because she saw these things clearly that she was unwilling to become Empress.
She refused to sacrifice herself unconditionally for anyone.
Xuanwu Emperor noticed her unease and thought she was worried about Jiang Yuncai's safety. He merely patted her hand to reassure her.
"Clang!"
The loud gong sound pulled Jiang Xinyue back from her thoughts. She took a deep breath to clear her mind and looked down at the stage below.
In an eight-foot-tall iron cage, a petite young woman in bright red clothing was dressed up alluringly, with a red veil on her face adding an air of mystery to her charm.
The somewhat revealing clothes made her uncomfortable, and she clutched the silk scarf on her head to cover herself. Yet ironically, her innocent and fearful demeanor and movements only excited the audience below more.
Amidst the shouting of bids, Jiang Xinyue glanced at him from the corner of her eye and saw that he was staring at the position closest to the stage below.
It was exactly where Third Lord Qu, whom the madam had been flattering earlier, was seated.
Qu Tianzhong's eyes lecherously looked the young woman on stage up and down. He whispered something to the madam beside him, who smiled knowingly, as if they had reached some agreement.
The Emperor's lips curved slightly - if Jiang Xinyue hadn't been paying close attention, she wouldn't have noticed.
Was he really going to let all the women of the Jiang family face such scandal?
There were imperial guards outside, so Jiang Xinyue wasn't worried about accidents, but she couldn't stake her cousin's reputation entirely on the Emperor.
The Emperor only cared about the state - he might even let Third Lord Qu brutally kill her cousin in exchange for the Qu family saving his son with an imperial pardon.
The risk was too high; she had to think of another way.
The madam had already led Third Lord Qu through the back door behind the stage to Yihong Tower's rear courtyard. The men who had been gathering around him calling him "Third Lord" smiled lewdly: "Tsk tsk, this delicate young lady - after being trained by our Third Lord for one night, by tomorrow she'll be making tremendous progress in serving others."
"After Third Lord is done, it'll be our turn tomorrow. Those fools still think they can get her first night by bidding high, not knowing that only what Third Lord and we don't want gets passed to them."
"Exactly! A bunch of suckers, rushing to give money for Third Lord to spend. Let's check it out a bit later - heard she's from an official's family, must be quite proper. Hope she doesn't hurt Third Lord."
Jiang Xinyue's gaze flickered as she looked toward Shen Zhou'an and the others, raising her eyebrows to signal them to follow inside.
Jiang Yuncai's eyes showed panic as she looked around, hoping to see some familiar faces.
"Swoosh!"
The sound of beaded curtains being pushed aside came from above. Jiang Yuncai looked up and met Jiang Xinyue's smiling eyes.
She was telling her not to be afraid, that she would rescue her.
No matter what, Jiang Xinyue needed to calm her first. People could only make the right decisions when they were calm, not when they were panicked.
Sure enough, the moment Jiang Yuncai saw her, tears burst forth as she grabbed the iron cage excitedly, her mouth turning down in distress.
Her fingers were covered in dense needle holes, some still bleeding, though it wasn't very noticeable against the red clothing. The moment she grabbed the iron cage, she pulled back in pain.
All ten fingers were still bleeding, making her even more distressed as tears kept falling.
Jiang Xinyue's hands gripped the railing, turning slightly white from the force.
Damn it!
She hated seeing pretty young girls cry the most.
The Pei family's lives would be hers to take!
The large iron cage was opened, and Jiang Yuncai was pushed to walk backward. Jiang Xinyue turned to look at Xuanwu Emperor. The man stood up, sighed, and looked at her with great hurt: "Do you really distrust me this much?"
Yes!
She didn't trust him!
"Your subject doesn't distrust Your Majesty..."
Those beautiful eyes shed pearls of tears, crying in a way that made one's heart ache.
Jiang Xinyue said between sobs: "Your subject just fears Third Lord Qu will harm my cousin. Your Majesty, if it were your subject who had been kidnapped, wouldn't you worry about me just as I worry about my cousin?"
All conflicts could be resolved by putting oneself in another's shoes.
"No!"
The Emperor objected: "I would worry about you far more than you worry about her... No... I would never let something like this happen to you."
If it did happen, he would immediately send troops to tear down Yihong Tower. Reputation be damned - the ones who deserved to die were these villains forcing good women into prostitution.
"Is Your Majesty thinking that if your subject encountered such a situation, you would immediately tear down this building and find me?"
Xuanwu Emperor showed a slightly surprised expression. Jiang Xinyue gave a bitter smile: "That's exactly how your subject feels about her cousin!"
The Emperor sighed again: "But I hope you can trust me unconditionally. You're best at reading people's minds - you must be thinking I want to sacrifice your cousin to bring down the Duke of Cheng. I can tell you honestly, I did think of that. But when you said you wanted to handle this matter personally, I knew how much you care about your family. Even though sacrificing her would be most beneficial to me, I still used subterfuge to rescue your cousin - I just didn't want to see you upset."
As he finished speaking, Jiang Yuncai had already walked over supported by several maids. She had changed into proper clothes and wore a cloak - no one could recognize her.
"Sister Xinyue..."
She threw herself into Jiang Xinyue's arms with a crying voice, biting her lip as she wept: "Thank you... thank you for coming to save me, I was so scared... I was really so scared..."
How could a young lady not be scared after ending up in such a place?
Jiang Xinyue patted her shoulder to comfort her: "It's alright now, it's all over... With me and the Emperor here, no one can hurt you."
She looked up and gave Xuanwu Emperor a grateful glance.
