The woman, however, was unaware and continued to lament, "Back then, we, an old couple, finally had a daughter after much difficulty, but she was stolen by a fellow villager and sold to the capital. We scoured the land, selling everything we had to find our daughter. It was you who found us and told us that our daughter was working as a maid in your service!"
After that, her husband decided to go and reunite with their daughter, but he disappeared for over a decade without any news. She tried to inquire about Consort De but never received any useful information. As someone of her social standing, she could never hope to gain access to the elite circles of the Mansion of the Duke of Cheng.
Luyin was Consort De's personal maid, and her mistress rarely showed her face in public. Luyin followed suit, so even if someone inquired at the gates of the Mansion of the Duke of Cheng, no one would recognize her.
Although Consort De used to set up stalls to distribute porridge in her youth, noblewomen always wore veils when venturing out, a matter of protocol. It was merely a way to spread the reputation of the virtuous daughter of the Duke of Cheng, not an act of genuine charity toward beggars.
Consort De, proud to the core, looked down upon those who couldn't even afford a meal, wishing she could wrap herself entirely to avoid their gazes. How could she allow them to glimpse her true appearance?
It was precisely because of this that Consort De dared to show her face to Luyin's biological parents. After learning she was to enter the palace, she deceived and coerced Luyin's father into undergoing castration to serve in the palace, all under the guise of allowing him to be close to Luyin.
Over these past few decades, the mute servant had been tasked by Consort De with disposing of bodies and raising man-eating fish, likely under constant threat regarding Luyin's safety.
So, when the mute servant saw Luyin's corpse and realized she had been killed by Consort De, he lost all reason, consumed by fury to the point of disregarding his own life as he pursued Consort De for revenge within the palace.
The string in his mind snapped, his long-held beliefs crumbled, and a person without reason loses all judgment of the outside world. He didn't even know when he had acquired a knife. All he knew was that he had to kill Consort De to avenge his daughter.
After the woman, the Investigative Bureau sent over two young eunuchs, whom Consort De didn't recognize at all.
Yet they claimed, "When the Imperial Noble Consort fell into the water, it was Consort De who ordered Luyin to have us dive down and tie all the waterweeds into dead knots. If it weren't for the Empress Dowager's people acting first, the Imperial Noble Consort would have been pushed into the water by Consort De's people. Someone who can't swim, once sinking to the bottom of the lake, would struggle in panic and get entangled by the waterweeds, ensuring certain death."
"Your Majesty, Consort De once ordered Luyin to deal with us, but Luyin, with a kind heart, couldn't bear to end our lives and thus deceived everyone, transferring us to remote palace quarters. She only told Consort De that we had been dealt with."
"Originally, we wouldn't have come forward to testify against Consort De, for we knew that harming the Imperial Noble Consort was indeed our deed. Once revealed, our lives would be in peril. But she... even killed her personal servant who had served her for over a decade. If we didn't expose her crimes, it would be impossible to appease Luyin's spirit."
As one witness after another took the stage, Consort De's crimes were gradually unveiled.
She herself seemed to have given up on refuting. Only after the last witness spoke did she slowly rise, dusting off her clothes, and with a mocking smile, she said, "Yes, I've done all these evil deeds. I deserve to die."
Her gaze burned as she looked at Emperor Xuanwu: "But do you, Shen Ye, dare to swear to the heavens that you were completely unaware of everything I did?"
The emperor frowned slightly, but Jiang Xinyue knew that what Consort De said was true. Just as when she dealt with those who sought to harm her, it was all within the emperor's calculations.
She was merely following the script the emperor desired.
Consort De let out a cold laugh: "I killed the Empress's child, but it was you who killed the Empress, all to elevate Jiang Xinyue. Now, it's for her that you're condemning me to death. How ruthless you are!"
"The Sixth Prince is your son, but isn't the third prince also? He pleaded for me out of filial piety, yet you would strip him of his rights as a prince for this? Isn't it just because you fear he might block the Sixth Prince's path? Shen Ye, your love is terrifying, and so is your hatred. That's why I've always been clear about my goal: I only want your throne. Even if it means killing everyone in the harem, it's not out of jealousy, but to eliminate obstacles for my goal."
"If it weren't for Jiang Xinyue... if she hadn't disrupted my plans, you should be on your deathbed now, allowing Xuan'er to inherit your throne!"
She had lost to Jiang Xinyue, so she firmly believed that one day, the emperor would fall to Jiang Xinyue's hands, and the Sixth Prince would be the one to ascend the throne.
In this palace, it's not just the emperor who stands above all, deciding the fate of every life. There's another kind of person: those like her and Jiang Xinyue, who feel no emotion, know exactly what they want, and pursue it fearlessly.
But Jiang Xinyue is even more formidable, for she possesses unparalleled beauty and the ability to read minds and manipulate others.
Beauty combined with any skill is a deadly weapon, and Jiang Xinyue is a master of all.
She can control the emperor's heart while preserving her own. She never actively harms others because she ensures she always stands at the pinnacle, making those below her desperate to pull her down.
And then, she strikes back.
This is where her brilliance lies, and it's the key to her victories.
Lady De, raised under the constant suppression of the Duke of Cheng, never received her father's partiality. She was always taught that if someone loses their value, they must be discarded.
That's why she became like a madwoman, killing so many.
The ones she killed were all those who harmed or were useless to her!
Emperor Xuanwu's patience had reached its limit. With a flick of his sleeve, he coldly declared, "Even now, you're still making excuses. It seems you've grown weary of life. If that's the case, then be granted poison wine!"
"Father!"
The third prince still wanted to plead for mercy, but Consort De shook her head at him, resolutely saying, "A person should bear the consequences of their own actions. All those things they spoke of, I did them. It has nothing to do with the third prince, nor with the Mansion of the Duke of Cheng. Your Majesty, don't use this as an excuse to tarnish my father's name. I know my crimes are grave and am willing to die."
To be sent to the torture chamber, to the ancestral temple, to live like a dog... she'd rather die.
She also hoped that Jiang Xinyue, seeing that the third prince had already lost his birth mother, would show some care for her Xuan'er.
To be honest, losing to Jiang Xinyue, she was convinced.
The Empress entrusted her child, believing in Jiang Xinyue's character, and she chose to die without further entanglement, also believing in Jiang Xinyue's noble character.
The third prince didn't need to be raised under her name. As long as the one in power was Jiang Xinyue, the third prince wouldn't live too poorly.
She had lived her life selfishly, and this was the first and last time she made plans for the third prince.
