Jiang Xinyue had carefully analyzed the Xuanwu Emperor's childhood.
After Wu Chengyi deliberately killed the young emperor's little snake, he arrogantly threw it in front of him.
In the end, the young emperor only discarded his "beloved pet" in the torture chamber and never kept any pets again.
To some extent, Jiang Xinyue felt that the Xuanwu Emperor's worldview was somewhat similar to her own.
This was also why she didn't believe it when everyone said she was a young version of Concubine Li.
In fact, the emperor didn't disappoint her.
If the emperor liked to find substitutes, when Little Flower was killed by Wu Chengyi, it would have been effortless for the emperor, as the supreme ruler, to raise another little flower snake.
But he didn't. Instead, he hid all his interests, carefully planned, and step by step led the person who killed his beloved pet into an inescapable abyss.
So Jiang Xinyue wouldn't use any substitute tricks to evoke the Xuanwu Emperor's empathy. She wanted to do what the emperor had always wanted to do but didn't dare to do freely.
She wanted him to feel that Consort Zhen was another version of himself in this world—the young him who was controlled by the Dowager Empress and the Wu family, unable to act on his own will.
A stealthy figure made its way to the north wall of Hexi Palace. Wang Dequan had already led his men over, but they tread lightly, curious about what game Concubine Su was playing.
A small, curved knife slipped out of her sleeve. As the dappled sunlight fell, Concubine Su raised the thin, curved knife in her hand and stabbed at the little white dog.
Jiang Xinyue only saw a blur as a figure in imperial yellow shot out like an arrow released from a bow.
"Bang!"
"Ugh..."
"Woof, woof, woof... mmm..."
The dog, thinking its owner had been hurt, bared its teeth and barked at the Xuanwu Emperor. After one glance from the emperor's eyes, it trembled all over and shrank into the emperor's arms, its whole body going limp.
"Come here!"
Jiang Xinyue shouted. The dog immediately stretched its neck, its ears twitching, then leapt from the Xuanwu Emperor's arms with shining eyes, running straight behind him into its owner's embrace.
Concubine Su was kicked away, the curved knife falling from her hand. Wang Dequan picked it up and presented it before the Xuanwu Emperor.
When interrogating heinous criminals, officials from the Ministry of Punishment would use thin, sharp curved knives to cut their wrists and ankles, then use curved swords to hook out their tendons, torturing them bit by bit until they confessed the truth.
So the question arose: why did a concubine in the Xuanwu Emperor's harem secretly possess such an interrogation tool, and use it on a defenseless animal?
In an instant, Concubine Su's face overlapped with Wu Chengyi's in the emperor's mind.
"Your Majesty!"
Seeing that the situation was turning against her, Concubine Su wept bitterly: "Your Majesty, it wasn't me... it wasn't me... it was Consort Zhen, Consort Zhen framed me. I didn't mean to, I really didn't mean to. It was all because Consort Zhen provoked me... I... I..."
"Silence!"
The Xuanwu Emperor's temple throbbed violently: "You have a vicious heart and a mouth full of lies. I saw it with my own eyes, yet you still try to blame Consort Zhen. Do you take me for a fool? Wang Dequan, strip Concubine Su of her title, demote her to a commoner, and send her back to the Su family. Tell the Minister of Punishment to remove all of Su Wuyang's positions in the ministry. I never want to hear the name of this family again."
This was far more severe than a mere demotion or banishment to the Cold Palace.
Implicating her family and incurring the emperor's disgust, a concubine stripped of her title and sent home had only one path left—death. There was no way out.
Jiang Xinyue, stroking the chest of the kicked dog, suddenly cried out, pointing to the corner of the north wall: "What... what is that?"
The Xuanwu Emperor took a few steps back, embracing the trembling Jiang Xinyue. He found her as timid and docile as the little pet, evoking his sympathy.
Following her pointing finger, Wang Dequan waved to several eunuchs behind him: "You lot, go and see."
The soil, washed by melting snow, was soft and loose. A piece of apricot-colored fabric peeked out from the brown earth. The knotted part of the fabric had come undone due to the passage of time, exposing dark red and black soft tissue.
As the eunuchs approached, they caught a whiff of a strange, foul odor that nearly made them vomit.
But with the emperor present, they dared not truly lose composure. Forcibly suppressing their nausea, they dug up the soil and pulled out a small, hardened package.
"Huh?"
Shuang Jiang tilted her head: "It looks like the dress our lady wore at the New Year's banquet."
"It's not our lady's," Xi Que observed for a moment before saying, "The one our lady wore had silver thread embroidered on the collar. This one doesn't. It should be the one Concubine Su wore."
The blackened clothes faintly showed embroidered daffodil petals. After completely untying the knot, Xi Que and Shuang Jiang turned deathly pale, covering their mouths as they ran frantically.
Only after running far away did they lean against a tree trunk, vomiting violently.
"Your Majesty, what happened?"
Jiang Xinyue, crying and peeking out from the emperor's embrace, blinked her innocent large eyes and asked confusedly: "Why does your subject seem to smell a foul odor?"
The Xuanwu Emperor used his own cloak to cover her head, shielding her view. His eyes, cold and murderous, glared at Concubine Su, who was frozen stiff on the ground. Through gritted teeth, he said: "They found Little Ajiang's internal organs."
The body that had just calmed down in his arms began to heave violently again, this time from anger and sorrow.
This Consort Zhen reminded the Xuanwu Emperor of himself when he was young.
Back then, the imperial in-laws held power, with the Dowager Empress controlling both the court and the harem, making even breathing feel heavy and oppressive for him, the rightful emperor.
The Wu family was arrogant and domineering, not taking him seriously. He was suppressed both in the court and in the harem.
Little Flower was the first and his favorite pet. Every time Wu Chengyi entered the palace, he would play with Little Flower until it was half dead.
Back then, he would cry in Wang Dequan's arms just like this...
During that visit to the torture chamber, Wu Chengyi even killed Little Flower to mock him.
From then on, he never dared to show his feelings for the things he loved.
At that time, he was weak and powerless, unable to protect what he cherished.
Now he was the ruler of the world, and all threats had ceased to exist. Couldn't he help Consort Zhen avenge her pet and protect what she loved?
"Wang Dequan, before escorting Concubine Su out of the palace, use the same torture instrument she used to kill Jiang Xinyue's beloved maid to cut out her ankle tendons. I want her to experience the same agony Jiang Xinyue's maid felt before dying."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I will obey your command."
In Yanqing Palace—
Consort De's hand trembled, spilling half of the bird's nest soup she was feeding to the Third Prince. Her eyes widened in fear as she asked, "What? You're saying... it was Concubine Su who killed Consort Zhen's beloved maid and then hung her at her own door to frame Consort Zhen?"
The palace maid nodded, "My Lady, the news has spread throughout the palace. The Emperor flew into a rage to avenge his beauty. Concubine Su... no... the criminal Su, had her ankle tendons severed and was sent out of the palace, bleeding profusely."
