"Oh?"
The Xuanwu Emperor stopped writing and looked up at Consort Zhang. "Wronged? You don't know? Do you think I'm blind?"
Wang Dequan lowered his head, not daring to look at the Emperor's enraged face. He wanted to remind Consort Zhang that it would be better to confess quickly.
In this palace, there were no secrets the Emperor couldn't uncover if he wanted to know.
These past two days, the Emperor had turned the entire palace upside down investigating Concubine Zhen's fall into the water.
To find the guard with the chest injury, he had organized a grand martial arts competition, even using the position of imperial guard as bait. So what was strange about discovering that Consort Zhang had passed by the lake at that time?
Consort Zhang made a desperate attempt: "Your servant did pass by the lake that day, but I didn't hear any commotion, nor did I hear Concubine Zhen calling for help! Perhaps... perhaps someone dragged her underwater, and I walked by too quickly, so I missed it. Your Majesty, I really didn't..."
"Enough!"
The Xuanwu Emperor didn't want to hear any more of her excuses. He directly ordered Wang Dequan: "Consort Zhang is willful, jealous, and vicious. From this day forward, demote her to Consort Zhang and confine her to the side hall of Zhong Cui Palace."
He wasn't even going to give her the main quarters of Zhong Cui Palace, instead making her move to the side hall.
The Emperor knew how to kill with kindness.
For the women of the palace, rank and face were more important than life itself. He had instantly grasped Consort Zhang's lifeline, gripping her by the throat, causing her face to turn ashen in an instant.
Wang Dequan gave a signal, and immediately eunuchs came to support the limp Consort Zhang... no... Consort Zhang as they took her away.
In a daze, Consort Zhang was thrown onto the cold floor of the side hall. She suddenly grabbed Wang Dequan's robe like a madwoman: "Why? Why is the Emperor being so cruel to me? Concubine Zhen also caused Noble Consort Li to fall into the water before, but not only did nothing happen to her, she even got promoted. I just passed by without saving Concubine Zhen, why is the Emperor treating me like this?"
Wang Dequan mercilessly pulled back his robe, his face a mask of pleasantness, his smile unwavering: "My lady is confused. Concubine Zhen is now the Emperor's most beloved. If you cause trouble for Concubine Zhen, the Emperor will only make you more miserable. Don't blame the Emperor for being heartless, blame only the mastermind who made you go against Concubine Zhen."
Consort Zhang was slightly shocked, her pupils contracting for a moment in surprise.
She took a few steps back, appearing extremely afraid of the "mastermind" Wang Dequan had mentioned.
This secretive, tight-lipped behavior was all observed by Wang Dequan. When he returned to the imperial study, he reported truthfully: "The one who frightens Consort Zhang so much is probably..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but the Xuanwu Emperor understood what his old companion meant to say.
"The Empress Dowager!"
The one who wanted Concubine Zhen's life was indeed the Empress Dowager!
The Xuanwu Emperor could almost be certain that his cruel mother once again wanted to take away something he loved.
"Crash!"
A pair of fine official kiln famille-rose porcelains shattered in the Ci'ning Palace. The Dowager Empress Wu's hand gripping the chair back showed bulging blue veins.
Her chest heaved violently, her face terrifyingly gloomy: "The Emperor has now lost his head over a woman. I am his birth mother, yet he dares to treat me like this. It seems I've been dormant for too long, to the point where even a mere concubine dares to use me as a stepping stone for favor."
Behind her, Granny Gui tried to soothe her: "Empress Dowager, please calm your anger. The Emperor is just momentarily blinded by that treacherous concubine, he's not truly opposing you. Please don't ruin your health over someone unworthy. The Emperor will understand your good intentions."
"Can I still count on this unfilial son?"
The Dowager Empress Wu slapped the chair back with a resounding "bang": "I knew from the moment that unfilial son overthrew the Wu Family that he was just like his fickle father. I shouldn't have expected him to give face to the Wu Family, to give me face."
She trembled with anger, and after forcing herself to calm down, she sat in the chair, her eyes glinting with scheming light: "How is Consort Shu's health now?"
Granny Gui respectfully answered: "With Your Highness's loving care, Consort Shu is naturally doing extremely well. The Qu Physician who gave Your Highness the safety pulse reading is a master of pregnancy care. Consort Shu and the little prince will both be safe, Your Highness can rest assured."
Only then did a smile appear at the corners of the Dowager Empress Wu's mouth. She clasped her hands together in front of her chest and bowed: "May Buddha bless us... May Buddha bless us..."
She only hoped that Consort Shu could give birth to a prince of Wu Family blood, then she could overthrow her own son and support her grandson's ascension to the throne.
By then, she would be the Empress Dowager ruling from behind the curtain, truly above all others.
In Hexi Palace, Yan the Imperial Physician, who had come to take care of Jiang Xinyue, stood bent over to one side. Although the weather was neither cold nor hot, perfectly comfortable in April, large beads of sweat kept rolling down his forehead.
Being an imperial physician... could bring glory to one's ancestors... it was the lifelong pursuit of all who studied medicine... but being an imperial physician... also meant having one's head tied to one's belt, ready to sacrifice one's life at any moment for the palace intrigues.
Yan the Imperial Physician felt that he was about to lose his little life now.
Who could have imagined that Concubine Zhen, the Emperor's beloved favorite, would be such a good actress?
What falling into the water unconscious, life hanging by a thread?
It was all an act put on by Concubine Zhen, and she had forced him to play along.
"Is Physician Yan very hot?"
Jiang Xinyue smiled at the old man, a smile that Yan the Imperial Physician found creepy no matter how he looked at it. "No, no... This humble servant is not hot... not hot at all..."
"Xique, bring a chair for Physician Yan. Please don't stand on ceremony, Physician Yan."
How could Yan the Imperial Physician dare to sit? He thought Concubine Zhen was just trying to intimidate him. His knees went weak and he fell to the ground, crying and pleading: "Concubine Zhen, please spare my life! This humble servant... This humble servant knows nothing and will say nothing. This humble servant has elderly parents and young children at home, I beg Concubine Zhen to spare me!"
What's going on?
Jiang Xinyue felt that her attitude had been very kind already. She quickly had Xiaoxuan pull the man up: "Physician Yan, when I was previously poisoned in the Cold Palace, it was thanks to your miraculous skills that saved my life. I have always remembered this with gratitude. How could I possibly want your life?"
She just wanted to win him over and bind him to her cause, that's all.
Yan the Imperial Physician cautiously raised his head, examining the face of Concubine Zhen that looked like a beautiful but venomous snake no matter how he looked at it. Trembling, he asked: "You... you really won't kill this humble servant?"
Jiang Xinyue nodded, her expression particularly sincere.
Yan the Imperial Physician finally breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat from his face with his sleeve: "This humble servant thanks Concubine Zhen. Your Highness has spared my life, and I swear to keep your secret to the grave, not revealing even a fraction of it."
"It's not that important," Jiang Xinyue said with a smile playing at the corners of her lips. "Even if you were to tell anyone, no one would believe you. Who would risk their own life to gain the Emperor's pity without implicating anyone else?"
She had been pushed into the water, but she hadn't told the Emperor who had done it, nor had she even hinted at who she suspected.
Not only that, but she had also staunchly defended Consort Shu's innocence in front of the Emperor.
