Late at night, the Imperial Palace was quiet and still.
Only the Western Chamber of Yao Hua Palace was illuminated by candlelight at this hour.
Song Zhao sat alone at the warm seat, flipping through a qin music score in her hand.
Although Xiao Jingheng's birthday had already passed, she still diligently practiced her qin skills and singing abilities.
After all, these were the chips she could use to please Xiao Jingheng in the future.
Men always needed to be captivated by novelty.
When the novelty of you completely fades away, that's when you start losing their favor.
"Knock, knock, knock."
A crisp knocking sound came from outside the door, and Song Zhao softly replied, "Come in."
Xiao Fuzi entered, bowing respectfully, and carefully closed the door before walking to Song Zhao's side and whispered,
"Master, your calculations were amazing! There's indeed some activity in Zhong Cui Palace."
"Oh?" Song Zhao calmly closed the qin music score. "I asked you to keep an eye on her for only two days, and she couldn't restrain herself? Tell me, what did you see?"
Xiao Fuzi said, "I've been guarding outside Zhong Cui Palace. After midnight, I saw Qing Yue wearing a cloak and leaving the palace. She went straight to the Thousand Carp Pond in the western part of the Imperial Garden.
That place is already secluded in a corner of the palace, and during winter, very few people go there. Moreover, the palace lights have been broken for the past two days, making it even darker. Even the guards on patrol are too lazy to go there.
After Qing Yue arrived at the Thousand Carp Pond, not long after, a eunuch came to find her. I watched in secret and couldn't hear what they were saying, but I saw that after a few words, Qing Yue took out a brocade box and handed it to him.
After the eunuch opened the brocade box, a large amount of white powder flew out, seemingly some kind of drug. He immediately fainted after smelling it, and Qing Yue took the opportunity to kick him into the Thousand Carp Pond. I watched as he sank to the bottom, and then she hurriedly left."
Song Zhao listened quietly as Xiao Fuzi finished speaking and asked, "Did anyone see you?"
Xiao Fuzi replied, "Master, rest assured, I hid myself well and didn't expose anything."
Only then did she nod slightly and sighed, "Consort Shu... I didn't pay much attention to her before, but I didn't expect her to be the one with the most sinister methods."
Xiao Fuzi asked, "I just don't understand. Why would Consort Shu drown a low-ranking eunuch in the Thousand Carp Pond? Did he make a mistake and offend Consort Shu?"
Song Zhao coldly smiled and shook her head. "That eunuch should be from the Judicial Department. Yin Zhi will be coming out of the Judicial Department tomorrow. Whoever ordered Yin Zhi to go to the Imperial Pharmacy to get Snake Jade Grass certainly didn't want to see her come out of the Judicial Department alive.
If I'm not mistaken, Consort Shu arranged for someone from the Judicial Department to secretly kill Yin Zhi. Then Consort Shu let Qing Yue provide an excuse for the person who did it, and also took care of him, ensuring that there would be no evidence."
"Does Master mean that Consort Shu was behind the incident in the Plum Garden?" Xiao Fuzi became more confused as she listened. She furrowed her brows and scratched her head, then asked, "But in public, we have been suspecting the Empress all along. When did Master realize that Consort Shu was acting suspiciously?"
"Many things may seem fine at first glance, but they cannot withstand careful scrutiny," Song Zhao raised his eyebrows and looked at Xiao Fuzi, questioning, "Do you remember when Lady Xiao said that Consort Shu taught her to make scented sachets for the palace?"
After a moment of recollection, Xiao Fuzi nodded repeatedly.
Song Zhao continued, "After the incident in Mei Garden with the snake, when Lady Chen fell beside me, there were three people standing beside me: Lady Xiao, Liu Chang, and another person, Qing Yue, who was by Consort Shu's side."
Xiao Fuzi gradually understood Song Zhao's suspicion and exclaimed with a hint of surprise, "So, Consort Shu orchestrated this whole affair, and the person who tripped Lady Chen, seemingly the least likely suspect, could very well be Qing Yue!"
Song Zhao nodded calmly, his eyes lowered as he idly played with his fingernails.
After contemplating for a while, he completely understood the situation in his mind and said, "At the time, I thought this was directed at me, which is why I rushed out to save Lady Chen. But think about it, if I hadn't rushed out that day, how would things have unfolded?"
Xiao Fuzi replied, "Lady Chen would definitely not have survived. In that case, Lady Xiao would be the one who went to the imperial pharmacy to get the snakeweed, and she would be the one hurrying to make scented sachets for the concubines. And when the incident happened in Mei Garden, the person most likely to trip Lady Chen, who was standing beside her, would also be Lady Xiao!"
"All the pieces fit together like a puzzle. So, everyone would naturally believe that Lady Xiao, embittered by the disfigurement of her appearance, harbored deep hatred toward Lady Chen and plotted to kill her. If Lady Chen had truly died, Lady Xiao probably wouldn't even have had a chance to be diagnosed with carrying the imperial heir before the emperor, in a fit of anger, executed her..."
Xiao Fuzi's analysis aligned perfectly with Song Zhao's thoughts.
And the reason she suspected Consort Shu had another piece of evidence that had been overlooked by everyone.
She said, "On the day when the incident happened in Mei Garden, we had always assumed that the scent of realgar came from the soup servant carried by the empress. But think about it, Consort Shu was almost always together with the empress that day, and she remained by the empress's side throughout. If we consider the possibility that the scent of realgar came from Consort Shu herself, it's not entirely impossible."
Xiao Fuzi carefully recalled the scene from that day and remembered that Consort Shu had indeed stayed close to the empress. With a sudden realization, she slapped her thigh and exclaimed, "That's right! My lord is truly wise! We only saw the empress carrying a soup servant and immediately assumed that the smell came from the servant. But if Consort Shu used realgar powder, it's entirely possible that the scent came from her!"
After a moment of contemplation, Song Zhao said, "That's the cunning aspect of Consort Shu's plan. Even if Lady Chen hadn't died, Consort Shu could distance herself from any involvement and even implicate the empress."
Xiao Fuzi sighed, "I never expected that Consort Shu would appear calm and gentle on the surface but harbor so many sinister thoughts behind the scenes..."
"Her sinister thoughts go far beyond this," Song Zhao's clear gaze gradually clouded over, and he said in a deep voice, "I suspect that the incident of her miscarriage in the past was also a turmoil she stirred up herself."
"This...," Xiao Fuzi was bewildered by the words and said, "Are you suggesting that Consort Shu caused her own miscarriage?"
He pondered for a moment and found the idea absurd. Shaking his head repeatedly, he said, "But she had been pregnant for nearly seven months with the Emperor's first child, a precious son. Your position, Young Master, is only secondary. It is highly unlikely that Consort Shu would sacrifice the opportunity to bear a noble child just to frame you."
Upon hearing this, Song Zhao looked up at Xiao Fuzi. A faint smile played at the corners of her lips as she raised an eyebrow at him.
"But what if she couldn't maintain the pregnancy in the first place?"
