Jiangshi, in fact, had a way out.
Her corruption was nothing more than greed, and embezzling a few thousand taels of silver was not a significant amount. As long as she surrendered all the embezzled silver to the imperial court, at worst, she would be sentenced to ten or eight years.
But Song Zhao only wanted her dead, which led to the grand spectacle we see today.
She knew the deep bond between the Empress Dowager and Jin Lan, her own mother.
What could be more irrational and infuriating than watching her daughter, who was dear to Jin Lan, begging with tears streaming down her face for the life of the person who killed Jin Lan?
So from beginning to end, Song Zhao was pleading for Jiangshi's death, not her own survival.
After the court physician applied the medicinal oil, Song Zhao woke up shortly afterward.
Xiao Jingheng immediately grasped her hand, gently stroking the strands of hair stuck to her cheeks by tears, and asked softly, "Are you feeling any discomfort?"
Song Zhao appeared extremely weak, even shaking her head seemed extremely difficult.
Her tears had dried up, and her bright eyes had become dull and empty.
However, this fainting spell had also brought her some clarity.
She was no longer fixated on pleading for Jiangshi, and after briefly calming her emotions, with Yun Shan's support, she kneeled to apologize to the Empress Dowager, saying, "I was overstepping my bounds out of concern. I spoke out of turn for a moment. I beg the Empress Dowager for punishment."
Seeing her looking so haggard, how could the Empress Dowager bear to punish her?
She didn't even allow her to kneel and quickly helped her up, saying, "The fault does not lie with you. I will not blame you."
Song Zhao said, "Mother has made a grave mistake, and I should not have troubled the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, nor should I have spoken words defending Mother's favoritism. But Mother has indeed nurtured me, and I beg the Emperor and the Empress Dowager to allow me to return to my mother's home to fulfill my filial duty and see Mother off on her final journey."
At this moment, her request was unreasonable, but it was in line with her kind and innocent nature.
Jiangshi's crime was discovered by the Empress Dowager and Song Zhao during a casual conversation, which led to the Empress Dowager thoroughly investigating Jiangshi.
Although Jiangshi deserved her punishment, Xiao Jingheng felt that Song Zhao must have thought that she was the one who caused Jiangshi's downfall.
She was inherently introspective and sentimental, so Xiao Jingheng didn't want her to bear such a heavy psychological burden.
So he asked the Empress Dowager, "What does Mother Empress think?"
The Empress Dowager said sternly, "Rules are necessary for everything, especially in the palace, where rules are strictly enforced. There has never been a precedent for a concubine to leave the palace to return to her mother's home. This is all I have to say. The Emperor will decide for himself."
After speaking, she claimed fatigue and turned back to the inner chamber.
Although the Empress Dowager's words seemed to refuse Song Zhao, they were actually a subtle way of granting her wish.
"Strict rules in the palace," "no precedent for a concubine to leave the palace to return to her mother's home"—
But now, they were not in the palace but in the Wenspring Villa.
Implicitly, some rules could be broken.
Xiao Jingheng caught on to the subtleties in the Empress Dowager's words.
Seeing Song Zhao's sorrowful expression, he thought that the innocent girl probably couldn't understand these intricacies.
So he took it upon himself to play the role of a good person and said, "The Empress Dowager doesn't permit you to return to your mother's home, but I don't want you to blame yourself for this matter."
He embraced Song Zhao's shoulders, his gaze burning as he stared at her. "I can allow you to return to your mother's home to accompany Jiang on her final journey. But I want you to know that this is Jiang's own fault and has nothing to do with you. I don't want you to blame yourself for this. Do you understand?"
Song Zhao was deeply moved and nodded vigorously, tears welling up in her eyes. Then she leaned against Xiao Jingheng's chest and sobbed softly.
"I know that my mother has gone too far this time, and it is right for the Emperor and the Empress Dowager to punish her. I was too concerned and lost my composure in front of the court, and I did many absurd things. I ask for your forgiveness for my recklessness today."
Xiao Jingheng naturally didn't care about those things. Instead, he worried that Song Zhao might be in a bad mood, so he stayed by her side until late at night.
Unusually, he didn't have any thoughts of intimacy with her. He only chatted, amused, and entertained Song Zhao to lighten her spirits.
Behind closed doors, the two of them seemed like an ordinary couple.
The husband put in great effort to comfort his wife when she was feeling down, occasionally even deliberately causing some funny scenes just to make her smile.
In that moment, Song Zhao felt that although Xiao Jingheng was cunning and had deep schemes, he truly cared for her.
But she also knew clearly in her heart that the Emperor's heart was filled with the women from the three palaces and six courtyards.
Such care and consideration,
today for her, tomorrow for someone else,
it showed his cheapness, and she would rather not have it.
Xiao Jingheng allowed Song Zhao to return to her mother's home, and she traveled for three days with Yun Shan before finally returning to the place that raised her.
After the sedan chair steadied, Yun Shan helped Song Zhao down and suddenly felt a chill on her neck.
Looking up, the clear sky from earlier was now covered in dark clouds, and a sudden snowfall caught them off guard.
"Miss, look, it's snowing!"
Song Zhao stood in front of the Duke's Mansion, looking up at the goose feather-like snowflakes continuously hitting the golden plaque.
After a moment, she murmured sadly,
"Yes, it's snowing."
Song Zhao disliked snow very much.
Childhood memories linked her mother's death and the heavy snowfall together.
Every time she saw the earth covered in a silver coat, her heart ached.
But today was different.
She thought, perhaps her mother was watching her from heaven?
Watching how she would avenge Jiang and make that despicable woman pay with her life!
"Miss, someone is knocking on the door."
The person who approached to speak was Xiao Yinzi, Jiang Deshun's disciple. Xiao Jingheng specifically had him accompany and take care of Song Zhao on this journey.
Xiao Yinzi knocked on the door three times, and it was opened from inside.
The news of Song Zhao's return had reached the mansion two days ago, so the people who came to greet her were Song Shicheng and Song Yue.
As soon as they saw Song Zhao, they knelt down on the ground, paying their respects.
"We, your subjects, pay our respects to the young mistress."
Song Zhao looked down at Song Shicheng,
His temples had grayed, and he had visible signs of aging under his eyes.
The decades of love and loyalty between him and Jiang were evident, and it was clear that he had been tirelessly working behind the scenes for Jiang's sake.
But it was precisely this show of deep affection that made Song Zhao feel disgusted!
"Father, elder sister, how can I, your daughter, accept such a grand gesture from you? Please, please get up!"
She pretended to be affectionate on the surface and quickly helped Song Shicheng and Song Yue to their feet.
Yun Shan handed Xiao Yinzi a silver ticket and said, "Master Yin, you must be tired. Allow me to take you for a cup of tea?"
Understanding the etiquette, Xiao Yinzi accepted the silver ticket and respectfully bowed to Song Zhao, saying, "It has been a long time since you last saw your family. I won't disturb you, Master, and will wait in the side hall."
As soon as he left, Song Shicheng eagerly asked Song Zhao, "Father heard that you were coming back, and he knew that there was a chance for things to change. Did you persuade the Emperor to change his mind and spare your mother's life?"
Song Yue even took Song Zhao's hand directly and said, "Dear sister, we are family after all. If our mother is truly in trouble, your path in the palace won't be easy either. That's why I told father early on that you will definitely save our mother!"
Song Zhao didn't say much, just nodded perfunctorily and asked, "Where is mother? I want to see her."
"Mother is locked in the firewood room. There are palace guards watching her. This morning, an executioner from the palace came and brought the three items used for execution, saying that they will send mother on her final journey." Song Yue pulled Song Zhao along towards the firewood room. "Dear sister, you must save our mother!"
The palace maid guarding the entrance of the firewood room stopped Song Yue and allowed only Song Zhao to enter.
She approached against the light, and as the door of the firewood room closed heavily, it took away the fleeting light that briefly shone on Jiang's face.
Jiang looked up at Song Zhao in astonishment and asked, "Is it you? How did you come back?"
With a slight raise of his eyebrow at Jiang, Song Zhao calmly walked to her side and lowered himself, his lips close to her ear.
Then, a wicked smile formed on his lips as he murmured, "If I didn't come back, who would send you on your final journey?"
