The emperor frowned slightly, his expression revealing a hint of restlessness. When he learned that Little Six had attempted a palace coup, he had already decided to take his life as a warning to the restless Third and Fourth Princes—he was not yet dead, and they need not be in such a hurry.
Yet, as he thought of Consort Zhen, the murderous intent in his heart unconsciously faded somewhat. It was the fifth year of his reign, with both the court and the country stabilized, and he could finally relax a little. He recalled that year, when he had not widely expanded the harem but only allowed officials of the fourth rank and above to send their daughters of marriageable age into the palace. Consort Zhen was not originally among them. The Sun family had only one daughter, and whether she married out or took in a son-in-law would have been reasonable.
But she entered the palace. It was said she had proposed it herself. Because the Sun family had ties with his elder brother, and Sun Qi commanded hundreds of thousands of troops guarding the crucial Pass of Shou'ai for the Great Qing, he naturally had his own thoughts on the matter.
Thus, Consort Zhen offered herself to the palace, effectively presenting the Sun family's pledge of loyalty to him. To this day, the Sun family had not adopted an heir, and Sun Qi rarely returned to the capital, guarding the Pass of Shou'ai year after year. Since Consort Zhen's death, the main branch of the Sun family had effectively died out.
Consort Zhen had preserved Sun Qi and the Sun family at the cost of herself.
She was a clever woman, never one to seek the spotlight. She drifted along with the tide—when other women vied for favor, she vied a little; when other women grew jealous, she grew jealous a little; when other women sought rewards, she sought them too. On the surface, she seemed no different from the other consorts. But those who truly spent time with her knew she was different. In those years, Consort Zhen's Frost Cloud Palace was the place he most wished to visit. He had cherished her and, to spare her from jealousy, dared not visit too often.
Yes, before her death, she had begged him—begged him to promise that if Little Six wished to leave the capital when he grew up, he would grant permission. He had agreed at the time...
Closing his eyes briefly, the emperor turned his gaze back to Little Six. "For Consort Zhen's sake, I pardon you from the death penalty, but you will not escape punishment."
Just as he was about to pronounce the sentence, a commotion came from outside the door. Frowning, he looked over, and soon Hua Zhi came into view.
The tenderness in his heart vanished instantly. The emperor flicked his sleeve and laughed in extreme anger. "The eldest daughter of the Hua family wields such great influence that she comes and goes freely even in the depths of the palace. But you may not leave so easily."
Hua Zhi walked to Little Six's side, knelt, and after paying her respects respectfully, replied, "Whether I come or not, I am doomed to die. I merely wish to die with clarity."
"You do have some self-awareness," the emperor said, sitting back down. "Very well, I shall grant you that clarity. Hua Zhi, you are indeed clever. Had someone not alerted me, I would never have noticed that in just two short years, you have woven an astonishingly powerful network. Several of my most important ministers are part of this web. Your interests are intertwined, and you support one another. Given a few more years, I fear this empire would bear the surname Hua."
The emperor snorted angrily. "You certainly had a grand plan—fooling Little Six into obeying your every whim, then offering your resources for his use. What a mutually beneficial arrangement! In such a short time, you secured so much support for Little Six. I ask you, do you not deserve to die?"
"By your standards, I certainly do," Hua Zhi lifted her head. "Since all of this is my crime, and Little Six was merely deceived by me, what crime has he committed?"The Emperor felt sweat beading on his back. He tugged at his collar, his irritability worsening his demeanor. "Some things don't matter in process—only the outcome does. And now you're feeling sorry for him? If you knew this would happen, why did you push him toward death in the first place?"
"Wasn't it you who pushed him toward death?" Hua Zhi curled her lips into a mocking smile, as if knowing she had little time left and had nothing left to fear. "When he had no means to protect himself and was schemed against by his brothers one after another, did you ever shield him? Where were you when he nearly lost his life? Other princes had their mothers to rely on, but he couldn't even visit his maternal grandparents without calculating the time, afraid you'd punish him for going too often. He spent his days guarding the relics his mother left behind—where were you then? They say 'father' comes before 'emperor,' but have you ever been a father to him?"
"Silence! Silence!" The Emperor shot to his feet, strode over, and kicked Hua Zhi to the ground. He staggered back two steps himself, and Fu Gang hurried to support him. But Little Six was the first to kneel and crawl over, helping his master up and subtly shielding her with his body.
At the sight, the Emperor was so enraged he nearly toppled backward. Shoving Fu Gang aside, he marched over and aimed another kick at Hua Zhi. Little Six threw himself in front of her, taking the blow squarely.
"Drag him away! Drag him away!" the Emperor roared, unconsciously tugging at his collar again as he lifted his foot to kick Hua Zhi once more.
"Your Majesty..."
The Empress Dowager had barely spoken when the Emperor looked up with a sinister laugh. "What? Is Mother going to stop me too?"
"I am concerned for your health."
"Thank you, Mother. Your son is perfectly fine." The Emperor raised his foot again and stomped heavily on Hua Zhi's shoulder, his smile twisted. "See, Mother? Isn't your son perfectly fine?"
The Empress Dowager's heart sank. The Emperor's lips had turned purplish—far from "perfectly fine." She could no longer hold back and immediately ordered, "Summon the imperial physician! Quickly!"
"Who dares!" The Emperor's smile vanished as he glared dangerously at his mother. "Who dares summon the physician!"
"Your Majesty!"
"Guards, assist the Empress Dowager! Bring me my whip!"
The palace attendants exchanged uneasy glances, none daring to step forward. Haoyue glanced sideways at her maid, who understood and signaled a few others. They moved to support the Empress Dowager, but she fixed them with a cold stare, freezing them in place—unable to advance or retreat.
Yet the Empress Dowager took no further action. The Emperor distrusted her, believing she called for the physician to treat Hua Zhi, unaware of his own alarming condition.
Watching the Emperor, Haoyue grew anxious. She had timed everything carefully; even if the Sixth Prince had knelt for an unexpected hour before entering, the Emperor shouldn't have deteriorated so quickly. She could only hope the matter would conclude soon, giving her a reason to persuade the Emperor to rest in the inner chambers.
A palace servant brought the long whip. The Emperor took it and cracked it through the air several times, the sharp snaps pleasing him.
He looked down at Hua Zhi, his gaze as if regarding an insect. "Yan Xi isn't in the capital now, Hua Zhi. No one can save you."Hua Zhi endured the pain throughout her body as she knelt on the ground, her tone resolute. "If you had even the slightest concern for Yan Xi in your heart, you wouldn't have refused to see Chen Qing when he returned from Jin Yang, stubbornly laying traps to eliminate us all. You want a Seven Constellation Bureau leader who obeys your every command like before, yet you show no concern for whether he gets injured or survives when fighting desperately against the Chao Li Tribe..."
Crack!
A whip lashed from her left shoulder to her right abdomen, grazing her chin. Hua Zhi shuddered from the pain, but her voice never faltered. "I wish he hadn't returned alive—only then would he be spared the heartbreak of realizing the uncle he served as a father never once regarded him as family!"
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