Chapter Eighty-Two
The Holy Emperor held a pair of golden shears, meticulously trimming a lush bonsai on the flower stand. He spoke leisurely, "What? Can’t bear to part with him?"
"But Your Majesty promised not to harm his life!" Feng Xiyang cried out. "If not for Xiao Canjun, he might have—"
With a crisp snip , another leaf fell from the shears. "What We want is precisely Xiao Weiran," the Holy Emperor said. Seeing Xiyang’s confusion, he smiled faintly and set down the shears. "He is far too troublesome. Let him lie low for a while—once We have arranged everything, the rest will depend on you, Princess."
"I don’t understand," Feng Xiyang said, looking at him with unease. "Nor do I know what to do..."
"No need to worry," the Holy Emperor reassured her gently, patting her shoulder. "Fu Yixiao will return soon. When she does, We shall instruct you further."
"Fu Yixiao?!" Xiyang gasped. "Why would she return?"
"Because the King Who Pacifies the South is gravely injured," the Holy Emperor replied with a cryptic smile. "Thus, she will rush back from Su Sha, no matter the distance."
"But... my husband hasn’t..." Xiyang still didn’t comprehend, but the Holy Emperor had already picked up the shears again, resuming his careful pruning without offering further explanation. She stood there blankly for a moment before finally retreating helplessly.
Consort Zhuang paced anxiously in her chamber, her maidservants occasionally peering out the door.
As dusk approached, Fu Yixiao sent a messenger with word that the Secret Forest Assault Case would be judged that night in Shu Chen Hall and invited her to oversee the proceedings. Guilt-ridden, Consort Zhuang grew increasingly unsettled.
Why hold the trial at night? Shu Chen Hall was the punishment hall for palace servants who violated the Inner Law, just a step away from the Cold Palace. It was the most haunted and sinister place in the entire Royal City, a place no servant dared approach after dark.
And why invite her to oversee the trial? She was merely an Imperial Concubine—when had such a major case of interrogation ever required her presence?
Contacting her father and brother now would be unwise. Moreover, Feng Qishan had been furious with her for bungling the inn fire incident and had refused to see her for days. Left with no choice, she sent a clever palace attendant to gather information from the other Imperial Concubines.
The attendant had been gone for over an hour with no sign of returning, leaving her heart suspended in worry. Just as her anxiety peaked, a maidservant suddenly whispered excitedly, "She’s back! She’s returned!"
Before the words fully faded, the attendant hurried in, dropping to her knees in a swift bow. "Your Highness, this servant has inquired. The other consorts have also received invitations from the Minor Imperial Concubine, all summoning them to oversee the trial at Shu Chen Hall tonight."
Consort Zhuang exhaled in relief, her usual graceful composure returning. "Very well. You are dismissed—go and claim your reward."
Perhaps she had been overly tense. But in her memory, both Shu Chen Hall and the Cold Palace were eerie and terrifying.
When she had first been appointed as a consort, she had once sneaked to the Cold Palace behind Shu Chen Hall out of curiosity, wanting to see how the concubines who had been demoted for various reasons lived.When she pushed open one of the creaking wooden doors, she saw only a simple wooden table with a bowl of leftover food, a few flies buzzing around it. In the corner crouched a gaunt woman whose face resembled a skeleton. Seeing her standing dumbstruck at the doorway, the woman shrieked hoarsely, "What are you staring at? The Lord of the Nation favored me six times! How many times has he favored you? I was a hundred times more beautiful than you in the past—what are you compared to me?"
Pale with fright, the newcomer to the rear palace turned and fled the Cold Palace, only to nearly collide with another exquisitely beautiful consort at the entrance—she recognized her as Consort Hui, the Lord of the Nation's most favored consort.
Consort Hui stood there haughtily, casting only a disdainful glance. "Bold enough to sneak into the Cold Palace, I thought you were someone formidable. Turns out you're just as easily frightened."
At first, she thought Consort Hui had come specifically to catch her. Struck speechless with fear, she suddenly heard light footsteps as a palace attendant hurried over with a bloodstained bamboo whip and reported to Consort Hui, "The flogging is done, Your Highness. What should we...?" Still holding her head high, Consort Hui shot her a mocking glance and asked languidly, "Has she shown any remorse?"
The attendant hesitated briefly before Consort Hui pressed, "What did she say?" Trembling, the attendant replied, "She said... even as a ghost, she would crawl back from the underworld to settle accounts with Your Highness."
She shivered slightly, but then Consort Hui explained softly to her, "That woman inside is Consort Liu, who was caught poisoning the meals in an attempt to murder me. You heard it yourself—it's not that I won't let her go, but that she brought this upon herself." She nodded instinctively, and Consort Hui ignored her, turning to the attendant to order, "Chop off her hands and feet, burn her to death, and scatter her ashes!"
As the attendant left, she heard Consort Hui say coldly, "Let’s see how you’ll crawl back then."
Two years later, during a rebellion in the rear palace, Consort Hui—accused of practicing witchcraft to harm Imperial Son Feng Suige—was stripped of her title by the Lord of the Nation Feng Qishan. As the attendants carried out the flogging, Consort Hui kicked and bit them until they pinned her limbs down to complete the punishment. Between screams, she cursed, "I won’t let you off even as a ghost..."
By then, she had become Consort Zhuang. Smiling faintly, she crouched before Consort Hui and whispered, "Remember what you said back then?" As Consort Hui looked up, she murmured into those eyes filled with shock and hatred, "Let’s see how you’ll crawl back now."
Consort Hui suddenly burst into mad laughter, her mouth full of blood. "I’ll remember you—you remember me too... I’ll return... I’ll make you suffer everything I’ve suffered today... and for every ounce of pain I’ve endured, I’ll repay you twofold..."
"Your Highness—" A gentle touch startled Consort Zhuang out of her reverie. She clutched her chest and jumped up in fright, only to realize it was the maid who had remained in the chamber. Without thinking, she slapped the girl and snapped, "You wretched thing! Are you trying to scare me to death?"
The maid covered her face, sobbing pitifully. "This lowly one deserves punishment... but the hour is almost upon us. Please, Your Highness, prepare to depart soon..."
The moment Consort Zhuang stepped into Shu Chen Hall, she froze in terror.The vast hall was filled with endless white Mourning Gauze hanging from every corner. Combined with the dim candlelight, the eerie atmosphere sent chills down her spine. The maid supporting Consort Zhuang began trembling and asked in a shaky voice, "Your Highness, what is all this...?"
"Consort Zhuang, you've arrived quite early," a voice suddenly echoed through the hall, startling her. Yet, her wildly pounding heart quickly calmed down. Though this was the last person she wished to see, some company was better than none.
"Wasn't the time set by the Minor Imperial Concubine?" Consort Zhuang replied, spotting Fu Yixiao stepping out from behind the curtains. She assumed her usual haughty demeanor. "Why is there no one here? Where are the other consorts from the other palaces?"
"Perhaps you misremembered the time and arrived early," Fu Yixiao answered casually, reaching out to take her hand. "Since it's still early, why not come inside first?"
Instinctively, Consort Zhuang took a step back. "I'll visit the nearby consorts first and return later."
Yixiao let out a derisive laugh. "Are you afraid of me, Consort Zhuang... or something else?"
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