"It's finе. If he wants tо dеаl with mе, lеt him come—аs lоng as he hаs the cараbilitу." Fu Yunхi's еxprеssion was as cold as iсе. Onе must pау thе рricе fоr whаtеvеr theу do. Unfortunatеlу, the Хuan Qing Princе Consоrt is not somеоnе thеу саn afford tо mоve аgаinst.
"Еmprеss Dowаgеr won't just stand bу аnd watсh," Cheng Lei sаid, looking at him. "Yunхi, уоu'd bettеr be preраrеd."
Fu Yunxi sаid nоthing. Sunlight strеаmеd thrоugh the саrved bеd rails, filling thе entire rоom. Тhоugh thе weаthеr оutsidе was warm and рleasant, the roоm was filled with a bоne-chilling сold.
Еmрress Dоwager?
In Colorful Phoenix Hall.
Empress Dowager looked at The Emperor sitting beside her and smiled. "Still troubled, aren't you?"
The Emperor shook his head. Thinking of Consort Chen, his eyes reddened with lingering anger. "I truly never expected her to disregard me so completely and to be so wanton! Choosing her to enter the palace was a mistake from the start! She has shamed the royal family!"
Empress Dowager smiled and patted his hand. "In life, there are many things that don't go as we wish. People are often not what they seem on the surface. I have always been close to Consort Chen, yet I never knew she was such a person. It is all my fault. If I hadn't favored her, Your Majesty would not have been misled by her."
The Emperor quickly replied, "Mother, please don't say that. This matter has nothing to do with you. That vile woman is morally corrupt, while Mother is renowned throughout the land for her benevolence and virtue—how can they be compared? I am merely angry and upset. Please do not blame yourself."
Empress Dowager sighed. "I know Your Majesty is most filial, but this matter is indeed connected to me. Your Majesty need not speak on my behalf. I must get to the bottom of this. But has Your Majesty considered how Consort Chen could be so bold as to engage in such indecent acts with an outsider in broad daylight, and precisely when Your Majesty was about to arrive? Knowing Your Majesty would be present, to do such a thing seems almost intentional, as if she wanted to be caught. When something is abnormal, there must be something sinister behind it. Your Majesty should think carefully."
Since yesterday, after ordering Consort Chen imprisoned and returning to his chambers to calm down, The Emperor had also pondered these questions. However, he had been reluctant to delve deeper, for the dignity of an emperor cannot be questioned. No matter what, Consort Chen's behavior, in his eyes, was utterly unforgivable. Now, hearing Empress Dowager bring it up, he felt somewhat hesitant. "Mother means..."
Empress Dowager had been close to The Emperor since his childhood, and he always heeded her words to some extent. She looked at him and said, "When I heard about the incident yesterday, I was extremely shocked and immediately sent someone to investigate. I learned something strange..." Meeting The Emperor's surprised expression, she continued, "Consort Chen claims she was wronged—that Xuan Qing Prince Consort wanted to harm her."
The Emperor was taken aback, then erupted in fury. "Nonsense! What does this have to do with Xuan Qing Prince Consort? That vile woman is clearly trying to shift blame, without even considering whom she's accusing!"The Empress Dowager took a sip of tea and spoke slowly, "Your Majesty, do not be hasty. Hear me out first. At the time, I found it very strange as well, so I sent someone to ask Consort Chen why she said such things. Consort Chen claimed that on the day before her birthday, she happened to encounter Xuan Qing Prince Consort and a man... engaging in an indecent act in the imperial garden. In her panic, she did not see clearly who the man was. However, Xuan Qing Prince Consort discovered her. Now, as for her own affair with another man, it was merely because Xuan Qing Prince Consort had drugged her with an aphrodisiac, causing Consort Chen to lose her senses and commit such an act."
The Emperor grew increasingly alarmed as he listened, "Every word from that vile woman is a lie. Xuan Qing Prince Consort is Yunxi's wife—how could she possibly meet with another man in secret..." Privately, although the Emperor believed Han Yan was unworthy of Fu Yunxi, he still trusted that she was not the kind of woman who lacked virtue or purity. Yet, he also felt that Consort Chen's actions that day were indeed inexplicable. How could anyone engage in such indecent acts in broad daylight? Moreover, after being caught by him, Consort Chen showed no signs of panic or distress. Instead, she completely ignored him and even attempted to continue with the man. At the time, the imperial family had assumed it was due to Consort Chen's inherently wanton nature, but now it seemed more like behavior driven by a loss of reason.
"Your Majesty, one must not rely solely on personal assumptions. As the ruler of the realm, you must examine matters with utmost clarity." The Empress Dowager spoke unhurriedly, and the Emperor looked at her, still somewhat hesitant and uncertain.
"Mother Empress, but now we only have Consort Chen's side of the story. How can I judge whether her words are true or false?" the Emperor said. Indeed, Consort Chen's words alone could not prove anything. She could easily shift blame onto others to clear her own name.
"I have a solution," the Empress Dowager smiled kindly. "This method can determine who, between Xuan Qing Prince Consort and Consort Chen, is telling lies."
Consort Chen had already spent a day and a night in the imperial prison.
After the effects of the drug wore off, she gradually regained her senses but had no recollection of what she had done. The prison guards called her an unchaste woman, saying that the Emperor had caught her in the act of adultery. Even if she were spared death, her fate would be to spend the rest of her life confined to the cold palace. Naturally, she was unwilling to accept this. She screamed desperately, loudly proclaiming that she had been framed. Unfortunately, none of the guards paid her any attention.
However, someone from the Empress Dowager's side arrived.
All along, the Empress Dowager had stood on the same side as her. Although Consort Chen did not fully understand what had gone wrong between the Empress Dowager and the Empress, she knew that the Empress Dowager treated her far better than she did the Empress. Yet Consort Chen was also aware that the Empress Dowager's favor toward her was not out of genuine affection but merely a matter of mutual exploitation. And what she could offer in return was nothing more than the backing of the Chen family. Consort Chen had never worried about such things—she was the jewel of the Chen family, the Emperor's most beloved woman. The Chen family had risen step by step because of her, and now that she had fallen, the entire Chen family would be implicated. Women in the imperial palace never represented just themselves as individuals. So when the Empress Dowager's envoy told her what to do, Consort Chen agreed without a second thought.
Feeling her mouth somewhat dry, she addressed the prison guard stationed at the imperial prison, "This consort is thirsty. Fetch me some tea at once."The jailer was a middle-aged man with a fat head and big ears. Upon hearing this, he couldn't help but sneer, "This little lady sure knows how to order me around. Tea? None. Piss? I can give you a fresh pot right now."
Consort Chen had never suffered such humiliation before. Furious, she replied with an arrogant posture, "How dare you! I am the woman His Majesty loves most. Aren't you afraid the Emperor will chop off your head for treating me like this?"
As if hearing such words for the first time, the jailer took a few steps closer and laughed heartily. "This prison holds plenty of 'noble' people. Don’t tell me you still think you’re a royal consort? In all my years working here, I’ve never seen anyone thrown into the imperial prison and make a comeback!"
This was no exaggeration. Anyone who entered the imperial prison had one foot already in the execution ground. Countless imperial relatives had walked in but never walked out again. Consort Chen felt a pang of fear but still stubbornly insisted, "I was framed. His Majesty will surely bring me back."
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