“Your Highness, please don’t be rash…”
The Fourteenth Princess looked at Nursemaid Duo with bright eyes, curving her lips slightly: “Don’t worry, Nursemaid. I won’t be rash.”
“Your Highness, you’re making this servant very uneasy. Surely you don’t intend to harm the Empress tomorrow?”
The Fourteenth Princess lowered her gaze to stare at her own hands, her tone cold: “She caused my mother’s death. Shouldn’t I take revenge?”
“Your Highness, the Empress will surely be surrounded by attendants when she travels, even if she’s just coming to visit you. You’re ill – surely you don’t intend to use brute force? If so, you’d likely fail before you could do anything. How would you face Consort Chen’s motherly love then?”
The Fourteenth Princess covered her face and began to cry: “Besides this sickly body, what else can I do?”
The young girl’s sobs echoed in the room, growing fainter as the curtains swayed gently.
“Has Your Highness considered using poison?”
The Fourteenth Princess’s cries stopped abruptly as she looked at Nursemaid Duo.
Nursemaid Duo was middle-aged and appeared kind, but her casually spoken words carried an inexplicable chill.
“Poison?” The Fourteenth Princess looked bewildered. “Everything I use is strictly regulated. Where could I get poison from?”
Nursemaid Duo pulled something from her sleeve and handed it over.
It was a very small, ordinary-looking jade box.
The Fourteenth Princess looked at her in confusion.
“Inside is a poisonous insect. If you find a way to get it into someone’s body, before long they’ll slowly show symptoms of heart failure and eventually die from it. Even the imperial physicians won’t be able to tell what caused it. This way, Your Highness can avenge your mother and escape unscathed. Isn’t that perfect?”
The Fourteenth Princess stared at the small jade box, murmuring: “Why are you helping me like this, Nursemaid?”
Nursemaid Duo’s eyes flickered: “This servant had an adopted daughter who worked in Kunning Palace. Just because she complained privately and it reached the Empress’s ears, the Empress quietly disposed of her. Like Your Highness, how could this servant not want justice for my poor daughter?”
The Fourteenth Princess’s slender, pale fingers touched the jade box, her eyes unable to hide her curiosity and fear: “How does one use this poisonous insect?”
“It’s very simple. You just need to find a small wound on the target’s hand…” Nursemaid Duo’s voice was enticing.
The Fourteenth Princess finally grasped the small jade box, saying softly: “Is that all it takes?”
Footsteps sounded, and the heavy curtains were pulled aside. Emperor Jingming and the Empress appeared hand in hand before Nursemaid Duo.
Nursemaid Duo was stunned, instinctively looking towards the Fourteenth Princess.
The Fourteenth Princess gripped the jade box tightly and walked towards the Empress.
“Mother—”
The Empress gently patted the Fourteenth Princess’s arm, pulling her behind her: “Fourteen has done very well.”
The Fourteenth Princess smiled with relief, leaning against a palace maid and breathing heavily as she said word by word: “Your daughter is fortunate not to have failed in her mission.”
After speaking, she looked at the still-dazed Nursemaid Duo, tears streaming down her face.
She knew her mother had committed a crime.
That day when Father Emperor and Mother Empress came to see her, her mother disappeared. She had wanted countless times to ask about the true cause of her mother’s death but was met only with evasive, disgusted looks.
Finally, this day came. Mother Empress sent someone under the pretense of scolding her, revealing the truth about her mother’s death. Only then did she understand what had happened.
Her mother was the one who had blinded her Thirteenth Sister and killed her Fifteenth Sister.
As unbearable as this truth was, she knew it was real.
Long ago, she had accidentally overheard her mother complaining.
She had been ill then, lying in her mother’s arms half-asleep. Her mother had held her tightly, whispering: “It’s all because Princess Fuqing stole my child’s good fortune. If only Princess Fuqing would die…”
Her mother’s bitter tears had fallen on her face, but she, already awake, hadn’t dared to even flutter her eyelashes.
Such words were too terrifying. She couldn’t imagine how her mother would react if she knew she had heard. She decided to pretend she hadn’t heard anything. Her mother was just upset and speaking out of concern for her.
But those words had taken root in the Fourteenth Princess’s heart. When the truth was laid bare before her, she had no reason to doubt it.
The Fourteenth Princess felt both resentment and hatred – resentment towards her mother’s foolishness in believing such nonsense and harming others, ultimately losing her life; and hatred towards the person who had incited her mother.
This person was the true culprit behind everything. Finding this person would be the real revenge for her mother.
The Fourteenth Princess gripped the jade box, her hand trembling constantly.
She had no idea how she had managed to act through that scene just now. It felt like it had drained all her strength.
She had done it. She had done it…
Waves of dizziness washed over the Fourteenth Princess, and the jade box slipped from her hand.
A quick-witted palace maid caught the box: “Your Highness—”
The Empress immediately said: “Take the Princess to the side room to rest.”
The Fourteenth Princess’s eyes were full of pleading: “Mother, your daughter wishes to listen.”
The Empress hesitated, looking towards Emperor Jingming.
Emperor Jingming nodded slightly: “Then listen.”
As Old Seven had said, Fourteen was no longer a child. They couldn’t keep everything from her, lest she be exploited by those with ill intentions and do something irreparable.
Thinking of how Nursemaid Duo had gradually incited Fourteen’s hatred toward the Empress, Emperor Jingming felt a chill of fear.
If they hadn’t taken the step of revealing the truth about Consort Chen’s death to Fourteen beforehand, this daughter might have followed in the footsteps of Consort Chen and Consort Yang, being used as a tool by others.
But now he felt relieved.
He hadn’t even expected Fourteen to perform so well, calmly leading the other party to reveal their true colors.
Thinking of this, Emperor Jingming’s evaluation of Yu Jin rose even higher.
The transition from “Mother” to “Empress” to “Her Majesty” was something Yu Jin had pointed out.
That boy was truly clever.
“Nursemaid Duo, you’re a Wumiao person who infiltrated the imperial court fifteen years ago to cause trouble. What were you after?” Emperor Jingming refocused his attention, staring intently at Nursemaid Duo.
Nursemaid Duo remained silent.
“You incited others to harm the Crown Princess, harm the Crown Prince, and even attempt to harm the Empress. What exactly was your purpose?”
“This servant doesn’t know what Your Majesty is talking about.”
Emperor Jingming flew into a rage: “You just instigated the Fourteenth Princess to use a poisonous insect to harm the Empress. We heard it. Do you still wish to deny it?”
“The Empress disposed of this servant’s adopted daughter. This servant only wanted justice for her. As for Your Majesty’s accusations about harming the Crown Princess and Crown Prince, this servant has no idea what you mean.”
Looking at the calm and composed Nursemaid Duo, Emperor Jingming was furious. He sneered: “If you knew that your accomplices in the capital have already been apprehended, would you still play dumb?”
Nursemaid Duo’s calm expression finally showed a hint of change: “What does Your Majesty mean?”
Emperor Jingming sneered: “That pair of grandparent and grandchild have already been executed by a thousand cuts. Nursemaid Duo, if you confess honestly about your motives, I can grant you an intact corpse. Otherwise, they will be your example!”
This time it was Nursemaid Duo who laughed: “Your Majesty wants to execute this servant by a thousand cuts? Heh, I wonder if Your Majesty has asked the Empress Dowager about this?”