Consort Xian’s heart trembled.
If she could exchange her dying body to help the Empress Dowager secure the throne for Zhangr, it would be more than worthwhile—it would be incredibly advantageous!
She was already a dying woman, her death insignificant. But was it better to die so miserably that even a lowly palace maid could snicker behind her back about Consort Xian’s miserable end, or to be posthumously honored as Empress Dowager and receive imperial offerings?
The choice was obvious.
Yet Consort Xian still hesitated.
Harming the legitimate princess wouldn’t be easy. Even if successful, once she was implicated, the Emperor would surely hate her to the bone. How could he then favor Zhang’er?
The Empress Dowager seemed to guess Consort Xian’s greatest concern and said impassively, “Even if you’re implicated, I will do my utmost to help Prince Qi.”
“Empress Dowager—” Consort Xian looked directly into the Empress Dowager’s eyes, her emotions turbulent.
The other’s insight into human nature shocked her, but she still struggled to make a decision.
The Empress Dowager smiled faintly. “Don’t you trust me?”
“I—” Consort Xian opened her mouth but stammered wordlessly.
“Do you not trust that I will keep my promise to help, or do you doubt my ability to lend Prince Qi a hand?”
After speaking, the Empress Dowager stared steadily at Consort Xian and said slowly, “Don’t forget how the Emperor ascended to his position.”
A flicker passed through Consort Xian’s eyes.
The Emperor had risen from an unremarkable prince to become the Son of Heaven, all thanks to the Empress Dowager’s efforts.
The Empress Dowager idly fingered her prayer beads and said with a faint smile, “I could help the Emperor, so I can help Prince Qi. And the Emperor is most filial towards me.”
Consort Xian did not doubt the Empress Dowager’s words.
Anyone pushed to that position by someone who then maintained a motherly heart, retiring to a quiet life without meddling afterward—how could the son not be filial?
Moreover, the Emperor was renowned for his kindness and benevolence.
“Well, have you made up your mind?” the Empress Dowager asked calmly, but to Consort Xian’s ears, it sounded like a death knell.
Now she had only two choices.
If she agreed, with the Empress Dowager’s help, Zhangr’s chances of ascending the throne would greatly increase. However, the Emperor’s disgust towards her might worsen her situation.
This was uncertain; without reaching that point, the outcome was unpredictable.
If she refused, Zhangr would maintain his current status, likely never to ascend the throne.
As for her own life, she had already disregarded it, knowing she wouldn’t live much longer anyway.
Seeing Consort Xian’s prolonged silence, the Empress Dowager smiled. “This is a gamble, after all. How could there be no risk? If I could simply hand out the position of Crown Prince, how many would scramble for it? How could it possibly fall to you?”
Consort Xian’s heart trembled, her expression inscrutable. Finally, she nodded.
The Empress Dowager smiled. “I knew you were a daring person. I wasn’t wrong about you.”
Consort Xian lowered her gaze, hesitated for a long while, then looked up at the Empress Dowager and asked, “I’d like to know your reasons for doing this.”
“Oh?”
Consort Xian slightly clenched her fist, touching her bare fingernails as she asked, “Princess Fuqing is deeply respectful towards you, and she’s just a princess after all…”
She couldn’t understand why the Empress Dowager wanted Princess Fuqing’s life.
The Empress Dowager’s expression turned cold. She said flatly, “Don’t ask what you shouldn’t. Those who like to gamble shouldn’t have too much curiosity.”
“I understand.”
The Empress Dowager’s smile returned. “You may go now.”
“I take my leave.”
Consort Xian walked out of Cining Palace and looked up at the sky.
It was April, the best time of the year, yet she felt a bone-chilling cold, even colder than when she left Yuquan Palace.
Originally, Consort Xian had only planned to pay her respects to Empress Dowager, but now she changed her mind.
She decided to pay her respects to the Empress as well.
Paying respects to both the Empress Dowager and the Empress would leave fewer loose ends, making future actions easier.
When the Empress heard that Consort Xian had come, she suppressed her surprise and invited her in.
Soon, a pale and emaciated woman entered, almost unrecognizable to the Empress.
After the initial shock came a sigh: the once radiantly beautiful Consort Xian now looked like a withered flower after one bout of illness. Time truly waits for no one.
Because of this, the Empress’s attitude towards Consort Xian softened, and she said gently, “You’ve just recovered. Why aren’t you resting properly?”
Consort Xian smiled and said, “I was uneasy knowing that my illness worried you and the Empress Dowager. Now that I’m feeling a bit better, I can finally come and pay my respects to you both.”
“Sister Xian, you’re too polite. Did you come from Cining Palace?”
“Yes, when I arrived, Princesses Fuqing and Fourteen were reading stories to the Empress Dowager…”
The Empress smiled at the thought of that scene.
“With the two princesses accompanying her, the Empress Dowager seemed to be in a good mood,” Consort Xian probed, noticing a momentary freeze in the Empress’s smile.
The Empress quickly smiled again. “If they can make the Empress Dowager happy, it’s a blessing for those two girls.”
Consort Xian agreed with a smile but inwardly became more alert.
When the Empress Dowager suddenly proposed having Princesses Fuqing and Fourteen keep her company, it caused a small stir in the palace.
Especially among the consorts with princesses, who envied Princess Fourteen’s good fortune.
Now it seemed that the Empress Dowager’s target was Princess Fuqing, with Princess Fourteen merely serving as a smokescreen.
The Empress didn’t see her daughter accompanying the Empress Dowager as a blessing but rather viewed it with caution.
“Sister Xian, you don’t look well. You should return to rest soon,” the Empress said, observing Consort Xian’s complexion.
Seeing Consort Xian’s ghostly pale face, the Empress worried that if she suddenly fainted here, word might reach the Emperor that she had said something harsh, which would be unfair to her.
The Empress had no interest in gloating over a defeated rival.
In her view, the fewer unnecessary troubles, the better.
Consort Xian, physically weak, was indeed struggling to hold on. Hearing this, she took her leave, saying breathlessly, “Then I shall return.”
The Empress sighed in relief. “Take care on your way back, Sister Xian.”
Consort Xian returned to Yuquan Palace, stopping to rest frequently. Her mind was filled with thoughts of the Empress Dowager in Cining Palace.
The Empress Dowager, widely regarded as detached from worldly affairs, actually wanted Princess Fuqing’s life…
Back in her domain, Consort Xian thought of more: Princess Fuqing’s eye disease, the poisoning of Princess Fifteen, Princess Fuqing’s brush with danger during the Lantern Festival…
The more Consort Xian pondered, the more alarmed she became.
Could all of these have been orchestrated by the Empress Dowager behind the scenes?
But Princess Fuqing was just a child when she developed her eye condition. Why would the Empress Dowager target a child?
Such caution and subtlety, no wonder the Emperor hadn’t noticed anything amiss in all these years, still showering her with filial devotion surpassing that for his mother.
But what was the Empress Dowager’s purpose in wanting Princess Fuqing’s life?
What could a princess possess that would make the Empress Dowager plot for over a decade?
And the Empress, reluctant to let Princess Fuqing enjoy the Empress Dowager’s favor—was it simply a mother’s unwillingness to see her daughter suffer, or had she glimpsed the Empress Dowager’s true nature?
The more Consort Xian thought, the more alarmed she became. She realized that everyone in the palace was more complex than they appeared. It was laughable that she had thought her own disguise was good; no wonder she had ended up in her current state.
If this was the case, taking Princess Fuqing’s life wouldn’t be easy. How should she proceed?
Consort Xian stared at her bare fingernails, lost in deep thought.