Upon learning of Liu Luowei’s death, Zhenzhen brought people to examine the scene, collect the body, and clean up, then immediately went to Funing Hall to report the situation to His Majesty. Everything was handled in perfect order, beyond reproach. In a single day experiencing his youngest son’s death, learning the truth about his eldest son’s demise, and discovering his beloved consort’s conspiracy and death, His Majesty was also exhausted physically and mentally. Anger, grief, and pain intertwined, and for a moment he couldn’t even cry. In the candlelight, his eye sockets were sunken, his appearance haggard, sitting dejectedly with lowered head, as if he had aged several years in one day. After silently listening to Zhenzhen’s complete account, he closed his reddened eyes. After a long while, he waved his hand to signal Zhenzhen to withdraw, but when Zhenzhen was about to turn and leave, he spoke again, asking: “What about Zhang Yunqiao’s matter? Have you investigated it clearly? Where is he?”
Zhenzhen turned back to face him, slowly lowered her eyes, and bowed: “This matter has clues, but the details still require questioning Madam Ju. I will go ask her now, and by tomorrow morning, I can report everything to Your Majesty.”
It was already past midnight. Zhenzhen ordered people to bring Qiuniang to the Royal Kitchen, then dismissed everyone else, leaving only Qiuniang and herself alone in the room.
After the attendant who brought Qiuniang inside closed the door and withdrew to a distance, Qiuniang immediately turned to look at Zhenzhen, her eyes glistening with tears as she softly called “Zhenzhen.” But Zhenzhen only smiled faintly, not calling her “Mother” as Qiuniang expected, but only addressing her as “Madam Ju.”
Qiuniang could easily discern from her tone the rationality and distance she wished to maintain, so her eyes dimmed and she still respectfully bowed: “Greetings to the Director of the Palace Kitchen.”
“Madam Ju, I found Imperial Physician Zhang,” Zhenzhen said frankly, unsurprisingly noticing the look of shock that crossed Qiuniang’s face. She paused, then continued calmly: “I found him, Imperial Physician Zhang Yunqiao. I’ve asked him to wait temporarily at the Great Stone Buddha Temple. Do you want to see him?”
Qiuniang’s face turned pale, she bit her lip but made no answer.
Seeing this, Zhenzhen didn’t pursue the question further. Her gaze turned to a fish tank in the kitchen, seemingly changing the topic: “The Transport Commissioner of Zhedong Circuit presented some precious ingredients, including many pufferfish. The Royal Kitchen doesn’t prepare pufferfish for nobles, so we’re temporarily keeping them in the tank. Madam Ju, Old Lady Song said she has taught you to prepare pufferfish. Could you cook it once for me to see? Using the method you used to cook pufferfish back then.”
Qiuniang remained silent for a long time, then slowly walked to the fish tank, looked at the live pufferfish inside, and finally answered: “Alright.”
Zhenzhen prepared cooking utensils for her. Qiuniang washed her hands, caught a pufferfish from the tank, held it down with one hand while skillfully cutting off the fins, tail, and mouth with the other. She then easily peeled off the skin, removed the eyes and internal organs, placed them in a bowl, and set it far from the cutting board. Then she rinsed the fish meat, not forgetting to thoroughly clean the cutting board and knife, and changed to a cutting board and knife that had never touched the pufferfish to handle the fish meat. She then sliced the fish into sashimi and made soup from the bones. The entire process was extremely similar to what Old Lady Song had taught Zhenzhen, without any errors.
The ice-silk-like pufferfish sashimi was arranged by Qiuniang in the shape of an epiphyllum flower, served on a glass plate before Zhenzhen. White broth bubbled in the clay pot, beginning to emit the fresh aroma of fish. Qiuniang picked up the bowl containing the organs, walked to the wooden bucket for kitchen waste, dumped the organs, and after setting down the bowl with her back to Zhenzhen, suddenly covered her mouth and coughed.
Seeing the night was deep and cold, afraid she might catch cold, Zhenzhen quickly removed the outer robe from her official uniform and went over to drape it on her. Qiuniang immediately declined, but Zhenzhen wouldn’t accept refusal and tied the robe for her, so Qiuniang silently accepted it. After putting on the robe, she went back to check the soup color in the pot, waited a bit, feeling it was about ready, then ladled two bowls. She tasted one bowl first, then brought the other to Zhenzhen.
Zhenzhen watched her entire process of handling the pufferfish and knew there were no problems, so she picked up the bowl and took a sip, her eyes constantly fixed on Qiuniang, observing her expression. Seeing this, Qiuniang forced a smile and said: “Don’t worry, it won’t be poisonous.”
Zhenzhen set down the soup bowl, took out a small porcelain box and pushed it in front of Qiuniang, looking directly at her and asking calmly: “Then why did Imperial Physician Zhang become a pile of white bones?”
Qiuniang remained sadly silent. Zhenzhen continued: “I had people dig up his remains from under the golden lamp flower garden behind Old Lady Song’s tavern. To avoid attracting attention, I temporarily housed him in a wooden box and brought him to Lin’an. He’s now at the Great Stone Buddha Temple, waiting to confront you.”
Qiuniang stared at the porcelain box for a moment, reached out to take it and open it, seeing inside two yellowed-black aged fish bones.
“These were found clutched in Imperial Physician Zhang’s right finger bones. He gripped this porcelain box tightly before dying. The box was well sealed, so the fish bones inside could be preserved until now,” Zhenzhen explained to her, then asked: “These bones are pufferfish bones, right? Old Lady Song said you left Ningguo Manor during late spring and early summer, when pufferfish are most poisonous.”
Qiuniang still said nothing.
Zhenzhen continued questioning: “Why did you suddenly leave Ningguo Manor? Why did Old Lady Song hear you crying the night before you left? Why haven’t you cooked pufferfish all these years? You won’t even let others mention it? Old Lady Song said you were already skilled at handling pufferfish and had cooked it many times for Imperial Physician Zhang. So why did it turn out this way? What are you afraid of?”
“Don’t ask anymore, Zhenzhen,” Qiuniang suddenly looked up, still gazing at her daughter as gently as always, smiling at her. “I can tell you everything you want to know now. But this is a long story. I hope you have patience to listen carefully.”
Zhenzhen nodded and sat facing Qiuniang, concentrating and waiting quietly for her subsequent narration.
“My name is Ju’an. I’m an orphan without father or mother, passed between different foster mothers since childhood, suffering all kinds of bullying. Fortunately, I danced quite well and gained the Late Emperor’s favor, becoming the head of the Jubu section of the Immortal Music Academy…” Qiuniang calmly began recounting the past, her tone peaceful, showing neither sadness nor joy, as if telling a distant legend that had nothing to do with her. “The Late Emperor was very good to me, giving me many clothes and jewelry, but what I wanted most was love. Yet he was always ambiguous toward me, never making me a consort. I wasn’t sure if he loved me, so I tested him repeatedly, asking for peonies from Luoyang, rare flowers from Yangzhou, many things that weren’t available in Lin’an and were hard to obtain. Looking back now, this was very childish, but I didn’t know how else to discover whether he truly treasured me, so I could only childishly make demands again and again. He would find and bring me whatever he could find, but when I asked for rare flowers, he said transportation would burden the people and waste money, and even if brought, they’d be hard to keep alive, so why bother. I got angry with him, and the Empress then, now the Empress Dowager, took the opportunity to punish me. I simply went on a hunger strike, finally forcing the Late Emperor to come see me personally and coax me…”
“I’ve heard something about this,” Zhenzhen said. “That’s when you met Liu Sishan?”
“I knew her long before that, since she was also someone close to the Late Emperor,” Qiuniang replied. “But it was only after my hunger strike that the Late Emperor had her prepare meals for me. Initially I didn’t like her and always gave her cold looks, but her personality was somewhat like yours—always cheerful, smiling when she saw me, bouncing around me like a rabbit, asking what I wanted to eat. When I ignored her, she’d make various delicacies to tempt me. Later, after seeing her silly happy appearance so often, I got used to it. If she didn’t come for a day, I’d actually miss her. Day by day, we gradually talked more. I originally thought she liked the Late Emperor like I did, but after getting to know her, I discovered the person she loved was Zhang Yunqiao.”
“You knew Imperial Physician Zhang then too, right?” Zhenzhen asked.
Qiuniang nodded: “When I was having troubles with the Late Emperor and lying in bed refusing to get up, the Late Emperor had him come treat me. Other imperial physicians were all polite to me, even somewhat respectful, but this person was different. The first time he diagnosed me, he wrote a poem mocking me for feigning illness to seek favor: ‘Silk robes granted but not your grace, one perfuming brings one heartache. Though these dancing sleeves never dance, they face spring winds with tear-stained face.’ I was furious and wanted to drive him out, but he didn’t back down at all, directly warning me to eat properly, or he’d give this poem to the other performers in the Immortal Music Academy to sing, saying this was a method that could cure my illness… Those lowly women in the Immortal Music Academy were all hoping I’d fall from favor. What if they saw this poem? I was truly angry to death when he said that, but had no way to retaliate. Later, under Liu Sishan’s persuasion, my eating gradually returned to normal.”
Imagining Zhang Yunqiao threatening Madam Ju, Zhenzhen couldn’t help but want to laugh, but then she became a bit puzzled: “Did you notice him because of this and gradually develop feelings?”
“Not at all,” Qiuniang said. “I really disliked him then and didn’t understand why Michu would like him. Seeing her love him so desperately she’d even deliberately taste poison just for a chance to have him treat her, I scolded her harshly and said countless bad things about Zhang Yunqiao. But Michu wouldn’t listen at all. Later I had to give up and let them be as they wished. As long as Michu was happy, I’d even find excuses to call Zhang Yunqiao for treatment so they could meet. My relationship with Zhang Yunqiao gradually improved because of this… The Late Emperor had once said that when I wore red and danced the Liangzhou dance, my silk scarves swirled and my robes fluttered like a blooming red spider lily. I didn’t know what that flower looked like, so seeing Zhang Yunqiao was learned, I asked him about it. Zhang Yunqiao said he’d never seen it either but would search for this flower for me… When Michu nearly died from tasting poison, Zhang Yunqiao saved her. They already loved each other, so they couldn’t help but confess and privately pledge themselves to each other, but the Late Emperor discovered them. They eloped with the help of the Prince, now His Majesty, and hid in a small courtyard in the mountains. At that time, because I repeatedly defied the Empress Dowager and was frequently punished, I requested to leave the palace for peace and quiet. The Late Emperor agreed and granted me a garden to live in, promising to visit me from time to time… After leaving the palace, I gradually contacted Michu and we occasionally exchanged messages. Later, Zhang Yunqiao conspired with the Prince, pretending to elope with Liu Sishan to seek Qi Xiao’s protection. Qi Xiao had him kill the remonstrating official Lin Yu to show loyalty. After succeeding, Qi Xiao indeed accepted him and had him treat his illness. Zhang Yunqiao took the opportunity to kill Qi Xiao in treatment, which led to him and Michu being hunted by the Qi family. And I…”
Speaking to this point, Qiuniang’s mind wandered, her eyes dimmed, and she pondered for a long time before continuing: “Once when I went to Lingyin Temple to burn incense, I encountered the Empress Dowager. Because I didn’t bow to her, I was beaten by the eunuchs around her. I smiled coldly at the Empress Dowager, saying every scar on my body would become a reason for His Majesty to detest her. The Empress Dowager then had people take me to a meditation room and privately asked me: ‘Do you know why he never made you a consort?’ I didn’t answer. She asked again: ‘Didn’t he tell you that he treats you like a sister?’ I was very surprised because the Late Emperor had indeed said this. The Empress Dowager smiled mockingly at me and whispered in my ear: ‘He was telling the truth. He only treats you as a sister.'”
“Sister?” Zhenzhen thought for a moment, then remembered what Pei Shangshi had mentioned before about the Late Emperor getting drunk the night before the Princess Imperial’s engagement, and understood somewhat. “The Empress Dowager meant that the Late Emperor saw you as a substitute for the Princess Imperial?”
Qiuniang smiled bitterly: “When I met the Late Emperor, the Princess Imperial had been dead for many years. I heard she was just a commoner who pretended to be the Princess Imperial who disappeared in the north during wartime to seek wealth, and was thus beaten to death. However, the close attendants around the Late Emperor occasionally still called her Princess Imperial when mentioning her, saying she was elegant and proud as a plum blossom, not believing she was an impostor in their words… I only thought of it when the Empress Dowager said that—perhaps I did have some similarities with that Princess Imperial in others’ eyes… Seeing me instantly stunned, the Empress Dowager smugly made it clear, saying: ‘You thought you were showered with endless favor, that you were the treasure in his heart and eyes, not knowing you’re just a worthless counterfeit. You have no parents, no status, no power. The love you thought you possessed was just a joke. From beginning to end, you’ve always had nothing. While I was formerly a Noble Consort, now an Empress, and will be an Empress Dowager in the future, respected by subjects for thousands of generations, worshipped in ancestral temples—what qualifies you to mock me? What gives you the confidence to threaten me?'”
Zhenzhen instantly understood this was what the Empress Dowager had mentioned to her before—the heart-piercing words she spoke to Madam Ju. Seeing Madam Ju’s expression still sorrowful when recalling it now, it wasn’t hard to guess how devastating that blow had been to her back then.
Qiuniang lowered her eyes sadly and continued: “I was utterly despondent, feeling that what I had thought was favor was nothing but illusion—broken with one poke from her… I never wanted to see the Late Emperor again. Just when Michu came to bid me farewell before leaving Lin’an, I begged her to take me along, and she agreed, persuading Zhang Yunqiao to take me with them… At that time, she was already pregnant…”
Qiuniang raised her tearful eyes, looking at Zhenzhen’s eyes so similar to Michu’s, and smiled: “Yes, the child in Michu’s womb was you. She was your real mother.”