This time Empress Lu didn’t tremble, and there wasn’t half a glimmer of tears in her eyes—her tears had long since dried up. At this moment, she was truly able to empathize with Crown Princess Lu’s life experiences over these twenty years. No matter who ended up with someone like the Crown Prince, they probably couldn’t maintain their original intentions. That Crown Princess Lu had endured until now was already a miracle.
She looked at Minister Xie standing to the side with lowered head, not even moving an eyebrow, and said softly: “Go watch in the main hall. If the Crown Prince wakes up, come report to me first. If His Majesty goes to see him, also come tell me first.”
After Minister Xie acknowledged and went out, Empress Lu stood up and looked at Princess Duanhui: “Twelfth Lady, please bring Miss Song the Sixth from the Song family into the palace. I have words to ask her.” At this moment, with Zhou Weizhao seriously injured, she could only ask Song Chuyi.
Princess Duanhui seemed to have anticipated that Empress Lu would say this, and immediately nodded in agreement: “Little Yi has already come in with me. I’ll have someone go fetch her right now.”
Princess Rongcheng looked at Princess Duanhui in surprise and raised her eyebrows—with Song Chuyi’s status, if she had entered the palace together with them, it would be impossible for no message to have reached Empress Lu.
But Empress Lu remained composed. She felt that nothing could make her lose her composure anymore. She nodded and waited for a moment, until Song Chuyi arrived dressed in ordinary maid’s clothing, with lowered brows and submissive eyes.
“Why are you dressed like this?” Princess Rongcheng was the first to ask: “Could it be…” She said these three words then closed her mouth and said no more. There were man-eating people in this palace to begin with.
Empress Lu beckoned to Song Chuyi, her expression still relatively gentle. When Song Chuyi came near, she reached out to grasp Song Chuyi’s hand, her gaze fixed tightly on her: “Tell me everything that happened yesterday, every single detail.”
Song Chuyi’s usually beautiful and clear eyes were filled with bloodshot veins, showing she had definitely not slept all night. Yet she didn’t show signs of fatigue. Her speech was still unhurried and measured as before, even without much emotion, as she recounted their ordeal. At the end, Song Chuyi smiled ambiguously: “Originally we wanted to bring the person back for you to personally interrogate, Your Majesty, but now that person is dead.” Speaking to this point, she sighed: “No matter which side made the move, he’s dead in the end.”
Empress Lu’s gaze darkened. She looked at Song Chuyi, her lips moving: “Little Yi, what do you want to say?”
Song Chuyi finally raised her head to look directly at Empress Lu. She knelt down on both knees, looking at Empress Lu without flinching or avoiding, and slowly sighed: “Your Majesty, you should know that even without that living witness, you should be clear that this group of people cannot be separated from the Crown Prince, isn’t that right?”
Empress Lu didn’t speak. Princess Rongcheng took over the conversation for her: “Little Yi, whatever you have to say, speak directly.”
“I want to call out an injustice for Her Highness the Crown Princess and His Highness the Grand Prince.” Song Chuyi pressed her lips together: “They haven’t done anything wrong. Just because His Highness the Crown Prince detests them, they have to be framed again and again, have to endlessly retreat—this doesn’t make sense. Your Majesty, you know just how absurd His Highness the Crown Prince has become, don’t you? These past few years, he has intensified, indulging the Fan clan and Consort Fan Liangdi in causing great chaos. You’ve experienced it all too, haven’t you? Last time, you thought that by grasping evidence against the Fan clan, you could force the Crown Prince to back down, but look—the Crown Prince not only didn’t back down, he hates the Grand Prince even more, hates the Lu family even more.”
Empress Lu didn’t get angry. She couldn’t even muster the energy for more rebuttal. She slowly nodded and asked Song Chuyi: “The people who assassinated you at Qingxu Temple before were the Crown Prince’s, but what about the rest?”
Empress Lu held hope in her heart, looking at Song Chuyi with gleaming eyes. Song Chuyi smiled slightly at her, her tone as always without much fluctuation: “I only know that the reason His Highness left the city to search for me was because he received a letter. A letter from His Highness Prince Gong, kindly reminding him that I was in danger.”
Empress Lu leaned back, her face turning pale. Princess Rongcheng couldn’t help but cover her mouth.
Song Chuyi no longer looked at the two of them, her voice lowering somewhat: “And before that, His Highness the Crown Prince had sent people to provoke Prince Gong, wanting Prince Gong to do this deed. I think that the Grand Prince and I are merely chess pieces in the power struggle between the Crown Prince and Prince Gong… Our lives are actually completely insignificant in their eyes. What matters is whether they can use our two lives to attack each other and put the other to death.”
Song Chuyi’s words shattered Empress Lu’s last shred of illusion and punctured this layer of pretense. The room filled with an uncomfortable and awkward silence. Even Princess Rongcheng and Princess Duanhui held their breath, afraid to break the silence.
No one knew how long passed before Empress Lu slowly laughed. This laugh overflowed with bitterness and self-mockery. She laughed until she coughed several times before collecting her smile and looking at Song Chuyi: “This is merely your speculation.”
“Yes.” Song Chuyi nodded without concealment: “This is only my speculation. But hasn’t His Highness the Crown Prince been poisoned?”
Empress Lu’s gaze deepened. She followed Song Chuyi’s words and nodded: “Yes, the Crown Prince has been poisoned.”
Song Chuyi’s expression was somewhere between a smile and not: “When His Highness the Crown Prince awakens, His Highness the Grand Prince might even have to bear the crime of patricide.”
Everyone present couldn’t help but shudder. Princess Rongcheng’s lips trembled. Just as she was about to speak, a knock sounded from outside, immediately followed by Minister Xie’s voice: “Your Majesty, Your Highness the Princess, the Crown Prince has awakened!”
The Crown Prince has awakened! These four words struck heavily on Empress Lu’s heart. Her face turned pale, but she forced herself to remain composed as she stood up: “I’ll go have a look.” As she spoke, she glanced at Song Chuyi. Seeing that Song Chuyi understood to follow by her side, she quickened her pace.
Attendant Hu and Imperial Physician Liang were already waiting in the hall. Upon seeing her, they bowed joyfully to the ground: “Your Majesty, His Highness has awakened! As long as His Highness has awakened from this poison, there’s no harm. We will deliberate further…”
Empress Lu didn’t continue listening. She waved her hand at them, and Attendant Hu sensibly led the people filing out cleanly.
Empress Lu led Princess Rongcheng and Princess Duanhui into the inner hall. Song Chuyi lowered her brows and eyes, hiding beside a pillar to the side, quiet enough for people to overlook her presence.
Empress Lu stood behind an eight-panel screen depicting Lushan waterfall. Through the screen, she listened to the activity inside—as soon as the Crown Prince woke, he summoned Zhende.
The Crown Prince looked around bewildered, his lips pale, his hands so weak and sore he couldn’t even lift them. His gaze fell on Zhende’s face, and after a long while he finally reacted: “How is it? Has news come from outside the city?”
His coughing was deafening, sounding again and again, shaking Empress Lu until her face turned pale.