He Chang’an was busy with government affairs when he received the news and rushed to the Ministry of Justice.

Wan Shi had just been locked up, and someone was about to administer punishment when He Chang’an and Lü Sanbian stopped them, taking her to an interrogation room instead.

“How did it come to this?” Brows tightly furrowed, He Chang’an looked at her. “All because of some baffling wooden tablet?”

Taking a light breath, seeing that only the two of them were present, Wan Shi finally burst into tears, her eyes reddening: “That tablet wasn’t carved by me. If you want to condemn someone, you’ll always find an excuse—the Empress Dowager simply doesn’t like me, that’s all.”

He Chang’an was startled: “The Empress Dowager has always been kind—why would she have a grudge against you? Before, she was quite fond of Prime Minister Hua.”

“She’s fond of my child because my child is useful to the Emperor, but she dislikes me—that started from the moment I became the Hua family’s principal wife,” Wan Shi choked out. “None of you know—you know nothing at all.”

Lü Sanbian raised an eyebrow: “As far as I know, before the Empress Dowager entered the palace, she had been promised to a family, only to be forcibly sent to the imperial consort selection instead. Could that promised family have been the Hua family?”

Wan Shi looked at him in shock: “I never said anything—how do you know?”

“To become the Minister of Justice, one needs at least this much ability,” Lü Sanbian said, looking at her earnestly. “According to what you’ve said, the Empress Dowager holds a private grudge against you, which is why she’s being so harsh this time, sending you to the Ministry of Justice, demanding you confess to cursing Consort Wu before tomorrow. Is that correct?”

Wan Shi nodded.

“When the Empress Dowager speaks, the people at the Ministry of Justice will certainly listen. Even though I am the Minister, I cannot stop them from torturing you—otherwise, if the Empress Dowager holds us accountable, the entire Ministry would suffer,” Lü Sanbian said. “Right now, the only thing we can do is find evidence to refute the Empress Dowager before you’re subjected to punishment, proving that tablet wasn’t carved by you.”

“You can go ask their so-called eyewitness, see what time they claim I supposedly carved it, then ask the servants at where I live whether the timing matches. If it doesn’t match, then those servants can be my witnesses,” Wan Shi said, calming down—her mind was still quite clear.

He Chang’an nodded, and had someone prepare a clean cell, laid with thick cotton padding: “Please rest first. We’ll handle the rest.”

“If by chance…” Wan Shi gritted her teeth. “If by chance I don’t make it through this ordeal, Marquis, please look after her a bit more.”

Who this “her” referred to, no one knew, and Lü Sanbian pretended not to hear it, but since the marquis had shown him great kindness and recognition, he would still try his best to help.

Hua Chun woke up feeling somewhat chilled, but seeing the sky was already growing late, quickly threw on her clothes and rose to go pay respects to the Empress Dowager.

Consort Wu had managed to stabilize for now, but hadn’t yet passed the danger period—her stomach kept aching, and the signs of miscarriage hadn’t subsided.

The imperial physician, utterly exhausted, came out to tell the Empress Dowager: “We can only leave it to fate now.”

The Empress Dowager, seething with anger, said nothing. When Hua Chun entered, a group of consorts all turned to look at her.

“Consort De should be extra careful,” Consort Xu said with sarcasm. “Consort Wu has met with misfortune—now yours is the only stable pregnancy left in this palace.”

Consort Shu scolded her lightly: “Watch your words. Consort Wu has heaven’s protection—she’ll surely have a safe delivery for both mother and child.”

Ignoring their words, Hua Chun stepped forward and bowed first: “This concubine pays respects to the Empress Dowager.”

The Empress Dowager waved her hand, saying nothing, gesturing for her to sit nearby.

“Did anything else happen before Consort Wu ended up like this?” the Empress Dowager asked, looking at the palace maid kneeling below.

The young maid trembled, shaking her head: “No, my lady was fine in the side hall the whole time, it’s just that she didn’t sleep well at night, said she had a nightmare, and when tracing the source, it led to Consort De’s place.”

Glancing at Hua Chun, the Empress Dowager shook her head: “The Master has already said it has nothing to do with those paper birds.”

“It’s unrelated to the paper birds, but… perhaps it’s related to something else?” the maid said quietly.

The Empress Dowager frowned: “You’re both pregnant—Consort De should understand Consort Wu’s feelings better than anyone, putting herself in her shoes. How could she possibly harm her? Besides, I’ve been right here in Huiming Hall this whole time—I know very well what Consort De has been up to.”

The maid knelt in silence. Consort Shu spoke softly: “With His Majesty about to return soon, we can’t very well trouble him with these matters. This concubine thinks we should hurry and find a way to cure Consort Wu, and whoever needs punishing should be dealt with cleanly before His Majesty returns.”

Hua Chun glanced at her: “Based on the travel distance, His Majesty should arrive in Yanjing within two or three days. Deciding a person’s fate within these two or three days—don’t you think that’s rather hasty?”

“Look at that, this concubine knew Consort De would speak up for Wan Shi,” Hua Xunyue said. “Earlier this concubine wasn’t sure, but now I’m fairly certain—Consort De, you’re Wan Shi’s birth daughter, aren’t you?”

Everyone present was stunned, and the Empress Dowager stared at Hua Xunyue in shock: “Where is this coming from?”

Hua Xunyue stepped forward and knelt, speaking earnestly: “This concubine already thought Consort De looked familiar before, and surely the Empress Dowager must find her familiar too—her features are identical to Prime Minister Hua’s, perhaps even down to matching birthmarks.”

“I originally thought, with so many people in the world, it’s not strange for some to resemble each other. But what’s even more coincidental is that when this concubine went out of the palace this time, I discovered Wan Shi also lives at Marquis Gongyu’s estate. When I wanted to see her at the estate, Consort De obstructed me in every possible way. Logically, without any blood relation, why would Consort De care so much about a commoner woman? Yet the Empress Dowager has also seen it—from yesterday to today, Consort De has continuously spoken up for Wan Shi. This makes this concubine unable to help but suspect that Consort De is, in fact, Prime Minister Hua.”

The Empress Dowager was shocked, staring at Hua Chun in disbelief.

Taking a light breath, Hua Chun thought to herself that Hua Jinghua must have owed these Hua family sisters some debt in a past life—constantly getting stabbed in the back by her own family without fail. This bitter irony was simply unbelievable.

“What Consort Hua says is quite interesting,” she said with a laugh. “Prime Minister Hua was a man, and I am a woman—how could we possibly be the same person?”

“This is where Wan Shi’s cunning must be praised,” Consort Hua said. “Earlier, Prince Xi sought out the wet nurse to prove Consort De was female, only to be interrupted by the pregnant Consort Qing. Now that I think about it, what Consort Qing was carrying at the time may not necessarily have been Prime Minister Hua’s child. And when the Prime Minister was born at the Hua estate, there were many suspicious points from the start—including the father—almost no one ever saw his actual gender, it was all handled solely by Wan Shi and the wet nurse.”

“That wet nurse is still alive. If the Empress Dowager doesn’t believe me, you can ask her yourself, and find out whether Prime Minister Hua was truly male or female.”

The people around began murmuring amongst themselves. Hua Chun neither panicked nor rushed, meeting the scrutinizing gazes coming from all directions calmly: “Prime Minister Hua has already been beheaded, and this concubine entered the palace before his execution. Whether we’re the same person or not, His Majesty should know better than anyone. Empress Dowager, do you think it wiser to trust His Majesty, or to trust this Consort Hua, who would rather see her own family bear the crime of deceiving the Emperor than pass up a chance to frame this concubine?”

The Empress Dowager hesitated somewhat, harboring some suspicion as well—after all, Hua Chun and Hua Jinghua truly were identical, save for their differing temperaments.

But occasionally, she really did catch glimpses of Hua Jinghua in Hua Chun, feeling as if in a daze that they were one and the same person.

She had once made a wish that if Prime Minister Hua were a woman, he would surely be able to stabilize the harem and assist the Emperor. Never had she expected that one day, a woman identical to Prime Minister Hua would actually appear—except Prime Minister Hua had already died.

Was there truly nothing suspicious in all of this?

Seeing the look in the Empress Dowager’s eyes, Hua Chun felt a flicker of panic inside, but kept her expression composed, self-hypnotizing herself that she wasn’t Hua Jinghua—deceiving herself first, so she could then convince others.

The question was, how had Hua Xunyue come to know about this?

“Although I too find Consort De and Prime Minister Hua quite alike, based solely on what you’ve said, along with that unreliable wet nurse, I don’t think this can be settled as fact,” the Empress Dowager said. “Besides, Consort De is currently carrying the imperial heir.”

Someone nearby muttered quietly: “Whether it’s truly the imperial heir is also uncertain.”

Hua Chun gritted her teeth.

“This concubine actually has a good idea, one that could achieve several things at once,” Consort Shu spoke up, looking at Hua Chun. “If my lady isn’t Hua Jinghua, then you shouldn’t care about Wan Shi’s life or death, correct? After all, there’s no blood relation whatsoever, is there?”

“Then let the Ministry of Justice bring Wan Shi here for punishment. On one hand, this can speed up her confession regarding the tablet matter. On the other hand, we can observe Consort De’s reaction. If she truly is her birth daughter, there’s no way she could watch her own mother suffer without reacting.”

Cursing internally, Hua Chun looked up at Consort Shu, laughing lightly as she sang a line: “I will remember your face clearly.”

Since it was the melody of a modern song, everyone was momentarily confused about what she meant, only seeing her smiling face, appearing entirely composed.

The Empress Dowager nodded: “Consort Shu’s idea isn’t bad. For the sake of ensuring Consort Wu keeps the imperial heir, let’s have the Ministry of Justice bring the person to Huiming Hall’s courtyard.”

They were actually going through with it? Hua Chun clenched her hands tight, praying in her heart that He Chang’an would come to stop this, but He Chang’an and Lü Sanbian had split up to search for evidence and had no time to come into the palace.

So Wan Shi was dragged up, and it was to be caning punishment.

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Wan Shi said with a smile, lying face-down on the wooden bench. “This old body of mine can take a beating, it’s nothing.”

“Is something wrong with her?” Consort Xu pursed her lips. “Never seen anyone so calm and composed right before punishment, as if she’s got it all figured out.”

Hua Chun’s throat began to ache, her face turning pale as well.

This wasn’t composure at all—it was clearly her worrying that Hua Chun was too worried, and trying to comfort her this way. How could Wan Shi’s body possibly hold up? She’d just recovered from a serious illness, still had old ailments—what if something went wrong?

Clenching her hands tightly, Hua Chun’s heart raced with anxiety, but she had no idea what to do. With a crowd watching her, if she stepped forward to save Wan Shi, both of them would suffer together; if she didn’t step forward, she alone would have to endure the inner torment of standing there and watching.

“Ready now—begin the punishment!”