The two-inch-wide wooden board came down toward Wan Shi, and Hua Chun’s heart clenched along with it. She could no longer keep her composure, and cold sweat broke out on her face.
The Empress Dowager was watching her too, and seeing her reaction, her brows creased slightly. “What is it?”
“Your Majesty.” Hua Chun said, “This concubine’s stomach hurts.”
The people nearby all turned to look. Noble Consort Xu said in a low voice, “It didn’t hurt before, it doesn’t hurt after — why does it have to hurt right now? Can’t bear it, is that it?”
Her lips turned pale as she spoke. Hua Chun sneered, “In your eyes, is the imperial heir not even as important as framing this consort?”
“Go and fetch the imperial physician.” Seeing her complexion, the Empress Dowager grew anxious too. “Let’s see how she is first.”
Outside, the flogging continued. Wan Shi kept a smile on her face the whole time, not making a sound — until she saw Hua Chun being helped into the inner hall, and then she couldn’t help but grip the wooden stool and let out a low, pained groan.
“Do you admit it or not?” the palace attendant beside her asked.
Wan Shi shook her head. “It wasn’t me. I can’t admit to it.”
The court flogging immediately grew heavier. How many strikes could an old woman past her prime endure? In the end she couldn’t help crying out loudly, “Your Majesty, this commoner woman has been wronged!”
Hua Chun lay on the bed, and hearing that cry, her face grew even paler. Empress Dowager Ning sat by the bedside, watching the imperial physician take her pulse, and asked with furrowed brows, “How is it?”
The imperial physician said, “Your Highness may have caught a chill, and combined with her poor mood, it has disturbed the pregnancy.”
Consort Shu smiled. “It seems Consort De isn’t as composed as she appears on the surface. If she lets her emotions get the better of her, she really must be careful of the imperial heir.”
“Your Majesty.” Hua Chun gritted her teeth and called out, her eyes full of urgency as she looked toward the Empress Dowager. “Please release Wan Shi first.”
The Empress Dowager paused. “Do you realize that saying such a thing is as good as admitting that what Consort Hua said is true?”
Hua Chun sneered. “Consort Hua isn’t even sparing herself and her birth mother, dragging them down with her just to slander me as being Hua Jinghua. If I admit to it, she too will have to bear the crime of deceiving the emperor along with me. This consort truly doesn’t understand why she would have such a scheme in mind.”
Hua Xunyue pressed her lips together. Beside her, Noble Consort Xu said, “Ever since Prime Minister Hua was executed, he has had no relation whatsoever to Consort Hua. Whatever act of deceiving the emperor you’ve committed afterward cannot be counted against her.”
“Is there such reasoning?” Hua Chun glanced at Hua Xunyue. “No wonder you feel no pressure at all when framing someone. Unfortunately, I truly am not your elder brother — if I were, I’d have to beat to death this severely brain-addled younger sister of mine.”
“Severely… what?” The Empress Dowager frowned.
“You needn’t mind this consort’s nonsense.” Taking a deep breath, Hua Chun said, “Wan Shi is Prime Minister Hua’s birth mother. Your conduct in this matter is improper. This consort isn’t worried for Wan Shi’s sake alone — I say this purely for your sake as well.”
The Empress Dowager pressed her lips together, thought for a moment, and said, “Have them stop outside for now.”
“Your Majesty.” Consort Shu said, “Have you forgotten what we just discussed? Consort De’s reaction like this practically confirms the rumor that she herself is Hua Jinghua!”
“Whether it’s confirmed or not can wait.” The Empress Dowager frowned. “Securing the imperial heir for me first is the proper priority!”
Nothing mattered more than the imperial heir.
Letting out a soft sigh of relief, Hua Chun suddenly found this trait of the Empress Dowager — desperately guarding the imperial heir at all costs — rather endearing. At least it could buy more time and spare Wan Shi from further suffering.
Consort Shu bit her lip, while Tang Shi chimed in lightly, “What the truth actually is, Your Majesty knows best in her own heart. We needn’t worry about that — let’s protect the imperial heir first. It’s just that, Your Majesty, if you favor Consort De and disregard Noble Consort Wu, I’m afraid Noble Consort Wu will feel wronged.”
“Am I not looking after both?” The Empress Dowager frowned.
“Noble Consort Wu’s ritual hasn’t been performed yet.”
The implication being — how could the flogging outside be stopped?
Hua Chun said, “Injuring someone is itself a sin. Extracting a false confession through torture will only fill Huiming Hall with resentment, which bodes ill for anyone’s pregnancy. I ask Your Majesty to reconsider.”
“Your Highness had best rest and stop talking.” Consort Shu said. “Everyone knows you want to protect Wan Shi, but some matters aren’t yours to decide.”
The Empress Dowager fell silent.
Both palms and the backs of her hands were flesh — Noble Consort Wu’s child mattered, and so did Consort De’s child. And outside, Wan Shi was clearly the crux of it all. Keep flogging, and trouble would surely erupt on Consort De’s side. Stop flogging, and Noble Consort Wu and her pregnancy would be in danger again.
What was she to do?
“Your Majesty.” Consort Shu helped her out into the outer hall and said quietly, “This consort understands your difficulty, but Noble Consort Wu’s pregnancy is a solid, confirmed imperial heir. Consort De’s pregnancy — we won’t even know for certain until His Majesty returns.”
Glancing at her, the Empress Dowager curved her lips. “Your calculations are quite something too.”
Consort Shu was stunned, not quite understanding what the Empress Dowager meant by that, but seeing the look in her eyes wasn’t particularly kind, she awkwardly withdrew her hand.
The Empress Dowager sat down in the outer hall, thought for a long while, then summoned Yuejian over and murmured a few words to her in a low voice. Yuejian paused, then nodded and went out anyway.
Hua Chun knew nothing of this, lying on the bed feeling utterly wretched all over. She didn’t know how much time had passed before she suddenly heard the sound of bronze bells outside, as if a ritual were being performed.
The ritual had started?!
Her heart jolted, and she hurriedly turned over and sat up, putting on her shoes and rushing outside.
“Consort De.” The Empress Dowager called out to her. “You’d best not act rashly right now, or even if I wanted to protect you, I wouldn’t be able to.”
Her steps halted at the doorway. Hua Chun, her face pale, turned back. “Your Majesty hid the use of the flogging from this consort — was that to protect this consort?”
The other consorts and concubines in the side hall had all left; only the Empress Dowager remained, those weathered eyes full of hidden depths. “I once said that if I want someone like you by the emperor’s side, since you’re already here, I don’t wish to investigate who you truly are. That you could make it to this day means the emperor surely knows everything, and I too can turn a blind eye to the matter of deceiving the emperor. But Wan Shi cannot be allowed to remain.”
A chill rose from the soles of her feet. Hua Chun’s eyes went wide. “What have you done?”
“As long as she’s no longer around, you can remain Consort De forever. Give birth to the imperial heir, and I will elevate you to Empress,” the Empress Dowager said. “But if she remains, sooner or later your identity will be exposed, and it will embarrass the emperor as well. Just consider yourself reborn — without that mother.”
What kind of outrageous nonsense was this? Hua Chun shook her head, her eyes reddening as she strode out of the side hall’s door.
Wan Shi still lay prone across the long wooden bench, her face pale, her hand hanging limp on the ground, looking as if she had no breath left at all. The monk Zhili was drawing her blood; red blood slowly dripped from her fingers, and it looked painful, yet she showed no reaction at all.
As if even her breathing were about to stop, Hua Chun stumbled forward several steps, gripping Rui’er’s hand to run to Wan Shi’s side, and shoved Zhili aside.
“Mother?”
Wan Shi’s face had turned ashen, her whole body ice-cold, the flesh at her hip a bloody pulp — it looked like she had already received no fewer than fifty strikes of the board. Yet she’d been lying in the side hall the whole time, hearing nothing.
How had this happened?
Reaching out, she grabbed Wan Shi’s hand and pressed it into her own bosom, calling out to her softly, “Mother, wake up quickly! It’s so cold outside — let’s go in and sleep.”
Rui’er was somewhat stunned, hearing her own mistress call this commoner woman “Mother” — for a moment she couldn’t quite process it.
The Empress Dowager stood at the entrance to the side hall; quite a few people had also come out from the main hall, all watching as Consort De, eyes red, untied her own cloak and draped it over Wan Shi.
“Ai.” Empress Dowager Ning sighed. She truly had considered protecting Consort De, but if the consort herself was determined to throw herself into the fire, there was no stopping her.
No one needed to say anything more now. Watching Consort De struggling to lift Wan Shi up, trying to carry her toward the side hall, it was clear enough — they were truly mother and daughter by blood.
Great disaster was about to befall Hua Chun.
“Rui’er, come help me.”
Feeling that there was still a pulse, Hua Chun hurriedly called Rui’er over, and together they carried Wan Shi into the side hall. The Empress Dowager watched her coldly and said, “No imperial physician will treat a commoner woman.”
Her body stiffened. Hua Chun raised her eyes, staring blankly at the Empress Dowager for a moment, but said nothing. She first settled Wan Shi on the bed, then applied external wound medicine, and sent Rui’er to fetch Imperial Physician Feng.
“Let’s disperse, the show’s over.” Consort Shu waved her hand with a smile. “Things have come to this point — we’ll just wait and see what disposition Her Majesty gives to someone who has deceived the emperor.”
Noble Consort Xu and Tang Shi smiled too, dispersing in good spirits. Out in the courtyard the ritual was still being performed — whether or not it was because Wan Shi’s hair and blood were effective, Noble Consort Wu gradually calmed down, and the signs of her pregnancy stabilized.
So the Empress Dowager returned to the main hall and never once went to look in on the side hall again.
“Your Highness.” Rui’er returned drenched in sweat, her eyes red with anxiety. “Imperial Physician Feng can’t get in — the Empress Dowager won’t allow it.”
“Then we’ll go out and receive him,” Hua Chun said through gritted teeth. “We can’t just disregard a person’s life!”
Rui’er’s eyes were full of worry as she followed her mistress out, saying quietly, “Please take care of yourself.”
“Mn.” Hua Chun nodded, and seeing the guards at the entrance to Huiming Hall, charged straight at them.
The guards were stunned, evidently not expecting such a move from her, and instinctively raised their long halberds crosswise. Hua Chun neither dodged nor flinched, her slightly swollen belly thrust forward, forcing them to withdraw their halberds.
Imperial Physician Feng stood outside with a grave expression. Seeing her come out, he hurried over to check her complexion. “Your Highness, please take care of your health.”
“This consort knows. You go in first.” Reaching out to grab his sleeve, Hua Chun pulled him straight inside.
“Consort De.” Yuejian stood on the steps in front of the main hall, watching her, and bent her knees slightly. “Please do not defy Her Majesty’s order.”
“A person’s life is nearly gone!” Hua Chun’s eyes reddened as she shouted at her. “And you’re still talking about orders at a time like this — are your hearts made of concrete?”
Yuejian was stunned, glancing back at the tightly shut hall doors behind her, and shook her head at Hua Chun with furrowed brows.
These words were nothing short of a challenge to the Empress Dowager — not something to be uttered.
Hua Chun no longer cared about any of that, dragging Imperial Physician Feng straight into the side hall and telling him to find some way to save Wan Shi.
The weather was cold enough that snow seemed imminent. The Empress Dowager listened calmly to Hua Chun’s raging outside, and when the time seemed right, had the side hall surrounded — only allowed to exit, never to enter.
“This official has no more remedies to offer.” Looking at Wan Shi’s injuries, Imperial Physician Feng shook his head. “I can only prescribe some medicine — the rest depends entirely on the lady’s own will to live.”