Rong Qiu was from the fourth branch of the Rong family. Having lost his father early – a father who was a concubine’s son – he lived difficult days in the Rong family. From childhood, he understood the importance of diligence and self-improvement. His position in the Jinwu Guard had little to do with Noble Consort Rong; it was earned through his dedication to martial arts. Only after her son joined the Jinwu Guard did his mother finally escape the financial restrictions imposed by her elder sisters-in-law, no longer having to worry about affording a lamp or a warm blanket for winter.
Lady Rong of the Fourth Branch had only Rong Qiu to rely on. With Rong Qiu’s death, her world had collapsed.
When Shen Xihe learned that Noble Consort Rong had sent Rong Qiu, she ordered people to bring Lady Rong of the Fourth Branch from the Rong residence, informing her of Rong Qiu’s death in service to Noble Consort Rong.
Though the current dynasty was generous toward women, abandoning the previous dynasty’s principles of women following their father before marriage, husband after marriage, and son after husband’s death – allowing widows to remarry, establish their households, engage in business, even enter the palace as female officials if learned, or become constables if martially skilled.
Despite this, many women from great families still relied entirely on men. For Lady Rong of the Fourth Branch, her recently married son who had not yet produced an heir was her everything, her whole world – and now that world had crumbled.
“Your Majesty… this humble woman has evidence of Noble Consort’s crimes—” Lady Rong of the Fourth Branch cried out hoarsely.
With so many witnesses, even the Rong family head couldn’t intervene. Emperor Youning’s gaze swept over Noble Consort Rong: “Let her enter.”
In recent years, as Rong Qiu showed promise and could move freely in the palace due to his Jinwu Guard position, he gradually gained Noble Consort Rong’s trust, handling many tasks for her.
Rong Qiu and Noble Consort Rong weren’t close aunt and nephew by blood. The coldness and hardships he endured in his youth made him extremely cautious. He understood clearly that if anything went wrong, Noble Consort Rong would abandon him, so he had carefully preserved some evidence for his mother’s protection in case anything happened to him.
Lady Rong of the Fourth Branch didn’t need protection anymore – she had nothing left to live for. But she was determined to make those responsible for her son’s death pay!
She submitted considerable evidence, though none of it was enough to condemn Noble Consort Rong to death. Rong Qiu had only recently risen to prominence, while Noble Consort Rong had long secured her position in the palace. The most serious charge was her plot to harm the Crown Princess.
Noble Consort Rong had ordered Rong Qiu to find a civet cat identical to the Crown Princess’s. The Rong family still had several similar ones. This particular civet cat had been selected months ago, its claws soaked in drugs for a long time, leading to Ziyu’s accident.
The Rong family still had unprocessed civet cats that looked extremely similar to Duanming. The cat pinned down by Duanming looked identical to it, and the drugs on its claws matched those in Ziyu’s wounds. By now, Axi had been summoned by Shen Xihe. He applied acupuncture to temporarily revive Ziyu, who immediately testified: “This servant encountered the Crown Princess’s civet cat and, fearing the Crown Princess would search for it, intended to bring it back. Unexpectedly, it had been switched and caught off guard, I was scratched. I know nothing of what happened after.”
“Noble Consort certainly went to great lengths to deal with me,” Shen Xihe smiled faintly, though the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “If I’m not mistaken, this civet cat was prepared for me by Noble Consort but somehow escaped, only to be discovered by Ziyu. Upon learning this, Noble Consort sent Guard Rong to search for it. Unexpectedly, Guard Rong encountered the fleeing assassin in the kitchen, they fought, and Guard Rong was killed by the assassin.”
It seemed to make sense. Xiao Huayong coughed softly to prevent himself from laughing out loud.
Killing Rong Qiu was meant to prompt Lady Rong of the Fourth Branch to expose Noble Consort Rong, proving Noble Consort’s ill intentions toward Shen Xihe. But others couldn’t know they had killed Rong Qiu – he was His Majesty’s Jinwu Guard; even if he committed wrongs, His Majesty should have handled his punishment.
Thus, Shen Xihe used incense to lead His Majesty to create an assassin, attempting to clear her name. Simultaneously, she used the assassin to achieve her cleanup operations during the chaos, then blamed Rong Qiu’s death on the assassin.
Now the assassin was nowhere to be found. Though His Majesty knew this wasn’t the truth, what could he do? Could he step forward and say he had sent the assassin? That the assassin couldn’t have killed Rong Qiu?
Of course not. In this game, even His Majesty had to swallow his bitter medicine in silence!
Xiao Huayong excelled at grand strategy, creating sweeping waves; Shen Xihe mastered intricate tactics, leaving no loose ends!
The truth could only be as Shen Xihe described – everyone tried to find flaws, yet there were none to be found.
“As for the female historian in Noble Consort’s palace, she probably offered herself willingly to repay Master Fazhao,” Shen Xihe added. “Otherwise, how could Master Fazhao have committed suicide?”
Fazhao’s suicide wasn’t from remorse or enlightenment, but because Shen Xihe had Mo Yuan deliver a message – he would cause his master to be expelled from Xiangguo Temple.
Shen Xihe wouldn’t allow the survival of a monk who willingly conspired with Noble Consort Rong and attempted to corrupt those around her.
Fazhao lacked reverence for Buddhism but felt gratitude toward his master.
“No, it’s not like that…” Noble Consort Rong shook her head slightly. Things weren’t like this, shouldn’t be like this. She wanted to refute but was faced with such solid evidence, even if she explained that she had only intended to first give Ziyu to Fazhao, then use Ziyu’s situation to lure Zhenzhu, ordering Rong Qiu to capture Zhenzhu and kill one of her palace servants to frame Zhenzhu.
She had only wanted to cripple Shen Xihe’s two arms, preventing her from reaching for palace power.
Given Shen Xihe’s intelligence, her plan would have failed either at the beginning or end. Regardless, whenever Shen Xihe made a move, she could adapt accordingly. It shouldn’t have been easy to implicate her, but today heaven seemed determined to destroy her – the assassin had disrupted all plans.
“Your Majesty, if what the Crown Princess says is true and the assassin hasn’t been caught, please send people to search Xiangguo Temple again to ensure Your Majesty’s safety,” Xiao Changmin added.
Did Xiao Changmin even need to say this? The Embroidered Uniform Guard hadn’t all returned yet. Marquis Pingyao and Marquis Zhenbei hadn’t stayed to watch the drama – after leaving their search findings and people, they continued searching.
When the assassin was first discovered, Xiangguo Temple was immediately sealed off. No one could have escaped, yet despite searching every corner, they found no trace of the assassin. Some even suspected the assassin was among them, having changed disguise, making them impossible to identify.
Only Emperor Youning knew this wasn’t the case – the person was already dead.
As for why they couldn’t find the body, even he didn’t know how Shen Xihe had made a corpse vanish into thin air.
Emperor Youning spoke expressionlessly: “Noble Consort Rong, for evil scheming, seeking palace power, and plotting against the Eastern Palace’s consort, with conclusive evidence…”
Noble Consort Rong was demoted to Consort Rong Zhao – this was out of consideration for Xiao Changqing and Xiao Changying’s faces, to avoid embarrassing the two princes. She was confined to Hanchang Palace, never to step out for the rest of her life.