“Crack!”
A thunderous sound rang out, and a figure came flying straight out of the imperial study—none other than Physician Chen, the very one who had diagnosed Ziqing—slamming violently into the ground and immediately coughing up blood, dead on the spot.
Within the imperial study, chaos reigned. Emperor Tianhui, consumed with fury, pressed one hand against the collapsed marble tabletop, his sharp eyes blazing with rage, veins bulging across his face, his expression twisted into something truly terrifying.
Consort Yi, Eunuch Yin, and a group of other servants knelt scattered across the floor, trembling, not one of them daring to speak.
“A pack of useless fools! Fools! Fools! All of you, utterly useless!”
Emperor Tianhui roared furiously, one thunderous outburst after another, his fury boundless, his voice hoarse with rage.
He had planned everything so meticulously, even calculating the precise timing of the poison’s onset—yet Han Ziqing had somehow been miraculously revived. Now that the edict had already been formally issued, even though he technically still held the authority to revoke it, he no longer had the face to do so!
Worse still, the bond of father and son between himself and Beiyue had already been publicly displayed—after all those heartfelt words spoken in the imperial study that day, how could he possibly take them back now?
And with Prince Xiang of Western Chu, Chu Tiange, soon to arrive as an envoy, given Chu Tiange’s formidable capabilities and unpredictable temperament, if Jun Beiyue weren’t there to handle him, who else in all of Da Zhou possibly could? He, the Emperor himself, would surely suffer humiliation!
Given all of this, not only was there no possibility of revoking the edict of conferment, there was nothing more he could do to make things difficult for his son either!
Having finished his tirade, he collapsed heavily back into his chair, both hands clawing desperately at the already-shattered armrests. In moments, both armrests crumbled entirely to pieces beneath his grip!
Finally, he turned to assign blame. “Consort Yi, how exactly did you assure this Emperor things would go, hm?”
Consort Yi’s eyes immediately welled with tears, choking out an explanation. “Your Majesty, this consort still has that very teapot preserved—any test would immediately reveal the poison within it. This consort administered every last drop of the Flower Jade poison you provided. Every single lady of the harem personally witnessed that girl drink the tea down to the very last drop—this consort would stake her own life on it, she absolutely must have ingested the poison. In this consort’s estimation, it must have been Prince Yao himself who administered the antidote!”
“Indeed, indeed, Your Majesty. Her Highness’s condition wasn’t diagnosed by Physician Chen alone—the palace’s own imperial physicians, along with physicians from both Prince Yao’s residence and the Han household, all independently diagnosed her with consumption. The symptoms of Flower Jade poison, once it takes effect, are identical to those of acute consumption—there’s simply no other explanation than that Han Ziqing was indeed poisoned!” Eunuch Yin quickly added.
“Your Majesty, were it not for the Flower Jade poison, how else could such symptoms have manifested? This consort refuses to believe Prince Yao could possibly have bribed every single imperial physician and doctor involved!” Consort Yi said urgently, every word directing suspicion squarely at Jun Beiyue.
Yet the moment she finished speaking, Emperor Tianhui suddenly kicked the broken chair in front of him violently in her direction, startling her so badly her composure crumbled entirely, unable to dodge in time as it struck her hard!
“Do none of you realize the poison must have already been neutralized and replaced with something else entirely? Beyond Flower Jade, there must exist some other poison capable of mimicking the acute onset of consumption! That is precisely what Han Ziqing must have taken!”
However furious Emperor Tianhui remained, his mind stayed sharper than anyone else’s in the room!
Hearing this, Consort Yi ignored her own pain entirely, seizing the opportunity to redirect suspicion toward Jun Beiyue once more. “Your Majesty! Your Majesty means to say Prince Yao tampered with matters, deceiving everyone present!”
“Precisely!” Emperor Tianhui said coldly.
“Prince Yao, he… he… isn’t this tantamount to secretly defying Your Majesty’s own authority? He knows perfectly well Your Majesty has already given him an honorable way out of this situation, and yet he remains stubbornly obstinate, insisting on marrying such a ruined woman, bringing shame upon our imperial family’s dignity! Your Majesty, Prince Yao is truly unfilial—his crime is unforgivable!” Consort Yi said furiously.
Seeing Emperor Tianhui’s expression darken further without responding, she quickly pressed further, stoking the flames. “Your Majesty, if this is truly the case, then this consort is clearly no match for Prince Yao at all—he’s even managed to deceive… to deceive… to deceive even Your Majesty yourself…”
Before she could finish, Eunuch Yin hastily tugged at her sleeve, but Consort Yi insisted on continuing anyway. “Even Your Majesty was deceived!”
Sure enough, these words thoroughly enraged Emperor Tianhui. Without warning, he lunged forward, seizing Consort Yi by the throat, demanding coldly, “Are you suggesting this Emperor was played for a fool as well, that I couldn’t outmaneuver him?”
Consort Yi’s face went completely pale with terror, yet she forced herself to continue regardless. “Your Majesty, what this consort means is… Prince Yao… cannot be underestimated!”
Emperor Tianhui narrowed his eyes, glaring at her with venomous intensity, his grip tightening bit by bit. Consort Yi, trembling with fear as she met his gaze, desperately wanted to beg for mercy right then and there—yet the thought of bringing down Prince Yao kept her gritting her teeth, pressing forward regardless.
Eunuch Yin, standing off to the side, watched Consort Yi’s complexion grow increasingly dire, anxious beyond measure yet not daring to intervene—throughout all of Da Zhou, there were only two minds truly impossible to fathom: first, Prince Yao’s, and second, the Emperor’s own.
Suddenly, Consort Yi could no longer hold on, foam beginning to form at her mouth. Emperor Tianhui finally released his grip, flinging her roughly aside.
“Consort Yi! Consort Yi, what’s wrong!”
Eunuch Yin cried out in alarm, hurrying to her side, pinching hard beneath her nose and pouring sugar water down her throat. After a long moment, Consort Yi finally regained consciousness, immediately breaking into soft, choking sobs.
“Consort Yi, Prince Yao is this Emperor’s pride and joy, and his Princess Consort must likewise become this Emperor’s pride. From now on, should anyone dare insult the Princess Consort of Prince Yao again, this Emperor will show absolutely no mercy. I understand the Court of Judicial Review is currently investigating the assassination of Young Master Chen—see to it personally, on this Emperor’s behalf, that no further insult is brought upon the Princess Consort’s reputation! Do you understand?” Emperor Tianhui said coldly.
Consort Yi’s sobbing ceased abruptly. She understood the Emperor’s meaning at once—outwardly, he still intended to maintain the appearance of a harmonious father-son relationship with Prince Yao, while quietly using her as the instrument to play the villain, striking at Han Ziqing through the Chen family case instead!
A flicker of cold calculation crossed Consort Yi’s eyes. She knew the Emperor would ultimately never truly tolerate Jun Beiyue’s audacity forever, and she dared not delay any further, quickly replying, “This consort understands, this consort understands completely!”
Having received her orders, Consort Yi didn’t dare linger any longer, hastily taking her leave. The moment she stepped out of Yiqing Palace, she found General Ouyang and Jun Beichen already waiting for her.
Seeing the injury on Consort Yi’s neck, the Second Prince immediately exclaimed in fury, “Mother, Father Emperor struck you!”
Consort Yi laughed coldly. “Beichen, if you had even the slightest bit of ambition and competence, would this consort need to risk her very life fighting for your claim to the throne?”
The Second Prince bit his lip, saying nothing, thoroughly chastened. General Ouyang quickly asked, “What exactly happened in there?”
“Brother, the Emperor brought up the Chen family murder case,” Consort Yi said flatly, her brow furrowed tight.
“His meaning being… Han Ziqing…”
This complicated matters considerably. The Emperor truly was a cunning old fox—rather than directly confronting Jun Beiyue, he intended once again to use Consort Yi as his instrument to deal with Han Ziqing, with Han Xi’er standing to benefit as a result.
General Ouyang’s brow furrowed as well, deep in uncertain thought. Consort Yi, however, spoke quietly, “Brother, I do have one excellent plan in mind!”
She leaned in close to General Ouyang’s ear, speaking in a low murmur…