The Holy Emperor was meticulously trimming a lush potted plant on the flower stand with a pair of golden scissors. He spoke leisurely, “What’s the matter? Are you reluctant?”
“But Your Majesty promised not to harm his life,” Feng Xiyang said in a low voice. “If it weren’t for Staff Officer Xiao, he might have…”
The golden scissors snipped, and another flower petal fell. “What I want is precisely Xiao Weiran,” the Holy Emperor said. Seeing Xiyang’s confusion, he smiled and put down the scissors. “He’s too much of a nuisance. It’s good to let him rest for a while—until I’ve arranged everything. The rest will be up to the Princess.”
“I don’t understand,” Feng Xiyang looked at him, somewhat bewildered. “I also don’t know what to do…”
“Don’t worry,” the Holy Emperor patted her shoulder gently. “Fu Yixiao will return soon. When that happens, I’ll teach you.”
“Fu Yixiao?!” Xiyang exclaimed in surprise. “Why would she come back?”
“Because the King of Zhennan is severely injured,” the Holy Emperor smiled enigmatically. “So, she will travel thousands of miles back from Susha.”
“But… my husband isn’t…” Xiyang still didn’t understand. The Holy Emperor had already picked up the golden scissors and resumed carefully trimming the flower tree, offering no further explanation. She stood there blankly for a while before finally leaving, helpless.
Madam Zhuang paced anxiously in her chambers, while her maid occasionally ran to the door to look out. As dusk approached, Fu Yixiao sent word that she would be presiding over the judgment of the forest ambush case at Shuchen Hall that night, inviting her to oversee the proceedings. With a guilty conscience, she felt extremely uneasy.
Why not hold the trial during the day? Shuchen Hall was the place where palace servants who violated internal laws were punished, just a step away from the Cold Palace. It was the place with the most wronged souls and the heaviest yin energy in the entire royal city. At night, no palace servant was willing to go near there.
And why invite her to attend the trial? She was just a palace consort; when had such a major criminal case ever required her oversight?
At this time, contacting her father and brothers would be unwise. Due to the inn fire incident, Feng Qishan was displeased with her incompetence and refused to see her for several days. She could only send a clever palace servant to gather information from other consorts.
The servant had been gone for over an hour and still hadn’t returned. Her heart had been in suspense for just as long. Just as she was fretting, her maid suddenly exclaimed softly, “They’re back! They’ve returned!”
Before the words faded, a palace servant ran in from outside, knelt nimbly, and reported, “Your Highness, your servant has inquired. The other consorts have also received invitations from the Junior Consort to oversee at Shuchen Hall later.”
Madam Zhuang immediately relaxed, regaining her usual graceful demeanor. She said languidly, “Very well, you may go. Collect your reward on the way out!”
Perhaps she had been too nervous. But in her memory, both Shuchen Hall and the Cold Palace were eerie and terrifying.
When she had just been titled a consort, she once snuck to the Cold Palace behind Shuchen Hall out of curiosity. She wanted to see how the consorts who had been demoted for various reasons lived.
When she pushed open one of the rickety wooden doors, she only saw a bowl of leftover food on a simple wooden table, with several flies buzzing up and down among it. In the corner, a woman with a withered face like a skull was curled up. Seeing her standing at the door, staring blankly, the woman rasped, “What are you looking at?! The Emperor favored me six times. How about you? How many times have you been favored? I used to be a hundred times more beautiful than you. Who do you think you are?!”
Newly entered into the harem, she paled and fled from the Cold Palace, only to nearly bump into another consort with a charming face at the entrance. She recognized her as Consort Hui, the Emperor’s most favored.
Consort Hui stood there haughtily, casting only a faint glance. “Brave enough to sneak into the Cold Palace, I thought you were someone formidable. Turns out you’re scared of this state.”
At first, she thought Consort Hui had come specifically to catch her. She was so frightened she couldn’t speak. Suddenly, light footsteps approached, and a palace servant came running with a blood-stained bamboo whip, reporting to Consort Hui, “The caning is complete, Your Highness. What do you think…”
Consort Hui still held her head high, casting a mocking glance at her, and asked casually, “Does she show any sign of repentance?”
The servant hesitated for just a moment before Consort Hui asked again, “What did she say?”
The servant had no choice but to reply tremblingly, “She said that even as a ghost, she would crawl back from the underworld to settle scores with Your Highness.”
She shuddered slightly, but heard Consort Hui explain to her softly, “Inside is Consort Liu, who was found to have poisoned my food in an attempt to harm me this time—you see, it’s not that I won’t let her go, she’s bringing death upon herself.” She nodded instinctively, and Consort Hui ignored her, turning to instruct the servant, “Cut off her hands and feet, burn her to death, and scatter her ashes!”
As the servant turned to leave, she heard Consort Hui say coldly, “Let’s see how you crawl back!”
Two years later, during a harem upheaval, Consort Hui, who had been deposed by Emperor Feng Qishan for allegedly using witchcraft to harm Prince Feng Suige, kicked and bit at the palace servants carrying out her punishment. In the end, the servants completed the caning while stepping on her hands and feet. Consort Hui let out a scream mixed with a curse, “Even as a ghost, I won’t let you go…”
And she, by now Madam Zhuang, smiled gently, squatted down in front of Consort Hui, and asked softly, “Do you remember what you said back then?” Consort Hui looked up, and she said softly to those shocked and hateful eyes, “Let’s see how you crawl back.”
Consort Hui suddenly burst into maniacal laughter with her blood-filled mouth, “I’ll remember you, and you’d better remember me… I’ll be back, I’ll make you taste everything I’ve suffered today… When that time comes, every bit of suffering I’ve endured will be paid back to you double…”
“Your Highness—” Startled by an unexpected touch, Madam Zhuang, lost in her reverie, clutched her chest and jumped up. Still shaken, she focused her gaze to see it was the maid who had remained in the room. Without thinking, she raised her hand and slapped the maid, scolding, “You little wretch, are you trying to scare this consort to death?!”
The maid covered her face and sobbed, “This servant knows her mistake. It’s just that the time is approaching. Please, Your Highness, start dressing and preparing to leave…”
As soon as Madam Zhuang stepped into Shuchen Hall, she was terrified. The vast hall was filled with hanging white mourning cloths, and the dim candlelight made it so eerie that her scalp tingled. The maid supporting Madam Zhuang also began to tremble, asking in a quavering voice, “Your Highness, what’s going on here…”
“Why has Madam Zhuang arrived so early?” Suddenly, another voice rang out in the hall, startling Madam Zhuang. Her wildly beating heart quickly calmed down. Although it was the person she least wanted to see, it was better than nothing.
“Wasn’t this the time set by the Junior Consort?” Looking at Fu Yixiao, who had lifted the curtain and walked out, Madam Zhuang put on her usual arrogant manner and said haughtily, “Why is no one here? Where are the other consorts?”
“Perhaps you’ve mistaken the time and arrived early,” Fu Yixiao casually responded, reaching out to pull her. “It’s still early anyway, why don’t you come in first?”
Madam Zhuang instinctively took a step back. “I’ll sit with the nearby consorts for a while and come back later.”
Yixiao let out a cold laugh. “Is Madam Zhuang afraid of me, or something else?”