Ling Jingshu walked forward along with the others, her eyes darting around at the periphery, growing more alarmed the more she observed.
Wherever the eye could reach within Jiaofang Palace, the palace lanterns had all been lit, the bright light illuminating clearly the panic and shock written across everyone’s faces.
From time to time, Imperial Guards could be seen passing by, blades drawn, their faces grim and their eyes sharp, exuding a killing intent that made one’s blood run cold.
No one dared speak.
Even a fool could see what such a scene meant. Something terrible had happened in Jiaofang Palace! Anyone who lost their composure at a moment like this and made a careless outburst would likely not keep their life.
Just then, from a corner the lantern light failed to reach, a cold, severe voice suddenly rang out: “And where do you think you’re running off to?”
Everyone’s footsteps halted at once, and they instinctively looked over.
A maid who had quietly slipped into the shadows now stood there, her face deathly pale, stammering out an explanation: “I needed to relieve myself, I was going to the privy…”
That maid happened to be one of Empress Xu’s trusted confidants. Given how furtively she had been moving, it seemed far more likely that she had been trying to slip out of Jiaofang Palace to send word, rather than simply needing the privy.
The Imperial Guard who had caught the maid let out a cold laugh, paying no mind whatsoever to her explanation, and swiftly raised the long blade in his hand.
A flash of cold steel!
A scream of agony!
A spray of blood!
The maid collapsed limply into a pool of blood, and even in her final moment, her face still held an expression of terror.
Everyone who witnessed this scene was drained of all color in their faces from fright. Those with weaker nerves had already lost control of themselves, their faces ashen.
A heavy weight settled in Ling Jingshu’s heart as well. Just moments ago she had been so consumed with excitement over Empress Xu’s downfall that she had forgotten she herself was now also someone attached to Jiaofang Palace—and one who had recently drawn no small amount of attention through Empress Xu’s favor, no less. She would surely be questioned and scrutinized before long.
She had to gather every ounce of focus she had and get through this ordeal!
Rui Lian, standing beside her, trembled all over as well, but said nothing, silently clenching her jaw tight.
The Imperial Guard swept his gaze across them and said coldly, “By the Emperor’s order, everyone is to await summons in the main hall. Anyone who dares try any tricks will share her fate!”
Everyone fell silent at once, moving forward without a word.
…
Before long, everyone had gathered in the main hall.
When people find themselves at their most panicked and helpless, they naturally gravitate toward those they know best, as though doing so might somehow ward off the fear gripping their hearts.
Over a hundred maids and eunuchs stood obediently in the main hall, none daring to move out of place, and yet the space did not feel crowded.
More than twenty Imperial Guards stood in the main hall as well, long blades in hand, cold light glinting in their eyes.
Rui Lian stood to Ling Jingshu’s left, Qiu Shuang to her right. Luoyan, Yao Huang, and Xue Su gathered close around them as well.
Beneath the bright candlelight, several young women’s faces had all turned pale.
Luoyan trembled all over without pause, her voice quivering as she whispered, “Rui Lian, what on earth happened?” The group of them stood in the middle of the main hall, surrounded by maids and eunuchs on all sides—as long as they kept their voices low, a few words exchanged should pose no harm.
Rui Lian’s lips moved, her face white as paper: “I don’t know either.”
Qiu Shuang ventured uneasily in a low voice, “Could it be that Her Majesty has…”
To have alarmed the Emperor himself, and on such a scale—it was not difficult to guess what had happened.
The female officials’ faces had all turned grim. They were all trusted confidants of Empress Xu—if she rose, they rose with her; if she fell, they would fall with her. If something had happened to Empress Xu, what fate awaited the rest of them?
A eunuch walked in and called out, expressionless, “Rui Lian, come with me first.”
Rui Lian’s heart clenched tight, but she dared not hesitate even a moment, and agreed at once.
Everyone instinctively parted to clear a path.
Rui Lian was the one Empress Xu trusted and relied on most, and she possessed a composure and steadiness far beyond most people’s. At this critical moment, she showed the kind of bearing befitting a female official—at least on the surface, she appeared calm enough.
After Rui Lian was led away, Luoyan, Qiu Shuang, and the others lost all heart for conversation.
Time crept by, minute by minute.
After some unknown stretch of time, the same expressionless eunuch came in again, this time calling Qiu Shuang’s name. Qiu Shuang bit down hard on her lip and walked off as though heading to her own execution, a tragic resolve about her.
Then came Luoyan, then Yao Huang, then Xue Su.
Of all those called away, not one returned to the main hall. No one knew where they had been taken!
When it was finally Ling Jingshu’s turn, she had already steeled herself for it. She took a deep breath and walked over to the eunuch’s side.
Compared to the panic and fear shown by Luoyan and the others, Ling Jingshu’s composure now stood out all the more. The eunuch’s face remained as expressionless as ever, though he did spare her an extra glance. “Come with me.”
…
Ling Jingshu followed silently behind the eunuch and entered the side hall.
The side hall was somewhat smaller than the main hall.
The Emperor sat at the head of the room, his face dark and forbidding, with Eunuch Ding and Eunuch Huang standing on either side of him. More than a dozen armed guards stood on each side as well.
The air felt as though it had frozen solid, cold and heavy, making it hard to breathe.
Anyone with weaker nerves would have had their legs give out the moment they saw such a scene.
Ling Jingshu steadied herself, stepped forward, and knelt. “This servant, Ling Jingshu, greets Your Majesty.”
The young woman’s calm, pleasant voice reached the Emperor’s ears.
The Emperor’s eyes narrowed slightly as he studied the beautiful young woman kneeling before him. “Ling Jingshu, do you know why I have summoned you here for questioning?”
Ling Jingshu kept her head bowed and answered respectfully, “This servant does not know. This servant begs Your Majesty’s forgiveness.”
“‘Does not know,’ indeed!”
The Emperor gave a cold snort, his voice laced with frost. “Rui Lian and the others all claimed not to know either. All of you are people close to the Empress—how could you possibly know nothing at all of her affairs? You’ve clearly conspired together, hoping to keep me in the dark.”
“I will give you only one chance. If you dare speak even a single false word, I will not only ensure you die without even a grave to your name, I will wipe out your entire family to the ninth degree!”
This was no idle threat!
The wrath of the Son of Heaven brought rivers of blood!
No one dared bear the weight of such fury!
A chill ran through Ling Jingshu’s heart as well, and she answered at once, “Please, Your Majesty, ask your questions. This servant will hold nothing back and answer fully, without a single false word.”
The Emperor asked coldly, “Do you know of Yu Chun?”
So it really had come to light!
Without the slightest hesitation, Ling Jingshu replied, “This servant has been in the palace less than half a year, but everyone in Jiaofang Palace knows him. The Yu Chun Your Majesty speaks of is a eunuch who serves at Her Majesty’s side. Yu Chun has fine, handsome features and a sweet, ingratiating tongue, and is well-liked by Her Majesty in general. At night, he often keeps watch in Her Majesty’s bedchamber.”
This account matched exactly what Luoyan and the others had said.
The killing intent in the Emperor’s eyes receded somewhat. “Aside from Yu Chun, are there any other eunuchs who often keep night watch?”
Without hesitation, Ling Jingshu listed out, one by one, the eunuchs who frequently kept night watch.
The more the Emperor listened, the darker his expression grew.
Night watch, indeed—what a fine way to put it. It was nothing more than Empress Xu being unable to bear her loneliness…