The weather was oppressively hot. Since the scorching heat had turned to autumn, there had rarely been such suffocating moments in the capital. Fan Liangdi looked at the dark, inky clouds gathering heavily at the horizon and irritably waved her round fan: “It’s going to rain.”
Thunder rumbled through the air from time to time. Lianqiao and Muyao followed half a step behind her, one on each side. Nanny Fang smiled first: “Indeed, once this rain falls, it’ll likely turn cool. This weather is unbearably stifling.”
But when Fan Liangdi arrived at Qingning Hall, she learned what truly meant being unable to breathe. After paying her respects to the Empress, the very first thing the Empress said was: “The Crown Prince cleaned up the mess at Huangjue Temple for you. Quite impressive.”
Though Fan Liangdi enjoyed favor, she tried to avoid appearing before the Empress whenever possible—Empress Lu bore the surname Lu, the same as the Crown Princess. Whom she would favor was self-evident. Fan Liangdi was not someone willing to suffer losses, so naturally she avoided the Empress when she could. Even when she had words to drive a wedge between the Empress and the Crown Prince, she whispered them privately in the Crown Prince’s ear as pillow talk, never provoking the Empress directly. This was the first time the Empress had laid things out openly and clearly before her.
She had thought the Empress summoned her regarding her son’s marriage prospects, never expecting the Empress’s first words would concern Huangjue Temple. Her heart lurched, and almost instinctively she slid from her chair to the floor, kneeling with both knees, head lowered slightly in trepidation as she stared at the thick woolen carpet spread on the ground.
She had always known the relationship between the Empress and Crown Prince was distant, knew this mother and son weren’t as close as ordinary mothers and sons. Therefore, she was quite adept at exploiting this point, using the Crown Prince to avoid the Empress’s constraints and censure. The Empress perhaps saw through this, or perhaps unwilling to put the Crown Prince in a difficult position, had never really paid her any mind or given her any trouble. She felt her mind churning into chaos, not understanding why the Empress would specifically bring up this matter at this time. In a daze, she clenched her fists tightly, not even daring to lift her head to glance at the Empress. Through her eyes, everything appeared blurred with halos of light.
The great hall was so quiet a pin drop could be heard. Fan Liangdi could even hear her own heavy, rapid breathing. She waited for what seemed an eternity, yet the Empress didn’t speak a second sentence. Finally somewhat panicked, she hastily called out: “This concubine wouldn’t dare…”
Empress Lu let out an extremely soft, cold snort: “Wouldn’t dare? This Palace sees that not only do you dare, your audacity grows ever greater. Do you think that out of consideration for the Crown Prince, this Palace can do nothing to you?”
The Empress’s tone remained consistently flat, yet this flatness did nothing to ease Fan Liangdi’s tension. She knew—some people became calmer the angrier they grew. She shook her head repeatedly. Her mind finally began to turn at this moment. Mustering her courage, she looked up at the Empress: “This concubine… this concubine was only momentarily confused…”
The corners of the Empress’s mouth lifted slightly, her expression neither smile nor sneer as she turned her head, not even glancing at her: “Momentarily confused? Not quite. If it were momentary confusion, the incident in Jinzhong alone would have been enough. You didn’t stop even when it cost you your own second brother. You tell this Palace you were momentarily confused? I think you couldn’t be more clearheaded.”
Empress Lu spoke very slowly, each word like a heavy hammer pounding fiercely on Fan Liangdi’s heart. Her temples throbbed violently, the veins on her neck bulging. Her neck strained as she finally sensed something was wrong—the Empress wasn’t here simply to confront her. Just as she had previously thought herself safe because the Empress showed no reaction whatsoever, this matter would pass as long as the Crown Prince didn’t pursue it and the Empress feigned ignorance. Though everyone would understand tacitly, it remained an internal Eastern Palace affair. If left unspoken, it could be treated as if it never happened. At worst, she would appear less often before the Empress in the future…
But now, the Empress was openly and unhesitatingly laying the matter bare in the open. What did she intend to do? She prostrated herself on the ground as large drops of sweat seeped from her forehead, finally feeling panic.
“You’ve never truly placed this Palace in your eyes, have you?” The Empress’s tone carried not a hint of fluctuation from beginning to end. When looking at her, her gaze held no emotion whatsoever, cold and detached as if viewing any piece of furniture in the hall, icy and devoid of any feeling. Then in the next moment, the Empress’s tone suddenly turned sharp and severe: “You think that as long as you coax the Crown Prince well, since this Palace’s relationship with the Crown Prince is already poor, this Palace would absolutely not dare fall out with him or move against his precious darling, isn’t that right?”
That final “isn’t that right” practically shook Fan Liangdi’s heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys all at once. Only now did she realize the severity of the situation. She crawled forward several steps on her knees, trying to grasp the Empress’s legs.
The Empress sneered coldly, lifted her leg and kicked her over, reaching out to grab a thin sheet of paper from a small table beside her and hurling it along with the paperweight at Fan Liangdi’s face: “I must say you guessed quite correctly. At first, this Palace indeed thought it better to avoid trouble. The Crown Prince made quite a fuss before this Palace on your behalf, and this Palace nearly compromised. But you just had to walk the path of death! Come, take a look—what is this?!”
Fan Liangdi’s tear-blurred gaze finally found focus. In panic, she scanned the letter once—only once was needed for her heart to feel as if someone had seized it and crushed it into a ball.
“Do you recognize this handwriting? No? You should at least recognize the signature at the bottom, shouldn’t you?” The Empress laughed once, her tone dripping with infinite mockery: “Back then, you even wanted this girl to become your daughter-in-law, remember? You’ve forgotten? In the blink of an eye, for two hundred thousand taels of silver, you wanted her life. Old Madam Chen must be feeling utterly wronged beneath the ground—over two hundred thousand taels of silver couldn’t even buy her granddaughter’s future prospects… I wonder if she can rest in peace. Perhaps right now she’s standing beside you, watching you…”
Fan Liangdi felt pain radiating from her bones. Her entire body seemed drained of strength as she falteringly called out: “Your Majesty…” Empress Lu was not the Crown Prince. Before Empress Lu, she couldn’t exert even the slightest bit of influence.
“From the first moment this Palace laid eyes on you, this Palace has not liked you.” Empress Lu’s gaze was cold and indifferent: “The Crown Prince thinks your smiling face is charming and delightful. This Palace, however, thought the way you looked at your sister resembled a jackal, frightening. The facts proved exactly that… Think about it—over all these years, how many people have died by your hand? Did you ever think, when doing these things, that there would be a price to pay?”