At this point, the pavilion fell quiet. Lady Lin sat in silence for a moment, then said, “It’s nearly noon now. Why don’t you stay and have lunch at my place before leaving?” She waited a while but received no response from Huanxin. Looking up, she saw the latter staring at the chrysanthemum in her hand, lost in thought. After calling her several times, Huanxin finally snapped back to reality and asked blankly, “What is it, Your Ladyship?”

“I asked you to stay for lunch before leaving.” Having said this, Lady Lin added, “What were you thinking about so intently?”

Huanxin forced a smile, her expression somewhat gloomy, “It’s nothing much, just thinking of an old friend I met in Honghua Commandery. I haven’t seen her in years and wonder how she’s doing, whether she’s well.”

“An old friend…” Lady Lin lowered her gaze in thought for a moment, “Are you speaking of Jiang Caiping?”

Huanxin looked at Lady Lin in surprise, “I didn’t expect Your Ladyship to still remember Caiping.”

Lady Lin took the chrysanthemum from her hand, “That girl Caiping was charming and innocent, without guile, and closest to you. How could I not remember her? But later…” She hesitated, not continuing.

Huanxin smiled bitterly and picked up the conversation, “Later I was forced to kill Prince Huai of Wei, is that it?”

Lady Lin sighed, “Caiping left the Governor’s residence before you did, so when your matter was exposed, I never saw her again. But I imagine… she must have felt terrible.”

“It’s I who wronged her. She could have been a divine couple with Prince Huai of Wei, but because of me they were separated by death itself. Though I’ve thought of her countless times since then, I’ve never had the courage to seek her out.”

“So much time has passed, and you were forced by circumstances to kill accidentally. She must be able to understand.” After a pause, she continued, “Speaking of which, Jiang Caiping should be nearly twenty now. She’s probably married and may have had several children. She might have long forgotten your old grievance. If you truly miss her, you might send someone to Honghua Commandery to look for her.”

“I understand.” After Huanxin bowed in acknowledgment, Lady Lin pulled her up, “It’s getting late. Let’s go have our meal.”

After they walked toward Zhaoqing Palace, Lady Wan also returned to Shangyang Palace, supported by Zhaixing’s hand. After dismissing the irrelevant palace servants, Zhaixing squatted down to massage Lady Wan’s legs while saying, “I didn’t expect Consort Ji to discover the false pregnancy matter ahead of time. Fortunately, Your Ladyship arranged everything thoroughly, making her think it was the Crown Princess’s doing. Otherwise, she would have suspected us.”

Chuyun, who was pouring tea for Lady Wan, nearly spilled the tea upon hearing this. After setting down the jade teapot, she asked nervously, “What did you say? Consort Ji discovered it?”

Zhaixing sighed and recounted in detail what had happened at the Imperial Study, “The trap was set so ingeniously, yet Consort Ji still discovered it. Such shrewdness is truly frightening.” Then she sneered, “But Consort Ji didn’t benefit either. Not only did the Crown Princess remain stable in her position without wavering, but His Majesty also had her copy Buddhist scriptures, which is tantamount to punishing her indirectly.”

Chuyun asked nervously, “Did Consort Ji suspect us?”

“That trading house belonged to Your Ladyship in the first place, and Your Ladyship secretly placed people in both the Zheng residence and the Eastern Palace. How could Consort Ji alone investigate this? Just like with the previous matter concerning the heir, she wholeheartedly believes it was the Crown Princess’s doing.”

“What about Gao Qi…” Before Chuyun could finish, Zhaixing continued, “Though he isn’t one of our people, everyone in the Gao residence belongs to us. As long as Gao Qi doesn’t want the entire Gao family to be silenced, he can only follow our instructions and push everything onto Marquis Zheng… no, he should now be called Earl Zheng.”

If Jirong were here, she would be horrified. From Zhaixing’s words, not only the false pregnancy matter, but even Chengzong… was also harmed by Lady Wan, this person she had never suspected.

Gao Qi hadn’t lied before – he truly didn’t know Jirong was falsely pregnant. During his torture in the Eastern Palace, one of the torturers whispered in his ear, telling him to take responsibility for this crime and frame the Zheng family, or else not one member of the Gao family would survive. To protect his family’s lives, Gao Qi had no choice but to speak against his conscience.

Chuyun felt relieved and handed the teacup to Lady Wan, “Since she doesn’t suspect us, there’s no major problem.”

“Fortunately, Your Ladyship was in the Imperial Study at the time. Otherwise, if the Crown Princess were deposed, Consort Ji would have had a chance to rise, turning misfortune into blessing.”

“Jirong…” Lady Wan slowly uttered these two words, her eyes cold as millennial ice, “I thought I had already held her in high regard, but I still underestimated her.”

“Though Consort Ji has some cunning, she ultimately cannot compare to Your Ladyship. She may escape the first day but not the fifteenth. She and the Crown Prince will eventually pay the price for the Mourning Prince’s death!” The Mourning Prince that Zhaixing mentioned was Li Zhiyun, whom Li Yuan posthumously honored as Prince Mourning of Chu after ascending the throne.

But… no matter what posthumous honor, it could not heal the pain in Lady Wan’s heart. Perhaps… only seeing Jirong and Li Jiancheng die with her own eyes could provide some comfort.

Chuyun shook her head, “Back then, when Consort Ji sought refuge with Your Ladyship, seeing that she was somewhat clever, Your Ladyship sent her to the Crown Prince’s side to monitor him. Who would have thought she would turn against us, helping the Crown Prince murder the Mourning Prince, then shifting the blame to the Prince of Qin? If not for Your Ladyship’s keen perception and ability to read people, she might still be deceiving us, making us think the Mourning Prince died at the Prince of Qin’s hands.”

Lady Wan said coldly, “Though those two weren’t born to me, I watched them grow up. The Prince of Qin has an uncompetitive nature, while the Crown Prince is exactly the opposite – he must compete for everything, fearing to fall behind others. How could such a person truly protect Zhiyun? But I always thought that since they were blood brothers, even if he wouldn’t protect him, at least he wouldn’t harm him. Little did I know… Li Jiancheng is simply a beast in human skin, unwilling to spare even his own brothers. It was so with Zhiyun, and it’s the same with the Prince of Qin!”

Her words shocked both Zhaixing and Chuyun. Chuyun said incredulously, “The Prince of Qin and Crown Prince were born of the same mother. Surely he wouldn’t…”

“In his heart, being born of the same mother, being blood brothers – none of that matters. Only power and position are what he values most. Anyone who might threaten his position as Crown Prince shouldn’t be allowed to live.”

“But the Prince of Qin has no desire to compete for the Crown Prince position.” Just as Zhaixing finished speaking, Lady Wan said, “The Prince of Qin may have no such intention, but the Crown Prince sees it differently. Think about it – over these years, how many achievements has the Prince of Qin made fighting battles for His Majesty across the land, and how many has the Crown Prince made? Not to mention this time, when the Crown Prince led troops to battle but suffered great defeat, and it was only with the Prince of Qin’s help that he managed to retreat safely to Chang’an.”

Chuyun exclaimed, “Then isn’t the Prince of Qin in great danger?”