Emperor Jingming was indeed a soft-hearted man.
Everything had two sides—he wasn’t a tyrannical ruler, and his gentle temperament earned him his subjects’ love, so naturally, he couldn’t maintain a heart of iron.
Yu Jin watched coldly as Beauty Chen entered the room, saying nothing.
In such situations, both warning and silence could be wrong, and he wasn’t sure which was better. Given this, silence was preferable to a thousand words, so he decided to observe quietly with A Si.
Yu Jin deeply understood the principle of moderation.
He and Jiang Si had already drawn enough attention; it was time to be low-key.
Beauty Chen had been inside for quite a while.
Emperor Jingming felt something was amiss and stepped toward the inner chamber.
Since all the palace maids had come out to receive him, the hall was empty except for light, suppressed coughing.
The cough had a delicate quality particular to young girls.
“Father, is that you?”
Emperor Jingming’s eyebrows twitched. He gestured for the others to remain in the hall while Pan Hai accompanied him and the Empress inside.
The room was hung with layers of gauze curtains, and with the windows closed, it was thick with the smell of medicine.
A young girl struggled to prop herself up against the headboard, attempting to get up and pay respects when she saw the Emperor and Empress enter.
The attending palace maid had already knelt, not daring to make a sound.
“Help the Princess lie back down,” Emperor Jingming frowned.
The palace maid hurriedly rose to steady the Fourteenth Princess.
Only then did Emperor Jingming see the Fourteenth Princess’s appearance.
At fifteen or sixteen, a girl should be in the first bloom of youth, yet before him was a girl with sunken cheeks and a sickly complexion, devoid of any youthful vitality.
Emperor Jingming couldn’t help but feel pity.
“With such a serious illness, hasn’t an Imperial Physician been called?”
“One has been summoned,” Fourteenth Princess’s eyes moved wearily as she spoke with effort. “Daughter is unfilial, troubling Father and Mother to visit. But Mother just went to receive you—why don’t I see her?”
Being ill, her thoughts naturally turned to her birth mother who cherished her, rather than the Emperor and Empress whom she rarely saw even once in several months.
Emperor Jingming maintained a neutral expression and said gently: “Father has some questions for your mother. Empress, please stay with Fourteenth. I remember she was fine just days ago—how did she become so ill so suddenly?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Emperor Jingming strode out, and immediately a palace servant whispered: “Your Majesty, we’ve checked the western room. The window was wide open—Beauty Chen must have escaped through it…”
“Escape? Where could she possibly escape to?” Emperor Jingming entered the western room, staring at the wide-open window with an icy tone.
He had shown a moment of mercy allowing mother and daughter a final farewell, never expecting this wretch to be so audacious.
Outside the window, brilliant sunlight fell on the lazy swaying leaves of green plantain trees.
Of course, she couldn’t truly escape—there were so many palace servants guarding outside, and how many hiding places could the back garden have?
Even if such places existed, they could be searched inch by inch.
Emperor Jingming waited with his hands behind his back, only to receive more terrible news.
“Your Majesty, Beauty Chen has hanged herself on a tree in the back garden.”
“That wretch!” Even the usually even-tempered Emperor Jingming finally lost his composure.
Yu Jin silently rolled his eyes.
Now he gets angry? What was he doing earlier? If he had simply grabbed that woman and slapped her senseless first, she wouldn’t have been able to pull any tricks.
How could one both find the murderer of his most beloved daughter and avoid frightening another daughter? There was no perfect solution.
The Empress had approached at some point.
“How is Fourteenth?”
“Fourteenth has fallen asleep, unable to stay awake.”
Emperor Jingming’s rage turned to question: “Empress, why do you think Beauty Chen chose death?”
The Empress glanced back and said softly: “Perhaps to protect her daughter.”
Emperor Jingming’s eyes flashed cold: “Are you saying Beauty Chen’s harm of Fu Qing is related to Fourteenth?”
He had spoken reflexively after hearing the Empress’s words. After speaking, he met the Empress’s gaze, and they both saw the shock in each other’s eyes.
Beauty Chen chose suicide over confession, even giving up the chance for a final moment with her daughter to rush to her death—likely because she knew the truth would harm her daughter.
Was the Fourteenth Princess aware of everything?
The imperial couple simultaneously looked toward where the Fourteenth Princess lay.
Emperor Jingming recalled the girl’s sickly appearance.
“Your Majesty, this matter must be thoroughly investigated!” the Empress said solemnly, her hands trembling at her sides.
If Prince Yan hadn’t meticulously uncovered the dancer if his wife hadn’t pointed out the similarity between Breaking Bowel Grass and Mandarin Duck Vine, who would have imagined a mere Beauty capable of harming Fu Qing?
It was terrifying—she wouldn’t sleep at night until the truth was revealed.
“I understand.” With the successive deaths of the dancer and Beauty Chen, Emperor Jingming had lost all desire to settle matters quietly. “Pan Hai, thoroughly investigate everyone who served Beauty Chen and the Fourteenth Princess. If there are any more mistakes, don’t bother coming to see me.”
Time passed slowly as Emperor Jingming sat by the open window, drinking cup after cup of tea until Pan Hai finally returned with his report.
“What have you discovered?”
Knowing the Emperor’s patience had reached its limit, Pan Hai replied without hesitation: “Beauty Chen had a trusted elderly maid who suddenly fell ill yesterday and died. This maid must have been Beauty Chen’s accomplice, and Beauty Chen silenced her.”
In the palace, some lives were precious beyond measure, while others were as worthless as weeds.
A mere Beauty’s maid who fell ill wasn’t even worth calling an Imperial Physician for, and when she died, she would be immediately wrapped in a straw mat and carried out.
Dozens of such people were carried out each year, and no one paid any attention.
“So with Beauty Chen and her confidante dead, there are no witnesses left?” Emperor Jingming felt his head splitting with pain.
Yet if he had to do it over, he would probably still allow Beauty Chen to see her daughter one last time with that facade of normalcy.
“A palace maid accidentally overheard a conversation between Beauty Chen and her trusted elderly maid.”
Emperor Jingming immediately perked up: “Bring that palace maid here.”
“Father, let me take my wife to wait outside,” Yu Jin seized the opportunity.
Knowing too much wasn’t always beneficial.
Emperor Jingming waved his hand, indicating they could do as they pleased.
Soon, a palace maid was brought in.
“Tell the Emperor what you know.”
The palace maid prostrated herself on the blue tiles, speaking tremulously: “Your servant was cleaning the study when an earring fell between the bookshelves. While reaching for it, I touched something that made a sound, and a secret door appeared beside the bookshelf. Hearing footsteps outside, I hurriedly hid inside. Soon two people entered the secret room—Beauty Chen and her trusted elderly maid…”
Such coincidence was not a pleasant memory for the palace maid.
She continued trembling as she knelt, her face pale: “Your servant heard Beauty Chen say that since Princess Fu Qing’s eyes had healed, the Fourteenth Princess would surely meet with misfortune… The elderly maid tried to comfort her, but Beauty Chen said, she said—”
“Said what?” This time it was the Empress who demanded sharply.
“She said she hadn’t believed it at first, but when Princess Fu Qing went blind, Fourteenth Princess had recovered. The two princesses were born on the same day of the same month of the same year, their fates intertwined—as one’s fortune rose, the other’s fell. She couldn’t help but believe it…”