The mother of the Seventh Prince’s wife?
Emperor Jingming, who could barely keep track of his numerous daughters, naturally didn’t immediately recall who Jiang Si’s mother was. He turned to look at the Empress.
The Empress, however, remembered clearly and reminded him, “Your Majesty, the Yan Prince Consort’s mother was from the Yining Marquis’s family.”
She had almost instantly thought of the past enmity between Lady Su and Princess Rongyang.
At this moment, the Empress was engaged in an intense internal struggle. Mentioning the feud between Lady Su and Princess Rongyang to the Emperor would undoubtedly offend Princess Rongyang and even the Empress Dowager, but it would earn her the goodwill of the Yan Prince Consort.
As the Empress, the mother of the nation, she normally wouldn’t need to consider whether the Yan Prince Consort liked her or not. But after witnessing Jiang Si’s numerous capabilities, she couldn’t view things in the usual way anymore.
Jiang Si had been able to cure Fuqing’s eyes, and now she had saved the Empress Dowager. Who knew if her abilities might be needed in the future? There was a difference between perfunctory gestures and genuine sincerity.
Moreover, the Empress felt grateful to the Yan Prince Consort for curing Fuqing’s eyes alone.
After a moment’s hesitation, the Empress made her decision and softly said to Emperor Jingming, “Your Majesty, you should remember that years ago, Lady Su was once betrothed to Cui Xu, Princess Rongyang’s consort…”
Emperor Jingming’s expression changed slightly, his gaze instantly becoming deeper.
Lady Su had a grudge against Princess Rongyang, and Nanny Duo had entered the palace because of her connection to Princess Rongyang…
Glancing at the Empress, then at Jiang Si’s calm face, Emperor Jingming’s heart sank.
Now that the Seventh Prince’s wife suspected the cause of Lady Su’s death, could it be that Lady Su’s death was related to Rongyang?
Emperor Jingming thought about it briefly and felt a chill run down his spine.
He looked at Jiang Si.
Jiang Si gazed back at him calmly, her eyes clear and her expression resolute.
“Empress, you and the Seventh Prince’s wife rest here for a while. I’ll go and have Pan Hai ask some questions,” Emperor Jingming said. He looked at Jiang Si once more before leaving with a grim expression.
Only Jiang Si and the Empress remained in the room.
Jiang Si curtsied slightly, “Thank you, Mother Empress.”
She didn’t specify what she was thanking her for, and the Empress didn’t ask. Instead, she sighed, “Yan Prince Consort, you’re truly bold. The Emperor is currently troubled by Nanny Duo’s treachery. Aren’t you afraid of angering him by bringing up other matters at this time?”
Jiang Si smiled, “Father Emperor once said that merit should be rewarded and wrongdoing punished. In my heart, Father Emperor is a just person who certainly won’t be angered by my small request.”
Opportunities were fleeting. If she couldn’t seize them due to timidity, how could she hope to avenge her mother?
The Empress smiled.
She had worried unnecessarily; the Yan Prince Consort was indeed a clever person.
Such a clever person was certainly worth showing goodwill towards.
Jiang Si was also reflecting at this moment.
In her previous life, she had always kept a low profile. Not only did she fail to receive the Empress’s help, but the Empress hadn’t even spared her a second glance, treating her no differently from the other princesses.
Since the Empress treated all the princesses equally, Jiang Si didn’t think the Empress was factional. If there was no emotional connection between people, what drew them closer was mainly interests or character. She had demonstrated value worthy of the Empress’s attention and thus received special treatment from the Empress. This was not unreasonable.
Meanwhile, Emperor Jingming entered the room where Nanny Duo was being interrogated again, startling Pan Hai.
“Your Majesty, haven’t you rested yet?”
Pressing his throbbing temples, Emperor Jingming snapped, “No more rest.”
Pan Hai wisely kept quiet.
Unable to make Nanny Duo talk, he understood the Emperor’s current mood all too well.
Emperor Jingming glared at Pan Hai, thinking to himself, “You understand nothing. My mood is even worse now, not only because we can’t make Nanny Duo talk, but also because Princess Rongyang seems to be more and more deeply involved!”
Rubbing his temples, Emperor Jingming said wearily, “Go ask Nanny Duo if she has ever given those poisonous insects to anyone else besides the Fourteenth Princess…”
Pan Hai heard this with alarm and quickly responded, “Yes,” before heading inside.
By now, Nanny Duo was barely clinging to life, with not a single part of her body unscathed.
Seeing Pan Hai enter, she struggled to open her eyes, her tone still harsh: “I advise you to give up. No matter what torture you use, I won’t say a word.”
Before coming to Great Zhou, she had endured even the torment of being wrapped in thousands of snakes to train her endurance, all to keep secrets if her mission was exposed.
She only regretted that the heart-devouring parasite had been suppressed, preventing her from dying painlessly.
“This time, I have a different question,” Pan Hai said.
Nanny Duo coldly laughed, ignoring him.
Pan Hai moved his lips helplessly, asking without much hope, “Those poisonous insects you gave to the Fourteenth Princess, have you given them to anyone else over the years?”
Nanny Duo was stunned for a moment, then unexpectedly began to laugh, much to Pan Hai’s surprise.
In all her years in Great Zhou, she had never used the parasites recklessly. The first time she gave out the heart-imprinting parasite was to gain entry into the palace through Princess Rongyang’s connections.
Now that Pan Hai was asking this, it meant the Emperor suspected Princess Rongyang of using the heart-imprinting parasite to harm someone…
While Nanny Duo would die before revealing a word about her secret mission, she had no intention of keeping secrets for Princess Rongyang.
Princess Rongyang shared a deep mother-daughter bond with the Empress Dowager and a close sibling relationship with the Emperor. She was quite curious to see how the Emperor would react upon learning that Princess Rongyang had used parasites to harm someone.
If this caused a rift between the Emperor and the Empress Dowager because of Princess Rongyang, she would have served a final purpose before her death.
“What are you laughing at?” Pan Hai felt inexplicably uneasy.
“Those poisonous insects, besides the Fourteenth Princess, I did indeed give them to one other person. Two of them.”
“Who?” Emperor Jingming and Pan Hai asked in unison.
Seeing Emperor Jingming appear again, Nanny Duo felt even smugger. She enunciated each word clearly: “Princess Rongyang.”
After saying this, she chuckled, “How else would Princess Rongyang help me enter the palace if I didn’t give her some benefits? Don’t you agree, Your Majesty?”
Emperor Jingming felt as if a bomb had exploded in his mind, his anger erupting and leaving him grinding his teeth.
He had anticipated this, but a part of him had hoped he was overthinking. Yet Princess Rongyang never failed to “disappoint” him!
“What did Princess Rongyang want those poisonous insects for?” Emperor Jingming asked, barely containing his rage.
Seeing Emperor Jingming’s livid face, Nanny Duo felt a sense of triumph: “The heart-imprinting parasite is used to harm people, of course. Your Majesty must know that those infected with the heart-imprinting parasite show symptoms of heart failure and eventually die from it. As for who Princess Rongyang used the parasites on, I had already entered the palace by then, so I didn’t inquire further.”
Emperor Jingming could listen no more and stormed out.
Nanny Duo didn’t know, but he did—Rongyang had used that poisonous insect to harm the Seventh Prince’s wife’s mother fifteen years ago!
This meant that Rongyang had known of Nanny Duo’s capabilities fifteen years ago. Yet for her selfish reasons, she had sent Nanny Duo into the palace, even placing her by the Empress Dowager’s side.
What a piece of work, Rongyang! In her heart, was there anything besides her romance with Cui Xu? Did she have any filial piety towards her mother at all?
“Pan Hai—”
Pan Hai, who had followed out of concern, quickly responded, “This slave is here.”
“Summon Princess Rongyang to the palace immediately!”