Empress Qi solemnly nodded to Emperor Jingming: “Your Majesty, rest assured, I will speak to Consort Xian personally.”
After the Empress left, Emperor Jingming belatedly pondered: Was it necessary for the Empress to go personally? Was the Empress being too attentive?
Attentive? For the Empress, that certainly didn’t exist.
In this cold palace, no one was truly benign, not even the seemingly aloof Empress.
The Empress had no children, so no matter which prince succeeded, her position would remain unshaken. However, the specific prince did matter.
Take Prince Qi for example. His mother was Consort Xian, head of a palace, and his maternal family was the Duke of Anguo’s household, founding meritorious ministers. If Prince Qi succeeded, even if the Empress retained her position, Consort Xian would become a threat. When Prince Qi ascended the throne, Consort Xian would inevitably become the Western Empress Dowager. At that time, with their close mother-son relationship, she, as the Eastern Empress Dowager, would likely be sidelined.
The Empress Dowager’s position was indeed revered, but this reverence came from the Emperor. For an Empress Dowager without emotional ties to the Emperor, such reverence was merely an empty shell.
Ultimately, the Great Zhou had only one master – the man sitting on that dragon throne.
But if it were a prince with a lowly-born mother or no mother at all, the threat to the Empress would be much less.
The Empress was well aware of all this. Seeing Prince Qi displeasing Emperor Jingming today, and Princess Qi committing a grave error, she was in high spirits and quite willing to inform Consort Xian of this news.
At this moment, Consort Xian was rather uneasy.
Her headache hadn’t improved over the past two days, and today was the day her fourth daughter-in-law and seventh daughter-in-law had agreed to go pray for blessings.
By now, if something had happened, news should have reached her.
Fearing to reveal any clues, Consort Xian dared not send anyone to randomly inquire today, lest Princess Yan’s misfortune raise suspicions about the Jade Spring Palace.
A maid came in to report: “My Lady, the Empress has arrived.”
Consort Xian was startled, then quickly regained her composure, forcing herself to rise and greet the visitor.
The Empress had already entered. Seeing Consort Xian struggling to get up, she hurriedly said, “You’re still ill, there’s no need to rise.”
Consort Xian insisted on rising to pay her respects to the Empress, smiling, “It’s not that serious. Propriety must be observed.”
The Empress pressed her lips together: “Sister Xian is always so proper. How do you feel today? Any better?”
“My head still aches occasionally, but it’s better than the past two days.” Consort Xian said as she invited the Empress to sit, trying to guess the purpose of her visit.
The Empress took a sip of the hot tea offered by a maid, then set down the cup and said, “Today, Princess Qi and Princess Yan went to White Cloud Temple together to pray, and something happened.”
Consort Xian’s hand holding the teacup trembled, spilling a drop of hot tea on her hand. She forced a smile and said, “What happened? Your Majesty, please don’t frighten me.”
Inwardly, she was elated: It seemed her fourth daughter-in-law had succeeded!
With Jiang Si dead, that bastard Seventh Prince would have to behave for a while. Later, she could choose a niece from her maiden family to be the Seventh Prince’s new wife, slowly coaxing him. Even if the Seventh Prince didn’t immediately want to help the Fourth Prince, at least he wouldn’t be as estranged from her as he was now.
As for her fourth daughter-in-law, with the leverage of having killed Jiang Si, she wouldn’t worry about controlling her in the future.
Such a win-win situation naturally made Consort Xian secretly happy.
The Empress patted Consort Xian’s hand, warning, “If I tell you, Sister Xian, you must stay calm. You’re already ill, you mustn’t get anxious or upset—”
“Your Majesty, please speak plainly. I can handle it.” Consort Xian feigned nervousness.
The Empress sighed, “On their way back, the two princesses encountered a startled horse. Princess Qi nearly fell off a cliff—”
“What, Princess Qi?” This time, Consort Xian’s shock was not feigned, her pupils suddenly dilating.
Had she heard wrong?
Seeing the Empress’s surprised expression, Consort Xian quickly added, “Is Princess Qi alright? What about Princess Yan?”
“Princess Qi was hanging off the cliff edge but was rescued by guards who arrived. Princess Yan is fine.”
Consort Xian concealed her disappointment, outwardly showing relief: “It’s good that they’re both alright.”
The Empress sighed again: “There is still an issue. Princess Qi’s face was disfigured.”
Consort Xian’s mouth fell open, her eyes flickering.
Not dead but disfigured? This could be troublesome.
“The Prefect of Shuntian discovered that this incident wasn’t an accident, but that Princess Qi had instructed someone to try to kill Princess Yan—”
“What?” Consort Xian stood up abruptly, her face changing dramatically. Her body began to shake uncontrollably, followed by a stabbing headache that made her sway.
The Empress quickly reached out to steady Consort Xian, advising, “Sister Xian, please don’t get anxious, stay calm—”
Consort Xian’s remaining rationality prevented her from cursing out loud.
Stay calm my foot, what on earth was going on?
She realized the Empress had come to watch her squirm!
Thinking this, Consort Xian inexplicably calmed down a bit. She took a deep breath and said, “Your Majesty, could you please explain the situation in detail?”
Her fourth daughter-in-law shouldn’t have implicated her yet, otherwise it wouldn’t be the Empress coming to tell her this. So she absolutely must not panic.
The Empress felt it was about right and began to explain the situation in detail.
After hearing everything, Consort Xian moved her dry lips: “So, His Majesty won’t allow Princess Qi to see anyone from now on?”
The Empress nodded: “After such an incident, it wouldn’t be good if word got out. For the sake of the royal family’s reputation, this is the only option.”
Consort Xian moved her lips again, her expression dejected. After a while, she held her forehead and said, “Your Majesty, I have a bit of a headache—”
The Empress very tactfully stood up: “Then Sister Xian should rest well. Don’t worry too much about Princess Qi’s situation, your health is most important.”
As soon as the Empress left, Consort Xian sat on the bed, her expression changing rapidly.
Li, that good-for-nothing who ruins everything she touches!
The only consolation was that Li hadn’t woken up yet, and wouldn’t be allowed to see outsiders in the future, so there was no need to worry about her saying anything she shouldn’t.
But the Fourth Prince was already childless, and now with a mentally unstable princess, what would happen in the future?
No, it wouldn’t do for Li to just be “insane.” She couldn’t continue occupying the position of Princess Qi.
Consort Xian suddenly felt that although the plot against Jiang Si had failed, replacing Princess Qi might not be bad. Later, she could arrange a fertile new wife for the Fourth Prince to bear several legitimate sons, which would be better than any support.
However, wanting Li dead wasn’t feasible right now. It would have to wait until the storm had passed and no one was paying attention.
Meanwhile, at Prince Qi’s manor, Princess Qi finally regained consciousness.
She opened her eyes slowly, and the familiar furnishings were not what greeted her sight.
“Where is this?” Princess Qi asked instinctively, not yet fully awake.
The terrifying events on the way back from White Cloud Temple seemed momentarily forgotten.
The unfamiliar maid who answered said, “Princess, this is Youjian Hall.”
Youjian Hall was located in the northwest corner of Prince Qi’s manor, a usually locked and very secluded, quiet courtyard.
Princess Qi suddenly came to her senses upon hearing these three words. She struggled to sit up: “Where is the Prince?”
Footsteps were heard from outside, followed by Prince Qi pushing open the door. He stared at the awakened Princess Qi with an expressionless face.