Huang Zixia ignored their reactions and continued, “That’s right, the woman with a black mole on her left eyebrow who died among the refugees in Youzhou was Feng Yiniang. That night, Zhou Ziqin and I went to the burial grounds and found a jade pendant inside Feng Yiniang’s body. It was the token she had exchanged with Chen Nianniang. Before she died from the poison, she had swallowed the jade piece, unwilling to part with it. This confirmed the identity of the female corpse.”
Li Shubai, seeing everyone in the hall frozen in shock, spoke up to ask, “In your opinion, what was the cause of Feng Yiniang’s death?”
“Naturally, it was because of the daughter of an old acquaintance whom she was escorting. The reason for her death was that she knew too much.”
Wang Lin lowered his voice, though unable to suppress the rage in his tone: “Eunuch Yang, our Wang family has no connection to you, yet the daughter of an old acquaintance from the Yangzhou entertainment house that you keep mentioning seems to be implying something?”
“Yes, I’m referring to Wang Ruo.”
Her answer was swift and decisive, stripping away all pretense without the slightest consideration for face.
At this, even Empress Wang’s face turned deathly pale. She struggled to control her trembling hands and said in a low voice, “Do you, little eunuch, know what responsibility you bear for spreading baseless rumors? The Wang family has been a great clan for hundreds of years. You should weigh your words carefully before speaking!”
“Please calm your anger, Your Majesty. Since I’ve prepared to uncover this case today, I’ve already resigned myself to sacrificing my life,” Huang Zixia bowed her head and said. “Regarding why you wanted Miss Wang to disappear, what I’m about to say might be even more treasonous than revealing Miss Wang’s true identity.”
“Very well, then continue speaking!” Empress Wang snorted in anger, her beautiful face losing its color, revealing a stubborn and arrogant authority.
Huang Zixia bowed to her and said, “While spending time with Wang Ruo, she once anxiously asked me about Wang Zhi, a consort of Emperor Jing of Han, who had a daughter before entering the palace, then concealed her marriage history when entering the Crown Prince’s residence, and eventually became Empress Dowager—if Wang Zhi’s actions were discovered, wouldn’t it lead to disaster?”
Empress Wang slowly raised her face to look at her, her petal-like lips showing a hint of pallor like damaged and withering fallen flowers.
She stared at Huang Zixia for a very long time before saying, “That child was truly thoughtless, how could she discuss such topics with others?”
The atmosphere in Yanji Hall grew even more oppressive. The Emperor leaned back in his chair, his usually gentle face now ashen. Yet he didn’t stop Huang Zixia; his gaze turned toward the window as if looking at the scenery outside, or perhaps gazing into a distant, ethereal world.
However, in the deathly silent hall, Huang Zixia’s voice remained calm to the point of seeming heartless, finally piercing through this unbearable truth: “At that time, I also suspected whether Wang Ruo had been married before, whether she had concealed her marriage history when coming to be selected as a wang’s bride. But later I realized she was referring to someone else.”
Empress Wang coldly looked at her, slightly raising her right hand to stop her words. She turned to face the Emperor beside her and forced a smile, asking, “Your Majesty, can we allow this person to continue speaking such nonsense?”
The Emperor’s gaze swept over Huang Zixia, then slowly settled on Empress Wang.
A deathly silence fell over Yanji Hall. Outside the window, the early summer trees were lush with shade, with cicadas occasionally making sparse calls among the branches.
The Emperor’s voice, seeming both distant and near, slowly said, “Empress, since we’ve heard this much, if we were to stop halfway now, perhaps doubts and misgivings would remain in the future. Why don’t we listen to the end, then see if what this little eunuch says makes sense, before deciding on punishment? What do you think?”
Empress Wang’s face, as beautiful as a peony, instantly turned ashen, like a flower damaged by night wind and rain, its colors dimmed.
Upon hearing the Emperor’s words, she knew that in his heart, he too had begun to doubt her.
She slowly lowered her hand, but her back remained perfectly straight, sitting in the hall with impeccable posture, still maintaining the bearing of the Mother of the Nation, with an pride that no one could match.
Wang Lin’s eyes toward Huang Zixia had become vicious and agitated, clearly if he could decide at this moment, he would have mercilessly eliminated Huang Zixia before him.
Meanwhile, Wang Yun stood quietly, his fair and cultured face showing an unusual confusion and darkness. He looked at this little eunuch before him who resembled his fiancée and shared her skill at unraveling mysteries and striking at the core of matters, unconsciously pressing his lips tightly together.
Li Shubai’s gaze turned to Huang Zixia. Huang Zixia nodded to him, indicating she was unaffected, then continued: “The fourth problem that needs to be addressed is why Your Majesty wanted Wang Ruo to disappear. It was because of the appearance of two people, and the death of one.”
“The first person to appear was Commander Wang Yun. His supernatural display at Xianyou Temple was intended to make Wang Ruo withdraw voluntarily, but instead, it alarmed you—Commander Wang, who was unaware of the truth, still thought Wang Ruo was just an impostor found by his father—naturally, the fewer people who knew about such matters, the better, so Your Majesty and Minister Wang kept even Commander Wang in the dark. And Commander Wang also took private action, keeping Your Majesty and Minister Wang in the dark as well. You certainly never imagined that the first sign of your plan’s exposure would come from your own Wang family member.”
Wang Lin remained silent with a sneer, while Wang Yun simply stared silently at an empty point in the air, listening to her speak.
Huang Zixia continued: “The second person to appear was Jin’nu. I had met with Jin’nu privately several times, and she always spoke longingly of her deceased master, Mei Wanzhi. In her heart, that was her life’s greatest pride and dream. But she never expected that twelve years later, in Chang’an far from Yangzhou, in the most prosperous place in the world—the Penglai Hall of Daming Palace—she would once again encounter someone she thought she could never see again—her master, Mei Wanzhi!”
Empress Wang’s hand trembled slightly, and she raised her chin defiantly, remaining silent.
“She was right beside me then, terrified and panicked, trembling all over, but I mistakenly thought she was just shocked to see Wang Ruo whom she knew, not realizing that the heavenly secret she had glimpsed was far more terrifying than I had imagined—she saw her master, now standing at the highest point under heaven, admired by all, supremely beautiful and captivating. However, her identity was no longer that of Second Sister Mei Wanzhi from Yunshao Yuan in Yangzhou!”
Empress Wang’s lips curved into a mocking smile as she said coldly, “Eunuch Yang, Jin’nu is already dead. As they say, dead men tell no tales. If you can’t produce any evidence and only have such speculation, I can only dismiss this as nonsense and beseech Your Majesty to stop listening to such treasonous talk and punish this eunuch according to the law for his great disrespect!”
The Emperor, seeing the Empress’s back trembling slightly and her expression full of extreme hatred, raised his hand to gently stroke her back but remained silent, only studying Huang Zixia while lost in thought.
Wang Lin swept his sleeve and knelt before the Emperor in anguish, trembling as he spoke: “Your Majesty! Our Wang family is a great clan that has flourished in Langya for hundreds of years. Among all the noble families under heaven today, none surpass the Wang family. Moreover, the Empress, as the daughter of our Wang family’s main branch, has been by Your Majesty’s side for twelve years and now serves as Mother of the Nation, bringing glory to our family name. We don’t know why this little eunuch is making such vicious accusations and spreading demonic falsehoods, even suggesting that the current Empress’s identity is illegitimate. I beseech Your Majesty to stop listening to these absurd ravings and directly punish her for great disrespect—have her tongue torn out and be executed by lingchi as a warning to others!”
“Minister Wang speaks incorrectly,” Li Shubai said calmly beside him, playing with his fan while leaning back in his chair with a casual air. “Your Majesty originally said that if her deductions were improper, she would certainly be punished. However, so far, everything she has said appears reasonable and well-evidenced. In my view, Minister Wang should remain calm. If the Minister believes her words are absurd, he can refute them after she finishes. Your Majesty’s divine wisdom will surely handle this fairly, distinguish right from wrong, and dispense rewards and punishments appropriately, ensuring no one is wronged.”
The Emperor nodded at Li Shubai’s words and said, “Indeed, what harm is there in letting her finish, beloved Minister Wang? Whether it’s true or false, I will discern it myself, and absolutely no one will be shown undue leniency.”
Wang Lin heard the coldness in the Emperor’s tone and noticed that throughout his speech, he hadn’t once looked at Empress Wang. A wave of desperate coldness washed over his heart.
Wang Yun reached out to support him, and as he placed his hand on Wang Yun’s, father and son both felt the iciness in each other’s touch, their tense muscles conveying a mutual, uncontrollable sense of cold despair.
“Jin’nu had to die because she glimpsed the heavenly secret. Jin’nu knew that if she revealed this secret, there would be nowhere for her to hide, so she chose to keep silent, hoping to move her master with her devotion and reverence. However, she failed. That night, Wang Ruo disappeared, and the next day, Jin’nu received a gift from the palace—a set of pipa maintenance items, including a jade pick, pipa strings, and rosin powder. I found it strange at the time—Your Majesty the Empress had always shown little interest in music and dance, so how did you know about pipa maintenance? It was quite unexpected that you would specially bestow gifts on Jin’nu, breaking from your usual behavior—but who would have thought that the gift Jin’nu joyfully received from her long-absent master, the box of rosin powder she carefully kept close to her heart, was a death warrant!”
Empress Wang’s incomparably beautiful face showed a slight pallor. But her smile remained cold and calm as she said, “Absurd! What nonsense about decades ago! I only met that pipa girl once and casually gave her some gifts. Although I did inspect the items before they were given, as is customary, why don’t you mention those in the inner palace who might have had grudges against her, the many eyes and ears in the teaching academy, or her associations with all sorts of people outside? Who knows how someone else might have poisoned it?”
“To prevent mistakes or corruption, palace gifts are always handled by three or more people who monitor each other, shown to the gifter for inspection, and then delivered simultaneously by three or more people. Though complicated, this proves others could not have tampered with it. Moreover, I believe if Your Majesty investigates personally, you can determine whether Your Highness took that box of rosin powder aside for private inspection. Furthermore, Jin’nu treasured your gifts extremely—that day at Zuijin Tower, we all saw her take out the powder box and jade pick you bestowed from her bosom, saying she had kept the box close to her heart since receiving it. How could others have had the opportunity to poison it?”
Empress Wang’s jawline tightened, but she only smiled coldly without speaking.
Huang Zixia continued, “These two were the people who appeared before you. As for the one who died, that was Feng Yiniang. Her death led to the exposure of Wang Ruo’s identity and also helped me discover the person hidden behind the scenes—that is, Feng Yiniang’s old acquaintance. Who was it that entrusted Feng Yiniang to escort Wang Ruo to the capital?”
Everyone remained silent. A heavy atmosphere pressed down on Yanji Hall as the answer hung in the air, though no one dared or wanted to reveal it.
“At this point, I probably don’t need to say more. Feng Yiniang’s old acquaintance must have been the supposedly deceased Second Sister of the Yunshao Six Women from twelve years ago, Jin’nu’s master, the pipa virtuoso Mei Wanzhi, who had been married and had a daughter in Yangzhou,” Huang Zixia’s tone was low and steady, making it seem even colder and more merciless. “Her daughter’s name was Cheng Xuese—or, she could be called by another name: Wang Ruo.”
Empress Wang sat upright in the hall, her expression somber. She stared at Huang Zixia before her with cold eyes but persisted in her silence.
“The man at Xianyou Temple who warned Wang Ruo about her past, and Jin’nu who knew both Wang Ruo’s and your identity, plus Feng Yiniang whom you killed—all these made Your Majesty realize that Wang Ruo’s unspeakable origins had been discovered. Even if she married into the Wang family, she would eventually face danger, and her identity might one day be exposed, leading to an unbearable fate. So to protect Wang Ruo and the Wang family, Wang Ruo had to disappear, and at this time, the rumors of Pang Xun’s ghost haunting Xianyou Temple provided you with the perfect smokescreen for your scheme.”
“Hmph, baseless speculation!” Empress Wang finally spoke, her voice cold.
Huang Zixia nodded and said, “Since Your Majesty says so, I have no choice. But next, I have another speculation, one that began twelve years ago and ended just days ago. This speculation is more ethereal than all the previous ones, yet far more terrifying than everything before. Your Majesty, perhaps after hearing it, you won’t be able to accept it, but I still want to tell you about the most frightening consequences of all your schemes.”
Empress Wang smiled coldly, not even looking at her, showing complete disdain.
Huang Zixia wasn’t bothered. She spoke slowly, enunciating each word: “Chen Nianniang from Yunshao Yuan told me a story from twelve years ago. Among the six women who established Yunshao Yuan, Second Sister Mei Wanzhi, whose pipa skills astonished the world, disappeared overnight, leaving behind only a daughter named Cheng Xuese. No matter how much Xuese asked, her father, a poor painter, would only say, ‘Your mother is dead.’ Xuese returned to Liuzhou with her father, and the father and daughter endured hardship until she was fourteen when her father died. The orphaned girl’s inheritance was seized, and she could only suffer under the abuse of calculating relatives. Three years ago, Third Sister Lan Dai of the Yunshao Six was in Xuzhou when she happened to learn of Xuese’s situation. She wrote to Xuese, telling her that if she needed help, she could seek refuge with her in Xuzhou. After many twists and turns, the desperate Xuese received this letter, and so at fourteen, she left Liuzhou alone for Xuzhou.”