shock

Three days later, at the morning court session, Qingya, as she had planned, secretly slipped away to the vicinity of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, intending to cause a scene when the officials filed out after the court session. However, she quickly lost interest in this idea because Cui Shenzhi brought up Fu Yunjin's matter.

Qingya acted impulsively and rushed inside without thinking.

"This servant is Qingya. I was the Empress's personal maid. I have been with Her Majesty since the time of the Fu family until Her Majesty's death. I know exactly how Her Majesty died," Qingya kowtowed several times heavily, "Her Majesty was murdered by the Emperor Emeritus and the Noble Consort. I beg Your Majesty to seek justice for Her Majesty!"

Shen Meiwu's informants in the court immediately stepped forward and reprimanded them: "Where did this palace servant come from, spouting such nonsense! The Emperor Emeritus is the late Empress's husband, and the Noble Consort is the late Empress's dowry. How could they possibly do such a shocking thing?"

Qingya ignored him completely, and said with tears streaming down her face, "This servant is willing to swear on her life that everything she said is the truth, and there is not a single falsehood."

Another spy of Shen Meiwu jumped out.

"What a joke! Everyone knows that His Majesty's character is exactly like that of the late Empress, the kindest of all. No matter how big a mistake someone makes, he will never take their life. You dare to spout nonsense here because of this, slandering the reputation of the Emperor Emeritus and the Noble Consort with your lowly status as a servant."

Before he finished speaking, Qingya looked up at him and smiled.

"You say I'm just talking nonsense? Fine, then I'll prove it to you right now."

Having said that, before anyone could react, Qingya suddenly slammed into a pillar in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, breaking her head and bleeding profusely.

Her blood spread down the exquisite five-clawed golden dragon carving on the pillar to the ground, stinging the eyes of everyone present. Even Shen Meiwu, with her keen senses, couldn't help but turn her head away, unable to bear to look.

Cui Shenzhi thought Qingya was with Ping An and never expected Qingya to appear here, let alone do such a thing. He hurriedly ordered Qi Kang to go to the Imperial Hospital to call someone and ran from the throne to Qingya's side.

Qingya still has a slight awareness.

She grasped Cui Shenzhi's hand and whispered, "My family was poor. My parents wanted to sell me to support my younger siblings. It was Your Majesty who rescued me. It was Your Majesty who took me back to the Fu family and cared for me so tenderly that I survived. It was Your Majesty who treated me like her own sister, which gave me the courage to live. But I'm useless. I can't help Your Majesty, let alone save her. Cui Shenzhi, I beg you, you must get justice for Your Majesty no matter what..."

Qingya's hand fell to her sides, and her voice stopped abruptly. At the same time, outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, where the sky had been clear and blue, a thunderclap suddenly sounded, followed by a dramatic change in the weather, and a torrential downpour began in an instant, as if to confirm Qingya's words.

For the first time, Cui Shenzhi deeply resented that he hadn't studied medicine. He was powerless to do anything but lift the sleeve of his dragon robe to cover the gaping wound on Qingya's head, trying to stop Qingya's life from slipping away in this way.

*****

Lu Fengping was young and strong. Upon learning of the serious incident, he picked up his usual hemostatic supplies, abandoned the old imperial physicians, and rushed to the Hall of Supreme Harmony. There he saw Cui Shenzhi, whose sleeve was soaked with blood.

Without waiting for instructions, he rushed over, pulled Cui Shenzhi aside, and began treating Qingya's wounds.

Whether it was Fu Yunjin's spirit protecting her, Cui Shenzhi's actions having some effect, or Lu Fengping's superb medical skills, Qingya's life was saved, but she had lost too much blood and it was unknown when she would wake up.

Cui Shenzhi hurriedly had Qingya carefully carried away, instructing Lu Fengping to take good care of her. Then, wearing his blood-stained dragon robe, he stood beside the dragon pillar and said with a hint of mockery, "Does anyone still think she is slandering the Emperor Emeritus and the Noble Consort?"

The Hall of Supreme Harmony was completely silent.

The investigation into Fu Yunjin's case officially began.

Upon learning of this, Cui Sugong and Shen Meiwu immediately sent someone to summon Cui Shenzhi.

"Choi Shin-ji, what are you trying to do! You think you can rest easy just because you've ascended the throne?! Don't forget, you have absolutely no connection to the royal family! Once the world finds out..."

“I just want the world to know,” Choi Shinji interrupted Choi Sukgong, unfolding his blood-stained sleeve as he said, “I not only want the world to know the injustice suffered by the late Empress, but also the suffering endured by Ping An, and the blood and tears of my family.”

Cui Sugong and Shen Meiwu exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with surprise and uncertainty.

"What nonsense are you spouting? We just picked you up on the mountain. How would we know what happened to your family? And what's this about being safe or not? We've never even heard of that name. Don't think you can get rid of us by arbitrarily accusing us!"

Seeing Cui Sugong's fierce but cowardly appearance, Cui Shenzhi chuckled softly, and said with a touch of desolation, "In the eighth year of Hongjia, the Gu family, five miles east of the city, was attacked by bandits. All nine members of the family were wiped out, and their remains were never found. Don't tell me you know nothing about this."

“As for Ping An…” Cui Shenzhi’s expression softened as he thought of Ping An: “Ping An is the late Empress’s biological daughter.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Meiwu felt a sudden surge of inexplicable emotion, but upon seeing the expression on Cui Shenzhi's face, this emotion quickly turned into a blaring alarm bell.

Ignoring Cui Shenzhi's previous words, she adopted a painstaking and earnest tone, saying, "Shenzhi, don't listen to the Fu family's nonsense. Now that things have come to this, I won't hide it from you anymore. The Fu family is not an easy family to deal with. Just because the late Empress was unwilling to fight for the Fu family's interests in front of the Emperor, they almost cut off contact with the late Empress. Therefore, it is impossible for the late Empress to send her child to the Fu family. The Ping An you mentioned is just someone the Fu family specially hired to impersonate her."

Choi Shin-ji smiled.

“Ping An has no relation to the Fu family. She is a girl who grew up in the Cold Palace under the care of Aunt Qingya.”

Shen Meiwu was stunned, her expression shifting unpredictably.

Cui Shenzhi did not continue to explain, but turned and left, instructing people to keep a close watch on them and not to allow anyone to visit them.

*****

Since that drunken encounter, Ping An and Cui Shenzhi have lived together like husband and wife in the Qianqing Palace, sharing meals and lodging. Except when they sleep, she sleeps on the bed and Cui Shenzhi sleeps on the soft couch, the two are almost no different from an ordinary couple.

However, Ping An did not lower her guard because of this. She felt that Cui Shenzhi was trying to lull her into a false sense of security and was looking forward to the next morning court session.

On that day, Ping An, like a dutiful daughter-in-law, saw Cui Shenzhi off to court. Less than a quarter of an hour later, she hurriedly urged Qingya to go to the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Then she paced anxiously back and forth in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, waiting for good news from Qingya. However, what she received was Qingya's life hanging by a thread.

Ping An had considered the possibility of banging her head against a pillar, but she didn't expect it to be this severe; she thought it would just result in a few scrapes.

She staggered to Qingya's side, grabbed Lu Fengping by the collar, and said in a panicked voice, "Lu Fengping, my mother can't be hurt. She has to live. If she dies, I will help Lin Yimo win Cui Lingxian's heart. I will do it no matter what it takes. I will make sure that you can never be with Cui Lingxian in this life, the next life, and the life after that."

Lu Fengping's mind was immediately filled with questions.

Wasn't Ping An's mother the late Empress? How did she become Qing Ya? Wasn't Lin Yimo here to test Ping An on his behalf? When did he become friends with Ping An? And when did Lin Yimo develop feelings for Ling Xian?

Seeing the stunned expression on Lu Fengping's face, Ping An pulled out a hairpin and pressed it against her neck, and blood quickly seeped out with her movement.

“Lu Fengping,” Ping An said in a sinister and uneasy tone, “I have already been intimate with Cui Shenzhi. He… he even placed me in the Qianqing Palace. You should know how much he values ​​me without me having to tell you. If you can’t save my mother, I will die here. Let’s see how you explain that to him.”

Seeing Ping An's extreme behavior, Lu Fengping quickly dismissed all the questions in his mind.

"Calm down. Aunt Qingya just fainted from blood loss. Although the wound is quite large and will inevitably leave a scar, I am confident that she will wake up in three days at most."

Upon hearing this, Ping An's body, which had been trembling with fear, finally calmed down somewhat.

She dropped the hairpin and slumped to the ground, staring blankly at Qingya, saying with confusion and unease, "Mother, can't you just pretend? Those princes and ministers are all pampered and spoiled, you could have just fooled them a little, couldn't you?"

Seeing Ping An's distraught appearance, Lu Fengping felt a pang of pity, but that feeling quickly dissipated upon hearing these words.

He tossed Ping An some medicine that could quickly stop the bleeding, and said with a sneer, "Suppressing the Emperor Emeritus and the Noble Consort for killing the late Empress is such a big deal. It's not enough to just put on a show."

"What did you say?!" Ping An threw down the medicine in her hand and stared intently at Lu Fengping, saying, "You said my mother did it for Fu... for... not because of me?"

"Because of you? Why do you think Aunt Qingya did this for you? And what have you done?"

Ping An didn't answer Lu Fengping. She just smiled foolishly, then pushed him away, ignoring her still bleeding neck, and rushed towards Kunning Palace with her skirt lifted.

Upon arriving at Kunning Palace, Ping An kicked over Fu Yunjin's mourning hall and pointed at Fu Yunjin's memorial tablet, cursing loudly.

"Fu Yunjin! You idiot! You were a useless piece of trash when you were alive! And now you're a deadbeat who only drags me down! Why did you make my mother die for you! And why did you take everything away from me! Why!"

"I should be a princess, pampered and noble, but because of your stupidity, I can only grow up in the cold palace, groveling and struggling. I was finally about to get everything I wanted, but you let Cui Shenzhi hear everything. I only have my mother left, but you even want to take her away from me. I hate you, I hate you!"

That wasn't the end of it. Ping An felt that the anger in his chest hadn't dissipated completely, so he kicked over a shelf with several ever-burning lamps, causing Kunning Palace to quickly be engulfed in flames.