Chapter 143 When the wall falls, everyone pushes it down.

Bai Xiuyi wore a light purple auspicious robe today. On such a special day, she dressed very modestly, making her look very simple and elegant.

"Your Majesty, what I have to say concerns Consort Shu."

Consort Bai spoke calmly, ignoring the unusually sharp gaze that Consort Shu had suddenly turned to look at her, and continued her statement:

"Some time ago, Consort Shu instructed me to do something."

"She asked me to go outside the palace to find a kind of medicine."

Chu Mingheng raised his voice slightly: "What medicine?"

Consort Bai glanced at Consort Shu, a flicker of emotion seemingly crossing her eyes before vanishing quickly. She respectfully said in a deep voice, "The infertility medicine."

As soon as those three words were uttered, the surrounding concubines all gasped in shock.

That's a cure for infertility—which concubine in the palace wouldn't want a prince by her side? Even if she didn't give birth to a prince, having a princess would be good too. After all, they couldn't fathom the emperor's favor, and ultimately, imperial offspring were more important.

Once given a drug that prevents one from having children, one will never have the chance to have an heir to the throne.

The key question is, who did Consort Shu intend to give the infertility drug to?

The concubines all looked up from the hall and saw Lan Wu, who was the emperor's favorite but looked bewildered and slightly shocked.

After much guessing, the only one that comes to mind is Lan Wu.

Lan Wu herself felt inexplicably relieved. What she feared was that Consort Shu would do nothing but secretly plot against her, which would be terrifying. Now that she knew that Consort Shu wanted to give her a drug that would prevent her from having children, she was shocked and frightened, but it wasn't entirely unexpected.

She just didn't expect that Consort Bai would betray Consort Shu.

"Consort Bai," Consort Shu called out, almost through gritted teeth, the veins on her forehead bulging, "Don't get drunk and spout nonsense here. When did I ever tell you about any infertility medicine!"

Consort Bai let out a soft breath and continued, "Your Majesty, ever since Consort Shu took control of the palace, she has often been dissatisfied with the fact that Consort Zhen's Yilan Palace always receives all sorts of fine items. The last time, Lin Hengshu's newly cultivated roses were one such example. Because Lin Hengshu bypassed her and sent four pots of roses directly to Yilan Palace, while Consort Shu's own Yifang Palace only received two, Consort Shu was displeased. I was also in the palace at the time and heard Consort Shu express her dissatisfaction with Consort Zhen."

"Furthermore, the things used in Yilan Palace this winter are exquisite. Even the auspicious clothes for the New Year's Eve banquet were specially prepared for Consort Zhen by the Imperial Clothing Bureau, bypassing Consort Shu."

"As a result, Consort Shu was even more dissatisfied. That's why she intended to use a fertility-inducing drug to cut off Consort Zhen's favor and make her childless for the rest of her life."

"When I first heard about Consort Shu's idea, I tried to dissuade her from this terrible idea, but Consort Shu was already obsessed."

"I am doing this for Your Majesty's and Consort Zhen's sake, and even more so for Consort Shu's own sake. That is why I have spoken all of Consort Shu's instructions to me today. I hope that Consort Shu will reflect on her actions in the future and refrain from harming Your Majesty's concubines and children."

The matter of Prince Wei was dealt with in the afternoon, which brought up Prince Wei's background. With the example of Consort Wen, a concubine of the late emperor, it can be seen how much His Majesty hates the concubines in the harem for harming their offspring. Now that Consort Bai said that Consort Shu also had such thoughts, it has nailed Consort Shu to the ground, and no matter how hard she tries, she can't get up.

"Consort Bai, stop talking nonsense—!" Consort Shu couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine. Hearing Consort Bai's words, cold sweat broke out on her back. She shouted at Consort Bai to stop her, trying to interrupt her. She looked disheveled and knelt down to kowtow to His Majesty. She kowtowed several times, leaving red marks on her forehead.

"Your Majesty—even if I dislike Consort Zhen, I would never do such a thing. Consort Bai is deliberately slandering me; she has no evidence whatsoever, Your Majesty!"

After saying this, Consort Shu burst into tears, as if she had truly been framed.

Consort Bai closed her eyes and continued, "It's not just Consort Zhen. Ever since Consort Shu gained power in the palace, Jinghua Palace has never had a moment of peace. If Your Majesty doesn't believe me, you can ask Consort Li."

Consort Li had not expected that she would be involved. She hated Consort Shu to the core, and now that she had a chance to drag Consort Shu down with her, she was naturally eager for it. When His Majesty asked her about it, she left her seat and said "yes" repeatedly in a mournful voice.

"Your Majesty, I have done something wrong and have been punished by Your Majesty. I will naturally confess my guilt sincerely. However, since Consort Shu took control of the palace, she has sent many people to 'take care' of Jinghua Palace."

She spoke the word "care" with particular gritted teeth.

"At first, the meals were delivered daily by the imperial kitchen. They were not only not fresh, but they also looked unclean."

"I made up for this with money. Later, as the weather got colder, the Imperial Household Department stopped sending charcoal. I used money to send someone to buy some, but the charcoal I bought was deliberately doused with water and was not warm enough."

"I know about the pot of roses that Consort Bai mentioned. It was given to me by Consort Shu because she didn't want it anymore. I also heard that Consort Shu sent a pot of roses to the Cold Palace. She did it on purpose. She wants me to end up like Consort Zeng. Your Majesty, although I have done wrong, I have not gone that far. Who knows what other ways Consort Shu will try to frame me later?"

Lan Wu watched the drama unfold from above with great interest. In her previous life, Consort Shu was accompanied by Consort Wen, Consort Bai, and Consort Liu. Now, the only two remaining had betrayed her, and Consort Li was even trying to drag her down with her. Consort Shu herself was probably at a loss.

After listening to these words, Chu Mingheng still showed no interest whatsoever. He glanced down indifferently, but his gaze was soon drawn to the snowflakes that had been falling outside the hall. As he spoke, his fingertips gently rubbed against the back of Lan Wu's hand.

He said, "Consort Shu, do you plead guilty?"

Consort Shu suddenly raised her head, her eyes bloodshot, as if she had been driven to the brink of despair. Her body trembled, but she still spoke clearly, word by word, saying, "Your Majesty—I do not admit it. They are all conspiring to frame me. I will never admit to something I did not do!"

"Injustice?" Chu Mingheng repeated the two words she said, raised an eyebrow slightly, and asked, "Is that all you know?"

"When the imperial physician implicated you, you claimed you were innocent; when the concubines spoke ill of you, you claimed you were innocent."

"Besides being wronged, you have nothing else to say."

Consort Shu was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously looked at Chu Mingheng. Just as she was about to speak, she heard him slowly say "okay".

"Since you claim to be innocent, then let your palace maids tell you whether you actually did these things."

After saying that, he seemed to look at someone behind Consort Shu.

Someone came out and knelt down to pay respects in the main hall. The voice was very familiar to Consort Shu.