Chapter 10: Summoned to the Imperial Bedchamber

Emperor Yuanming was sometimes filled with fear, wondering if he was out of his mind.

Sometimes, there are moments of surprise, for only the emperor, being of such high status, can hear the voices of others.

He was sometimes annoyed, not because he possessed such abilities, but because of a concubine in the harem whom he could hardly recognize.

This audacious and sometimes furious young man actually dared to call him "cow dung" in his heart!

Consort Lin noticed that Emperor Yuanming's expression was somewhat strange. Concealing her suspicions, she respectfully said, "Your Majesty, the matter has been clarified. Please make your decision."

Emperor Yuanming then came to his senses and saw Consort Xu looking at him with red eyes, tears welling up in her eyes, and the bloodstains on her fingertips clearly visible. She looked so pitiful.

He glanced at Jiang Ling instinctively. The makeup on her face had smudged, making her look like a comical performer with a messy, disheveled face. Despite the impending crisis, she showed no tears. Her lips were tightly pressed together, her brows furrowed, and her eyes darted about.

"Oh no! The reasons they harmed people are no longer important; what's important is how to clear their names. Can we ask for help from cow dung?"

Emperor Yuanming's face instantly darkened to the bottom of a pot, and he wished he could strangle her right then and there!

"I don't know Niu Fen well, so begging him is useless. Niu Fen is obviously confused, like a muddle-headed monk judging a muddle-headed case... I might as well just confirm the crime and stab her to death. I'm Rong Momo, I'll stab, stab, stab!"

Judging from what she said, she really had been framed and wronged. And indeed, look at her, so dazed and confused; even on the verge of death, she was still thinking about all sorts of things, chattering away like a sparrow!

Emperor Yuanming was in a headache. On such a fine day, someone was playing tricks on him. How could he tolerate this?

Forget it, I'll strangle her another day!

"What do you have to say?" Emperor Yuanming stared at Jiang Ling and asked in a deep voice.

Jiang Ling was stunned for a moment. With her life at stake, she recklessly pointed at Consort Xu and Su Yue and said, "They are the ones who harmed me!"

Although there was no evidence, Jiang Ling instinctively accused the two: "Consort Su had planned to harm me before. She bribed the palace maids around me and even slandered me for liking black chrysanthemums, picking black chrysanthemums and giving them to me. I am not familiar with Consort Xu and have no grudge against her. Consort Xu must have been bribed by Consort Su. The two of them worked together to frame me."

Emperor Yuanming's headache grew even worse. She was truly too stupid. He had given her a chance, but she was just like that censor, only concerned with impeaching him.

Even the emperor, in his position, had to investigate the truth before issuing an edict to punish someone.

Now that she's only concerned with complaining, does he expect him to ignore the palace maid's testimony and the blood-stained needle in front of everyone and directly side with her?

Consort Xu's expression changed slightly, and she began to sob, "Your Majesty, I am innocent!"

Su Yue pursed her lips, her eyes filled with tears, and said pitifully, "Your Majesty, I did have a few words with Consort Jiang. It was all my fault for offending Consort Jiang."

She slowly knelt down, placed her hands on the ground, and respectfully kowtowed: "Your Majesty, I should not have argued with Consort Jiang and caused trouble. I beg Your Majesty to punish me."

Jiang Ling stood there, stunned. The argument was between the two of them. Since Su Yue had confessed, wasn't she also guilty and should kneel down and kowtow as well?

Emperor Yuanming glanced at Jiang Ling, who was standing there blankly, and couldn't bear to look any longer. He turned to Consort Lin and said, "This matter is extremely serious and must be thoroughly investigated. You can leave it to the Palace Administration Bureau for now."

Logically, this matter should have been handled by the concubines in charge of palace affairs, such as Consort Lin and the other two. Although the Palace Administration Office was under Emperor Yuanming's control, he never directly ordered it to handle matters of the inner palace.

Emperor Yuanming's sudden change caused Consort Lin to tense up slightly, and Consort Zhao also frowned. Consort Liu was extremely surprised, her expression thoughtful.

Su Yue's face turned pale instantly, and Consort Xu also forgot to cry for a moment, standing there in a daze.

"Everyone, disperse."

The banquet had turned into such a mess, and Emperor Yuanming had no desire to stay any longer, so he turned and walked out of the palace.

Gong Zhengsi was Jiang Ling's only hope. She secretly prayed, "May Buddha protect me and keep me safe. Cow Dung, be smart and don't wrong this honest man."

Emperor Yuanming swayed slightly. He took a deep breath to steady himself and thought to himself, "After I find out the truth, I'll teach her a lesson!"

After the banquet ended, some people, unaware of what had happened, began to whisper among themselves, and for a time, the hall was filled with constant murmurs.

Seeing this, Consort Lin raised her voice and said, "Anyone who discusses or spreads rumors about today's events in private will be handed over to the Palace Justice Department for punishment!"

Upon hearing the name of the Palace Attendant, Consort Lin became stern again. No one dared to speak further, and they bowed their heads to respectfully see Consort Lin and her entourage off.

Jiang Ling stood there blankly, unsure whether to wait for the Palace Attendants to arrive or return to Xiefang Pavilion first.

Su Yue gave her a cold glare, then turned and left the main hall. Consort Xu beat her to it, walking ahead of her and catching up with Su Yue. The two spoke in hushed tones.

Seeing this, Jiang Ling hurriedly returned to Xiefang Pavilion. She saw Su Yue and Consort Xu walking together and thought they were going to collude, so she secretly followed them to eavesdrop.

When Su Yue and Consort Xu saw her coming, they stopped talking and glared at her with venomous eyes, as if they wanted to tear her apart.

Jiang Ling wanted to ask Su Yue and Consort Xu where their resentment came from. But then she thought it was pointless and gave up the idea.

Things have come to this point; it's a fight to the death between them. Even if it was a misunderstanding, there's no going back.

Su Yue and Consort Xu quickened their pace, turned into the alley, and disappeared. Jiang Ling, listless, walked forward with her head drooping. She saw Consort Zhao leading Xiao Yunjue towards the Imperial Garden. There were two routes back to Xiefang Pavilion, and this one was the shortest. Now she trusted no one and didn't want to provoke anyone anymore, so she decided to go back south.

Unexpectedly, Consort Zhao stopped and looked at her. Seeing this, Jiang Ling had no choice but to bite the bullet and step forward.

Consort Zhao instructed her wet nurse to take Xiao Yunjue to the Imperial Garden. She smiled and said, "The chrysanthemums in the Imperial Garden are in full bloom. You rarely come out, and if you miss this bloom, you'll have to wait until next year. Why don't we go and take a look together?"

Before Jiang Ling could refuse, Consort Zhao lifted her leg and continued walking forward. Huang Mama, Xiang Li, and the others quietly separated A Ruo Fang He, who was following behind her.

Consort Zhao took a slow step and turned her head to look at her: "The palace maids serving you seem to be not very capable."

Jiang Ling was momentarily stunned, then remembered that the two men were supposed to be serving her. When Consort Xu and the others falsely accused her, the two men had disappeared without a trace, and she hadn't come forward to testify for them.

Consort Zhao said, "If you had just said so when the seating arrangement was changed at the banquet, I could have helped you get back to your rightful place. Oh, it's all my fault. A-Jue is naughty, and I had to keep an eye on him. I was a little negligent and made Consort Jiang suffer."

Jiang Ling became wary, her mind racing. She couldn't tell whether Consort Zhao had made a mistake, but she did point out that seating arrangements were very important.

It seems that Consort Chen of the Imperial Ceremonial Bureau is no longer on Consort Zhao's side.

Consort Zhao said nothing more, but pointed at Xiao Yunjue who was running and said, "Oh dear, A-Jue is being naughty again. I have to go and keep an eye on him. We'll go flower viewing together another time."

The wet nurses and palace maids stood guard on either side of him like mother hens, advising, "Second Prince, slow down, be careful not to fall."

Consort Zhao, along with Granny Huang, Xiangli, and the others, stepped forward and surrounded Xiao Yunjue like stars around the moon before the group quickly departed.

Jiang Ling stopped and glanced at the silent A Ruo Fang He before heading straight back to Xie Fang Pavilion.

Aruo Fanghe brought water into the room to help Jiang Ling wash. After changing her clothes and washing off her makeup, she returned to the couch in the side room and called the two of them to her side: "In the Lanyue Palace, you should have stood behind me to serve me. You should have seen everything that happened clearly."

"My lady, it was so lively in the palace that I was distracted for a moment, and Consort Xu's hand started bleeding." A'Ruo's face turned pale as she hurriedly explained.

Fanghe quickly added, "I was the same way. Xueyan was describing the dancer's movements and postures to me. It wasn't until Consort Xu called out that I realized something had happened."

Xueyan was watching the dancers with Fanghe, which meant that Su Yue had come prepared and knew that she was wary of Aruo Fanghe, so she sought out Consort Xu, whom Jiang Ling was not familiar with.

Both A'Ruo and Fanghe were filled with fear and unease. Jiang Ling was in dire straits himself and couldn't care less about them, so he sent them away. Despondent, she lay on the couch, waiting for news from Gong Zhengsi.

As evening fell, the room grew dark. A'Ruo ran into the room and said urgently, "Lady, Huang Daban has arrived and requests your presence."

Jiang Ling thought it was someone from the Palace Administration Office. She didn't bother to tidy herself up and went out to see Huang Daban, whom she had seen before in the Lanyue Palace. He was serving Emperor Yuanming.

"Jiang Cairen, please come with us." Huang Liang, Huang Daban, said politely, raising his hand in a salute.

Jiang Ling thought Huang Liang had been sent to the Palace Administration Office by Emperor Yuanming, and her heart jumped into her throat. She nodded stiffly, forgetting to pack her things, and followed Huang Liang to the Palace Administration Office with heavy steps.

Upon arriving at a palace, Jiang Ling saw the palace guards and was momentarily dazed before looking up. On the hanging plaque, the three large characters "Chui Gong Dian" (Hall of Hanging Arches) were inscribed in a flowing, elegant style.

The Chuigong Hall is a palace complex consisting of several halls. The front hall was where Emperor Yuanming conducted state affairs, the rear hall was the imperial study, and the sleeping quarters were connected to it.

Jiang Ling thought that Emperor Yuanming would personally interrogate him in the Imperial Study. Thinking about the upcoming joint trial, he was dizzy and followed Huang Liang through the alley and into a courtyard planted with rare and exotic plants.

The courtyard was dimly lit, and bright light shone through the entire wall of windows.

The eunuchs standing at the door saw Huang Liang arrive. One went inside to report, while another stepped forward to lift the blue satin curtain.

Huang Liang stood by the door and said, "Please come in, Consort Jiang."

Jiang Ling gave a vague "oh," took a deep breath to encourage herself, and went into the house with her head down.

Emperor Yuanming, dressed in casual clothes, leaned casually against the low couch in the center, his gaze fixed intently on her.

At this moment, Jiang Ling belatedly realized that only Emperor Yuanming was in the room.

She arrived at Emperor Yuanming's bedroom!

A note from the author:

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