Chapter 44 Death: Yesterday she killed her husband, today she abandons her daughter.

With such a major event occurring in the palace, many are destined to be sleepless tonight. Gao Yu, dressed in a dark black cloak, emerged from the back gate of the Gao residence, boarded the carriage waiting at the door, and whispered to the coachman, "To Prince Jing's residence."

The Prince Jing's Mansion was located on Lingxi Street, five li away from the Gao Mansion. Knowing that his master was in a hurry, the coachman drove the horses very fast, and in less than a quarter of an hour, they stopped at the back gate of the Prince Jing's Mansion.

Using the back door was to avoid being spied on by the imperial guards, the Jinyiwei. When the gatekeeper in front of Prince Jing's mansion saw Gao Yu, he nodded and gave a brief greeting, and quickly opened the gate for him.

In the main hall, Prince Jing was sipping tea to stay awake. Gao Yu entered the hall, removed his black veil, revealing a haggard face, and bowed deeply, saying, "Your Highness, please save my son!"

King Jing put down his teacup, and all the servants who were serving in the palace left on their own initiative, and the gate was closed for them.

King Jing stepped forward and helped Gao Yu to his feet, saying with concern, "Please sit down quickly, let's talk while we sit!"

Gao Yu sat down in the carved pear wood chair, looked up at Prince Jing, and said, “Your Highness, I, Gao Yu, come from a humble background. I have been in officialdom for over thirty years, rising to the position of a second-rank official. I only have one son, who is muddle-headed, but I cannot stand by and watch him sink into the mire!”

King Jing's birth mother was not as beautiful as the emperor's and King Chu's mothers, and therefore not as handsome as those two. However, he had a reserved and modest temperament, which perfectly complemented the elegance and nobility of a royal son.

Prince Jing gently turned the ring on his finger, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Brother Gao, based on our friendship, I will do everything in my power to save your son."

Gao Yu breathed a sigh of relief; it was good that Prince Jing had agreed. His Majesty had no sons, and the officials of the Six Ministries were all shrewd and capable; some had sided with Prince Jing, and others with Prince Chu. The rivalry between the two princes was fierce, and neither dared to make a move until the very end.

However, when it comes to forming factions, some people are overtly eager to curry favor, and it's obvious to everyone who sees who they belong to. Gao Yu, on the other hand, is different. He keeps his alliances well-hidden and doesn't outwardly associate with any prince. It is precisely because of this that he has earned a place in Emperor Chongming's heart.

Gao Yu clasped his hands in thanks and said, "Then this humble official thanks Your Highness in advance. Your Highness's great kindness will be repaid with a thousandfold gratitude!"

Prince Jing poured Gao Yu a cup of tea and personally handed it to him, saying humbly, "What's this talk of reporting? Over the years, you've done so much for me, I can't even thank you enough! Not to mention anything else, just take the case of the murder of the Minister of War's son and the Vice Minister of Revenue a few months ago. If it weren't for your protection, the blame would have fallen on me long ago."

It was common knowledge in the court and among the people that the two ministers of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue had defected to the King of Chu, and the most likely suspect in the killing of these two officials was the King of Jing.

Gao Yu avoided the past and asked hesitantly, "The matter of my son's attempted murder of his wife, which resulted in a miscarriage, has become a hot topic in less than two hours. In Your Highness's opinion, who is most likely to be behind it?"

King Jing remained silent for a long while before saying, "The person who wanted to bring down your Gao family... the King of Chu is the most suspicious. You are the Minister of Justice, according to the Great Huang Law, what crime should Zhi Zhen be convicted of?"

Gao Yu pondered, “The Dahuang Criminal Code is divided into six laws and categories. The main laws involved in this case are ‘Marriage’ and ‘Human Homicide’. The princess miscarried, and the question is whether the dead child is of royal blood or of my Gao family blood… This is the key point of the case.”

King Jing drank another cup of strong tea and pondered, "You are a close relative of Zhizhen. According to the Dahuang Criminal Code, should you recuse yourself during the trial?"

Gao Yu sighed and said, "Yes, it is precisely because this case is no longer under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice and has been transferred directly to the Court of Judicial Review that I am so uneasy."

King Jing said, "Brother Gao, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review is my man."

Upon hearing this, Gao Yu's eyes lit up, and his ashen face broke into joy. He bowed deeply and said, "Then I hope Your Highness will intervene. I will repay you with my life!"

The candles burned for half the night, and by the time their private conversation ended, it was nearly midnight. Gao Yu put on his veil again and stepped out of the Prince Jing's residence. A servant dismounted and ran to him, saying, "My lord! Something terrible has happened! My lord, Princess is bleeding profusely, and Eunuch Lü has sent word that she is dying!"

*

Feng Daijie was bleeding profusely from her lower body. The imperial physicians in the palace had tried all sorts of methods, but they still couldn't stop the bleeding. Meng Henabuer said an hour ago that six people could work together to apply acupuncture to stop the bleeding all over her body, but Consort Su stopped her on the grounds of the strict separation of men and women.

Seeing that the imperial physicians had no solution, Consort Su's usually gentle face was filled with anger. "You are all born into medical families, and you can't even think of a way to stop a woman's bleeding?!"

Lu Jixin, the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, broke out in a cold sweat on his aged forehead. He carefully said, "Your Highness, the situation is critical. Why not try Mr. Meng's method? Perhaps the princess can still be saved."

A struggle flashed in Consort Su's eyes. Supported by Mu Qingling, she stepped into the inner room, lifted the curtain, and looked at Feng Dai's bloodless face and the blood gushing from her lower body. Her mind was in turmoil, and her well-maintained nails dug into her palms, drawing blood little by little.

Seeing the blood dripping from her hand, Mu Qingling cried out, "Your Majesty!" and suddenly knelt down, sobbing uncontrollably, "Princess won't last much longer! Please make a decision quickly and let the imperial physicians in! The princess is your own daughter, and I've watched her grow up since she was little. It's just that her reputation is damaged; the princess won't care!"

Consort Su's eyes also welled up with tears. She looked at Mu Qingling's pleading expression and moved her lips, but she couldn't bring herself to say the words "let them in for treatment".

With a ginseng slice in her mouth, Feng Daijie woke up at some point, her voice weak, "Mother, come here."

Consort Su sat down beside Feng Dai's bed, tears streaming down her face, her lips trembling. Feng Dai's strength seemed to vanish with the loss of blood; she could only shake her head on the pillow and say to the midwives, "Get out."

Seeing that the midwives didn't move, she raised her voice again, "Get out!"

Consort Su waved her hand, signaling them to leave. Once only the mother and daughter remained, Feng Dai forced a smile and said, "Mother, I heard everything you said. Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you. If the court officials ask tomorrow, I'll say I'd rather die than have the imperial physicians administer acupuncture while naked. I won't implicate you..."

She closed her eyes briefly as if she had used a great deal of strength to finish the sentence, "preventing my mother from becoming empress."

Consort Su's eyes trembled violently, filled with disbelief.

Feng Dai's tears slid onto the soft pillow, and through the tears she looked at Consort Su's beautiful face, "Eight years ago, on the day my mother entered the palace, she killed my father with her own hands. Today, I don't want your hesitation either. I will bear all the consequences myself."

Eight years ago, Emperor Chongming lost his wife and daughter. When he left the palace incognito, he happened to meet Su Zirou, who looked eight parts like Feng Sangrou. She was standing under the osmanthus tree, dressed in plain clothes, which made her features look beautiful. She was accompanied by a little girl with her hair in two buns.

Su Zirou picked up the fallen osmanthus flowers with a bamboo basket and gently comforted her, "Alright, your mother will make you osmanthus cake in a little while."

The familiar scene and people were reenacted in a different place, and Emperor Chongming was deeply moved. He could not resist the white moonlight that once again fell on his side, so he often left the palace afterward, but always stood in front of the osmanthus tree without getting close, until he heard the news that the woman had lost her husband.

Feng Dai looked at the gentle Consort Su with a deep gaze as if she could see through another woman inside her body. "During that time, there were always rats in the house. You put five rat poison pills in the yard, four in various corners of the house, and one in the bowl of medicine you gave to Father."

Consort Su's moist eyes widened in surprise and doubt as she exclaimed, "You remembered everything?!"

Feng Dai patted her cold fingers to comfort her, and then said, "If you can enjoy wealth and glory, poisoning an incompetent father is nothing. I am my mother's daughter, and we share the same blood. In order to give you a clean background, Father burned all the people who knew about the past. This is probably what they mean by 'birds of a feather flock together.'"

Looking at Consort Su's face, which was almost identical to that of eight years ago, Feng Daijie curled her lips again and said, "Mother, I know that you are mean-spirited and ungrateful, two-faced and seemingly gentle and unassuming, but in reality, your ambition is ingrained in your bones. You want power more than anyone else, so I have become your stumbling block."

The Emperor values ​​a woman's chastity, reputation, and honor. If word gets out that the princess has lost her chastity tonight, Consort Su will be criticized and will lose the opportunity to ascend to the throne.

For the first time, Consort Su looked down at her daughter with utmost seriousness, as if she were seeing her for the first time. All the emotions hidden in her eyes poured out. She tore off her mask and, with unbridled passion, whispered through gritted teeth to her dying daughter, "Yes, I want power! I want to ascend the throne that all women in the world envy! Consort? Imperial Consort? Ha, still just a concubine! I will climb step by step to the highest point, I will become Empress."

Tears welled in Feng Dai's eyes, and her speech became difficult, her consciousness clouded. "So, no matter how unruly I was, you never cared about me, but when it came to reputation, you abandoned me without hesitation. You knew I was foolish and fell for your tricks, yet you still forced me to marry Gao Zhizhen. Now that I'm married to another, I can't even have the imperial physician administer acupuncture because of the concept of chastity. The Empress's position is paramount, Mother Consort, so I congratulate you in advance; you'll soon have your wish fulfilled."

Consort Su's eyes burned with a fierce desire, which scorched her soul. The years in the palace were long, and she had walked on thin ice all these years, fearing that one wrong move would lead to total defeat. She was not afraid of killing her husband yesterday or abandoning her daughter today. In this life, she only lived for herself.

Feng Dai's breathing grew weaker and weaker, and she was clearly breathing more in than out. She remembered the early days when her family ran a rouge shop in Fuzhou. Back then, she was not a tool used by her mother to consolidate her power and gain profit, nor was she used by her father as a substitute for anyone. She was not called Feng Dai, but Ye Aqiao.

Just before she was about to die, her head, which had been throbbing from Gao Zhizhen's heavy blows, throbbed again, and some forgotten memories resurfaced. Suddenly, Feng Daijie gripped Consort Su's fingers tightly, her face contorted with rage, and struggled to utter her last words, "Dou Xiaoquan was rescued by Feng Qinghuang, and that lowly servant knew... knew..."

Feng Dai's mouth was in an "O" shape, her lips trembled but she could no longer breathe. After a while, all her strength was released and she slowly released her grip on Consort Su's fingers.

Consort Su's eyes flickered with uncertainty. She looked at Feng Dai's still wide-open eyes, reached out to close them, and leaned down to press her face against her daughter's cold cheek. Her expression slowly calmed down.

Author's Note: The data for this piece isn't great. I'm terrible at writing, so the text is constantly being revised. Please ignore the changes! Goodnight! Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2024-08-07 21:04:26 and 2024-08-09 23:13:24!

Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: 40 bottles for those who like brainy plots;

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!