"Something happened at Linhua Palace?" Empress Zhaoyuan suddenly sat up in bed and grabbed Cuiling's hand.

"What happened?!"

"Was it Consort Li, Noble Lady Wan, or Noble Lady Meng? Could it be that they got into a fight?!"

Empress Zhaoyuan didn't have time to ask any more questions; she put on her shoes and wanted to go outside.

"Go to Linhua Palace!"

"Your Majesty!"

The moment Empress Zhaoyuan opened the door, a biting cold wind blew in, and Empress Zhaoyuan shivered violently.

"Hurry up and prepare a hand warmer for me! Hurry up! Don't dawdle, be quick!"

Empress Zhaoyuan didn't have time to comb her hair, wash her face, or rinse her mouth. She simply dressed hastily, put on a windproof cloak, and led a group of palace servants toward Linhua Palace.

Upon arriving at the entrance of Linhua Palace, one could hear the sobbing of palace maids inside.

"Your Majesty, it's inside."

"Your Highness, perhaps we shouldn't go in." Cui Ling was terrified; she really didn't dare to go in and see.

Empress Zhaoyuan ignored her and went inside.

Upon entering the palace gates, one sees a whole line of kneeling palace maids and eunuchs.

There are three sleeping quarters in Linhua Palace. Empress Zhaoyuan looked at the plaques above the sleeping quarters and walked to the entrance of the central Linhua Palace.

“Your Majesty…” Cui Ling stood behind Empress Zhao Yuan, her voice trembling slightly.

"Open the door."

The eunuch behind Empress Zhaoyuan braced himself and quickly stepped forward, pushing open the door to Linhua Palace.

Empress Zhaoyuan stepped inside and immediately saw a white silk ribbon hanging from the ceiling, with Consort Li's body on it, her death gruesome.

The empress was nearly fainted from the stench.

"Hurry up and carry him down!" The Empress covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief and her sleeve.

Her heart pounded wildly, as if a thousand ants were tearing at it. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead, and she had to lean on a pillar beside her to keep from collapsing to the ground.

But she couldn't resist the churning in her stomach, so she bent over, squatted on the ground, and dry heaved.

The eunuchs were startled by the sight and quickly and hurriedly removed the person from the white silk.

"Your Majesty, there is a note here, perhaps from Consort Li."

A palace maid handed the note to Empress Zhaoyuan.

Empress Zhaoyuan took the note and walked out of Linhua Palace. The cold wind outside cleared her mind a little.

As she looked at the note, she felt a rush of blood to her head. Bai Jieyu was now Consort Shu, and Consort Shu was actually killed by Consort Li!

The note stated that Consort Shu was murdered by her, and that she chose the painful method of death—a white silk ribbon—to atone for her sins.

"Cui Ling, send someone to inform His Majesty about this."

Cui Ling remained hidden outside the door, her body trembling uncontrollably, too afraid to look inside.

Although the concubines in the harem had their share of troubles, the palace had been peaceful for many years, and this sudden change was hard to accept.

"I am going to Shouchang Palace to confess my sins."

Empress Zhaoyuan walked heavily toward Shouchang Palace.

...

The weather was freezing cold, the wind was biting, and the trees were bare. A group of people knelt in unison at the entrance of Shouchang Palace, with Empress Zhaoyuan at the head.

"Your Majesty, I have come to beg for forgiveness!"

The Empress, shivering from the cold, shouted loudly in a trembling voice and kowtowed.

Inside Shouchang Palace, Zhang Mama was combing and styling the Empress Dowager's hair when she heard the commotion outside. She asked the Empress Dowager, "Your Majesty, shall we let the Empress in?"

The Empress Dowager shook her head and snorted coldly: "Let her kneel outside for a while."

She already knew everything that had happened in the palace.

She also heard that Yun Duoduo had come yesterday, and she guessed that Duoduo must be heartbroken.

Empress Zhaoyuan bears direct responsibility for all of this, as she failed to manage the harem properly.

Two hours later, Zhang Mama whispered in the Empress Dowager's ear that Empress Zhaoyuan was probably not going to make it, as she was swaying precariously. Only then did the Empress Dowager allow the messenger to enter.

Empress Zhaoyuan's lips were purple from the cold. Upon entering the warm Shouchang Palace, she felt completely numb, as if she had lost all feeling. "Your Majesty, I am guilty! It is my fault for failing to manage the inner palace properly!"

"Please punish me, Your Majesty!" Empress Zhaoyuan kowtowed heavily on the ground.

"Would punishing you be of any use?"

"Haven't enough things happened in the palace these past few years?" The Empress Dowager sneered.

"Consort Li harmed Duoduo's birth mother, and all these years, you haven't even bothered to investigate. You have to rely on my granddaughter to investigate on her own?!"

The Empress Dowager said with great sorrow.

"Duoduo, how heartbroken you must be!"

"Do you still remember what you said fifteen years ago?" The Empress Dowager looked at Empress Zhaoyuan kneeling on the ground and shook her head helplessly.

Fifteen years ago, on that winter night, Yun Duoduo was repeatedly murdered. Later, the Empress discovered that it was Prince Jin, Princess Jin, and the Princess who had done all this.

She then made a vow to treat the little princess as her own daughter, to love her dearly, and to protect her as she grows up safe and healthy.

"Enough. I don't want to concern myself with matters of the inner palace anymore. Let's leave everything to the Emperor's wishes." The Empress Dowager's tone was very weary.

"And you, look at the state you're in, it's an affront to the royal dignity."

She looked at the Empress, whose clothes were disheveled and whose face was pale, with some displeasure.

"Get dressed properly before going out."

"Yes, yes, Your Majesty is right. I will keep it in mind." Empress Zhaoyuan touched her hair, wiped her face, and nodded repeatedly.

"What's the use of just memorizing? You have to put it into action!"

"Yes, yes, Your Majesty ...

The Empress Dowager waved her hand, indicating that Empress Zhaoyuan could leave. She had a headache just thinking about these things, and it was better to avoid seeing them altogether.

...

Inside the Zichen Palace, Yun Beiye frowned as he read the ministers' memorials, then wrote the words "I have read them" in a flamboyant style.

Xiazi waved to Zhao Zhongquan, who walked out. Xiazi whispered a few words in his ear, and Zhao Zhongquan's expression changed.

He pondered the urgency and importance of the matter and decided to interrupt Yun Beiye, who was reviewing memorials, and said, "Your Majesty, Consort Li has committed suicide."

Yun Beiye's face darkened, and after thinking for a while, he remembered that Consort Li was Yun Yiqiu's birth mother.

"He committed suicide?"

Yun Beiye was completely bewildered, not understanding why he would suddenly commit suicide when there hadn't been any trouble in the harem recently.

"Why? What's the reason?" Yun Beiye asked, closing the memorial.

"This old servant doesn't know either, but it seems to be related to Consort Shu. This suicide note was also found in Linhua Palace." Zhao Zhongquan placed the note on the table.

"Consort Li said that Consort Shu died from oleander pollen, and that she was the one who caused it," Zhao Zhongquan said softly after quickly glancing at the note.

"What?!"

The veins on Yun Beiye's forehead bulged. Back then, he had only thought that she was weak and couldn't survive that winter night.