Chapter 41 Killing Two Birds with One Stone: Guangling Banished

Huiyin pulled He Jiaying along, the two of them arm in arm, pretending to be extremely tired as they approached the East Gate Tower. Under the arrangement of the palace maids, they entered a room that was five rooms different from Guangling.

After entering the room, He Jiaying closed the door and peered through the crack. "There are four palace servants guarding outside Guangling's room. We can't get in."

Huiyin walked around the room, looked around, and then opened the window to look back. Behind the room was a muddy area, separated from the wall by a distance, only wide enough for one person to pass through.

Their room and Guangling's room are on the same side. By climbing out of the window, you can go around to the back of Guangling's room.

Huiyin called He Jiaying over. The two of them, with their slender figures, crept along the wall and stopped behind Guangling's house, listening intently to the sounds inside.

After listening for a while, there was still no sound from inside. Huiyin took a thin silver hairpin off her hair and silently pried open the window.

He Jiaying stared at her actions, mouth agape. "Wait, how come you can even pry open windows?"

Huiyin had no time to pay attention to her. She gently opened the window and looked inside. There was only Guangling in the room. She was lying on the soft couch, fast asleep.

That gigolo isn't here? That's troublesome. Huiyin thought for a moment, then opened the window, intending to climb in.

He Jiaying quickly grabbed her, her eyes asking: What? Are you going in?

Huiyin withdrew her hand, signaling her to wait where she was. She then carefully climbed inside, took out a stick of sandalwood from her sleeve, lit it using the lampstand inside the room, and placed it in the gilded incense burner to burn. Then she tiptoed out again, pulling He Jiaying away.

"What did you do inside? Tell me quickly!" He Jiaying couldn't help but ask as soon as they returned to their room.

Huiyin is mysterious and unpredictable: "Something she likes."

"Um?"

"Aphrodisiac incense".

He Jiaying covered her mouth and asked incredulously, "How could you have such a thing? What if you get caught?"

Huiyin lowered her head and patted the dust off her body, pretending not to hear. Of course, she asked Feng Cheng to get it. Feng Cheng was just as surprised as He Jiaying when he heard that she wanted this, and asked her for a long time.

"It's good that we've been discovered."

He Jiaying: "Why? Aren't you afraid? What if..."

Huiyin sat down to rest for a while, silently calculating the time in her mind, "That incense was stolen from the room of that male concubine in Guangling. No one else in the entire Ganquan Palace has it except for the two of them."

"You went to steal it yourself?!"

"No." Since Feng Cheng couldn't get the item in a short time, Huiyin told him to try his luck with the male concubines in Guangling. As a result, he actually got it by sheer luck.

She still remembers the complicated look in Feng Cheng's eyes when he gave her the incense, and how he asked her, "Pei Yu looks so upright, but he actually likes this kind of thing in private." Huiyin didn't want to explain, so she had to make Pei Yu take the blame, which resulted in Feng Cheng verbally abusing her for three days.

He Jiaying breathed a sigh of relief. As long as she hadn't stolen it herself, it was fine. She felt she needed to calm down; Huiyin had given her far too much of a shock today.

She asked doubtfully, "But what's the point of putting out that incense? The male concubine isn't here."

Huiyin flipped the tea lid listlessly. "Guangling will call him over. They won't be able to find anything on us. She'll be the one who called him over. Even if they find the incense, it'll just be for their own entertainment."

Feng Cheng said this incense was called "Locking in Harmony," used by women. It was said that inhaling it would cause an extreme craving for sexual intercourse, and that it was rare on the market, mostly reserved for royalty and nobility. However, there was no need to say such things aloud, lest it offend He Jiaying's ears.

The two waited inside for a while, and soon there was movement from Guangling. He Jiaying ran to the door and watched as Guangling's personal maid ran out.

She took a deep breath. "She really went to call for help."

Huiyin was also somewhat surprised. How could that incense have such a big impact on Guangling? She had also endured it for a while after inhaling it that day before gradually losing her rationality.

He Jiaying paced anxiously back and forth in the room. This was the first time she had ever done something like this, especially for a princess of such high status.

She was panicked and afraid something bad would happen. She wanted to tell Huiyin to stop, but the thought that the person was from Guangling made her grit her teeth in hatred.

Looking at Huiyin's calm expression, He Jiaying gradually calmed down as well. She obediently sat down next to Huiyin and waited with her.

He Jiaying: "What's the next step?"

Huiyin: "We can't be the ones to expose it; we have to call someone else."

He Jiaying: "Who are you calling?"

Huiyin had a perfect candidate in mind.

——

Empress Pei rested briefly at the West Gate Tower, where all other people had been cleared out, leaving only the palace servants from the Jiaofang Palace to guard the place, making it quiet and peaceful.

Under the eaves, Su Jinghao gazed thoughtfully at Yao Lan, who was diligently handling palace affairs. Yao Lan was the most trusted person by Empress Pei's side; she was serious, disliked joking, and was not easy to get close to.

Su Jinghao dismissed the maid who was grinding ink beside Yao Lan and took her place to grind ink for Yao Lan. Yao Lan was engrossed in her palace duties and did not notice.

After a while, Yao Lan put down her pen, tidied up the bamboo slips, and realized that the person grinding ink for her was actually Su Jinghao.

She stood up and bowed, "Miss Su, what brings you here..."

Su Jinghao helped her up and said with a smile, "Aunt Yao Lan is busy managing the affairs of the inner palace for Her Majesty the Empress. I want to help but I don't know how, so I can only grind some ink for her."

Yao Lan's expression softened, and she pulled Su Jinghao to sit down, gently massaging her wrist. "Young lady, there's no need for this. You are the future Crown Princess, how can you condescend to do such things?"

“It is precisely because of my status that I should do these things. Aunt is meticulous and rigorous in her work, and Her Majesty the Empress has praised her many times. Jinghao also wants to learn more skills from you.” Su Jinghao spoke sincerely and softly.

Yao Lan felt a sense of relief and patted Su Jinghao's hand, "If you don't mind, young lady, I will do my best to teach you."

"Grand Chamberlain." A palace maid stepped forward and bowed.

Yao Lan withdrew her hand, her smile fading. "What is it?"

The palace maid bowed her head. "Snakes have entered the East Palace Pavilion. It's where the women rest. It's not convenient for the Tiger Guards to search there. Please make the decision."

Yao Lan pondered for a moment and said, "Go find Xun Fang and have her take the eunuchs to handle this. Make sure nothing happens to the women."

"Sister Xunfang went to the Ice Detector to transfer ice, and she won't be back for a while."

Yao Lan frowned; she still had many things to deal with and was simply too busy to attend to them all.

Seeing this, Su Jinghao spoke up: "Aunt Yao Lan, I'll go."

"Can you do it?" Yao Lan hesitated. Although Empress Pei had been helping Su Jinghao handle a lot of palace affairs these days, she had always been accompanied by Empress Pei and had never handled them independently.

"Don't worry, Auntie, I can do it," Su Jinghao said with a gentle yet firm smile.

Yao Lan agreed, "Alright, I'll assign Eunuch Zhang to you."

——

He Jiaying's legs went numb from crouching by the crack in the door. She was anxious; the male concubine had been inside for quite some time, so why hadn't he arrived yet?

She turned around and saw Huiyin lying on the table with her eyes closed, dozing lightly, looking relaxed and without a trace of worry.

He Jiaying: "Has our plan been exposed?"

A quarter of an hour ago, Huiyin told her to go out and find the palace servants at the gate tower, saying that she had seen a snake crawl into the room and then disappear to who-knows-where.

Upon hearing this, the palace servants at the gate tower immediately went to find the Tiger Guards, but it was the time when the women inside the gate tower were resting, and the Tiger Guards were afraid of offending them and dared not enter, so they had no choice but to report to Empress Pei.

Huiyin replied with her eyes closed, "It will take half an hour to go back and forth. Let's wait a little longer."

He Jiaying asked curiously, "How can you be so sure that it will be Su Jinghao who comes?"

Huiyin opened her eyes, but she was still uncomfortable lying on the table. She rubbed her eyes to drive away the sleepiness. "These past few days she has been trying her best to please the Empress. Today, everyone in Jiaofang Palace is busy and there are no spare hands. After thinking about it, she is the only one who can come."

No sooner had she finished speaking than a commotion came from outside. He Jiaying went closer to look and saw Su Jinghao leading a group of palace servants to arrive and negotiate with the servants guarding outside.

"She's here, she's really here," He Jiaying whispered, beckoning Huiyin to come and see.

Huiyin stepped forward, opened the door, and led He Jiaying out. She stopped beside Su Jinghao and smiled faintly, "What are you doing here?"

Su Jinghao didn't reply, but stared at Huiyin and asked, "What are you doing here?"

He Jiaying covered her mouth and let out a long yawn. "So sleepy, I haven't had enough sleep."

Huiyin turned her head to look at her, a smile appearing in her eyes. Not bad, quite clever.

Su Jinghao lowered her guard and turned around indifferently, "A snake has entered Dongque Tower. If there's nothing else, leave quickly."

She turned and ordered the palace servants to prepare realgar powder and long sticks, and then had the palace maids knock on the doors one by one to summon all the women in the palace tower.

He Jiaying knew she was in trouble. If she kept knocking on each house like this, she would eventually alert Guangling. The palace maids guarding the houses in Guangling had already noticed the commotion.

"A snake?" Huiyin asked doubtfully. "But a green snake with a bright green body and red eyes?"

Su Jinghao felt uneasy again. She turned around and stared at Huiyin, scrutinizing her without any attempt to hide it.

A palace servant gasped in fear, "That's a highly venomous blue snake! If it bites you and you don't get the antidote within half an hour, you're doomed!"

He Jiaying trembled with fear and grabbed Huiyin's arm, crying out, "I think I saw it too."

The women who were called out immediately became agitated and tried to rush out together. Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, Su Jinghao could no longer care about Huiyin.

She called out, "Don't be afraid, everyone. Leave in one order. I have prepared realgar powder, and the Tiger Legion is guarding outside. Everything will be fine."

Someone asked, "Young lady, where did the snake go?"

He Jiaying and Huiyin exchanged a glance, then simultaneously pointed to a house in the distance and exclaimed in unison, "They've gone inside!"

Everyone looked in the direction they were pointing. The four palace servants guarding the room looked at each other, wondering what was going on. One of them, who was quick-witted, had already turned around and started knocking on the door.

Su Jinghao's unease deepened, and she asked, "Who's resting inside?"

The palace attendant thought for a moment, then exclaimed in shock: "It's Prince Guangling!"

"We must hurry and save them! Your Highness is of noble birth; what would we do if something were to happen to you?"

"Yes, just now the palace servant suddenly knocked on the door, did he hear His Highness's scream?"

"Half an hour has passed since the snake was discovered, Your Highness, could it be..."

"Shut up!" Su Jinghao shouted to stop the crowd's discussion, her eyes flashing menacingly at the two people hiding behind her. She had been tricked.

There must be something in Guangling's house that she shouldn't be seen by others; if she were to discover it, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Huiyin added fuel to the fire, "Jinghao, hurry and save him. If Prince Guangling is injured here, Consort Zheng will not let it go, and it might even implicate the Empress."

When Zhang, the eunuch who followed Su Jinghao heard this, he also thought it made sense. Consort Zheng had always been at odds with Empress Pei and had been causing trouble for her everywhere.

If they delay the process and cause Princess Guangling to make a move, Consort Zheng will definitely retaliate against the Empress. His Majesty also favors Princess Guangling, so there will likely be a major upheaval.

Thinking of this, he quickly asked Su Jinghao, "Miss Su, we can't delay any longer, let's go over there quickly."

Su Jinghao's gaze was gloomy. She felt as if she were on a hot plate, unable to advance or retreat.

"Take your men over there, but don't rush to break down the door," she coldly instructed.

The group walked toward the room where Princess Guangling was. The palace servants guarding outside the room became visibly flustered, and the one banging on the door increased the force of his knock.

Seeing their appearance, Su Jinghao became even more certain that the scene inside the house was something that couldn't be exposed to the light of day.

The palace maids guarding outside stepped forward to stop the crowd, their shoulders trembling and their eyes darting around. "His Highness Guangling is resting here. What are you doing?"

Eunuch Zhang said in a high-pitched voice, "A highly venomous snake has crawled into the palace tower. Go and summon the princess immediately."

"A snake? No...no."

Zhang, the eunuch, narrowed his eyes. Having spent so many years in the palace, he was the best at reading people's expressions. Today's matter was very strange; it was clear that someone had deliberately led them here.

I'm afraid there aren't any poisonous snakes in this room, but rather some other kind of thing. He's Empress Pei's man, and Zhang the eunuch will do anything that benefits her.

"You say you don't have it, then get out of my way! You've delayed His Highness's life, how many lives do you have to pay for it!"

Zhang, the eunuch, waved his hand behind him and ordered, "Guards, break down the door!"

"Eunuch Zhang!" Su Jinghao stopped him. "Her Majesty the Empress sent you to assist me. Do not act rashly without my orders."

Zhang, the eunuch, twitched his delicate eyebrows slightly, took a step back, and bowed humbly: "What Miss Su says is true. Then you shall break down the door?"

The palace maid who had been banging on the door in Guangling turned around and shouted, "His Highness is here! How dare you be so insolent!"

Su Jinghao's face was ugly. The old eunuch Zhang seemed to say that she was in charge, but in reality, he had already ordered people to surround the room, making it completely airtight.

She stared at the door and asked, "With such a commotion, why didn't His Highness Guangling make a sound?"

If Guangling could step in and extricate itself from the predicament, the problem would be easily solved.

Su Jinghao called out, "Your Highness Guangling, are you alright?"

The room remained silent.

Looking at the scene, He Jiaying touched the goosebumps on her arms and asked Huiyin excitedly, "Tell me, what is she doing in there?"

"I don't know." Huiyin was also puzzled. Today, she had set up this scheme in a hurry, and it was full of loopholes. She had already prepared herself for failure.

I just don't know why there's been no movement from Guangling until now. That incense shouldn't have made her fall into a deep sleep, right?

After waiting a while longer, there was still no movement from inside the room. Zhang, the eunuch, looked at Su Jinghao with impatience and dissatisfaction.

"Miss Su?"

Seeing that she couldn't stop them, Su Jinghao took a step back, took a deep breath, and ordered, "Break down the door!"

The palace maid who knocked first reacted quickly, spreading her arms to block the door, her eyes red as she roared at the other three, "What are you standing there for? Come and stop them!"

The three were brought back to their senses by the shout, rushed to the door, protected the wooden door, and watched the crowd warily.

The palace maid gritted her teeth and shouted, "His Highness is resting. If you dare to trespass, you will not be spared when His Highness wakes up!"

She wasn't just saying this to Zhang the eunuch and the others, but also to the other three. They all knew what was inside, and if anyone broke in, they would be the first to die.

Seeing that these people were putting up a stubborn resistance, Zhang, the eunuch, sneered, "I think you maids are plotting against your master and are only stopping us because you're afraid of being discovered. Guards, tie them up!"

The eunuchs behind him swarmed forward and quickly bound and subdued the four palace maids. One of them, unwilling to give up, shouted at the top of her lungs, "Your Highness! Your Highness!"

"It's so noisy, shut her up!"

"Mmm...mmm..."

Eunuch Zhang turned around and looked at Su Jinghao with a smile, gesturing for her to come in, "Miss Su, would you like to come in?"

At this moment, Su Jinghao wished she could tear his smiling face apart and gouge out his eyes. If she pushed open the door, Guangling would definitely not let her off the hook, and what's worse, Guangling still had something on her.

However, compared to Empress Pei's attention and Guangling's revenge, she valued Empress Pei more. Guangling was nothing but a paper tiger, relying solely on the Emperor and the Zheng family behind her; she herself was easily defeated.

Su Jinghao stepped forward, pushed the wooden door shut with both hands, and exerted force.

"Squeak—"

The wooden door was wide open, and a salty, fishy smell wafted out. Su Jinghao was hit in the face by the smell and covered her nose in discomfort.

She stepped inside, but the outer room was empty. She turned to look for the bed, and what she saw left her speechless and frozen in place. She didn't even utter a sound to stop the person behind her from entering.

The eunuch Zhang led the two into the room and stopped beside Su Jinghao. Although he was a widower, he was no stranger to matters between men and women. He could tell what was happening just by smelling the atmosphere in the room.

However, he never expected that this pampered princess would play such a shrewd game.

Upon realizing what he had seen, Zhang, the eunuch, blushed and hurriedly shooed the two men behind him out. He then pushed himself out of the house and closed the door, leaving Su Jinghao inside.

He left the room, his heart pounding. He immediately ordered that the Empress be summoned, "Remember, Her Majesty the Empress must come in person! Go now!"

After a moment's pause, Eunuch Zhang cleared his throat and informed the ladies waiting outside to watch the spectacle: "His Highness Guangling is fortunately unharmed and is taking a midday rest. Ladies, please proceed to the high platform."

Having said that, he ordered his eunuchs to see all the ladies off, including Huiyin and He Jiaying. The two women withdrew their curious gazes and followed behind the main group, listening to the endless discussions and speculations ahead.

He Jiaying whispered in her ear, "That shouldn't be the case. How come nothing happened? Is there no one inside?"

Huiyin recalled the scene just now. When the eunuch Zhang came out, he was clearly flustered and looked surprised. He was an old servant of the Empress, having served in the palace for over twenty years. Why would a mere affair cause him to show such an expression?

Something's not right.

"How so?" He Jiaying asked.

"After Su Jinghao went in, she turned around and looked in the direction of the bed. She froze, standing there dumbfounded. What do you think she saw?"

He Jiaying stroked her chin and guessed, "Yes, she is known for her virtue and outstanding manners. No matter how embarrassing the situation, she can remain calm. Why is she stunned today?"

Huiyin couldn't figure it out no matter how hard she tried, so she simply went to see Pei Hou's people. Even if they discovered something, they would cover it up for Huiyin, so she wasn't worried about things being exposed.

"I don't want to think about it anymore. If one strike fails, we'll strike again. Although I don't know what the situation is inside, catching them in the act is inevitable, and that will be a real problem for her."

Su Jinghao, pale-faced, leaned against the wall as she walked out of the house. Zhang, the eunuch who was guarding outside, went up to her and asked, "Miss Su, are you alright?"

Su Jinghao gave him a cold look and sat down, leaning against the wall. Today's events were far too much of a shock for this unmarried young woman. The scene she had just witnessed kept replaying in her mind, and a wave of nausea rose in her chest. She couldn't hold back any longer and covered her mouth, dry heaving.

When she went in, she saw two naked, white bodies lying on the bed, their clothes haphazardly thrown on the floor, and the strong, fishy smell of sandalwood filling the room assaulting her senses.

Guangling and the man lay unconscious on the bed. The man's face was turned towards the door, and his appearance was quite familiar, with pale lips. Guangling was lying on top of him, her legs wrapped around his sides, their bodies tightly connected, both of them covered with large and small red marks.

Su Jinghao never expected that Guangling would be so bold as to openly consort with a man. And she was the one who stumbled upon this secret affair.

She clenched her fists, her eyes filled with malice. Song Huiyin, she'd learned her lesson.

When Empress Pei arrived, everyone at the East Gate Tower had already been cleared out, and Princess Guangling and her male favorite had been woken up and placed under guard. She showed no fear, continuing to hurl insults and shouts in the room that she would kill everyone present that day.

Who do you want to kill?

Su Jinghao looked up and saw that Empress Pei was no longer the gentle woman she used to be. At this moment, her eyebrows were sharp and her expression was dignified. The colorful golden phoenix embroidered on her deep robe was lifelike.

This is the story of Empress Pei, who remained in the inner palace of the Southern Dynasty for twenty years without falling from grace.

Empress Pei also noticed the disheveled Su Jinghao. She calmly instructed the palace maids behind her to help Su Jinghao down and led the Grand Chamberlain Yao Lan into the room.

Inside the room, Guangling was wearing only an undergarment, which covered her graceful figure. She stood in the center of the room, with broken ceramic shards scattered all over the floor.

Empress Pei's brocade-embroidered shoes with upturned toes steadily avoided the debris. Looking at the angry Guangling in the room, she raised her hand and dismissed everyone else.

Guangling glanced back but didn't see Consort Zheng, causing her imposing manner to diminish slightly. She stiffly bowed to Empress Pei, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Empress Pei stood motionless, disgust etched on her brow. "Do you know your crime?"

Guangling choked on her breath, turned her face away, and remained silent.

Empress Pei ignored her answer and turned to look at the silent man in the corner of the room. "Raise your head and let me see what kind of person can bewitch a princess of noble birth."

Guangling was no longer as strong as before. She spread her arms to block the face of her lover. She absolutely could not let the Empress see his face, otherwise she would die a terrible death.

She knelt straight on the ground, tears streaming down her face, and said, "Mother, I was wrong. I will never dare to do it again. Please forgive me."

Empress Pei's gaze remained unchanged, and her voice was still cold: "Yao Lan, deal with her according to palace rules. In addition, send the princess back to Chang'an tonight and confine her to the inner palace. She shall not leave without an imperial edict."

"As for this male concubine," Empress Pei said with a half-smile, "let the princess deal with him as she sees fit."

Empress Pei turned around and the long skirt disappeared from Guangling's sight. She saw the door slowly close in front of her, no longer letting in a ray of light.

Guangling collapsed to the ground, her once arrogant face now streaked with tears. She watched helplessly as Yao Lan walked in, clutching her skirt and slowly closing her eyes.

Zhang Changshi, who was waiting outside, immediately stepped forward and whispered to Empress Pei, "This servant found aphrodisiac incense in that room just now."

Empress Pei raised an eyebrow. "Who did this?"

Zhang Changshi then explained the situation of everyone present to the Empress, and observing the Empress's expression, he said, "This servant guesses it should be Lady Song."

As expected, Empress Pei laughed and asked, "Is it cleaned up?"

"Your Majesty, rest assured, it has been handled thoroughly. The people below have also been warned, and there will be no leak of information."

Empress Pei nodded in satisfaction and praised, "Well done."

Zhang Changshi lowered his head even further, "There's one more thing, about Miss Su..."

"No need to say anything more."

Empress Pei raised her hand to stop him. She knew Su Jinghao well; her temperament was lacking, unlike Huiyin's, which was a pity.