Chapter 60 The dangers she encountered time and again…
A biting wind swept through the hall. Xue Ningrong sat slumped, his mind racing as he considered countermeasures.
Suddenly, she raised her head sharply, her eyes filled with tears: "Your Majesty, how can you say such a thing! When I first entered the palace, only my sister took good care of me. How could I ever forget such kindness, and how could I possibly harm my sister! Besides, Your Majesty has investigated the matter clearly back then. It was clearly Consort Rou who did it. So many years have passed, and Your Majesty still wants to use my sister to hurt my heart?"
The deaths of the two men were personally overseen by the emperor, and the investigation was thorough. It was found that Consort Rou had bribed a palace maid to poison them, and the residue of the poison was also found in her palace. With both witnesses and physical evidence, there was no room for denial.
The emperor's anger only grew stronger: "You wicked woman! How dare you try to argue!"
Xue Ningrong quickly crawled two steps on her knees and grabbed a corner of the dragon robe: "Your Majesty, you may doubt me about anything, except for my sister. In the entire harem, my sister is the one I respect the most. This is my sincere opinion, and Heaven and Earth can bear witness to it!"
Seeing the situation at a stalemate, the old woman beside Xue Ningrong quickly kowtowed twice and spoke up for her: "Your Majesty is wise. When the Empress heard of the passing of the Emperor and Empress, she fainted on the spot and fell ill from grief. She has been seriously ill ever since. To pray for the Emperor and Empress, the Empress has confined herself to this Buddhist hall to eat vegetarian food and chant sutras for many years, never forgetting the kindness of the Emperor and Empress."
What the old woman said was true; everyone in the harem knew that after their deaths, Xue Ningrong grieved for many days, became depressed, and fell seriously ill.
Not long after being crowned empress, she began to practice vegetarianism and chant Buddhist scriptures, never stepping out of the Empress's Palace again, and rarely paying attention to worldly affairs.
At that time, the emperor knew that Xue Ningrong's illness was incurable, and he comforted her many times, saying that the criminals who committed the poisoning had been executed, and the living must continue to live.
But things were different now. Hearing this only enraged the emperor further. He kicked Xue away and pointed at her, shouting, "Even now you're still spouting nonsense! If you truly respected her, how could you have poisoned her, framed her, and stirred up trouble in the harem!"
"Your Majesty! I have stayed out of worldly affairs for many years and have never offended anyone. Who is framing me?!"
Xue Ningrong's eyes widened, and two lines of clear tears slid down her cheeks. Her fingernail accidentally scraped against the hard ground and broke off, bleeding, but she was completely unaware of it. Her whole body was trembling with anger.
After a brief standoff, the emperor angrily flicked his sleeve: "Fine, it's because you refuse to admit it yourself. Don't blame me for not giving your empress any face!"
"Bring the man in here!"
At a command, the imperial guards dragged a woman into the hall and brought her before the emperor.
The woman's temples were already gray, her steps were weary, and it was vaguely clear that she was lame. As soon as she entered the hall, her legs went weak with fear.
As soon as the guards released her, she suddenly knelt down.
Immediately realizing what was happening, he began kowtowing repeatedly, pleading, "Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me! This old servant deserves to die!"
Xue Ningrong was startled by the appearance of this person. He vaguely felt that the voice was somewhat familiar, but he could not see the face clearly in the dim light.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Chu Chengji had also walked in and stood silently to the side, his deep eyes staring straight at her.
Consort Rou was Chu Chengji's biological mother.
Xue Ningrong felt a sudden pang of panic.
However, the emperor had run out of patience and pointed at the woman: "Tell me yourself! What capital crime have you committed!"
"Your Majesty! This old servant was blinded by lard back then, and was thus manipulated into poisoning the medicinal meals that were served to the emperor and his concubines every day. This old servant has never forgotten what happened back then."
The emperor stared intently at Xue Ningrong and continued, "Who ordered you to do this! Tell me everything from beginning to end, and let this poisonous woman hear it clearly!"
“Your Majesty, this old servant was on duty in the Empress’s palace years ago. Someone threatened me with the lives of my parents and younger brother, and ordered me to poison the Empress’s medicinal food. After the incident, Your Majesty investigated thoroughly. I wanted to confess, but they broke my legs and threw me into the pond to silence me.”
"Heaven has eyes, but it couldn't bear to let the Empress and Empress die with their eyes open. This old servant was rescued, and when I woke up, I was already outside the palace. All these years I've been hiding here and there, and I have no face to see the Empress and Empress again!"
After saying that, she kowtowed twice more earnestly.
The emperor pressed, "Who threatened you?"
The man raised his head and looked at Xue Ningrong, his eyes filled with resentment: "It's Her Majesty the Empress."
Xue Ningrong quickly retorted, "Your Majesty! She slanders me, framing me without any evidence, relying solely on her words!"
The emperor's disdainful gaze swept between the two men: "Give her evidence."
But the woman stammered, "Your Majesty, this old servant barely escaped with my life and finally returned home, only to find all my family members brutally murdered. Some neighbors saw the Xue family's guards nearby that night..."
Xue Ningrong's face was cold as she interrupted sharply, "There is clearly no evidence. Not to mention that you are trying to frame me with just your words, the matter of the guards is even more baseless. If what you say is true, the murderer should have been found by now. I have never heard of any guard in the Xue family being implicated in a murder case!"
But the emperor had already examined the evidence before coming to the Jiaofang Palace to question her. Seeing that she still refused to budge, his face grew even more gloomy, and he waved to summon Chu Chengji forward.
Chu Chengji, who had been listening quietly from the sidelines, stepped forward as ordered, bowed to the Emperor and Empress respectively, and then spoke to Xue Ningrong:
“Your Majesty, these past few days I have been ordered by my father to assist in the Dali Temple investigation. I happened to come across this old case. The records in the case file are all correct, and the Xue family is not mentioned at all. But for some reason, the case file is only half written, and then the writing changes and it is set as an unsolved case.”
"But I was really curious and inquired many times before I was told evasively that the matter had been suppressed by those above. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that the person who bribed the Dali Temple officials to suppress the case was inextricably linked to Her Majesty the Empress's maternal family."
Having said that, Chu Chengji didn't continue, but simply glanced at her quietly.
Immediately, she turned around and knelt before the emperor, pleading, "Father, please investigate thoroughly and uncover the truth to clear Mother's name!"
With a dull thud, his forehead hit the ground.
Xue Ningrong's heart skipped a beat. She turned to look at the emperor, only to see his face filled with dignified resentment, showing no trace of marital affection.
"Is there anything else you want to say?"
The emperor spoke in a deep voice: "The reason I have come here to question you is because I have thoroughly investigated this matter. If you have any further objections, speak them directly."
It turns out, everything was ready.
They were just waiting for her to fall into their trap before closing the net.
Suddenly, the hall fell silent, with only the howling wind carrying snowflakes that felt like needles pricking the skin.
Xue Ningrong slumped down, remaining silent for a long time. His gentle expression faded, and the cold wind swept away his fallen hair, adding to his disheveled appearance.
She took a deep breath, the biting cold of winter stimulating her mind, and finally raised her eyes to meet the hateful gaze of the supreme ruler.
After years of marriage, this is all there is to it.
Xue Ningrong spoke softly, "Does Your Majesty look at me like that because you think I'm a wicked person who has committed all sorts of evil deeds?"
The emperor frowned: "A-Nian treated you well, yet you repaid kindness with enmity and plotted to harm her. All these years of quiet meditation in the Buddhist hall, putting on a show, have not been able to cure your venomous heart!"
Xue Ningrong smiled, her voice filled with sorrow: "Back then, Your Majesty lost your beloved, but you don't know that I also lost the only person in this world who disregarded personal gain and was truly kind to me. Does Your Majesty think I have no hatred or resentment?"
Her eyes filled with tears, and her vision gradually blurred, but Xue Ningrong felt a sense of relief. The stone that had been weighing on her heart for many years had finally been lifted, even though it had left her covered in blood and gore.
Instead, she was able to slowly recount those old stories: "Your Majesty need not think that everything I do is wicked. At least this Buddhist hall is real, and my daily prayers for my sister are real. They have never changed over the years."
"I think of her every day, but for so many years, even in my midnight dreams, she won't even come to see me. She is such a kind and forgiving person, yet she holds a grudge against me. Your Majesty, tell me, how can I go to see her?"
As he finished speaking, a sorrowful look filled Xue Ningrong's eyes, mixed with a hint of bewilderment, like a lost child.
As Xue Ningrong continued to spout incoherent nonsense, the emperor suddenly drew the sword from a guard beside him and held it to Xue Ningrong's neck: "If that's the case, why did you harm her in the first place!"
A cold glint appeared, the blade menacing.
Provoked by some word, Xue Ningrong straightened up and asked sharply, "Isn't His Majesty right? A woman who has neither deep schemes nor a heart of stone is not fit to be Empress! It was His Majesty who, for his own selfish reasons, pushed her to the forefront to suffer this bloodshed!"
"The struggle for favor in the harem has always been like this. My sister is a good person, but her only mistake is her kind heart! She trusts everyone and shows kindness to everyone. Even if it weren't for me, Xue Ningrong, back then, there would have been Wang Liu and Xie Yan later!"
As Xue Ningrong spoke, her eyes grew increasingly gloomy. Now that things had come to this, she no longer needed to worry about saving face.
"His Majesty should have thought carefully about how to protect my sister when he made her empress, but he didn't, which led to her downfall. Now that my sister is dead, His Majesty is also an accomplice!"
"Shut up!"
The emperor was so enraged by her words that his eyes turned red. He immediately shouted to stop her from continuing her nonsense.
Xue Ningrong suddenly threw her head back and laughed, but there was no joy in her laughter. As she laughed, a tear disappeared into her hair and wet the corner of her eye.
How ridiculous, truly ridiculous.
Xue Ningrong knew from a young age that she was destined to become the empress. The Xue family raised her with great care, and she learned poetry, literature, etiquette and manners very well. However, she did not inherit any of the decisiveness and ruthlessness of her father and brothers.
When she grew up, the emperor ascended the throne. Although he had already established an empress and the emperor and empress were deeply in love, she was still sent to the palace.
She disliked the imperial harem, disliked the cold, impersonal red walls and green tiles, but she couldn't escape it.
Fortunately, the emperor was a good person, so life in the palace wasn't too miserable.
Over the years, only he and she have been the only people who have never questioned her original intentions and have genuinely treated her well.
Therefore, when Xue Ningrong learned that her family was going to get rid of the previous wife and promote her to the position, her first thought was to resist.
However, the struggle for favor in the imperial harem was never about personal affection, but about family power. Xue Ningrong was unwilling, but the Xue family couldn't wait that long.
Unbeknownst to her, the poison had already entered his mouth and spread throughout his internal organs.
Xue Ningrong himself was also tormented by that invisible poison for many years, his heart disease was hard to cure, and he then buried himself in the Buddhist temple, seeking only peace of mind.
She always lacked a bit of ruthlessness.
Outside the palace, heavy snow fell, burying the sins that were everywhere.
Xue Ningrong closed his eyes, no longer looking at the furious emperor before him or the noisy surroundings, and only murmured softly.
"Sister, I can finally come to you to atone for my sins."
*
Taking advantage of the chaos in Jiaofang Palace, Xie Chengyan had already discussed with Chu Chengji the matter and transferred the Imperial Guards away, so that Chu Chengji would not have time to attend to the side palace.
Xie Chengyan removed his armor and, under the cover of night, led Shen Xi out of the palace.
Xue Ningrong's plan was already set in motion, if not today, then sometime in the near future. But she took Shen Xi hostage, so Xie Chengyan had no choice but to bring forward the plan and take Shen Xi away in the chaos.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly.
Shen Xi nestled in Xie Chengyan's arms, finally succumbing to unconsciousness and falling into a deep sleep. She didn't open her eyes when they returned to the General's Mansion.
Xie Chengyan settled the person on the couch and then sent someone to invite Wen Tingmao.
Her face was serene, like the sleepy face she wore every morning before she was fully awake. Xie Chengyan gazed at her for a long time, then took her hand and placed it on her forehead.
Just a few hours ago, he was still boasting that he would protect her no matter what.
Ironically, the dangers she encountered time and again were all brought about by him.
Xie Chengyan felt a lingering fear when he thought about the sudden kidnapping today, and his eyes darkened slightly.
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