“I can’t go out, but you should be able to. His Majesty’s attitude towards me is unclear. We are now in a situation where we share the same fate. If you make a trip for me and bring Princess Xiaoyu here, I will reward you handsomely. Once this crisis is over, you will get a share of whatever good things my Zhaotong Palace has.”
Su Nianniang only wanted to save her own life, so she could only try to fool the maid in front of her.
"So... so we'll just invite Princess Little Fish over?"
Zhuque understood what she meant. She had already followed this woman, and now they were truly bound together by fate, sharing both glory and ruin.
"Okay, you should go now."
Su Nianniang urged her.
"Then this servant will give it a try."
Zhuque didn't want to be locked up like this for no reason, so she nodded. As she walked out of the hall, the imperial guards made way for her without stopping her.
Su Nianniang watched Zhuque leave unimpeded and breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time began to wonder if she had been paranoid.
She walked up to the Imperial Guards and said she wanted to go out too, but they ignored her and formed a human wall, completely blocking her way.
She understood her current predicament perfectly well. Her body trembled, and she finally scrambled back into the palace.
But Zhuque disappeared like a meat bun thrown to a dog, never to return, and did not come back until midnight.
The following day, after the morning court session, all the civil and military officials were invited by the Imperial Guards to Chengde Hall and forced to attend a palace banquet that Shen Jinchen had prepared specifically for them.
After everyone was seated, they could see two people bound under Chengde Gate. One was Sun Heqian, the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, and the other was Su Nianniang, the woman that Shen Jinchen had brought into the palace, whom they thought he would favor. Behind them stood executioners from the Ministry of Justice.
Furthermore, since entering the palace yesterday, neither Duke Ji nor Duke Shen has left, making the purpose of today's palace banquet quite obvious.
They all had their own suspicions and knew that their chances of survival were slim, but no one dared to move, because each of them had two armed guards behind them.
The emperor deliberately kept them waiting all morning, only arriving late, past noon. His presence was so overwhelming that it seemed to steal the air from the surroundings, making him impossible to ignore.
Moreover, upon his arrival, he didn't waste any words and went straight to the point, stating the purpose of hosting this palace banquet. Although his words were an explanation, they were also a warning:
"Today, I am holding this palace banquet so that you can all see how the culprit who harmed the Empress is suffering a fate worse than death. My beloved ministers, please watch carefully, and afterwards each of you will write me a letter of your reflections."
"Furthermore, before the execution, I have specially instructed the Imperial Study to prepare a dish of braised pork belly, hoping that you will slowly enjoy this dish while the executioner carries out the execution."
After he finished speaking, the imperial kitchen staff served each person a square piece of suckling pig, with both fat and lean meat, and also provided them with knives and forks.
The ministers glanced at the offering laid out before them, then at the executioners standing on either side of Imperial Physician Sun, each their faces paling. The Emperor's intentions today were now self-evident.
"Now that all the dishes have been served, Eunuch Li, you should go and inform the people over there to carry out the execution."
After giving the assembled officials a haughty look, Shen Jinchen casually gave an instruction to Eunuch Li beside him.
"yes!"
"Execute them!"
After bowing and responding with a "yes," Eunuch Li quickly ran to the Chengde Gate and made a gesture to the executioner.
Physician Sun and Su Nianniang had their speech impediments sealed. In order to better intimidate the civil and military officials present, Shen Jinchen had previously instructed Eunuch Li to have the executioner release their acupoints before the execution.
Therefore, after the executioner's first cut, Physician Sun's scream echoed throughout the entire hall.
Those howls were like the screams of demons from hell, sending chills down your spine.
Meanwhile, on Su Nianniang's side, Eunuch Li had arranged for a jailer who was particularly skilled at skinning people to slowly and methodically peel off her skin.
"Spare me! Your Majesty, spare me! This servant will never dare to covet again, I beg you, ah..."
The excruciating pain drove Su Nianniang to beg for mercy repeatedly, but the emperor inside the Chengde Hall paid no heed to her words. His gaze was filled with nothing but intense hatred and a sense of satisfaction at avenging his wife.
Some people cannot be killed, so he can only vent his resentment on those he can kill.
"Father! Father, please spare my mother's life."
The screams from below Chengde Gate made Xiaoyu, who was sitting to the side, unable to remain seated. Her mother had been so humiliated that her pampered body swayed, her mind went blank, and she had only one thought: to beg Shen Jinchen to show leniency.
"I thought you wouldn't plead for me, but I didn't expect you to be so easily tested. Little Fish, let me ask you, how has the Empress treated you? How has she treated your family?"
When Shen Jinchen saw her step forward, his eyes burned with intense heat, fixed intently on her.
"My mother has always treated me very well, but she is also quite innocent. My father shouldn't treat her like this. What did she do wrong to deserve such torment?"
Xiaoyu's voice trembled as she asked the question, but for her mother's sake, she bit her lip and looked at Shen Jinchen hoping for an answer.
"Fine, since you want an answer, then I will give you one. Three years ago, she conspired with Imperial Physician Sun to kill your mother during childbirth. She even dared to covet me, her father. Tell me, did she deserve to die?"
Shen Jinchen's tone was full of mockery and sarcasm, but his eyes held a faint smile.
"Father, no, Mother is a good person and would never harm the Empress Dowager. Is there some misunderstanding?"
As the skinning jailers under Chengde Gate slashed down, Su Nianniang's screams were more agonizing than ghostly cries. Every time Xiaoyu heard one, her heart ached more, so she could only offer a desperate defense.
"Oh!"
Just as Shen Jinchen snorted, Liu Jiuyi, who was sitting in the Duke of Wen's seat, suddenly stood up, rushed to Xiaoyu, slapped her, and yelled:
"Little Fish, shut up! His Majesty's actions today prove that the matter has been investigated thoroughly. What are you still asking?"
"Me! My mother..."
Xiao Yu glanced at the blood-soaked figures below Chengde Gate and thought to herself that if they didn't stop her mother, she would die soon.
“She’s not your mother. She abandoned us seven years ago. Don’t do anything foolish.”
Liu Jiuyi glanced at her coldly, then stood in front of Shen Jinchen to apologize.
"Your Majesty, Xiaoyu was ignorant. Please forgive his reckless words. That woman below is not worthy to be our mother. She deserves to die. Your Majesty need not show mercy."
"Little Fish, are you sure you still want to acknowledge that woman as your mother?"
Shen Jinchen ignored Liu Jiuyi's apology and instead looked at Xiaoyu with a scrutinizing expression, as if she were an ingrate.
He knew how much Ah Xi loved Xiao Yu, but in the end, that love was misplaced.
"I…"
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