Before the emperor could speak, the woman immediately said, "Four years ago, my sister was favored by the emperor as soon as she entered the palace. She became pregnant with the emperor's child within six months. Fearing that she was of low rank in the palace and that her family was not prominent enough, she waited until three months had passed before daring to tell Your Majesty in order to protect her child. Your Majesty, my sister is kind-hearted and never wanted to get involved in the palace intrigues. All she wanted was for the safety of her own flesh and blood. But this palace is full of ruthless devils who kill without spitting out the bones. My sister has been truly wronged."
Every word was earnest and sorrowful, reminding the emperor of that gentle and quiet figure from the past, now gone and gone, leaving him heartbroken.
"His Majesty……"
The Emperor raised his hand to stop Consort Lan from speaking, and looked at the woman, saying, "Let her speak first, I will decide. Summon the Empress. If someone truly harmed my offspring back then, I will not let them off lightly."
Consort Lan wanted to say something, but seeing the Emperor's solemn expression, she could only silently wipe away her tears with her handkerchief, glancing at the woman kneeling on the ground with resentment.
Before long, the Empress was also summoned. She looked at the scene before her in astonishment and asked, "What's going on?"
She assumed it was Consort Lan punishing a palace servant who had been caught, or some kind of seductive trick to win favor, so she remained indifferent, glancing briefly at the woman kneeling on the ground without paying much attention.
The emperor looked at the aloof empress and said, "The empress has also arrived. Today, someone broke into Consort Lan's palace."
The Empress curtsied slightly and said, "I have been staying in my palace lately and have not seen any strange people. If Your Majesty wants to ask if I know them, then you are wronging me."
The discord between the Emperor and Empress was already an open secret. The Empress's abandonment of pretense caused the Emperor to frown, and he said, "Whether you know her or not, we'll talk about that later. The Empress is here too, so you can continue."
Hearing the Emperor's words, the Empress couldn't help but glance at the palace maid on the ground a few more times. Her eyes were filled with tears and hatred, which made people's hearts tremble and a sense of foreboding flashed through their minds. Then, looking at Consort Lan who was silent beside her, the Empress clenched her hands without making a sound and said, "Wait, who is kneeling?"
"This servant is Xu Tong, the younger sister of Consort Xu Shan four years ago." The palace maid looked at her with neither servility nor arrogance, her eyes filled with hatred and a cold smile.
The Empress pondered for a moment, then smiled faintly and said, "I remember Xu Shan. After her death, His Majesty elevated her status, and she became Consort Xu. Her entire family was also promoted and moved out of the capital. Why are you in the palace?"
"I entered the palace under an assumed name, of course, for the sake of my sister who was killed by you!"
The Empress casually sat down and asked, "What do you mean by that?"
“Back then, my sister was pregnant with the emperor’s child. Her daily medication to prevent miscarriage was replaced. If my sister hadn’t known a little about medicine and secretly poured the medicine away, the child would probably have been lost inexplicably.” Xu Tong knelt on the ground, her hands clenched tightly. “At that time, she carefully mentioned it in a letter home. I was so worried that I went to the palace to take care of her.”
The Emperor said, "It seems there was such a thing. I agreed to let Consort Xu's relatives enter the palace. And then?"
“My sister was careful in every way, but she couldn’t outwit their viciousness. Your Majesty, do you still remember the winter solstice four years ago? It snowed so heavily. You went out to offer sacrifices to the heavens, and my sister made a cloak by hand and had me deliver it to you. On that very day, Consort Lan used the pretext of insubordination to make my pregnant sister kneel outside the palace gate.”
"Is this really true?" The Emperor was shocked and looked at Consort Lan, who was standing to the side with her head bowed in shame, with anger and disbelief. "Consort Lan! Is what she said true?"
"Your Majesty, no, that Consort Xu was only a Noble Lady at the time. But because she was pregnant, she never went to pay her respects to the Empress. On the Winter Solstice, the Empress accompanied you and allowed me to temporarily stay in the six palaces. If Consort Xu hadn't come to pay her respects, that would have been fine. But she had fallen out of favor and acted improperly. When I went to see her, she wouldn't let me enter the palace." Consort Lan knelt down, swaying precariously. "Although I was only one of the Four Consorts at the time, my rank and status were all above hers. How can I maintain my position in the palace after she does this?"
"So you punished her by making her kneel in the snow?"
"I didn't! I was angry but didn't show it because she was pregnant. I even had someone send her a bowl of deer antler soup, but..."
"But you know my sister didn't drink it, yet you made things difficult for her in the middle of the night, forcing her to kneel for a long time, which eventually led to premature birth. You also detained the imperial physician. At that time, the palace gates were locked, and without a midwife or imperial physician, my sister and her unborn child were all lost!" At this point, she burst into tears and tried to rush over to strangle Consort Lan.
The surrounding palace maids quickly restrained her. She glared resentfully at Consort Lan, who was retreating and dodging, then looked at the Emperor: "Your Majesty! I have endured for so many years just to avenge my sister. Please, for the sake of our past relationship as husband and wife, and for your unborn child, you must do justice for my sister!"
The Emperor looked at everyone with an uncertain expression: Xu Tong, who was weeping uncontrollably; Consort Lan, who looked terrified; and the Empress, who looked indifferent. He pressed his throbbing forehead and said, "Xu Tong, if Consort Xu was truly wronged back then, I will definitely investigate thoroughly. Consort Lan, kneel down first. Is what she said true? Did you punish Consort Xu by making her kneel?"
Consort Lan nodded, then said, "But..."
"Were the imperial physicians in your palace that night?"
"……yes……"
No sooner had Consort Lan finished speaking than the Emperor smashed his teacup with a loud crash, roaring, "Such a terrible thing has happened! Consort Lan! What can I say to you? Do you know what your crime is for harming the imperial heir?!"
Consort Lan trembled, tears streaming down her face, and she shook her head in a panic.
Xu Tong broke free from the palace maid and kowtowed repeatedly: "Your Majesty, please do justice for my sister! And the Empress! She is also to blame! She was the one who switched my sister's pregnancy-preserving medicine!"
The Empress angrily retorted, "Who gave you the audacity to slander me like this?"
"After my sister died, all the maids in her palace were dismissed. I stayed in the palace for two more days because I was grieving. That's when I saw my sister's personal maid entering and leaving your palace. I secretly followed her and saw her hand a packet of silver to the imperial physician, saying, 'This is Her Majesty's gift.' That imperial physician was the same Physician Liu who treated my sister! If it weren't for your instruction, how could Consort Lan have been so audacious? And you still want to deny it?"
An old case, long forgotten, has now been exposed, its filthy cover ripped open, causing coughs to fill everyone's throats. Everyone present fell silent for a moment; the emperor was too angry to speak, and the others waited anxiously for his wrath.
Suddenly, the Empress spoke up casually: "You see that the palace maid gave the imperial physician a package and you conclude that it was my arrangement? That's a huge joke."
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