The Empress Dowager returned to the palace half a month later.
Emperor Hongde told her the whole story. Although she knew Jiang Sixian's character well, she did not expect her to be so ruthless.
"Go and invite the emperor over."
Emperor Hongde was very reluctant. The reason he left Jiang Sixian to the Empress Dowager to deal with was that he didn't want to see this woman again.
Jiang Sixian has an instinctive fear of the Empress Dowager, but a different fear of the Emperor.
"His Majesty…"
Emperor Hongde turned his head away in disgust, his tone stiff.
"Mother, please hurry up with the interrogation. Your son still needs to have lunch with the Empress."
Jiang Sixian's heart was breaking from his attitude. "You rode a bamboo horse with me, and played with plum blossoms around the bed. Has Your Majesty forgotten all that? I should be your wife, your empress!"
Emperor Hongde was almost amused by her shameless attitude. He tried his best to maintain his composure and said coldly, "It's not even dark yet, what are you daydreaming about? You are ruthless and heartless, not only harming your own sisters, but now you're dragging your entire family down with you. How can such a vicious person be worthy of being the Empress?"
Jiang Sixian broke through the defenses again.
"Stop making excuses."
Emperor Hongde's eyes were cold. "You made the witchcraft doll, and you buried it yourself. You plotted to murder your brother and sister-in-law, and you cursed the emperor. Even being slowly sliced to death wouldn't be too much for you. And you still have the nerve to cry foul here?"
I did not curse you.
Jiang Sixian immediately denied it.
"Oh? So framing important court officials and even the eldest princess is your true intention."
The emperor was good at grasping the key points.
Jiang Sixian was speechless.
She was caught red-handed, and her confession was entirely self-inflicted, leaving her with no way to refute it. The emperor, however, looked at her with disdain, as if she were looking at something filthy.
Hatred surged from the depths of his heart.
"That's because you forced me to do it!"
Emperor Hongde: "..."
It's likely that no one who commits evil thinks they are evil.
There are always all sorts of excuses to whitewash oneself.
Jiang Sixian was strikingly beautiful, and when she cried, it was like a lotus flower weeping dew, but at this moment, no one appreciated it.
“When the Northern Barbarians invaded, my father and brothers all died in battle. To appease the fallen heroes, the late emperor planned to choose a daughter from the Jiang family to be the crown princess. The Jiang family only had two daughters, and I was the eldest, but in the end, it was Jiang Zhixian who became the crown princess.”
She suddenly looked at the Empress Dowager, her eyes filled with boundless hatred.
"It's you, it's your favoritism. We weren't born of the same mother after all. After my father died, you stopped even pretending. You all ganged up on me. If that's the case, why can't I fight for myself? Jiang Zhixian was killed by you, it was you."
She laughed wildly, very pleased with herself.
The old matriarch came out from the inner hall, slapped her across the face, tears streaming down her face, her voice trembling.
"My sister-in-law entrusted me with taking care of you before she died. I believed I had done right by you, but I never expected you to be so heartless as to kill my Zhixian. She was only ten years old. How could you be so cruel?"
Jiang Sixian covered her face, a moment of guilt flashing in her eyes, before hatred replaced it.
"That's because you have ulterior motives! You say you treat me like your own daughter, but in the end, all the benefits go to your biological daughter. If you truly loved me, you should have called off this marriage and made me the Crown Princess—"
"absurd."
Emperor Hongde could no longer bear it, his face contorted with rage. "The late emperor did indeed favor you more, but Zhixian was chosen by me myself."
The laughter stopped abruptly.
Jiang Sixian stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
Her father was born to her first wife, while both the Empress Dowager and Jiang Zhixu's fathers were born to her second wives. She always believed that she missed out on the position of Crown Princess because the Empress Dowager was biased.
"No, no way, you're lying to me!"
Emperor Hongde sneered, "We are both daughters of the Jiang family, but you are scheming and competitive. Zhixian, on the other hand, is gentle, humble, and kind to others. What I want is a wife who is of one mind and one heart, not a troublemaker full of ulterior motives."
That's a pretty harsh statement.
The Empress Dowager frowned slightly, but did not interrupt.
Being belittled like this by her beloved, Jiang Sixian once again broke down her defenses.
"I don't believe it! You're lying to me! You've all lied to me!" She seemed to be possessed. "My father and brothers died for your Xiao family's empire. Otherwise, how could the Jiang family's title have fallen to a cripple? You see I'm helpless and bully me. You stole my position as Crown Princess. Today, I should be the one entering the Empress's Palace! I should be the one!"
The Empress Dowager could no longer bear to see her so mad.
"When the Northern Barbarians invaded, three generations of the Jiang family, all their sons went to the battlefield. In the end, only your third uncle returned alive, dragging his broken leg, bringing thirty years of peace to the northern border. As a member of the Jiang family, you also benefited from their favor, being granted the title of county princess and enjoying wealth and honor, being raised in the palace alongside princes and princesses. Yet, you were insatiable, and over a single disagreement, you turned your sword against them. Did you ever consider that your father and brothers also bore the surname Jiang? They were renowned throughout their lives, loyal to the country, yet after their deaths, they would be burdened by you, reviled by all. How tragic that would be?"
The old lady sat to one side, clutching her chest, and upon hearing these words, she burst into tears.
Her father-in-law had four sons, two of whom were from his first wife. He remarried and had two sons and a daughter. His daughter entered the palace. Her third son was her husband, and her fourth son died before he was an adult.
The youngest son of the second wife, Goro, was only fifteen years old when he died in battle.
The entire family was loyal and righteous, but unexpectedly, a daughter betrayed the family and almost caused the entire Jiang family to be destroyed.
If my elder brother and sister-in-law could know this from beyond the grave, how heartbroken they would be.
Jiang Sixian seemed to be struck by these words, but became even more frenzied. "The Jiang family has abandoned me like trash, so why should I care about your family's honor? If you make me unhappy, I will make you all die!"
The old lady could hardly believe that this was the child she had watched grow up.
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