Chapter 302 Meeting with the Emperor to Uphold Justice
Inside the hall.
The warmth of the charcoal fire dispelled the chill outside.
Shu Heng stood by the window with his hands behind his back, gazing at the withered branches in the courtyard.
Upon hearing the announcement, he slowly turned around, his gaze falling on Lu Zhaoruo's dignified yet slender third-rank lady's robes, lingering for a moment before nodding slightly.
"Please take a seat."
His voice was calm, revealing little emotion.
The eunuch immediately brought over a brocade stool.
Lu Zhaoruo expressed her gratitude politely, sat down upright with her back straight, and quietly clasped her hands together in her wide sleeves.
Shu Heng returned to his desk and sat down, his gaze calmly falling on Lu Zhaoruo. Without beating around the bush, he asked directly, "Lu Shuren, I summoned you here today to hear you tell me in person what exactly happened at the Grand Princess's residence a few days ago. You may speak frankly."
Lu Zhaoruo raised her eyes and met the Emperor's deep gaze. Her eyes were calm, without tears or excitement.
She nodded slightly, her voice steady and clear: "Your Majesty, that day my beloved pet, Abao, accidentally bumped into the carriage of Lady Yunxiu. The Lady was furious and detained him, but it was only reasonable."
She paused briefly before continuing, "Then, the Lady of Yunxiu ordered my maid, Dongrou, to deliver a message, stating that if I wish to rescue Abao, I must go alone."
"This humble woman rushed to the Princess's residence and waited anxiously for a full hour..."
"An hour later, a maid named Pucao led me to the courtyard where Lady Yunxiu lived."
At this point, Lu Zhaoruo, who had maintained a calm demeanor, was filled with suppressed grief: "I saw... Abao was locked in an iron cage as tall as a person, covered in blood, and his four paws... were covered with countless needle marks, almost not a single spot was intact..."
Recalling that scene.
Her tears flowed uncontrollably.
She raised her tearful eyes and looked at Shu Heng, her voice filled with an almost desperate question: "I asked you, my lady, what heinous crime has my cat committed that it must suffer such cruel torture as being ground to dust?"
“The lady replied…To collide with a carriage is a capital offense.”
Lu Zhaoruo closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again, repeating her heart-wrenching words slowly and deliberately: "She also said, 'What can you do even if you kill a mere beast, let alone if it hasn't been killed yet?'"
After speaking, she rose, walked to the center of the hall, and knelt down deeply: "Your Majesty, you are wise. Although Abao is an animal, it has been with me for many years, and it is intelligent and knows how to feel. It was wrong to bump into the carriage, but... its crime does not warrant this."
Shu Heng sat upright behind the imperial desk, listening silently.
His gaze fell on the figure of the prince, who was kneeling deeply, his shoulders and back trembling slightly as he tried to suppress his grief and indignation. A complex emotion flashed across his eyes.
He did not immediately tell her to get up, nor did he explicitly agree.
Lu Zhaoruo took a deep breath, her tone regaining its previous calmness: "I think that the Princess Yunxiu's actions are not the result of a single day's resentment. Your Majesty may have already heard that Princess Yunxiu has admired General Xiao since childhood, and General Xiao... In addition, at the Autumn Hunting Banquet, I was fortunate enough to win first place. On the way back, the Princess pointed her whip at me, and when I dodged, she accidentally fell off her horse and injured her arm."
"Thinking back, with old and new grudges piled up, the princess must have hated her husband's wife to the bone."
Shu Heng's expression remained calm and composed, but a deep sense of surprise and coldness flashed in his eyes.
He knew that Yunxiu was spoiled and arrogant, that she was infatuated with Xiao Yeming, and that she had repeatedly made things difficult for Lu Zhaoruo.
However, he did not hear of his arrogant behavior at the autumn hunting banquet, such as wielding a whip in public and even falling off his horse and injuring his arm.
Yunxiu... is truly lawless.
Lu Zhaoruo's voice choked with emotion as she continued, "Upon hearing the questioning from the subject's wife, the Princess rose and walked to the iron cage, kicked it hard, and then ordered her maid, Shiliu, to lead the Western Region mastiff kept by the Grand Princess into the cage, intending to have it tear Abao apart alive..."
"She ordered two rough old women to hold me down tightly, forcing me to witness this scene... How could I bear it? When the vicious dog bit Abao's neck, I struggled to break free, and in my desperation..."
She kowtowed heavily, tears streaming down her face, "This humble woman is guilty! To save Abao, I had no choice... to kill that mastiff!"
Upon hearing this, even someone as experienced as Shu Heng felt a chill run down his spine.
He knew Yunxiu was arrogant, but he never expected her methods to be so ruthless.
He paused to catch his breath and said in a deep voice, "You may continue."
Lu Zhaoruo wiped away her tears and said, "When the Lady saw the mastiff being killed, she immediately ordered her men to seize me and put me to death... In my fear, I could only kneel down and plead with the Lady to immediately escort me to Kaifeng Prefecture, so that the Prefect could hold a trial and announce the verdict to the world, in order to seek justice..."
Upon hearing this, Shu Heng raised his eyes and gave Lu Zhaoruo a deep look.
This woman, even in the face of death, possessed such quick wit, knowing how to use the power of the government to protect herself; this was something no ordinary young lady could do.
A thought suddenly struck him: the imperial court was full of capable ministers and officials, and the harem was also full of gentle, virtuous, and shrewd women.
However, it is rare to find someone like Lu Zhaoruo who can remain clear-headed and rational in dire straits, and who has the courage and determination to use herself as bait to expose the conspiracy to the light of day in order to seek justice.
This courage is far more valuable than that of so-called noble ladies who only know how to compete for favor or cower under the wings of their fathers and brothers.
If his concubines in the harem were to suffer such a calamity, they would probably have already cried out for help or swallowed their anger. How many of them would have the fierce determination to expose the conspiracy even if it meant sacrificing everything?
What a pity about this woman...
Shu Heng concealed the fleeting admiration in his eyes, his expression returning to normal, and said calmly, "Continue."
"Fortunately," Lu Zhaoruo changed the subject, "Her Highness the Grand Princess arrived at the right time."
Shu Heng's gaze sharpened, and he pressed, "Oh? The Empress Dowager has arrived. How was it handled?"
Lu Zhaoruo softened her tone, even carrying a fitting sense of relief at surviving a disaster: "Fortunately... Her Highness the Grand Princess did not pursue the matter further. She merely lightly stepped on his toes with the sole of her shoe and then slapped him, saying that this was to atone for the death of her beloved dog, a small punishment to serve as a great warning."
Shu Heng's hand paused slightly, and a barely perceptible hint of doubt flashed in his eyes.
Given the domineering and protective nature of the imperial aunt, how could she only impose such a childish punishment on the person who killed her beloved dog and talked back to her beloved daughter?
This is really... an unreasonable understatement.
Something unusual must be going on.
His gaze swept over Lu Zhaoruo, who was kneeling before the prince, his mind filled with doubts: Was his aunt's action truly a momentary act of soft-heartedness, or... was there a deeper meaning behind it? Was there a deeper, unrevealed scheme hidden behind this seemingly insignificant "minor punishment"?
What he didn't know was that beneath Lu Zhaoruo's lowered eyelashes lay a cool and clear mind.
She knew the emperor was suspicious, so she deliberately made this "forgiveness" sound so light and easy.
She wanted to lead him to guess, to doubt, and to ponder the potentially more terrifying "serious scheme" that might lie behind this "light punishment."
"And then?"
Shu Heng continued to ask.
Lu Zhaoruo: "Her Highness the Grand Princess is so kind. Not only did she not punish me, but she also ordered Lady Yunxiu to apologize to me. She also ordered me to stay in the palace to recuperate and invited the imperial physicians to treat me so that I could return home healthy and radiant. She said that if General Xiao and Princess Yongfu asked about it in the future, she would be able to give an explanation."
"The Grand Princess also said that last time, when I was asked to make that big dress, she liked it more and more. She had long wanted to invite me to her residence to discuss needlework techniques and patterns, but I was always busy. Today, since we have the opportunity, she invited me to stay for a while. Abao was also sent out of the residence for treatment."
“Afterwards, Shiliu, the maidservant of Lady Yunxiu, and two servants led me to… Tingzhu Pavilion.”
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