"My aunt knew nothing about what happened today. I was just using her name to try and get justice for Shuo'er."
“What I did was no different from what Empress Dowager Zheng arranged for Jingning. If you don’t pursue Empress Dowager Zheng, then I have no right to be treated leniently by you.”
“My aunt and Shuo’er are innocent. I will take full responsibility for all the crimes.”
After being scolded twice in a row, even Jing Huaixu, with his usually gentle demeanor, couldn't help but turn cold: "Can you take the blame?"
Consort Cheng glared at the two eunuchs beside her, while Jing Huaixu waved his hand.
In the blink of an eye, Consort Cheng was freed. She recklessly pulled out the thickest gold hairpin from her hair and resolutely slashed her own neck.
The entire hall gasped in shock.
Before Cheng Taihou could react, she waited a long time before finally letting out a cry. She rushed forward in surprise: "Wan'er."
Blood gushed from Consort Cheng's neck, covering half of it. It took her a long time to regain her senses and open her mouth with difficulty.
“Aunt, you’re right. I… was so stupid to ask you to seek justice for Shuo’er. You lost because His Majesty… isn’t your biological son, so no one will protect you.”
"If I had known, I wouldn't have... I wouldn't have done this. Aunt, please take good care of Shuo'er... I..."
Before Consort Cheng could finish speaking, her body went limp and she closed her eyes. Empress Dowager Cheng held her body and wept bitterly.
Jing Huaixu was stunned for a long time.
Empress Ye tightly covered Jingyi's eyes.
Empress Dowager Zheng was not satisfied with this. The death of Consort Cheng was not enough; she wanted Empress Dowager Cheng to die as well.
He said sternly, "Your Majesty, did you hear what Consort Gui said to slander me just now? It was not just Consort Gui who said it. Empress Dowager Cheng is plotting to harm the imperial heir. You must immediately issue an edict to depose her from the position of Empress."
"That's enough, Mother Empress," Jing Huaixu snapped impatiently at the incessant chatter in his ears.
According to Consort Cheng, Jing Huaixu is Empress Dowager Zheng's own son, so she was not afraid of such a statement and was furious.
"What, are you getting angry with me? Shouldn't she be punished for harming you, Jingyi?"
Jing Huaixu countered, "Since the Empress Dowager secretly discussed the marriage between Jing Ning and the Emperor behind my back, shouldn't I treat her the same way?"
"Afterwards, I will proclaim to the world that my two mothers have been using my daughters as pawns to manipulate me. I am an unfilial son and a negligent father, and I must issue an edict of self-reproach."
"Let's all abdicate in the end, and then the three of us will be deposed together, so that all the other countries can laugh at us when they come to Jing."
Empress Dowager Zheng froze, speechless.
It wasn't that she hadn't considered the issue of her son's reputation, but rather that her son also felt that her treatment of Jingning was no different from what Consort Cheng had done to Jingyi.
The discontent was made public.
Seeing that his mother was no longer able to cause trouble, Jing Huaixu took a deep breath, put his hands behind his back, and made an announcement.
"Empress Dowager Cheng is old and may not be aware of some things in time, which may have caused trouble. Fortunately, the situation has not deteriorated to the point of no return, so I will let it go and not pursue it further."
"Since the Imperial Concubine has confessed her crimes and accepted punishment, she shall still be buried with the rites due to an Imperial Concubine. All the palace servants who participated in the Imperial Concubine's scheme shall be beaten to death."
Empress Dowager Zheng was furious, but as expected, she let Empress Dowager Cheng go.
Empress Dowager Cheng wiped the blood from Consort Cheng's neck with her hands, and numbly thanked the Emperor, saying, "I thank Your Majesty for forgiving Wan'er."
Jing Huaixu: "In that case, Empress Dowager Cheng, please accept my condolences. Please trouble the Empress to handle the funeral arrangements for the Noble Consort. We will then announce to the public that she has passed away due to illness."
"Yes," Empress Ye curtsied.
Jing Huaixu was an emperor, but he was also an ordinary child who lost his father at a young age and had no ability whatsoever.
Regardless of how the two empress dowagers' relationship became afterward, they had worked together for a considerable period of time to make peace and secure their thrones, painstakingly cultivating a relationship for him.
However, as Jing Huaixu grew up and the Jing Kingdom gradually calmed down from its turmoil, the two empress dowagers could not find peace and continued to compete with each other for status.
The two empress dowagers became a headache for him. One had given him life and raised him, while the other had raised him and supported him in the past.
Jing Huaixu wanted to treat them all with benevolence and filial piety, but unfortunately, each of them had their own agenda, and over the years he turned a blind eye to their behavior.
The current situation demonstrates that avoidance is no longer a viable solution.
Jing Huaixu took one last look at Consort Cheng, who had already breathed her last. Among his concubines, she was not gentle, inconsiderate, and even prone to arguing with him.
He knew that Consort Cheng was definitely not the mastermind behind this, but he could not continue to convict Empress Dowager Cheng. It was really unpleasant to hear that an empress dowager of a country conspired to scheme against a prince of another country and her own princess.
To preserve the royal family's dignity, the cause of Consort Cheng's death had to be kept secret.
As he was leaving, Jing Huaixu insisted that Empress Dowager Zheng leave Yongshou Palace with him: "Mother, the Consort left in a hurry, so as not to offend you, I will escort you back to Changshou Palace."
Empress Dowager Zheng was unwilling to go back just like that, but things had developed to this point. Empress Dowager Cheng had lost her niece, the Imperial Concubine, and Jing Shuo had broken his leg, making it difficult for him to compete with her in the future.
She swallowed her earlier dissatisfaction, turned around, and walked out of Yongshou Palace with Jing Huaixu.
Empress Ye had to deal with the funeral arrangements and could not leave immediately, so she asked Lanse to take Jingyi back to Jiaofang Palace first.
Before leaving, Jingyi looked at Empress Dowager Cheng and Consort Cheng one last time with mixed feelings.
***
Consort Cheng held a high position and had given birth to a prince, so Jing Huaixu allowed her to be buried with the rites due to a consort. The funeral held in the palace was quite grand, and some of Consort Cheng's close relatives had already entered the palace to pay their respects.
Empress Dowager Cheng personally chanted sutras to pray for Consort Cheng's soul, while Jing Shuo, still unable to get out of bed, sat in a wheelchair and burned Buddhist scriptures for Consort Cheng.
Just three days later, Consort Cheng's coffin was taken out of the palace and buried in the Consort's Mausoleum, and the Jing Palace returned to peace and tranquility.
...
Yue Jiang waited quietly for a while. It had been almost a month since the last time she had vaguely detected a slippery pulse. During that time, Yue Jiang vomited three or four times.
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