Chapter 45
Consort Zhen presents crucial evidence: "The Empress Dowager cuts her hair."
Xue Jin'an never expected that the key evidence against Consort Rong would be provided by Consort Zhen, one of the murderers—yes, that's right, it's quite obvious now, the "Prince's Temptation" script involves two culprits.
As mentioned before, while others may have only played a supporting role in the successful framing of Consort Zhen, Consort Zhen was undoubtedly the most crucial element. She was the clear culprit from beginning to end, and her key evidence was the blood dragon wood bracelet in the original owner's possession.
The original owner's mother wore this bracelet until her death, and even oiled it properly before she died. This does not fit the original owner's mother's feelings when she was wronged and framed. Logically, it can only be a message left for the original owner. The original owner may have initially just wanted to keep a memento, but later must have realized something. So in the original story, she kept pursuing the truth and was eventually brutally murdered.
Just as Xue Jin'an thought of this, a message popped up.
Consort Zhen presents crucial evidence: "Blood Dragon Wood Beads"
Then Consort Zhen took out a delicate little wooden box from her clothes. When the box was opened, there were eighteen dull beads and one blood-red bead inside.
Consort Zhen then untied the red agate prayer beads on her right wrist, revealing a deep cut that exposed the bone. She slowly stroked the wound with her fingertips, her calm tone inexplicably causing extreme sorrow: "The Buddha said that life has eight sufferings: birth, old age, sickness, death, being with those you hate, being separated from those you love, not getting what you want, and the burning of the five aggregates. All of these are my own fault."
"Back then, Consort Zhen was so favored that her blessings extended to the princes. The seventh prince was given the name Bao Ning by His Majesty as soon as he was born. Everyone said that if Weiyang Palace were to be reopened, Consort Zhen would definitely be the head of the palace. This was truly enviable, and people unknowingly developed greedy and delusional thoughts."
“I am aloof and not favored by His Majesty. I dare not dream of becoming Empress. I only ask to be made a Consort or Imperial Concubine so that my Xuan’er will not be bullied. Consort Zhen gave me a blood dragon wood bracelet, which helped me. I also successfully became pregnant. However, the fetus was unstable, and after only three months, I showed signs of miscarriage. In order to protect the pregnancy, I listened to Consort Rong’s advice and obtained a secret medicine that I applied to my personal belongings every day. In the end, I successfully gave birth to Yun’er.”
“Yun’er was born very well-behaved, healthy and strong, and a very lively child. Suddenly, I don’t know when it started, he often cried and scratched his body. I thought it was just that the baby’s skin was delicate and he couldn’t stand the rubbing of his clothes. When my sisters heard this, they all gave me some things. The Imperial Noble Consort gave me some ointment to apply to his skin, the Noble Consort Rong gave me a longevity lock… Consort Zhen gave me a sachet to repel mosquitoes and insects, saying that it was a medicine personally prepared by my younger brother Zhou Yushu and that it was very effective.”
“I am always cautious and careful. All other items were sent to the Imperial Hospital for testing and left for a period of time to confirm that they were non-toxic before they were used. However, I have known Consort Zhen since childhood and we have a very close relationship. It is because of her that I was able to have Xuan’er and Yun’er. So I did not hesitate at all and hung the sachet ball on the cradle that day. Yun’er likes it very much and stares at it for a long time every day. If it is rocked, he will giggle.”
"A month later, he was much better, but he started to sleep all day and would often vomit while nursing. Xuan'er had often done this when he was young, so I thought everything was normal... until that night, when his face suddenly turned purple and he had difficulty breathing, and his fingers were bloodless... Yun'er died. The imperial physician said that he died of heart failure caused by poisoning."
“I carefully checked all of Yun’er’s belongings, except for the sachet ball. Zhou Yushu has lived in Dianzhou for many years, where there are countless mosquitoes, insects and rats. He could kill people with ease… At that time, I really thought it was Consort Zhen who did it. When she came to me and tried to talk to me, I refused and she mentioned the blood dragon wood bracelet. I smashed it and severed all ties with her.”
Consort Zhen closed her eyes and said in a hoarse voice, "I was not convinced that the sachet was not poisoned at first. I thought it must be because Zhou Yushu was very clever. The imperial physicians had been living in the palace for a long time and were not very familiar with the insects and poisons in Dianzhou. That's why they hadn't found anything for so long. So I lied and said that I had replaced the medicine in the sachet. Then I took out a poison that could cause death from heart disease and had it tested by the Imperial Hospital."
Thus, Consort Zhen was stripped of her title, demoted to the criminal Zhou, and imprisoned in Zhaoyang Palace. Less than a year later, Consort Zhen died of illness.
"...After all these years of friendship, I still went to Zhaoyang Palace to offer incense before her burial. That's when I happened to run into Cuiyun and...the Fifth Prince who has a heart condition." Consort Zhen said, her gaze shifting to the Fifth Prince.
The Fifth Prince was slightly taken aback, then he remembered. Ever since he moved into the Prince's Residence and was finally free from confinement in Minghua Palace, he had always loved to go out.
That day, he heard from someone that the legendary Consort Zhen in the palace had died. Out of curiosity, he sneaked into Zhaoyang Palace. However, his martial arts skills were only average, and he was easily discovered. The little palace maid was very talkative and kept mentioning Consort Rong and other such things. He was impatient to listen and left.
Unexpectedly, that little palace maid was Cuiyun. The Fifth Prince tried to recall her face, but he just couldn't remember it.
Consort Zhen continued, “I noticed that the Fifth Prince climbed over the wall with ease and his complexion was rosy and normal, which aroused my suspicion about his illness. I also noticed that Cuiyun seemed to know him quite well, so I took her into the palace so that I could find out the truth in the future.”
Starting with the Fifth Prince's illness, Consort Zhen spent two years uncovering various pieces of evidence. At the same time, she also discovered that Cuiyun was originally Consort Rong's person. She had been a spy in Zhaoyang Palace and, after being recruited by Consort Rong, she naturally became a spy in Consort Rong's palace.
Consort Zhen was worried that Cuiyun would report the evidence to Consort Rong, so she made the Buddhist hall look so strange. However, Cuiyun thought she was practicing witchcraft.
Consort Rong realized she had a handle on Consort Rong and wanted to manipulate her to continue plotting against the imperial heir. Consort Zhen felt this was the best opportunity to seize Consort Rong's weakness, so she went along with it.
This was Consort Zhen's self-narration. Xue Jin'an listened in amazement, once again learning the true meaning of the art of human language.
Consort Zhen is truly remarkable. Her greatest strength lies in her ability to convincingly clear her name. From the very beginning, she downplayed her own existence, portraying herself as someone forced to commit the crime, a trait she has maintained successfully to this day.
If the [Blood Dragon Wood Beads] hadn't actually revealed a crucial clue about Consort Zhen, Xue Jin'an's data would have been almost entirely misleading.
It is true that the Tenth Prince died from the secret medicine, but Consort Zhen's statement about when she learned the truth is false. The reason for this conclusion is simple: Consort Zhen once said, "I have always been cautious and careful."
How could someone who is always cautious and careful only develop suspicions after seeing the Fifth Prince in person? When Consort De heard about this method of death, she immediately thought of the Tenth Prince's death and went to investigate.
However, the claim that Consort Rong threatened her is 97% true. When Consort Rong saw the cut hair, she blurted out "How dare you!" instead of "How did it end up here with you?" This shows that she thought Consort Zhen was on the same side as her.
Xue Jin'an didn't know when Consort Zhen decided to take action against Consort Rong, but the timing of their plan was easy to determine. It was after learning that someone was going to assassinate the emperor in the Imperial Study to test him. So, starting with Chu Wenjing's request to reinvestigate Consort Zhen's case, they gradually collected evidence against Consort Rong and drove her to her death.
Zheng Xi's mistake for the Sixth Prince was orchestrated by Consort Rong to assist the real assassin in a diversionary tactic. However, the evidence found in Hanxiang Courtyard—the portrait of the Sixth Prince—is 87% likely the work of Consort Zhen, perhaps in collaboration with Consort Shu. After all, Consort Shu's goal today is clear: to make Consort Rong pay the price for harming the Sixth Prince.
Of course, there's also a 13% chance that Consort Rong's people were genuinely careless, committing wrongdoing without promptly addressing the evidence. However, there's no doubt that no evidence was found in Consort Rong's Minghua Palace. Judging from her attitude, those bottles and jars couldn't possibly contain complete insect pheromones; someone must have switched them.
Therefore, it can be seen that Consort Rong was a habitual offender who was very good at erasing traces of her crimes.
As for the horse farm incident, there is almost a 99% chance that it was all a setup by Consort Zhen.
The entire operation is now 99% complete; only the final 1% is needed to render Consort Rong speechless, even if she has something to say.
"Consort Zhen!" Consort Rong stared at Consort Zhen with bloodshot eyes, as if she wanted to devour her.
Consort Zhen twirled the red agate prayer beads in her hand, her fingertips gliding over the eight beads and stopping to form the Sanskrit word Amitābha.
Although Xue Jin'an did not understand the meaning of the scriptures or the tenets of Buddhism, he had listened to so many sutras that recognizing Sanskrit was no problem for him. He immediately did a reading comprehension exercise and provided the official translation of the word and the relevant explanation written in the scriptures.
Amitābha is Amitabha Buddha, also known as the Immeasurable Buddha, and clouds represent light and immeasurable light. Immeasurable light is clouds.
"Consort Zhen, I want you dead!" A shrill scream rang out as a figure lunged at Consort Zhen, grabbing her by the neck and brutally pinning her to the ground. It was none other than Ziyun, who had been ignored for a long time after her internal energy was destroyed.
The Imperial Guards reacted quickly and rushed forward to pull Ziyun away, but they didn't expect her to be so strong that she wouldn't let go no matter what they did. Seeing that Consort Zhen's face was turning blue and purple, they didn't care about anything else and drew their swords to stab Ziyun.
"Master, Master, Ziyun did her best..." Ziyun collapsed softly to the ground and stopped breathing in the blink of an eye. Her unclosed eyes reflected the stunned expression of Consort Rong.
Consort Zhen, clutching her bruised neck, struggled to her feet and knelt before the Emperor once more. Her voice hoarse, she slowly said, "I aided and abetted the wicked, conspiring with the wicked. My selfishness led to Consort Zhen's wrongful death... Every day since I learned the truth, I have been tormented. Today, the truth has finally been revealed, and the real culprit who murdered Yun'er has been brought to justice. I have no regrets, except that I have let down Yu Ting."
"...The Buddha said that there is cause and effect, karma and retribution. I, your concubine, wish to be confined to the Buddhist hall, spending my days with the ancient Buddha and the dim lamp, praying and chanting for Prince Zhang, Yun'er, and Consort Zhen...until the end of this life." Red agate prayer beads were wrapped around her right hand. Consort Zhen clasped her hands together, lowered her eyes, and looked compassionate.
The second round of discussions ended, and there was no need to watch the voting. Without a doubt, everyone voted for the duo of Consort Rong and Consort Zhen, the two culprits. However, everyone regarded Consort Zhen as an accomplice, and there was even a fool like Consort Xian who genuinely believed her self-statement, making everyone feel indignant and sorry for her.
[Vote successful! Congratulations on clearing the script "The Prince's Temptation"! Congratulations on earning the New Host badge! There are many more scripts waiting for you to discover~ See you next time~ Xue Jin'an~]
Xue Jin'an didn't pay much attention to the pop-up message. He simply closed the murder mystery game, and the voice chat button in the chat box disappeared from his field of vision. Everything returned to normal.
He was staring blankly at Consort Zhen, watching the emperor's expression of "to err is human, to forgive divine" towards her. He felt something burning inside him, and his blood surging.
Consort Zhen has achieved her final 1%. Now, Consort Rong can't say anything more. After all, Consort Zhen said that she has repaid her karma and ended her miserable life in the way Consort Zhen died. What else is she dissatisfied with?
Consort Rong was dissatisfied, but after pointing at Consort Zhen for a long time, she realized that there was nothing she could do to change the situation.
Her son had already become estranged from her, and by cutting her hair, she had completely offended the Empress Dowager. The only thing she could use to clear her name now was to tell the Emperor who was behind her, but if she did that, she would have no chance of survival.
Finally, Consort Rong burst into a loud laugh that sounded like a mix of crying and laughing, and even seemed to be going mad: "I've been hunting geese all day, and now a goose has pecked my eye! Hahahaha!"
Xue Jin'an was also dissatisfied. Consort Rong had basically no way out, but Consort Zhen still had a chance. Or rather, this outcome was something she had planned all along.
Xue Jin'an had no interest in playing the art of language with humans, nor did he need to produce evidence for another murder mystery game. His data had already identified the murderer, so all he had to do was kill the murderer.
A flash of white light, and the lotus sword rang out, moving even faster than when Xue Jin'an killed Zi Yun!
As Zhenfei was getting up, she was indeed paying close attention to his movements. Pretending that her knees had gone weak from kneeling for too long, she inadvertently knelt down on the ground. When Xue Jin'an changed his move, she pretended to be startled and cried out as if she had just noticed him, falling backward to the ground. Her red agate prayer beads were cut in half by the sharp sword energy and fell to the ground with a clatter.
Afterwards, Consort Zhen lay down on the ground with a relieved expression, ready to be executed, because all she needed to do was dodge this move.
In the blink of an eye, the Imperial Guards, having learned from Ziyun's example, were able to react and immediately protect the Emperor, Empress Dowager, and other concubines, while sending a few to confront Xue Jin'an.
"Mother!" The fourth prince rushed over anxiously, and with a strength he didn't know he had, he actually pulled Consort Zhen back several steps.
Xue Jin'an's long sword, like a silver snake, danced and changed shape several times, but it was still blocked by four or five broadswords. The Imperial Guards dared not hurt him, but they also dared not let him go. So they remained in a stalemate. With a loud shout, they exerted their strength together and forced the lotus sword down.
Xue Jin'an was still a boy after all. Even if he used the maximum strength in his arms, he couldn't compete with an adult who had practiced martial arts for many years, especially with so many at once.
Everyone felt relieved but also shocked, thinking that the Seventh Prince was doomed this time. They couldn't believe that the Seventh Prince was such a lawless person, daring to assassinate a concubine in front of the Emperor. He really had some nerve! The title of the Third Prince as the number one reckless prince was probably going to be taken by someone else.
Only the Fourth Prince and the Fifth Prince, who had truly met Xue Jin'an and understood his character, knew that Xue Jin'an was not someone who gave up so easily.
So even seeing the Seventh Prince being suppressed and at a disadvantage, the Fourth Prince still spread his arms to protect Consort Zhen. Despite being terrified, his voice trembling with sobs and choked words, he still tried to persuade Xue Jin'an to lay down his weapons, "Seventh Brother, my mother was only bewitched. She knows she was wrong, and she's willing to repay kindness with kindness. Father has already made a decision on this matter. Seventh Brother, please don't...please don't act impulsively, please don't do this—"
"Fourth Brother, Xue Jin'an's mother is dead." Even though he was at a disadvantage, Xue Jin'an's voice remained calm and even. His aura was as peaceful as his tone, without a trace of murderous intent.
“She lost her life, and they have to pay back with their lives,” he said.
The fourth prince was suddenly jolted, but when he opened his mouth, he couldn't utter a single word.
Lu Bingzhu's slightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed, his inner energy surging slightly, and he tossed the teacup between his fingers—in fact, he had many opportunities to strike when Xue Jin'an drew his sword and made his move, but he didn't, and he didn't know why.
Upon hearing the Seventh Prince's words, he understood, and finally understood why he was unwilling to serve the Emperor. It turned out that he was unable to accept the situation.
He couldn't help but feel even more fond of the Seventh Prince. He knew he should stop the Seventh Prince from continuing his actions, and even said the same thing again: "Sometimes it's not a bad thing to be lenient when you can." It wasn't to excuse anyone, but killing a concubine in front of the emperor was a real slap in the face for him, and the emperor would lose face.
Lu Bingzhu wasn't worried that the Seventh Prince was helpless. He noticed that the Seventh Prince tilted his ear slightly and guessed that he already had a solution. So he decided to help him out, so that if it was his mistake, he could at least share the responsibility.
Lu Bingzhu guessed correctly; Xue Jin'an had indeed come up with a solution, or rather, he had actually calculated this outcome long ago.
Xue Jin'an caught the sound of footsteps outside the door. They were numerous and dense, yet strangely orderly. It was the Imperial Guards returning from their search.
Interspersed among the orderly footsteps were two distinct footsteps: one weak and feeble, belonging to Li Hechun; the other heavy and slow, making a strange "thump, thump" sound with each landing, as if hopping on one foot—that belonged to the Third Prince.
Sure enough, the Third Prince appeared, carrying a saber.
"Third Brother, lend me your knife!" Xue Jin'an shouted.
"No!" Consort Xian reacted so quickly for the first time, but she was no match for her son's conditioned reflex.
The third prince flicked his wrist, sending the knife flying. He belatedly squeezed out a voice from his throat: "Catch."
Clang—At the same time, the teacup struck the blade of the lotus sword, and the immense internal force sent the four imperial guards flying.
Using the force of the impact, Xue Jin'an flipped through the air, then released his grip on the sword hilt and landed with a tumble and a sprint. He grabbed the saber that was about to be inserted into the paving stone, slid to the side with extreme force, his body almost touching the ground, the tip of the saber drawing a deep arc on the jade floor, and then threw it with a fierce thud.
The blade tip, flying diagonally upwards, whistled through the air.
"No! Mother, run!" The Fourth Prince pushed Consort Zhen away with all his might.
"Baoning, stop!" The emperor's weak shout was left behind.
Behind me came the gust of air created by the Imperial Guards rushing forward.
The body touching the ground felt the vibration of the chair being violently overturned.
He heard the sound of a knife tip piercing flesh.
A surge of joy welled up in his heart, and his magical power surged forth. Xue Jin'an suddenly felt an inexplicable urge to laugh, so he actually curled the corners of his mouth into a rather high-resolution, not-so-standard smile.
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