Chapter 65 Suspecting the Empress's involvement, Xie Shang suffers another undeserved calamity.
A thunderclap boomed across the sky, followed by a torrential downpour.
Yunfang was startled awake. It was pitch black all around. When she opened her eyes, she saw the branches of trees outside the window swaying like roaring beasts. She was terrified.
Just then, she heard disgusting panting sounds coming from next door. Peeking through the crack in the door, she saw two disheveled palace maids and eunuchs doing *that*. Yunfang was used to it; there were many sordid things happening in the palace. The deep palace was lonely, and it was not uncommon for eunuchs and palace maids to have affairs in private.
She was knocked unconscious and left here, which meant that her secret had been exposed. She was only knocking on the wall after the couple next door had finished their business.
The two were startled. "Who is it?"
Yunfang peeked out, her face veiled, and smiled at the two of them. "Who I am is unimportant. What I saw was what you were doing hiding here. Her name is Cuihua, a maid in the servants' quarters, and your name is Shunzi. You two have done quite a bit of that just now, haven't you? If word gets out..."
She knew that although it was common in the palace, they weren't legitimate couples, and no one was willing to make it public.
The eunuch and maid trembled with fear, stammering, "Who are you? How do you know our names? What do you want?"
Yunfang said, "You only need to answer my questions; you don't need to know who I am."
The palace maid, being shy, quickly replied, "What's the problem? Alright, we'll answer your question, but you can't spread this around."
She asked, "Has anything happened in the palace tonight?" She wanted to know how the man was doing, whether he had been discovered, and if things were exposed, she would have to find a way to deal with Consort Su.
The eunuch recounted in detail, "Consort Su has been banished to the Cold Palace. She and her lover were caught red-handed having an affair in her bedchamber... The palace maids and eunuchs of Luanfeng Palace who helped the Consort commit adultery have all been executed."
Yunfang was incredulous upon hearing this. Having served Consort Su in her palace for so many years, she naturally knew that Consort Su had no lover at all.
Yunfang deliberately asked, "The palace is heavily guarded, how did that man get into the Imperial Concubine's palace?"
The palace maid said, "When the Imperial Guards searched the palace for the assassin, I went to Luanfeng Palace with them. The man admitted to me that Consort Su had taken him into the palace during a banquet, hid him in the Imperial Garden, and then took him back to Luanfeng Palace to commit adultery... The Emperor killed the man on the spot, and his blood splattered all over the ground."
These testimonies are full of flaws, because Consort Su could never have personally brought a man into the palace while she was in the palace. If she wanted to bring him into the palace for an affair, why didn't she just bring him back to Luanfeng Palace instead of making him wait in such an eye-catching place as the Imperial Garden?
Because there were other reasons behind this matter, the emperor killed the man on the spot simply because he had slept with the emperor's woman. He was not allowed to make excuses; he deserved to die.
Yunfang knew she couldn't stay in the palace any longer, or she would suffer the same fate as the other palace maids in Luanfeng Palace. She then said, "I want to leave the palace. Shunzi, can you think of a way?"
Without a second thought, the two nodded repeatedly. Now that she was out of the palace, she posed no threat to them, and they couldn't wait for her to leave the palace.
-
Meanwhile, at Chengqian Palace, several princes knelt on the ground as torrential rain lashed against them.
Second Prince Xie Yu was filled with anger and complained, "It was Consort Su who was caught cheating. Why is Father punishing us? I don't accept it. Why should we suffer this undeserved disaster?"
The Third Prince Xie Xuan didn't say a word, and he was limping. He was the last to arrive, and he was the one who suffered an undeserved disaster.
The Fourth Prince, Xie Yang, was timid by nature. He trembled with fear and even cried out, "If we get caught in the rain, will we die like our eldest brother?!"
The sixth, seventh, and eighth princes all knelt on the ground, along with other young princes who were not yet adults; otherwise, they too would have been punished today.
Xie Shang also knelt in the rain, letting the rain beat down on him. He was soaked to the bone, and the sky seemed to be leaking, with the rain getting heavier and heavier.
He didn't say a word. Tonight, regardless of the man's testimony or Consort Su's sophistry, there were flaws everywhere. His father chose to settle things peacefully only to save face for the royal family.
Consort Su was the emperor's woman, yet she engaged in illicit affairs with other men. Regardless of whether it was true or not, this matter should not be publicized.
However, the Empress personally sent people to catch them in the act of adultery, making it known to everyone. Consort Yan and Prince Yu added fuel to the fire, making the matter even bigger. The Third Prince was so incompetent that he even had trouble walking. The Fourth Prince was cowardly and only knew how to cry. The Fifth Prince ignored it and chose to protect himself.
The emperor was disheartened that although he had many sons, none of them were capable of shouldering great responsibilities. The concubines in the harem were scheming against each other, fighting to the death, and the emperor felt truly alone.
He had allowed the envoys of Chaoxi Kingdom to make a fool of himself and tarnish his imperial dignity, so the emperor wanted to punish his good-for-nothing and unfilial sons.
The Empress, accompanied by her concubines and princesses, rushed to Chengqian Palace. "Your Majesty, what wrong have the princes done? In this heavy rain, don't you care about them at all? They are all your sons, Your Majesty..."
Consort Yan knelt hesitantly at the palace gate, "Your Majesty, it's all my fault. This matter has nothing to do with Prince Yu. It was my fault for being so talkative..."
"Get out!" The emperor smashed the vase in anger.
Everyone trembled in fright. The Empress couldn't bear to see her son soaked in the rain all night. She added, "You like Su Qingqing so much, but she made a mistake first. Your Majesty, have you forgotten how Consort Wenyi and the First Prince died? They were also punished by you to kneel in the rain, and later fell ill and never recovered."
"Your Majesty, please come out and look! Your sons are kneeling outside the hall. Are you really so indifferent to their lives because of Su Qingqing?"
The Empress also knelt on the ground, almost pleading, "Punish me if you must, be angry with me if you must, I will accept any punishment, I only beg Your Majesty to let the princes get up, the princes' health is the most important thing!"
Empress Cheng rarely pleaded with the emperor like this. She could endure being alone in her room for the rest of her life, but the only thing she couldn't bear was the fear that her son would suffer even the slightest grievance.
Thunder rumbled in the distance, and she was truly terrified; large tears streamed down her face.
The doors of Chengqian Palace suddenly opened, and the emperor, looking exhausted, seemed to have aged considerably. He glanced coldly at everyone before finally fixing his gaze on Xie Shang. "No need for anyone to kneel anymore. Go back!"
Eunuch Cao quickly helped the emperor up, saying, "Your Majesty, your health is of utmost importance."
The emperor trembled and could barely stand before turning around and entering Chengqian Palace.
With the emperor's permission, everyone helped Xie Shang to his feet, and the empress even ran to Xie Shang, saying, "Shang'er, get up quickly, go back to Kunning Palace to change your clothes before leaving the palace."
Xie Shang, filled with anger, stood up, turned around and left. Jiang Fenghua and Su Tingwan, holding umbrellas, quickly chased after him.
Empress Cheng watched her son's indifferent back and couldn't help but cry secretly. Granny Xi quickly comforted her, "Your Majesty."
"Go quickly and send a cloak to Shang'er. He's soaked to the bone. Tell the Princess to take good care of Shang'er."
Even though Xie Shang treated her coldly, Empress Cheng's heart still belonged to him.
Upon hearing the order, Granny Xi took the cloak from the maid and hurriedly chased after them, handing it directly to Jiang Fenghua and saying a few words, "The prince is in a bad mood, Princess Consort, you've had a hard time."
Jiang Fenghua had just seen the Emperor glance at Xie Shang, so she said, "Please ask the nanny to tell the Empress Dowager that I understand."
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