Chapter 40 The Virgin Emperor... could he possibly have homosexual tendencies...?
Gu Zhou grabbed the nearly collapsing Fangru, his voice low but ruthless: "Listen! If you don't want to die together, do as I say! He's a half-dead sickly man anyway, no one will suspect anything! Go back to your room right now and sleep like nothing happened! Wait until the servants find out tomorrow morning, then you can come out and wail!"
Fangru trembled all over, tears streaming down her face as she struggled to break free from him: "No...we killed him! I'm going to confess...you have to go too!"
"Confess?"
Gu Zhou looked at him as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, his eyes turning sinister. "If I go, I might as well die! But what about you? You're an accomplice! Can your father's old body withstand the blow of his daughter murdering her husband? Do you want him to bury his child and die of anger?!"
Seeing Fangru waver, he softened his tone, but every word was piercing: "Fangru, look carefully, he suffocated to death! Is it my fault? I only told the truth! He had no parents, no children, death is a relief for him! You should go back now, don't get yourself into trouble!"
"No...this can't be..." Fangru's will was torn apart by immense fear and guilt, but she still clung to the remnants of her conscience.
Seeing that she was unyielding, Gu Zhou's eyes turned cold, and he completely lost his patience.
He can no longer stay here.
He glanced one last time at Yan De's corpse and Fang Ru, who was slumped on the ground, then turned around without hesitation and quickly disappeared into the night.
"Gu Zhou! Come back!"
Fangru called out in despair, but there was no response.
She was completely drained of strength and slumped down beside Yan De's gradually cooling body, her mind blank.
However, in his hasty escape, Gu Zhou accidentally knocked over a flowerpot under the eaves, which made a piercing cracking sound in the quiet night!
The commotion immediately caught the attention of the night watchmen.
"Thief!" Several shouts pierced the night sky, instantly waking the entire Yan mansion, and lights were lit one by one.
The steward and a group of servants rushed over with torches. The first thing they saw was Fangru, who was sitting slumped in the room, looking utterly lost, and Yan De, who was lying dead on the ground beside her with his eyes wide open.
The butler gasped, his sharp gaze sweeping across the scene. Fangru's clothes were disheveled from being pulled, and he saw the disheveled lady, the dead mistress, and the "shadow escaping" reported by the servants.
A terrifying story that seemed most "logical" instantly took shape in his mind.
He pointed at Fangru, his voice trembling with anger and preconceived judgment: "Madam! You...you dared to collude with another man and commit such a shameful act! After the General discovered it, you heartlessly killed him! Guards! Seize this poisonous woman who murdered her husband and hand her over to the authorities for investigation!"
The servants swarmed forward.
Fangru wanted to explain, but her throat felt like it was being choked, and she couldn't make a sound.
Looking into Yan De's unclosed eyes, and then at the direction Gu Zhou had fled through the window, she found herself in a desperate situation where she could not defend herself.
...
The candlelight flickered in the palace. After listening to his confidant's secret report, Zhou Ling's fingers, gripping the report tightly, turned slightly white from the force.
His meticulously planned scheme, intended to allow Yan De to discover Gu Zhou's Baiyang Society identity during the purge, and then use Yan De to eliminate this rival in love, while simultaneously making Fang Ru resent her husband, completely collapsed in such an absurd and tragic way.
Yan De, that good-for-nothing, not only failed to become a sharp weapon in his hands, but was also so vulnerable that he was angered to death by Gu Zhou's few words!
Zhou Ling cursed inwardly, a surge of violent anger, as if his plan had spiraled out of control, welled up inside him.
"Your Majesty," the trusted eunuch lowered his voice even further, as if afraid of disturbing this shocking news, "it's already spreading throughout the city that... the lady was having an affair with Gu Zhou, and after General Yan caught them, they conspired to kill her. Gu Zhou... has already signed a confession at the yamen, admitting to the adultery."
"absurd!"
Zhou Ling slammed his hand on the sandalwood imperial desk, causing the imperial brushes on the brush mountain to jump.
His anger surged, but not because of the vile rumors; the capital city was never short of gossip.
He was angry at Gu Zhou!
This pawn dared to jump off the chessboard without permission and confess in the most foolish way, completely disrupting his carefully laid plans and instantly pushing Fangru into a desperate situation where even spittle could drown her!
"Issue my imperial decree: order the Prefect of the Capital to release the prisoner immediately!"
However, although Fangru was released from the cold and gloomy prison, she stood frozen on the bluestone ground outside the prison door like a soulless puppet.
She stared blankly into the void, tears silently streaming down her face. No matter how the palace servants tried to comfort her in whispers, she just shook her head, her feet rooted to the spot, refusing to move an inch.
Upon hearing the news, Zhou Ling felt a tightness in his heart, and an indescribable anxiety gripped him.
He could no longer sit still and went there in person.
The cold, damp prison passages seemed even more cramped with the arrival of the emperor.
The torches on the wall crackled, their light and shadow dancing on Zhou Lingming's bright yellow dragon robe.
He saw her outside the innermost cell. In just one night, the bright and vibrant woman had become emaciated, her thin prison clothes hanging loosely on her body, as if a gust of wind could blow her away.
He waved his hand to dismiss those around him and approached step by step.
Footsteps echoed in the silence.
Fangru seemed to sense the approaching pressure; her thin shoulders hunched over instinctively, but she didn't look up.
Zhou Ling stopped in front of her, so close that he could smell the faint, sweet fragrance lingering in her hair, so out of place in this prison, and he could also see the winding tear tracks on her neck and her slightly trembling eyelashes.
He suppressed the pity churning within him and a more secretive possessiveness, his voice softening yet carrying an irresistible force, echoing low in the confined space: "This place is filthy, not a place for you."
He leaned down slightly and extended his hand to her: "Come back to the palace with me. With me here, no one will dare to harm you in the slightest. I will find out the truth and clear your name."
These seemingly protective words were like the last straw that broke Fangru's back.
She suddenly raised her head, her bloodshot eyes filled with immense terror and resistance, like a small animal driven to the brink of despair, and screamed hoarsely, "No! I won't go! I won't go anywhere!"
She staggered backward, her back slamming heavily against the cold stone wall, with nowhere to retreat.
Seeing her near-collapse in resistance, Zhou Ling's eyes darkened, a mixture of displeasure, heartache, and a strong desire for control swept through his heart.
He knew he couldn't push him too far at this moment.
He slowly withdrew his hand, which had been suspended in mid-air, his knuckles tightening slightly, and finally it turned into a sigh that revealed no emotion.
"...Never mind."
He turned around, his tone regaining its imperial composure, "The imperial carriage will change course to escort Miss Shen back to the Shen residence."
Chaos had already broken out in front of the Shen Mansion.
When Shen's father heard that his daughter was involved in such a scandal, he was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. When he suddenly saw the emperor's entourage arrive and saw his daughter being personally sent back by the emperor, he was so frightened that he was terrified. He hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed to welcome him, his body trembling like a leaf.
Zhou Ling looked down at Shen's father, who was kneeling on the ground, his tone gentle yet carrying an invisible pressure. Every word struck Shen's father and all the perked-up ears around him with crystal clarity: "Minister Shen, please rise. Fangru has been frightened and needs to rest well. I have personally inquired about this matter."
He paused deliberately, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings. "The truth will surely come out, and justice will be served for Yan De, and Fang Ru's innocence will be restored."
These words were both a reassurance and a warning, declaring that the Emperor had taken over the matter and that no one else was allowed to speak out.
After settling Fangru in, Zhou Ling returned to the palace. The gentleness on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a dark and gloomy expression.
The official in charge of the case reported tremblingly: "Your Majesty, the soldiers under General Yan are indignant and have jointly submitted a petition demanding severe punishment for... Madam and Gu Zhou, in order to uphold military law and discipline!"
A cold glint flashed in Zhou Ling's eyes.
He had anticipated the soldiers' anger, but this force was easily manipulated.
What filled him with the most doubts was Gu Zhou's overly quick signing of his confession.
Like a sudden, disastrous move, it completely disrupted the entire situation.
This is by no means a simple act of cowardice or suicide for love; there must be a deeper motive behind it. Perhaps it was an order from the Baiyang Society, perhaps he wanted to protect someone, or perhaps it was a risky move for his survival.
"Investigate this thoroughly! Why did Gu Zhou confess? Was he coerced, or did he have ulterior motives? I need to know who saw him before he confessed!"
The inner palace, the Phoenix Palace.
After hearing the report from her trusted eunuch, Empress Wang learned that the Emperor had not only personally brought Shen Fangru out of prison but also escorted her back to her residence. Cracks appeared on her well-maintained face.
She waved her hand to dismiss those around her, her nails digging deeply into her palms.
In the imperial harem, the most suffocating thing is not the struggle, but the boundless, ignored silence.
Empress Wang looked at the bronze mirror, which reflected her still beautiful face, yet one that could not hide her loneliness.
A thought had been swirling around her like a venomous snake for three years, and now it had turned into a sharp mockery: she, the dignified empress, had been married into the palace for three whole years, and was still a virgin.
This is not just her tragedy.
Emperor Zhou Ling, this young and brilliant emperor, seemed to have no interest in matters of men and women.
He never set foot in her Phoenix Palace, and even the beautiful concubines in the harem were like a mere formality.
He was never stingy with rewards and titles, but he was stingy with his touch.
During the long nights, he almost always stayed alone in the Hall of Mental Cultivation or the Imperial Study.
At first, the palace servants whispered among themselves, the court officials murmured in their hearts, and even the Empress herself had a desperate and absurd thought: Could His Majesty... have a homosexual tendency and a liking for men?
This speculation once circulated widely in secret.
Some people began to observe every handsome guard, eunuch, and even young minister around the emperor, trying to find out which one was the "femme fatale".
However, the result was equally disappointing.
Your Majesty treats your close ministers with fairness in rewards and punishments, and acts with propriety, never overstepping any boundaries.
It was as if there was an invisible barrier around him, keeping everyone away from intimate relationships.
He was like a flawless jade sculpture, devoid of warmth; diligent and wise, yet unlike a mortal with flesh and blood, emotions and desires.
Until that day, her trusted eunuch, whom she had placed in the emperor's court, risked his life to deliver a seemingly insignificant message: while reviewing memorials, His Majesty was unusually distracted, staring at a white magnolia in full bloom outside the window, his fingertips unconsciously tracing two characters repeatedly on the table.
The eunuch knelt on the ground, his head bowed low, his voice barely audible: "Your Majesty... this servant saw it clearly, what His Majesty wrote... was... was 'Fangru'."
"Fangru?"
That moment was like a thunderclap!
All the fragments were pieced together in an instant. Why did His Majesty repeatedly show extraordinary concern for General Yan De's marriage? Why did he pay special attention to Shen Fangru, who was already married in the Shen family? Why was there always a knot of resentment hidden deep in his eyes?
It turns out, it wasn't that he didn't love her, or that he couldn't, but rather that his feelings and desires had already become like wildly growing vines, tightly entwined around a woman he could never openly possess.
Three thousand beauties in the imperial harem could not compare to a minister's wife who lived far outside the palace walls!
This truth was even more devastating to her than His Majesty's homosexuality.
Because that would mean that she and her entire harem wouldn't even qualify as a substitute.
They were merely embellishments to his perfect imperial image, a facade he used to conceal his sensational love affair.
Once she understood all of this, a mix of jealousy, humiliation, and immense panic overwhelmed her.
It turns out that the Emperor's heart had long been occupied by that married woman, Shen Fangru!
Now that Yan De is dead and Shen Fangru is a widow, wouldn't the Emperor have an even more legitimate reason to bring her into the palace?
At that time, her position as empress, which was merely a figurehead, would be in grave danger.
"We can't just sit here and wait to die!" A ruthless glint flashed in the Empress's eyes. "We must seize this opportunity to completely extinguish the Emperor's hopes!"
The trusted eunuch knelt down in fear: "Your Majesty, this is no small matter! If His Majesty investigates further..."
"What's there to be afraid of! His Majesty will be leaving the palace tomorrow to inspect the flood situation in Tianjin, which is the perfect opportunity. As the daughter of a military family, I will ask my father to contact several generals who are on good terms with Yan De and are indignant about this matter. We'll say that the soldiers have jointly requested that the adulterous couple be severely punished, and that I, in accordance with the will of the army, will hold a hearing in the military camp to investigate the case. It is perfectly reasonable!"
She lowered her voice and instructed, "Go find a 'Yin-Yang Revolving Pot.' This pot contains a mechanism that allows you to hold two different kinds of wine in one pot, and you can switch between them by turning the lid. Tomorrow, when we hold court, we'll stage a 'Drinking to Express Our Ambition' scene. You need to make sure that the cup you hand to Gu Zhou is poured from the side containing the poison, while the cup Shen Fangru holds is just plain water."
A cold smile curled at the corner of the Empress's lips. "Watching her lover drink the poisoned wine and die on the spot, such fear would be enough to break Shen Fangru's spirit! Even if she is lucky enough to survive, her life will be ruined. If someone investigates afterward and finds that the poisoned wine in the pot has been completely consumed by Gu Zhou, then he can only blame himself for his deserved punishment, unable to bear the judgment of Heaven! I was merely following the will of the army and conducting the interrogation on his behalf; what crime have I committed?"
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