Ping'er trembled and lay prostrate on the ground, begging for mercy: "Your Majesty, spare me! Ping'er will not tell anyone about what you did, please spare me!"
"You!" Consort Yue was furious. Ping'er's words were ambiguous, giving the impression that she was trying to cover up her mistake.
"Consort Yue, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager are here, you cannot be so presumptuous." Fu Yang met Consort Yue's gaze directly, his eyes full of smugness.
“Ping’er, with the Emperor and Empress Dowager in charge, you can just tell what happened back then, and no one will dare to do anything to you.”
Ping'er glanced at Fuyang, then at Consort Yue, her expression cold. Soon, she averted her gaze and knelt on the ground, recounting the events of that year.
"After entering the palace, the Empress remained childless for many years, causing her great anxiety. Minister Zhou, however, wanted the Second Miss to enter the palace. Fearing she would be abandoned, the Empress arranged to meet the Second Miss at Qingyun Peak to pray for blessings. Later… later…"
Fu Yang turned around impatiently: "What happened next? You can't be so hesitant in front of the emperor, don't you know the rules?"
Ping'er's eyes flickered: "Later, the Second Miss disappeared without a trace. After the Empress returned to the palace, she became pregnant, but unexpectedly gave birth to a girl."
"You audacious lowly servant, how dare you slander me!" Consort Yue felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, her heart clenching with pain that made it hard to breathe.
She handled everything back then so cleanly, so why did Ping'er slip through the net?
The Emperor of Chu's face was icy, his eyes fixed on Consort Yue as if tempered with ice, and he asked in a deep voice, "Did you have it?"
Consort Yue gave a bitter smile: "Your Majesty suspects me. If I say I'm not guilty, will you believe me?"
She stared intently at the Emperor Chu, and smiled calmly: "Your Majesty, can Yue'er's decades of friendship with you really be worth less than a few slanderous words from others?"
Consort Yue closed her eyes briefly, a few hot tears sliding down her cheeks. Her pitiful appearance was heart-wrenching, and her voice was filled with sorrow: "Enough. Since Your Majesty does not believe me, then I have nothing more to say. Please, Your Majesty, decide my fate."
This tactic of feigned retreat softened the Emperor's expression slightly. Consort Yue's favored position in the harem for many years relied not only on the power of the Minister's household, but also, and perhaps more importantly, on her cunning and resourcefulness.
Those in power are most averse to the infidelity of their concubines and the disloyalty of their court officials. Yet Fu Yang brazenly went to the Empress Dowager's place, wasn't that a slap in the face to the Emperor?
"Enough. I know Consort Yue's character well. It must be that this lowly maid is spouting nonsense to frame me." The Emperor of Chu said in a deep voice, then irritably stroked the jade pendant on his belt.
Consort Yue curled her lips, but Fu Yang was shocked: "Your Majesty, Ping'er said that Consort Yue gave birth to a girl after returning to the palace, so Prince Cheng must be an illegitimate child. Please, Your Majesty, perform a blood test to determine paternity."
Consort Yue's heart clenched involuntarily, the pain making it hard for her to breathe. Upon hearing the blood test for kinship, she suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, and the tightness in her chest immediately eased.
She slowly and deliberately grasped the jade bracelet, its surface a vibrant green, on her fair wrist, and said softly, "I have no other intention than to ask what will happen to Princess Fuyang if, after the blood test, Prince Cheng is indeed His Majesty's biological son?"
Consort Yue's calmness was somewhat unexpected, and Fu Yang's heart trembled: "Every word I have said is true. If there is any falsehood, may I be struck by lightning."
Consort Yue chuckled, her voice ringing out crisply in the somber hall: "I thought it was some kind of solemn oath? Turns out it's just empty talk. Who can know what happens after death? Let's make something more practical. If Prince Cheng is not His Majesty's biological son, Princess Fuyang, may you cut off your own head?"
"You!" Fu Yang glared at Consort Yue with hatred, bit her lip sharply, and replied, "Fine!"
"However?" Fu Yang changed the subject, sneering, "If Gu Nanjiao were the Imperial Concubine's biological daughter, what would the Imperial Concubine do then?"
Consort Yue's brow twitched, her heart clenched, and she felt as if she were sinking into a quagmire, cold and suffocating. She steadied herself, ignoring the predatory gaze of the person above her, and said, word by word, "Your Majesty, I will leave it to you."
If it were just the news that Gu Nanjiao and Prince Cheng had switched identities, Consort Yue wouldn't be afraid. Given Gu Nanjiao's current actions, the Emperor of Chu wouldn't kill her; he would even be pleased to think that Gu Nanjiao was his daughter.
Once her true identity is exposed, the emperor will truly exterminate her, and the Zhou family will be wiped out along with her.
Ping'er's reply was ambiguous and did not mention her secret meeting on Qingyun Peak. Consort Yue still does not understand what Ping'er meant.
If you're going to expose her, why hide the important parts?
After pondering for a long time, the Emperor of Chu raised his eyes to look at Consort Yue, his gaze complex.
If Gu Nanjiao were his daughter, he would be overjoyed. But the thought that Prince Cheng was a bastard made him want to banish Consort Yue to the cold palace.
This feeling is very complicated, so complicated that it cannot be described in words.
The Empress Dowager spoke directly: "Summon Prince Cheng and Gu Nanjiao to an audience."
Finally, the Empress Dowager added, "This matter must be handled discreetly, without alerting others. Royal scandals must not be leaked."
...
At the Lu family home, Gu Nanjiao leaned lazily against the window, dozing off. Lu Yanzhao glanced at the sky outside the window, then bent down to finish wrapping the last nail.
"Take it off after two hours, and your fingernail will be stained red. You are not allowed to move around during this time."
Gu Nanjiao spread her ten fingers, which were wrapped up like rice dumplings, and asked doubtfully, "Can this balsam flower really be used to dye fingernails?"
In modern times, people use nail polish to color their nails. When they grow up, they spend money to get manicures, but they have never used balsam flowers to color their nails.
I never expected that Lu Yanzhao, a man, would know so much!
Lu Yanzhao laughed, "Of course! When my little sister was little, she always pestered me to paint her nails!" Speaking of her little sister, Gu Nanjiao missed her a bit: "I wonder how her kung fu is going?"
"Don't worry, everyone at Nanshan Temple is a master. Even if you just learn a couple of moves, you'll be better than an ordinary person."
Lu Yanzhao looked out the window and murmured, "If nothing unexpected happens, you're going to enter the palace."
Bai Luochen sent word that Princess Fuyang had entered the palace to see the Empress Dowager, and soon after, the Emperor and Consort Yue were also summoned. The servants of Qixiang Palace, along with Granny Zhou, were placed under house arrest. The Imperial Guards were heavily guarding the outside of Ningshou Palace, as if something major was about to happen.
As for how Bai Luochen learned of the news, it's not hard to guess.
Although the Empress is in the Cold Palace, her spies and influence in the palace remain.
She had been biding her time for many years, all for this moment.
Lu Yanzhao narrowed his eyes. The Bai family would keep their promise to him, or he would fight to the death.
Gu Nanjiao paused for a moment, her eyes gradually turning serious: "You and Bai Luochen have been seeing each other frequently lately. What are you two plotting?"
She always felt that Lu Yanzhao was strange, and Bai Luochen was strange too. In the past, when the two met, they wanted to strangle each other. Now, they were practically inseparable.
Lu Yanzhao gently stroked Gu Nanjiao's cheek and lowered his voice: "Of course, it's to plan a bright future for us, so that you can always stand in the sunlight, without having to hide behind a veil and disgusting pigskin."
There was a knock at the door. Lu Yanzhao smiled enigmatically and whispered in Gu Nanjiao's ear, "No matter what the emperor asks you, remember to pretend you don't know anything."
"Wh...what?"
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