Chapter 41 The Truth Comes to Light
This year's Empress Dowager's birthday banquet was significantly more low-key and simple compared to previous years. The Empress Dowager said that with constant turmoil in the imperial court and harem, she, as the Empress Dowager, should keep everything simple and pray for the well-being of the empire.
Although Liu Xi needed a special occasion to expose the affair between Consort Xian and the Imperial Observatory's witness, the birthday banquet was a joyous occasion, and Liu Xi couldn't bear to ruin her grandmother's feast like that.
Liu Xi was unaware that the Empress Dowager had long ago figured out her plans.
"Those who aspire to great things should avoid having too many concerns in their hearts. This girl, however, values emotions too much."
The Empress Dowager couldn't help but mutter, "It seems I need to give her a push."
On the day of the birthday banquet, after Liu Xi took her seat, she could not find Zhi Xiang anywhere.
When Liu Xi was feeling restless, she looked up and was surprised to find that Zhiyun, the head maid of Consort Xian, was also nowhere to be seen.
An ominous premonition enveloped Liu Xi. At this critical juncture, she did not want to lose the initiative for any reason.
She ordered Xia to search for Zhixiang's whereabouts, but the one who was faster than Xia was a young palace maid in Wangmeng Palace.
"Your Highness, the mistress has instructed me to inform the princess that Miss Zhixiang has been detained by Consort Xian's men. They claim she had an affair with a palace maid and defiled the inner palace, and they intend to send her to the Imperial Prison for punishment."
In her panic, Liu Xi knocked over the wine cup in her hand and turned to look at the seat where Consort Xian was sitting. She saw that the woman was still calm and composed, looking completely at ease.
Liu Xi calmed herself down; now was not the time for her to panic.
She calmly instructed her maid to relay a message to Wang Meng, and everything proceeded according to plan.
The maid first quietly approached Consort Xian and whispered to her that the Second Prince was unwell and had been taken to a side hall to rest. She hoped that Consort Xian could take care of him.
After Consort Xian left, Wang Meng immediately gave a signal to the maid beside her, instructing her to go forward and dispose of the last cup of wine that Consort Xian had drunk from.
The singing and dancing below the stage continued without stopping, but suddenly a dazed eunuch rushed into the hall. In his panic, he knocked over the dancer in the center of the hall and knelt down shakily before the emperor and empress dowager.
Before the emperor could reprimand the unruly eunuch for his breach of etiquette in front of the palace, he heard a piece of news from him that astonished everyone present.
"The Virtuous Consort is currently having an affair with the Imperial Observatory Supervisor in the side hall. The two of them are so engrossed in their lovemaking that they have no idea what the world is like."
At this moment, the emperor was extremely grateful that the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet this year was not a grand palace banquet. Otherwise, if such a joke were heard by the court officials, the scandal of his harem would spread throughout the capital the next day.
The emperor said coldly, "Do you know that slandering the imperial concubine is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family?"
"Your Majesty, even if you gave me ten lives, I would not dare to speak nonsense at the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet!"
The Empress Dowager feigned anger, smashed the wine cup beside her, and sternly rebuked her.
"Quickly tie up the adulterous couple and throw them into the side hall! What are you still saying, you blabbermouth! Aren't you ashamed enough already?!"
The eunuch who delivered the message immediately fell silent and withdrew, along with the musicians who had been performing in the center of the hall. The hall fell into a deathly silence, and no one dared to breathe loudly.
When Consort Xian was thrown into the side hall, she was still unconscious. The poison she had been given was a strange poison from the Western Regions that He Miaoling had left for Liu Xi before her death. It was colorless and odorless, and even silver needles could not detect it.
The poison won't kill you, it will only drive you insane and make you spout nonsense.
Liu Xi not only wants to expose the dirty relationship between Consort Xian and the Imperial Observatory, and reveal the truth about how her mother was falsely accused of being a demon consort, but also wants to pin the blame on Consort Xian for General Huo's inexplicable madness and even the Empress Dowager's inexplicable illness.
Given the multiple offenses, even though Consort Xian had held sway in the palace for many years and had the support of the Song family from the previous dynasty, the emperor would not forgive her.
Inside the side hall, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor dismissed everyone else, leaving only a few palace ladies to interrogate the Consort Xian and the witnesses.
When confronted by the emperor, Consort Xian gave irrelevant answers and even uttered some outrageous remarks, which angered the emperor so much that he almost impulsively executed her.
The Empress Dowager summoned Imperial Physician Wang to examine the Consort's pulse. During this time, His Majesty could only interrogate the adulterer first.
If Consort Xian were still lucid, she would surely be able to find a suitable reason to defend the witness, but now that the person who could help him is gone, he can only try his best to beg the emperor to spare his family.
Liu Xi pretended to plead with the emperor to kill only him and not his entire family.
"The Imperial Censor has served Your Majesty for many years, conveying the will of Heaven to you and averting countless calamities. Has Father forgotten all of this?"
Upon hearing this, the witness's expression changed drastically.
The Empress Dowager sneered, "I just don't know whether what he calculated was a natural disaster or a man-made one."
These words were like a wake-up call. The emperor looked at the kneeling judge on the ground and rebuked him.
"Witness, do you have anything to say?"
To protect his family, he certainly couldn't admit to his crime of deceiving the emperor. However, he was terrified, and even when he tried to defend himself, his words were full of holes, and the more he said, the more mistakes he made.
The emperor was not stupid. In just a few words, he realized that all along, the supervisor had been using the guise of the Heavenly Mandate to get rid of those who were in his way.
Not only the women in the harem, but also many officials from the previous dynasty were implicated as a result.
Everything was a scheme devised by Consort Xian for her own sake, the Song family's sake, and even to put the Second Prince on the throne.
At the emperor's command, the witnesses were dragged away.
The crime of exterminating nine generations of his family was unavoidable, and the witness was also sentenced to be cut into a thousand pieces to vent His Majesty's anger.
Immediately afterwards, Physician Wang knelt before the Empress Dowager and told her the truth.
"Your Highness, this is due to poisoning. However, this poison is extremely rare. I have only seen similar descriptions in ancient books, but I do not know how to cure it."
Liu Xi was surprised and subconsciously looked at the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager gave her a reassuring look, and Liu Xi realized that it was the Empress Dowager who had secretly helped her to complete her plan more smoothly.
So Liu Xi asked in a puzzled tone.
"Was Consort Xian murdered, which is why she and the witness committed such absurd acts?"
Wang Meng's maid immediately interjected, "Of course not!"
"Your Majesty and Empress Dowager, please forgive me! But even if I risk my life, I will plead for my mistress!" She ran to the crowd, knelt down, and continued to explain with a firm and powerful voice.
"Ever since the Empress Dowager discovered that the Chief Censor had been involved with the women of the harem, Consort Xian has tried every means to make my lady take the blame for her. If this servant hadn't secretly switched Consort Xian's and my lady's wine jugs today, it would have been my lady who was discovered to be mingling with the Chief Censor!"
Wang Meng immediately feigned surprise and covered her mouth, "Yu Hu, is everything you said true?"
"It is absolutely true. I know the consequences of acting on my own initiative, but for your safety, I would be willing to die!"
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