Chapter 162: Storms Gather Anew (3)

Royal Physician Gu’s single declaration instantly plunged the entire courtyard into utter shock. The servants in the Palace of Concentrated Purity immediately dropped to their knees, weeping and mourning the loss. As for myself, I cast a glance around the courtyard; the concubines standing there all wore vastly different expressions.

What a single human life truly meant to each of them was something only they themselves could know.

Zhang Bitong nearly collapsed to the ground, saved only by Yunqing, who rushed forward to support her. If Shui Yunqiu had survived with both mother and child safe, Bitong would still have had a fighting chance. But now that Shui Yunqiu was dead—just as the Emperor had stated moments earlier—Bitong’s fate had become entirely unpredictable. I suspected she was painfully aware of this reality, which explained why she looked so utterly shocked and terrified.

Upon receiving the news, the Emperor was momentarily overcome with grief, his body swaying slightly before the Empress quickly stepped in to steady him, saying, "Your Majesty must take care of your imperial health!"

As if sensing the tragedy that had befallen his mother, the little prince suddenly burst into loud wails.

The Emperor turned his gaze toward the infant, his eyes filled with profound sorrow and tenderness.

The Empress gently urged, "Your Majesty, Noble Lady Yun has already departed, but the young prince still needs looking after. You truly must preserve your sacred health!"

"I am going inside to see Shui Yunqiu," the Emperor said, glancing once more at the newborn. "The little prince should also have a chance to look upon his birth mother for the very last time."

"This concubine shall accompany Your Majesty inside," the Empress offered.

"We, too, wish to accompany Your Majesty," chimed in the concubines lingering behind.

"There is no need. I wish to spend a little time alone with Shui Yunqiu. All of you wait for me at the entrance!"

"We obey Your Majesty's decree!"

"Minghe."

"Your Majesty."

"See to it that Noble Lady Yun’s funeral rites are handled with the utmost care." The Empress proceeded to give Minghe several detailed instructions.

"This younger sister wishes to offer her congratulations to Elder Sister Zi," Shui Yunqiu said as she walked over to Jiang Ziqian.

Looking bewildered, Jiang Ziqian replied, "Noble Lady Yun has only just passed away. I wonder what Elder Tan is congratulating me for?"

A faint smile touched Shui Yunqiu’s lips. "Although such a tragedy has just occurred and it might seem improper for me, as a younger sister, to speak of this, the deceased is gone, and the living are what matter most, is that not so? Now that the little prince has entered the world without a birth mother, the Emperor will undoubtedly hold him in special affection. At a time like this, deciding which consort will raise the young prince is the most crucial matter of all. Considering both seniority and experience, this younger sister believes the choice can be none other than you, Elder Sister. Therefore, I am not merely congratulating you alone, but also thanking you on behalf of the departed Noble Lady Yun and the little prince."

Jiang Ziqian had perhaps considered this possibility herself, but at this moment, she dared not dwell on it openly. Yet, hearing Shui Yunqiu spell it out so clearly, she undoubtedly felt her chances were high. A flush of barely concealed joy crossed her face, though she still feigned modesty with her words, "It is far too early to say. Does it not ultimately rest upon the wishes of the Emperor and the Empress? The little prince is truly pitiable to have lost his mother at birth; the Emperor and Empress will surely select a qualified mother to raise him. In my view, Elder Tan, you might very well have a chance yourself!"

"This younger sister would never dare to compete with you, Sister. You have always been as close as sisters to the Empress. Besides, I am still young and bound to be clumsy at times—how could I possibly take proper care of the little prince? As for the rightful choice, it can only belong to you, Sister."

Lin Tanwei’s words greatly delighted Jiang Ziqian, who likely concluded that the matter was now as good as settled.

Before long, the Emperor emerged from the inner chambers. The Empress stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, pray restrain your grief. The dead cannot be brought back to life, and it was simply the younger sister's misfortune. I have already instructed Minghe to accord Noble Lady Yun a burial fitting a high-ranking consort. However, I must ask: although Noble Lady Yun is gone, she has given birth to an imperial prince, rendering immense service to the Great Jin. According to which standard should her funeral rites be conducted?"

"Treat her as a consort."

"This concubine understands. There is one more matter: the little prince has just been born and requires proper care. Your Majesty should select a suitable person to raise him."

***

The Emperor's expression of sorrow had not faded in the slightest, and his voice lacked its usual resonant strength as he spoke.

He looked at the Empress and said, "What the Empress says is reasonable, but matters of the six palaces have always been under your purview. According to your judgment, what should be done?"

Hearing this inquiry, Jiang Ziqian instantly straightened her posture and cast a hopeful look toward the Empress.

The Empress swept her gaze past Jiang Ziqian, then offered a deep curtsy and said, "If Your Majesty trusts this concubine, I am willing to raise this child. By now, Prince Yun is grown with a wife of his own, and no longer requires my constant worry. I have always felt a lingering remorse toward Noble Lady Yun; as the mother of the nation, it is my bounden duty to do everything in my power to raise the little prince just as his own mother would have."

The Empress spoke with utmost sincerity. Upon hearing this, the Emperor nodded and said, "Prince Yun was raised by you, and I am well aware of the fine man he has become. The other concubines either have children of their own or are still too young; I truly could not rest easy placing the little prince in their care. You have worked hard, Empress. Let the matter be handled precisely as you have proposed."

"We thank Your Majesty!"

Jiang Ziqian stared at the Empress, unable to voice her frustration. She retreated to the side with a deeply displeased expression, undoubtedly feeling utterly humiliated.

"Your Majesty," Lin Tanwei stepped forward with a sweet smile and curtsied. "The little prince has yet to be given a name! I beg Your Majesty to bestow one upon him!"

The Emperor replied, "This is my fourteenth child, yet his fate is harsh, losing his mother the moment he entered this world. Still, he is a gift bestowed upon me by the heavens. Let him have a single given name: Ci. He shall be named Jiang Ci."

"This concubine thanks Your Majesty for the name," the Empress curtsied.

"Your Majesty, now that the matter of the Fourteenth Prince has reached a temporary rest, should Your Majesty not seek justice for Noble Lady Yun? If not, we will carry a heavy conscience toward her, and even heavier ones when we look upon the Fourteenth Prince!" Lin Tanwei gently pressed a handkerchief to the corner of her lips.

Before the Emperor could even respond to Lin Tanwei's words, Zhang Bitong shoved Yunqing aside, dropped heavily to her knees before the Emperor, and wept, "Your Majesty, I am truly wronged! How could I possibly ever harm Noble Lady Yun?"

"Then how do you explain that bowl of labor-inducing decoction? Yun'er has been unwell these past few days and confined to her bed. You took advantage of her frail state to replace her prenatal tonic with a labor-inducing brew and forced her to drink it. Bitong, I never imagined you could possess a heart so venomous."

"Your Majesty, I did not know that bowl contained a labor-inducing medicine, I truly did not! When I came here to visit Noble Lady Yun, a palace maid had left a bowl of prenatal medicine on the table, saying it was too hot to drink. Shortly after, she claimed she had urgent business and stepped out. Then Noble Lady Yun suddenly complained of feeling unwell, and out of pure kindness, I helped feed her the medicine. I had no idea whatsoever that it was a labor-inducing draft!"

"By your account, are you saying the palace maid switched the medicine?" the Emperor demanded.

Zhang Bitong nodded frantically. "If Your Majesty finds that maid and brings her forward, the truth will come to light!"

The Emperor commanded, "Long Zhan, summon every single servant of the Palace of Concentrated Purity before me!"

"At once!"

Moments later, all the maids and eunuchs serving in the Palace of Concentrated Purity were kneeling before the Emperor.

The Emperor asked, "Bitong, you claimed a maid brought in the medicine. Tell me, which one of them was it?"

Zhang Bitong scanned the crowd, her brow furrowing in confusion. Clearly, she could not spot the maid she claimed had brought in the brew.

"Your Majesty, that maid is not among them. There must be someone else who has not yet appeared."

The Emperor inquired, "Are all the servants of this palace present?"

Long Zhan reported back, "Aside from Yan'er, the maid attending Noble Lady Yun, who received her mistress's permission to leave the palace yesterday to visit family and is due back the day after tomorrow, everyone else is here."

***

"Yan'er? Bitong, could it be this Yan'er?"

Zhang Bitong shook her head. "I know Yan'er, and it was not her. I understand now—someone is framing me and deliberately brought in a maid from another palace to incriminate me."

"Elder Sister Tong," Lin Tanwei called out softly. "Your lies are simply full of too many holes. How many maids and eunuchs are there in this entire imperial palace? His Majesty already trusted your word and summoned everyone from the Palace of Concentrated Purity. Are you now expecting His Majesty to summon every single servant in the entire palace just because of a single word from you? Elder Sister, I simply fail to understand: our agreed-upon time was precisely a quarter past the Hour of the Dog, yet why was Elder Sister so late in arriving?"

The Emperor frowned. "What agreed-upon time?"

The Empress answered, "Replying to Your Majesty, these past few days the sisters in the palace all knew Noble Lady Yun’s delivery was near, yet heard she had grown somewhat melancholic. Out of sisterly affection, they discussed in my palace about visiting Noble Lady Yun together, preparing small gifts and light amusements to cheer her spirits. I deemed the idea appropriate and gave my consent. Because I had gone to pray for Noble Lady Yun's safe delivery, I did not partake in the planning, leaving the entire matter to be managed solely by Consort Tan."

The Emperor turned his gaze to Lin Tanwei. "Consort Tan, what is the truth of this matter?"

Lin Tanwei replied respectfully, "Answering Your Majesty, thanks to the Empress's trust, I undertook the organization. After discussing it with Sister Jun and the others, we settled upon the date, the time, and the gifts and amusements to be prepared. We had notices written out and distributed to the sisters in each palace. Everyone was instructed simply to follow the designated time and arrive together." As she spoke, Lin Tanwei presented a written notice to the Emperor for inspection. "The notices I issued all clearly stated a quarter past the Hour of the Dog. Yet when we arrived, Elder Sister Tong appeared to have been here for quite some time, and we happened to catch her forcefully feeding Noble Lady Yun the labor-inducing potion. We arrived too late, and not knowing what Noble Lady Yun was being given, we are all guilty of negligence!"

"Your Majesty, Consort Tan is lying! The notice she gave me did not state a quarter past the Hour of the Dog; it said the exact Hour of the Dog. I arrived in strict accordance with that time."

"Elder Sister Tong, you are truly hurling baseless accusations. All the other sisters followed the time written on the notices, and every single one of them arrived at a quarter past the Hour of the Dog." Lin Tanwei turned to the gathering and said, "To prove our innocence, I ask the sisters to produce their notices for His Majesty to inspect."

With that, the concubines all drew out their respective notices.

The Emperor gave a subtle signal to Qiu Ronghai, who stepped forward to examine them one by one. Returning to the Emperor's side, Qiu Ronghai reported, "Your Majesty, those notices all explicitly state a quarter past the Hour of the Dog."

"Impossible, how can that be?" Zhang Bitong muttered in absolute disbelief.

"Bitong, you claim over and over again that you followed the time on the notice, but where is yours? If you wish to prove your words are true, let us see your notice."

Zhang Bitong hesitated, stammering, "Your Majesty, that notice... because it got stained with tea, I threw it away."

"Thrown away? Does that not mean it cannot be verified? No wonder Elder Sister Tong clung so stubbornly to this excuse—were you simply spouting nonsense all along?"

"I did not! Yunqing, Yunqing, you were there, did you not see? What I said is the truth, isn't it?" Bitong grabbed Yunqing by the sleeve.

Lowering her gaze, Yunqing murmured, "Your Ladyship... at that time, it was indeed you..."

"Get lost!" Zhang Bitong shoved Yunqing away violently. "I understand now, I finally understand! It was Lin Tanwei! She had Xiao Jing deliver the notice to me specifically so that only I would see the altered time. She deliberately ruined the notice, knowing I would throw it away, leaving no proof behind to confront her with. Your Majesty, it was Lin Tanwei! She plotted and framed me! I would never harm Noble Lady Yun!"

"Your Majesty, please clear my name! This concubine has no connection whatsoever to this plot. Elder Sister Tong is merely casting wild accusations to feign her own innocence. If Elder Sister insists I orchestrated this trap, I beg her to produce actual evidence!" Lin Tanwei quickly dropped to her knees and pleaded.

"Your Majesty... this servant... this servant has something to say," a timid voice suddenly broke the tension.

Everyone turned their gazes collectively toward the source.