Chapter 163 Storms Gathering Anew (4)

"This humble maid has something to say."

Before anyone could react, an unexpected person knelt before the Emperor, keeping her head lowered. Her slender figure appeared utterly terrified.

"Ru'er, the Emperor is dealing with important matters right now. Do not cause trouble," Meng Pingjun reprimanded in a low voice.

"Mistress, Your Majesty, what this humble maid has to say is directly related to this matter, so I am obliged to speak."

"This—" Meng Pingjun looked hesitantly at the Emperor.

The Emperor said, "What do you have to say? Raise your head and speak to Us."

"Yes!"

Ru'er raised her head, looked at the Emperor, and said, "Just a few days ago, this humble maid was ordered by my mistress to go to the Cuitui Palace and invite Imperial Concubine Tong to the Nanxun Hall to listen to the zither. Since there was no one in the courtyard, this humble maid stepped inside uninvited, intending to pay my respects once I reached the doors. But as I drew near, I happened to hear Imperial Concubine Tong speaking. She actually said, she actually said—"

"What did she say?" the Emperor demanded.

Ru'er blurted out, "This humble maid heard Imperial Concubine Tong say that it would be best if Noble Lady Yun never gave birth to that child."

The Emperor's eyes widened. He glared at Zhang Bitong and asked, "Have you ever uttered such words?"

"Your Concubine... Your Concubine did not."

Having indeed spoken those words in the past, Zhang Bitong was unnerved by the Emperor's stern glare, and her falsehood was glaringly obvious.

Clearly perceiving the truth, the Emperor said, "You still dare claim you did not? Are you suggesting she would frame you for no reason? Earlier, you claimed Consort Tan framed you; are you now going to say Pingjun is framing you as well?"

"Your Concubine did not. Your Concubine was merely speaking in jest at the time! Your Concubine was only joking!"

Yunqing also chimed in, "Your Majesty, you know that Her Ladyship sometimes speaks without thinking, but she harbors no malicious intent. She would never truly harm Noble Lady Yun."

"Yunqing, given the circumstances, you should stop shielding your mistress. You were there as well yet failed to stop her; your culpability—do not speak now, remaining silent rather than compounding your errors is the wisest course of action," the Empress said, looking at Yunqing.

"Your Majesty, hearing this, this humble servant is reminded of something as well," said a young eunuch kneeling nearby, a servant from the Zhongcui Palace.

"Speak!"

"On one occasion, Imperial Concubine Tong came to see our mistress and spoke to her about matters concerning the inner palace. Our mistress turned pale upon hearing them, and ever since then, her complexion has remained poor and her spirits rather depressed."

The Emperor sternly asked, "What matters of the inner palace?"

The eunuch hesitated before stammering, "She said it is difficult enough to conceive a child in this inner palace, even harder to give birth to one, and harder still to raise the child to adulthood, advising our mistress to be cautious in all things. It wasn't just our mistress, a frail woman—even this humble servant felt terrified just hearing that tone."

"Zhang Bitong!" The Emperor glared furiously at Zhang Bitong. "I kept wondering why Yun'er's spirits were always so low. Early on, a normal reaction would have been understandable, but as she neared her due date, she ought to have been joyful. So it turns out you were behind it all, deliberately frightening her with those words! You hoped she would lose the child. But now that she was on the verge of delivery and you knew your plot had failed, you resorted to an even more venomous method—inducing labor. Was it because the birth of Jiang Ci thwarted your desire to achieve two goals with a single stroke?"

Weeping and pleading for mercy, Zhang Bitong cried, "Your Majesty, Your Concubine is truly wronged! At the time, Your Concubine was merely offering well-intentioned warnings to Younger Sister Yun, with no intention of frightening her whatsoever!"

The Empress remarked, "Warnings? Are those the words one uses to warn an expectant mother? Furthermore, His Majesty has always cherished Younger Sister Yun deeply, and no one should dare harm her. Yet you deliberately uttered such words, filling her heart with anxiety and ultimately ruining her health. Such scheming on your part, Imperial Concubine Tong, is truly chilling!"

Zhang Bitong shook her head incessantly. "Your Majesty, you must believe Your Concubine! Your Majesty, Your Concubine truly never harmed Younger Sister Yun! Your Concubine knows nothing about any labor-inducing decoction!"

"Imperial Concubine Tong, do not blame this Empress for doubting you. Minghe, take some guards and search the Cuitui Palace to see what can be found!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Wait!" the Emperor commanded. "Long Zhan, accompany Minghe."

"This subject obeys!"

At this moment, Zhang Bitong's hair was disheveled and her garments disordered, retaining not a shred of her former grace. Kneeling beside her and supporting her, Yunqing addressed the Emperor, "Your Majesty, although this humble maid did not see the time written on the invitation, I accompanied Her Ladyship there. It is entirely true that a maid delivered a bowl claiming it was a soothing tonic before departing. Seeing Noble Lady Yun in distress, Her Ladyship administered the medicine to her. Her Ladyship even mistrusted this humble maid and administered it with her own hands."

"Aunt Yunqing," Lin Tanwei said with a sarcastic sneer, "you are, after all, a close confidante of Elder Sister Tong, having served her for many years. Who doesn't know that you are utterly loyal to her? Who could possibly believe your words? Everyone knows you are merely trying to protect your mistress. You claim Elder Sister Tong administered it herself? In my view, Elder Sister Tong didn't trust anyone else, fearing you might notice something amiss, and so she administered it personally! Poor, poor Younger Sister Yun!"

"Lin Tanwei, you caused all of this! You are framing me!" Crying out, Zhang Bitong moved to get up and claw at Lin Tanwei.

"Zhang Bitong, kneel down before Us!" the Emperor thundered. "We will wait until Minghe returns. For now, all of you keep your mouths shut. Yun'er has just passed away, and yet you are squabbling to the heavens?"

"This Concubine wouldn't dare," Lin Tanwei hastily curtsied.

Zhang Bitong had no choice but to kneel obediently once more.

Supporting her, Yunqing whispered, "Your Ladyship, it will be alright. The truth will come to light. His Majesty will not wrong you."

Before long, Minghe returned bearing several items, which she presented to the Emperor and Empress. "Your Majesty, Your Empress, these were found in the small kitchen of the Cuitui Palace."

Standing to one side, Long Zhan glanced at the Emperor, thereby confirming Minghe's report.

"Imperial Physician Gu, come and examine this."

"This subject obeys!"

Imperial Physician Gu stepped forward, inspected the items, and sniffed them before reporting, "Your Majesty, this is indeed the medicine used to induce labor."

Hearing this, the Emperor hurled the medicine directly at Zhang Bitong's feet. "What do you have to say for yourself now? With both human and physical evidence present, Zhang Bitong, We have treated you generously, yet you are vicious enough to stoop to this!"

"Your Majesty, these things do not belong to Your Concubine! How could such items be found in my palace? Your Majesty, someone is framing me!"

"You still claim you are being framed? Long Zhan went there personally; will you now claim that both the Empress and Long Zhan are framing you? Zhang Bitong, what virtues do you possess that everyone in this world should conspire against you? Or is it that you committed these deeds yourself, and now, unable to defend yourself, you can only cry 'frame-up'?"

"No, that's not it!" Zhang Bitong clutched the Emperor's boots. "Your Majesty, you must believe Your Concubine! Your Concubine never did such a thing! Your Concubine would never harm Younger Sister Yun!"

"Since she has already passed away, there is no need to repeat these protestations of innocence to Us. You should go and repent before Yun'er, and repent before Jiang Ci."

"Your Majesty, Your Concubine is truly wronged!"

By this point, the truth was glaringly obvious. Even if Zhang Bitong had resented Shui Yunqiu bearing this child, she was hardly foolish enough to act personally, let alone right before Lin Tanwei and the others arrived—wasn't that practically begging to be caught red-handed? The only logical explanation was that Zhang Bitong had fallen into a trap.

Zhang Bitong was right; the entire affair had been meticulously planned long in advance. First came Ru'er's overheard eavesdropping, followed by Lin Tanwei's sudden suggestion to visit Shui Yunqiu, timed precisely for the day Yan'er left the palace. Little Jing delivered the invitation, yet only Zhang Bitong saw it, after which the invitation was stained with water and discarded by Zhang Bitong. None of it was mere coincidence; it was all part of Lin Tanwei's psychological warfare. Knowing Zhang Bitong's temperament, she was certain Zhang Bitong would treat the invitation with disdain. Next, arriving earlier than expected, Zhang Bitong found that a bribed maid had conveniently served the bowl of labor-inducing decoction. Eager to show off and anticipating Lin Tanwei's imminent arrival—where she would be found tenderly tending to Shui Yunqiu and thus positioned to berate others—Zhang Bitong had walked right into the trap, completely miscalculating Lin Tanwei's design.

Lin Tanwei had killed two birds with one stone. While Shui Yunqiu's death was not part of her initial design, nor could she determine whether the child would survive, she had successfully eliminated Zhang Bitong and reaped an unexpected windfall: Shui Yunqiu was dead. Regardless of who raised Jiang Ci, a newborn infant posed no threat to her whatsoever.

The labor-inducing herbs had been discovered in the Cuitui Palace. The Emperor, exercising extra caution, had deliberately dispatched Long Zhan. With Long Zhan present, Minghe would never dare fabricate evidence. That meant the medicine had indeed been recovered from the Cuitui Palace. The only person with access to the small kitchen who remained in the Cuitui Palace at that moment was Xiao Yunzi!

Xiao Yunzi! Had he been bribed as well?

Ru'er's testimony was deeply suspicious. Could it be that Meng Pingjun, that gentle woman who usually spoke as little as Xiao Ruo, had also been implicated in this plot?

Lin Tanwei, Meng Pingjun, and perhaps even the Empress had joined forces, orchestrating a scheme into which Zhang Bitong had seamlessly fallen. Lin Tanwei had known the truth all along; she had simply been executing a long-laid plan to eradicate Zhang Bitong.

Step by step, her methods were truly brilliant!

Regardless of what final fate awaited Zhang Bitong, she had lost—thoroughly and utterly defeated!

I shared little bond of mistress and servant with Zhang Bitong, but she was Jiang Xuan's birth mother. My present concern was for Jiang Xuan!

"Your Majesty, Imperial Concubine Tong's actions are truly venomous. If she is not severely punished, it will leave everyone in the six palaces trembling with fear and unable to rest in peace," the Empress said, stepping forward.

"The Empress speaks reasonably," the Emperor nodded.

"As the saying goes, a life must be paid for with a life. Elder Sister Tong's crimes are grave indeed!" Lin Tanwei seized the moment to add.

"Pay with a life?" The Emperor frowned. "Are you suggesting that Bitong be buried with her?"

"Your Majesty," Liu Yunmeng knelt and said, "although Imperial Concubine Tong is at fault, Noble Lady Yun has indeed given birth to an imperial prince today, which is a joyous occasion. I beg Your Majesty to spare Imperial Concubine Tong's life, taking into consideration that she is the Ninth Prince's mother and has served Your Majesty for many years!"

True feelings are revealed in times of adversity. The one who dared step forward to plead for Zhang Bitong now was truly a person of genuine kindness. I had never misjudged Liu Yunmeng. Despite being immersed in the treacherous waters of the inner palace, she remained unstained like a lotus rising from the mud, preserving her innate goodness—a truly rare virtue.

Though the Emperor might not hold an extraordinary fondness for Liu Yunmeng, it was evident that, whether due to Princess Xihe or Liu Yunmeng herself, he favored her greatly. Surely His Majesty understood Liu Yunmeng's character well.

"Your Majesty, this matter—" the Empress attempted to speak again.

With a wave of his hand, the Emperor silenced her, and the Empress dared not utter another word.

"Your Majesty, Your Concubine is truly wronged! Your Majesty, please discern the truth! Your Majesty—" Whether facing death or spared from it, Zhang Bitong knew punishment was inevitable, yet she continued to plead desperately.

"Silence!"

Following the Emperor's roar, absolute silence descended, heavy enough that the dropping of a pin could be heard.

"From this day forth, strip Zhang Bitong of her imperial rank and transfer her from the Cuitui Palace to the Lingbo Hall!"

The Emperor's decree struck like a bolt of lightning out of a clear sky. Zhang Bitong collapsed halfway to the floor, her complexion turning instantly ashen.

Zhang Bitong became the very first imperial concubine to be relegated to the cold palace since the Emperor's ascension.