098 Truth and Illusion (1)

Dragon Zhan had already gone off to search for the medicinal herbs, and even with Jiang Xuan’s abilities, it would have been impossible for him to uncover the truth so quickly. Whether or not this had been the emperor’s will, Qiu Ronghai and Little Qingzi were clearly determined to see me dead. It seemed that this time, I truly could not escape.

In my ears, I seemed still to hear the smug laughter of Qiu Ronghai and Little Qingzi. How desperately I wanted to rush at them and tear them apart. But my body no longer belonged to me, and my consciousness was fading fast.

“Stop!”

It was as though I heard a sharp cry, and then I was lifted into someone’s arms. After that, I could feel nothing at all.

In my dream, I saw my mother again. Her face was blurred, yet it still carried that gentle smile. She tenderly stroked my hair and whispered, “My poor A Zhi, my poor A Zhi, you must live well, no matter what.”

“Mother.”

I woke with a jolt, and pain swept through me.

I was not dead?

I found myself lying on a bed.

“You’re awake?”

The voice that reached my ears was familiar. When I opened my eyes, I saw Yunqing’s kind face.

“Aunt Yunqing?”

“It is good that you’re awake. I had thought you might not escape this calamity either. If that had truly happened, then I would have felt terribly sorry for you.”

“Aunt Yunqing...”

“Come, have some water first.” Yunqing helped me sit up and handed me a cup of tea.

I drank a few mouthfuls, and then she asked, “Do you feel any better now?”

“Thank you for your concern, Aunt. I feel much better.”

“That’s good. Little Xiaozi, I still need you to accompany me on a trip.”

I was still puzzled when Yunqing stood up. Two eunuchs entered from outside and moved to drag me up.

“Be gentler. It is not yet certain whether Little Xiaozi is guilty.”

“Yes, Aunt!”

The two of them softened their grip and helped me to my feet.

Only after leaving the room did I realize I was in the Purple Dream Palace. Outside the hall, several people were kneeling: the two eunuchs who had tortured me, Little Qingzi, and even Jiang Xuan was kneeling there as well.

I was even more confused. What had happened? Why were all of them kneeling there now?

Off to the side, I saw Dragon Zhan standing beside the emperor, with the empress, Jiang Yun, Zhang Bitong, and Lin Tanwei also present.

“Little Xiaozi, I ask you this: when Xihe fell into the water, exactly what happened? If you dare utter a single false word, I will have your head at once.”

Since the emperor had summoned me again, it meant the matter had taken a turn. I knelt on the ground and answered truthfully, “The princess was feeling stifled in the palace, so she came to the Emerald Palace to see this servant. At first, she wanted to go fly a kite, but later she changed her mind and asked me to sit with her on the rockery while I told her stories. I was in the middle of speaking when someone suddenly pushed her from behind, and the princess fell into the water. In my panic, I cried out for help, but there was no one nearby. I had no choice but to jump into the lake to save the princess, but I truly do not know how to swim, and so I ended up causing the princess to suffer like this. This servant deserves to die. But every word I have said is true. I would never dare to harm the princess deliberately.”

“Hmm. I ask you then: if Xihe had originally intended to fly a kite, why did she end up going up onto the rockery?”

“On the way, the princess met the Fourth Prince and the Sixth Prince, and in the midst of speaking, she had a quarrel with the Fourth Prince. After that, she no longer felt like flying the kite.”

“The Fourth Prince and the Sixth Prince?”

“Your Majesty, this Little Xiaozi is full of tricks. He is surely spouting nonsense to confuse you.” The empress spoke from the side.

“If what he says is untrue, then where did this come from? Little Qingzi.”

Little Qingzi trembled as he answered, “This servant is here.”

“Why was something of yours found on the rockery? And not just any rockery, but the very one where Xihe sat before she fell into the water?”

“Your Majesty, that was only a coincidence. This servant... this servant may have accidentally left it there when passing by a few days ago.”

“Is that so? Such a coincidence?”

“Your Majesty.” Seeing this, I said, “When I was being tortured by the eunuch, I heard him say with his own mouth that I and Princess Xihe fell into the water one after the other. At that time, I looked around and saw no one nearby, so I had no choice but to jump in and save the princess. If Eunuch Qing was not the one who pushed the princess, then he was present at the scene and simply stood by without helping.”

“Little Qingzi, what do you have to say now?”

“This servant is innocent. This servant knows nothing about this.”

“Your Majesty, how can we conclude from Little Xiaozi’s words alone that Little Qingzi was the one who pushed the princess into the water? I ask you all: did any of you hear Little Qingzi say such a thing?”

The two eunuchs both shook their heads.

“Your Majesty, what Little Qingzi said is not impossible either. The item on his person may simply have been lost there by accident while he passed through; that alone cannot prove it fell when he pushed Xihe into the water. In this concubine’s view, Little Xiaozi may have been acting under someone else’s orders. As for Little Qingzi, he has always been serving by Qiu Ronghai’s side. He had little reason to do such a thing.”

“Empress, are you implying that I am the one you suspect?” Zhang Bitong stepped forward and said, “What enmity could I possibly have with Princess Xihe, that I would seek to harm her?”

“Your temperament has always been fierce, Consort Tong. Who knows how many people in the harem have offended you without meaning to? If you wanted to take revenge on someone, how would I know?”

“You—”

“Enough. Stop arguing. Right now, all I want is for Xihe to wake soon. I would rather believe she merely fell into the water by accident. If I were to learn that someone had harmed my princess, how cold would my heart become?”

“Please calm your anger, Your Majesty.”

“Your Majesty, once Princess Xihe wakes, she will be able to clear this servant’s name. She will certainly know that it was not I who pushed her down.” I said while kneeling.

“I think you are deliberately delaying for time. Ninth Prince, I would like to ask you something: how did you happen to pass by the rockery and discover Little Qingzi’s personal belonging?” The empress slowly turned to Jiang Xuan.

I looked at Jiang Xuan in shock. So this was something he had found. But was it really such a coincidence?

“Empress, if Xuan’er picked it up, then he picked it up. Could he have stolen it instead? It just happened that something belonging to Little Qingzi fell there.” Zhang Bitong said unhappily, displeased by the suspicion in the empress’s eyes when she looked at Jiang Xuan.

The empress replied, “Little Xiaozi is one of yours and naturally close to the Fourth Prince as well. And yet this matter was discovered by the Fourth Prince alone. I’m afraid that is a little hard to convince people of.”

Whether the item had really been dropped by Little Qingzi or whether Jiang Xuan had found some way to obtain it, it had surely been because of this object that my situation had taken a turn for the better. But now, because the empress had intervened, everything had been pushed back to the starting point. It seemed Jiang Xuan’s effort had been wasted.

“Xuan’er, what do you have to say about the empress’s words?” The emperor had clearly begun to waver.

Jiang Xuan stepped forward and knelt, saying, “Your son believes in Little Xiaozi’s character, and even more so in Xihe’s trust in him. That is why I do not believe he did this. I went to the rockery to see whether there were any clues, and that was when I found this item.”

“What a coincidence. So it was still for Little Xiaozi’s sake. If that is the case, how can you prove that this was not something you deliberately planted?” The empress’s question left Jiang Xuan momentarily speechless. Since they refused to believe, what else could Jiang Xuan say?

“Your Majesty, the matter is already very clear. It was all done by Little Xiaozi. Xihe is in critical condition now. Shouldn’t Your Majesty exact revenge for the princess? This servant is not worth the slightest pity. If he had protected Xihe properly, why should she, at such a young age, suffer this kind of ordeal?”

The emperor hesitated for a moment, then said, “The empress is right. Xihe has remained unconscious until now, perhaps because her heart is full of grievance. Someone, take—”

Just as the emperor was about to issue the order to sentence me to death, I suddenly heard Liu Yumeng shouting from inside the hall, “Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Xihe is awake. Xihe has awakened!”

“What? Really?” As soon as the emperor heard this, he started forward at once.

But then he saw Liu Yumeng helping the newly awakened Princess Xihe out.

“Xihe, you’re just recovering. Why have you come out? Quickly, let Father carry you back to bed to rest.”

“Father, Father must decide this for Xihe.” Xihe took the emperor’s hands.

“Your Majesty, as soon as Xihe woke up, she began saying this. I could not stop her.”

“Xihe, I will certainly decide this matter for you. I will kill this servant who caused you to fall into the water at once.” Supporting Xihe as he turned, the emperor then pointed at me and said, “Someone, take Little Xiaozi and—”

“Father.” Xihe hurriedly said, “It was not Little Xiaozi who pushed Xihe down.”

“Oh? Xihe, did you see who pushed you into the water?”

“It was him!” Princess Xihe pointed straight at Little Qingzi.

At that point, everyone froze. Even I was stunned.

“Princess, this servant is innocent! Your Majesty, this servant did not push the princess into the water.”

“So it really was you, you brazen wretch, daring to harm my Xihe. Someone come—”

“Spare my life, Your Majesty. Your Majesty, Princess Xihe was misled by Little Xiaozi, which is why she said this. I beg Your Majesty to see clearly!”

“Your Majesty.” The empress spoke again. “Just now, Little Xiaozi himself said that Xihe was pushed from behind. Then how could Xihe know who pushed her into the water?”

The emperor frowned slightly, then suddenly said in anger, “Xihe has been unconscious these past two days, and the moment she awakens she identifies the one who harmed her. If she had not seen clearly who it was, how could she know what was happening outside, how could she know to point at Little Qingzi? Besides, Xihe is still so young and so innocent. Where would she have such deep schemes? Enough. The matter is already very clear. Empress, you have been accusing Little Xiaozi of guilt all this time. Were you hoping to use this chance to get rid of Consort Tong?”

“Your Majesty—” The empress was forced back a step by a single sentence and could say no more.

“Father, Mother surely does not mean that. She is only worried about Xihe.” Jiang Yun stepped forward and said.

Zhang Bitong smiled smugly and added, “Your Majesty, in this concubine’s view, Little Qingzi does not have that much courage. Someone must have instructed him. I beg Your Majesty to investigate this matter thoroughly, or Princess Xihe may yet be in danger.”

“Consort Tong is right. Dragon Zhan, go and thoroughly search Little Qingzi’s room right now.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“Someone come. Lock this dog of a servant in the imperial prison at once, and make sure to find out exactly who was behind him.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”