Chapter 990
Selecting a Date for the Execution
Zhu Kongshan had proclaimed the eighth prince’s guilt with her death. This was something that shocked all of the officials present and made them very moved. Regardless of their faction, they all kneeled and were brought to the same side by this death, as they chanted in unison: “Would Your Majesty announce the eighth prince’s guilt! Would Your Majesty announce the eighth prince’s guilt!”
On the other side, Xuan Tianming’s group also kneeled, saying the same things as the officials. The Emperor’s hand that was holding the report could not stop shaking. A feeling of helplessly being compelled washed over him. Although he had many points that he was suspicious of in this case, he also knew: This served old eighth right!
So what if he was being framed this time? He had escaped punishment for the two previous cases. Facing all of these officials, facing the people of the world, and facing his other sons, he had to take a stance!
“Eighth prince, Xuan Tianmo…” Finally, the Emperor spoke: “Harmed the people, acted like a tyrant, was inhuman and savage. He will immediately be sent to the condemned cell, and the imperial palace’s imperial guards will be given to the ninth prince to command once more. For the eighth prince… contact the Board of Punishments to set a date… for the execution!”
These words determined the eighth prince’s final outcome. There were some who still felt unreconciled and asked: “Then what about Noble Lady Yuan?”
The Emperor broadly waved his hand: “Demote her to talented lady, take her out of Cun Shan Palace and… place her in Jing Si Palace.”
Another was sent to Jing Si Palace. Although she had not been killed nor sent to the cold palace, she had been demoted to a talented lady, which meant that there was not much difference from being a normal palace maid. After all, she was just a member of the imperial harem. After losing her son, she would no longer be able to reverse the situation, and nobody had any objections to how this was handled.
Only Xuan Tianming and Xuan Tianhua understood things clearly. The Emperor was not foolish, and he knew that Noble Lady Yuan had been framed in this case, thus he left that woman a lifeline. Xuan Tianming sighed to himself and thought that his Father Emperor had indeed gotten old. If this had occurred 20 years in the past, Noble Lady Yuan would definitely have died. But now, the Emperor was filled with an apologetic feeling toward the members of the imperial harem. That was why he no longer handled things so frankly.
After court was dismissed, Xuan Tianming led the imperial guards in surrounding the Sheng Palace, arresting Xuan Tianmo and bringing him in.
The condemned cell was in the Imperial Palace under the mountain in the back. It was an ice-cold place that necessitated a sweater even during the hottest days of the year. At present, it was the twelfth month, and the inside was filled with water and ice. It was so cold that it penetrated to the core.
Xuan Tianmo sat in the condemned cell, and the cold coming from the ground caused his lower body to feel numb. He felt a little unable to keep up with the situation. He did not understand. How did he get swept into the condemned cell? Apparently, he was going to be executed? How could that be possible! How could he have possibly fallen to this point?
Not to mention how the eighth prince could not understand how things had become like this, but Noble Lady Yuan, who had been chased out of Cun Shan Palace was also unable to understand how she had suddenly fallen. She only had a sudden realization after hearing about Zhu Kongshan filing many complaints against the eighth prince and even committed suicide by smashing her own head in front of the Emperor. It turned out that while she and her son thought that they were being smart, they ended up falling into that girl’s hands.
She angrily gritted her teeth! She initially wanted to give her son some assistance, but who knew that she had sent an ungrateful wolf to her son’s side. She had even caused them to fall to such an extent.
Jing Si Palace, how sarcastic was that! Back when Imperial Concubine Li had been demoted to noble lady, she had been chased to Jing Si Palace. Now, she had been demoted even more thoroughly, as she had been demoted directly to talented lady. She had also been sent to Jing Si Palace. Was this the turning of the tide?
Palace maid Yue Xiu moved into Jing Si Palace’s side hall with Talented Lady Liu. Without her position as noble lady, even her court title had been taken back. Now, she could only be called by her maiden name. “What sort of thing is a talented lady!” She gritted her teeth so ferociously that she nearly shattered all of her teeth. “I don’t believe it! I refuse to believe that things will end for Mo’er and me like this!” Flames were shooting out of Talented Lady Liu’s eyes, “We absolutely must not let things go like this. As long as Mo’er does not die, I will definitely think of a way to go and meet him!”
Yue Xiu also did not want to live such a shabby life. Now, they were moving into Jing Si Palace. Once the eighth prince was executed, she was worried that her master would not even be able to maintain even the position of talented lady. Though she never truly had any hopes in her master being able to assume the position of empress dowager, she absolutely did not want to see her master become a talented lady just like this. If things did were bad for the master, just how well could the servant do?
Yue Xiu furrowed her brow and thought for a while then immediately said: “It seems that His Majesty’s imperial decree did not say that master would not be let out of Jing Si Palace. Thinking about it, it’s not the same as the time that Imperial Concubine Li had been locked up here.”
These words acted as a reminder for Talented Lady Liu. That was right, compared to Imperial Concubine Li at that time, she currently had the freedom to move around. The Emperor only said that she would be demoted and moved out of her palace; however, he did not say that she would not be allowed to move around the Imperial Palace. As long as she could still walk out of Jing Si Palace’s gates… She suddenly began to smile, “It seems that Mo’er and I are not stuck in a dead end. As long as this door was left open a crack, I have a chance to reverse the tides. Yue Xiu, help me get changed and do my hair. We will go and visit the Empress.”
A noble lady had been demoted to talented lady, and she had been demoted by the Emperor himself. This news spread very quickly through the inner palace and reached the Empress’ ears.
To the Empress, Noble Lady Yuan only being demoted to talented lady was not enough to relieve the hatred in her heart. If it was up to her, it would have been best if she had been thrown into the condemned cell with the eighth prince. Once the date was set, just have them executed. If not that then they could just give her a bottle of poison and let her do it herself. Only with Noble Lady Yuan’s death could she no longer be threatened by that person. At the very least, her days would be a little more stable. There would no need to spend each day on tenderhooks.
Fang Yi advised her: “Your Highness, take things one step at a time. She has already been demoted to talented lady. In the future, any casual reason can be used to leave her half dead. In this inner palace, killing someone is all too easy.”
“That’s right!” The Empress sighed, “In this inner palace, to have someone killed is truly too easy. It’s just that this One has never wanted to use such methods, nor has anyone ever been able to threaten this One. That’s why this was something that this One had forgotten.”
As the two spoke, a palace servant came to report: “Your Highness, Talented Lady Liu is requesting a visit.”
“Talented Lady Liu?” The Empress was stunned and could not react for a moment, “Who is Talented Lady Liu?” How many years had it been since someone of the rank of talented lady last came to visit Jing Ci Palace?
That palace servant replied: “It’s the previous Noble Lady Yuan. She was just demoted to talented lady.”
“It’s her!” A fierce expression instantly appeared on the Empress’ face. This was something that had not happened in many years. But it only lasted for an instant, as she quickly regained her composure. She just nodded, “Let Talented Lady Liu in.”
The palace maid went out to invite her in, and Fang Yi quietly said: “Your Highness, why bother with meeting her? She is just a lowly talented lady now. Even if she has a grasp on your weakness, it’s not to the point of needing to commit yourself to much? This servant has already thought about this matter before. Without dirtying Your Highness’ hands, this servant would have gone to take care of it.”
The Empress furrowed her brow and did not directly pick up on that topic, only saying: “This One just wants to talk with her a bit. To find out just how much that woman knows and what sort of evidence that woman has. If it’s gossip, there’s no need for us to be so worried.”
While she spoke, Talented Lady Liu entered with Yue Xiu. Having been demoted to talented lady, she now needed to perform a salute that required kowtowing. She was very unhappy to do it, but as long as she was in the Imperial Palace, there would be no shortage of rules.
The two kneeled and said: “Greetings to Your Highness the Empress.”
The Empress sat above them and looked at the two kneeling people. She could not help but ask: “Could it be that you think that based on this One’s abilities, the eighth prince can be brought out of the condemned cell? Or do you feel that this One can help you reclaim your position as noble lady? Or even imperial concubine?”
Talented Lady Liu raised her head and had a faint smile on her face, saying: “No, this lowly concubine never thought that Your Highness the Empress would have that much ability. If you really did, the one to regain the position of imperial concubine would not have been Imperial Concubine Li.”
“Then what have you come for?” The Empress grew angry, “Could it be that you want to make it public that you did not manage to die this time? This One will tell you that whether you live or die, it’s all a result of what you and your son have done! It was what your own niece did. It’s completely unrelated to this One!”
“What is Your Highness the Empress getting so emotional for?” Talented Lady Liu spoke to the Empress from her kneeling position: “This concubine came today without any intention of making a request of Your Highness the Empress. This concubine was just thinking that it would not do for just me to feel down with such a big incident occurring.” Saying this, a light flashed through her eyes, as she coldly said: “Cheng shi, I am unhappy, so you will also be unhappy! I came today to let you see what my ending is and to let you think about what your ending would be if things were exposed. Don’t think that just because you are the Empress today, you will always remain the empress. I will tell you that I have already made arrangements with someone on the outside about your situation. Once something happens to me or the eighth prince, just wait and see. Very quickly, every part of Da Shun will know about Your Highness the Empress’ true identity. At that time, I want to see what face you have left to remain in that spot and what face you have left to be mother of all under heaven. I also want to see whether or not His Majesty is able to tolerate someone who has hidden for so long at his side. I just want to see whether you live or die at that time, or whether you are living better than worse than I am.”
Talented Lady Liu’s words caused the Empress’ heart to tremble; however, it could not do anything to truly scare her. She even smiled and said: “What is there to be curious about. It’s something that would eventually happen. It’s not like this One has not thought about it before. Also, Noble Lady Yuan, oh wait, it should be Talented Lady Liu, do you think that His Majesty is that much of a fool? This One will tell you, His Majesty was sharp in the past and is still sharp now. Nothing can be hidden from him. My situation cannot be hidden, and your situation is even harder to hide. The jade mine in Yu Zhou and the situation in the South, do you think that your current situation is because of Zhu Kongshan alone? Just wait and see. All deeds will be rewarded, and if it has not been rewarded, all deeds will be repaid in full when the time is right. It’s like this for you, and it’s the same for this One.”
Talented Lady Liu stared at the Empress and felt that there was a hint of despair on this person’s face. She suddenly realized that if the Empress no longer had any hope of living, what of the things that she said could truly instigate her?
She just saw the Empress wave her hand, “You can go back! To use that thing to threaten this One again is pointless. His Majesty is already clear on the matter. The reason that this One has been kept in this position is just for the sake of catching a fish. You are a talented lady, while I am bait. Neither is better off than the other!”
Talented Lady Liu left Jing Ci Palace’s main hall to the sound of the Empress’ laughter. If the Empress telling the truth, what had she been doing? Those threats would have been nothing but little tricks. His Majesty already knew, thus she could not get anything with those threats. But if those threats did not work, what of her and Mo’er?
As she thought about this, she suddenly bumped into someone. Talented Lady Liu raised her head in shock and saw that it was an exceptionally beautiful person in red clothes standing in front of her, saying: “Talented Lady Liu, why do you have the smell of a corpse on you?”