Dantai Ji abruptly set down his brush, black ink staining the sleeve of his splendid robe. He rose to his feet and strode out of the hall.
“To the Palace of Longevity and Peace!”
Wang Zhong hurriedly scrambled up and followed him. “Yes, Your Majesty!”
Meanwhile, inside the Palace of Longevity and Peace—
The Empress Dowager sat upon the principal phoenix throne, with the Empress seated to her left and Consort Chen to her right. Several consorts stood on either side, all casting probing looks at the beautiful woman kneeling in the middle of the hall.
The Empress Dowager was only forty-five that year, and not a single strand of white showed in her hair. Thanks to her careful upkeep, she looked no older than a woman in her thirties. A gold-and-jade phoenix crown adorned her head, and she wore golden robes embroidered with auspicious clouds and phoenixes so lifelike they seemed ready to take flight.
Yet as she sat there, her gaze was cold and imposing. She radiated an austere authority that made no one dare overstep even half a step.
“Shameless Lady Cui! You actually dared to commit adultery with the eunuch Niu Sheng within the imperial palace! You have thrown the harem into chaos. Your crime warrants death!” The Empress Dowager’s furious voice rang through the entire hall. Her eyes, blazing with anger, fixed upon Cui Huaiyin as though she were already a dead woman.
Cui Huaiyin placed her hands on the ground and bowed low. “This consort has been wronged. I do not even know who Niu Sheng is. How could I possibly have had an illicit affair with him?”
The Empress Dowager snapped, “You still dare to quibble! The Eldest Princess witnessed you meeting with Niu Sheng herself. How could it be false?”
Cui Huaiyin struggled to steady herself. She raised her head and looked at the Empress Dowager, the Empress, Consort Chen, Princess Shengping, and the other consorts seated above her. At last, her gaze settled on Consort Chen and Princess Shengping, and a cruel smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
The more desperately they wanted her dead, the more it proved that she had guessed correctly.
The exalted Consort Chen was none other than her former maidservant, Chen Yunxiang. Chen Yunxiang had mysteriously disappeared when Cui Huaiyin had helped her search for that man. Now she was Consort Chen, and the daughter she had borne was the Eldest Princess.
But in Cui Huaiyin’s eyes, none of that was real. Her Yaoyao was the true Eldest Princess of Great Zhou!
Terrified that the truth would be exposed, they had done everything in their power to have her killed, to make the Cui family disappear from the capital, and to murder her daughter.
But now, she was inside the imperial palace.
She was only one step away from the truth.
Cui Huaiyin clenched her hands and glanced toward the wide-open hall doors.
“Lady Cui, stop indulging in wishful thinking. His Majesty will not come. A consort who has committed adultery like you will only disgust him!”
Cui Huaiyin bowed once more toward the Empress Dowager. “I beg Your Majesty the Empress Dowager to investigate this matter clearly. This consort has been wronged. If I truly had an affair with Niu Sheng, then may I be struck by lightning. May I be denied reincarnation after death, and may I never know peace for all eternity.”
Perhaps her words had been too resolute, or perhaps her oath had been too vicious. Everyone present was stunned into silence.
“Anyone can swear a poisonous oath,” Lady Ma muttered suddenly. “But the Eldest Princess saw it with her own eyes.”
The Empress Dowager swept a sharp gaze over Cui Huaiyin. “I trust my granddaughter’s words more than your oath. If you truly had no improper relationship with Niu Sheng, are you saying that Shengping falsely accused you for no reason?”
Cui Huaiyin answered, “This consort was wrongfully accused.”
“Wrongfully accused?” The Empress Dowager continued, “You and Consort Chen only met yesterday. You have no past grudge between you. Shengping has been well-behaved and clever since childhood. She is the Eldest Princess of Great Zhou, noble beyond compare. She has no enmity with a minor consort like you who has only just entered the palace. Why would she falsely accuse you?”
Cui Huaiyin raised her head and stared straight at Consort Chen, who was pretending to remain calm.
“This consort did not meet Consort Chen for the first time yesterday. Consort Chen and I are from the same hometown. We grew up together and were practically inseparable!”
“What?” The Empress Dowager exclaimed in shock.
The other consorts were equally astonished. They looked from Cui Huaiyin to Consort Chen, all wearing expressions of disbelief.
The Empress Dowager turned toward Consort Chen uncertainly. “Consort Chen, tell me yourself. Is what Lady Cui said true? Have you known her since childhood?”
Consort Chen hurriedly knelt before the Empress Dowager and explained, “This consort has never seen Lady Cui before. How could we have grown up together?”
The Empress Dowager scrutinized Cui Huaiyin once more. “Consort Chen says she does not know you. Do you have anything else to say?”
Cui Huaiyin replied, “This consort’s ancestral home is in Zhou County of Huang Prefecture. I have heard that Consort Chen’s native place is also Zhou County of Huang Prefecture.”
The Empress suddenly spoke. “That is correct. Consort Chen’s registered place of origin is indeed Zhou County of Huang Prefecture. But you cannot claim that Consort Chen holds a grudge against you and slander her merely because you share the same birthplace.”
Cui Huaiyin was about to speak when someone interrupted her. It was Princess Shengping, standing beside the Empress Dowager.
“Grandmother, weren’t you punishing Lady Cui because she had been intimate with Eunuch Little Niu? If she knows Mother, does that mean Grandmother will no longer punish her?”
Lady Ma said, “Exactly, Empress Dowager. Lady Cui is far too skilled at quibbling. She has nearly managed to confuse all of us. I heard that just yesterday, Eunuch Niu Sheng was hiding in the Moon-Gazing Pavilion, intending to commit adultery with Lady Cui. Unexpectedly, His Majesty suddenly went to Lady Cui’s palace that night and favored her. Eunuch Niu Sheng was hiding nearby. When he saw Lady Cui with His Majesty, he flew into a rage and drew a dagger, intending to kill His Majesty!”
“Fortunately, His Majesty was blessed with great fortune and was strong enough to know some martial arts. He was not harmed in the slightest by those two vile adulterers and even managed to be deceived by Lady Cui.”
“Empress Dowager, you must not let this woman deceive you.”
The Empress Dowager’s gaze toward Cui Huaiyin suddenly turned cold. Regardless of whether the accusation was true, this woman had indeed placed the Emperor in danger.
“Guards! Lady Cui committed adultery with a eunuch, disgraced the imperial harem, and plotted against His Majesty. Her crimes are unforgivable! Gag her mouth and bestow poisoned wine upon her!”
Several fierce matrons quickly rushed forward. They seized Cui Huaiyin by her hands and feet and covered her mouth.
The poisoned wine was brought in at once. One matron held the cup while another pried open Cui Huaiyin’s mouth, preparing to force the wine down her throat.
Inside the hall, some consorts could not bear to watch and turned away, while others gazed on with eager, gleeful anticipation.
The Empress Dowager covered her granddaughter’s eyes and stared coldly at Cui Huaiyin as she struggled with all her might.
Just as Cui Huaiyin was about to lose the strength to resist, someone suddenly stormed into the hall. The matron forcing the wine upon her was kicked away like a discarded rag.
The golden cup of poisoned wine smashed onto the floor, spilling its contents everywhere.
Dantai Ji pulled Cui Huaiyin into his arms and glared grimly at everyone in the hall.
“Mother, how could you inflict punishment without investigating the matter?”
The Empress Dowager sprang to her feet and glowered furiously at the Emperor. “Your Majesty, this woman committed adultery with a eunuch and placed you in danger, yet you still insist on protecting her!”
The Emperor’s fierce gaze shifted to Shengping, hiding behind the Empress Dowager, and then to the terrified Consort Chen. In a deep voice, he said, “The matter has yet to be investigated. Shengping’s words may simply have been childish nonsense. How can they be taken as fact? Lady Cui once saved my life! No matter how displeased Mother is with her, you should have investigated the truth before passing judgment!”
The Empress Dowager said, “Shengping is still so young. How could she possibly lie?”
The Emperor replied, “Shengping is young. If someone with malicious intentions deceived her into repeating nonsense, she would have no way of distinguishing truth from falsehood.”
The Empress Dowager was clearly swayed. A trace of hesitation appeared on her face.
Consort Chen said, “I beg Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager to investigate this matter clearly! This consort has never instructed Shengping to speak such nonsense. Shengping would never lie.”
The Emperor said, “Whether Shengping lied is not for you to decide!”
The great hall fell utterly silent.
Dantai Ji lowered his head and looked at the woman in his arms. Her body was trembling, her face deathly pale, and her eyes were bloodshot yet filled with icy resolve. His entire body stiffened.
For some inexplicable reason, he wanted to explain himself.
“I did not know this would happen…”
Before he could finish speaking, the woman in his arms pushed him away. She moved aside, knelt before him, and bowed her head to the floor, her voice trembling as she said, “Thank you, Your Majesty, for sparing my life. I wonder if Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager would be willing to hear this sinner offer an explanation.”
The Empress Dowager helplessly returned to her phoenix chair and said, “Since His Majesty says he will give you a chance, then tell us your side of the story.”
Dantai Ji withdrew the hand that had been suspended in midair and said in a low voice, “Speak.”
Cui Huaiyin bowed again before straightening into a kneeling position. Looking toward Chen Yunxiang, who was pretending to remain calm, she began, “Not only was Consort Chen and I acquainted in the past, she was also a servant my father bought for me.”
“Cui Huaiyin! Shut up!” Consort Chen suddenly rose to her feet, her face pale and twisted with anger as she glared at Cui Huaiyin. “You’re talking nonsense!”
