The Empress Dowager rose with a frown and asked Chenxiang, “There are no ghosts here! Do you know who she is?”
Chenxiang nodded vigorously. “I do! I know her! She’s Sister Yunxiang! She’s Chen Yunxiang! She looks exactly like Sister Yunxiang!”
Even though Consort Chen hurriedly covered her face, Chenxiang still shouted the truth aloud.
The atmosphere in the hall grew even stranger. Everyone turned to look at Consort Chen, whose face had gone deathly pale, as though she might faint at any moment.
Not long after Chenxiang had finished answering, the several elderly servants from the Cui family whom Eunuch Wang Zhong had summoned were already waiting outside the hall.
Wang Zhong entered first to report, “Your Majesty, Your Highness the Empress Dowager, this servant has brought the five elderly servants from the Cui family as ordered. I also made sure not to reveal anything that happened in the hall today to anyone from the Cui family.”
“Bring them in!” ordered the Empress Dowager.
“Yes!”
Soon, five people dressed in plain cloth garments entered the hall. The moment they came in, they fell to their knees, each of them trembling like a leaf.
Wang Zhong had them raise their heads one by one, then pointed toward Consort Chen and told them to identify her.
Though the five servants were terrified, they recognized Consort Chen the moment they saw her.
“This lady looks exactly like Yunxiang!”
“She’s definitely Yunxiang. No matter how fine her clothes are, she still has the same appearance…”
“I remember that Miss Yunxiang once suffered a deep cut on her left foot from a piece of porcelain…”
Aunt Sun, who stood beside Consort Chen, immediately protested loudly, “The scar on Her Highness’s left heel could have been discovered simply by making inquiries! That proves nothing!”
“She really does have a scar! They look identical, and even the scars are in the same place. Doesn’t that confirm everything?” Consort Liu remarked.
Consort Chen collapsed onto the floor. In a panic, she cried, “No! I don’t have a scar! I don’t!”
After the several servants from the Cui family had identified her one by one, they were quickly escorted out.
The Emperor walked over to Consort Chen. His face was as dark as ink as he looked down at her and asked coldly, “So you took Cui Huaiyin’s place and deceived me?”
Tears streamed down Consort Chen’s face as she shook her head desperately and stumbled backward. She opened her mouth, but had no idea what to say. She looked toward her daughter, only to see the girl hiding her face in the Empress Dowager’s arms, not even sparing her a glance.
Her heart sank completely.
Consort Chen rushed forward and grabbed the Emperor’s robe.
“Your Majesty! I didn’t mean to! I didn’t want this—I only wanted to live a better life.”
Dantai Ji abruptly flung her away. His expression was so dark and grim that it was terrifying.
“How dare you deceive me for so long! What kind of evil sorcery did you use to cloud my eyes?”
“I don’t know… I don’t know…” Consort Chen managed to say twice before her eyes rolled back, and she fainted completely.
Consort Chen had been frightened unconscious in the main hall of the Empress Dowager’s Shoukang Palace.
“That is enough!” the Empress Dowager said. “Consort Chen was indeed in the wrong. She was born to a lowly registered household and fled without permission. Not only did she deceive her master, she also committed the crime of deceiving the Emperor! But she is, after all, the mother of the Eldest Princess and the Second Prince. Your Majesty, you must not go too far!”
After the Empress Dowager finished speaking, Princess Shengping, who was hiding behind her, began to sob even more pitifully.
The Emperor’s expression did not soften in the slightest. Instead, it grew darker, and he looked as though he might order someone’s death.
The Empress Dowager could only continue, “For committing such offenses, Consort Chen should receive the death penalty. But in consideration of the fact that she bore Your Majesty two children, I shall make the decision myself. Strip her of her position as consort, reduce her to a commoner, and confine her to Qiuling Palace.”
As she spoke, the Empress Dowager walked over to the Emperor and patted him on the arm, earnestly advising him, “Your Majesty, what becomes of Commoner Chen is none of my concern. But the Eldest Princess and the Second Prince still have their reputations to consider. You cannot go too far.”
The Empress Dowager patted the Emperor’s shoulder once more, then walked over to Cui Huaiyin and helped her to her feet.
“My child, you have suffered,” she said kindly. “Both His Majesty and I were deceived. From now on, His Majesty will certainly make it up to you. You and His Majesty met when you were young, and now, seven years later, he still recognized you at a glance. That is fate. I believe today is an auspicious day. The truth has come to light, so I shall confer upon you the position of consort.”
The Empress Dowager spoke with a smile and ordered the people beside her to draft the decree immediately. It was obvious that she intended this as compensation.
Cui Huaiyin knelt and expressed her thanks. “This consort thanks Your Highness the Empress Dowager.”
The Empress Dowager studied Cui Huaiyin. Seeing that she truly seemed to harbor no resentment, she felt even more fond of her. Turning to the Emperor, she said, “I hear that Consort Cui’s father is an upright official who once governed Zhou County so well that the common people all praised him. It is truly a waste for such a man to remain only a sixth-rank Master of the Ministry of Revenue. Why not promote him to a fifth-rank Vice Director? What does Your Majesty think?”
Dantai Ji replied, “Mother is wise.”
Cui Huaiyin said, “This consort thanks Your Highness the Empress Dowager for Your Grace.”
The Empress Dowager waved her hand and looked toward Commoner Chen, who was still unconscious in the hall.
“What are you waiting for? Take Commoner Chen to Qiuling Palace!”
“Yes!”
Not long after Commoner Chen was carried away, the Eldest Princess—who had been badly frightened and was sobbing so hard she could barely catch her breath—fainted as well.
The Empress Dowager hurriedly summoned an imperial physician to examine the princess. Then she glanced at the consorts in the hall and said impatiently, “Leave quickly. There is no show left for you to watch here!”
The imperial consorts immediately took their leave.
Consort Cui also departed, completely ignoring the Emperor, who had been staring at her the entire time.
As she walked out of the Empress Dowager’s Shoukang Palace, Consort Liu and Lady Yin caught up with her to offer their congratulations. Consort Cui merely nodded and gave them a friendly smile before parting ways with them and heading toward Lanyue Pavilion.
She could sense someone following not far behind her.
She could more or less guess who it was, but for the moment, she had no intention of paying him any attention.
Eunuch Wang Zhong, watching the Emperor follow unhurriedly behind Consort Cui, was utterly puzzled.
He tried to advise him, “Your Majesty, Consort Cui is right ahead. If we hurry a little, we can catch up with her. Why don’t we walk faster?”
Dantai Ji merely fixed his gaze on the figure ahead and said nothing. He continued following her as though he had not heard Eunuch Wang Zhong at all.
Eunuch Wang Zhong was not willing to give up. “Perhaps this servant should call out to her? Once Consort Cui hears us, she will surely stop and wait.”
“Enough chatter,” Dantai Ji said.
Eunuch Wang hurriedly closed his mouth, not daring to say another word.
He simply continued walking behind the Emperor. When Consort Cui slowed down, the Emperor slowed down as well. When Consort Cui quickened her pace, he quickened his too.
By then, Eunuch Wang had figured it out. The Emperor only wanted to follow Consort Cui. He wanted her to know he was there, yet he did not want her to know it at the same time.
Eunuch Wang thought they would continue like this indefinitely, but when they turned the third corner, the Emperor suddenly asked, “Have you noticed that she is not walking steadily?”
There was no need for His Majesty to clarify whom he meant.
Eunuch Wang immediately observed her more carefully. Consort Cui’s steps were not particularly fast, and her left leg seemed somewhat uncomfortable. With Miss Chenxiang supporting her, it was difficult to notice.
He suddenly remembered how Consort Cui had fallen in pain after chasing after the Emperor yesterday. It seemed that she had twisted her ankle.
For a moment, Eunuch Wang did not know whether he should say anything.
Dantai Ji said, “Speak.”
Eunuch Wang hesitated before answering, “Consort Cui seems to have twisted her ankle when she fell while chasing after Your Majesty yesterday.”
Dantai Ji stopped in his tracks. His expression turned particularly grim as he stared at the figure ahead. Guilt filled his eyes, along with something else that no one could discern.
His hand slowly clenched. Then he quickened his pace.
The Emperor suddenly broke into a run, and Eunuch Wang hurried after him.
Yet the Emperor quickly caught up with Consort Cui. Before she even realized it, he swept her into his arms and carried her in the opposite direction from Lan Yue Pavilion.
By the time Cui Huaiyin came to her senses, she was already in Dantai Ji’s arms. Unable to contain her temper, she shot him an angry look with her bright eyes.
She regretted it the moment she did so. Lowering her head and refusing to meet his gaze, she respectfully said, “Your Majesty, this consort pays her respects.”
Dantai Ji caught that fleeting expression in its entirety, and an inexplicable heaviness settled over his heart. He could not say what it was, nor did he wish to investigate. He merely tightened his hold on the woman in his arms and explained, “Lan Yue Pavilion is not safe. The Palace of Everlasting Joy, which I prepared for you, has not yet been renovated. Until it is ready, you will stay with me in Liangyi Palace.”
Silence fell for two seconds before Cui Huaiyin suddenly said, “What if this consort refuses?”
Dantai Ji stopped and looked down at the woman in his arms, who still would not meet his eyes. After a long moment, he continued forward. “Then I will order the Ministry of Works to complete the renovations on the Palace of Everlasting Joy as soon as possible.”
