“The Emperor has arrived!”
Before long, the Emperor arrived with his entourage, and behind him followed Noble Consort Li.
As soon as Consort Shu heard the Emperor was here, she lifted her head, filled with hope.
“Your Majesty, you’ve come! Please, save your concubine!”
“Oh, sister, what’s the matter?” Consort Shu heard Noble Consort Li’s voice.
A flicker of disgust passed through Consort Shu’s eyes.
Why had Noble Consort Li come along?
But in an instant, Consort Shu’s eyes brimmed with tears.
“Your concubine greets Your Majesty, may you live ten thousand years!”
Duoduo knelt obediently. “Changle greets Imperial Grandfather, may you live ten thousand years!”
The Emperor strode over to the two of them and looked them over.
His face stern, he scolded Consort Shu.
“Consort Shu, why did you come running to the Cold Palace for no reason?”
Consort Shu’s tears fell.
“In reply to Your Majesty, Your concubine heard that the ink-black peonies here had bloomed.”
“Curious, Your concubine came to have a look.”
The Emperor’s expression softened slightly.
“Enough, rise now.”
“Your concubine thanks Your Majesty!” Consort Shu was about to stand with the help of a maid.
“Consort Shu, the guards said an assassin tried to kill you.”
“Your Majesty dropped his meal at the news and rushed over.”
Noble Consort Li looked around, feigning confusion.
“Consort Shu, the assassin? Where is he?”
Perhaps it was from the tears, but Consort Shu felt her vision had cleared.
She looked up and saw suspicion in the Emperor’s eyes, so she quickly knelt again.
“In reply to Your Majesty, Your concubine made a mistake.”
“Your concubine did not recognize the Changle Commandery Princess and thought she was a thief come to ruin the ink-black peonies. So, Your concubine ordered her arrested and handed over to Your Majesty for judgment.”
“But the Changle Commandery Princess, without a word, poisoned Your concubine and tried to kill her…”
As Consort Shu spoke, tears streamed down her face. She wept like a delicate flower in the rain, pitifully charming.
The Emperor looked at Duoduo, who kept her head bowed without defending herself. He clasped his hands behind his back and stopped before her.
“Changle, lift your head.”
Duoduo slowly raised her eyes.
The Emperor saw that her large eyes were glistening with unshed tears.
The tears were about to spill from her eyes.
Duoduo tipped her head back, trying to force them away, her expression one of grievance and stubborn defiance.
A strange discomfort rose in the Emperor’s heart.
“Changle, is what Consort Shu said true?”
Duoduo stared at the Emperor without moving.
Her big eyes blinked and blinked.
One tear, as large as a bean, finally escaped her lashes and rolled down her cheek.
Duoduo quickly wiped it away with her hand, still staring at the Emperor.
The Emperor stepped forward and raised his hand toward her.
“Your Majesty, little Changle must be terrified,” Noble Consort Li said, pulling the Emperor back and pointing at Lüdou. “Isn’t there a maid here? Let her speak—what really happened?”
Lüdou hurriedly prostrated herself.
“In reply to Your Majesty, the Commandery Princess and I had just arrived here when we encountered Consort Shu.”
“The Princess knelt to greet Consort Shu, but the Consort called her an assassin!”
“This servant tried to explain, but Consort Shu would not listen.”
“She not only ordered the guards to seize us but also tried to slap the Princess!”
“Lüdou…” Duoduo tugged at Lüdou, refusing to let her continue.
The Emperor, enraged, spun around and kicked Consort Shu in the chest.
“You dared to deceive me?”
Consort Shu fell to the ground, a sharp pain in her chest, nearly fainting.
“Your Majesty!” she cried out in anguish.
“Your concubine did not mean to be deceitful.”
“But the Princess should not have poisoned me!”
“And she carried a weapon on her!”
“Your Majesty, how could I not misunderstand her?”
Consort Shu knelt, weeping as she defended herself.
“Poison? Weapon?”
“Duoduo, speak for yourself! I will give you this one chance!” The Emperor was furious.
Duoduo kowtowed to the Emperor with genuine sincerity.
“Imperial Grandfather, Changle did not poison Consort Shu.”
“That was only ordinary face powder. You may have the imperial physician take the Consort’s pulse.”
“As for a weapon? The Consort must mean my hairpin.”
Duoduo took the hairpin from her coiled bun and held it up with both hands.
“This was Father’s first gift to Changle. I love it, so I wore it to the palace.”
“Changle did not know a hairpin counted as a weapon.”
Noble Consort Li took the hairpin from Duoduo’s hands and examined it closely.
The imperial physician was also summoned to take Consort Shu’s pulse.
Traces of powder remained on Consort Shu’s body.
The physician scraped some off and sniffed it carefully.
“In reply to Your Majesty, this is indeed ordinary face powder.”
“The Consort’s pulse shows no abnormality.”
Consort Shu looked incredulous.
“Impossible! My eyes went blind at once—I couldn’t see!”
The physician’s expression was conflicted.
“In reply to Your Majesty, when powder enters the eyes, it naturally blurs vision.”
“And you can see again now, can you not?”
Consort Shu opened her mouth but could not defend herself.
Clearly, she had been frightened by Duoduo’s cry of “poison.”
If only she had known the powder was harmless, she would not have stirred up such trouble!
Consort Shu was overcome with regret.
Noble Consort Li had been watching Consort Shu closely and caught the flash of remorse in her eyes.
Smiling, she gently placed the hairpin back into Duoduo’s small hands.
“Good child, get up now. Poor thing, you must be frightened.”
Duoduo did not rise. Instead, she kowtowed again to the Emperor.
“Imperial Grandfather, Changle no longer wishes to study at the Imperial Academy. I beg you to allow this.”
The Emperor frowned darkly at Duoduo. “Why?”
Duoduo kept her head down, her hands clasped on her knees, fidgeting.
“The palace is too vast. Changle is afraid—afraid that one day I will offend some noble by accident.”
“Rest assured, Imperial Grandfather, once I return home, I will read all the lessons given by the Grand Tutor.”
The Emperor saw Duoduo’s small frame trembling and her nervous movements.
He turned grim-faced.
“Guards! Take Consort Shu back. House arrest for one month! Copy the Classic of 100 times!”
“Your Majesty!” Consort Shu could not believe her ears.
Duoduo quickly lifted her head, eyes red, looking at the Emperor.
“Imperial Grandfather, Changle did not mean that!”
“It is all Changle’s fault. I should never have come to the palace. I am unworthy…”
Duoduo’s voice grew soft and faded. She could no longer speak and lowered her head.
A tear fell to the ground, forming a tiny pit in the dust.
The Emperor’s face darkened. He saw the hatred in Consort Shu’s eyes and the scheming in Noble Consort Li’s.
He looked at Duoduo, a small little thing.
Because she had loosened her hairpin, her hair was now disheveled.
The Emperor took off the jade pendant from his belt.
