Seeing the Emperor's expression, Consort Li knew things were not going well, her face showing even greater grievance.
"Does Your Majesty remember, this concubine mentioned before that I have an elder sister?"
Jiang Yuan nodded.
With reddened eyes, Consort Li continued, "My sister and I were both dancers in the Imperial Music Bureau. Once, the Prince of Sheng's mansion held a banquet and invited dancers from the Bureau to perform. That Lord Zeng drank during the feast and actually tried to force himself on my sister. Fortunately, my sister was clever and managed to escape. We originally thought that Lord Zeng, being a high-ranking court official, was upright and honorable, and had merely acted foolishly in a drunken stupor. We believed he would surely feel remorseful once sober."
"But who could have guessed that Lord Zeng not only felt no apology towards my sister, but even used his power to threaten her! The day I went to see my sister, he caught sight of me, and he turned his attentions to me..." She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.
Zeng Qiming had taken a wicked fancy to a dancer, and upon accidentally encountering her even more alluring younger sister, immediately shifted his target.
Consort Li's face was full of indignation. "He was the lofty and mighty Commander of the Capital Guards, while my sister and I were merely lowly dancers. How could we possibly resist him? In the end, it was my sister who risked her life to make the matter public. Lord Zeng only backed down because he had to consider that we were people of the Imperial Music Bureau."
Although all the musicians and dancers of the Imperial Music Bureau were of low status, strictly speaking, they all belonged to the Emperor. Zeng Qiming's attempt to seize one by force, which had resulted in a loss of life, would certainly have brought punishment if it had reached the Emperor's ears.
And coincidentally, the Yang family was then interested in forming a marriage alliance with Zeng Qiming. Being able to marry a noble lady, Zeng Qiming naturally lost interest in a mere dancer.
Thus, Consort Li narrowly escaped disaster.
But because she had offended Zeng Qiming, the steward of the Imperial Music Bureau no longer dared to employ her. A dancer who couldn't dance could only do menial tasks within the Bureau. Being exceptionally beautiful, one can imagine how difficult those days were for her.
"This concubine had resigned myself to living out my life like that. Who would have thought I'd be fortunate enough to encounter Your Majesty? But I never, ever imagined that today I would meet Lord Zeng again, and he still hasn't given up his wicked intentions..." Consort Li covered her face and sobbed.
Tears streamed from her eyes, but inside, her heart was cold.
She didn't know how Noble Consort Ning had managed it, but Zeng Qiming had indeed entered the palace today and had been drinking. She had deliberately timed her arrival and worn the most ordinary green dress—in the height of summer, the palace maids' uniforms were all green.
Zeng Qiming, drunk, suddenly saw her walking with other palace maids and, mistaking her for having entered the palace as a maid from the Music Bureau, took advantage of his drunkenness to act arrogantly.
He was caught red-handed by Quan Fuhai, who had come out to escort her into the hall.
Thus, the present situation unfolded.
After hearing Consort Li's account, Jiang Yuan's expression turned icy. He hadn't expected Zeng Qiming to be so audacious.
He didn't ask questions like why Consort Li hadn't reported it to the authorities.
It was easy to guess that even if she had, the Capital Prefect would not have offended the Commander of the Capital Guards over a mere dancer.
But, Zeng Qiming had driven a dancer to her death without causing even a ripple. What else might he have done in private?
If initially, Jiang Yuan's displeasure with Zeng Qiming was solely due to his audacious attempt to misconduct himself with an imperial consort, now it was suspicion towards Zeng Qiming the person.
The Son of Heaven was inherently suspicious. Zeng Qiming's abilities were not bad, but if he, relying on being the Emperor's trusted aide, bullied those below and deceived those above, flouting laws and discipline, that was something Jiang Yuan could not tolerate.
"You may return now. Do not speak of today's events to anyone."
Consort Li knew when to stop. "This concubine takes her leave."
Once she was gone, Jiang Yuan called Quan Fuhai in. "Summon Xu Ke to the palace."
Xu Ke was the commander of the Secret Investigation Bureau, an agency established covertly to handle intelligence gathering and other clandestine matters.
A bowl of sobering soup was poured down his throat, and Zeng Qiming panicked.
Kneeling before the gate of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, he looked at the young eunuch guarding the gate and offered an ingratiating smile. "Eunuch, might I ask if His Majesty has any instructions?"
The eunuchs of the Palace of Heavenly Purity had no need to curry favor with anyone; they acted solely on the Emperor's orders. Since the Emperor had ordered this Lord Zeng to kneel, it must be because he had displeased His Majesty. The eunuch's expression was therefore quite unfriendly.
"His Majesty only instructed that you kneel, my lord. He said nothing else. How would this servant know?"
Zeng Qiming's face flushed red and pale by turns.
In his days of power, when had these eunuchs ever not greeted him with smiling faces? Now they dared to put on airs.
Zeng Qiming inwardly cursed these rootless men a few times, then cursed his own muddled head. Dining with the Prince of Sheng's heir, how could he have lost control and drunk wine over a few jokes? The Emperor bestowing wine was an honor, not a genuine invitation to drink!
Drinking was bad enough, but he had also committed a foolish act.
He truly hadn't expected that the little dancer from back then would turn out to be the Emperor's new favorite, Consort Li.
Zeng Qiming's heart was filled with dread. He didn't know how the Emperor would punish him. But considering he had served His Majesty for so many years and could be considered utterly loyal, and moreover, he hadn't actually done anything substantive to Consort Li, surely the Emperor would be lenient... right?
In Yanqing Residence, Qi Daiyu also waited quietly for news. After Consort Li returned to Xianfu Palace that day, she secluded herself, not even going to pay her respects or asking for leave. Zeng Qiming had knelt for three hours that day before being ordered by the Emperor to be escorted out of the palace.
The official explanation was that Zeng Qiming had angered the Emperor with improper remarks and thus been reprimanded.
People only remarked that staying close to the Emperor was like staying close to a tiger.
But Qi Daiyu, who knew a bit of the inside story, felt an itch of curiosity. Could it be that the matter would just end like this? Was the Emperor really so tolerant?
Who would have thought that just five days later, the grievance drum outside the Capital Prefecture was beaten. The petitioner came from Chuzhou, claiming to be Zeng Qiming's brother-in-law from his first wife. He accused Zeng Qiming, Commander of the Capital Guards, of brutally murdering his lawful wife and harming a fellow provincial scholar who had passed the provincial examinations.
Not many knew that Zeng Qiming, originally an ordinary military man, had been married before. But as he had previously sought to marry a daughter of a noble family, quite a few who looked into his past were aware. So, it was known in the capital that Zeng Qiming's first wife had died early.
But everyone had assumed she died of illness, unaware she had been brutally murdered by Zeng Qiming.
The charge of brutally murdering one's lawful wife was extremely serious, and the subsequent charge of harming a scholar was no minor matter either.
Being a provincial graduate meant he was a candidate for official position, entitled to preferential treatment under various policies and regulations. A provincial graduate did not even have to kneel before a county magistrate, indicating his status. And yet, Zeng Qiming had harmed a fellow provincial graduate?
For a time, the attention of the capital focused on this case.
Once the grievance drum was beaten, the accuser first received fifty strokes of the rod, and the Capital Prefect had to accept the case. With so much public attention, he had no choice but to summon Zeng Qiming.
Initially, Zeng Qiming naturally didn't take it seriously. This so-called brother-in-law hadn't dared to stand up for his sister back then; what courage did he have now? As for that scholar, he had once bullied Zeng Qiming, relying on his status. Later, after Zeng Qiming began serving the Emperor, he used some minor tactics to have the man quietly done away with. That family wouldn't dare to report it to the authorities; they wouldn't even dare to make a peep.
Therefore, Zeng Qiming truly did not take this matter seriously. He only thought that his brother-in-law, seeing him become an official, wanted to swindle some silver from him. It was merely a matter of wasting some silver; at most, he would pay double. Once this affair was settled, he could just have him killed.
But as soon as the man arrived at the Capital Prefecture, Zeng Qiming was seized. Before he could even demand an explanation, someone else beat the drum to lodge a complaint, accusing Zeng Qiming of bending the law for personal gain and accepting bribes!
It was like opening a floodgate. Accusations poured into the Capital Prefecture one after another: forcibly taking a dancer from the Music Bureau, dereliction of duty, and so on.
The Capital Prefecture Magistrate listened until his back was soaked in cold sweat. Taken together, these matters were already beyond the jurisdiction of his Capital Prefecture...
Helpless, he could only report to the Emperor. The Emperor's decree came down swiftly: the Chief Minister of the Dali Temple was to assist in handling the case. If the accusations proved true, punishment was to be meted out according to the law.
The meaning was clear: show no mercy.
Even at this point, Zeng Qiming still hadn't grasped the situation. He thought it was his political enemies deliberately framing him, clamoring to enter the palace, to see the Emperor.
The Capital Prefecture Magistrate had Zeng Qiming bound and dragged before him, saying with a smile, "Lord Zeng, the Emperor is busy. Some matters... you can explain them in prison!"
As the Commander of the Capital Guards, Zeng Qiming had been unbearably arrogant in daily life, even meddling in the affairs of the Capital Prefecture. The Magistrate had endured him for a long time.
No one who becomes an official is a fool. At the court assembly the next day, memorials impeaching Zeng Qiming were too numerous to count. The Prince Sheng faction naturally exerted all their efforts, but the most unexpected person was Yang Heng.
Logically, as Zeng Qiming's father-in-law, Yang Heng should have been the one to speak up for him.
Who would have thought Yang Heng's opening words were a plea for the Emperor to thoroughly investigate Zeng Qiming: "This humble official suspects there is more to the death of my youngest daughter..."
The expressions of the hundred officials varied. Now everyone knew Zeng Qiming was suspected of murdering his wife. Yang Heng's youngest daughter had died less than two years after marrying into the Zeng family. Could it be she was also murdered by Zeng Qiming? There was a vast difference between murdering a peasant girl and murdering the daughter of a Chancellor.
Sure enough, the Emperor immediately declared, "Chancellor Yang has served with great merit. If Zeng Qiming truly committed such outrageous acts, he deserves to die ten thousand deaths!"
He then ordered an investigation! A strict one!
With the Emperor's imperial decree, the case progressed with astonishing speed.
In less than half a month, evidence was found for each of Zeng Qiming's evil deeds, implicating a group of others along the way. Zeng Qiming was sentenced to execution in the autumn, while the others received judgments according to the law.
As a trusted confidant of the Emperor, losing his head in such a short time led clever individuals to surmise that the Emperor's hand was likely behind Zeng Qiming's case. Just consider the ordinary commoners from Chuzhou and the family of the provincial scholar—without backing, how would they dare come to the capital to beat the grievance drum? Someone must have protected them.
And who in all the world could best protect them?
Only that one person.
For a time, the entire court was seized with fear and suspicion.
In the palace, Qin Saizhu learned the outcome and was lost in thought for a long time.
She murmured, "So that's how it was. So that's how it was."
Xiangchun was puzzled. "Mistress?"
"I wondered why she came to see me that day. It wasn't because she feared I would inform, but merely to buy time." Only now did Qin Saizhu understand. Consort Ning's sole purpose had been to delay her.
While she was agonizing over whether to tell the Emperor, Consort Ning had already made her move, planting suspicion about Zeng Qiming in the Emperor's mind.
"But in this matter, there seems to be no trace of Consort Ning's involvement?"
Qin Saizhu said, "Beauty Li is Consort Ning's person."
Although conflicted, she had still kept an eye on news from the Princess Yanping's estate and the Prince Sheng's mansion. Learning that the Prince Sheng's heir had entered the palace, she had someone watch the Qianqing Palace. The incident of Zeng Qiming's verbal harassment of Beauty Li happened right at the entrance of the Qianqing Palace; with careful inquiry, it wasn't hard to find out. At first, Qin Saizhu wasn't sure Beauty Li was Consort Ning's person, but subsequent events confirmed her guess.
"Beauty Li was just a catalyst, meant to make the Emperor take the initiative to investigate Zeng Qiming."
Xiangchun exclaimed in shock, "Consort Ning also..." It was too terrifying.
One link was closely tied to another, and it had actually cost a high-ranking court official his life.
"But Zeng Qiming himself was also in the wrong." Qin Saizhu shook her head. "Besides, her mind is profound and calculating; I've known that for a long time."
That Consort Ning could devise such a scheme did not surprise her in the least.
After all, that Lady Wu back then had also died without a trace, showing no apparent connection to Consort Ning.
