Chapter 104: A Towering High Place
The Empress, Empress Xiao Qi, had arrived.
Empress Xiao Qi entered with her signature regal aura, her makeup impeccable, and her expression haughty. Despite the suddenness of the situation, which left her somewhat rushed, her grandeur and elegance remained intact. As she stepped into the hall, her eyes swept over Chu Jinyao and Qin Yi with a sharp and ruthless gaze.
She had already caught wind of some details before arriving, thanks to the numerous spies she had placed by the emperor’s side. Any slight movement near the emperor rarely escaped her notice. However, once she stood within the grand hall, facing the unfolding drama firsthand, even Empress Xiao Qi felt a wave of anxiety wash over her. She had underestimated the severity of the situation.
Empress Xiao Qi’s eyes flicked to the tray of clothing presented before her. Though inwardly alarmed, her face betrayed nothing. She gracefully curtsied to the emperor, then seated herself beside him, her voice sweet as she inquired, “Your Majesty, I’ve been waiting in the palace for a while now but did not see the Crown Princess come to pay her respects. Upon asking around, I discovered that both the Crown Princess and the Crown Prince are here with you. Things certainly seem lively here. What’s going on?”
The emperor did not respond.
At that moment, Consort Lian, seizing the opportunity, stepped forward, her posture meek and frail. “Your Majesty, Empress, a few days ago, I had a miscarriage. I initially believed it was due to my own misfortune, thinking I wasn’t destined to bear the imperial heir. However, it seems there is more to the story. Your Majesty, you know I do not enjoy incense, but recently, I detected a strange fragrance on my clothes. When I inquired, my servants denied placing it there. Out of suspicion, I consulted the imperial physicians. To my horror, they revealed that the scent was harmful, causing miscarriages. Your Majesty, Empress, if this matter is not thoroughly investigated, how many more imperial heirs might be lost in the future?”
With these words, Consort Lian made her stance clear—she knew the Empress would not spare her and had no choice but to seek other avenues of support.
Underneath her sleeve, Empress Xiao Qi’s fingers tightened into a fist. She had always acted cautiously, using minimal doses to gradually erode the fertility of her rivals. However, with Consort Lian, she had taken a more significant risk, administering a stronger dose due to the ongoing witchcraft accusations aimed at the Crown Princess. Empress Xiao Qi had gambled and, it seemed, she had lost this time. Her years of scheming were on the verge of exposure. Inside, she panicked, but outwardly, she remained calm—after all, it wasn’t easy to become empress. She had clawed her way up and knew how to maintain her composure under pressure.
“As the Empress and head of the imperial harem, it is my duty to oversee the household and ensure the emperor’s lineage prospers. Yet, I never expected anyone in the palace would dare commit such an act,” Empress Xiao Qi declared, glancing pointedly at Consort Lian. “Consort Lian, if you suspected foul play, why didn’t you report it to me? Instead, you bypassed me to appeal directly to His Majesty. What is your reason for doing so?”
Consort Lian paled under the Empress’s direct challenge. But Empress Xiao Qi did not linger on her, turning to the outside and raising her voice, “This crime of harming the imperial heir is unforgivable. Summon the embroideress responsible for these garments.”
The embroideress in question was dragged into the hall. With a stern voice, Empress Xiao Qi demanded, “Was it you who tampered with Consort Lian’s clothing?”
Chu Jinyao frowned at this. The Empress’s intention was too transparent. Under Empress Xiao Qi’s interrogation, the embroideress quickly broke down, confessing, “Your Majesty, Empress, please spare me! I was jealous of Consort Lian, who, like me, was once a mere maid yet received imperial favor. In a moment of weakness, I hid harmful substances within her garments. I deserve to die—please, Empress, show mercy!”
It was a clean cut, a scapegoat offered without hesitation. Chu Jinyao admired the Empress’s quick thinking; she had prepared this shield well in advance. Stepping forward, Chu Jinyao asked, “You, a mere servant, how did you muster the audacity to harm an imperial concubine? Furthermore, substances like musk aren’t easily obtainable. Where did you get such materials?”
The embroideress was rendered speechless by the questioning. Chu Jinyao turned back to the emperor, bowing. “Your Majesty, while this servant’s actions are certainly condemnable, she is but a pawn. Without guidance, how could she have carried out such an intricate scheme?”
Empress Xiao Qi remained unfazed, taking the conversation into her hands. “Did anyone instruct you?” she asked the embroideress.
The woman, quivering, kowtowed and replied, “No one did, Your Majesty. It was entirely my doing. I acted alone in altering the threads and embroidering Consort Lian’s garments.”
Chu Jinyao leaned in, her voice a mix of threat and suggestion. “Do you realize the gravity of your actions? In the justice courts, your crimes warrant nothing less than death by torture. Are you certain you want to take the fall for this alone?”
Despite her trembling, the embroideress clung to her confession, refusing to implicate anyone else. Empress Xiao Qi, pleased with the outcome, shifted her gaze to Chu Jinyao. “It seems that this unfortunate matter has been resolved. The culprit has been found, and we can move forward. Yet, Crown Princess, why do you appear so dissatisfied? Surely, this conclusion doesn’t disappoint you?”
The maid had already firmly confessed, and the empress appeared completely unaware—at worst, she could only be accused of failing to manage the inner palace properly. Empress Xiao Qi had done something this insidious, yet she was unharmed, and now she even had the nerve to stir up conflict between the Eastern Palace and the emperor. Empress Xiao Qi’s power truly could not be underestimated.
Unfortunately for Empress Xiao Qi, Chu Jinyao had never underestimated her. Otherwise, Qin Yi wouldn’t be standing here right now.
Empress Xiao Qi also noticed Qin Yi. She was even smug enough to sarcastically remark: “So the Crown Prince is here as well. Consort Lian is a palace consort. Her miscarriage is a matter of the harem. You, Crown Prince, already have enough national affairs to worry about—why meddle in the affairs of the inner palace?”
Upon hearing this, Consort Lian’s grief overflowed. Today, it seemed that the empress would escape unscathed, but this palace maid, bold as she was, would not. After all, whether she confessed or not, she was doomed to die. Consort Lian steeled herself and cursed the maid lying on the ground: “You murderous witch! You even dared to harm an unborn child. Don’t you fear being haunted by the child’s vengeful spirit while you sleep at night? The resentment of a child who couldn’t be born is the most powerful of all. One day, you’ll get your retribution, and your entire family will suffer a miserable fate!”
Consort Lian’s words were loaded with hidden meanings, clearly aimed at Empress Xiao Qi. Her eyebrows twitched uncontrollably. The part about the child’s resentment had struck a nerve, and Empress Xiao Qi felt a sudden, inexplicable pang in her heart. Clutching her chest, she had barely calmed her breath when Qin Yi let out a mocking laugh and finally stepped in: “The empress is right. I originally had no intention of involving myself in the affairs of the inner palace. The rights and wrongs should be determined by the empress. If it weren’t for Consort Lian’s miscarriage, leading to the involvement of witchcraft, which was then falsely blamed on the Eastern Palace, I wouldn’t have bothered investigating this matter.”
Empress Xiao Qi’s face changed slightly. Chu Jinyao lowered her head and chuckled lightly. The empress had been far too smug. If she had kept her pride to herself, it wouldn’t have mattered, but she had felt the need to flaunt it in front of Qin Yi. Now, was she happy?
Qin Yi glanced sideways, and immediately a eunuch bowed and left the room. When he returned, he brought a whole set of items.
The one reporting the matter was a sharp-tongued eunuch. His voice was clear and logical as he presented the evidence to the emperor piece by piece. He explained who the maid had met, what family connections she had, and even brought out the maid’s private stash from the Imperial Palace. The items were luxurious and clearly far beyond what a palace maid could afford. Furthermore, the ingredients for miscarriage-inducing medicines, including musk, were also shown, along with information on where they were bought, prepared, and how they were smuggled into the palace. Even the eunuch who passed messages wasn’t spared. Qin Yi had uprooted the entire network.
At this point, Empress Xiao Qi was truly panicking. If only one person had been exposed, she could have pushed them out as a scapegoat. But if they had already uncovered the entire chain, scapegoating wouldn’t solve the problem. After presenting all the evidence, Qin Yi lost interest and no longer paid attention to the matter. He didn’t need to accuse anyone directly—the evidence spoke for itself.
Empress Xiao Qi’s eyes darted around as she resorted to her usual tricks. “The Crown Prince is truly far-reaching. Even though he was in the summer palace, no movement in the Imperial Palace escaped his notice. All of these things came from the capital, right? I didn’t expect the Crown Prince, despite being absent, to investigate whatever he wished in the capital.”
She was trying to stir up trouble again, hoping to cause issues for Qin Yi to relieve her own crisis. Even if Qin Yi wasn’t irritated, the emperor certainly was.
The emperor’s face was dark. These people were all too much! One dared to be reckless right under his nose, and the other treated him like a fool, still trying to divert attention. Harming imperial offspring, planting witchcraft in the palace, causing a consort to miscarry—this wasn’t just about Consort Lian. Who knew how many others had been harmed in the past?
The emperor closed his eyes in frustration, suddenly feeling a deep fatigue. He had always known that his eldest son and his young wife didn’t get along, but he hadn’t realized the situation had escalated to this extent. The empress was recklessly eliminating her rivals, and meanwhile, the Eastern Palace had quietly grown into a massive force.
Empress Xiao Qi was quick to sense the emperor’s emotional shift, and a cold shiver ran through her. It was over—had the emperor truly believed Qin Yi’s words? She could barely stay composed as she squeezed out tears, looking pitiful and aggrieved as she wiped her eyes with a handkerchief: “Your Majesty, do you truly suspect me? I’ve been in the palace for over ten years, devoted entirely to you. I’ve given you Prince Lu and Princess Yan’er, and yet you’re doubting me like this? I am already the empress, with both a son and a daughter. Why would I need to be jealous of other consorts, let alone harm them?”
This was blatant manipulation. Who said that being empress meant one couldn’t be jealous? Qin Yi couldn’t believe that even with all the evidence laid out, Empress Xiao Qi still had the audacity to deny everything. And worse, the emperor seemed willing to let her twist the facts!
This was where men and women thought differently. To Qin Yi, the emperor was being blind—how could he still not see the truth when it was right in front of him? But Empress Xiao Qi understood the emperor’s heart all too well. What was true and what was false didn’t matter. Even if the Court of Judicial Review confirmed a case, if it didn’t align with the emperor’s wishes, it would be considered a wrongful conviction and require a retrial. Empress Xiao Qi was now playing the emotional card, and it seemed to be working.
Qin Yi could see the subtle shift in the emperor’s demeanor and was on the verge of calling him a fool. Chu Jinyao gently reached out, signaling for him to remain calm.
Tears were a woman’s special weapon, and only a woman could counter them.
Chu Jinyao curtsied gracefully and spoke in a measured tone: “The empress has indeed done much to manage the six palaces and raise the imperial offspring, and her merits are undeniable. But while the empress feels wronged, doesn’t Consort Lian also feel wronged? That poor child should have been the fourth prince.”
Her words jolted the emperor out of his stupor, and Consort Lian immediately caught on, starting to cry pitifully. While the empress cried about her loyalty and hardships, Consort Lian had just lost a child—her tears were even more justified and sorrowful.
A soft approach often works best. Qin Yi’s solid evidence and appeals to the greater good had little effect, but now that the delicate, pitiful Consort Lian knelt and wept, the emperor wavered noticeably.
Qin Yi looked away, too frustrated to watch, while Chu Jinyao also felt conflicted. But this wasn’t the time to dwell on emotions. She continued: “Your Majesty, you are the sky for all the consorts in the palace. Now that something so horrifying has occurred, if not for Consort Lian’s miscarriage, who knows how much longer such insidious schemes would have gone unnoticed, harming more people. And who’s to say that previous miscarriages in the palace weren’t caused by similar means? For the sake of peace in the harem, Your Majesty must thoroughly investigate this matter.”
Consort Lian couldn’t fight the empress alone, but what about adding all three thousand consorts of the harem? The emperor wavered, torn between his affection for his young wife and his responsibility to the other women. The empress had harmed them—how could he not be angry?
Empress Xiao Qi was livid and decided to up the another route: “Your Majesty, you once promised to take good care of me. I believed you, and that promise has stayed in my heart for all these years. I’ve always been by your side, doing my best as your wife. It’s only because I care so deeply that it pains me when you favor others. Even though it feels like being cut by a blunt knife, I’ve never wavered in my loyalty. I may not be as capable as the Crown Prince, who has already gathered all the evidence against me without my knowledge. He clearly despises me, and since that’s the case, Your Majesty, why not depose me as empress? When Prince Lu leaves the capital, I can accompany him, and perhaps then the Crown Prince and Crown Princess will finally be at peace!”
Empress Xiao Qi’s words were brilliantly calculated. She expressed her love for the emperor, subtly implying that while she had harmed the other consorts, it was only because she loved him too much. Then, playing the victim, she sowed discord between the emperor and the Eastern Palace. Her mixture of weakness and manipulation was truly masterful.
Qin Yi couldn’t believe she had the audacity to bring up the past. Did she think no one knew how she had entered the palace? And yet, she dared to mention it in front of everyone. Coldly, he said: “With the evidence so clear, does the empress still think she’s in the right?”
“Your Majesty!” Empress Xiao Qi cried, tears streaming down her face. “The Crown Prince truly despises me. I had hoped that sincerity could melt the rift between us, but it seems I was wrong. If I had known it would come to this, I should have died back then, sparing the daughters of the Qi family from such disgrace. Please, Your Majesty, take care of yourself—I’ll go to the underworld and beg my sister’s forgiveness!”
Empress Xiao Qi was pulling no punches now. Her scandalous past—entering the palace while pregnant and causing her sister’s death—was an old wound, but it hadn’t been forgotten. The emperor, having taken her without a formal marriage, had long harbored guilt. Over the years, he had indulged her for it. Now, as she shamelessly brought it up again, the emperor’s resolve weakened.
The emperor’s heart softened, but Qin Yi became furious. The late empress, Wenxiao, was a taboo subject. No one in the Eastern Palace dared mention her name. For Empress Xiao Qi to use it as a weapon now—Qin Yi’s face turned icy, and his gaze became sharp as a knife: “Shameless! You’re not worthy to mention my mother.”
“Qin Yi, how dare you!” The emperor, enraged, didn’t care that they were surrounded by others and directly called Qin Yi by name. Qin Yi’s scorn for Empress Xiao Qi was, in a way, also scorn for the emperor.
“You’ve become more and more insolent!” the emperor fumed. “You dare confront the empress in front of me today—will you soon stop respecting me as well?”
Chu Jinyao immediately stepped forward, kneeling as she said, “Your Majesty, His Highness spoke out of filial piety for Empress Wenxiao. He was simply overcome with emotion. Furthermore, this matter is of great significance, involving the entire harem. If not for a stroke of luck, the blame for Consort Lian’s miscarriage would have fallen on the Eastern Palace. Surely Your Majesty must provide an explanation for everyone.”
The emperor looked at Chu Jinyao, his expression unreadable. “You always address her as ‘the empress,’ never as ‘mother.’ You side with Qin Yi in everything—do you also look down on the empress? Why else wouldn’t you call her mother?”
Chu Jinyao felt a chill in her heart and lowered her head without responding. The emperor could see what was happening. Anger turned into bitter laughter as he said, “You all think you’re so clever. Get out of my sight, all of you!”
Chu Jinyao wanted to speak further, but Qin Yi stopped her. Holding her wrist, he didn’t even bother with formalities and turned to leave.
Mentioning the late Empress Wenxiao was the breaking point. Once that line was crossed, there was no chance of a calm conversation between Qin Yi and the emperor.
Empress Xiao Qi watched them leave, lowering her head with a slight smile.
As expected, whenever Wenxiao was mentioned, Qin Yi lost his composure. Her elder sister had treated her so well that even in death, she was still helping her.
