Chapter 54
TJOAIC 54 – INTERROGATION (审问)
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“Your Majesty, this slave has investigated these few slaves . Previously, they had come into contact with some servants of the other masters . However, after investigation, such contact was normal, seemingly innocent . ”
“The less suspicious it seems, the more problematic it is . ” The empress threw down a chess piece, bringing the chessboard before her into disarray . “Since such a matter occurred in the harem, Heyu, summon the other imperial concubines here to examine these daring slaves . When everyone gathers fuel, the flames grow higher . Perhaps we will find the culprit before long . ”
“Your Majesty is wise . ” Heyu performed a ceremony of paying respects . After a moment of hesitation, she asked, “Should we also tell Chongyi Zhao?”
“Since this involves Chongyi Zhao, naturally we should let her know . ” The empress picked up a white chess piece and played with it . “It’s rare to have a child, yet it has already been lost . She should know how she lost it . ”
“This slave will now go . ” Heyu sneered inwardly . Who knew if Chongyi Zhao could accept reality right now? It was difficult to get pregnant in the imperial harem . Fortunately, His Majesty allowed her to keep it, but she herself was unable to protect the child . And now she involved Her Majesty into receiving the emperor’s questioning .
Once Heyu arrived at Xihe Palace, she was hit with unspeakable sorrow . She recalled Chongyi Zhao’s fox cloak that was stained red that night . Heyu adjusted her expression, and it wasn’t until it was sad enough that she approached the eunuch standing guard at the doors .
“Isn’t this Miss¹ Heyu? This one will perform a ceremony of greeting for your honored self²,” said Fu Bao, watching Heyu lead two other palace maids over . He quickly put on a smile and walked forward to receive them . “What kind of special occasion brings your honored self here?”
“Eunuch Fu is too polite . I am under Her Majesty the empress’ imperial decree to visit Chongyi Zhao . ” A pause . Deep concern in her eyes, she asked, “How is Chongyi Zhao?”
Fu Bao noticed that the two lower-ranked palace maids behind her held trays with items . And he understood those were things the empress bestowed . He allowed those two to enter the palace doors . However, on his face was a trace of bitterness . A sigh left his lips . “What can be done? Originally, it was an extremely joyous matter . Who would have known this would happen?” He scanned the surroundings, lowered his voice, and said, “Our master hasn’t had an appetite these past few days, and she has grown a lot thinner . The hearts of us slaves fill with pain upon seeing it . ”
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“Don’t us servants just hope that our masters do well?” Heyu also sighed . “Recently, Her Majesty the empress has worried deeply about Chongyi Zhao . As such, she had me come visit . If it wasn’t because Her Majesty was busy investigating Chongyi Zhao’s miscarriage these past few days, she would pay a visit herself . ”
“To have dragged Her Majesty into this, this slave will pay respects to Her Majesty here . ” Then Fu Bao turned to face Jingyang Palace, performing the full ceremony of paying respects . Afterward, he continued to escort Heyu into the residence . Once they reached the main chamber, he turned to her in a smile . “May Miss Heyu sit and have some tea . I will go inside and inform Master . ”
“Eunuch Fu, do as you please . ” Although Heyu was the head palace maid of the empress, she did not dare to actually sit down in another master’s palace . She only stood in the main chamber in wait, taking in the decorations all around . These decorations didn’t break protocol, but they were all exquisite, and it was evident that the emperor favored Chongyi Zhao immensely .
“Miss Heyu,” said Yunxi, coming out from the inner chamber . They both paid respects to each other . “Master has invited Miss Heyu inside . ”
Once she had entered the inner chamber, Heyu was met with the image of Chongyi Zhao lying in bed . Her dark locks were let down, scattered around her . It contrasted with her pale face, decreasing the beauty but increasing the frailness .
“Greetings to Chongyi Zhao . ” Heyu approached the bed and performed a ceremony of paying respects .
“Miss Heyu is too polite . Yunxi, give her a seat . ”
“Thanking Chongyi Zhao . ” Heyu gingerly sat on the edge of an embroidered stool . She did not dare to completely sit . Catching how Chongyi Zhao maintained such a smile that was hard to look at, Heyu announced what the empress had bestowed . Then she said, “All along, Her Majesty the empress worried about Chongyi Zhao’s miscarriage . Two days ago, she captured a few suspicious eunuchs and palace maids . Today, she will have them interrogated . Will Chongyi Zhao come for a look?”
The moment Zhuang Luoyan had heard the word “miscarriage,” she grew even more pale . And once she had heard that some eunuchs and palace maids had been captured, the look in her eyes changed . She propped herself into a sitting position and stared at Heyu . “Who are those people?!”
Heyu met her gaze . In her pupils seemed to hide a terrible beast . One that could rip apart people at any moment . She slowly looked away . Said respectfully, “Chongyi Zhao will know once your honored self goes . ”
“I shall bother Miss Heyu to pass on a message to Her Majesty the empress . I will be attending . ” Zhuang Luoyan forced herself to keep calm . However, she was unable to hide the hatred in her voice .
“The interrogation will start in one hour . This slave will now go to inform Her Majesty . ” Heyu rose to her feet and paid respects to Zhuang Luoyan, admiring the empress for her incredible foresight . This Chongyi Zhao indeed wouldn’t be able to hold herself back from participating . For now, what had happened was unclear . At the very least, the details could disgust her .
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Once Heyu had left, Zhuang Luoyan wiped the small beads of sweat on her forehead with a handkerchief . Took out the handheld brazier hidden beneath the blankets . Smiling, she said, “Yunxi, help me dress and apply makeup . Later, we will get to see a show . ”
“Yes . ” Yunxi smiled as she received the handheld brazier from Zhuang Luoyan . In a little while, it would be anyone’s guess who would be scheming who .
Noble Consort Shu sat in front of a mirror, gazing at her reflection . “Lingsha, who do you think the empress would throw the blame on?”
“This slave is slow-witted and cannot guess . ” Lingsha inserted a small plum blossom hairpin into Noble Consort Shu’s hair . “But this slave thinks even if Her Majesty picks someone randomly, in the end the emperor has to believe it . Not to mention, she must have evidence . ”
Noble Consort Shu laughed in ridicule . “Previously, she lost so much face . She must be suppressing a lot of anger in her heart . We will now see what kind of show she’ll put on . In any case, even though Zhuang Luoyan lost her child, she still received the emperor’s tender affection . But the empress has lost both face and self-confidence . On the contrary, I am hoping for her to frame me . Otherwise, how can I find something to use against her?”
In Qianzheng Palace, Feng Jin practiced calligraphy . Noticing Gao Dezhong’s arrival, he set down the brush . “What happened?”
“Reporting to Your Majesty, Her Majesty the empress will be interrogating the slaves who committed crimes . She has invited many masters to participate . ” Gao Dezhong glanced at the characters Feng Jin had written . Each stroke was swift and fierce, possessing an acute spirit that could not be expressed in words .
“She’s actually smart . ” Feng Jin thought of something and asked, “Will Chongyi Zhao be attending?”
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“This slave heard that Her Majesty the empress had her personal head palace maid specially invite Chongyi Zhao . Not long after that head palace maid left, Chongyi Zhao rushed to Jingyang Palace . ”
Out of reflex, Feng Jin frowned . He called for someone to help him wash his hands . “Since that is the case, We will also take a look . ”
Jingyang Palace’s side hall . A few imperial concubines sat according to rank, their gazes falling upon the six kneeling eunuchs and palace maids . No one spoke . Even Consort Rou, who once had a bad relationship with Zhuang Luoyan, kept her eyes to herself .
“Your Majesty the empress and the other masters present, these six people are the outrageous slaves,” said the supervising eunuch of Jingyang Palace, Ming Lu, performing a ceremony of paying respects to the masters . “May Your Majesty and the other masters start the interrogation . ”
The empress glanced at Zhuang Luoyan . As if she were trying to see her expression . But she could only see her pale face, as though she didn’t even have the energy to interrogate . In the end, she turned her gaze to the others . “What do you sisters think?”
“Naturally, Your Majesty the empress should be the one deciding things . ” Noble Consort Shu’s tone proved deferential . She completely side stepped her attack .
The other imperial concubines present kept quiet . As for Shurong Ye and Noble Imperial Concubine Yan, they were even more cautious and did not attend . Who knew whose head the blame would be placed on?
“Lift your heads . This palace wants to see the kind of hateful faces daring to plot against the imperial princes . ” The empress did not force them . Then, she turned and looked at the people kneeling . “If you people say who the mastermind is, this palace will only punish you lightly . Otherwise, conspiring to kill imperial princes will mean execution of eight clans affiliated with yours and your own³ . ”
Trembling, the six people raised their heads . Consort Xian softly said in surprise, “Isn’t that Lianqiao, the palace maid that used to attend to Consort Rou?”
Consort Rou’s countenance was ugly . “I’ve long since dismissed her to Shangyi Bureau to wash clothes since she did not wait on me well . She does not have any relationship with me . ”
Consort Xian smiled in a mild manner . “I’ve never mentioned that she has any connection with Younger Sister . I merely found her familiar . Younger Sister is overthinking things . ”
A cold snort, and Consort Rou no longer spoke . She knew that Consort Xian was an ally of the empress . At present, if she made a big fuss, it would be disadvantageous to her . However, she did not know who incited Lianqiao to do this . If the empress used this against her, she would be in trouble .
“Your Majesty, this slave has been framed! This slave doesn’t know why this happened . This slave does not want to harm Master Zhao and begs Your Majesty to look clearly . ” Lianqiao dared not look at anyone . She merely kept kowtowing . Soon after, blood stained her forehead .
“Someone restrain her . ” Expressionless, the empress stared at Lingqiao, who kept kowtowing . In a cold voice, she said, “If she faints from kowtowing, then who can this palace interrogate?”
Noble Consort Shu sneered inwardly . Right now, the empress did not wear her benevolent mask, staring with indifference at the bloody-faced Lianqiao . Back when Consort Rou had dismissed this palace maid from her residence, perhaps she had suspected her to be a spy inserted by other people . But who in fact inserted her into Consort Rou’s palace?
She lifted her head . Looked at everyone in the room . Noble Consort Shu couldn’t discern anything suspicious from anyone . At this moment, the empress’ list of suspects would not lack herself . A person who manipulated everyone from behind the scenes truly was someone with great measures .
“Xiao Jing’er, I recall your family consisted of your parents and two younger brothers . ” The empress’ supervising eunuch raised and swished his horsetail whisk . Tone normal, he said, “Her Majesty the empress is benevolent . If you answer honestly, Her Majesty will allow you to keep your life . But if you don’t speak, it may implicate your parents . ”
After the eunuch Xiao Jing’er had heard those words, he blanched and kept saying, “Your Majesty is a wise person . This slave truly did not know that the eating utensils of Master Zhao were tainted . The things handed to the masters are all distributed well . How could we slaves dare to do anything without permission?”
The empress rubbed her forehead . Waved . And she ordered for Xiao Jing’er to be dragged away .
Hearing the mournful cries of Xiao Jing’er, the remaining five people quivered . Because they all knew that after Xiao Jing’er was dragged away, he would not return .
“You people still won’t talk? Could you all have emerged from rocks? Are you not afraid of implicating your parents?” said Ming Lu, arching a brow, tone sarcastic .
Just when the empress was about to say something, footsteps rang from outside .
“His Majesty has arrived!”
The empress was struck speechless . The emperor came?