Chapter 195: The Curtain Falls

Chapter 195: The Curtain Falls

Grape, composed yet internally panicked, glanced at Roupin, uncertain whether to name Consort Jing or one of her maids.

Hesitantly, she said, "I’m not familiar with the palace staff assigned here; I vaguely recall giving it to a sister in green."

Grape deliberately kept her description vague, hinting at a palace staff member from Qingning Villa, leaving room for maneuver.

Consort Jing, unsurprised by her answer, turned to Jiang Hui, "Empress, please summon my attendants so Grape can identify them."

Jiang Hui glanced at her and quietly instructed Qiukui to bring the attendants.

"These are the attendants assigned to Consort Jing in Qingning Villa. Grape, whom did you give the handkerchief to?" Qiukui asked.

Amidst the murmurs of the consorts, no one dared speak loudly.

Grape, not expecting to be asked to identify someone, glanced at Jiang Hui’s stern face and randomly pointed at one, thinking to herself she could just claim a mistake if questioned.

The girl she pointed to was a young palace maid wearing green.

Qiukui confirmed, "Grape, are you sure it was her?"

Grape hesitated for a moment before nodding, "Yes."

Jiang Hui gently placed her teacup on the table, her gaze turning icy, "Roupin, for slandering a consort and colluding with the imperial physician, are you aware of your crimes?"

Grape, startled, looked up quickly, "Empress, I've already identified the maid, why accuse my mistress of wrongdoing?"

Qiukui responded, "These maids aren't actually from Consort Jing's side. They were called from other areas of Qingning Villa."

Hearing this, Grape broke out in a cold sweat, struggling to say, "Empress, I must have remembered wrongly! It wasn’t her, it was Luqin, Luqin!"

Her contradiction was ignored by everyone; Roupin, looking at Jiang Hui, realized, "Empress, you and Consort Jing collaborate on writing, surely there must be some friendship. However, do you know who is actually involved with Doctor Yan?"

"Who is it?"

The calm voice came from behind, prompting everyone in the room to rise and pay respects to the newcomer.

Emperor Xiaosheng had arrived.

Dressed in a duck-egg blue robe, he helped Jiang Hui to her feet, sitting beside her, and commanded, "Everyone except Roupin, leave."

"Yes," came the reluctant and embarrassed voices, causing Shufei to shiver as she promptly left the room.

The room quieted down, leaving only the Emperor, the Empress, Roupin, and the servant Shengan.

Xiaosheng asked again, "Who is it?"

Roupin's eyes softened as she bowed her head and replied, "Your Majesty, Doctor Yan and Consort Jing had an affair. I swear, if I speak falsely, may thunder strike me down, and may I meet a terrible end!"

Xiaosheng, however, did not react with the anger Roupin had expected. He simply hummed in response and asked, "So, did Doctor Yan harm Consort Gao under Consort Jing's orders?"

Roupin bit her lip, her eyes sparkling like the stars and moon as she gazed at his handsome face. She realized that the Emperor had dismissed everyone else and remained calm upon hearing about Consort Jing and Doctor Yan’s affair, probably already aware of the whole situation.

Why should she hide anything then? Moreover, she did not want to keep secrets from him.

Roupin spoke softly, "No, Doctor Yan acted under Consort Yi's orders. Consort Yi, aware of his relationship with Consort Jing, blackmailed him into attempting to murder Consort Gao, hoping to take in the Sixth Prince for herself."

"I understand. You may leave," Xiaosheng said softly.

"Yes," Roupin complied obediently, casting a lingering glance at him before respectfully taking her leave.

"Shengan," Xiaosheng turned, his expression calm and composed, "grant wine to Consort Yi and Roupin, and a dagger to Doctor Yan."

Jiang Hui suddenly interjected, "Your Majesty, won’t you spare Roupin? She is deeply fond of you."

At this remark, Shengan, who was about to comply, paused, glancing covertly at the Emperor’s expression.

Xiaosheng turned to look at Jiang Hui, chuckling softly, and waved Shengan away without a word.

Jiang Hui continued, "When I first discussed this with you, I suggested banishing Doctor Yan from the palace, but you wanted to keep him for the drama. What's so entertaining about this play?"

"Do you not enjoy watching it, Hui'er?" Xiaosheng inquired.

Jiang Hui glanced at the spot where Doctor Yan had knelt, sighing, "I am no longer a young girl."

Emperor Xiaosheng, however, remained silent for a moment.

Turning her head, Jiang Hui saw Xiaosheng with his eyes closed, breathing lightly. She couldn't help but grip his hand tighter, whispering, "Your Majesty? Are you tired?"

Xiaosheng opened his eyes, pausing before nodding, "Yes, a little. I didn't sleep well last night."

Jiang Hui then gently pulled Xiaosheng to his feet, murmuring, "Let's retire early today then."

"Alright," Xiaosheng agreed.

As they reached the doorway, Jiang Hui looked back one last time.

In the Wénlián Pavilion, where Consort Gao's sudden death had left the palace servants leaderless, no incense was burned, not even the Yu Hua fragrance, leaving the room clean and scentless.

The setting sun, not yet fully descended, cast long, splendid shadows over Liubo Lake. From the balcony, Xiaosheng leaned against the window, watching Jiang Hui comb her hair at the dressing table.

He picked up a bamboo dragonfly toy left on the table by Jiang Hui, twirling it idly, and casually mentioned, "The memorial of the Empress Dowager and my Aunt Chengping is at the end of June. Will Hui'er go to the Proluo Temple to offer incense?"

Time flows like water. Mentioning the death of his mother, both had grown more serene.

Setting down the wooden comb, Jiang Hui continued with the finer one, replying, "Didn't Your Majesty plan to return to the palace on the twenty-first of June? It would be inconvenient to leave the palace then. Let's just hold a memorial in the palace."

"That works," Xiaosheng nodded, standing up straight. He put down the bamboo dragonfly, extinguished the incense in the Boshan censer at the wall table, then walked over to the bed, playing with the mosquito repellent incense ball hanging from the canopy before sitting on the bed's edge, waiting for Jiang Hui.

The summer nights are long, and since the Emperor planned to retire early today, they didn't need to light the lamps just yet.

After finishing her hair, Jiang Hui approached the bed, about to ask the Emperor in the center to move over, but instead, she was embraced and rolled into the bed.

The brocade curtains were drawn, and Jiang Hui angrily said, "Your Majesty, didn't you say it would be arranged earlier?"

"Yes," Xiao Sheng said with a smile, "It should be arranged earlier."

The following day, when the consorts came to pay their respects to avoid the summer heat, three conspicuously empty seats were left.

Yijieyu, Roufei, and Consort Jing.

Yijieyu and Roufei died quietly, their deaths later recorded in the annals of Great Zhou's consorts as sudden illness.

Consort Jing, feeling unwell today, took a day off.

The Sixth Prince, having lost his mother, was temporarily entrusted to Jiang Hui's care, to be sent to Yanqing Palace after returning to the palace, not to Consort Jing as many speculated.

The Second Princess, who lived with Yijieyu, did not move out of her original room. After mourning for Yijieyu, she continued her life as a princess betrothed—already bestowed the title of Princess Changtai by the emperor, with her wedding set for next March.