Chapter 37: The Final Spark

Chapter 37: The Final Spark

On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the Ghost Festival, the royal hunting ground unearthed many beautiful female corpses. The people of the capital were whispering among themselves, saying these women had died tragically, their grievances reaching down to the underworld, causing the earth to tremble and bringing them back to the surface.

Word also spread about Prince Jing being injured in the royal hunting ground. The people weren’t stupid; the hunting ground was remote, with no households around. The tragic deaths of over a dozen women and their burials happened while Prince Jing was at the hunting ground, making it impossible not to connect the two.

The people didn’t dare talk about it openly, but privately, word was already spreading that Prince Jing was behind the abuse of the young women.

At Prince Jing’s residence, he angrily threw a set of blue and white porcelain cups to the ground, shattering them.

"Why the hell was there an earthquake!"

Prince Jing had never felt this unlucky before. First, the investigation into the Brocade Pavilion happened, Qin Sanniang was exposed, then he was attacked while hiding in the royal hunting ground, and his sleeping quarters caught fire. Just when he thought he’d covered his tracks, now this earthquake happened.

In the heat of the summer, the bodies of those young women should’ve rotted away by now. But after the earthquake unearthed them, they still looked as if they were alive.

Could it really be vengeful spirits coming back for revenge?

In the scorching summer, a cold sweat broke out on Prince Jing’s back.

"My men have already gone to round up those spreading rumors, and we won’t let them smear Your Highness’s name!"

The guards were afraid too; after all, they were the ones who personally killed those young women. If vengeful spirits were to come, they would be the first targets.

"Fools! What good does it do to capture them? Go find out who’s behind these rumors, and that Zhou Yan, where is he?"

Prince Jing suddenly thought of the people present that day and asked sharply.

The guard trembled, "Zhou... Zhou Yan disappeared after escaping from the hunting ground and hasn’t been found yet..."

"Keep looking!" Prince Jing roared in anger.

This couldn’t all be a coincidence; the earthquake revealing the female corpses plus the rumors in the capital, everything was coming at him, clearly, he was being plotted against.

And Zhou Yan just happened to know where the female corpses were buried.

Prince Jing sneered, "A powerless little Hanlin thinks he can overthrow me, what a fantasy, or is the person behind you my good brother..."

Prince Jing clenched his fists, his gaze fixed in the direction of the East Palace. "No matter who it is, they cannot take my position."

......

"Lord Wei, what should we do next?"

The person being pursued by Prince Jing was hiding in the secret room of the Brocade Pavilion. As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is often the safest. No one expected Zhou Yan to be hiding here.

By now, the rumors of Prince Jing abusing young women had spread like wildfire in the capital, and with over a dozen female corpses as evidence, his evil deeds were essentially confirmed.

In fact, the preservation of those female corpses was all thanks to Wei Xun. After the conspiracy in Jing Garden, Wei Xun had people secretly dig up and transfer the female corpses, preserving their initial state of death with ice, specifically planning the earthquake for the Ghost Festival.

Even though Zhou Yan hated him for taking A Yuan away, he couldn’t help but admire his meticulous mind.

Wei Xun sat across from him, lowering his eyes and tapping the table.

"Now we just need the final spark."

......

At the palace gate, a man crashed his head against the wall, his blood staining the palace walls, his mournful voice reaching the ears of the people.

"My wife disappeared and died tragically, not even leaving a whole body. I know my life is worthless, I cannot avenge her, today I will crash to death at the palace gate, begging heaven to open its eyes and strike down that evil man!"

Just as the morning court had adjourned, the ministers filed out of the palace, just in time to witness the man’s death scene.

When Wei Xun came out, Chang Yuan quietly walked up behind him and whispered, "Sir, it's Wang Cheng."

The man was lying on the ground, a pool of blood beneath him.

Wei Xun's eyes flickered. "Is everything cleaned up?"

"Clean."

Wang Cheng was precisely the husband of Liu Niangzi, one of the victims at Jinxiu Pavilion. The case of the abuse came to light because Wang Cheng, thinking his wife had eloped, reported it to Jingzhao Prefecture.

He was a habitual domestic abuser of Liu Niangzi and was addicted to drinking, gambling, and visiting prostitutes—a complete scoundrel.

The final spark Wei Xun spoke of was him.

Jingzhao Prefecture had a myriad of methods for extracting confessions; being tortured or executed was considered light. Wang Cheng happened to be carrying a blood crime on his back; wanting a quick death, he naturally agreed to Wei Xun's threat.

Wang Cheng's death by crashing into the palace gate was like a thunderbolt that dispersed the mist over the capital, exposing Prince Jing's abuse of young women to the officials.

At the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Consort Su had been waiting outside for over half an hour.

She entered the palace at the age of fourteen and gave birth to Prince Jing and Prince Yu. Now nearing forty, she still retained her charm, especially her enchanting peach blossom eyes that could make one's bones melt with a single glance—something Emperor Chengyuan adored the most.

"How could the Emperor not see me? It must be you, the eunuch, talking nonsense! It's me, your concubine, please let me in!"

Prince Jing had made such a grave mistake, causing an uproar in the court, and the people's resentment was unstoppable.

Consort Su, favored in the harem, was arrogant and willful, completely unaware that murdering a few women was wrong. Those lowly commoners criticizing Prince Jing deserved death.

Emperor Chengyuan flipped through the memorials as though he hadn't heard the noise outside.

His Majesty was genuinely angry this time.

The chief eunuch, Wang Gonggong, standing by his side with a horsetail whisk, was sweating nervously.

Consort Su's voice had become hoarse from shouting. It was already the end of July, and the midday sun could kill. She had been outside for half an hour, feeling lightheaded.

The door of the Hall of Mental Cultivation stayed shut for a long time. She supported her head with her fingertips, glanced inside, and suddenly her legs buckled, collapsing to the ground.

"Madame, Madame, what's wrong with you!"

The maids and matrons following her were in chaos, and the palace servants inside could no longer remain seated.

The door suddenly opened, and a stern-faced man picked up the woman. "Call the imperial physician quickly!"

Consort Su's eyes were closed, her face pale, her temples drenched in sweat, making her appear even more delicate.

Emperor Chengyuan's lips pressed together, urging the attendants again. "Summon the head of the Imperial Hospital to me!"

"Yes."

The palace servants of the Hall of Mental Cultivation hurried off, and the news of the Consort's fainting quickly spread throughout the harem.

At Qianning Palace, Empress Zhang and the Crown Prince sat together, and Empress Zhang offered him a cup of ginseng tea.

"Your health is weak; you can skip the morning greetings if possible, so how could your mother blame you?"

The Crown Prince took the cup and drank half its contents, his palms gradually warming up. He smiled at the corners of his lips, without the usual morbid gloom.

"Walking more does feel better, and the imperial physician advised that I get more sun."

"Since the imperial physician has said so, then listen to him. If you lack anything, just let your mother know. If I don't have it here, I will go and ask your father for it."

Empress Zhang had only this one son, who had been born with a chronic illness. She felt guilty and was even more devoted to the Crown Prince.

"I know, Mother."

When they mentioned Emperor Chengyuan, they inevitably thought of the sins committed by Prince Jing.

Empress Zhang's expression showed relief. "Heaven has eyes, exposing the sins of Prince Jing. So many women died in vain, and the people's resentment is overwhelming. This time, even your father cannot protect him!"

Her son was the Crown Prince, yet because of Emperor Chengyuan's favoritism, Prince Jing had overshadowed him.

The Crown Prince finished the remaining ginseng tea but did not respond to Empress Zhang's words. He looked down on Prince Jing, but Prime Minister Su behind Prince Jing was cunning and would not stand by and watch Prince Jing be punished.

This matter might still take time to resolve.