Chapter 30 The Incident

Chapter 30 The Affair

As dusk settled, the Crown Princess, clad in everyday robes, hurried into the Empress's chambers to present her greetings.

At that time, the Empress had just finished her evening meal and was reviewing the palace registry. Seeing the Crown Princess, she smiled and said, "Mingyuan, I was just about to summon you to discuss Princess De Ning's coming-of-age ceremony. What a coincidence you’re here."

The Crown Princess gave a subdued smile and bowed to the Empress.

The Empress then invited her to sit, and the two engaged in familiar chatter.

Speaking of Princess De Ning's coming-of-age ceremony, the Empress remarked, "This is a grand occasion for De Ning. His Majesty has specifically instructed that it be held with great pomp. Once the ceremony is over, we must begin choosing a consort for her."

Preparations had thus begun a month in advance.

The Crown Princess nodded along, and the two discussed the details of the ceremony, as well as other court festivities that required careful planning.

The Empress smiled and said, "Last year, you were still a new bride, so it wasn’t appropriate for you to handle these matters. But this year is different. You must learn to assist me in managing such affairs. One day, all these responsibilities will fall to you."

Her words were warm and encouraging, leaving the Crown Princess no choice but to respond with humility, "This humble daughter-in-law is ignorant and will follow your guidance, hoping only to share your burdens."

As they spoke, the Empress suddenly noticed that the Crown Princess's eyes were puffy.

Concerned, she asked, "Mingyuan, I was so preoccupied with De Ning’s ceremony that I didn’t notice earlier—what troubles you? It looks as though you’ve been crying?"

At this, the Crown Princess's eyes reddened further.

The Empress pressed, "What happened? Has the Crown Prince been quarreling with you again?"

Tears welled up in the Crown Princess's eyes as she whispered tearfully, "Does Your Majesty remember Ning Shi? Recently, news arrived that she had escaped Yanxiang Temple and disappeared without a trace."

The Empress frowned. "Ah... the Crown Prince insisted on searching for her, but they’ve found nothing so far, haven’t they?"

Not long after their return to the capital, word had spread that the Taoist nun Miao Zhen had gone missing from Yanxiang Temple. Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince had been frantic, which led the Jingxi Emperor to reprimand him harshly.

For reasons unknown, the Emperor had been in a poor temper, and the Crown Prince, stubborn as ever, had clashed with him again. It was said the Emperor had nearly kicked the Crown Prince out of the palace in anger.

After searching around Nanqiongzi for two or three days without success, the Crown Prince had finally given up. He continued to send people to search the area while taking out his anger back at the Crown Prince’s residence—first berating the Crown Princess, then severely punishing Lady Su, and even having Nanny Sun tied up. The entire household had been in an uproar.

Only after the Empress intervened and the Emperor issued further reprimands did the Crown Prince reluctantly calm down.

Recently, the residence had been peaceful, with the Crown Prince focusing on his studies and military preparations. Everyone had assumed the matter was over.

The Crown Princess wiped her tears and continued, "Lately, His Highness has been nitpicking everything I do. Yesterday, he criticized the birthday gift I prepared for De Ning, calling me useless and scolding me mercilessly."

The Empress sighed. "Mo Yao is truly too reckless. You’ve suffered greatly because of him."

She then consoled her warmly.

Still weeping, the Crown Princess added, "Now, I face another dilemma and don’t know how to proceed. I must seek Your Majesty’s guidance."

The Empress’s eyes sharpened. She studied the Crown Princess’s face and asked, "What is it?"

The Crown Princess replied, "Today, news arrived from Nanqiongzi. Yanxiang Temple has been searching for Ning Shi, and they’ve gained new leads. I was so shaken I didn’t know how to respond."

The Empress’s eyes widened. "They’ve found her?"

The Crown Princess shook her head. "Not Ning Shi herself, but they do have some clues now."

She then elaborated in detail, explaining how Ning had entered the Daoist order but failed to abide by its ascetic rules, instead carrying on a scandalous affair with a guard and running off together.

The Empress: "Ran off together?"

The Crown Princess bit her lip slightly, appearing hesitant to speak further. "That is the report from Yanxiang Temple. To be honest, I also feel guilty about this matter. At the time, I had received the Emperor’s oral command to escort Ning away, and the accompanying guard happened to be a former guard from my dowry retinue. Somehow, she lured him during the journey, using her charms to persuade him to take her away. The guard couldn’t resist and got ensnared by her schemes, helping her escape Yanxiang Temple. Now, Nie San has been captured and spilled everything."

She rose helplessly, about to kneel. "If this matter is scrutinized, it is my failure in handling it properly. I deserve Your Majesty’s reprimand."

The Empress quickly stopped her. "This has nothing to do with you. It is Ning who is shameless—having entered the Daoist order yet still unable to remain chaste!"

The Crown Princess resignedly wiped her tears.

The Empress sighed repeatedly. "Finding her would have been good, but for her to commit such disgraceful acts—if the Crown Prince learns of this, he will surely be furious again!"

The Crown Princess lowered her head. "Yes... Moreover, His Majesty has now entrusted the military review to His Highness, who will soon depart for the northern frontier to inspect military affairs. If this matter gets in the way of such critical duties... I truly don’t know what to do."

The Empress paused in thought. "This is a weighty matter, and it cannot be concealed. As your elder, I must take responsibility. I will speak to His Majesty and let him decide."

Hearing this, the Crown Princess finally relaxed slightly.

The two women chatted for a while longer about household matters until several palace ladies arrived to report affairs. Seizing the opportunity, the Crown Princess took her leave.

After exiting the palace chambers, she boarded the Empress’s carriage just as an autumn breeze swept by, carrying a fallen leaf with it.

A maid hurriedly tightened her cloak and closed the carriage window.

The Crown Princess turned her head slightly, gazing through the translucent curtain at the towering palace halls outside.

Her lips twitched in a cold smirk as she sneered inwardly.

All this time, the Crown Prince had been pining over that fox-spirit, tormented by guilt and remorse, his vigor as Crown Prince withered into gloom.

Now, if he were to learn that the temptress had long seduced another man and was rolling in the sheets with him—how would he react?

After seeing off the Crown Princess, the Empress contemplated for a moment before instructing a palace lady to prepare a petition to be sent to the Hall of Celestial Purity. At this hour, the Jingxi Emperor should be there.

The Great Hui court had rigid protocols—harem consorts were forbidden from interfering in state affairs. Even as the Emperor’s wife, the Empress could not see him at will. Apart from scheduled summons or imperial favor, any ordinary matters required her to have a palace lady draft a palace petition.

This palace petition, wrapped in yellow silk, would be delivered by palace eunuchs to the Hall of Celestial Purity, where eunuchs of the Inner Secretariat would present it for the Emperor’s review.

The Emperor would then issue a response, and only after receiving his approval could the Empress proceed to the Hall of Celestial Purity for an audience.

—And since she was a harem consort, this would naturally be recorded in the imperial records: on such-and-such date, the Emperor summoned the Empress to the Hall of Celestial Purity, etc.

The process was cumbersome, taking at least half an hour even at the fastest. If the Jingxi Emperor was occupied, an hour would be a conservative estimate.

Thus, the Empress was in no hurry. After sending the petition to the Hall of Celestial Purity, she continued handling palace affairs.

As Empress, she bore heavy responsibilities—overseeing the inner court, receiving court ladies, and preparing for various ceremonies. Though she did not need to personally attend to every detail, everything required her approval.

She spent three hours daily on these matters. She could have delegated more to the palace ladies, merely supervising lightly.

But she preferred to handle things herself.

She was the Empress, a position earned through immense personal effort and the full support of her family.

She clung fiercely to her authority, keeping it firmly in her grasp.

After carefully listening to the reports from several palace ladies, she handed down her orders one by one.

After the ladies-in-waiting withdrew, she noticed Xiang Yin standing nearby, clearly with something to say.

She took a sip of tea and said indifferently, "Speak."

Xiang Yin lowered her voice slightly, "Just now, when the palace eunuchs delivered Your Majesty's petition to the *Fengtian Hall*, they happened to meet Lord Lu. He inquired about it and said he wished to visit Your Majesty to have a chat."

The Empress paused mid-sip, frowned slightly, and then replied, "Show him in."

According to palace rules, outsiders were strictly forbidden from entering the inner quarters of imperial consorts. However, Lu Yunjian was the Empress’s younger brother, and since he had come from the *Fengtian Hall* with the Emperor's permission, there was no need for concern.

Lu Yunjian entered the hall and bowed respectfully.

The Empress told him to rise and offered him a seat before the siblings began their conversation.

Xiang Yin quietly withdrew, signaling the attending maids outside to leave as well.

Lu Yunjian stared at the Empress intently and asked, "Did the Crown Princess say anything important during her visit today?"

The Empress chuckled lightly, "What makes you ask that, Yunjian?"

Lu Yunjian replied, "For Your Majesty to immediately draft a petition and send it to the *Fengtian Hall*, it must concern something Your Majesty couldn't decide alone. Given Your Majesty's wisdom, it must be a matter of great significance."

The Empress blew lightly on the steam rising from her tea and said leisurely, "Yunjian, you're reading too much into this. It's merely trivial household matters."

Lu Yunjian stared at her intently and lowered his voice, "Is it news about her?"

The Empress played dumb, "Her? Who is 'her'?"

Lu Yunjian pressed, "You know what I mean."

The Empress set her teacup down heavily on the phoenix-carved table and laughed coldly, "Everyone knows the Crown Prince is a lovesick fool, searching everywhere for that runaway lover of his. But how many know that our Lord Lu is even more devoted? That worthless woman—after you, who knows how many men have sullied her—yet you still hang up on her!"

At this, Lu Yunjian stood and turned to leave.

The Empress snapped, "Where are you going?"

Lu Yunjian paused briefly but did not look back, "The Crown Princess intends to ruin her completely."

The Empress sneered, "What, you plan to save her?"

Lu Yunjian retorted, "Why shouldn't I?"

The Empress mocked, "Who is she? Have you forgotten? She is the Crown Prince's discarded concubine, a Taoist nun by imperial decree. And you want to save her? What does she mean to you?"

Lu Yunjian froze at her words.

The Empress continued, "Yunjian, since you abandoned her back then, don’t try to go back now. Don’t forget—it was you who handed her over to the Crown Prince!"

Lu Yunjian stood frozen for a long moment before giving a bitter laugh.

In a near-whisper, he said, "Your Majesty, I was the one who shaped her. If I don’t want her dead, then she won’t die."

With that, he walked out without another word.

The Empress stared at his departing figure for a long time before finally declaring, "Have my carriage readied for the *Fengtian Hall*."

***********

As she left her chambers, the palace eunuchs from the *Fengtian Hall* arrived—the Emperor had summoned her.

The Empress immediately entered her carriage and hurried to the *Fengtian Hall* to see the Jingxi Emperor.

As it was just routine state affairs, the Jingxi Emperor wore only a simple narrow-sleeved dragon robe made of ramie silk, paired with a crimson belt. His jet-black hair was tied up with a jade-inlaid gold crown, giving off a detached vibe that clashed with the intricate and ornate dragon carvings around him.

The Empress had a vague feeling that the Jingxi Emperor had been unusually cold lately, like a block of ice.

However, she had no time to dwell on it now and cut to the chase, bringing up the matter of Lady Ning.

At the mention, the Jingxi Emperor's face turned stormy, displeased. "What about that Lady Ning again?"

The Empress paused for a beat before replying, "Your Majesty, a few days ago, Lady Ning went missing. Now, there are finally some clues."

She spelled out the whole story in detail and concluded, "Upon hearing the news, the Crown Prince, of course, didn’t buy it and stormed off to Nanqiongzi to get answers."

The Jingxi Emperor asked, "Is it true that this Miao Zhen was involved with a guard from the Crown Prince's residence?"

The Empress replied, "That’s what I’ve heard, at least."

The Jingxi Emperor raised an eyebrow slightly. "That’s what you’ve heard? What does the Empress mean by that?"

Hearing this, the Empress hesitated.

The Crown Prince was the Emperor's only heir, the future ruler of Great Hui. The Jingxi Emperor had poured all his hopes into this son, but now, the Emperor’s mind was unreadable—no one knew how he intended to handle the situation.

Would he give in or not?

Just then, the Imperial Guard suddenly reported that the Crown Prince had arrived, asking to see you.

The Jingxi Emperor snorted lightly. "This disgrace of a son has the nerve to show his face?"

The Empress rose, preparing to take her leave.

The Jingxi Emperor stopped her. "There is no need for you to withdraw, my Empress."

The Empress halted her steps.

Soon, the Crown Prince burst in, frantic.

The moment he entered, he knelt and begged for a few days' grace, saying that his former concubine's fate was unclear and he needed to find her first.

The Jingxi Emperor said coolly, "Unclear? What I heard was that she had eloped with a guard from your residence. Isn't the Yanxiang Temple currently sending troops to investigate?"

The Crown Prince protested, "Dad, she’d never run off with someone! She must have been framed! I must investigate this myself and prove her innocence!"

The Jingxi Emperor shot back, "Oh? So now the Yanxiang guards are lying?"

The Crown Prince's face flushed with urgency. "They drove her out! Why else would she run?"

The Jingxi Emperor remarked lightly, "With a guard from your residence."

The Crown Prince clenched his fists and pleaded, "Dad, when I brought her back to the capital, I meant to keep her forever. Even after you ordered her to the temple, I dared not disobey. But I can’t believe she’d just run off with someone mere days after leaving me! I must investigate this myself and get to the bottom of this!"

He raised his head, staring up at his imposing father, and declared loudly, "I will not allow anyone to wrong her or tarnish her name!"

From his throne, the Jingxi Emperor gazed down at his son, watching him stiffen his neck and shout defiantly. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

This was his Crown Prince, his own flesh and blood.

Now, for the sake of a lowly concubine, he was arguing with his father, disregarding all propriety and even neglecting the critical matter of military inspection!

At that moment, he had the urge to grab the paperweight beside him and hurl it at his son—but in the end, he restrained himself.

The blame lies with me for ruling Great Hui for over a decade, allowing him to grow up in peaceful times without knowing hardship, thus failing to cultivate the ruthless decisiveness expected of a Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince felt the crushing weight of his father's imperial presence bearing down, but he knew he couldn't retreat.

This was the Emperor's Hall of Heavenly Decree, where a single decree could decide the lives of many. If he took a step back, it would mean life or death for A Wu.

No matter what, he had to keep A Wu alive—she must live!

At this moment, the Jingxi Emperor suddenly said, "Shall we make a bet, father and son?"

Crown Prince: "What bet?"

The Jingxi Emperor smiled casually. "If that woman truly ran off with another man, you will cut her down yourself."

Hearing this, the Crown Prince hesitated slightly.

The Jingxi Emperor rested his long fingers on the paperweight and remarked coolly, "What, are you afraid?"

The Crown Prince clenched his teeth, veins standing out at his temples, his trembling fists white-knuckled.

Jingxi Emperor: "It seems you know your concubine well—that she is a wanton woman."

His smile vanished abruptly as he coldly retorted, "Even if she ran off with another man, you still wouldn’t take her life?"

Steeling his heart, the Crown Prince finally said, "Very well, Father. I accept your bet. If she truly ran off with someone, I will cut her down myself. But if she didn’t?"

He looked at the Jingxi Emperor. "If she was framed by villains, then what?"

Jingxi Emperor: "If she was framed, then she shall remain at Yanxiang Temple to devote herself to prayer for the prosperity of Great Hui. One day, if she completes her religious devotion, she may return to secular life. Perhaps you two will still have some destiny remaining."

The Crown Prince knelt on one knee, staring ahead as he declared word by word, "Very well, Father. Give me three days—I will personally investigate Lady Ning’s whereabouts."

Jingxi Emperor: "Three days?"

Crown Prince: "After three days, regardless of the outcome, I will depart for the northern frontier to inspect military affairs and review the troops, fulfilling my duty as the Crown Prince of Great Hui!"

His voice rang with conviction. The Jingxi Emperor nodded in satisfaction. "You are dismissed."

After the Crown Prince left the Hall of Heavenly Decree, the hall was plunged into silence.

The Empress listened quietly to the fading footsteps of the Crown Prince, a sudden suspicion taking shape in her heart.

The Jingxi Emperor lowered his gaze slightly, surveying the piles of petitions on the imperial desk, and remarked coolly, "Didn’t you say earlier that Yanxiang Temple has already captured Nie San?"

Empress: "Yes."

Jingxi Emperor continued, "And the Crown Princess just entered the palace?"

Empress: "Yes. She left in a hurry—she must be beside herself with worry."

The Jingxi Emperor frowned, pondered for a moment, then finally said, "Empress, I must trouble you to make the journey once more to Nanqiongzi."

The Empress lifted her eyes. "Me?"

Jingxi Emperor: "The Crown Prince is reckless. The Crown Princess cannot restrain him, and I doubt his subordinates dare to either. You are, after all, his official mother. Bear my seal—if the situation changes, you may exercise your judgment."

Empress: "Very well. Then I shall make the journey once more to Nanqiongzi."

Jingxi Emperor: "To expose adultery, you must catch them in the act. By then, Mo Yao will surely be taught his lesson."

The Empress was slightly taken aback, then raised her head to look at the Jingxi Emperor.

His expression was partially illuminated, partially shadowed, his gaze heavy with implication.

The Empress fully understood the Jingxi Emperor's intent.

Whether Ning Shi had truly committed adultery with Nie San or not, the charge would stick regardless.

The Crown Princess had her own schemes, and the Empress had hers—but the Jingxi Emperor had his own machinations.

He intended to use Ning Shi’s life to break the Crown Prince’s spirit, to make him realize that wallowing in lust and sentimentality would only lead to futile devotion.

This was not something he could handle directly, nor would outsiders dare to intervene—so he needed her to act.

She lowered her eyes respectfully. "As you wish, Your Majesty."