When that palace maid saw that the emperor had arrived, she threw herself to the ground, her voice shrill and grief-stricken, every word seemingly soaked in blood as she pointed straight at Su Su:
“Your Majesty, please see clearly! Empress Dowager, please judge fairly! It was Consort Su! Just now she kept holding my lady and talking to her I don’t know what she said, but my lady’s complexion grew worse and worse! It must have been her… it must have been that she couldn’t bear to see my lady well and secretly struck with poison! I beg Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager to seek justice for my lady and the unborn little imperial prince!”
She kowtowed again and again like pounding garlic, her forehead instantly bruised and purple. Her performance was so heartfelt that anyone watching would think her a loyal servant devoted to protecting her mistress.
Li Qianche sat upright on a temporary rosewood armchair that had been brought over, his face calm as still water, his emotions unreadable.
He did not immediately look at the maid; instead, he slowly shifted his gaze to Su Su, who stood quietly to one side. In the depths of his eyes surged complicated emotions scrutiny, probing, and even a trace of hidden expectation that he himself had not noticed.
He wanted to see how she would respond, wanted to hear her defend herself, and deep down he even hoped she would, as before, look at him with a touch of grievance and a hint of willful softness, seeking his protection.
Yet Su Su’s reaction took everyone by surprise. She neither panicked nor lashed out in anger. She simply stepped forward calmly and knelt down with graceful composure, her back straight as green bamboo that refused to bend in wind and snow.
“Your Majesty, Empress Dowager,” her voice was clear and steady, without the slightest ripple, “this concubine did not harm Elder Sister Wan.”
“Empty words anyone can say them!” Consort Zhuang immediately sneered, unwilling to give Su Su even a moment’s respite. “Of course you wouldn’t admit it!”
Su Su ignored Consort Zhuang’s interruption and continued to look at the emperor and the Empress Dowager, speaking with clear logic:
“If this concubine truly intended to harm someone, why would I have loudly called for the imperial physician the moment Elder Sister Wan felt unwell? If I had a guilty conscience, would that not be delivering myself into a trap? On this matter, the Empress Dowager can testify for me today the physician’s presence was precisely because I was worried about Her Majesty’s health and earnestly requested permission for him to accompany us.”
She paused, her gaze frank. “If I had laid out a scheme to harm Elder Sister Wan, having calculated that she would fall ill at this moment, why would I have gone in advance to request the Empress Dowager’s approval to have an imperial physician on hand?”
Hearing this, the Empress Dowager frowned slightly and pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded. Su Su’s words did make sense. The physician had accompanied them because she herself was ill, and Su Su’s filial concern was commendable.
If Su Su had truly been plotting to harm Consort Wan, why would she have insisted on bringing the physician along? The Empress Dowager’s expression softened somewhat, and the suspicion in her eyes lessened, replaced by thoughtful consideration.
Seeing that the Empress Dowager seemed persuaded, Consort Zhuang grew anxious and immediately shrieked, “Clever words and a pretty tongue! This may well be the brilliance of Consort Su! Knowing that Consort Wan was pregnant, you deliberately used concern for the Empress Dowager as a pretext to prepare a physician washing away suspicion of killing to silence someone while making yourself appear benevolent and kind! Who doesn’t know that since being demoted, you, Su Su, have grown far more calculating!”
She skillfully linked “demotion,” “deep scheming,” and the old case of “harming the Ning Prince’s heir,” clearly trying to rekindle everyone’s negative impressions of Su Su.
Sure enough, once these words were spoken, many consorts looked at Su Su with renewed wariness. Indeed Su Su had once been so arrogant and domineering that she had dared to harm an imperial heir. If she were to devise such a vicious plot now, it was not impossible. The Ning
Prince’s heir case had yet to be resolved, and Su Su still bore that suspicion!
Li Qianche took in everyone’s reactions. He looked at Su Su, kneeling straight-backed, and spoke in a tone devoid of emotion: “Consort Su, what else do you have to say?”
The inexplicable irritation in his heart grew stronger. Why wouldn’t she ask him for help? As long as she showed even a trace of weakness, a trace of reliance…
Su Su lifted her eyes and met Li Qianche’s gaze calmly. That look was too clear and too distant, as though she were looking at a stranger with nothing to do with her.
What more could she say? Even if it were discovered that Xiao Luzi was Consort Zhuang’s man, that unused packet of “Dreamlike Decree” was clearly meant to be planted in her wardrobe. But what use was saying it now? The evidence had not been seized together; Xiao Luzi could easily turn around and accuse her, claiming the drug was hers.
Consort Zhuang’s scheme was airtight. Since she dared to act, she must have been fully prepared to leave Su Su unable to defend herself no matter how many mouths she had. And most importantly the person on the dragon throne… would he really believe her? The poisoned wine of the Cold Palace in her previous life had already given her the answer. In the face of an emperor’s suspicion and so-called ironclad evidence, her defenses had always been pale and powerless.
A faint, almost liberated smile even brushed her lips as she spoke softly, “This concubine has nothing more to say. The innocent will prove themselves innocent; the guilty will reveal themselves guilty. If Your Majesty determines that this was my doing and wishes to punish me, then this concubine… accepts the decree.”
The four words “accepts the decree” were spoken lightly, yet they struck Li Qianche’s heart like a heavy hammer. Looking at her resolute expression one that seemed ready to withdraw from this world at any moment, with no lingering attachment an unprecedented panic seized his heart! He suddenly realized with stark clarity that his earlier cold detachment and testing had not made her submit at all; instead, it was pushing her farther and farther away, toward an abyss he could no longer reach.
He did not want to test her anymore. He could not lose her.
Just as the corner of Consort Zhuang’s lips was about to curl upward in suppressed triumph, believing she had finally succeeded and could eradicate this great threat once and for all.
At that moment, Li Qianche suddenly rose to his feet. A chilling imperial pressure radiated from him, instantly enveloping the entire Plum Garden.
“Nothing to say?” he repeated Su Su’s words, his voice striking like ice against stone. “I, however, have something to say!”
Su Su no longer cared. She simply wanted to hear how he intended to deal with her. If it was the same as in her previous life casting her into the Cold Palace then she would take Chunlan and Qiuju with her, enter the Cold Palace, and find a chance to fake her death and leave the palace.
She lifted her head to look at Li Qianche, only to find that he was not looking at her at all. His gaze, sharp as lightning, swept toward Consort Zhuang, carrying an icy insight that seemed to pierce through everything.
“You think you did it flawlessly?”
Su Su was shocked. Was he questioning Consort Zhuang?