Early May, the first year of Chengqian, Fengyi Dian.
Xu Rusheng leaned against the window in a white robe, gazing at the peach tree outside. A mocking smile touched the corners of her lips.
Though she was in the prime of her youth at twenty, her phoenix eyes were devoid of light, like a pool of stagnant water reflecting her inner sorrow and despair.
“Your Majesty, His Majesty said the imperial edict to depose the Empress will be issued tomorrow.”
The female official from Tiyuan Dian knelt on the ground, trembling, not daring to lift her head.
Xu Rusheng recalled Zhou Heng’s sanctimonious appearance from the day before:
“If you have even a shred of self-awareness left, you will move to Lenggong of your own accord. For your uncle’s sake, I will spare your life. My heart belongs only to Songyi, and the position of Empress shall only be hers.”
The words Zhou Songyi had said this afternoon while flaunting her triumph echoed in her ears:
“I am the true eldest legitimate daughter of the Xu family; you are the one who took my place.”
“You are as stupid as your short-lived mother. You probably didn’t know, but it was my mother who sent people to assassinate her.”
“What does it matter if you know the truth now? Empress Wen is dead, and General Wen resigned his post to return to the fields just to protect you. Father hates you for always favoring the Wen family; no one will ever back you up again.”
“His Majesty only married you to gain Empress Wen’s support.”
…
Xu Rusheng bit her lip hard, but not a single tear fell. Her tears had dried up when her aunt died.
Princess Chunyi, Zhou Heng’s paternal aunt, her father’s wife, and the stepmother she had always respected, was actually the murderer who killed her mother!
No wonder. No wonder Xu Jinnian, the heir of the Linjiang Houfu, was born prematurely. There was no such thing as a premature birth.
Xu Rusheng gave a bleak smile.
It was clear that her father and Princess Chunyi had conceived a child in secret long ago!
Princess Chunyi was desperate to enter the Xu family, but because Xu Rusheng’s mother came from the great Wen clan of Qujiang—with an Empress sister in the Central Palace and a Great General brother—even someone as noble as Princess Chunyi could not easily replace her. She could only take a desperate risk and commit murder, making sure the mother died on the road back to the capital after visiting relatives.
Xu Rusheng took a deep breath, seemingly having made up her mind. She turned to the kneeling official and spoke coldly:
“I want to see Zhou Heng.”
In the entire Da Qi, she, Xu Rusheng, was the only one who dared to call the Emperor by his name so directly.
The official scrambled up and bowed respectfully.
“This servant shall lead the way for Your Majesty.”
Although Xu Rusheng had fallen from grace, no one in the palace dared to treat her with disrespect.
She had grown up in the palace since childhood, was best friends with the late Emperor’s eldest princess, and had been cherished like a precious pearl by Empress Wen. She was raised with the utmost delicacy and nobility.
Upon reaching adulthood, she was directly betrothed to the late Emperor’s second son, the current Emperor Chengqian, and was soon after invested as the Crown Princess.
However, after the Emperor ascended the throne, he immediately conferred the title of Noble Consort upon Zhou Songyi, the eldest daughter of Princess Chunyi, and never set foot in Fengyi Dian again.
Zhou Heng had spoken with an air of complete entitlement: “Songyi and I are truly in love. I was forced to marry you back then. You should be satisfied just living in Fengyi Dian now. It is Songyi who is being wronged with the rank of Noble Consort, so she shall hold the Phoenix Seal.”
At that time, Xu Rusheng had slapped that shameless face:
“I don’t care who your heart belongs to or who you dote on. The position of Empress represents the face of the Wen family and the face of my aunt. If you insult it, I will never let the matter rest.”
Zhou Heng had left with a darkened face then.
Shortly after, rumors spread through the palace that Xu Rusheng had attempted to poison Zhou Songyi. Zhou Songyi survived, but lost the child in her womb.
Xu Rusheng knew it was a frame-up, but what did it matter?
Princess Chunyi was furious. she rushed into Fengyi Dian and delivered a heavy blow to Xu Rusheng’s face, saying with heart-wrenching disappointment:
“I treated you like my own daughter. All these years, I never distinguished between you and Songyi, yet you are so cruel. From now on, there is no more affection between us.”
Xu Jingyuan, the Marquis of Linjiang, was also full of disappointment:
“Sigh, as your father, I sympathized with you for losing your mother at a young age, and your aunt, Empress Wen, doted on you so much that she kept you in the palace. I didn’t ask questions, but I never expected Empress Wen would raise you to be so… sigh.”
He was questioning Empress Wen and the upbringing of the Wen family!
Xu Rusheng looked at the biological father who had never cared for her and replied coldly, “It is not for the Marquis of Linjiang to criticize the upbringing of the palace.”
From that moment on, she severed all ties with the Linjiang Houfu.
Her uncle, General Wen, traded his military tally for her life.
Now, in the Da Qi harem, Zhou Songyi reigned supreme.
Xu Rusheng arrived at Tiyuan Dian. Just as she was about to step forward, she heard discordant sounds coming from within the hall.
The sounds rose in waves—the moans of a woman and the heavy breathing of a man mingled together. The sound turned Xu Rusheng’s face pale, and her heart felt like cold ash.
“It is Noble Lady Miao serving His Majesty,” the official beside her whispered, her face flushed with embarrassment. Looking at the deathly pale Xu Rusheng, she couldn’t bear it and reminded her in a low voice: “Should Your Majesty come back in a while?”
Xu Rusheng only felt that she was truly as stupid as a pig. How could a shameless scoundrel like Zhou Heng have ever caught her eye?
She closed her eyes to calm her emotions. When she opened them again, they were clear.
She walked to the front of the hall. The bystanders had long been dismissed. She kicked the door open, startling the two naked people inside, who shrieked:
“Ah! How could the Empress barge in like this?”
Noble Lady Miao hurriedly pulled a garment to cover herself, not daring to look up at Xu Rusheng.
Zhou Heng was humiliated and furious. He scrambled to put on his clothes, pointing at Xu Rusheng and cursing:
“Have you no shame? How could Songyi have a sister like you?”
Xu Rusheng slapped his hand away with a sharp smack.
“If you had any shame, you wouldn’t be doing such things in broad daylight. My aunt managed the harem with clear rules and order throughout her life. Now, it has been turned into a foul mess by you.”
She then looked at the disheveled Noble Lady Miao.
“If I had known this day would come, I would have had you beaten to death and thrown to the mass graves to feed the dogs when my aunt passed away. It would have been better than letting others know that someone from Fengyi Dian turned out to be such a wanton creature. You have utterly ruined my aunt’s reputation.”
When Empress Wen was alive, Hu Miao’er served in Empress Wen’s Fengyi Dian. After the Empress died, she became Zhou Heng’s Noble Lady Miao.
Xu Rusheng gave her a look of utter loathing. “Someone, drag this wench to the Yeting and beat her to death.”
Noble Lady Miao’s face turned white as she grabbed the corner of Zhou Heng’s robe. “Your Majesty, save me! Your Majesty the Empress, you are treating human life like grass!”
Zhou Heng was flying into a rage, pointing at Xu Rusheng: “You are no longer the Empress! You can no longer act so arrogantly in this palace!”
His eyes were bloodshot, and he wore an undisguised expression of spiteful triumph.
“No matter how powerful Empress Wen was, she is dead now.”
“The poison of Qingtuoluo was in her meals every day, slowly corroding her.”
“An Empress without a son, no matter how favored, is but a fleeting bloom.”
Boom!
It felt as if Xu Rusheng had been struck by a bolt from the blue. So that was it. Her aunt had been poisoned to death!
“When did it start?” she asked, her throat feeling parched. “When did you start poisoning my aunt?”
Seeing her pale face, Zhou Heng felt a sense of gratification. He flicked his sleeve.
“There’s no harm in telling you. On the day of our grand wedding, Miao’er began slowly adding poison to Empress Wen’s meals.”
Xu Rusheng felt a ringing in her ears and a dull ache in her head. She felt dizzy, and all her lingering attachments to the world vanished.
Summoning the last of her strength, she slowly pulled the phoenix hairpin from her hair and lunged forward, stabbing it violently into Zhou Heng’s heart.
Zhou Heng’s eyes widened in disbelief. He opened his mouth to spit out a mouthful of blood but could not utter a word. He fell straight to the ground.
The Empress had killed the Emperor!
The sudden turn of events, the old secrets revealed, and the violent shock caused Noble Lady Miao to faint instantly. The official of Tiyuan Dian bit her tongue to keep herself conscious.
“Go. Find General Wen. Tell him that Sheng’er has gone to accompany her aunt. Uncle will never have to be controlled by others again. This world… belongs to him now.”
“The Marquis of Linjiang, Princess Chunyi, Zhou Songyi, and this Da Qi Zhou dynasty—all of them shall be buried with me and my aunt.”
Xu Rusheng watched the official stumble out of Tiyuan Dian. She looked back at the dead Zhou Heng, picked up a candle stand, and slowly set fire to the bright yellow curtains in the hall.
With a smile on her lips and a face full of serenity, she hummed the lullaby her aunt used to sing to her as a child:
“The moon is bright, the wind is still, the leaves shade the window lattice…”