“Crash!”
Another crisp shattering sound echoed as the last intact Cracked Ice Pattern Teacup on the imperial desk was violently thrown to the ground, fragments scattering everywhere. The kneeling figures on the floor broke out in cold sweat, not daring to dodge.
“How outrageous!” The Hongren Emperor hadn’t been this angry in a long time. His chest heaved violently as he glared at the group with bloodshot eyes and a ferocious expression.
The ominous, tattered crimson Wugu doll and the precious fabric stained with blood had all been retrieved and placed on the table. The adulterous eunuch and palace maid were pale as sheets, kneeling on the ground trembling like sieves, too paralyzed to even lift their heads. Hua Mian, the Third Prince’s head palace maid, knelt obediently nearby—she had been the one to initiate today’s discovery.
“Look at you all…! Each and every one of you, causing such disgraceful incidents—have you no shame?” The Hongren Emperor pointed at them with disappointed fury. His gaze moved from the Empress down to the Third Prince. “And you! All you ever think about is exposing your brother’s faults—he’s your own flesh and blood!”
The Empress’s face was grim, but she maintained her composure. Bowing her head, she promptly admitted her fault: “This subject has failed to manage the palace strictly… allowing such scandals to occur. I await Your Majesty’s punishment.”
Leaving aside the affair between the eunuch and palace maid in her quarters, the mere reappearance of the fear-inducing Wugu doll in the rear palace was enough to condemn her negligence. The Empress had no choice but to swallow her pride and accept responsibility.
The Third Prince knelt beside his birth mother, Rong Fei, feeling both wronged and resentful.
The Empress’s own palace had slipped up, and he happened to discover it—was he supposed to help cover it up? The Sixth Prince did nothing yet received their father’s protection—such blatant favoritism. Had it only been the affair… he might have kept it secret as leverage.
But this was a Wugu curse.
Something that could stir up a new storm of bloodshed!
If the adulterous pair hadn’t been discovered, and he alone had learned of this, he might have found some use for it in secret. Unfortunately, Hua Mian and the two had discovered it together—neither side could conceal it, forcing them to report it.
Yet even after reporting it, he gained no favor. The Third Prince seethed with bitterness and injustice.
He had indeed considered… that disgracing the Empress would hurt her more than directly attacking the Sixth Prince. But he hadn’t voiced any of that! On the surface, this didn’t implicate the Sixth Prince at all. How could his father falsely accuse him so baselessly?
The Hongren Emperor’s face was dark as still water. He cast a deep glance at the Third Prince and coldly rebuked, “You know perfectly well what I mean. Go study the Imperial Atlas for a week!”
This third son of his…
Outwardly accomplished in both civil and military arts, a source of pride in every way. Yet in moments of disappointment, he truly infuriated him… so foolish and narrow-minded! No amount of talent could save that.
Did he truly think his father couldn’t see the glee and anticipation on his face? The Third Prince might as well have openly waited for him to reprimand the Empress and disgrace the Sixth Prince along with her! Preferably even transferring the central palace’s authority to his own mother, wasn’t that right?
The Third Prince’s face turned pale.
St…study the Imperial Atlas? It was as if cold water had been dumped over him, jolting him awake.
He had taken it for granted that, given how favored he was, he would be kept in the capital like the eldest prince. But could his father’s intention possibly be… How could he possibly end up in the same miserable fate as the Second Prince?!
Establishing a fiefdom away from the capital and being sent to a remote, harsh place like Lingnan to establish a fiefdom were worlds apart. But the Third Prince, as if struck by lightning, failed to grasp the distinction. To him, leaving the capital to establish a fiefdom meant the complete destruction of any hope for the rest of his life—it would be unbearable agony.
This must not happen!
The Third Prince shuffled forward on his knees, intending to cling to his father’s legs and weep. Rong Fei’s expression changed drastically. She intercepted her son’s subtle movement and threw herself to the ground instead, revealing her delicate and beautiful profile as she pleaded softly:
“Your Majesty, please calm your anger! Your son means no harm… This is a matter of sorcery and curses. If it is overlooked or concealed, the harem will descend into chaos. He only learned of it from Hua Mian and likely had no idea how to handle it. In his haste, he could only rely on you, his father!”
Rong Fei possessed a face as exquisite as a lotus flower. Over the years, even as new beauties continuously entered the harem, she never lost the emperor’s favor. Everyone praised the emperor for his loyalty to the past, while secretly envying her enduring prominence.
Seeing her tearful plea now, the Hongren Emperor’s expression softened considerably, but he did not retract his earlier words. With a cold wave of his hand, he did not even glance at the Third Prince. “You may leave.”
“…Yes.” Even with his low emotional intelligence, the Third Prince understood from his mother’s frantic signals that he should not plead further.
He performed a dazed bow, forcing back the tears welling in his eyes, and withdrew anxiously.
“Hah…” The Hongren Emperor took a deep breath, relieved that one of the headaches was gone, but his expression remained grim.
His fury today was not primarily about the Empress’s failure to manage the harem or the Third Prince’s foolish scheming—those were trivial matters. Rather…
The man in the dragon robe fixed his gaze on the Wugu doll on the table, his face shifting between light and shadow as if lost in memory.
This accidentally discovered Wugu doll had actually been used in rituals since the Second Prince’s birth over a decade ago. Thinking back, everything that had happened was no accident but a deliberate conspiracy targeting him! A plot aimed at Weiyong Count, Hua Pin, and the Second Prince’s lineage.
The Rainbow Cloud Satin at the beginning of the month…
A familiar face he thought long forgotten surfaced vividly from the depths of his memory.
Hua Pin.
The fact that she had earned this title proved how deeply favored she had been back then. When the Second Prince was born, he had been overjoyed and without hesitation sent the rarest piece of fabric from the treasury, wanting his beloved son to have the very best, sparing him any hardship.
And then…
And then came…
Hua Pin died from postpartum hemorrhage, coinciding with the news of Weiyong Count’s defeat in battle. The newborn Second Prince fell ill and languished… At the time, several other incidents occurred—what were they again?
“A harbinger of disaster.”
In any case, this notion slowly and deeply took root in the Hongren Emperor’s mind. He no longer felt any affection and did not wish to hear anything about that infant.
He knew it was misplaced anger, but what could he do? Hua Pin was gone forever.
But now… what if it had all been a calculated scheme?
Hongren Emperor recalled the imperial physician’s diagnosis that Hua Pin’s pregnancy had been perfectly normal, progressing steadily. Even the delivery had gone smoothly, yet she had suddenly and inexplicably hemorrhaged to death, and the Second Prince was born frail as a frozen kitten… These doubts now resurfaced in his mind.
At this thought, the Second Prince’s despondent face appeared before him.
For over a decade, Hongren Emperor’s habitual aversion had made him unwilling to dwell on the gaunt, frail youth, wanting only to send him away quickly. But what if all this had been deliberately orchestrated by conspiracy?
—So who was behind this Wugu doll deception that had fooled him for more than ten years?
Hongren Emperor’s suspicious mood darkened considerably.
Considering himself the Son of Heaven, he absolutely could not tolerate anyone daring to violate his celestial authority, deceiving and scheming against him.
Could it be… the Empress, who exercised the tightest control over the rear palace? Or Shu Fei, who had gloriously borne the First Prince and wouldn’t want her thunder stolen? Or perhaps Rong Fei, already pregnant and seeking to eliminate rivals?
The clues were insufficient; deeper investigation was needed.
As Hongren Emperor pondered, the palace hall fell utterly silent, so quiet that even breathing was scarcely audible. The Empress and Rong Fei kept their heads bowed meekly, eyes fixed on the ground before them, seeing only what was directly in front. The imperial dragon boots paced back and forth before them, as if troubled by something.
“…” The Empress’s face remained impassive, but cold sweat gradually seeped through her back, making it hard for her to maintain composure.
Her senses had always been sharp, and now she could feel an icy, scrutinizing gaze shifting between her and Rong Fei, carrying a chilling coldness. What was the Emperor thinking?
The Empress could actually guess—she and Rong Fei, including the Third Prince and Hua Mian, had each been interrogated multiple times. The Emperor was deeply concerned about the origin of the Wugu doll and was furious. But the Empress couldn’t clearly prove her innocence in the matter.
Back then, the extent of Hua Pin’s favor… everyone had witnessed it.
The Empress herself had felt jealous, resenting her childless position as unstable, hating that the healthy eldest son was born to a concubine, and that the Emperor had refused to let her adopt Hua Pin’s unborn child—she had heard it was because Hua Pin had begged the Emperor.
The Emperor might suspect her of envying Hua Pin and committing these acts. After all, the discovery of the Wugu doll by the illicit maid and eunuch today was coincidental; the Emperor wouldn’t consider her innocent just because they were from her palace.
…Given the circumstances, she needed to find a way.
The Empress bit her lip and spoke calmly, “Your Majesty, setting other matters aside for now, there is an urgent duty within my responsibilities that I must report first.”
“What is it?”
“This tangled web of events may take long to investigate, but I believe there is one person who most needs reassurance right now.” The Empress stated objectively with her head bowed.
“…Are you referring to the Second Prince?” Hongren Emperor’s anger did subside somewhat, replaced by a measure of bewilderment.
He remained silent for a moment, then waved his hand, “Zhao Fuman.”
The plump, pale Great Eunuch emerged silently from the shadows, his sudden cheerful presence startling, “Your servant is here.”
“Select some useful items for the Second Prince from my private treasury and send them over.” Hongren Emperor’s mind was in turmoil, and he instinctively avoided thinking further about the Second Prince. He simply waved his hand dismissively, signaling the Great Eunuch to handle the matter entirely on his behalf.
This was his method of appeasement for now.
Once everything was thoroughly investigated, he would carefully consider how to treat his second son, or perhaps… how to make amends.
“Yes.” Eunuch Fuman responded with a beaming smile before withdrawing.
As the emperor’s most trusted confidant, Zhao Fuman naturally didn’t interpret this as the emperor continuing to neglect the Second Prince. Though there might still be unresolved complexities between father and son, the emperor was now consciously concerned. Wasn’t this precisely the moment for Eunuch Fuman to demonstrate his usefulness?
The plump Great Eunuch solemnly went to the private treasury, deliberated for a long time, and suddenly had a flash of inspiration. Finally, he cheerfully led a procession of Little Eunuchs on their way.
He was certain that His Highness the Prince would appreciate this gift from him—oh no! From the emperor.
Author’s Note:
Hongren Emperor is currently in a period of internal conflict between reason and emotion. On one hand, his rationality tells him he has wronged his second son; on the other, his emotions waver, wanting to maintain the status quo and continue his resentment (because facing his own mistakes is too difficult).
He is furious about the past sufferings of Hua Pin, the Second Prince, and Weiyong Count. But human nature being what it is, his initial reaction is most angered by the fact that he, the exalted Son of Heaven, had been deceived for over a decade—a complete blow to his dignity—making him want to furiously track down the culprits and tear them to pieces.