The Prince of Xiang only knew that Consort Chun was the daughter of the old Grand Preceptor Lin. He spent most of the year away from the capital and had little understanding of the tangled web of relationships within it, and did not know exactly how Consort Chun and Meng Qianzi were connected.
But recalling Consort Chun’s reaction upon first seeing this girl, he judged that the two of them not only knew each other, but were closely related.
This deepened his understanding of Xiao Jiuyi considerably, this man acted with no restraint whatsoever, or rather, there were precious few people left who could restrain him.
This Imperial Grand-Uncle of his no longer even registered in his eyes.
Meng Qianzi acted as though she had not noticed the Prince of Xiang’s reaction, and said flatly:
“In that case, Prince of Xiang, you have no choice but to accept this commoner’s judgment.”
The Prince of Xiang wanted to argue, but Xiao Jiuyi’s gaze, cold as frost, forced him to shut his mouth.
Xiao Jiuyi turned his head to look at Meng Qianzi for a long moment before saying, “Staking your own head over every little thing, do you think this Commander is made of mud?”
Meng Qianzi: “…”
Right. For these three days she was his person, and her life was, naturally, his as well.
Sensing his displeasure, she could only offer an explanation. “This commoner only meant to emphasize how certain she is of her judgment on this matter.”
“Hmph. You’re this Prince’s person, no need to explain yourself to anyone else.”
Xiao Jiuyi withdrew his gaze lazily.
The Prince of Xiang, the “anyone else” in question, was once again livid with anger.
This boy was utterly, thoroughly insufferable!
Xiao Jiuyi looked at the Prince of Xiang, and suddenly a smile with no warmth in it at all spread across his face. “Imperial Grand-Uncle, why didn’t the heir come with you to the capital this time?”
The Prince of Xiang had not expected the sudden change of subject, and was visibly caught off guard, his expression turning grave.
“Hexi has suffered a rare flood this year, and the heir is fully occupied with disaster relief. Why, does the Commander not know of this?”
Xiao Jiuyi nodded. “In that case, Imperial Grand-Uncle truly had no need to come to the capital at all. The Empress Dowager’s birthday comes every year, if you miss it this year, there is always next year. The people of Hexi need you far more.”
That was all but saying he had abandoned his own people to curry favor with the Empress Dowager. The Prince of Xiang’s old face flushed red then went pale by turns, his lips trembling with fury.
Fortunately, Xiao Jiuyi did not press the point further, and turned to ask Meng Qianzi, “Anything else you need to know?”
Meng Qianzi nodded. “Yes. This commoner wants to know where you were, Prince of Xiang, at the time it happened. Why did the Princess of Xiang come to Changting Palace alone, and where had she been before that?”
She knew her aunt and the Princess of Xiang had never once met, let alone had any close relationship, so what had the Princess of Xiang come to Changting Palace for?
Or had she been brought there against her will?
Had someone chosen to kill her at Changting Palace specifically in order to frame her aunt?
The Prince of Xiang had no wish to be scolded again by this junior, Xiao Jiuyi, and had no choice but to swallow his temper and answer Meng Qianzi’s question.
“That day this Prince brought my beloved consort into the palace to pay respects to Her Majesty the Empress Dowager. After Her Majesty kept the two of us for dinner, my beloved consort felt bloated and uncomfortable and suggested going out for a walk to help her digestion. This Prince still had more to discuss with Her Majesty, so I let her go on her own.”
At this point the Prince of Xiang’s eyes reddened, his face filled with regret, no doubt regretting that he had not accompanied the Princess of Xiang, had he been with her, surely none of this would have happened.
He steadied his emotions several times, forcing his grief down, and continued:
“The one who went out with my beloved consort was her personal maid. Her Majesty sent one of her own attendants to guide my beloved consort’s way. According to the two of them, when my beloved consort reached the outside of Changting Palace, she suddenly said she wanted to pay a visit to Consort Chun, told them to wait outside, and went in alone.”
“The maid and the attendant waited outside for nearly a full hour, and when my beloved consort still hadn’t come out, they asked around among Changting Palace’s own maids, only to be told, to their shock, that Consort Chun had already retired for the night and had never seen my beloved consort at all.”
“At that point everyone panicked and searched all through Changting Palace for my beloved consort, and in the end they found my beloved consort’s… my beloved consort’s body, in the small Buddhist chapel of Changting Palace…”
He spun around abruptly, pointing at Consort Chun and snapping harshly, “Did you secretly send someone with a message to my beloved consort, luring her here to kill her?”
Consort Chun, worn out in body and spirit, answered, “This palace has never once met the Princess of Xiang, there was neither friendship nor grievance between us, and this palace did not even know she was in the palace that day. This palace only learned of this tragedy when a maid woke her with the news.”
Her voice was not loud, but her tone was firm and unwavering.
The Prince of Xiang would not accept this explanation, and pressed forward aggressively. “Then how do you explain why my beloved consort went to no other palace but yours, Changting Palace, of all places?”
The Prince of Xiang’s unreasonable badgering made Meng Qianzi want to strike him, the Princess of Xiang’s legs belonged to her own body, how could her aunt possibly control where she chose to walk?
There was, however, one point that puzzled her too. She walked over and crouched beside Consort Chun, and asked gently:
“Your Ladyship, if someone came to visit, why would every maid and attendant of Changting Palace all say they knew nothing of it?”
The Prince of Xiang slammed his palm hard onto the round table. “Exactly the question! Is your Changting Palace one that just anyone can walk into?”
Consort Chun could not help but feel wronged all over again in front of Meng Qianzi, and said, choked with tears:
“Afterward, everyone was questioned. There were two attendants on duty at the gate at the time, and they truly never saw the Princess of Xiang come to Changting Palace at all…”
“Ha, ridiculous. My beloved consort’s own maid and that attendant both saw with their own eyes my beloved consort walk into Changting Palace, are all your people blind? They couldn’t see a living, breathing person?” The Prince of Xiang laughed in fury.
Consort Chun sighed helplessly. “You nearly beat my people to death, and still they did not change their story. This matter is strange indeed, this palace has no idea why it happened, either.”
Meng Qianzi patted the back of Consort Chun’s hand gently, and as she drew her hand back, gave it a firm, deliberate scratch that left no visible mark.
Then she withdrew to Xiao Jiuyi’s side and said in a low voice, “Your Highness, this commoner has finished her questions.”
Xiao Jiuyi fell silent for a moment, and just then Consort Chun’s eyes closed and her body went limp, sliding off the chair to the floor.
Meng Qianzi lunged forward at once and caught her, cradling her in her arms, her right hand going to feel Consort Chun’s pulse.
The Prince of Xiang laughed coldly, without end. “What kind of act is this? Do you think this will get you out of your crime?”
Xiao Jiuyi shot the Prince of Xiang a cold glance and strode over.
Meng Qianzi felt Consort Chun’s pulse, and her own heartbeat suddenly quickened.
She cried out loudly, “Your Highness, send for the imperial physician at once, Her Ladyship Consort Chun is with child!”
At this cry, the Prince of Xiang froze on the spot, his expression turning uglier than it had ever been.
If Consort Chun was carrying a dragon’s child, she could hardly be made to pay with her life for Jiang Luoyun’s death now!
Xiao Jiuyi’s brow drew tight, his tone suddenly sharp. “Are you certain? You know the consequences of being wrong!”
Meng Qianzi certainly knew, a consort’s pregnancy was no small matter, and anyone who dared falsely report one would be guilty of deceiving the sovereign.
Xiao Jiuyi suspected she was lying to spare Consort Chun her suffering.
She nodded gravely. “This commoner’s master has a close friend highly skilled in medicine. He once brought this commoner to live for a year and a half in the village where his friend lived in seclusion, and in her spare time this commoner picked up some knowledge of medicine, enough to diagnose and treat the villagers’ common ailments on her own. A pulse like this, from a woman with child, this commoner would never mistake.”
Xiao Jiuyi looked at her, so that was why she had dared claim she could cure his chronic illness, because of this friend of her master’s.
Seeing not the slightest trace of pretense in her expression, he turned toward the hall doors and called out, raising his voice, “Captain Zhang, send for the imperial physician, at once!”
“This lowly officer will go now.”
Hearing the answer, Meng Qianzi let out a long breath.
With her aunt carrying a dragon’s child, the Prince of Xiang could rant and rave all he liked, but he would not dare do anything to her now. The only thing left to guard against was a hidden arrow.
She did not know whether her aunt had also been with child in her past life, and if so, whether that pregnancy too had been covered up as a “sudden illness”, if so, that would be truly terrifying.
What kind of person would dare harm even the Emperor’s own unborn child?