Chapter 141: Zichen Hall
His Li Zhao’s people…
Are you referring to Madam Ping’an?
Guan Ya and Yu Qianli stood with their hands clasped, not daring to breathe.
The tense and subtle atmosphere instantly froze…
Xue Sui quietly stepped back two paces, subtly avoiding him.
“Why are you dodging?” Li Zhao’s gaze, like lightning, swept over.
Beneath those sharp and handsome thick eyebrows, his eyes were like quenched cold jade, now reflecting her deliberately distant appearance.
“With this Prince here, what is there to fear?”
Xue Sui frowned slightly, speechless.
Amidst the sound of the water clock, the young Crown Prince stood against the wind, his posture tall and straight, his aura unrestrained and flamboyant, as if possessing the power to defy all worldly customs and conventions, the empire held within his grasp…
If he were to ascend the throne one day, would he still remember the passionate and heroic spirit of his youth today?
This confrontation with the Xiao family would not be easy.
It was not like trying to hit a stone with an egg, but it was still an uphill battle.
Because the Xiao family Li Zhao spoke of was no ordinary Xiao family; it was a great clan that had been deeply entrenched in the Imperial Court for many years, “holding power through civil posts, solidifying foundations with military posts, and weaving networks through marriage.” Many of its members held important positions in the court and wielded real power in the regions.
Not to mention Prince Duan Li Huan’s influence in the Imperial Court, there were the three pillars of the Xiao family:
Consort Xiao’s father, Xiao Song, was the Prime Minister, holding the highest position in the court;
His direct elder brother, Xiao Jing, was the Vice Minister of Revenue and the Salt and Iron Commissioner, controlling the collection of Daliang’s taxes and the monopoly of salt and iron.
His younger brother, Xiao Yan, was the Great General of the Jinwu Guard and the Military Governor of Longxi, holding significant military power.
In addition, there was his uncle Xiao Yun, the Vice Director of the Court of Diplomatic Relations, and his nephew Xiao Zheng Yuan, the Vice Minister of Works.
Furthermore, the collateral branches of the Xiao clan had infiltrated for years, using marriage alliances to control the mouthpiece of the Five Great Clans and Seven Noble Houses, manipulating regional military affairs and controlling the salt taxes of the Jianghuai region…
Such a deeply rooted aristocratic family could restrain imperial power from above and form alliances with other noble families horizontally, unscrupulously seizing great power in the court…
The Xiao clan was not a single person.
It was a vast force united as one.
Princess Ping Le’s rampant behavior was not only due to the Emperor’s favor but also because the Xiao family supported her from behind.
And the current Emperor Chong Zhao, of course, was not entirely unaware of the dangers of imperial in-laws, but he could not easily shake them.
“Had enough looking?” Li Zhao’s voice carried a hint of teasing.
“Want to say something?”
Xue Sui lowered her eyes slightly, bowed respectfully, and paid her respects to him.
“Then Xue Liu here congratulates the Crown Prince on his triumphant victory and swift success.”
With that, Xue Sui bent down to clear the medicinal dregs scattered on the wooden desk, but Li Zhao suddenly grasped her fingertips.
“Let go!”
“Don’t move!”
They spoke at the same time.
The room suddenly fell silent.
Li Zhao chuckled softly.
“This Love Silk Gu, it looks like a beauty’s favor, but it’s actually poison that burns through the intestines—would you agree, Madam Ping’an?”
Xue Sui stared at their clasped hands and suddenly spoke.
“If I had known Your Highness’s affections were so easily ignited and unbearable, I would not have used this Gu poison.”
Li Zhao’s expression changed. He forcefully grasped her hand and pressed it to his chest, feeling the rapid beating of his heart. His throat bobbed with the hoarseness left by the ravages of the Love Silk Gu.
“I have to return to the capital at the hour of the rooster. Don’t make me angry anymore.”
His dark eyes revealed a hint of grievance.
Xue Sui thought of the torment he had endured and glanced at the blood-soaked bandage on his shoulder. She finally swallowed the words that were about to escape her lips.
“I’ll stay for two more days to look after Consort Wan…”
“I’m not at ease.”
“How can you be so delicate?” Xue Sui forcefully pulled her hand away, bent down to pick up the handkerchief that had fallen to the ground, and was about to speak when the copper bell at the eaves rang crisply, breaking the silence of the room.
A shout suddenly came from outside.
“Prince Duan has arrived—”
Li Huan arrived quickly.
Before Xue Sui could finish tidying her hair, Li Huan’s black boots stepped into the courtyard through the accumulated water.
After the rain, the air was exceptionally fresh.
He slowly stepped onto the bluestone steps, his pace steady, his robes swaying gently in the wind.
Xue Sui quickly rose to greet him, but he gently held her up with his warm palm.
“Ping’an, there’s no need for such formality. I heard you were attacked on your way to the imperial palace. Are you injured?”
Xue Sui shook her head, “Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I am not injured at all.”
Li Huan looked Xue Sui up and down, his gaze lingering on her hair. Although he wore a gentle smile, there was little warmth in his eyes.
“You too, coming to visit Wen Jia, why didn’t you inform me in advance? You made me come to pick you up myself.”
Having Prince Duan personally pick her up was the treatment of a favored concubine.
A low laugh came, “Imperial Brother arrives at a most opportune moment.”
Xue Sui turned her head at the sound and saw Li Zhao standing lazily in the corridor. The hem of his moon-white robe was stained with a few fallen crabapple blossoms, as if he had come from some garden full of blooming flowers, not from being in the same room with her.
The words stuck in her throat silently dissipated.
Li Zhao appeared composed, his fingertips brushing over the newly bandaged wound on his shoulder, and he smiled faintly.
“It was I who was injured, shouldn’t Imperial Brother show some concern for me?”
“The Crown Prince has been startled.” Li Huan bowed slightly, a sigh escaping his throat.
“This time, it was thanks to the Crown Prince leading the Eastern Palace guards in a desperate rescue, otherwise…”
He cast a meaningful glance at Xue Sui. Knowing full well that Li Zhao opposite him was exuding an oppressive aura like an approaching storm, he deliberately reached out to hold Xue Sui’s sleeve, acting intimately.
“My Madam Ping’an would have likely fallen into the hands of villains.”
Xue Sui suddenly felt a faint throbbing in her temple.
The two royal nobles, their exchanges filled with hidden currents, placed her at the center of an invisible storm.
I won’t do it!
She took half a step back, the corner of the handkerchief she clutched still bearing Li Zhao’s dried blood.
“I’ll go check on Consort Wan’s medicinal soup. Your Highnesses, please make yourselves at home.”
Li Zhao sensed the resistance in her eyes. His chuckle, mixed with a hint of amusement.
Li Huan asked with concern, “The Crown Prince is seriously injured and should not be moved. Your brother has brought a sedan chair. Why don’t we send the Crown Prince back to the Eastern Palace to recuperate?”
“No need for Imperial Brother’s trouble. Rather, Imperial Brother should go back and see Consort Xiao sooner…”
Seeing Li Huan’s surprised expression, Li Zhao smiled nonchalantly.
“It’s quite a coincidence… Yesterday, the Eastern Palace guards, while rescuing people, inadvertently found evidence of the Xiao clan secretly colluding with Xizi, raising private troops, and poisoning Consort Wan… It has been presented to His Majesty. I fear Consort Xiao will not be able to bear the news…”
The courtyard, washed clean by the heavy rain, suddenly fell silent.
Li Huan’s face changed repeatedly.
Li Zhao smiled faintly, his fingertip carelessly stroking his sleeve cuff, as if silently tearing at the forces behind Li Huan.
“Tomorrow morning’s court session, I hope Imperial Brother—will avoid suspicion.”
Li Huan’s throat bobbed. “Of course.”
–
At the fifth watch, Emperor Chong Zhao in the Zichen Hall, snapped the wolf hair brush in his hand.
Consort Xiao knelt on the golden bricks of the great hall, weeping profusely.
“Your Majesty, please see clearly. My own brother is guarding the Western Frontier with his troops, how could he raise private soldiers and set an ambush at the imperial palace? I am but a woman, living in seclusion in the deep palace, where could I find secret Xizi medicine to poison Consort Wan and Princess Wen Jia?”
“Your Majesty, there must be a hidden reason for this. Someone is framing me and maliciously accusing me, Your Majesty…”
“Does Consort mean that this Palace is framing you?” Empress Xie slowly entered the hall with the morning light, the golden embroidery on her court robes shimmering.
“The ledger of Xiao Zheng Yuan’s embezzlement of river control funds, Princess Ping Le’s deeds for forcibly occupying civilian land, the confession of the death warriors who assassinated Consort Wan yesterday, and the Xizi seals seized by the Crown Prince—Hmph! Does the Xiao clan intend to swallow the entire Daliang empire?”
Emperor Chong Zhao looked at the evidence spread across the imperial desk, his eyes aching.
“Does Your Majesty remember the great rain three years ago?” Empress Xie slowly bowed and knelt on the ground with grief and indignation, saying, “Your Majesty was praying in the Imperial Ancestral Temple for the flood victims of the Luo River, but you did not know that the Xiao clan—”
She turned her head and looked coldly at Consort Xiao.
“The Xiao clan was drinking human blood, profaning Your Majesty’s benevolence!”
“Empress, do not slander me with baseless accusations!” Consort Xiao gritted her teeth as if in a frenzy.
“Your Majesty is wise. I am wrongly accused—it must be that the Crown Prince tortured me into confessing and then slandered me. Your Majesty, the entire Xiao clan are imperial relatives, enjoying all the favor and honor of Daliang, how could they harbor such wolfish ambitions…”
“A fine imperial relative!” Empress Xie’s expression was stern. “During the Luo River flood, people starved and ate their own children, while your nephew Xiao Zheng Yuan, instead of using the river control funds to oversee the river works, was building a seven-treasure glazed couch for Princess Ping Le…”
Consort Xiao’s face changed drastically. Seeing that Emperor Chong Zhao remained silent for a long time, she suddenly threw herself under the imperial throne, grabbed the hem of the dragon robe, and cried out.
“Your Majesty, that was done by my nephew to save face for the royal family, using private funds. It has nothing to do with Ping Le. I am willing to swear by the names of my ancestors…”
Empress Xie looked at Emperor Chong Zhao’s right hand covering his chest, a complex expression flashing in her eyes, then she let out a light laugh.
“Before Consort swears, perhaps you should consider what you have actually done? Princess Ping Le, under the guise of recuperating, secretly harbored secret Xizi medicine, and Consort, you poisoned the bird’s nest soup that this Palace bestowed upon Consort Wan—if it weren’t for Imperial Son-in-law Lu’s quick thinking and finding the antidote, Consort Wan would have already perished…”
Lu You’an!
For him, Ping Le was willing to abandon her princess status, be subservient to him, and protect him in every way.
Yet he showed no regard for their marital bond and instead turned against her…
Consort Xiao’s almond-shaped eyes widened in anger.
“Empress, what a scheme! How can the bird’s nest soup personally bestowed by you upon Consort Wan be blamed on me? Lu You’an stole the antidote at the Princess’s Mansion, so he should be punished…”
Empress Xie looked at her calmly, countering, “Must I also dishevel my hair and go to the streets to beat the Drum of Hearing Petitions in public for this truth to be revealed to the world?”
“Enough! All of you, shut up!” Emperor Chong Zhao was furious, he suddenly grabbed the Hetian jade paperweight on the desk and smashed it to the ground.
With a crash, the scattered jade shards drew a bloody line on Empress Xie’s brow bone.
The Emperor’s eyes were bloodshot, like an enraged lion. He stared at the calm and composed Empress Xie, then at Consort Xiao’s tear-streaked face, and then he threw the confession presented by the eunuch into the nearby dossier.
“This matter, I will handle it myself. Tomorrow’s court session, I will also consult with the high officials of the Imperial Court. The inner palace—shall not interfere in politics.”
Empress Xie bowed slightly upon hearing this, her demeanor still dignified.
Consort Xiao remained prostrate, her body trembling slightly.
The two of them, in the peripheral vision of Emperor Chong Zhao, exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with bone-chilling coldness.
Tearing off the veil of pretense between them, from now on, they would fight to the death for their respective sons.
Xue Sui: Dear readers, see you tomorrow, remember to vote for me~
Li Zhao: Vote, I’ll perform a chest-breaking stone act if you vote.
