Yue'er (2)

The second Zi Hua stepped into Crystal Palace's western chamber, she was greeted by a piercing wail.

At least half the rear palace was present, with the emperor and empress presiding atop the hosts' seats. In the centre of the room knelt one familiar figure.

Yue'er.

Zi Hua felt the blood drain all the way to her toes, chilling her to the spot. "I greet Your Majesty the Emperor and Your Highness the Empress."

Neither of them told her to rise, so she didn't.

"Noble Beauty Yang, do you know why you were summoned here?" Empress Zhao spoke. She sounded sterner than usual, which added to the ominous feeling.

The crying from the inner chamber intensified. Beside her, Yue'er's forehead never once left the cold floor.

Zi Hua swallowed. "No, Your Highness. With all due respect... please enlighten me."

"At the Wei hour this afternoon—"

"Let me go! I order you to get out of my way!"

"Concubine Lin, you mustn't—"

CLATTER! CLING! CLACK!

The beaded curtain separating the inner and outer chambers was violently pushed aside, and out stumbled Concubine Lin.

Apart from looking quite distressed and pale, she was unharmed. There were no visible wounds or blood.

But then she collapsed at the emperor's feet and started sobbing.

"Your Majesty! Please give me justice! That evil servant tried to harm my baby, and now her mistress is denying her crimes! If not for for luck, I would have miscarried by now!"

Her trembling finger pointed straight at Yue'er and Zi Hua, a sword of accusation, sharp and deadly.

Her ominous feeling had come true in the end.

"Yue'er, what is she talking about?" Zi Hua asked, clutching her servant and forcing her to look up. "Look at me—tell me what happened!"

Yue'er's eyes were full of fear and tears, unable to focus on anything. She kept shaking her head, lips quivering, moving but soundless.

Zi Hua had never wanted her to speak more than right now.

'Say something... Say something, please!'

"Yue'er! Answer m—"

Bang!

"Enough!" Empress Zhao knocked on her armrest. "Noble Beauty Yang, stand aside. It is my job as empress to interrogate the suspect."

"But—"

"Noble Beauty Yang."

Empress Zhao's head turned in disbelief.

'Why is he interfering?'

Li Zhen Tian didn't feel her stare. All his attention was on the young woman desperately clinging to her servant below. She used to be so bright, but now she radiated genuine confusion and unspeakable desperation. Yet, the empress was forcing her to ignore those emotions. She had always been cold, but this crossed a line.

"Noble Beauty Yang," he repeated. "Stand up, find a seat, and calm down. The case will be investigated thoroughly."

She eased up a little, but was visibly hesitant to leave her servant's side.

"Or do you doubt your emperor's word?" he added.

She hastily shook her head and did as instructed.

Seeing her seated properly and no longer kneeling, Li Zhen Tian nodded at Empress Zhao. "Start the interrogation."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The empress straightened, addressing the victim first: "Concubine Lin, tell us what happened between you and Noble Beauty Yang's lady-in-waiting on the palace paths at the Wei hour."

"Y-yes, Your Highness," Concubine Lin sniffed, letting her lady-in-waiting guide her to an empty chair. "I was out for my after-meal walk as usual. Since it was a sunny afternoon, there weren't many people out and about, and only Noble Beauty Yang's servant was loitering on the path towards the imperial kitchens. When I saw her, naturally I got curious about what she was doing and had my palanquin stop for awhile. I greeted her briefly, but she started insulting me and suddenly 'stumbled', pushing me onto the ground!"

Virtuous Consort Liu quirked a brow. "No offence, Sister Lin, but since when were you on speaking terms with Noble Beauty Yang's lady-in-waiting?"

"We crossed paths outside of morning assembly," Concubine Lin begrudgingly explained. "I still recall Noble Beauty Yang's sharp tongue... And the taciturn people around her."

"Oh? Are you implying she disrespected you, and that her servants did not stop her?" Virtuous Consort Liu clicked her tongue. "Your Highness the Empress, clearly Noble Beauty Yang's servants are lacking more than just discipline..."

"But isn't the main point a Noble Beauty openly disrespecting a Concubine?" another consort interjected. "Such conflict should not have happened in the first place."

"Of course, I educated her!" Concubine Lin rebutted, unable to stand losing face over a speculation. "She even blamed me for being unreasonable because of it! If His Majesty hadn't—"

She cut off mid-sentence, remembering the emperor was present, but blanks could be filled.

"This means Noble Beauty Yang has a motive..." Noble Lady Bai muttered under her breath.

The room was quiet, so everyone heard her. Their eyes glistened with surprise and calculation at this unexpected tidbit, drifting between Concubine Lin and Zi Hua as though they could already visualise the story behind this "enmity".

Their thoughts were obvious: Did Noble Beauty Yang instruct her servant to cause Concubine Lin's miscarriage?

Before anyone was brave enough to ask it aloud, Empress Zhao coughed in warning and redirected the topic to its rightful path.

"Concubine Lin, are you sure Yue'er intentionally pushed you?"

"Yes!" Concubine Lin yelled, getting red-faced. "That impudent, audacious, and lowly servant looked me in the eye and said I would never, ever compare to her mistress! She even said it was only a matter of time before— Aah!"

Suddenly, she keeled over and screamed in pain.

Both the emperor and empress's expressions changed.

"Imperial physician! Check on Concubine Lin immediately!" Li Zhen Tian ordered.

"I... I'm... fine..." Concubine Lin said through clenched teeth. "M-my child... survived many times b-before... He..."

"Concubine Lin, save your strength for later," Empress Zhao interruped. "For now, I will interrogate Noble Beauty Yang's lady-in-waiting."

Zi Hua clenched her fists tightly, never letting Yue'er out of her sight. Her heart was a war drum, thumping in prayer that Yue'er had an alibi.

That this was all a misunderstanding.

That she was innocent.

But Empress Zhao's interrogation would not wait for her prayers.

"Yue'er is what Concubine Lin said true? Did you insult her?"

"A-answering Y-Your Highness, I-I never s-s-said those things to C-Concubine Lin," she stuttered, shaking like a leaf. "A-all I d-did was g-greet her and— and—"

"What did you say after the greeting?" Empress Zhao pressed.

"I— I—"

Yue'er shook her head repeatedly, two lines of tears streaming down her bloodless cheeks. "I— I don't remember... I didn't say anything... No, I didn't... I-I think I didn't..."

Empress Zhao pinched her nosebridge and suppressed a sigh. At this rate, this servant would have a seizure before she provided any useful information.

"Were there any witnesses who can verify your claim?" she asked from a different perspective.

Yue'er paled even further. "N-no. It— It was just me and C-Concubine Lin's servants."

"Pfft! Hahaha!"

Before Empress Zhao could continue, an untimely laughter burst out in the room.

"Sister Gong, is something amusing?" Virtuous Consort Liu questioned under the empress's frown. "Surely a case involving an imperial child's life is no laughing matter."

"Hmph." Noble Concubine Gong reeled in her laughter, but her scornful expression became more prominent.

"Since Virtuous Consort Liu brought up the importance of imperial children, may I be excused, Your Majesty?" She looked at the emperor, ignoring everyone else. "The First Princess has a fever, and I was on the way to demand why all the imperial physicians were somehow unavailable when Concubine Lin's urgent situation called for everyone's attendance. As much as I would like to stay and take part in this investigation, my daughter needs me now. I hope you understand, as her Imperial Father."

Her blatant suggestions and slight barb made Li Zhen Tian's face darken; behind her fan, Virtuous Consort Liu smiled.

"Noble Concubine Gong may leave. As for the imperial physicians who dared to neglect the First Princess, deduct half their annual salary," Li Zhen Tian announced. "The rest of you should return to your residences as well. The empress and Noble Beauty Yang's presence are sufficient here."

The guilty imperial physicians cowered under his glare, whereas the uninvolved consorts reluctantly accepted their dismissal. Despite their curiosity, none of them wanted the emperor to see their enthusiasm for witnessing the fall of another competitor.

For once, Noble Concubine Gong wasn't among them, rushing out with the impatience of a worried mother who couldn't care less about anything but her sick child.

Another person who felt differently was Empress Zhao.

The emperor had been acting strangely before the interrogation, and after his order to dismiss all witnesses, her faint guess solidified—he was protecting Yang Zi Hua.

'But why?'

Although she had briefly considered recruiting Yang Zi Hua when the emperor arranged for her to pass the consort selection, Empress Zhao ultimately decided to observe a little longer. Back then, she'd assumed a courtier turned low-rank imperial consort was only a passing fancy.

Perhaps she'd met the emperor somewhere before the selection; perhaps he was simply attracted to her portrait. How she aroused his interest wasn't worth the empress's investigation.

Fortunately, her patience did not go unrewarded: getting ahead of the three Noble Ladies and other Noble Beauties on her second day, monopolising nearly a week of favour, getting the better of Concubine Lin and Noble Concubine Gong combined...

None of these favourable events could have been achieved without the emperor's consent.

But was it truly just "consent" involved...?

The emperor's voice shattered Empress Zhao's musings, but it didn't show on her face. He wasn't addressing her anyway.

"Zi Hua, you may tell the truth now," he said. "No one here will interrupt you."

And in that moment, Empress Zhao was certain.

She had gravely underestimated this young woman.