Meng Guqing was startled, but steadied herself. “There’s also Li Gugu, Imperial Physician Liu, and several others connected through the Imperial Garden, no fewer than ten people involved. It would be easy to trace.”
“Then kill them all. I’ve done this before.”
Those were people: lives, each one precious. It wasn’t something you could casually slice through like vegetables, you bastard.
Suppressing the last two words, Meng Guqing frantically expressed her point. He only scoffed. “Lives? Don’t you know? Human life is the cheapest thing there is.”
No matter what he had experienced to become so indifferent to life, Meng Guqing couldn’t reason with him and didn’t try. Instead, she tried to dissuade him: “No, I won’t. You said this is specifically targeted at me. I understand the situation clearly, and at least I hold half the initiative. If we settle this now, who knows what other schemes they’ll devise against me? They’ll be in the shadows, I’ll be in the light, it’s easier for me to be at a disadvantage. Besides, this is my matter. It’s not right to trouble you, and it’s not so simple to handle. One mistake could involve you, which I don’t want to happen.”
“So you’re just too scared to kill,” he said, dissatisfied with the second part of her reasoning. “I’ll help you. Killing and plundering is my specialty. No payment needed, no need to worry about involving me, I can handle it all.”
From the first time they met, tempting her to kill, to later asking for payment to kill for her, now he required nothing and offered to help her proactively. It seemed he valued her more and more. Meng Guqing didn’t understand why he would exert such effort despite despising her sentimentality, but she felt touched and said sincerely, “I am indeed timid, but thank you, Young Shizi, for genuinely helping me.” Her respect for human life had been ingrained over decades in a lawful society; only in a true life-or-death situation would it change.
In her current situation, her natal family could not help, and the attendants she brought to the capital were insufficient. She was virtually isolated. Xiao Shuo coming to her side, even with extreme methods, was a rare warmth. Meng Guqing was truly grateful, but she could not accept his proposed solution.
She wasn’t making excuses, she genuinely believed keeping Princess Taiping could be handled carefully. Even if it was later exposed, morally she was the princess’s godmother; she had taken in the princess in a time of danger, which could earn sympathy. Logically, the princess was less than a year old, her rebellious father missing, her weak mother under house arrest, what impact could she have on the already settled political situation?
Keeping the princess might align her against the Donghu faction with Jing Wang, but at most she would be deposed, not endangered. That was why she had cooperated quietly with the Empress Dowager, so she could earn some favor if deposed. As for the emperor, their relationship was too complex and irreversible. No matter his feelings, resentment, love, or pity, even if he no longer tolerated her as Empress, he would not take her life.
Having clarified this, Meng Guqing left the princess and her wet nurse in Fengyi Palace, waiting calmly for the Xu family’s next move.
On June 15, the court had yet to decide the fate of Jing Wang’s household. Considering his past contributions, leniency was natural. But such a precedent would not suffice as a warning; they couldn’t eliminate them entirely. Many old nobles and generals who had fought with Jing Wang were still alive, and the Donghu faction still held half of the court. They could not be allowed to harbor resentment, and the Empress Dowager also opposed excessive slaughter. The scandal of uncle versus nephew fighting over the throne was enough to provoke ridicule; the emperor could not be seen as tyrannical.
The officials of the Ministry of Justice were most worried. They couldn’t go too light or too heavy. Those executed for rebellion in past dynasties would have envied encountering such a tolerant emperor. Zhao Donglin did intend to punish severely, but rebellion was serious, and favoritism toward the Donghu nobles caused southern officials to feel wronged. Yet the Empress Dowager’s opinions mattered; she was old, watching familiar people pass away, and Jing Wang, the main culprit, was still missing, his family still had crucial roles.
After about ten days of stalemate, it was decided that Jing Wang’s household would be secretly executed in the Imperial Garden. There was no need to announce it widely, allowing them a final semblance of dignity, rather than being publicly executed in a market. Meng Guqing felt uneasy upon hearing the news that afternoon. She was “bedridden,” refusing visitors, even turning away the emperor twice. Life was quieter, but information was slow; anything reaching her meant nearly the whole palace knew.
That night, firelight from the Imperial Garden lit up half the sky. Execution was scheduled around the last hour of You, and a killing intent filled the air, reaching Fengyi Palace. The normally obedient Princess Taiping cried inconsolably, her wet nurse unable to soothe her. Meng Guqing had to take them to a secluded area, helping calm the princess. By the time she returned half an hour later, Caiwei ran in panic, even Fusang, usually composed, was pale. They reported quickly: “Jing Wang sent people to rescue his family, but they were ambushed by five thousand imperial soldiers and executed on the spot.”
This wasn’t the worst. Caiwei and Fusang had little connection with Jing Wang’s household; his death alone didn’t explain their panic. Meng Guqing asked, “And?”
“Noble Consort Xu, that wretch, her uncle searched Jing Wang and found letters revealing the execution time and location, along with instructions for coordinated interference…”
So this was how they intended to bring her down, a harsh realization. Meng Guqing understood for the first time how brutal the struggle for the Empress’s position could be. Fusang added, “The handwriting is mine, right?” Only Noble Consort Xu could have gotten her handwriting out of Fengyi Palace.
“Tan Ying says the emperor doesn’t believe you would collude with Jing Wang and urges me to inform you immediately. What should we do? Despite all precautions, their scheme was so precise that the little princess in Fengyi Palace has become irrefutable evidence of your connection with Jing Wang.”
“Who said the princess from Jing Wang’s household is here with me? Don’t let anyone slip a word.” That night, Li Gugu had secretly brought the child and wet nurse in. Meng Guqing decisively placed them in the rear, forbidding anyone else from going back. Fewer than five people in Fengyi Palace knew; even if the princess cried, it proved nothing. Convictions relied on personal testimony and physical evidence. With the “physical evidence” handled, even multiple witnesses could not secure a verdict.
Meng Guqing instructed her two maids and calmly opened the palace doors. This case was too big for the small Guanglu Temple to handle, it would involve the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple. Her maids could be taken, and once in prison, corporal punishment would be unavoidable. Meng Guqing suddenly resented her own “weakness.” Was there a better way to be deposed? Too late to ponder now.
The Xu family outside framed her as colluding with Jing Wang; inside, it was naturally Noble Consort Xu exposing her for sheltering Princess Taiping. Meng Guqing waited in the main hall of Fengyi Palace. But the first to arrive was not Noble Consort Xu, it was Zhao Donglin. She hadn’t seen him for some time, yet this time her heart felt calm. He no longer ran breathlessly like a boy eager to see her, but strode with imperial bearing. Halfway to kneeling, she was caught by familiar hands. His first words: “I haven’t been with them. Don’t be mad at me.”
Meng Guqing’s eyes stung. Through misty tears, she said sincerely, “You really are a fool.” There was an easier way, yet he made her suffer so. Her feelings for him didn’t warrant such devotion.
“So you’ve finally agreed to see me again?” He had an expression of extreme grievance and longing, and the strength in his grip on her hand was as unyielding as ever. Meng Guqing felt as if a bottle of mixed emotions had been spilled in her heart, extremely complicated. In fact, what she wanted to avoid was never him as a person. She really wavered for a moment, but when she looked past Zhao Donglin and met the cold expression of Noble Consort Xu coming towards her, all her feelings instantly faded away.
Even the usually sensible and considerate Noble Consort Xu couldn’t care less at this moment. She slowly stepped forward and said in a gentle voice, “I received a secret report that Princess Taiping from Jing Wang’s family has been brought into the palace by the Empress. In fact, I can completely understand why the Empress would do this. However, the law is impartial, and there are so many eyes watching outside. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor cannot show favoritism in this matter.”
She and Noble Consort Xu somehow ended up at this point. Meng Guqing no longer expected to coexist peacefully with her and didn’t bother saying anything, she just stepped aside and let Noble Consort Xu lead her people to search. Naturally, they found nothing. Noble Consort Xu came out, confused. Meng Guqing had gone to some effort to bribe two minor palace maids in Fengyi Palace. One said, “These past few days, I’ve often heard a child crying… don’t know if it’s a cat,” while the other said, “Li Gugu secretly brought a woman in that day, carrying a basket, and didn’t let anyone touch it.”
Two witnesses were clearly insufficient. Others would need to be brought in to record statements as well. Luckily, the others usually only served outside; no matter how much they were questioned, nothing useful could be learned. Meng Guqing’s personal matters were handled only by Fusang and Caiwei. To spare them suffering, she pleaded with Zhao Donglin for the first time: questioning was fine, even if they came to her, she would answer everything but absolutely no harsh interrogation of her two maids.
Zhao Donglin knew she cherished her two attendants. The Empress had never asked him for anything; he would have welcomed more requests from her. The attendants were taken, and copies of the Empress’s handwriting in the study were removed, though the emperor kept one. The commotion in the Imperial Garden finally subsided after the early morning hours. With Jing Wang dead and the dust settled, Meng Guqing knew it would soon be her turn. She wasn’t in the mood to entertain him, and Zhao Donglin, knowing her heart was troubled, didn’t pressure her. He had simply missed being close to her for so long.
After washing, seeing her standing by the window, he couldn’t resist embracing her from behind, kissing the fragrant nape of her neck. The kiss gradually grew passionate. Zhao Donglin lifted her into his arms, carried her to her private chamber, gently placed her on the bed, and leaned over her, like a parched traveler finally finding water, drinking deeply of her sweetness. He kissed her almost from head to toe and back again. Only once she was completely wet and open did he enter her, still soothing her: “Nothing will happen. No matter when, I’ll always protect you…”
But what if the one who could deal him a fatal blow was her? Meng Guqing closed her eyes, gradually losing control over her body and even her emotions as he became increasingly frenzied. His unprecedented dominance made her cry, then he soothed her with extreme gentleness. She felt his emotions were off, he seemed to be suppressing something, already on the edge of danger. He kissed her sweaty, fragrant body, whispered in her ear. The emperor in front of the world was, to her, just an ordinary man in his early twenties, capable of showing weakness to his beloved, demanding she always stand by him.
In truth, Meng Guqing had always done as he asked. She didn’t even have the Empress Dowager’s private motives of benefiting her natal family. In his eyes, her only flaw was not loving him enough but what if even that “insufficient” love was false? So the one who truly shattered his strong heart was the very person he had cherished.
