The atmosphere inside the Emperor’s bedchamber became increasingly strange.
Back then, when Cheng Jiao-niang fought to win credit for her sworn brothers, she had sworn an oath before the Emperor that she would be struck down by heavenly thunder if she lied.
Although there had not been many people present at the time, her reputation had only grown, and her many legends had spread far and wide – so naturally, everyone knew about this matter now.
This was precisely a case of “what makes you succeeds also brings your downfall.”
She had risen to fame on these so-called supernatural claims – then she would now have to face the executioner’s blade because of those same claims.
Gao Lingjun stared at the girl standing on this side, his eyes glinting.
She had the means – means she had openly admitted to.
She had the motive – the ministers themselves had heard the Emperor summon her to demand an explanation.
Guilty conscience, so she killed to silence the witnesses.
Yes, it was her! Everything that happened today – she was the one who did it!
A monster! She was a monster!
Look at the expressions of the people around them: shock, fear, dread…
They already believed she was some kind of demon.
Kill this demon! Kill this demon!
No – no, not just this demon.
There was also the Empress, who had admitted with her own mouth that she was the one who summoned this demon.
And Duke Jin’an – they were all in this together!
They had murdered Prince Ping! They had murdered the Emperor!
Gao Lingjun roared inwardly, his body shaking uncontrollably.
“What is Master Gao talking about?” the Empress frowned and said. “How could you take the childish words spoken in a fit of temper seriously?”
“Words spoken in a fit of temper?” Gao Lingjun let out a cold laugh. “That is merely what you, Your Majesty the Empress, conveniently claim.”
“Impudent!” the Empress snapped, her brows rising sharply.
“Gao Lingjun, how dare you be so insolent!” Chen Shao also stepped in to rebuke him.
But Gao Lingjun showed not the slightest fear at their scolding. Look at the others – look at their eyes, all avoiding, wary, mistrustful.
The seeds of suspicion had already taken root and sprouted.
No one would dare let such a demon remain. This time she had been able to strike down Prince Ping and anger the Emperor to death – who could guarantee they wouldn’t be the next?
“May I ask, Your Majesty, where is the Empress Dowager?” Gao Lingjun neither confessed nor refuted – he asked instead.
Refuting wasn’t his intention. His intention was to question – strike once, strike true, never linger in battle.
“The Empress Dowager is still ill,” the Empress replied. “His Majesty and Prince Ping were both her close kin. And with the young prince’s recent accident, the Empress Dowager has been overwhelmed with grief. I did not dare to rashly inform her of this matter.”
Did not dare to inform her? More like did not inform her at all.
Look at how righteously she speaks – ah, Empress, Empress… I truly underestimated you.
Gao Lingjun sneered inwardly.
“His Majesty and Prince Ping were indeed her closest kin. As a mother and grandmother, the pain of losing family is understandable. But the Empress Dowager is not only a mother and grandmother – she is also the Empress Dowager of the realm. When the sovereign is in peril, the Empress Dowager must take charge; personal grief cannot be allowed to interfere.” He lifted his brows, fixing his gaze on the Empress. “Nor should anyone be allowed to stand in her way!”
The words “stand in her way” made everyone’s eyes fall onto the Empress again.
Sure enough – no wonder someone like her could force the Emperor to withdraw into the inner palace to avoid her.
Look at this: in just a few sentences after entering the room, he had already turned this accident into a conspiracy, and set the Empress up as targets for everyone’s arrows.
Cheng Jiao-niang couldn’t help nodding.
Someone behind her nudged her arm.
Cheng Jiao-niang turned her face slightly and saw Duke Jin’an looking at her in puzzlement.
What are you smiling at?
Nothing.
Cheng Jiao-niang pressed her lips together.
Meanwhile, Gao Lingjun’s shouting continued.
“Who dares to obstruct!” he barked, brows raised. His gaze shifted to the officials present. “Chen Shao, do you intend to obstruct?”
There was supposed to be a Crown Prince to oversee the government – but now, not only was there no Crown Prince, even if there had been one, that Crown Prince had already died long ago.
With no Crown Prince and the Emperor fallen ill, by precedent, it should indeed be the Empress Dowager who drew the curtain and governed.
Seeing that Chen Shao did not speak, Gao Lingjun turned his gaze to the others.
“Do you intend to obstruct?” he shouted angrily, brows raised.
The hall fell completely silent.
“Her Majesty the Empress Dowager arrives!”
With that cry, the doors of the hall swung open, the curtains were lifted, and the Empress Dowager – supported by two palace maids – entered in full ceremonial dress, walking quickly.
In the brief moment since Gao Lingjun had entered the palace, the inner harem had already slipped from his control.
The Empress showed no sign of surprise. She lowered her head and bowed in greeting.
Gao Lingjun turned and kowtowed.
“Your Majesty…” he called out hoarsely.
His movement prompted the court officials present to follow suit and pay their respects.
But the Empress Dowager ignored them and went straight toward the couch.
The Empress, bowing, was pushed aside along with the palace attendants as the Empress Dowager swept past.
“Your Majesty!”
The Empress Dowager cried out in a trembling voice, then sat down and burst into loud sobs.
The consorts in the room – already frightened into silence for quite some time -immediately began crying along with her.
“Empress!”
After crying for a while, the Empress Dowager suddenly lifted her brows and turned toward the Empress. “Why did you not inform me! Such a grave matter – why did you not tell me!”
The Empress showed no panic and bowed once more.
“I did not know how to report it to Your Majesty,” she said through tears.
Such brazen shamelessness – spoken with absolute righteousness.
The Empress Dowager stared wide–eyed; faced with such shameless words, she didn’t even know how to continue questioning her.
“I feared Your Majesty could not bear it,” the Empress wept, bending forward. “His Majesty was already driven to such fury, and Imperial Consort herself has lost all control. I did not know, nor did I dare, to tell Your Majesty. I did not dare.”
The incident of Imperial Consort losing her mind and then being knocked unconscious by Gao Lingjun had happened only moments ago, yet the Empress – who had not taken even half a step from her place – already knew of it. It was clear the entire inner palace was indeed under her control.
Gao Lingjun looked at the Empress and sneered inwardly.
The Empress Dowager shot her a furious glare, then lifted her head and called for the imperial doctors.
“What is His Majesty’s condition?” she asked in a trembling voice.
The doctors stepped forward and explained the symptoms in detail. Hearing that they did not know when the Emperor might wake – and that even if he did, whether he would regain consciousness was uncertain – the Empress Dowager burst into tears again.
Heavens… heavens… how could something like this happen all of a sudden? This had to be a dream.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please restrain your grief,” Gao Lingjun’s voice sounded from the side, and the Empress Dowager’s impulse to faint and be done with it dissipated.
No – she could not. The people Gao Lingjun had sent earlier were right: there were far too many waiting for her to collapse so the matter could be finished. How could she possibly allow them to have their way!
“Lady Cheng!” the Empress Dowager suddenly shouted.
Cheng Jiao-niang stepped forward and bowed. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Did you not say that if one is not at the death’s door, you cannot treat them? Why are you not treating him now?” the Empress Dowager demanded.
“If His Majesty wakes, then he is not certain to die, and I cannot treat him. If His Majesty does not wake, then this type of severe Wind-stroke is beyond my ability. My master never taught me how to treat such a condition,” Cheng Jiao-niang said.
In short, whether he woke or not – she could not treat him.
Why hadn’t her master taught her this?
Cheng Jiao-niang looked at the Emperor lying on the couch.
It was very simple: her father would not allow her to save this Emperor – an Emperor fated to die within a year.
“How absurd!”
The Empress Dowager slammed her hand on the table.
“Of course you can’t cure him – it was you who schemed against Prince Ping and plotted to harm His Majesty!”
As these words echoed through the hall, everyone present was stunned.
“Your Majesty!” Duke Jin’an stepped forward and cried out.
“You shut your mouth!” the Empress Dowager shouted, her gaze fixed fiercely on Cheng Jiao-niang as she pointed a finger. “Guards, seize her! Seize her now!”
Immediately, guards from outside the hall rushed in.
Gao Lingjun glared viciously at Cheng Jiao-niang, a wild gleam flashing in his eyes. The composure he had forced upon himself now broke, his hands and body trembling uncontrollably.
Seize her, seize her! Execute her, execute her at once!
“Your Majesty!”
Chen Shao stepped forward as well, shouting while trying to restrain the guards.
“How dare you! With the Emperor still unconscious, have you lost all sight of authority?” the Empress Dowager angrily rebuked. “Are my commands no longer heeded?”
“That depends on what is being commanded!”
A voice retorted bluntly.
Everyone in the hall was stunned – who could speak so boldly? Following the sound, they saw a tall man standing at the back of the crowd step forward.
Zhang Chun.
It was him again!
Gao Lingjun’s heart pounded like a drum.
“How dare you! Are you saying that what I have said is wrong?” the Empress Dowager rebuked.
“Is what Your Majesty said truly right, and was it properly done?” Zhang Chun retorted without hesitation.
“Zhang Chun has insulted the Empress Dowager and disrupted court decorum!” Gao Lingjun shouted angrily, his eyes blazing. “Where are the censors?”
Zhang Chun spat in his direction with contempt.
“Where are the censors? Can they not see this lowly creature disrupting court decorum!” he cursed.
Lowly creature!
This despicable wretch! He lashes out with insults the moment he opens his mouth! Shameless thing – standing there looking dignified, but spouting nothing but curses. Who knows how he ever earned the reputation of a great scholar!
Before Gao Lingjun could speak again, Zhang Chun turned back toward the Empress Dowager.
“Your Majesty, by acting this way, you are placing the Son of Heaven and Prince Ping in the position of being unrighteous and dishonorable. You would make His Majesty and Prince Ping out to be great villains! We, as court officials, have received the grace of the Emperor. If we do not stop Your Majesty, then we are the ones who are blind and disloyal, failing both ruler and family!” he roared angrily.
“Nonsense! Utter nonsense!” the Empress Dowager cried. “It is precisely for His Majesty and for Prince Ping that I must capture this fiend!”
Prince Ping was struck by lightning – struck by lightning! Heaven… struck by heaven’s thunder! He would be cursed for all eternity, not even retaining the title of Prince Ping. Even in death, he died in such a way! Heaven above!
No, absolutely not. He did not die struck by heaven’s thunder – he was murdered by this fiend! He was murdered!
Only this way, only by saying this, can we protect Prince Ping’s reputation and preserve the dignity of the royal family.
“Your Majesty, have you forgotten the incident of the demon monk during the solar eclipse in Panjiang County?” Zhang Chun asked sternly, his brow furrowed.
The incident of the demon monk during the solar eclipse in Panjiang County.
The Empress Dowager stiffened slightly.
Though this event had not taken place in the capital, it had spread widely due to Cheng Jiao-niang’s renown, and naturally, the women in the palace were aware of it as well.
During the solar eclipse last year, Cheng Jiao-niang had executed a monk in Panjiang County who had used the eclipse to deceive the people.
“The monk, after being executed, was labeled a demon monk, while Lady Cheng, who had slain him, gained the name of a Bodhisattva’s Envoy,” Zhang Chun continued. “Now I ask Your Majesty – if someone known as a Bodhisattva’s Envoy is seized by you without any evidence, what will the people say?”
The one she killed was deemed a demon monk. So if Prince Ping is said to have been harmed by her, wouldn’t that mean…
The Empress Dowager’s expression shifted.
“Ridiculous nonsense! That was merely the deceptive talk of this Lady Cheng, all the more reason to execute such a demonic troublemaker and set the record straight!” Gao Lingjun retorted angrily.
Zhang Chun abruptly turned to face him once more.
“Deceptive talk from Lady Cheng? Then do you know why Prince Ping was struck by lightning?” he thundered, pointing toward the sky.
“Prince Ping swore an oath to heaven, declaring that if he spoke even half a falsehood, may he be struck by thunder.”
“No sooner had he spoken than heaven’s thunder struck down. The Emperor, the officials, all saw it with their own eyes and heard it with their own ears – the palace attendants and guards bore witness, and there is not the slightest bit of falsehood in it.”
“An oath is a covenant made with words. He made a pact with heaven, broke his word upon speaking, and heaven punished him. Master Gao, I ask you, how can this be ‘setting the record straight’?”
“And I ask Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, how will you make the people of the world believe that Prince Ping’s fate was brought about by a demonic villain?”
“Even if Your Majesty seizes Lady Cheng and forces her to confess to summoning lightning against Prince Ping, can you truly make the world believe she is not a Bodhisattva’s envoy carrying out heaven’s will? Can you keep them from seeing Prince Ping as yet another demonic monk?”
His voice thundered, echoing throughout the hall.
Just as the Empress Dowager was bracing herself against the couch to rise, her face turned deathly pale, her expression fraught with anguish. Seeing Zhang Chun stepping forward, pointing his finger, and pressing her with questions, she collapsed back onto the seat with a thud.
She couldn’t – she simply couldn’t.
Could it be that her grandson truly died as punishment from heaven…
To be condemned in death as a heaven-struck, heinous, unforgivable villain – denied even entry to the imperial tombs… To die so wretchedly, only to become a restless, wandering ghost…
The Empress Dowager covered her face and burst into loud sobs.
Unbearable… how unbearable!
“But Lady Cheng knows how to summon lightning! She admitted it herself – she said she can summon lightning! The entire world knows this!” Gao Lingjun shouted. “In Panjiang County, Lady Cheng had no feud with that demon monk, but this matter is different. Prince Ping made the proposal, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager acted as matchmaker, and His Majesty gave silent approval – all to arrange her marriage to my son. Lady Cheng was dissatisfied with this marriage, going so far as to have her own elder’s leg broken to avoid it. She even allowed her cousin to attempt to murder my son! Such grievances are irreconcilable – they are mortal enemies!”
As he spoke, he also stepped forward and stared at Zhang Chun.
“But Master Zhang is different. Master Zhang hails from the same hometown as Lady Cheng and, it is said, has received great favor from her – exchanging maids, treating each other as family.”
Then he turned his gaze toward the other court officials.
“Master Chen has also received favors from Lady Cheng, and as for the rest of you -even if you haven’t received favors yet, you’re all waiting for the great boon of her ability to cure the incurable.”
He continued to scan the crowd with sharp, penetrating eyes.
“Master Gao, you are simply twisting words and quibbling,” Chen Shao retorted angrily.
Gao Lingjun laughed inwardly. What if he was twisting words and quibbling? Twisting words and quibbling was still better than passively accepting his fate. Moreover, his quibbling wasn’t just empty sophistry.
People have their own self-interests! Everyone harbors their own private motives!
The Empress Dowager stopped weeping and turned her gaze toward Cheng Jiao-niang.
That’s right – Lady Cheng had done favors for them, and these people were merely speaking up on her behalf. They were in cahoots! They were all in this together!
“Lady Cheng, do you dare claim that you cannot summon lightning?” the Empress Dowager said through gritted teeth.
Cheng Jiao-niang, who had been watching the commotion with interest nearby, saw that she was finally being addressed. She quickly stepped forward to bow and shook her head.
“I dare not,” she said, then nodded. “I can summon lightning.”
As these words fell, the entire hall fell into complete silence. Everyone’s expression turned to one of astonishment – even the Empress Dowager, who had asked the question, was momentarily stunned.
What?
She admitted it herself?
Then what was all this arguing for?
Just for sport?
The Empress Dowager flew into a rage.
“But this summoning of lightning can only strike myself, not others,” Cheng Jiao-niang explained. “At the time, I swore to His Majesty in the same way – that I would summon heaven’s thunder to punish myself.”
What? Was she playing word games with her?
“Nonsense! Are you still trying to say that Prince Ping brought this upon himself, that it was divine retribution?” the Empress Dowager shouted.
Cheng Jiao-niang nodded, then shook her head.
“Prince Ping did indeed bring it upon himself,” she said. “But it was not divine retribution.”
“What was it, then?” the Empress suddenly asked.
Gao Lingjun’s gaze snapped sharply toward the Empress.
“It was an accident,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied.
An accident?
“So you’re saying you can prove that Prince Ping’s death was not divine retribution, that Prince Ping was not a wicked, unforgivable man – that all of this was an accident?” Zhang Chun said.
Gao Lingjun’s gaze turned abruptly toward Zhang Chun.
His question was less an inquiry than a statement – a statement meant for the Empress Dowager, meant for the court officials.
To prove that Prince Ping’s death was not divine retribution, to keep Prince Ping from bearing infamy, to prevent the imperial family from becoming a laughingstock.
What a powerful temptation!
Cheng Jiao-niang looked at Zhang Chun and nodded.
“I can,” she said.
“No one will believe it!” Gao Lingjun shouted, his voice edged with desperation.
Cheng Jiao-niang turned her gaze toward him.
“Master Gao said I have renown, and everyone knows I can summon lightning. Well then, I can make the people believe me,” she stated.
Renown is a powerful thing – it all depends on how it is used.
“Master Gao, do you not believe I can do it, or do you simply not want me to?” Cheng Jiao-niang asked, looking at Gao Lingjun with a faint smile.
You all believe I can. So do you want to clear Prince Ping’s name of infamy? Do you want to preserve the dignity of the imperial family? Do you care about Prince Ping’s reputation, the Emperor’s reputation, the reputation of the imperial family?
What a powerful temptation…
Gao Lingbo slowly shook his head.
No, he didn’t care.
He didn’t care whether Prince Ping was labeled a heinous villain. He didn’t care whether Prince Ping’s death was an accident or divine retribution.
All he cared about was that Prince Ping was already dead – already dead – so his death must not be in vain. It absolutely must not be in vain. He must make these people, these truly damned people, pay with their lives!
He didn’t want it, he didn’t care – but someone did, someone surely cared.
“Can you truly do it?”
From the imperial couch, the Empress Dowager rose to her feet, her voice trembling as she looked at Cheng Jiao-niang and asked.
