20demayo Chapter 120
Chapter 120
including when concubine zhen fell into the water, the underwater plants at the bottom of the lake had been tied into knots by people sent by consort de.
they had originally planned to encourage consort jin to invite concubine zhen to feed the koi by the lake, then push concubine zhen in and frame consort jin, killing two birds with one stone.
unexpectedly, the empress dowager's people acted prematurely, even unnecessarily having someone ambush underwater to drag concubine zhen down.
in the end, concubine zhen escaped, and the knotted underwater plants went to waste.
because of this, consort de more than once privately lamented the empress dowager and consort shu's incompetence and counterproductivity.
if they were going to make a move, they should have nipped it in the bud. how could they let her survive to complain to the emperor?
it even ruined all of her plans.
jiang xinyue, peacefully nurturing her pregnancy in hexi palace, had no idea what the other women in the palace thought of her. even if she knew, she wouldn't care.
it was nothing more than spreading rumors that she was a disastrous enchantress, in the league of bao si and da ji.
sometimes she found it quite ridiculous.
since ancient times, there has been a saying that beautiful women adorn prosperous times and take the blame in chaotic times.
men were one thing - there were few good ones among them, and they were used to shirking responsibility when things went wrong.
but how could even the women in the palace attack their fellow concubines with such reasoning?
king you of zhou lit the beacon towers to amuse bao si, but that was his own indulgence in her beauty. when did bao si ever ask him to light the beacon towers?
emperor xuanzong of tang became infatuated with his own daughter-in-law and schemed to snatch her from his son prince shou. was she willing in the beginning?
why should yang guifei bear the infamy for thousands of years for the an lushan rebellion?
it wasn't her fault that she was beautiful. the blame lay with those wolves in sheep's clothing who used coveting her beauty as a pretext to start wars!
if she were truly an enchantress, she would have long since monopolized the favor of the great yan's imperial harem. would there still be room for these others to run amok?
although there was a great commotion outside, hexi palace remained as peaceful as ever.
the xuanwu emperor had strictly forbidden the palace maids in hexi palace from discussing outside rumors in front of jiang xinyue.
the people outside the window scattered like startled birds and beasts.
xi que draped a light robe over her shoulders and glared out the window at the empty air. "why didn't your highness let this servant catch them and torture them to find out who sent them here to spread such nonsense?"
"why bother?" jiang xinyue pulled the robe closer around her body, her jet-black hair particularly smooth in the moonlight. "if not the empress's people, then consort de's or consort liang's. it could also be concubine li, or even the empress dowager. i have the emperor's favor, and there are many who can't sit still because of it. if we were to catch all the spies one by one, who knows if they wouldn't arrange new people to come in in the future."
she wanted them to think she hadn't discovered their spies, to let those little palace maids spread information about her condition.
after all, what others saw of her was only what she wanted them to see.
how she really was behind closed doors, only xi que and shuang jiang knew.
if they dared to place spies in her palace, she could make all those spies her own pawns.
she had always been the one moving the pieces. what was there to fear?
"crash!"
in the emperor's chengqian palace, another set of cups shattered.
the xuanwu emperor, furious, pointed at concubine li kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily. "don't think i don't know. it's all your doing, instructing the pei and song families to spread rumors outside, slandering and defaming concubine zhen. concubine li, i haven't swept away the entire song family. that's already showing extreme leniency. do you want me to settle accounts with them one by one, to see which one of them has a completely clean record?"
if he were to investigate thoroughly, likely not a single member of the song family would escape.
concubine li wanted to cry, but no tears would come. she looked up, gazing at the emperor with despair. "my grandfather has already been executed. my father, overcome with fear, is bedridden and looks like he won't last much longer. my mother has already divorced my father and returned to the pei family. your majesty, how have you shown me extreme leniency?"
was it leniency to let her family be destroyed?
what did she care about the rest of the song clan? whether they lived or died was of no concern to her.
those people were all ungrateful wretches.
"they brought it all upon themselves!"
the emperor slammed his fist on the table with a thunderous bang, his fury erupting. "i am the son of heaven of great yan, the ruler of an entire nation. yet prime minister song, relying on his power and influence, dares to attempt to lord over me and dictate the affairs of state. he has forgotten that i could uproot the entire wu family if i wished. what makes the song family think i would meekly play the role of a puppet emperor?"
at the heart of it all, it was a case of greed knowing no bounds, like a snake trying to swallow an elephant.
concubine li sat dejectedly on the ground, a pearly tear finally falling from the corner of her eye. "then your majesty can consider this as my revenge against you! the one you cherish is suffering because of you. now that you feel the pain, i can find some solace."