ALL NOVEL
Chapter 13
That night, the Xuanwu Emperor did not flip the card, but slept in the Yikun Palace of the Empress, as it was the fifteenth day of the month.
According to tradition, on the first and fifteenth day of each month, the Emperor should sleep in the Empress's palace. Although the Xuanwu Emperor had no particular affection for the Empress, he would not break this rule. He was willing to give this respect to his Empress Zhu.
"Did I hear correctly that the Emperor punished Concubine Chu today?"
"Yes!"
The Emperor turned over in bed, his back to Empress Zhu, showing no intention of explaining.
Empress Zhu's eyes reddened, and a tear rolled down from the corner of her eye, disappearing into her hair.
She quickly wiped away the tear: "Concubine Chu has always been close to Concubine Li. If the Emperor punishes Concubine Chu, I fear Concubine Li will be upset."
"I will speak to Concubine Li properly tomorrow. Empress, I am tired, let's sleep."
The lights in the Yikun Palace were extinguished, but the Changchun Palace was restless.
Concubine Li sat in the main seat, her face full of anger: "You fool, don't you understand why the Emperor punished you?" Concubine Chu retorted defiantly: "It's all because of that vixen, Consort Zhen. She looks somewhat like you, and the Emperor is fascinated by her novelty. She must have whispered in the Emperor's ear."
Otherwise, how could the Emperor be so angry?
"Clang!"
A teacup exploded at her feet. Concubine Li pointed at her head: "No matter how much the concubines in the harem fight, it's all minor squabbles. The Emperor will never favor anyone. But you, you fool, you brought up your family background to oppress others. Don't you know that the thing the Emperor hates most is the involvement of the previous dynasty with the harem?"
Just like when the Empress Dowager colluded with the Wu Family, leading to rampant corruption and the selling of official positions. This disgusted the Emperor so much that he personally dealt with his own mother and the entire family of his uncle.
Only then did Concubine Chu realize the severity of the situation, and she begged Concubine Li for help in panic.
"This palace will help you one last time. If you continue to be useless, this palace won't bother with you anymore."
The next day, the temperature must have reached thirty-six or thirty-seven degrees. On the way back from paying respects to the Empress, Jiang Xinyue almost fainted from the heat.
There was not a breath of wind in the air, making it difficult to breathe.
Why pay respects in this kind of weather?
One should be lying in the Xihuo Palace filled with ice basins, sleeping a beauty sleep, and also preparing some beauty treatments for skincare.
A beauty will never refuse to become more beautiful, and the Emperor will not refuse either.
Whether he loves them or not, sleeping with an ugly woman is the same as sleeping with a beautiful one. Why not sleep with someone who is pleasing to the eye? At least after sleeping, looking at such a beautiful face can improve one's mood.
Just like Jiang Xinyue, if the Xuanwu Emperor were a smelly old man in his fifties or sixties who didn't like to bathe, she would rather live peacefully in the Palace of Exile for the rest of her life, rather than be a favored concubine.
So ugly, it would ruin her appetite, let alone... that desire.
Under the scorching sun, between two and three in the afternoon, there was no one to be seen outside all the palaces.
The doors of each palace were tightly closed, everyone was hiding inside to escape the heat!
"Ah——"
In the middle of the day, while Jiang Xinyue was still sleeping, she heard a high-pitched scream, as if it came from the Xihuo Palace.
"Miss!"
Right after, Shuangjiang pushed open the door, startling Xi Que, who was dozing off by the bed, "What happened? What's the matter?"
Behind Shuangjiang, two palace maidservants fell to their knees, trembling, "Consort...Consort Zhen...someone has hung themselves in the Xihuo Palace side hall."
Jiang Xinyue quickly got up, Xi Que hurriedly draped her in a coat. All three of them, along with the chief eunuch of Xihuo Palace, Jiang Chuan, headed towards the side hall.
A few young eunuchs and palace maids were gathered at the entrance to the side hall. After Jiang Chuan scolded them, they knelt down in a row.
Jiang Xinyue waved her hand: "Do what you are supposed to do, stop crowding here."
Jiang Chuan led the way, choosing two eunuchs to follow, "My lady, please step aside to avoid being shocked. We will bring the body down first."
Without Jiang Xinyue's command, no one dared to touch the hanging body.
She looked somewhat frightened, her face pale. She walked to the door covering her eyes, then tremblingly said, "Go ahead..."
With a flash of the red dress, the silhouette hanging from the roof beam was brought down. Xi Que suddenly shouted, "My lady, it's the young mistress!"
"What?"
Jiang Xinyue, who had been peeking through her fingers, no longer cared about her fear. She ran forward in three steps, and upon seeing the ashen face, she screamed and passed out.
Wang Dequan rushed to the emperor's study. Along the way, he met several high-ranking ministers, but he did not stop to exchange pleasantries and hurried inside.
"Your Majesty, there's been an incident in Xihuo Palace."
After speaking, Wang Dequan noticed that Consort Jiang was standing behind the emperor's desk, grinding ink for him.
Consort Jiang may not be the most beautiful woman, but her grandfather was a cabinet scholar, and her father had just been promoted to the Ministry of officials.
The Jiang family was renowned for their literary pedigree, dignified and cultured, giving her a scholarly aura.
Sometimes the Emperor would enjoy the company of Consort Jiang in his study.
The Xuanwu Emperor's wolf hair brush paused, and a drop of ink fell onto the rice paper, ruining the character "Yuan" he had just written. He had been writing Consort Jiang's real name, Jiang Yuan.
But upon hearing about the incident at Xihuo Palace, the Emperor dropped his brush, and without a word of concern, left the study with Wang Dequan.
Consort Jiang had no choice but to follow, "Your humble servant will accompany you, Your Majesty."
She wanted to see what had happened in Xihuo Palace. If Consort Zhen dared to snatch people from her, she wouldn't be as easy to deal with as Concubine Chu.
"Physician, how is my lady?"
"Consort Zhen's pulse is slow and tight, deep and faint, as if she has been greatly shocked. Her blood circulation is obstructed, and her spirit is weak. I will write a prescription for her, please have someone go to the imperial hospital to get the medicine."
The Xuanwu Emperor strode into Xihuo Palace, his expression stern, "What happened? How could Consort Zhen be so shocked?"
The vibrant beauty on the bed, who was always laughing and scolding, full of vitality, was now pale, her brows furrowed, seeming to have a restless sleep.
She looked weak and ill, and it hurt his heart.
Jiang Chuan had already told Wang Dequan everything. As soon as the Emperor asked, he informed the Emperor about how Court Lady Jiang from the Palace of Exile hanged herself in a side hall of the Xihuo Palace.
"What are the guards of the Palace of Exile doing? How could they let someone run off to the Xihuo Palace?"
The Palace of Exile, located in a remote area and often unoccupied for years, had guards that frequently slacked off.
Consort Jiang seemed to casually remark, "Court Lady Jiang was Consort Zhen's sister, wasn't she? What kind of grudge could possibly exist between them? Was it worth her going to such lengths to escape from the Palace of Exile, run all the way to the Xihuo Palace, and hang herself in a red dress?"
There was a rumor among the common folk that those who committed suicide in a red dress could transform into vengeful spirits, returning for revenge on the seventh day after their death.
She was simply reminding the Xuanwu Emperor that Consort Zhen might not be as kind as she appeared on the surface.
Otherwise, why would her own sister harbor such intense malice towards her, not even letting her go in death?