The one who came running to report this time was, once again, that delicate-featured young eunuch, always breaking out in a sweat.
After he finished delivering the lengthy message with impeccable clarity, Ling Jing smiled. “Reward him.”
As soon as the words left her lips, an Inner Attendant happily led away the equally delighted young eunuch.
Immediately after, Qin Jingzhou summoned the original host’s trusted confidants, instructing them to quickly arrange things and take care of the State Preceptor—make sure he was brought to Jingren Palace.
He himself was also headed to Jingren Palace to “eavesdrop on the wall.”
The confidants understood instantly, and none tried to dissuade him.
Since arriving here, Qin Jingzhou had first visited the Crown Prince in person and had him move into the side hall of Qianqing Palace. Then, with the Noble Consort restored to favor, he let her and her daughter move into Qianqing Palace as well, while he himself “worked overtime to catch up on homework,” dealing with more than half the memorials and secret reports that had piled up in just a single day.
This conduct did not go unnoticed among everyone in the palace, and it was hard for them not to think, The wise and resolute Emperor has truly returned! So now, the attitude of all the Inner Attendants, palace maids, and bodyguards serving in Qianqing Palace, the Eastern Palace, and Jingren Palace was completely different.
Qin Jingzhou just gave the orders, leaving all the details to these subordinates who had finally found hope again.
He led his confidants through the back door of Jingren Palace and took a seat in a small, discreetly placed heated chamber by the guest hall. As for the State Preceptor, unexamined and thus unable to confess, he was tossed in front of Qin Jingzhou, tied tight, unable to move or even make a sound.
Once everything was ready, Qin Jingzhou signaled an Inner Attendant with his eyes to pass along a message. Although he and Ling Jing could communicate through the Communicator, the process could not be skipped.
Ling Jing, who had returned through the main entrance of Jingren Palace, took the seat of honor. She glanced at Weiguangmei, sitting below and staring at her with intense focus, then at the Inner Attendant in the corner and his gesturing hands, before finally asking, “Alright, everyone left here is of my inner circle. What do you have to say?”
Both Han Father and Wei Father knew Weiguangmei’s character well and trusted him, but the moment he opened his mouth, they realized something was wrong…
Because what Weiguangmei said was, “You really are upset. You won’t even call me cousin anymore. I feel a bit hurt…”
Wei Father suddenly shot to his feet and slapped Weiguangmei hard across the face, knocking him to the floor.
If, just moments ago, his wife Madam Han’s comments about the Noble Consort’s unresolved past with her son could still be passed off as “blurting things out in a muddle-headed moment,” his son’s words now were nothing less than a self-confessed crime!
Before Ling Jing could say anything about Wei Father striking his son, Madam Han rushed forward, just like Lady Li had done, almost toppling her completely unprepared hus… her husband.
In a fit of anger, Wei Father backhanded her with a slap.
Madam Han’s face swelled even more. After a stunned moment, she wanted to keep pressing the issue, but Ling Jing, unable to watch any longer, signaled the palace maids to restrain her firmly.
Madam Han was just as furious, whipping her head around, just about to speak—only to meet Ling Jing’s cold gaze… For a moment, she finally remembered that this niece of hers was now the freshly reinstated Noble Consort.
Weiguangmei climbed to his feet in silence, rubbed his face, and spoke to his father, whose anger was reluctantly mixed with helplessness and sorrow: “Father, please let me finish. I haven’t lost my mind. There are things we do need to lay out fully for Her Highness.”
Wei Father considered this and agreed. The Emperor truly was hard to figure out—always shifting between enlightened and muddled. This time he’d abruptly turned back into a wise ruler, but who knew when the madness would return? Now that they’d finally made it into the palace, it was best to work out some plan together.
He shifted his sore shoulder from being rammed by his wife, then turned to look at his son’s lucent gaze, feeling more and more that his son was not, in fact, totally deranged.
He steadied himself, sat back down, and made a point of lecturing his wife in front of his brother-in-law. “Do you have to keep causing trouble until Her Highness is forced to deal with you?”
With the palace maids holding her fast, Madam Han had no choice but to back down.
Her final shred of stubbornness was simply refusing to confess first.
Meanwhile, the Han father and son exchanged anxious glances, then snuck a peek at the implacably poised Noble Consort sitting above them, deciding they should hear what Weiguangmei had to say before doing anything rash.
Lady Li, knowing she’d caused serious trouble, shrank as small as possible on her chair, quiet as a chick.
Watching her sister-in-law get slapped had given her a moment of satisfaction, but worry soon followed. If her daughter broke ties with her family because of this… hopefully not, but after this incident, things were sure to become distant… She regretted it bitterly! If only she’d coaxed her a little, kept her sister-in-law’s mouth shut, at least as her mother she could have salvaged something from this.
No one paid Lady Li’s thoughts any heed now. All eyes in the hall were on Weiguangmei.
And Weiguangmei truly meant what he said, wanting to lay everything bare to his beloved. “Xuerou, the Emperor’s been muddle-headed—neglecting state affairs for years, acting recklessly, and the people have suffered deeply. For families like ours, who are supported by the people, we have a responsibility to act for them.”
Ling Jing couldn’t help laughing. When it came to squeezing tenants dry, the Wei family was among the very worst of the old Noble Families. Their tenants had to hand over two-thirds of their harvests, while Jiang Jingzhou’s Imperial Manor only took forty percent… and the manor provided good seeds, tools, and some fertilizer as well. You dare claim you “act for the people”?
Weiguangmei, however, was clearly encouraged by the dazzling smile on her face. Renewing his efforts, he continued, “Since the Emperor is obsessed with immortal cultivation, we just help him along… If he really does ascend and leave, that would be best for us, the officials, and the common people alike.”
At this point, both Wei Father and Han Father nodded slightly. This line wouldn’t fool any old foxes, but it might just work on the Noble Consort.
Affirmed by father and uncle, Weiguangmei gave a faint smile and lowered his voice, saying, “The Crown Prince has always tried to advise the Emperor, but he’s in the way.”
Ling Jing’s entire demeanor changed. “You think he’s in the way? And then what?”
Weiguangmei sensed things going awry, gazing longingly at his beloved, desperately trying to revive any lingering affection Xuerou might hold for him.
The Imperial Physician who treated the Crown Prince had ended up in the Imperial Prison. Although Weiguangmei had taken the physician’s family hostage, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t break under torture and confess. If that happened, no matter what, they would need Xuerou, now back in favor, to intercede with the Emperor on their behalf… or at the very least whisper a favorable word on the pillow.
Besides, both the Han family and the Wei family were Xuerou’s own relatives on her mother’s side. If they were implicated in such a case as attempted murder of the Crown Prince, how could she possibly keep herself out of it?
Having settled all this in his mind, Weiguangmei quietly began to explain how they had bought off the Imperial Physician to harm the Crown Prince… Of course, the physician wouldn’t dare actually poison the Prince. But merely obtaining and decocting the medicine had passed through so many hands in the palace, including people with medical knowledge.
That was why Weiguangmei had paid a huge sum to buy a brilliant recipe from the Duke Cheng’en’s household. Ostensibly, it was for warm nourishment and recovery, but in fact it was designed to trigger latent illnesses… Seeing the Crown Prince cough up blood after drinking the medicine, they’d never imagined he would become so critically ill that it roused the Emperor’s fatherly affection. The Emperor straightaway abandoned his cultivation, left the Star Observing Terrace, and hurried to the Eastern Palace.
The finer details after that were beyond his knowledge. But with the Imperial Physician and State Preceptor both captured, the Crown Prince moved to Qianqing Palace, and the Emperor returning to diligent governance, processing memorials that had piled up…
Weiguangmei spoke sincerely, “For someone to act against the Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace, the Emperor must be suspicious now. He’ll worry others will try the same with him… So I doubt he’ll just let things go.”
Ling Jing smiled again. “So what is it you want me to do?”
Weiguangmei cut straight to the point. “Send the Imperial Physician on his way. If that’s impossible, then help us find an excuse… When the Crown Prince was acting as regent, he offended many Noble Clans and gentry.” At this, he was genuinely overcome with sorrow. “The Former Emperor treated us Noble Families as sworn enemies, and the Crown Prince is just the same!”
Ling Jing stood up. “So, that’s how it is.”
The reason Weiguangmei could confess so openly was that, if the Han and Wei families fell, Han Xuerou as Noble Consort would be lucky to escape with her life—a cup of poison wine or a strip of White Silk at best. The little princess Jiang Ying would either end up guarding the imperial tombs or forced to become a nun. She was only six years old.
Her family dragged her into this pit without even warning her. No matter how furious or resentful she was, for the sake of her only daughter, Han Xuerou would always choose self-preservation, even at the cost of others.
You had to admit, Weiguangmei understood Han Xuerou’s character rather well.
In Han Xuerou’s heart, nothing could compare to her precious daughter, Tuantuan. For her daughter, she would give up even her own life.
Ling Jing, after mourning a bit for the original host, sent a silent message to Qin Jingzhou. “Your turn.”
Sure enough, Qin Jingzhou got up, glancing first at the State Preceptor who looked utterly hopeless, then strode quickly out of the heated chamber, followed by a host of Inner Attendants and bodyguards.
The moment he appeared in the doorway behind Ling Jing, Han Father and Wei Father’s faces changed abruptly, then both collapsed to their knees with a pair of heavy thumps.
Han Father, feeling there was still hope with his daughter present, immediately cried out that he was wrongly accused.
His eldest son, Han Xuerou’s legitimate elder brother, also knelt down at once, following his father in pleading innocence.
As for Lady Li and Madam Han… The instant they saw that figure in imperial yellow, both rolled their eyes backward and fainted dead away.
Weiguangmei was left rooted to the spot, staring at Ling Jing in disbelief.
Qin Jingzhou could not care less about any of it. He simply called out lightly, “Where is Jiang Tongqing? Take him away too.”
Jiang Tongqing, a clan cousin of the original host Jiang Jingzhou, currently commanded half the Imperial Guards.
Weiguangmei was not blind to the situation, but still harbored a sliver of hope, waiting for his beloved to plead for mercy. “Xuerou! The people kneeling here are your father, your elder brother, your uncle, your aunt… and me!”
Ling Jing let out a cold laugh. “You just confessed to plotting against the Crown Prince with your own mouth. What else is there to say? When you decided to harm the Crown Prince and even scheme against the Emperor, did you consult me first? Now you act as if I’ve betrayed you… You are stupid and wicked both. You deserve nothing less than confiscation and execution of your entire families.”
Han Father and Wei Father were terrified.
But it was Weiguangmei who could not accept these words at all. He didn’t even try to argue; knowing there was no escape, he seized the chair at hand and hurled it at the Emperor.
Qin Jingzhou saw that Ling Jing was ready to act, so he stood where he was, perfectly still.
Before Jiang Tongqing, the well-trained fighter, could rush in upon hearing the commotion, Ling Jing kicked the redwood chair out of midair with precise force, and, with another nimble leap, delivered a flying kick straight to Weiguangmei’s head.
A dull thud rang out as Weiguangmei’s head snapped back and he crashed to the ground, out cold.
Long skirts and wide sleeves, with robes fluttering in the wind, Ling Jing landed steadily, and everyone present was struck dumb by the sight.
Only then did Qin Jingzhou gently set down the redwood chair he’d just caught, and praised her. “That was a beautiful kick.”
Ling Jing didn’t even break a sweat. She threw her head back and beamed at Qin Jingzhou. “That was… for the heart that was wronged.”