Under the heavens, all land belongs to the king.
The eldest princess was the late emperor’s first child and the current emperor’s full sister. If she wished to have absolute power, it wouldn’t be difficult. A dignified, legitimate eldest princess, merely having a fleeting dalliance with an actor, giving birth to an illegitimate son, and killing an insignificant person, these things might not seem like major offenses. However, the emperor intended to hold her accountable.
Why?
Li Man’er recalled that a few days ago, when Qi Yihan met with her, he had vaguely mentioned that the eldest princess had been very close to the third prince recently. The third prince’s mother was Consort Chen, who, compared to the long-ailing Empress, clearly held more favor with the emperor.
Although the Crown Prince occupied the position of the eldest legitimate son, his disposition was weak and he had not earned the emperor's favor for many years. The Crown Princess, Lan Yudie, was arrogant and domineering, and had even incited her household slaves to amass wealth for her, which earned the Crown Prince many enemies. It was heard that for years, the imperial consorts in the Eastern Palace had been constantly vying for favor and quarreling, turning the once grand Eastern Palace into a chaotic mess, making the emperor deeply displeased with the Crown Prince and his faction.
If one cannot even control their own household, how can they govern the empire?
Zhi, fortune; Lu, prosperity.
Could it be…
Li Man’er looked up at Qi Yihan and saw him subtly nod at her.
They shared a silent understanding and both withdrew their gazes.
“All rise!”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Everyone then rose. Only the eldest princess remained kneeling. She desperately tried to exonerate herself, “Your Majesty, you must not believe slander. I, absolutely did not disregard human life, nor did I disgrace the royal family.”
Even now, with witnesses and evidence, the eldest princess still refused to admit it. Not only that, she pointed the finger at Qi Yihan and Li Man’er, “It is they who fabricated falsehoods and slandered this consort, with the aim of sowing discord between Your Majesty and your sister. Your Majesty has a keen eye; please deliver justice to this consort.”
The eldest princess understood Emperor Chenghua quite well. Her brother was extremely suspicious and disliked it when people played tricks in front of him. By saying this, she was trying to poison Emperor Chenghua's mind against Li Man’er and Qi Yihan.
Emperor Chenghua remained composed. He appeared somewhat plumper than when he was ill, his complexion was good, and the sharpness in his eyes had not diminished. His attitude towards the eldest princess, however, was rather intriguing.
“You say they falsely accused you?”
The eldest princess felt anxious, but at this point, she could only press on.
“Yes, I did not do these things, so I will naturally not admit to them. Madam Cui is the grandmother of Princess Anning, and naturally, she would speak for Princess Anning. In the past, there were rumors that the two of them, grandmother and granddaughter, were not on good terms. In my opinion, this was a deliberate act on their part, intended to distance themselves, so that people would believe Madam Cui’s testimony.”
Emperor Chenghua glanced at Madam Cui and addressed her directly, “What does the Old Madam say?” Regardless of what Madam Cui had done, as long as she had not been found guilty, she was still the Old Madam of the Tie Dan Marquis Estate.
Madam Cui stepped forward and knelt honestly, “This humble woman is guilty. Everything I have said is true.”
“Madam Cui!” The eldest princess almost bit through her silver teeth. “How dare you lie in front of His Majesty?”
Madam Cui calmly replied, “Everything this humble woman has said is true. As the saying goes, when a person is about to die, their words are good. Your Majesty, this humble woman is gravely ill and has not much time left. Recalling the wrongdoings I committed in the past, my heart is filled with guilt and unease, which is why I have confessed everything. On that day, the eldest princess sent someone to find this humble woman and threatened me with the suspicious death of the old marquis to harm Madam Ning. The eldest princess feared that her involvement would be exposed, so she did not send servants from the princess’s estate or the duke’s estate, but instead sent a servant from her own manor.”
The eldest princess was greatly shocked. She never imagined that the messenger from that year would be discovered. It was also her own leniency; thinking that the person was loyal and would never betray her, she had allowed her to return home from the capital. So many years had passed, she thought, it would be impossible to find her by now!
“Oh, where is that servant now? Can she come forward to testify?”
Qi Yihan simply said, “Your Majesty, not only that servant, but the midwife who delivered the eldest princess that year has also been found.”
“Impossible!” The eldest princess suddenly cried out, fear evident in her eyes. Those two midwives were clearly silenced; how could they possibly be found?
“The eldest princess seems to be somewhat guilty. Impossible what?”
The eldest princess calmed herself, thinking that both midwives had died accidentally. More than ten years had passed; their bones would have long since turned to dust. How could they possibly find anyone?
“It must be that they are framing me,” the eldest princess declared with conviction. “Where are any midwives? I think they simply found two people to impersonate them, intending to frame me.”
Li Man’er smiled meaningfully, “We never said we found two people, did we? How did the eldest princess know it was two midwives?”
“You…”
“Your Majesty, shortly after the two midwives left the detached palace, they were assassinated. One midwife was pushed into a lake and suffocated. The other midwife, on a rainy night, was pushed off a cliff. Fortunately, she was lucky and was caught by a pine tree growing on the mountainside, and was then rescued by a physician collecting herbs, thus saving her life. When that midwife returned home, she discovered her entire household had been reduced to ashes; all twelve lives in her family perished in the fire.” Qi Yihan continued, “That midwife also knew that this was the trouble she had brought upon herself. The other party clearly intended to silence witnesses, so she immediately went into hiding, left her hometown, and was only found by this humble brother a few days ago.”
The eldest princess was almost unable to maintain her composure. She never imagined that the midwife would survive such a fall! A group of useless people; didn’t they say to find even the remains? Were they brainless, unable to accomplish even such a small task?
“Who knows if the person you found is a liar?” The eldest princess was now brazen, discarding her pretense of kneeling and directly rising to sit on a nearby chair. “Any Tom, Dick, or Harry can come forward to prove my innocence. You really have a clever plan.”
Emperor Chenghua merely said, “Even if the person has arrived, let them be summoned and questioned!”
Eunuch Xia immediately went to make arrangements. Shortly after, guards brought a disfigured old woman into the warm chamber.
The old woman appeared to be nearly sixty. A large scar marred her face. Upon entering, she knelt, “This commoner, Zhang Hongzao, pays homage to His Majesty, long live.”
“Raise your head and answer.”
The old woman lifted her head. She dared not look around carelessly, but her peripheral vision caught sight of the eldest princess. Intense hatred flashed in her eyes, and her body involuntarily trembled. Gritting her teeth, she said, “Murderer, you owe my more than ten lives!”
“Insolent! Who instructed you to dare to slander this consort so wildly? You are simply courting death!” If not for Emperor Chenghua’s presence, the eldest princess would have immediately ordered her dragged away and beaten to death.
“Look at me, don’t you recognize me? Madam Zhu?” The old woman said fiercely. “Perhaps, this commoner should address you as eldest princess?”