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“Tell me about it.” Emperor Jing Li sipped his tea leisurely.
However, Noble Consort Liang wasn’t able to feel leisurely at all.
Her brain rumbled.
Worthy… Worthy Consort?
Worthy Consort has said everything?
Why?
Why did Worthy Consort betray her?
Did she treat Worthy Consort not good enough?
No.
No way!
Worthy Consort would not betray her.
Worthy Consort looked like she wanted to trample on Liao Qing Qing this morning.
It is unlikely that she changed her stance in the evening.
It is Emperor Jing Li.
Emperor Jing Li is tricking her!
Emperor Jing Li’s tricks are always numerous. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have manipulated the imperial subjects by making them run around in circles!
With this thought, she calmed herself down. Her stiff face slowly regained its naturalness, and a smile appeared on her face.
Then, she softly asked, “I wonder what Worthy Consort, Younger Sister, said to Your Majesty?”
“You don’t know?” Emperor Jing Li gently put down the teacup. His eyes slowly raised, and a harsh gaze shot at Noble Consort Liang.
Even though Noble Consort Liang was mentally prepared, her heart involuntarily shivered when she met such a gaze from Emperor Jing Li. She forced herself to calm down. She lowered her head and replied, “Your Majesty, this concubine[1] really doesn’t know.”
“Oh. Then I[2] need to remind you.” Emperor Jing Li said
Noble Consort Liang’s heart tightened, and his brain rumbled once again.
It can’t be that Worthy… Worthy Consort really said everything, right?
She panicked inwardly.
She wanted to find someone to inquire, but Emperor Jing Li was right in front of her. She did not dare to do anything. Her body involuntarily hardened. This did not escape Emperor Jing Li’s eyes.
Emperor Jing Li said, “Then Noble Consort Liang, listen well.”
Noble Consort Liang panicked in her heart. She tried to maintain her poise.
Emperor Jing Li fixed his eyes on Noble Consort Liang and did not miss the subtle changes of Noble Consort Liang. He said, “Does Noble Consort Liang know about the matter of Liao Shi Wen corruption, bribery and faction affiliation?”
Noble Consort Liang’s hands, which were half-hidden in the cuffs of the hands, flicked slightly.
Emperor Jing Li once again caught that. He slightly raised his eyebrows and was unparalleled handsome.
But Noble Consort Liang felt it was chilly. Her heartstring tensed and said, “This concubine heard someone in the imperial harem mentioned this matter.”
“Who in the harem mentioned this matter?”
“This concubine doesn’t know about this.”
“It was you, Noble Consort Liang, who mentioned it first, right?”
Noble Consort Liang’s body trembled, and she raised her eyes to look at Emperor Jing Li.
Emperor Jing Li said, “Not only did you mention it, but you also did it. You and your partner, Worthy Consort, wanted to frame Lady Xi of Bright Countenance. However, Lady Xi of Bright Countenance is disciplined. She either goes to Shouxi Palace or to the Department of Agricultural Products. So you couldn’t find any shortcomings to start with. Hence, you put your eyes on Magistrate Liao.”
“Your Majesty, this concubine did not.”
“Not only did you roped in Worthy Consort, but you also used your father’s connections to proclaim Magistrate Liao’s “crimes” in the imperial court. Furthermore, you pressured me so that I will dispose of Magistrate Liao and let me dispose of Lady Xi of Bright Countenance!” Emperor Jing Li spoke increasingly louder, “Noble Consort Liang, I was wrong about you. The loyal granddaughter of King Huaishan was playing with power, roping in imperial subjects, and putting me in an awkward spot. I ask you, is it Judge Liao who is corrupt and bribed, or is it your Liang family who is bribing people privately?!”
With a <bang> sound, Emperor Jing Li smashed the teacup in his hand on the ground.
Noble Consort Liang’s legs went limp with fear, and she knelt down with a thud and said, “Your Majesty, this concubine did not… This concubine did not play with power and did not….”
“You wouldn’t shed a tear until you see the coffin!”[3] Emperor Jing Li uttered this sentence with contempt. Then, he bellowed, “Fu Sheng! Bring the person here!”
“Yes!”
As soon as Fu Sheng’s voice sounded, he brought a skinny man with him.
The skinny man was thrown directly in front of Emperor Jing Li.
Emperor Jing Li pointed at the skinny man and said, “Say. Say it to Noble Consort Liang! Look at the good things that Noble Consort Liang has done!”
The skinny man lay prone on the floor, not even daring to raise his head. He said with a trembling voice, “Noble Consort Liang, this humble one[4] is a bandit of Dagu Mountain. A few days ago, a man found me and gave me a sum of silver. He let me and my brothers pretend to be an official to send two boxes of silver to Liao manor and hand a letter to Magistrate Liao of Liao manor. After that, he let me send letters to other high-ranking officials’ manors, saying that Magistrate Liao asked for an audience. This humble one did all this and reported back to the man. However, that man killed my brother. I was lucky to escape. When I went back to find that man again, I found out that the man was the head steward of King Huaishan’s manor. This humble one—”
“You are talking nonsense!” Noble Consort Liang immediately rebuked.
“This humble one doesn’t dare to talk nonsense. This humble one has the door card of King Huaishan’s great steward.” The skinny man said as he pulled out a door card from his arms.
King Huaishan manor was strictly managed. Each servant has a door card, a credential to enter and exit the King Huaishan manor. It was more important than their life, especially like the door card of the great steward Liang Shan.
That all carried a symbol of identity and power.
Noble Consort Liang’s body immediately went limp.
Emperor Jing Li said, “Noble Consort Liang, do you have anything else to say?”
Noble Consort Liang’s entire body sat on the ground as if she had been drained of her essence.
Emperor Jing Li said, “Someone come, take Noble Consort Liang away.”
Bring her away?
Where to?
Noble Consort Liang immediately returned to her senses and saw two eunuchs entering the door. She looked at Emperor Jing Li in a panic and said, “Your Majesty, where are you taking this concubine to?”
Emperor Jing Li said, “I’m taking you to prison.”
“Your Majesty, this concubine is a Noble Consort.”
“From this day on, you are no longer Noble Consort.”
“Because of this? Your Majesty, just because of Magistrate Liao, you want to put this concubine in prison?”
“When a prince breaks the law, he is punished the same way as the common people.”[5]
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“Your Majesty, you are so cruel.”
“Is it as cruel as you framing loyalty?” Emperor Jing Li asked, “Crueler than you framing the imperial concubines’ loyalty? As I had said, ‘when a prince breaks the law, he is punished the same way as the common people’. Your Liang clan dares to form a faction under my eyes. I will not let a single one of them be spared.”
Not a single one will be spared?
Noble Consort Liang no longer had any aggrieved thoughts. She immediately said, “Your Majesty, this matter is done by this concubine alone. It has nothing to do with Liang manor at all.”
Emperor Jing Li sneered and asked, “You admit that you did it?”
Noble Consort Liang was startled.
Emperor Jing Li waved his hand.
Two young eunuchs left.
The skinny man got up from the floor and walked behind Fu Sheng. He bowed with Fu Sheng to Emperor Jing Li and took his leave.
Noble Consort Ling’s eyes widened in shock as she looked at Emperor Jing Li.
Emperor Jing Li pinched the cuffs of his dragon robe. On the way, he dusted the tea that may have spilt. He spoke in a gentle and pleasant voice, “Noble Consort Liang is right. You are a Noble Consort, the head of the harem. I should not put you in jail. Then you should stay in Linhua Palace for a while to think about how to take care of the aftermath. Oh, right. You can work with your father to find a way to deal with the aftermath and perfect the situation. Lady Xi of Bright Countenance can not have a trace of stain on it, do you understand?”
“Your Majesty, you tricked this concubine?”
“Yes.”
“You—”
“Just think about dealing with the aftermath.”
Emperor Jing Li walked away and left.
Noble Consort Liang could not believe that this would be the result.
She has clearly been guarding against Emperor Jing Li, preventing him from tricking her.
How did she fall into his trap?
How… She could not accept this fact. She only felt her chest feeling tighter, her head groggy and heavy, and then she rolled her eyes.
With a <bang> sound, she fell to the ground.
“Noble Consort Liang!”
“Noble Consort Liang!”
A group of palace maids shouted around Noble Consort Liang.
This voice did not reach the ears of Emperor Jing Li.
Emperor Jing Li had already departed from Linhua Palace.
He was outraged
He didn’t expect that Noble Consort Liang could decide a person’s life and death so easily. If he hadn’t taken over this case and handed it over to the Imperial Procuratorate, would they have been able to reach out to the Imperial Procuratorate as well?
They are too rampant!
In his heart, some ideas of supervision and management of the country sprouted.
He would discuss them with the imperial subjects and implement them later.
Once he had an idea, the anger in Emperor Jing Li’s heart lessened. When he raised his eyes to see the round and bright moon, he suddenly thought of Liao Qing Qing. He could not help but speed up his pace towards Lisheng Pavilion.
[1] 臣妾(chénqiè)- this concubine/I, your servant (self-appellation of a lower-rank female). The literal meaning is ‘this subject and this concubine’.It is a self-appellation used by the ranks including and above Consorts. They are used by Consorts, Noble Consorts and Empress, etc. in front of the Emperor, Empress Dowager and Consorts, Noble Consorts that have a higher rank.
[2] 朕(zhèn)- I (imperial) or we (imperial use).
[3] 不见棺材不落泪(bùjiànguāncaibùluòlèi)- not to shed a tear until one sees the coffin. It means one refuses to be convinced until one is faced with grim reality.
[4] 小的(xiǎode)- This humble one. It means I (when talking to a superior).
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[5] 王子犯法与庶民同罪(wáng zǐ fàn fǎ，shù mín tóng zuì)- Princes are equally as at fault as the common people. This means that when a prince breaks the law, he is punished the same way as the common people, with no special treatment. It means that the king’s law is the same for the princes and commoners.