Palace maid Shuoning

(Up)

Wei Xuanshi was taken aback upon hearing this, and blinked: "Drink...drink tea?"

At this time, the guards returned one after another to report that there was nothing suspicious in Yanxi Palace.

Bao Zhong nodded slightly, glanced at Wei Xuanshi's relieved yet forced composure, and smiled: "Then I'll have troubled you further."

After speaking, he took a step to leave, but his steps were very slow, and his gaze kept glancing at the pond.

Just as he was about to step out of the courtyard gate, a voice suddenly announced from outside:

"The Emperor has arrived! Consort Rong has arrived!"

Bao Zhong paused, and his clenched fist suddenly relaxed.

Wei Xuanshi's face stiffened, and she looked abruptly at Bao Zhong before she realized what was happening.

He lingered there waiting for someone. The embroidered handkerchief in her hand was twisted out of shape.

The Emperor and Consort Rong stepped into the courtyard one after the other.

Bao Zhong knelt down first, and Wei Xuanshi hurriedly followed suit. The palace maids, eunuchs, and guards all prostrated themselves on the ground.

"Greetings to Your Majesty, greetings to Consort Rong."

The Emperor's face was ashen. He walked past everyone and went straight to a chair in the courtyard to sit down. Consort Rong also sat down beside him.

Everyone turned around and knelt down before the two of them again.

Two palace maids quickly served tea to the Emperor and Consort Rong.

"Baozhong, how's the investigation going? Where is the assassin?" the Emperor asked, frowning.

Bao Zhong bowed his head and reported to the Emperor: "This servant has led men to search all the palaces, but so far no suspicious traces have been found."

The Emperor's chest heaved heavily: "Investigate! Continue the investigation! I'd like to see who's up to no good right under my nose."

"Your servant obeys the decree."

The Emperor's gaze swept over Consort Wei, his voice deepening:

"I heard you collected all the ice from the Imperial Household Department today. What exactly happened?"

Consort Wei's face turned deathly pale, and her lips trembled:

"Your Majesty, I am pregnant and feel hot, so I took a few extra pieces of ice."

Consort Rong chuckled softly, calmly stirring the tea foam with her teacup without looking up.

"Consort Wei, the way you talk makes it sound like nobody's stopping you from getting any. You're pregnant; who in the palace wouldn't give you some leeway? If you want a few more pieces of ice, do you think I'd send someone to stop you?"

She then raised her eyes, looking at Consort Wei with a gentle smile:

"But I heard that today, your maid Qingman publicly berated everyone in my palace, making them unable to even lift their heads. Whom did Qingman insult, and whose face did she slap? Surely Consort Wei can understand this?"

Consort Wei trembled and hurriedly knelt down: "Your Majesty and Consort Rong, please see the truth! This...this is not true! I have never allowed Qingman to insult anyone..."

Consort Rong smiled, her voice soft and gentle: "If you hadn't given the order, would she have dared to do it? A mere palace maid dares to point at and curse my people in front of everyone else. If you say she has no one backing her up, Consort Wei, do you even believe that yourself?"

Wei Xuanshi knelt on the ground, her face as white as paper, her lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.

The emperor remained silent, his fingers lightly tapping twice on the back of the chair, neither too hard nor too soft, yet each tap struck a chord deep within the heart.

After a long pause, he spoke, his voice neither warm nor cold: "When you entered the palace, what was the first rule you were told?"

Consort Wei trembled, her lips quivering for a long time before she finally managed to say, "Your Majesty, it is... that I have been dutiful and respectful of my place."

"You do know the proper order of rank." The Emperor nodded. "But what you did today, I didn't see you remember that rule."

Consort Wei burst into tears: "Your Majesty, I truly did not instruct Qingman to hurl insults... I dare not..."

"You didn't dare, but she did. She's your maid, and everything she does will be blamed on you by outsiders." The Emperor said calmly, "I don't care whether you instructed her or not. Since she dared to argue with Consort Rong's people in front of the other palaces, it means you failed to discipline her properly."

After saying that, he glanced at Qingman beside him, his voice turning colder: "That palace maid, drag her away and give her fifty strokes of the cane. Teach her a lesson."

Qingman's face turned pale instantly, and she collapsed to the ground, not daring to even cry out for justice. She was dragged away by two guards.

Wei Xuanshi knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face, and dared not utter another word.

(under)

Consort Rong picked up her teacup, took a sip, and spoke in a gentle tone, as if having a casual conversation:

"By the way, Consort Wei, I heard you brought one of my people to Yanxi Palace today?"

Consort Wei stiffened, looked up at Consort Rong, her lips moved but she didn't have time to speak.

Consort Rong calmly set down her teacup and smiled.

"My people brought Bing to your Yanxi Palace. Since she's here, return her to me. I'll take her back and ask her where Bing went."

Consort Wei turned pale and hurriedly explained, "I...I didn't see her."

After speaking, he glanced unconsciously at the pond.

The Emperor, who was holding a teacup, caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye. He paused, and the teacup made a soft sound as he placed it back on the table.

"Men, send a few people to jump in and turn the pond upside down for me."

Wei Xuanshi felt as if her bones had been removed, and she collapsed to the ground, her face deathly pale.

Bao Zhong and several guards took off their outer robes and jumped into the water with a few splashes, the water gleaming coldly in the moonlight.

The Emperor sat in his chair, his face calm, but his gaze remained fixed on Consort Wei.

She was lying on the ground, trembling so much that she couldn't even kneel steadily, her eyes fixed on the water.

The Emperor took in every detail of her reaction, then suddenly spoke, his voice low, as if he were talking to himself:

"I remember that two years ago, when the lotus pond in the Imperial Garden was being dredged, the body of a palace maid was pulled out. It was also in the summer. That palace maid had drowned herself. They said it was an accident, but I had someone investigate, and they found an injury on the back of her head."

Wei Xuanshi suddenly looked up, her face covered in tears, her lips trembling, but she couldn't utter a single word.

The Emperor withdrew his gaze, no longer looking at her, and simply tapped the armrest twice lightly.

"You just said you didn't see Jiang Shuoning, but you glanced at the pond several times. If you found anything in the pond, I will punish you accordingly."

Consort Rong sat quietly to the side, watching this scene, a slight smile curving her lips.

Bao Zhong swam with all his might toward the depths of the pond. The water was murky, and he squinted as he searched around. Suddenly, he spotted the shadow of an iron cage.

His heart tightened suddenly, and he swam faster.

As he got closer, he froze in the water. Jiang Shuoning was curled up in the cage.

Her clothes had all been stripped off, leaving her only in a green bodice and underpants. Her hair was disheveled and stuck to her face, and her exposed skin shone with a pale light in the water.

She closed her eyes, her body curled up into a small ball, like a poor cat thrown into the water.

Baozhong lunged forward and grabbed the cage door, but the lock was fastened tightly, and one side of the cage was still welded to the stone pier at the bottom of the pool.

He yanked at it frantically a few times, his fingernails scraping against the iron lock with a harsh sound, but the cage didn't budge.

He looked at Jiang Shuoning; her lips had turned purple, and her chest was barely rising and falling.

His eyes suddenly welled up with tears, and he turned his head and waved frantically upwards, signaling them to go and report the news.

Several guards understood and hurriedly rushed upstairs.

He held onto the cage bars with one hand, and reached the other hand through the gap, gently placing it on Jiang Shuoning's wrist.

The water was cold, and her hands were even colder, like blocks of ice. He held her hand, afraid to use too much force, as if he were afraid of breaking her.

He kept telling himself: Hold on, hold on, I'm here.

But he couldn't bring himself to say it. His mouth was full of water, and he could only hold her hand tightly, as if as long as he held on, she would still have a breath left.

Her fingers were soft and hung limply in his palm without responding.

Bao Zhong closed his eyes, pressed his forehead against the iron bars, and the water was so still that only his own heartbeat could be heard, one after another, heavy and rapid.

A moment later, several guards emerged from the water, panting and flustered, and said:

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, Miss Shuoning is indeed at the bottom of the pond, locked in an iron cage that cannot be opened."

Consort Rong abruptly stood up, quickly walked to the pond, her face pale. She immediately turned to look at Consort Wei, her voice cold and urgent:

"Where's the key?"

Consort Wei lowered her head and whispered, her voice barely audible, "This concubine...this concubine just tossed the key down the stairs."

Before she could finish speaking, the Emperor had already walked up to her, kicked her in the shoulder, pointed at her, and practically spat out the words through clenched teeth:

"How could you be so vicious? If Consort Rong hadn't been so certain that she was in your Yanxi Palace tonight, wouldn't another life have been lost silently in this palace?"

He stopped looking at her, whirled around, and yelled at the guards, "Jump down! Find the key for me! Don't come back up if you can't find it!"

The guards jumped into the water with a series of splashes.