The Black Chamber Dream: Daiyu's Revenge

"Your Highness, this old servant will quickly send a message to the family." Granny Yuan said that on purpose to test the waters, but Consort Wu's reply was like a slap in the face to Granny Yuan, completely waking her up.

Therefore, Granny Yuan had to play this role to the very end.

So she forced herself to calm down, knowing she couldn't reveal the slightest flaw in front of Consort Wu.

Consort Wu nodded in satisfaction, and then got up and took a piece of white jade porcupine handle from the rosewood carved box on the multi-treasure pavilion, and gave it to Granny Yuan as a reward.

"Upon learning that the old lady has had another grandson, who happens to be born in the Year of the Pig, I will give this little pig to the old lady and have her take it out for the child." The jade pendant bestowed by Consort Wu is pure in color, lustrous and white. The porcupine is in a reclining position, with a long snout that protrudes forward. The facial features and the bristles on its body are carved with incised lines. The lines are simple, the eyes are triangular, and the expression is gentle and peaceful.

Granny Yuan quickly accepted the gift with both hands, appearing extremely pleased: "Then this old servant thanks Your Highness on behalf of my grandson."

Granny Yuan had served Consort Wu for many years and had a keen eye for gold and jade artifacts. Although the jade pendant was small, it was probably worth fifty taels of silver. The reason she didn't refuse at all was that such a reward wasn't considered too valuable. Refusing might have aroused Consort Wu's suspicion.

"Your Majesty, this old servant would also like to say that if we want to win over Miss Zijuan, we'll probably have to spend some money." Granny Yuan began her performance.

"I have naturally considered this. You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub. You can ask around and see how much silver is enough to buy Zijuan." Silver is not a difficult thing for Consort Wu.

While Granny Yuan went to run her errand, Consort Wu was completely unaware that her wet nurse had wavered, or rather, had changed her mind.

Moreover, another incident further provoked Consort Wu.

Consort Jin Jiazhu of Prince Li's mansion unexpectedly gave birth to a son, making Consort Xu extremely proud, and the Emperor was also very pleased.

The emperor seemed to have forgotten the mistakes his fourth son had made in the past, and generously bestowed many rewards upon the Prince of Li's residence.

In this way, the Crown Prince has a son, Prince Li and Prince Cheng both have sons, only the second prince has no son.

Although the son in the fourth prince's household was born to a concubine, Kim Ga-joo was a princess from Goryeo, so she had some status. Besides, having a son was better than having none.

Consort Wu became even more anxious, asking about Yuan Mama's progress almost every day or two.

As for Granny Yuan, it took her six days to finally get the chance to talk to Zijuan in person.

"Granny wants to see me, I'm afraid you've already thought it through?" Zijuan asked this question as soon as she arrived.

Upon hearing this, Granny Yuan felt that she finally understood that this whole affair, from beginning to end, must have been planned by Delin Palace.

Perhaps the Crown Princess really does know a lot of things.

Granny Yuan countered with a question to Zijuan: "What this old servant wants to know is, why did the Crown Princess help me?"

“The Crown Princess isn’t trying to help you; she wants to completely bring down Consort Wu.” Zijuan said each word clearly, and after hearing this, Granny Yuan pondered for a while.

This reason is indeed convincing enough. If the reason given by the Crown Princess is not convincing enough, then Granny Yuan will have to consider it carefully.

"Then how can the Crown Princess guarantee that my family will be safe?"

Chapter 260 A Two-Pronged Approach Leads to the Emperor's Wrath

Before making a complete decision to betray her master, Granny Yuan must obtain a tempting offer—ensuring that her family is not implicated.

She still couldn't believe what the Crown Princess said.

Zijuan countered, "The aggrieved party is the Crown Prince. If His Highness were to speak up, what are the chances of success, Granny?"

After a moment's thought, Granny Yuan said, "The Crown Prince must hate me to death. He won't plead for me."

"Why not? Firstly, the old woman is just a servant, doing things as assigned by her master. Secondly, this would demonstrate the Crown Prince's benevolence. The Crown Princess once said that sometimes saving lives is more useful than killing, but sometimes, the dead are more useful than the living." Zijuan's voice was devoid of any emotion or warmth.

Granny Yuan was deeply shocked: Sometimes, saving lives is more useful than killing them, but sometimes, the dead are more useful than the living.

This demonstrated the Crown Prince's benevolence, and Granny Yuan believed it.

The reason why the emperor was able to fight his way out from among his brothers and eventually win the world was because the late emperor had praised the current emperor as a benevolent person who treated his brothers well.

Clearly, this was no longer just the Crown Princess's scheme; the Crown Prince's influence was evident throughout.

"Then, what do the Crown Prince and Crown Princess wish this old servant to do?" Granny Yuan finally made up her mind.

Zijuan finally felt relieved. She was afraid of not doing a good job with the task entrusted to her by the Crown Princess. And it was such a big deal. Now that Granny Yuan had completely switched sides, things were much easier.

The next day, Physician Su requested an audience with the Emperor.

Physician He was the one who took the emperor's pulse every day, but Physician Su was the head of the Imperial Medical Academy. The emperor was very puzzled when Physician Su suddenly requested an audience, but he still called him in.

After Physician Su knelt down and begged for forgiveness, the Emperor was even more puzzled.

Then, Physician Su recounted in detail his return to his hometown in Zhili and Physician Lan's dying words.

The emperor was completely stunned. What flashed through his mind was Qiao's smiling face. Even when she was suffering from illness, as long as he went to see her, Qiao would hold on and would never cry out in pain in front of him.

How could that be? Didn't everyone say that Mrs. Qiao died of an incurable illness?

Why are you suddenly telling me now that it's not like that, that everything is man-made?

For a long time, the emperor didn't say a word. He thought for a long time, and then stared coldly at the kneeling physician Su.

"My dear minister, you learned the truth at the end of last year. Why, after returning to court for half a year, have you not come to report to me?!"

Imperial Physician Su had to admire the Empress. He frankly said, "I feel that this matter is of great importance and I dare not speak lightly. For the past five days since returning to the capital, I have been unable to eat or sleep properly. After much thought, I have finally decided to report to the Empress first."

The Empress? That means the Empress already knew?

The emperor's doubts deepened.

"Then why tell me now?" The emperor's eyes grew even colder.

"Her Majesty the Empress said that this matter cannot be settled based on just a few words from Imperial Physician Lan. However, given His Majesty's affection for Consort Qiao, she fears His Majesty might not be able to bear it and might wrongly accuse an innocent person. Her Majesty the Empress said she would investigate, and now she has found some clues, so she sent me to report to His Majesty." Imperial Physician Su's frankness surprised the Emperor.

Empress? Isn't the Empress worried at all that I'll suspect her? I do think she might try to suppress Consort Wu.

No, the Empress is not that kind of person. The Emperor shook his head. From the moment she married into the household, everything the Empress did revolved around her. She was not the kind of person who would suppress other concubines. Even back then, Lady Qiao praised the Empress for being the most fair.

After much deliberation, the emperor finally decided to go to the Phoenix Palace.

As soon as he arrived at the Phoenix Palace, he saw the Empress remove her hairpins to apologize and kneel there. Upon seeing the Emperor, she performed a very solemn salute. For many years, the Empress had not knelt before him.

"It was my own decision regarding Sister Qiao's matter that I did not allow Imperial Physician Su to inform Your Majesty first."

"Your Majesty's affection for Sister Qiao back then, I dare to say, was a bit excessive. Even I was jealous at one point. However, I have always been strict with myself and drew a line for myself early on. After marrying you, you are my heaven and earth. I may be jealous, but I will not harm you or the people you love."

"Based on just a few words from Physician Su, I dare not make a judgment. Therefore, I decided to play along and, through the Crown Princess, devised a scheme."

"Your Majesty, do you trust your concubine?"

Looking into the Empress's sincere eyes, the Emperor slowly nodded.

"Then, Empress, what evidence did you find?" The Emperor still had doubts.

The Empress summoned Granny Yuan.

Granny Yuan was Consort Wu's wet nurse and an old servant in Consort Wu's palace. She had been by Consort Wu's side since the Emperor was still a prince, so the Emperor was very familiar with her.

Granny Yuan knelt down and kowtowed several times before beginning to recount everything from back then.

"Back then, His Majesty was still a prince and doted on Consort Qiao the most. Our mistress gave birth to the second prince, and Consort Qiao gave birth to the third prince. The interval between them was only a little over a year."

"The Second Prince's first birthday banquet was not as lively as the Third Prince's, not to mention the rewards. Even the rewards from the palace were more generous than those from the Second Prince."

The emperor immediately interrupted, "It was just a coincidence. I did a good job on my mission, and my late father was so pleased that it happened to be my third son's first birthday, so he bestowed that set of jade artifacts upon him."

That was indeed the case at the time. The late emperor was actually going to reward his son, but since it was his grandson's first birthday, he bestowed the celadon jade pen holder with cabbage pattern, the white jade book of poems about the Tiaoxi River, and the set of jade ornaments with dragon pattern on the patina to Xiao Tingjun, who was just one year old.

"But the master doesn't think so. Look, the master sees that Consort Qiao is favored, and Consort Qiao's son is elevated because of his mother."

"Given how favored Consort Qiao is, she might have another son or daughter in the future. The Qiao family is a noble family, and Consort Qiao and her son are the biggest threat to the master and his mother."

"I just happened to hear that Consort Qiao has blood stasis and needs Panax notoginseng. I don't know where Consort Qiao learned that Panax notoginseng and Panax notoginseng have almost the same name, but they are deadly."

"Her Majesty made up her mind and finally sought out Imperial Physician Lan."

Having made up her mind, Granny Yuan was now naturally going to speak frankly and without reservation.

Upon hearing this, the emperor was furious and immediately sent someone to summon Consort Wu.

"Your Majesty, shall we summon the Crown Prince and Crown Princess?" the Empress suggested. After thinking for a moment, the Emperor nodded.

When Consort Wu was summoned to the Phoenix Palace, she felt inexplicably nervous: She wondered how Yuan Mama had fared after going out to find Zijuan on business. Why was the Empress summoning her now?

Upon entering the Phoenix Palace and seeing the Emperor, Consort Wu's heart tightened.

Then, she saw Granny Yuan kneeling down and her first thought was: Could it be that Granny Yuan has been captured?

Chapter 261 The Master and Servant's Shifting of Responsibility Leads to Even More Strange Stories

When Consort Wu entered, she was very uneasy. She originally wanted to greet him in the usual proper manner, but at this moment, whether it was the Emperor's expression, the Empress's attitude, or even the atmosphere in the Phoenix Palace, everything seemed strange.

Could it be that Granny Yuan has really been captured? Should I proceed with the plan now?

Consort Wu felt she shouldn't hesitate for too long; in a flash, she made her decision and quickly knelt down to beg for forgiveness: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, it is my fault for not disciplining you properly..."

As soon as she said this, Consort Wu realized that this was not the time to say it, so she quickly changed her words.

"I wonder what Your Majesty the Empress has summoned me for? What wrong has my nanny done?" Consort Wu's words only fueled the Emperor's anger.

The Empress remained silent. She knew very well that the Emperor probably hated Consort Wu to death right now.

"Didn't you just say that you weren't strict enough in disciplining her? Tell me, how were you not strict enough?" The Emperor had already keenly grasped the loophole in Consort Wu's words and asked sharply.

Consort Wu was stunned for a moment, then quickly kowtowed: "Your Majesty and the Empress are both here, and the nanny is kneeling there, so she must have made a mistake."

Just then, news came from outside that the Crown Prince and Crown Princess had arrived. Consort Wu's heart skipped a beat: Could it be that she really had been caught red-handed by the Emperor? Surely she couldn't be that unlucky?

But this time, Consort Wu learned her lesson and decided not to speak first, but to wait for the Crown Prince and his wife to come in and see what they had to say.

However, after the Crown Prince and his wife entered, they simply followed the usual etiquette, greeted the prince, and then stood respectfully to the side without saying anything.

“This matter concerns your mother. You two, young couple, can listen in from the side,” the Emperor spoke first.

Consort Wu was now alarmed: Could it be that the Emperor knew about what happened back then, since she is the Crown Prince's mother?

She panicked and lowered her head even further.

"Granny Yuan, repeat what you just said to the Imperial Concubine, the Crown Prince, and the Crown Princess, and let them all hear it!" the Emperor said coldly.

After kowtowing, Granny Yuan recited everything she had just said, in a measured and deliberate manner.

Before she could finish listening, Consort Wu began to scold, "Granny, are you senile? How can you talk such nonsense?"

Granny Yuan ignored what Consort Wu was saying and continued to recount the story. At the same time, the Emperor ordered Consort Wu to stop speaking.

"Imperial Consort, what else do you have to say?" After Granny Yuan finished speaking, the Emperor's tone was icy, and his face turned ashen.

Consort Wu, of course, denied it and quickly claimed that she was innocent: "Your Majesty, you must do justice for me! It must be that Granny Yuan was bribed to frame me. I was so good to Sister Qiao back then, how could I have done such a thing?"