Yu Hanjiang took Consort Xian and Qi Fenghua back with him.
Consort Xian is suspected of murdering the Crown Prince, Empress, and Consort Shu thirteen years ago, and may also be related to a series of poisonings in the capital. She is involved in far too many cases. Meanwhile, Qi Fenghua conspired with the Second Prince of Zhao State to rebel, a crime that in ancient times was a capital offense punishable by the execution of the entire family!
Unable to decide how to deal with these two individuals on his own, Yu Hanjiang had no choice but to submit a memorial to the emperor, seeking his opinion.
To prevent any accomplices from rescuing the two, Yu Hanjiang specially cleared out a room in the backyard and secretly imprisoned Consort Xian and Qi Fenghua, personally guarding them. He then sent Long Sen to the capital to see His Majesty.
However, before Long Sen could even set off, Lao Mo came to find Yu Hanjiang with a grim face and whispered, " Consort Xian committed suicide in his room."
Yu Hanjiang's pupils suddenly contracted: "What? I just checked her teeth and there were no poisons hidden there. I even had Liu Qiao watch her personally. How did she commit suicide?"
Mo Xuemin pressed his temples, feeling a headache coming on, and said, " While Liu Qiao went out to get her food, she secretly smashed her bracelet. I never expected that her bracelet had a hidden compartment containing deadly poison... Sigh, it's really impossible to guard against."
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang exchanged a glance and immediately followed Lao Mo to the crime scene.
Consort Xian lay on the bed with her eyes closed, her hands gently placed on her abdomen, her face as peaceful as if she were asleep.
She must have been completely despondent, and had already decided to commit suicide the moment Yu Hanjiang captured her, so she died calmly.
There was a letter on the table, written in her own handwriting.
Yu Hanjiang immediately picked up the "suicide note" and read it carefully.
In the letter, Consort Xian explained everything.
Her real name was Zhao Qingyan. She was the daughter of a noble family in Zhao State. Her father raised her as a boy and made her read extensively from a young age. Her mother was the descendant of a famous doctor and taught her medicine, hoping to groom her to become the queen of Zhao State.
Her family was very powerful and had close ties with the royal family. Emperor Zhao State had originally taken a liking to her and wanted to make her the crown princess.
At the age of eighteen, she was young and playful, and secretly ran away to the neighboring Great Qi State, wanting to see the legendary Jiangzhou. On the way, she accidentally got separated from her guards and maids and was kidnapped by bandits. The bandits forced her to become their chieftain's wife, but she managed to escape on the night of the forced wedding. Coincidentally, the Former Emperor was visiting Jiangzhou incognito that year and happened to encounter her, who was covered in wounds as she escaped from the mountains. He was captivated by her beauty and rescued her.
When she woke up, she was already in the capital of Great Qi State.
The Former Emperor had her injuries treated and took advantage of the situation to take her as his own. Alone in a foreign land and without martial arts skills, she naturally dared not oppose the emperor. Although she was very unwilling, she could only make up an excuse that she was "orphaned and had no relatives" and was taken into the palace by the Former Emperor, becoming one of his many concubines.
When she entered the palace, the emperor already had four princes, the oldest being five years old and the youngest just born.
The emperor's favorite was the empress, and her eldest son, born of the empress, was naturally made crown prince. She could see that the other concubines were actually resentful, but dared not cause trouble. The harem was rife with intrigue, and the women each had their own agendas. To protect herself, she had no choice but to find the most secluded place to live, pretending to be indifferent to worldly affairs, and spending her days chanting Buddhist scriptures and brewing tea.
The emperor didn't exactly favor her; he simply liked to come to her place to sit and drink tea when he was feeling down. More than husband and wife, her relationship with the emperor was that of friends who would chat over tea in their free time.
A year after entering the palace, an envoy from Zhao State visited her. She heard from the envoy that because the eldest daughter of the Zhao family had gone missing and her family could not find her, they thought she had died at the hands of bandits. Therefore, the emperor of Zhao State made her sister the crown princess!
After entering the palace, she secretly took contraceptive soup, not wanting to bear the emperor's children, clinging to a sliver of hope that she could one day return to Zhao State —but the news brought by the messenger utterly shattered her hopes. Her younger sister had been made Crown Princess and would become Empress of Zhao State. Her sister had always disliked her, so what good would it do for her to return to Zhao State?
She has already become the Qi State Emperor's woman. How could she possibly return to her country and remarry someone else?
Zhao Qingyan was heartbroken.
That night, the emperor warmly hosted a banquet for the envoys of Zhao State. The palace was filled with singing and dancing. Zhao Qingyan was alone in a secluded courtyard in the inner palace. She raised three cups of wine towards the direction of her hometown—the first to her parents, the second to her homeland, and the third to herself.
From that day on, the noblewoman named Zhao Qingyan was completely dead, leaving only the woman of the Great Qi State emperor.
She could never return to Zhao State in her lifetime; she had to make plans for herself.
So she stopped using the contraceptive potion and tried to seduce the emperor. Soon she became pregnant and gave birth to the Eighth Prince. His Majesty was overjoyed and officially bestowed upon her the title of Consort Xian after the child's birth, placing her on equal footing with Consort Shu and Consort Ming.
But there was an empress above her, and every time she saw the empress, she had to kneel and pay her respects.
In Zhao State, the Crown Prince soon ascended the throne, and her sister went from being the Crown Princess to the Empress, a position that was originally hers!
How could she be content to be a concubine here?
So she began to meticulously plan.
As the Crown Prince grew older, various factions within the harem began to stir. Over the years, Consort Xian had gradually cultivated her own confidants in Qi State. Several eunuchs and palace maids in the harem were her trusted confidants, a royal physician was very obedient to her, and she also controlled some江湖人士 (jianghu figures) and officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Rites through various means.
The opportunity has finally arrived.
She learned from the spies sent out of the palace that the Third Prince and His Highness the Crown Prince had had an argument a few days ago, and that next month was the spring hunting season, which His Highness the Crown Prince loved most and would go to the royal hunting grounds every year at this time.
She immediately gave the self-made deadly poison to a eunuch to take out of the palace, and then handed it over to a pre-trained assassin. The assassin disguised himself as a guard of the Third Prince's household and shot the prince dead with an arrow while the prince was hunting!
After the assassin was captured, he initially refused to confess, but under severe torture, he finally admitted that the Third Prince had sent him. Furthermore, the incident of the Third Prince's argument with the Crown Prince was quickly uncovered, and deadly poison was found in the Third Prince's home...
It is said that Third Prince was so frightened by the discovery of the deadly poison that he almost wet his pants.
With witnesses and physical evidence readily available, His Majesty was enraged and directly presented Third Prince with a cup of poisoned wine.
On the day the Third Prince was ordered to commit suicide, Consort Xian carefully wrote down the names of the Crown Prince and the Third Prince in his palace. While brewing tea, he burned their names to ashes.
Killing two birds with one stone, the success of this plan greatly boosted her confidence.
After killing the Crown Prince and Third Prince, she immediately set her sights on the women in the harem.
She bribed a maid in Consort Shu's palace to secretly sprinkle a layer of colorless and odorless poison into the Empress's favorite fruit plate when Consort Shu went to deliver food to the Empress.
The queen died on the spot after eating the grapes.
The Emperor investigated and found that it was Consort Shu who was guilty. Consort Shu refused to confess and knelt on the ground, kowtowing until her head was bleeding, to show that she was innocent and that even the most audacious person would not dare to poison the Empress!
She had already secretly released that palace maid. She deliberately kept Consort Shu alive so that she could drag Consort Ming down with her later.
Since there was no way to corroborate the story, the emperor suspected Consort Shu but could not convict her, and gradually developed a rift with both Consort Shu and Fifth Prince.
The same tactic worked particularly well—not long after, Consort Shu was poisoned by her, and all clues and evidence pointed to Consort Ming.
The Emperor was furious and wanted to give Consort Ming three feet of white silk so she could end her own life. However, Consort Xian feigned goodwill and advised the Emperor: "His Highness the Crown Prince and the Third Prince have already suffered misfortune because of fratricide. The Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince are, after all, Your Majesty's bloodline. For the sake of the princes, Your Majesty should spare Consort Ming. Otherwise, if this matter gets out, how will the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince face themselves? One's mother was poisoned by the other's mother. After learning the truth, they might turn against each other again. Does Your Majesty want to see them brothers become enemies?"
After careful consideration, His Majesty found it reasonable and announced to the public that the Empress and Consort Shu had both "died of illness."
The emperor put his arm around her shoulder and sighed, " Consort Xian, in the harem, you are still the most knowledgeable and reasonable. If all the concubines were as gentle and kind as you, there wouldn't be so much trouble in the harem!"
Consort Xian sneered inwardly, but outwardly she pretended to be indifferent to worldly desires, saying as she brewed tea for the emperor, "Your Majesty has no relatives or friends. I am only fortunate to have been taken in by Your Majesty. To be able to serve Your Majesty is already a blessing I have accumulated over three lifetimes. I dare not think too much..."
The emperor was moved to tears and immediately said, "The position of empress has been vacant for a long time. I have long felt that Consort Xian is gentle and virtuous, and is a model for the concubines in the harem. Why not choose a day to make you empress and the Eighth Prince the crown prince? From now on, Consort Xian will manage the harem for me."
To avoid giving herself away, and fearing that the emperor was merely testing her, Consort Xian immediately knelt before him in a panic: "Your Majesty and the Empress were deeply in love. The Empress has only been deceased for less than three months; it is truly inappropriate to appoint an Empress at this time. I am utterly unworthy and incompetent. I pray for the Empress's well-being; I dare not accept the Empress's position..."
She thought to herself that rushing to become empress might arouse suspicion, so she should wait two years until her son became the crown prince and the mourning period for the empress ended. Then she could take over the empress's position naturally, find a way to kill the old emperor, and let her son ascend the throne directly.
What's so good about being an empress? A bunch of concubines in the harem are watching, and a bunch of ministers in the court are observing. Maybe after analyzing and reasoning, the ministers will think that she was the one who did it, and the emperor will depose her if he's unhappy.
The Empress Dowager, that is the most secure position.
No emperor would depose his own mother.
Now that the original Crown Prince and Third Prince are dead, and the Fifth and Sixth Princes are two good-for-nothings who have disappointed His Majesty because of their mother's influence, only her son, who is handsome and talented, is worthy of being the "Crown Prince" of the Great Qi State.
She had been planning for so many years, so she could afford to wait another year. As long as the Eighth Prince became the Crown Prince, she would eliminate the Emperor without anyone else having to do anything, and elevate herself to the position of Empress Dowager.
She never expected that Eighth Prince had no interest in politics and would submit a memorial to the emperor to decline the position before the emperor could issue an order to establish a crown prince!
Consort Xian was filled with hatred and wanted to kill the newly appointed crown prince so that the Eighth Prince would not be able to shirk his position... However, just as she was about to take action, the old emperor finally cleared his mind for once.
Because so many things happened in the capital that year, the emperor was worried that his newly enthroned grandson might also be plotted against. So he came up with a plan to have Yu Hanjiang, the grandson of Prime Minister Yu, enter the palace to accompany the young crown prince, serve as his study companion, and live and eat with him. He also arranged for dozens of Shadow Guards, whom he had secretly trained, to protect the young crown prince at all times.
Meanwhile, to prevent Eighth Prince from changing his mind and causing factional strife, the emperor simply went all out and bestowed upon Eighth Prince the title of Prince of Zhenjiang, transferring him to Jiangzhou—while her good-for-nothing son actually happily took several wives and concubines to Jiangzhou for sightseeing!
Consort Xian was so angry that she almost developed a heart attack.
It wasn't until this moment that she realized that she had been meticulously planning for many years, but had overlooked a crucial point.
She ignored her son's thoughts!
As a mother, she neglected to discipline her son, Eighth Prince, who left her when he was ten years old.
She only returned to the palace to visit her son during festivals, and each time they met, they had little to talk about. She thought, what prince wouldn't want to be emperor?
But her son just didn't want to be emperor.
The lack of consensus between mother and son was the root cause of her plan's failure.
She couldn't afford to lose herself if the operation failed. All the palace maids and eunuchs who had been released from the palace back then... everyone who knew about it, were silenced by her, including Xiao Lou's father, who had uncovered some clues, and was also swiftly dealt with.
She used the excuse of returning to Jiangzhou because Jiangzhou is located on the border between the states of Qi and Zhao. She was still unwilling to accept this and wanted to contact Zhao State to make other plans. Currently, among the Zhao State emperor's sons, the eldest prince has been made crown prince, but the other princes and their mothers are naturally not content with this.
She hid in the temple, waiting for her chance.
Until Zhao State and Qi State were united by marriage again, the princess and the second prince of Zhao State were betrothed.
Using this information, she approached the second prince and promised to join forces to seize the throne.
She sent Qi Fenghua to the front lines with a colorless and odorless poison, instructing him to first gain some military merit, then devise a plan to poison the Grand General and frame the Deputy General. The Emperor, remembering Eighth Prince's help in quelling the rebellion, would naturally appoint Qi Fenghua, who had distinguished himself in battle, as the Grand General after his death. Once Qi Fenghua held military power, it would be easy for him to join forces with Zhao State in a rebellion.
Unfortunately, Qi Fenghua was spoiled by Madam Yun and was careless in his work. He was also young and impatient. On the day he went to the military camp, Madam Yun packed his luggage for him. Fearing that his mother would find out about the bottle of poison, he secretly hid the poison in a drawer in the room and locked it.
That evening, the prince hosted a farewell banquet for him. He was so excited that he drank some wine and got completely drunk. When he woke up the next day, he slept in late and was rushed off by soldiers from the military camp. In his haste, he forgot the bottle at home.
Upon arriving at the front lines, he recalled the incident and was filled with remorse. He wanted to go back and retrieve it, but the opportunity was gone. Remembering Consort Xian's instructions, he decided to spend a few years honing his skills in the army, accumulating some merit before taking action…
Unfortunately, he was spoiled and pampered, and he couldn't adapt to the military environment. He also didn't know how to keep a low profile. He was too ambitious and for three consecutive years, instead of achieving any military exploits, he caused trouble at the front lines at every turn.
Just then, the Zhao State delegation came to offer their congratulations at the Prince's birthday banquet. Qi Fenghua secretly returned to Jiangzhou, intending to take the bottle of poison back to the front line and poison the general without anyone noticing, directly launch a coup to seize General Lin's position, and then march all the way into the palace to capture the emperor—wouldn't it be more straightforward and faster to directly attack the capital to rebel?
Qi Fenghua's mind was ridiculously simple. He was not quick-witted enough in the Prince's mansion, which caused trouble. In a panic, he killed his sister and silenced Lin Shaobo. When he returned to Qingshan Temple, he knelt in front of Consort Xian and confessed everything.
At that moment, Consort Xian knew—this grandson was utterly hopeless!
She told Qi Fenghua to return to the front lines immediately, warning him to be careful not to get caught by the investigating officials, and that she would find a way to rethink everything else. However, Qi Fenghua suddenly had a wild idea and arranged to meet the Second Prince of Zhao State by a stream late at night, wanting to confirm whether the other party really wanted to join forces with him. As a result, he was caught red-handed by Yu Hanjiang.
Two meticulously planned schemes ultimately came to nothing.
Consort Xian wrote at the end of her suicide note—
"Throughout my life, I have been adept at scheming."
"But we forget that the most difficult thing to calculate in this world is actually the human heart."
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