Unparalleled Beauty

Chapter Ch106 pt1

Emperor Taihe left Cining Palace and returned to Zichen Hall.

More than two hours passed before Zhao Quan returned.

"After Consort Dowager Hu returned to Shoukang Palace, there were no unusual movements from the people in Shoukang Palace. However, a eunuch named Xiao Yingzi from Cining Palace went to Shoukang Palace. Dongkui, who served Consort Hu, exchanged a few words with him. Xiao Yingzi then returned to Cining Palace. Just now, he made an excuse to sneak out of the palace. This humble servant had him apprehended. After severe interrogation, he confessed that he was originally Consort Dowager Hu's man, deliberately planted in Cining Palace to help Consort Dowager Hu with small tasks, such as leaking information from Cining Palace to Consort Dowager Hu and helping her send messages out of the palace."

"Send messages? What messages? To whom?" Emperor Taihe asked.

Zhao Quan took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and presented it to Emperor Taihe, saying, "Xiao Yingzi said he didn't know who he was sending the messages to. Each time he left the palace, he went to a shop near the bell tower and gave the letter to the shop's manager. This is the letter Xiao Yingzi delivered this time. It seemed insignificant, so it was just a piece of paper. According to him, he usually delivered letters sealed with sealing wax."

Emperor Taihe opened the paper and looked at it. Only three words were written on it: Return quickly, urgent!

Who should return quickly, and what was the urgency?

In fact, there was no need to guess who it was, but Emperor Taihe still had Zhao Quan take men to escort Xiao Yingzi to that shop.

Not only was the shop's manager arrested, but there was also a shop assistant inside who behaved suspiciously. When Zhao Quan went to arrest him, the shop assistant even tried to run, so they were all caught in one fell swoop.

After some interrogation, it turned out that this shop was indeed a hidden outpost of Prince Jin's mansion, usually responsible for helping Prince Jin contact the palace. This place was not only connected to Consort Dowager Hu, but also had several other lines. It seemed to be spies that Prince Jin had planted in the palace, who would usually send messages here, and then the manager would send them back to Prince Jin's mansion.

This time's harvest was great. Not only did they follow the vine to find the spies Prince Jin had planted in the palace, but they also corroborated that Consort Dowager Hu indeed had an unusual relationship with Prince Jin.

Although there was no evidence to prove what kind of relationship it was, it was obviously a step closer to Prince Wei and Emperor Taihe's guess.

The Court of Judicial Review was swamped that night, secretly interrogating many people. Some of these people disappeared, while others returned to their original positions. It seemed that Emperor Taihe did not want to alert the snake.

At the same time, some rumors spread in the palace on a small scale.

It originated from some chamberlains who were discussing the princes when they had nothing to do. Some people said that the princes were more or less similar to His Majesty, except for Prince Jin, whose appearance was not like His Majesty's.

Someone, in order to defend Prince Jin, argued with the other party. In desperation, they said that although Prince Jin did not look like His Majesty, he looked very much like the deceased Prince An, seemingly wanting to prove that Prince Jin was indeed of royal blood, indeed a son of the dragon.

In fact, this kind of private discussion had existed in earlier years. Prince Jin was twelve years old when he returned to the palace. His appearance and figure were weak and scholarly, and he did not resemble Emperor Taihe at all, which aroused a lot of private discussion at the time.

In fact, someone was behind the scenes orchestrating this matter. Before things got out of hand, the Empress Dowager severely punished them once, and this trend was stopped at that time.

Later, some people also discussed it, but it was all in private, only circulating on a small scale. No one expected that someone would bring up the old matter again.

It would have been one thing to rehash old news, but someone just had to 'helpfully mess things up' by saying such things, and so all sorts of preposterous rumors began to spread throughout the palace.

By the time the rumors reached their peak, not only did the Empress Dowager know, but Consort Dowager Hu also knew.

While the Empress Dowager was still frowning, wondering how such a thing could have happened at this juncture, Consort Dowager Hu, after returning from Cining Palace, not only ordered people to inquire about the specific details, but also sent a letter out of the palace, wanting to know why Prince Jin had not yet returned, and when he would return.

This letter naturally ended up in Emperor Taihe's hands, and that Xiao Yingzi was also clever; after being reprimanded and interrogated by Zhao Quan, he completely betrayed and surrendered.

Actually, it wasn't surprising that Xiao Yingzi would betray Consort Dowager Hu; no matter how much Consort Dowager Hu had favored him, in terms of righteousness and reputation, she couldn't compare to the intimidation of Emperor Taihe.

Under all of heaven, there is no land that does not belong to the Emperor. Who would dare to oppose His Majesty? His Majesty was clearly going to deal with Consort Dowager Hu, and anyone who wasn't a fool knew which side to choose.

Meanwhile, the people Consort Dowager Hu sent out to inquire about information were also being watched.

In order not to alert the enemy, the people of Shoukang Palace remained still. Instead, those who had dealings with the people of Shoukang Palace were targeted. As a result, news was continuously delivered back to Shoukang Palace, exaggerated to the extreme, and as preposterous as possible.

At the same time, through Xiao Yingzi, an extremely serious piece of news was relayed to Consort Dowager Hu: someone was secretly investigating the old affairs of Prince Jin.

Several palace people had recently visited Yuxiang Pavilion, all inquiring about Prince Jin's time at the imperial retreat back then.

Upon receiving this news, Consort Dowager Hu could no longer sit still.

Prince An had been the one to clean up the loose ends back then. She should have been able to trust Prince An's work, but since it wasn't something she had handled personally, she felt uneasy.

Feeling uneasy, and coupled with her advanced age, Consort Dowager Hu fell ill.

Fearing that her illness would be noticed, she didn't even dare to summon the imperial physician. Day after day, she anxiously wondered why Prince Jin hadn't returned, and then, dragging her sick body, she went to the Empress Dowager's palace, making a show of mentioning the rumors, hoping to once again borrow the Empress Dowager's hand to quell them.

Unfortunately, this time the Empress Dowager was also helpless. The source of the rumors was not deliberately created by the other party. She had already punished people once, but not only did it not stop the rumors, but they spread even more fiercely below.

Many voices can melt metal, and accumulated slander can destroy bones. At this time, the Empress Dowager had realized that someone was targeting Prince Jin. Why would someone target Prince Jin at this time, and who was behind it?

The Empress Dowager thought about this matter for a long time, but came to no conclusion.

And Prince Jin finally rushed back to the capital at this time.

Upon receiving the news of Prince Jin's return to the capital, Consort Dowager Hu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She hurriedly had someone send a letter out of the palace, telling Prince Jin about the recent events in the palace, and urging him to quickly think of a solution.

Naturally, the news did not spread.

Prince Jin was unaware of the events within the palace. Furthermore, upon his return, he was immediately confronted with the situation of Prince Wei becoming the Crown Prince and Emperor Taihe's intention to abdicate. Naturally, he was preoccupied with contacting court officials, urging them to persuade Emperor Taihe to abandon his idea of abdication.

As long as the abdication did not occur, they still had a chance to reverse the situation. Once the abdication was complete, the matter would be settled, and this affair truly could not be delayed.

The reply Consort Dowager Hu received was: "Acknowledged, will find a way," instructing Consort Dowager Hu to pay close attention to the news from the palace.

Initially, to ensure secrecy and security, Prince Jin and Consort Dowager Hu communicated with messages that were as brief as possible, without mentioning names directly, and never using consistent handwriting. Instead, they had people around them write on their behalf, and each time the handwriting was different.

They were confident that they were hidden deeply enough, that no one would suspect a connection between the two of them, and moreover, Xiao Yingzi was a member of Cining Palace, which provided another layer of cover.

But it was precisely this that created an opportunity for Emperor Taihe and Prince Wei. They fabricated a false letter out of thin air, with almost no effort at all.

Prince Jin was working tirelessly, and Consort Dowager Hu was also frequently rushing to Cining Palace, despite her ailing health.

On this day, Consort Dowager Hu came to Cining Palace again and discovered that the Empress Dowager seemed to have something on her mind.

She did not dare to probe at the time, and after exchanging some pleasantries, she returned. After returning, the more she thought about it, the more she felt that the Empress Dowager's expression was not right, so she went to Cining Palace again.

"Very well, since you have come again, I will not hide it from you. The Emperor suspects the relationship between Prince Jin and Prince An."

Consort Dowager Hu was shocked and stunned, blurting out, "Why is His Majesty so muddled?! How can he suspect his own son? And Prince An has been dead for so many years. Now, because someone deliberately spreads rumors to slander people, he suspects his brother and son who died young. Is this appropriate?"

After speaking, she hurriedly added, "Empress Dowager, you must stand up for this concubine and Prince An. This rumor must have been spread by Prince Wei. This son is so vicious, and His Majesty has already made him the Crown Prince. Why is he still so relentless in slandering his elder brother?"

It was no wonder Consort Dowager Hu would suspect Prince Wei. Think about it, Prince Qin and the others are not in the capital, and spreading such rumors at this time would not benefit them in any way.

Only Prince Wei!

If Emperor Taihe abdicates, he would benefit the most, but now the court officials are opposed to it. Naturally, he needs to stir up trouble to muddy the waters, thereby diverting people's attention. Moreover, although he is the Crown Prince, he has not yet ascended the throne. The older Prince Jin and Prince Qin are still a threat to him.

Spreading a rumor achieves two goals at once. If it's not Prince Wei, then who could it be?!

Speaking to this point, Consort Dowager Hu also realized that she had 'spoken out of turn,' and hurriedly asked, "Empress Dowager, how do you know that His Majesty suspects Prince Jin and Prince An? Could it be that..."

The Empress Dowager revealed a very complex expression.

Consort Dowager Hu was caught off guard by this news and did not analyze the content in the Empress Dowager's eyes. She subconsciously thought according to her own guess and said excitedly, "How can His Majesty be so muddled? He actually listens to the words of a bastard and does not trust his own brothers and sons?"

In her agitated state, she completely failed to consider the Empress Dowager's reaction to the word "bastard" issuing from her own lips.

She collapsed in tears before the Empress Dowager, "Your Majesty, you must seek justice for this concubine and Prince An! Prince Jin is one thing; he is His Majesty's son, and I have no right to interfere in the affairs between father and son. But this matter involves Prince An. As you know, he is my only son. He has been frail since childhood and has never intentionally harmed anyone. Back then, when Prince Chun and Prince Ying repeatedly slandered His Majesty before the late Emperor, Prince An was always there to speak on His Majesty's behalf."

Consort Dowager Hu wept, lamenting how pitiful Prince An was, how pitiful they were as mother and son. The Empress Dowager sighed with emotion, moved by her tears, "This Majesty trusts you and Prince An. Although rumors should be stopped by the wise, who knows who is wagging their tongue, saying that around the time Prince Jin was born, Prince An was recuperating at Yuquan Palace, and then dragging in that Prince Jin resembles Prince An..."

She sighed and said, "This Majesty also advised the Emperor, but as you know, emperors are often suspicious. It is not a good thing to make the Emperor suspicious, especially since Prince Jin is the Emperor's son. Rather than letting the wound fester and affect Prince Jin's future, it is better to take this opportunity to clarify the matter."

Consort Dowager Hu was stunned, "How to clarify it? Prince An is already dead." Suddenly, an idea flashed in her mind, "Does Your Majesty mean… blood kinship testing?"

The Empress Dowager nodded.

But Consort Dowager Hu showed no joy; instead, her body stiffened.

"Has Your Majesty considered that if a prince is suspected by His Majesty of not being his own son and is subjected to a public blood kinship test, even if it proves the rumors false, how will Prince Jin be able to face others in the future?"

The compassion in the Empress Dowager's eyes slowly receded.

"Then what good idea do you have?"

Consort Dowager Hu froze, realizing that she had shown too much concern for Prince Jin, and quickly covered it up, "How could this concubine have any good ideas? Prince Jin is His Majesty's son, so everything is naturally up to Your Majesty and His Majesty to decide."

The Empress Dowager changed the subject, saying, "Actually, this Majesty and the Emperor have also considered what you said. No matter what the result of the test, it would not be a good thing for the Imperial family, the Emperor, or Prince Jin. Moreover, this Majesty does not want to make a big deal out of this matter."

"Does that mean Your Majesty is not going to do the test?" Consort Hu asked tentatively, but a hint of joy flashed in her eyes.

Never had the Empress Dowager recognized the person before her so clearly as she did at this moment.

Perhaps the peaceful days had lasted too long, and she had never imagined that such a person was hidden by her side, to the point of driving a wedge between the Emperor and herself.

The Empress Dowager recalled Emperor Taihe coming to her, telling her his suspicions, and asking her to help test Consort Dowager Hu. The Emperor hadn't even clearly explained the whole story, but simply asked for her help.

The Empress Dowager understood what this meant; he even suspected her.

All her painstaking efforts over the years were about to be ruined in her old age, all because of this vile woman. Thinking of this, the Empress Dowager's heart burned with anger, and the following words were no longer so difficult to say.

"How could we not do the test? If we don't, how can we clear Prince Jin's name?"

"But Your Majesty just said that you didn't want to make a big deal out of it? This concubine thinks that Your Majesty should still advise His Majesty. After all, they are father and son; why make it hurt the harmony between them?"

The Empress Dowager nodded, "What you say does indeed make sense."

"Then, Empress Dowager..."

"That's why I thought of you."

Consort Dowager Hu was taken aback by this and said hesitantly, "Empress Dowager?"

"Actually, someone also suggested a method to the Emperor, saying that since Prince Jin and Prince An are the ones being suspected, they should be the ones to undergo the test."

"But, but Prince An has been dead for many years."

"So, that person suggested the bone-dripping blood test."