"How is the Consort Huang?" Yang Meizi asked.
"So far there's nothing but this will surely take a while." Nuwa replied.
"Watch every step carefully for the leads that Chiyun Ling will leave behind, let's take advantage of every little one we have." Yang Meizi ordered.
"Yes." Nuwa replied.
"I'll raise hell if I have to, whether it means that I have to bury every last one of those arrogant imbeciles full of so much filth." Yang Meizi swore.
It was dark and Consort Huang started crying out from her bed that Ping'er opened the doors of the Chambers and quickly rushed in.
"Your Highness." She cried with a couple of ladies in waiting as she threw open the veil hanging over the bed while she quickly sat down by the Consort's side.
"I'm in so much pain." Consort Huang said and Ping'er lifting the blanket she looked at a very thick patch of blood in between her Mistress' legs.
"Your Highness." She called when Consort Huang's face turned pale and in an instant, she fell unconscious.
"Someone call the physician." Ping'er yelled and a couple of ladies in waiting immediately rushed out of the room.
Empress Li sat down in front of her dressing mirror looking at her reflection when Chiyun Ling walked in through her bedroom doors and she shut them behind herself.
She then knelt down in front of her.
"Did you succeed?" Empress Li asked.
"Rest assured Your Highness, it's the last radiance of the setting sun." Chiyun Ling replied.
"Do you regret it?" Empress Li asked.
"She is to be blamed for being too bold, it's heaven's will that her days were numbered and had to come to an end at Your Highness' hand." Chiyun Ling replied.
"Well said." Empress Li remarked as she smiled at herself.
"People call me a villainess, what do you think?" She asked.
"Is this not the law of survival?" Chiyun Ling replied.
The Empress kept quiet.
"You do realise that they'll point their fingers at me." Empress Li asked.
"Your Highness needn't worry, what proof do they have, even though they dared, without a scapegoat it isn't that hard to make up one." Chiyun Ling replied.
"And who is your scapegoat this time?" Empress Li asked as she wore her eye shadow.
"The Empress Dowager." Chiyun Ling replied and herself surprised to hear that she let go of the small brush in her hands and it fell down onto the ground.
"The Empress Dowager?" She asked.
"It may not be as easy but what makes me different from other people that Your Highness is very likely to meet is the mere fact that I nonetheless try." Chiyun Ling replied.
"Any attempt on her I wish to see for myself, after all it isn't every time that you see someone who is strong willed and very daring as you are." Empress Li said.
"Thank you Your Highness." Chiyun Ling said as she bowed her head while the young Empress smiled at herself ghastly.
Empress Dowager Wu was seated while facing Yang Meizi who looking at her slightly bowed her head.
"There's something on your mind." Empress Dowager Wu said.
"Consort Huang and her unborn Child will not survive the night." Yang Meizi replied.
"What?" Empress Dowager Wu asked.
"The Empress had poison added to her sheets so you can imagine given the days and the hours that she has lay on it how much has accumulated to cause her to miscarry and in addition force her to breathe her last." Yang Meizi replied.
"I was never a fan of Consort Huang to begin with but if she could keep the Empress standing on her toes then I was willing to keep her for a little while longer, though now that she's already a gone case why are you telling me this right now?" Empress Dowager Wu asked.
"Because it's Your Highness that she's very likely to frame up for a crime like this, to think about it, it would be like tackling the two greatest opponents of hers in the Inner Court." Yang Meizi said.
"She must be so brazen but she knows very well that if Consort Huang and her child are to perish the first person to be held accountable will be herself and not me." Empress Dowager Wu said.
"Nonetheless she is a foe that can't be underestimated Your Highness, you know as well as I do that regardless of the trumped up charges anyone may present without evidence it would be but a waste while on the other hand she must create a scapegoat if she lacks one." Yang Meizi said.
"You seem to understand her thoughts." Empress Dowager Wu said.
"I am very smart Your Highness and it's simple, in a war you must know your real enemy well enough to fight them in the most favourable way." Yang Meizi replied.
"Then I'll let her bring up her charges against me and we can beat her to severing any kind of evidence that could have me held accountable." Empress Dowager Wu said.
"I suppose Your Highness was really happily awaiting a chance like this one." Yang Meizi said.
"I'll only act foolish and let her go against the most senior family of the Imperial family, you are smart yourself so tell me, weren't you thinking about this when you came to me?" Empress Dowager Wu asked.
"I admit, the Empress will be wise by half and she'll fall for her own trap." Yang Meizi replied as she smiled at herself ghastly while the Empress Dowager stared at her intensely in the eye.
"This is good luck for you." Empress Dowager Wu said.
"You are my greatest luck." Yang Meizi replied.
The Imperial physician hurriedly sat down beside Consort Huang's bed and then resting his hand on her forehead he realised that her body was feeling cold.
"How is she Sir?" Ping'er asked but the physician looking at her pale body he checked for her pulse once again but eventually he let go of the hand which fell down on the bed side.
"Sir?" Ping'er cried.
"I am very sorry." The man said.
"What do you mean by being sorry?" Ping'er asked.
"Both the baby and it's mother are long dead." The physician said and Ping'er widening her eyes the Guangzong Emperor flung the doors open and quickly rushed inside while everyone one got up and they bowed their heads to him.
"Guifei?" He called but there wasn't a response while Ping'er losing whatever little strength she had left she fell down onto her knees and ceased the hands of the Noble Consort Huang.
"Your Highness?" She called but there wasn't a response, "please Your Highness." She burst into tears while the other ladies in waiting following her example they jointly wept for her.
"What's going on." Emperor Guangzong asked the Imperial physician.
"Pardon me Your Majesty but I am afraid that Her Highness has already breathed her last." The Imperial physician said while bowing his head and the Emperor surprised to hear those words he widened his eyes.
"What?" Emperor Guangzong asked.
"There's nothing more that we can do because it's already too late." The Imperial physician said and bowing his head be quickly withdrew from the room while the Emperor speechless he walked up to the corpse of his favourite and stared at the thick red patches on the sheets that were already drying.
"Who could have done this?" He asked, "who us responsible for this." He added and Ping'er hearing his words she quickly stood up.
"Open up your eyes Your Majesty, who else could have done this, who else is most jealous and who plagues the harem and causes all the other Imperial Consorts and Concubines to fear?" Ping'er asked rhetorically while the Emperor still quiet he failed to mention a word.
"Not so long ago the Empress had the Noble Consort's anti abortifacients replaced with arsenic and botulinum." Ping'er said, "had it not been for her considerate nature she would have reported that to you but who thought that she would have been deprived of that chance and she wouldn't leave long enough?" She asked.
"Summon the Empress." Emperor Guangzong shouted at Eunuch Qin.
"Yes Your Majesty." He replied as he quickly turned and got out of the room while the Emperor sat down beside the corpse of his wife and then he held her hand in his feeling it ice cold he dared not to shiver as he let free the tears from his eyes.
"Don't worry my dear, I'll bring your murderer to justice." He promised while all the other ladies in waiting still kneeling in the hall they bitterly wept.
Empress Dowager Wu sat in her main hall on her throne while looking at the door.
"It's already late Your Highness, why are you not asleep?" Wan Mei asked.
"Patience, I am expecting a very special guest right now." Empress Dowager Wu replied when the doors of her hall were flung open and Wan'er rushed in.
"Your Highness." She said while the Empress Dowager stood up.
"Tell me." She said.
"Consort Huang is dead." Wan'er replied bowing her head while the old Empress Dowager didn't seem as surprised.
Another lady in waiting charged through the doors and walked up to her.
"Your Highness, it's the Empress." She muttered.
"What's wrong with her now?" Wan Mei asked.
"She's charging towards the Cifu Palace right now." The Lady in waiting replied.
"How dare she?" Wan Mei exclaimed.
"When she comes just let her in." Empress Dowager Wu replied.
"Right away Your Highness." Wan'er replied.
"I don't understand." Wan Mei remarked.
"You're about to." Empress Dowager Wu replied happily.
Eunuch Qin returned to the Chamber a short while later while the Emperor still at the side of his favourite raised his eyes up to him.
"Where's the Empress?" He asked.
"Pardon me Your Majesty but I have just received news that she has charged to the Cifu Palace." Eunuch Qin replied.
"Why?" Emperor Guangzong asked.
"Does Your Majesty not know, if she were to perform such an atrocious act then she'd certainly need a scapegoat and who is much better than the most senior member of the Imperial family and the ruler of the Inner Court." Eunuch Qin replied.
"She could be so brazen at this late hour?" Emperor Guangzong remarked as he shot up from where he was seated.
"We leave for the Cifu Palace right away." He demanded as he walked out of the room while his retinue followed him.
The Ladies in waiting and the Imperial guards leading the way, the Empress Li mounted the stairs that led to the main hall of the Cifu Palace and as they flung the doors open she walked in and found the Empress Dowager seated on her throne.
"It is a very pleasant surprise." Empress Dowager Wu spoke up and her voice re-echoed through out the hall.
"From the sound of it Your Highness must have been expecting me." Empress Li said.
"What's the use of having informants and guards if they can not tell me who is knocking at my gate." Empress Dowager Wu asked.
"Now that you seem as delighted I carry with me sad News." Empress Li said.
"At this late hour what could it possibly be?" Empress Dowager Wu asked.
"Have you not heard of the untimely passing of Consort Huang?" Empress Li asked.
"That's rather somber, how is that even possible?" Empress Dowager Wu asked.
"We have every reason to believe that a culprit is amongst us." Empress Li said.
"Sadly the Cifu Palace is quite distant from the Xuanying Palace so I paid no attention, secondly to think about it that someone could be this cruel yourself having charged here you seem to at least have a lead on who the possible suspect is." Empress Dowager Wu said.
"You are the head of the Inner Palace Your Highness, only you can authorize the discreet investigation of this case." Empress Li said.
"But Consort Huang is a part of your Emperor's Harem, you can deal with this personally there's no need for you to bother seeking the opinion of mine." Empress Dowager Wu said.
"Rumours could be as deadly, after all you must be careful to clear yourself of all the suspicion." Empress Li replied.
"If Your Highness is innocent then what is it that you are afraid of?" Empress Dowager Wu asked.
The latter remained silent.
"I'm sorry if I made you a little bit speechless but since Your Highness us concerned how about I put the ladies Liu Zhan and Wan'er in charge of the investigation?" Empress Dowager Wu asked.
"Thank you Your Highness." Empress Li said turning around when the doors of the Cifu Palace were flung open and the Emperor quickly made his way inside.
Everyone beholding his presence sorted themselves and knelt down and the Empress Dowager about to bow her head he halted her.
"Be at ease Your Highness, there's no need for an investigation." Emperor Guangzong said and everyone surprised they looked at him.
"Your Majesty?" Empress Li said.
"This is my harem and I get to decide, spare Her Highness the effort and pardon her old age and allow her some peace of mind." Emperor Guangzong said.
"Yes Your Majesty." Empress Li said and the Empress Dowager looking at her she smiled while the Empress bit her lip.
The Retired Emperor smacked his table.
"How dare she?" he asked.
"Calm down Your Majesty." Yang Meizi said.
"Until now I have tolerated that Empress but she has gone too far." Emperor Xiaozong remarked.
"It's only natural Your Majesty that her position and allies who have helped her achieve power have made her arrogant, worse I heard she charged into the Cifu Palace unannounced." Yang Meizi said.
"She is a mother of the nation but if she is filled with jealousy like this and a lot of evil machinations what more do the people see and now of all times I expect her to understand the consequences of her actions." Emperor Xiaozong said.
"She's not been on good terms with the Empress Dowager and I have heard that earlier she attempted to poison the Consort Huang adding Arsenic and Botulinum to what was supposed to be her anti abortifacients, right now these rumours have largely circulated around the Palace and also beyond the Palace walls." Yang Meizi said.
"At a time like this I can't help but wonder what it is that woman really wants." Emperor Xiaozong muttered.
"Your health isn't the best Your Majesty, calm down a little bit." Yang Meizi said.
"Until now I have been silent but now whether my son wishes to defend her or not it's important that I had her learn her real place and I taught her who the real ruler is." Emperor Xiaozong said.
"Your Majesty, what could you do about that temper of his?" Yang Meizi asked.
"A woman like her is no longer qualified to run the harem and neither do I expect her to rule the Inner Court in the future." Emperor Xiaozong replied.
"Your Majesty?" Yang Meizi called.
"I need you to deliver a letter to my son." Emperor Xiaozong said.
"Yes Your Majesty." Yang Meizi replied.
Emperor Guangzong arrived inside his Chambers with Eunuch Qin and facing the mirror he stared at his own reflection for a while.
Empress Li marched into his Courtyard with her retinue and while she attempted to mount the stairs that led to the Palace, she was halted by a group of Imperial guards.
"How dare you?" Liu Zhan scolded them but they kept quiet with their spears crossed.
"Are you going to keep Her Highness waiting?" Liu Zhan asked when Empress Li raising her hand she halted her.
"You won't say another word." She demanded.
"Yes Your Highness." Liu Zhan replied as she withdrew.
"Now step aside as I wish to see His Majesty." Empress Li said when the doors of the Emperor's Chambers were flung open and Eunuch Qin walked in.
"An oral Edict from His Majesty the Emperor." He said and everyone around hearing they went down onto their knees.
"No one is to disturb His Majesty's peace of mind or come in and go out of this Palace without being summoned or sent out respectively, anyone that does not comply does not acknowledge him as Sovereign and is thus guilty of treason regardless of rank and position unless pardoned they shall be executed on the spot." Eunuch Qin said.
"Long Live Your Majesty." Everyone said while bowing their heads and Eunuch Qin looked down at the Empress who was still kneeling in her place.
"Does Your Highness mean to defy His Majesty?" He asked, "perhaps are you tired of being the role model of the Inner Court?" He teased.
"I have understood, at your service Your Majesty." She replied while Liu Zhan and Chiyun Ling took her hands and helped her onto her feet as she slowly turned around and marched out of the Courtyard proudly.
Yang Meizi happily she walked into her Chambers and their Bao Langya and Bo An disguised as Palace guards along with Nuwa waiting for her they stood up while she sat down.
"At ease." She said and they lowered themselves into their seats again.
"What are we going to do now?" Bao Langya asked.
"By now the tale of the jealous Empress has taken the capital and stirred a storm while she is the topic of most women and her role in tarnishing the reputation of the Inner Court.
The Emperor on the other hand has forbidden any investigations and turns a blind eye to the Empress not wishing to see him makes the people believe more that she is responsible for the unjust murder of Consort Huang and her unborn child.
The Retired Emperor has snapped and finally his wrath is reflected on the Imperial family while the Empress Dowager will have to voice out the concerns of the people about the Inner Court given this most recent ground breaking series of unfortunate events so definitely what we need right now is the right stone to throw at the wall." Yang Meizi muttered.
"I still don't understand all this about the Inner Court." Bao Langya said and Yang Meizi smiling she looked at everyone.
"An Empress is supposed to be a mother of the people that means in every way she must be exemplary but if the current Empress out of utmost cruelty has not lived up to that expectation and the expectations of the women outside the Palace, what's the worst that could happen?" She asked.
"It could cost her her Crown." Bo An said.
"Yes." Yang Meizi replied as she smiled ghastly, "it's only a matter of time before the Courtiers petition to His Majesty to have her deposed and I want to watch when everything in front of her that she has worked for her entire life is falling apart." She solemnly swore her eyes burning with rage her mind seemed by far consumed by her insatiable hunger and thirst for the downfall of one of her worst enemies yet nonetheless she trusted that to her perhaps it was bound to be one of the most beautiful sights in her entire life.
"Why didn't you do it Your Highness?" Liu Zhan asked as they walked into the Chambers.
"I don't think it would have made things any better." Empress Li replied.
"Does Your Highness not trust Chiyun Ling?" Liu Zhan asked.
"Contrary to that judging from the expression on the Empress Dowager's face and how she was seated it seemed that she was expecting to see me, you and I both know the type of woman she really is." Empress Li remarked.
"I see Your Highness." Liu Zhan replied.
"We can't be too hasty this time around, who would have thought that even with her death that wench is giving me such a hard time?" Empress Li asked.
"But no worries Your Highness, it'll only be a matter of time before things settle down.
Yang Meizi seated in her Chambers she offered an envelope to Nuwa.
"What's this Milady?" Nuwa asked.
"The Retired Emperor seems to be convinced but the Emperor right now by all means must carry out an investigation to expose the real Culprit." Yang Meizi replied.
"How are we going to do that?" Nuwa asked.
"Mr. Huang was a skilled Commander and to think that he would let his daughter perish with so much injustice he would be infuriated." Yang Meizi said.
"Should I deliver this to him?" Nuwa asked.
"If he learns of the details in the ploy to murder his daughter he wouldn't hesitate to crucify the Empress." Yang Meizi replied.
"But he is known to be very quiet when it comes to politics and neutral at that." Nuwa remarked.
"Children aren't objects to be replaced, certainly you can't expect him to go quiet about this matter." Yang Meizi said.
"Very well Milady." Nuwa said.
"If the Empress wishes to silence him she'd only verifying the charges that are being placed on her." Yang Meizi muttered.
Eunuch Qin walked in on the Emperor who was seated in his seat and thinking about everything that had happened.
"Your Majesty." He called while the latter ignored him.
He walked closer and placed the scroll that he held in his hand in front of him.
"I understand that it might be very hard for Your Majesty." He muttered.
"She has gone too far." Emperor Guangzong said, "doesn't she understand that her actions could implicate our son?" He asked.
"She is a really cruel person." Eunuch Qin replied and rgd Emperor turning to the scroll right in front of him he opened it and his eyes perused through it.
He sighed.
"I suppose she has really struck father's nerve." Emperor Guangzong remarked.
"How so?" Eunuch Qin asked.
"Father is in favour of the worst possible solution." Emperor Guangzong replied.
"Do you mean to defy His Majesty?" Eunuch Qin asked.
"Why can't I?" Emperor Guangzong asked.
"Because she is your Empress." Eunuch Qin replied, "His Majesty cares less about her but more about your reputation which could be left in tatters if you continue to shield her from her crime." He added.
"I can't help it but think that I am to be blamed for the murder of Consort Huang." Emperor Guangzong said.
"Your Majesty?" Eunuch Qin cried.
"Had I not taken her in as one of my Consorts then perhaps the Empress would have never been pushed this far." Emperor Guangzong said.
"Her soul is crying for vengeance and if Your Majesty could grant her justice then it could lift the guilt off your chest." Eunuch Qin said.
The doors of the study were flung open and another of the Eunuchs rushed in.
"Your Majesty." He cried falling onto his knees.
"How dare you?" Eunuch Qin scolded him.
"His Excellency Commander Huang..." The Eunuch said stuttering.
"What's the problem now, can't you leave me to some peace." The Emperor yelled angrily smacking the table right in front of him.
"Commander Huang wishes to have an audience with Your Majesty." The Eunuch said.
"Send him away, tell him that I am not feeling well." Emperor Guangzong said.
"I can't Your Majesty." the Eunuch replied and the Emperor looking at him he clenched his fist.
"What do you mean that you can't, are you defying my order?" Emperor Guangzong asked.
"I dare not Your Majesty." The Eunuch replied.
"Then why is it that I am keeping you around if you can not deal with a single man?" The Emperor asked.
"He carried with himself his children and his wife and if your Majesty doesn't grant them an audience, they are determined with their swords to slit their bowels open." The Eunuch replied and the Emperor shot up from where he was seated at once.
"Suicide?" He asked seemingly frightened.
"Yes Your Majesty." The Eunuch replied.
"Your Majesty?" He heard a voice shouting and calling out to him, "please get justice for my daughter." The voice persisted.
"What's the situation now?" he asked.
"The study isn't that far from the Palace gates and the common people have already gathered, worse it's threatening to rain outside and if this persists then I fear..." the Eunuch hesitated.
"Please do something Your Majesty." Eunuch Qin said as he went down onto his knees.
"Eunuch Qin?" The Emperor called.
"Yes Your Majesty." He replied.
"Even you have abandoned me?" Emperor Guangzong asked.
"For your sake Your Majesty and for the sake of the Imperial house, if you don't do anything and the whole Huang family dies outside there then the people and the historians themselves will call you a very bad Emperor and an unfaithful husband." Eunuch Qin said.
"Please Your Majesty." The other Eunuch pleaded.
"What?" Empress Li asked as she turned to Chiyun Ling.
"Yes Your Highness, Commander Huang and his entire family are kneeling outside the Palace seeking an audience with the Emperor while threatening to take their lives if he doesn't get justice for the death of their daughter." She replied.
"They are very brazen." Empress Li said.
"They seem firm knowing that if anything happens to them you'll be a culprit and this coupled with the already spreading rumours that Your Highness did it I am afraid that the situation has now gone out of hand." Chiyun Ling said.
"At this point regardless of the person we decide to make our scapegoat it'll be rather hard for the people to believe those claims." Liu Zhan said.
"Could this be the work of the Empress Dowager?" Empress Li asked.
"Its hard to tell." Liu Zhan replied, "but this is Commander Huang's daughter so he can't possibly keep quiet or ignore it." She added.
Suddenly the doors of the room were flung open and right through them another lady in waiting walked in.
"Your Highness, there is something that you should see." She said.
The Empress ceasing her robes and raising them she quickly moved out of the room moving around the Palace until she eventually halted at one of the walls where a large number of Ladies in waiting had gathered.
Seeing her they all moved away while her eyes caught sight of the words that were written on the walls in blood.
"THE EMPRESS KILLED ME." She read.
"What are you still doing here slacking off?" She shouted at them her eyes teary and swiftly they moved away while she angrily gritted her teeth.
"Who would dare?" Liu Zhan asked.
"The Empress Dowager." Empress Li replied.
"Her?" Liu Zhan asked.
"In the whole inner Court which other person could be bold enough?" Empress Li asked.
"She's exploiting the situation to her advantage." Liu Zhan replied.
"And now that Your Highness' reputation is being in tatters she is convincing the world that they are right." Chiyun Ling said.
"I won't stand anymore of this." Empress Li muttered, "I am the Empress here and I have sacrificed so much to get where I am, I won't be bullied." She added.
"Isn't that good enough." Empress Dowager Wu asked Wan Mei and Wan'er.
"The Huang family has put the Emperor on pressure, rumours persecuting the Empress babe already intensified in the capital and the other surrounding provinces." Wan Mei replied.
"As Yang Meizi had predicted the Empress was only wise by half and dug her own grave." Wan'er remarked.
"One way or another she's going to get back at me but we shouldn't spare her any time or space to breathe." Empress Dowager Wu said.
"What are you going to do Your Highness?" Wan Mei asked.
"Round up all the ladies in waiting and female Palace inspectors." Empress Dowager Wu ordered.
"Yes Your Highness." Wan Mei replied.
"It's time to show Her Highness now who the real ruler of the Inner Court is." Empress Dowager Wu remarked as she smiled ghastly.
Han Touzhou looked through the message and done he folded it and burnt it in the candle.
"What does it say Your Excellency?" Lin Xue asked.
"Our informer has in deed confirmed that the Empress herself had Consort Huang poisoned and now it seems that the situation for her has gone out of hand." Han Touzhou replied.
"There are rumours around the capital and others saying that in the palace the ghost of Consort Huang confessed on the wall in blood that the Empress murdered her." Lin Xue said.
"It would be hard for the people to believe in her Innocence and right now from the looks of it, the Empress Dowager is trying to exploit the people's suspicions and turning them to facts." Han Touzhou remarked.
"Our informants around her claim that she has largely played a passive role which means that she has merely observed, she is consequently in touch with someone unbeknownst to them." Lin Xue said and Han Touzhou surprised he turned to Lin Xue.
"Surely?" He asked.
"It's not yet confirmed but think about it, why would the Empress Dowager who has been in the Palace for a long while have to wait until now to get rid of the Empress?" Lin Xue asked.
"She's getting old." Han Touzhou said, "she's reacting out of desperation knowing that she doesn't have that much time left in the world." He added.
"Even so Your Excellency, we can't nullify this suspicion because if the Empress Dowager isn't the real mastermind behind this course of events it can't be as pleasant on our side in the future." Lin Xue said.
"Perhaps you are right, nonetheless if there really is another mastermind then who in the Imperial Court could it be because I'd like to believe that they aren't an average person?" Han Touzhou asked.
Empress Li looked at the wall being cleaned and satisfied after all the characters had been removed, she turned around to walk away when she saw a couple of other ladies in waiting rushing across the courtyard.
"What are they going to do right now?" She asked.
"Perhaps we should follow them Your Highness " Chiyun Ling replied and the Empress nodding her head she led the way while her retinue followed.
Empress Dowager Wu barged through the gates of the Empress' Palace and the other maids that were still present hurriedly halted right in front of her.
"Get out of the way." Empress Dowager Wu ordered.
"Her Highness....?" The lady in waiting was still saying when Wan Mei moved forward and slapped her.
"Do you mean to disobey Her Highness' order?" She asked.
"Clearly you have not been taught very well that you speak up to me with your neck raised and not even a way of saluting me and you all march up to my presence blocking my path?" Empress Dowager Wu asked.
"Pardon me Your Highness." the Lady in waiting said and the others following her example they bowed their heads.
"Now move or else I'll make you move." Empress Dowager Wu said and they all seemed hesitant.
"Which is it that you prefer?" She asked when Empress Li marched through the gates of her residence.
"What's this?" She announced herself in a very high tone she had the attention of all the others pinned on her.
"I believe that there are things that need to be cleared." Empress Dowager Wu replied.
"And is barging through my residential gates one of them Your Highness?" Empress Li asked.
"Rumours are getting out of hand pointing at Your Highness' involvement in Consort Huang's murder." Empress Dowager Wu said.
"And perhaps Your Highness believes that it is so?" Empress Li asked.
"Someone needs to clear out the people's suspicions and someone needs to safeguard the name and the dignity of the Imperial house." Empress Dowager Wu replied.
"But His Majesty had forbidden you or anyone else from carrying out these investigations so do you mean to disobey his oral decree?" Empress Li asked.
"Until now I have complied but the Emperor isn't the head of the Inner Court, I am." Empress Dowager Wu replied, "right now with everything that has happened it's only responsible for me as the head of the Palace to soothe the people's hunger and calm their demanding hearts." She added.
The Empress stared at her coldly.
"And what is it that you are after Your Highness?" Empress Li asked.
"If I told you then I am afraid that the search wouldn't be fair." Empress Dowager Wu said and with a smile in her face she quickly turned to the female inspectors and ladies in waiting.
"Get in." She ordered.
"What if I am innocent then what would Your Highness do?" Empress Li asked with a smile on your face.
"Wouldn't it be good enough to rub it in the face of the world rather than mine?" Empress Dowager Li asked.
"In the most disorderly manner Your Highness, I believe that you would owe me much more than clearing my name." Empress Li replied.
"What then?" Empress Dowager Wu asked.
"The Inner Court has kept Your Highness busy and now you have grown old, without a sense of discernment I believe that you would have to withdraw from all the affairs of the Inner Court to look after yourself." Empress Li replied and the Empress Dowager smiled at herself.
"And if you are guilty then I believe that the nation can no longer do with a very Immoral mother and moreso the Imperial house I can guarantee that your son's position will be safe but the same won't go for you." Empress Dowager Wu replied as she turned and leading the others walking past the Empress she mounted the stairs that led into her Chambers.
"Did you take care of it?" Empress Li asked Liu Zhan.
"No worries Your Highness, I removed the arsenic and the botulinum, there's none for her to jump to conclusions." Liu Zhan replied.
"Then we'd better go and see for ourselves that nothing is in disorder." Empress Li muttered smiling ghastly as she held up her robes and charged into the direction of her Chambers.
The Doors were flung open and everyone got in.
"Search every nook and cranny for anything suspicious and make sure that there isn't a single thing that's not well checked." Empress Dowager Wu ordered.
"Yes Your Highness." Everyone replied as they dispersed while she walked up to the Empress' seat and there she sat down while the Empress herself moved to the chair on the side.
The both of them exchanged poisonous glares for a while as the ladies in waiting and the female attendants looked through everything in front of them.
The Empress Dowager smiled when one of ladies in waiting walked up to her with the others.
"Your Highness." She said while looking at the jar that was right in front of her.
"What is it?" Empress Dowager Wu asked and the latter only touching into the jar she pulled out a small fabric which she untied to reveal a certain powdered substance.
"What's that?" The Empress Dowager asked and the woman pulling it closer to her nose she sniffed on it.
"Arsenic and botulinum." She replied and the seated Dowager Empress stood up immediately.
"Arsenic and botulinum!" She asked.
"A very deadly combination of the two I believe and this matches the substance that was found on Consort Huang's bedsheets and in her clothes." The female inspector replied.
"Empress?" The Dowager called, "and to think that you were innocent?" She asked while the latter was rather Silent that Chiyun Ling and Liu Zhan could only glare at themselves.
"This is a misunderstanding." They pleaded while falling onto their knees.
"Misunderstanding when the poison was found in the Empress' Chambers and I made a rather surprising visit to the Palace unannounced so it's hard to use the excuse of herself having been framed by someone else.
Your Highness is well known to your jealousy and you amputated another of the Emperor's Consorts and fixed her in a box so it's much easier to believe my eyes when it's the same poison that murdered Consort Huang in your room being hidden away in a jar." Empress Dowager Wu scolded.
"Go ahead Your Highness." Empress Li brazenly spoke.
"Perhaps for a Consort the charges would have been light but to murder a Royal child whether unborn or not is treason to the state and as the Head of the Inner Court I can't tolerate such an injustice and I have endured all your ill doing that there's no sparing you anymore." Empress Dowager Wu muttered.
"What could the whole lot of you to to me, I am the Empress." She muttered.
"You forget one thing Your Highness, Empress or not, you do not reside above the Law because you are not the son of heaven, just another of his wives." Empress Dowager Wu replied while Wan'er looked at the other ladies in waiting nodding her head as the Empress smiled.
"Cease this vicious woman and strip her." Empress Dowager Wu ordered and they sprang at the Empress ceasing her arms and putting them behind her back.
"You'll never get away with this." Empress Li said.
"Send word to the Emperor and the retired Emperor, the criminal responsible for the death of the Imperial child and Consort Huang has been found." Empress Dowager Wu ordered.
"Yes Your Highness." Wan Mei replied as she moved aside and the Empress Dowager leading the way they were both led out of the Empress' personal quarters.
Walking across the Courtyard the other servants in the Palace only seemed surprised seeing the culprit being led away and on her way to the confinement they halted when Empress Dowager Wu caught sight of the Huang family approaching from the opposite direction.
Commander Huang seemed to instantly notice the woman that had been cuffed and stripped of her robes.
"Your Highness." He greeted the Empress Dowager.
"I am so sorry for your loss." Empress Dowager Wu muttered.
"She was innocent, and it was unbearable for me to hear that my daughter had slipped out of this world." Commander Huang said.
"No worries, heaven has eyes and it'll serve her justice so that her would might rest in Eternal nirvana." Empress Dowager Wu said.
"I look forward to that day Your Highness." Commander Huang said.
"I'll do all I can to make justice meet the murderer." Empress Dowager Wu said and the man and his family bowing their heads they slowly started to walk past the murderer while Commander Huang halted beside her.
"I won't forget your benevolence Your Highness and you can be rest assured that I am charging against you." He whispered as they slowly went past him.
Yang Meizi was seated in her Chambers when Nuwa walked in.
"Milady." she shouted so overjoyed.
"Judging from your expression it must be very good in deed." Yang Meizi said.
"The Empress Dowager has stripped the Empress and paraded her through the Palace for confinement, at this point with the masses on our side and the people in support of her persecution for her crimes to escape her impeachment would be very close to a miracle." Nuwa replied and Yang Meizi smiled ghastly.
"At last her days of troubling us are over I can imagine the look of disappointment on her face and I can't help it but feel excited inwardly." Yang Meizi said.
"Does this mean that it's the end of her?" Nuwa asked.
"If she can live enduring misery without a Political comeback I am very impressed and since the pillar has fallen then how long will it take until the building can collapse." Yang Meizi replied.
"What more is there for us to do Milady, surely Han Touzhou's reliance on the Imperial favour of the Empress has been dealt with? Nuwa asked.
"I pity the Emperor who despite wishing to protect her to a particular degree he can't hold off the aggression of the Courtiers and the citizens and now that the Empress Dowager has prevailed not so long enough she is once again the most powerful woman in the Inner Court and that means that her opposition is frail." Yang Meizi replied.
"Her supporters could retaliate." Nuwa said.
"And risk their heads and the heads of their clans?" Yang Meizi asked as she recalled herself putting the poison in the jar.
"Why not?" Nuwa asked.
"An Imperial Consort it's understandable but an Imperial child it's treason, for that crime there can certainly be no pardon." Yang Meizi confirmed as she smiled ghastly.
Commander Huang entered the young Emperor's study and the Emperor looking at him he looked away.
"Your Majesty." He said bowing his head.
"Is this not what you want?" Emperor Guangzong asked.
"Am I wrong to demand for the justice for my daughter's death?" Commander Huang asked.
"May be I haven't been through enough." Emperor Guangzong remarked.
"And I don't care Your Majesty because it was your duty and you had sworn to protect her." Commander Huang replied.
"So what do you want me to do?" Emperor Guangzong asked.
"Dethrone your Empress." Commander Huang replied.
The Emperor frowned.
"Until now I want to believe that she is also a victim, you are swift to react but I think it's otherwise because my actions could put my son into a terrible position." Emperor Guangzong said.
"Wasn't the one that perished in my daughter's womb your child as well?" Commander Huang asked.
"Live or die that's heaven's will." Emperor Guangzong said.
"So my daughter's death you wish to say it was heaven's will?" Commander Huang asked.
The Emperor kept quiet.
"With every Royal prerogative that Your Majesty has as the son of heaven now I don't wish to convince you but to inform you because at this rate you are aware that I am afraid of nothing but if you do not hear my plea and get justice for my daughter's death by dethroning the Empress then I assure you that whether we get out of these Palace walls or not thanks to you within the streets of Lin'an there's going to be a massive bloodbath and the annals of history shall remember you this time but not yourself alone, even your descendants." Commander Huang said, "I don't have to tell you who the victims in it will be." He added.
"You have been neutral to Politics all this time so you are determined to go against me on this?" Emperor Guangzong asked.
"I am already merciful enough by not asking Your Majesty for the life of your Empress and only her title but for a child every parent is willing to sacrifice as much you should know and I very well assure you that a man's power is his life and if either directly or indirectly I have to force Your Majesty to bleed that is what I'll certainly do." Commander Huang said as he pulled a knife out of his cloak and then he cut his hand.
The Emperor stood up.
"What are you doing?" Emperor Guangzong shouted.
"Next time it'll be my neck Your Majesty." Commander Huang said as the doors of the Hall were opened and he raised his hands up while blood flowed.
"Dethrone your cruel Empress Your Majesty." Commander Huang said while he bowed his head and slowly he withdrew from the Emperor's presence when Eunuch Qin rushed over to his side.
"Your Majesty." He cried supporting the Emperor as he fell down into his seat.
"Summon the Empress." He said weakly.
"I cannot Your Majesty." Eunuch Qin said.
"Why?" Emperor Guangzong asked.
"The Empress Dowager has taken the Empress into confinement." Eunuch Qin replied.
"What!" Emperor Guangzong exclaimed.
"I am very sorry saying this Your Majesty but with the circulating rumours from yesterday the Capital is up in arms and the Empress Dowager was being called upon to act accordingly with the situation because had she stayed Silent then Your Majesty and the Imperial house would have both been criticized." Eunuch Qin replied.
"The Empress Dowager could have nonetheless put her in confinement without solid evidence." Emperor Guangzong said as Eunuch Qin bowed his head.
"What are you not telling me?" The Emperor asked as noticing his strange expression.
"It might not suit Your Majesty's expectations but the arsenic and botulinum that was responsible for Consort Huang's murder was found in her Chambers and the Empress Dowager's march unannounced it's impossible to say that the Empress was framed when she is the only one that has access to her Chambers.
At this rate for the sake of the Imperial house if it's not siding with the Inner Court then even Your Majesty or the Retired Emperor can not interfere with it's activities in her defense because first and foremost this is no longer just a murder of an Emperor's Consort, it's treason." Eunuch Qin replied.
"My son." He cried.
"The Prince will not blame you for this." Eunuch Qin said.
"She has pushed us to the edge and at the moment there's nothing more that I can do." Emperor Guangzong said.
"I'm afraid Your Majesty that the Empress is the only one responsible for bringing this upon herself." Eunuch Qin said.
"Fetch me an Scroll." Emperor Guangzong ordered in a lowly tone.
"Your Majesty?" Eunuch Qin called.
"If I don't do this then I am afraid that even her life's security won't be guaranteed." Emperor Guangzong added.
"Yes Your Majesty." Eunuch Qin replied.
"What, mother's going to be impeached?" Prince Zhao Kuo asked.
"I learnt that from the people in the Imperial Palace, apparently His Majesty sought the Imperial seal and the Scroll he's now going to formalize it on paper." Lan He replied.
"How's that possible?" Prince Zhao Kuo asked.
"To tell you the truth Your Highness I don't know but now pressure is amounting on him from all sides and a majority of the Courtiers, Commons, the Empress Dowager and Retired Empress are in favour of the impeachment." Lan He replied.
"I have to see grandmother." Prince Zhao Kuo said.
"There's nothing that Her Highness can do." Another voice emerged from the entrance of tyr the room and Yang Meizi was standing there with a set of Imperial guards.
"What's this?" Prince Zhao Kuo asked.
"His Majesty the Retired Emperor and the Empress Dowager have given orders that Your Highness be confined to your residence until the verdict has been reached." Yang Meizi replied.
"What do all of you people have against my mother?" Prince Zhao Kuo asked.
"It's not me you should be asking but your mother Your Highness." Yang Meizi replied as the Prince walked closer.
"A mother can try to be close to her son, love and cherish him but you might not know that she has been very cruel to your father's Consorts and Concubines and even murdered your unborn brother and your father's flesh and blood." She added.
"Are you enjoying this?" Prince Zhao Kuo asked.
"Unlike Your Highness I feel for the lives of the Innocents and I am not as heartless or even close to what your mother has become since every injustice had its own perpetrator." Yang Meizi said as she walked close up to him, "Maybe you people with the blood of the Li Clan favour those that are your own and care less of the world but to think about it it's the reason that I can stand Shi Miyuan and not your mother's people." She added.
"Regardless of what you are here to do he is still the Prince and you a Court Lady." Lan He said while his master still froze.
"This is heaven's doing, how can you hope to be the son of heaven one day when you'd put the necks of your people on the line to save your selfish kin?" Yang Meizi asked as she turned around and walked up to the guards.
"This is His Majesty's order and whoever allows the Imperial grandson to interfere or leave this place they shall not be spared from the arm of death." She ordered.
"Yes." The guards replied and walking out the doors were shut behind her while the Prince fell down in his seat.
"She could be as brazen." Lan He said.
"Is my mother as cruel as the people say she is?" Prince Zhao Kuo asked.
"Your Highness...?" Lan He was still saying.
"Yes or no?" Prince Zhao Kuo asked.
"There's every reason to believe she is." Lan He muttered, "perhaps no one told you but she has killed many of your father's Concubines and himself barely remembering their names and not calling on them, most of those truths are kept within the palace walls and those who know just turn a deaf ear to save ourselves and our families." Lan He replied and distraught the young Prince shed a tear.
"It's the first time that someone has told me and the first time that she honestly looked into my eyes speaking out her mind." Prince Zhao Kuo muttered, "she does look like she hates my mother just as much." He added.
"All will be well Your Highness." Lan He assured.
"At the moment that's hard to tell." Prince Zhao Kuo replied.
Emperor Xiaozong seated in his study Yang Meizi walked in.
"Your Majesty." She greeted.
"Did you do it?" Emperor Xiaozong asked.
"Don't worry I have given your orders and the Imperial grandson's residence is under close surveillance." Yang Meizi replied.
"Initially I would just have to reprimand the Empress on her ill behavior but now that it's likely to implicate the Imperial grandson I can't let him plead his mother's case otherwise how would the Courtiers look at him one day if he became Emperor when he defended wrong doing in his youth?" Emperor Xiaozong asked.
"Your Majesty is in deed right in your decision and it's for his own good but my humble advice is to console the Huang family and to also quell the wrath of the Courtiers." Yang Meizi replied.
"With this I can agree with you, at least she can get to keep her head." Emperor Xiaozong said.
"If there's anything more that I can do for you feel free to call on me Your Majesty." Yang Meizi said.
"I know my son won't misstep but it's for my grandson that I am most worried." Emperor Xiaozong replied.
"I see." Yang Meizi remarked.
"Watch him for me, for now that's the most that I am asking." Emperor Xiaozong said.
"Yes Your Majesty." Yang Meizi replied calmly much as she was unwilling before she turned around and slowly walking away she smiled at herself ghastly.
"Thank you so much Your Highness." She thought inwardly, "At this point you can not be redeemed." She added.