The Imperial Palace, Five hours later.
Empress Zhao sat solemnly on her throne as the Wifes Of the noble family took turns in greeting her. She was dressed in white simple mourning clothes.
Her hair was devoid of the usual majestic Phoenix crown and instead was tired up in a bun with simple hairpins.
The wives of the high-ranking noble families had begun coming in to pay their respect since daybreak.
All the women present were all wives of 1st ranked officials and members of the royal family. They all came to over their condolences to the Empress.
Most of the women all wished to curry favour with the Empress and under the facade of condolence. They tried to push their various selfish agenda but no matter how much they pushed, Zhao Ronglei ignored them.
She had a lot on her mind, although she acted like a grieving wife in front of everyone. Her mind was in turmoil.
According to Western Liang's tradition, the Emperor is to be buried three days after he died and the new Emperor will be crowned the next day.
One of the major requirements for the coronation was the Imperial seal but the seal was missing and although she had managed to keep everything under wraps.
She couldn't help but worry that someone would discover that the seal was missing. Hence she has zero interest in playing mind games with these women and was glad when they all left.
The demure smile on her face fell as soon as they left, she stood and quickly took off her bangles and threw them across the room.
Her maid scrambled to pick up the broken pieces of her bangles, Zhao Ronglei glared at her maids as she walked passed her.
She walked to the door and called in Eunuch Zhang, he was reappointed to her household hours earlier.
Eunuch Zhang gave the maid a side glance on his way in but continued forward, he bowed, "How can this little one be of service, Your Majesty".
She took a deep breath, "Where is his highness?"
"His highness is at the tea parlour beside the Imperial office, he is speaking with the elders of the royal family concerning the burial", he replied cautiously.
She hissed and shook her head, "what is the use of all that when the dragon seal is missing", she looked down at the Phoenix seal on the cabinet, "call in my guards, it is about time I had a word with that husband of mine".
"Yes", the eunuch replied and quickly retreated. He made the necessary arrangement. He arrived at the imperial prison minutes later with the Empress and her guards.
He made a move to go in with her but was immediately held back by one of the Empress's guards on her order.
"Y-Your Majesty! I am not going in with you?" He asked, looking fearfully at the muscular guard holding him firmly.
Zhao Ronglei did not respond, she gave him a side glance and walked in. There were no guards at the entrance of the prison, she had dismissed them all to minimize the number of witnesses.
Since officially there were no prisoners held at the Imperial prison, it wasn't strange for security to be a little relaxed in the prison.
The two soldiers guarding the prison cell rushed forward and kowtowed as she arrived.
Zhao Ronglei just nodded and walked passed them, she was interested in the man in his thick sleeping clothes seated by the wall.
Xiang Ziwei sat forward as she came into view, he balled his just and glared at her. His expression darkened as she smiled.
"Leave us", she said looking over her shoulder at the two prison guards.
The guard glanced at the armed soldiers behind her and swallowed, they have worked under Commander Zhao Mingze.
The one thing they learned from working under the Zhao family was the importance of self-awareness. it was important to know one's place. They left without delay and joined Eunuch Zhang and the other guards at the entrance of the prison.
Zhao Ronglei's maid brought a chair closer to her and helped her seat, She looked down at Xiang Ziwei and asked, "Where is the seal?"
Xiang Ziwei ignored her and looked away, he leaned his head on the wall and shut his eyes. His action annoyed the Empress who was already on edge.
Her face darkened and his lower lip twitched, she grabbed a dagger from one of her guards and charged forward.
She was immediately held back by her maid, "Your Majesty! Hold on, you cannot go so close! it is not safe!"
Zhao Ronglei glared down at her, "let go", she whispered.
Yi Qiu tightened her grip on the Empress's hands and pulled her back, "Your Majesty please forgive this foolish one for being too forward. I cannot let you go, don't stain your hands. Your Majesty please make use of your guards".
Zhao Ronglei stopped struggling, "guards?" She blinked and looked over her shoulder at the armed guards that had followed her since she was married.
'Why didn't I think of that', she thought, once again looking at Xiang Ziwei, who smirked at her. She let go of the dagger in her hand, it fell with an audible 'clank'.
"It is alright, Yi Qiu. Let go", she stepped out of her maid's hold and returned to her seat. "Since you don't want to do things the easy way, I will make it hard for you" she smiled and waved her guards forward.
They opened the door, dragged Xiang Ziwei up and shackled him to the wall. Zhao Ronglei nodded to the wooden box hanging on the wall opposite the prison cell. "Don't bother being gentle with him".
The guards took out leather whips and hot irons from the box, they whipped him continuously until his skin broke and began to bleed.
The men didn't stop until Xiang Ziwei passed out, the sight of him bleeding made Zhao Ronglei feel better. After ensuring that he had passed out, she left. They left him shackled to the wall as they left.
Zhao Ronglei frowned as Yi Qiu stopped suddenly a short distance away from the prison. She opened her mouth, fully prepared to scold Yi Qiu but paused as her eyes met Zhao Haoyu's eyes.
"Haoyu-ge, I did not see you there", she pinched her skirt.
"This a little far from your palace", he said glancing behind her.
Her heart still as he said that, she fisted her skirts at her side and looked down at her foot. Her elder brother was the last person she expected to run into.
She felt very uneasy, she feared what would happen if he discovered that Xiang Ziwei was still alive.
He was a lot like their father cold and unyielding, he would take matters into his hands and most likely alert their father of the entire situation.
The last thing she wanted was to get her father involved, he already did not like her relationship with Xiang Tingfeng.
She sucked in her teeth and with a straight face replied, "I was held up in the audience hall for hours, I needed to stretch my legs".
"Oh", Zhao Haoyu smiled as she kept blinking and making side glances, "then I will leave you to take your walk", he bowed and walked away
Zhao Ronglei let out her breath and placed a heart on her chest, 'that was close", she watched him until he was completely out of sight.