Consort Cao seated in her Chambers quietly Linxiang announced her presence outside, acquiescing to the latter's entry, she emerged through the doors rushing up to her presence.
"Your Grace." She said bowing her head in panic and distraught.
"Is there a problem? " Consort Cao inquired.
"At the ancestral temple......." She hesitated.
"What happened there? " Consort Cao asked.
"One of the Court Ladies hanged herself to ask the deceased Xiaozong Emperor if the Empress should be deposed and killed and the turtle shell there next to the altar cracked to produce the word NO." She reported.
"What!" Consort Cao exclaimed.
"I heard that a similar incident transpired in one of the temples outside the Palace that was built by the Xiaozong Emperor and the Courtiers present backed by Shi Miyuan asserted publicly that it is heaven's Providence." Linxiang informed her when Consort Cao furiously she smacked her fists on the table.
That very instant the doors of her room were personally flung open by the Empress who walked in while being accompanied by her retinue and a group of lady Investigators.
Consort Cao standing up immediately where she was seated the Empress approached her as she bowed her head.
"Your Highness." She said.
"Your Grace." The Empress replied.
"What brings you here?" She inquired.
"Someone is spreading an insidious rumour and I was merely concerned for your safety." Empress Yang replied.
"What insidious rumour?" Consort Cao inquired.
"Your Grace dislikes the Palace, you are entangled in an affair with a stranger that's not the Emperor's son, I fear for your safety and that of the Imperial Prince Zhao Ji whose paternity is being doubted hence I have to do this as the head of the harem and the Inner Court." Empress Yang responded and Consort Cao looking suspicious she turned to Xiaoyang and Manyin along with Madam Mo and the rest of the lady Investigators.
"Search every nook and cranny of this Chamber, see to it that you leave no stone unturned. " She ordered.
"Yes Your Highness. " They replied in unison as they immediately dispersed around the entire room and started searching it while the Empress and Consort Cao remained staring at each other intensely.
Looking through the books and trunks, papers and chests, under chairs and tables the search persisted for a long while until eventually Xiaoyang noticed something strange under Consort Cao's pillow.
Stretching her hand further she caught something and pulling it out from within she noticed that it was an envelope.
"I have found something Your Highness." She said as she handed the letter over to the Empress who immediately opened it in front of Consort Cao to read its contents.
Her eyes perusing through swiftly she wore a shocked facial expression as she looked at Consort Cao.
"Is everything alright Your Highness?" Xiaoyang asked.
"Consort Cao, this can not be." The Empress mentioned in a sympathetic tone when the Emperor suddenly walked in on the two at that very moment.
"Your Majesty." They all said in unison while bowing their heads as the Emperor personally approached his two wives.
"What's going on here?" He asked and the Empress intentionally panicking she put the letter behind herself that the Emperor noticed.
"Nothing Your Majesty." She stuttered.
"What are you hiding from me?" Emperor Ningzong asked.
"Nothing Your Majesty." She responded as he slowly walked up to the Empress who appeared to be having a hard time processing what was happening.
"Give me what you are hiding my Empress." He first spoke seemingly calm but certainly demanding.
"Promise me Your Majesty first, whatever it is please don't get mad at Consort Cao, at least for my sake." She pleaded as she stared at him painfully in the eye.
"For your sake my Empress, I promise you that I won't hurt Consort Cao." Emperor Ningzong said and the Empress looking at Consort Cao who was still confused with what was going on, she slowly handed over the letter to her husband who immediately took a firm hold of it.
He unfolded it and began reason through, he seemed shocked as he made sense of the contents while the Empress fidgeting with her hands she kept her head bowed down.
Once the Emperor was done with the letter his hands hang limp.
"Consort Cao?" He called to her.
"Yes?" She replied hesitant as the Empress interfered.
"If I may Your Majesty, first listen to me, please." The Empress said and the Emperor throwing the letter in front of Consort Cao who was starting to break into tears he immediately rushed out of the room while the Empress looking at Consort Cao she followed him shortly after.
"Consort Cao picking up the letter he looked through it and making sense of everything that was written she cried.
"Me?" she asked herself, "I love someone else?" She couldn't believe it.
Emperor Ningzong negotiating the corner he was approaching his private room when the Empress intercepted him from in front.
"Your Majesty." She said.
"What are you going to do for her my Empress, she had an affair with another man, a Consort of the Emperor had an affair with another man." He said.
"That's why I intended to keep it from you Your Majesty." Empress Yang responded as she went onto her knees in front of him while everyone was watching and Eunuch Deng along with the other ladies in waiting instantly withdrew and moved at a distance.
"What are you doing my Empress?" He asked.
"Consort Cao, she means so much to me Your Majesty, she is your woman but when is it that you ever treated her as such?" She asked, "your love and devotion towards me surpassed anything there was in this world to offer and she stayed in this Palace with the hope of keeping us company, with the hope of protecting us, what more do you think I ever asked from her?" Empress Yang inquired.
"So it is my fault?" Emperor Ningzong mentioned.
"It is my fault that I never thought of her as a woman, my fault that she felt obliged to exist by my side, my fault that she ended up held in this lonely castle so that she couldn't be lonely and when I think that at one time she had to even become my rival for the phoenix throne for political reasons none of which were her making, I can't help but keep blaming myself for having induced her into committing such a sin whose punishment is death." Empress Yang said as the Emperor held his chest painfully.
"Then it's my bad that I didn't notice." He said.
"But I probably feel much worse than you Sire, bound her to this place like a spell that robbed her of her happiness, now that people are targeting me to the extent of going far enough to blaspheme the Late Xiaozong Emperor, how is it that my heart could be content, how is it that I couldn't see her pain all along when I was the closest thing to her sister and perhaps the one person she could have relied on for anything in her entire life?" She asked as the Emperor fell silent.
"Empress?" He said.
"Enough is enough." She mentioned, "I can't put her through that pain anymore let alone keep her confined within this gilded cage where I find happiness in you that she longs for in another person but the laws can't provide it for her." She said.
"What are you going to do my Empress, can you undo what has already been done?" He asked.
"Because of me she is the mother of a Prince, when that reality catches up to her her life shall be at stake, when the Courtiers hunt her down with the power that they wield and posses she will be no different from a living corpse." Empress Yang responded, "I can't wait for the Courtiers to make their move first Your Majesty, please support me and grant me permission to have Consort Cao sent from the Palace immediately." She proposed.
"But my Empress......." Emperor Ningzong about to speak up in protest she interfered.
"It's the least I can do, I am now the legal mother and Guardian of the Imperial Prince Zhao Ji, nothing more can bind her to this Palace, as the head of the harem and the Inner Court, I am determined to see this through to the very end." Empress Yang confidently professed as she raised her head and looked at the Emperor, "that is even if you do not approve of it." She insisted.
"Are you willing to do this much?" Emperor Ningzong inquired.
"This Palace has already weathered too much bloodshed, much more than we could have expected that all I can do with my life is protect her one and only son even at the expense of my life because when word of this gets out, I fear even the Imperial Prince won't be safe that is why I must do this Your Majesty." Empress Yang responded as she bowed her head to him while he knelt down where she was and placed his hands on her shoulders.
"You wouldn't have gone through this had it not been for my indecisiveness." Emperor Ningzong said.
"What do you mean Your Majesty?" She asked as he looked away temporarily before he turned around and faced him again.
"I must trust you the most of all people so you have my permission." He said as he helped her back onto her feet, "go and make things right." He said, "I won't stop you and neither will I let Consort Cao sacrifice her happiness anymore, at least for our own sakes." He insisted.
"Thank you so much Your Majesty." Empress Yang said as she embraced him into a very tight hug, "I shall always be grateful to you for this." She mentioned as he returned her sincere gesture with his warm embrace.
Momentarily the Empress smiled at herself behind his back as he seemed caught up in the moment.
"Yes Your Majesty, thank you." She thought to herself before they pulled apart.
Consort Cao pacing around in her Chambers Linxiang was following her up and down.
"How did that letter end up here?" She asked herself, "the Empress, how did she know?" She wondered, "was this her plan all along?" She thought when the doors of her room being flung open again the Empress confidently appeared before her with a smile on her face.
"Your Highness," she said, "I'll see His Majesty..." She was saying trying to get past her when Manyin and Xiaoyang hampered her exit.
"That won't be possible Your Grace." Empress Yang muttered as she tilted her head and looked her in the eye, "even if I let you out His Majesty is probably too guilty to face you, as it is he blames himself for having held you prisoner as a member of his harem." She mentioned.
"Your Highness?" Consort Cao called furiously.
"Yes?" She responded.
"Why?" She inquired.
"Do you not know what you really did wrong?" She mentioned as Consort Cao kept quiet.
"You tried to use the power of a dead Emperor to depose me and have me killed, warned me in advance did you really expect me to sit down and do nothing?" The Empress asked, "you can't beat me at my own game, you can copy my skills but you can never perfect them, what's even better is that you brought into my hands the chaff of the previous dynasty that I overthrew, do you think they can be spared after backing you up to blaspheme the name of the Late Emperor?" She said.
"Didn't you do the same thing to get rid of Han Touzhou?" Consort Cao retaliated.
"What if I did, where is the proof, witnesses, my dear, no one could say a thing even if they wanted because it would be the end of them too." Empress Yang assured her.
"You may win but you will not force me out of this Palace." Consort Cao said.
"I won't." Empress Yang agreed, "you're going to leave here willingly." She assured her.
"How certain are you?" Consort Cao inquired.
"Once word gets out you will lose your head and as it so happens that the Imperial Prince Zhao Ji whether His Majesty's son or not but having been borne by you he'll have to follow you to the grave." Empress Yang responded, "to leave the Palace for a life of obscurity without any interference is the best that you can do to save both your life and the life of your son and with His Majesty permission I have come to decide that you are leaving now." She responded before she smiled at Consort Cao.
"You don't have what it takes to supplant me, you'll never have what it takes to do so." She assured her before she walked out of the room and Consort Cao dismayed she was at a loss of words that she fell down onto her knees while Linxiang rushed to her side.
"Your Grace." She sympathized with her.
"No." Consort Cao mentioned, "I can not lose, not like this, I can not lose to the Empress." She kept on saying to herself seeking consolation.
"You must survived Your Grace, you must endure this, for the sake of His Highness." Linxiang said.
"Can you look after him for me." Consort Cao requested.
"That isn't up to me to decide Your Grace." Linxiang said to her while the Empress having stepped outside the building she halted in her footsteps and turned back around to stare at the pillars and the plaque of the Rongchang Palace.
"Is there anything wrong Your Grace?" Manyin asked her.
"Gather all the ladies of the harem and the Inner Court." The Empress ordered.
"Yes Your Highness." Manyin replied as she immediately rushed off.
Emperor Ningzong seated in his Chambers he stared at the chest bearing his late Grandfather's Posthumous Edict while he recalled the words that the Empress had said to him.
"None of this would have happened had I trusted you in the first place, you wouldn't have faced a hard time had I ceased to have second thoughts concerning your loyalty." He whispered to himself and his heart aching he held his chest and started coughing vigorously it compelled him to cover his mouth with his handkerchief.
Slowly pulling it away from his mouth he noticed that it was entirely covered in blood he in turn moved his eyes towards the chest before they continued towards the fire.
An idea seemed to come to mind that very instant that he opened it and pulled out the scroll and gathering all the might he could find he slowly approached the brazier determined to turn it to ashes.
He stumbled halfway, knocking a couple of things down including the candle stand that Eunuch Deng standing outside and alert he opened the doors and rushed in only to find the Emperor staggering.
"Your Majesty?" He called out to him as he swiftly hurried over to his side and helped him up.
"Stay strong." He said, "please be alright." He pleaded while the former still striving to reach the brazier he couldn't help it but feel his feet too weak to move further that he descended onto his knees.
"Burn it." He said.
"Burn what?" Eunuch Deng asked as the Emperor put the Scroll in his hands.
"Burn it please." He ordered before he passed out completely.
"Your Majesty?" Eunuch Deng called him as he violently shook him but to no avail.
"Someone call the Imperial physician." He said as he fixed the scroll in his sleeve instead when a couple of ladies in waiting and Eunuchs rushed in to his aid.
Consort Cao in her Chambers was slowly being undressed while her ladies in waiting grieved, dressed in a white hanfu she slowly walked out of the Rongchang Palace as she travelled towards the direction of the South Gate.
There a large number of the Emperor's Concubines and Consorts slowly watched her from a distance while the Empress with the Imperial Prince Zhao Ji beside her watched her long time rival make her way forward to pay her final respects to her.
She halted in front and with her arms up she kowtowed and bowed her head.
"Please watch over His Highness Your Highness." She said.
"Don't worry Consort Cao, His Highness the Imperial Prince Zhao Ji is surely in safe hands." She assured her but herself not strong enough to retaliate in protests she only nodded her head to show her contentment before she stood up and slowly turned around while the Empress smiled at herself.
"Yes," she thought to herself inwardly, "I am victorious." She concluded for a moment content as she watched Consort Cao approaching the carriage that had been arranged for her.
"I shall return to this Palace Your Highness," she thought to herself, "I shall return everything to its rightful place." She solemnly swore as she clenched her fists.
Getting inside while the trumpets were sounded, the procession to escort her out of the Palace commenced in simplicity with hardly any pomp, the Palace gates closing behind her while the people spectated, her face was hidden from sight but she could feel that their gaze could make its way through to her eventually.
"Alas." Empress Yang mentioned, "this conflict can finally be set at ease." She remarked while Beiyuan standing beside her he smiled.
"Consort Cao like Your Highness doesn't give up, how is it that you can be certain it will end with her leaving the Palace alone?" He asked.
"It won't end." Empress Yang replied, "one of us has to die for this fight to come to an end, for peace to return, but unless I am dead, this tale, this story, it won't come to an end." She professed as she turned to the Imperial Prince, young and handsome, standing next to her with his arm in hers.
"Will I see my mother Your Highness?" He asked.
"She is no longer your mother." Empress Yang replied.
"Why?" The young boy asked.
"Because she used you, to get wealth, to gain status and power, because she committed many sins in your name and in the name of our Great Heavenly Empire." She responded.
"Does that mean that I won't have a mother anymore?" Zhao Ji asked.
"No," she responded as she bent down and looked him in the eye, "from now on my dear, your only mother will be me." She said as she smiled heartily at him when Manyin suddenly rushed towards the both of them.
"Your Highness." She said bowing her head, "there's a bit of a problem." She reported that the Empress standing upright she turned to her.
"What is it?" She asked.
"His Majesty." She responded.
"What happened to His Majesty?" She inquired.
"His Majesty just passed out in his Chambers." She reported and at once the Empress with her retinue rushed off into the direction of the Grand Palace.
The Imperial Physician tending to him Eunuch Deng standing next to one of the closed windows couldn't help it but recall how desperate the Emperor had asked him to burn the scroll that he secretly pulled it out of his sleeve and looked at it.
"What is it in here that His Majesty desperately wanted to get rid of?" He asked himself as he slowly unfolded it to read its contents.
His heart skipped a beat after he made out the message that had been written within.
"COURT LADY YANG IS ENTERPRISING AND SMART, SHE IS INTELLIGENT AND QUICK-WITTED AND HAS WHATEVER IT TAKES TO BECOME THE EMPRESS OF OUR HEAVENLY EMPIRE, BUT THIS HERE IS MY AUGUST AND SOVEREIGN WILL, WHOEVER SEES THIS IS BLAMELESS AND MUST KILL HER FOR THE WELFARE OF THE KINGDOM, LEST THE LAND WILL BE BAPTISED WITH BLOOD WHEN THE CALAMITY OF THE EMPRESS WU DESCENDS UPON US ALL." He read and swiftly folding the scroll with his hands he could hardly believe his eyes.
The doors of the room being flung open he returned the scroll into his garment and the Empress rushing over to the Emperor's side he took the initiative to join her there as well.
"What happened?" She asked.
"I heard things breaking and I rushed in only to find His Majesty staggering, it seemed to me that he was drunk at first until I got close enough to realise that he was in pain and experience paralysis of some of his body parts, he collapsed and it was then that I sent for the Imperial physician." Eunuch Deng responded as the Empress looked at the old man who appeared to be winding up with his diagnosis.
"Forgive me Your Highness." He said bowing his head to her, it appears that His Majesty's Bechet's disease has gotten worse." He reported.
"How can that be, he was receiving his treatment wasn't he?" She asked.
"The treatment becomes ineffective if His Majesty persists with stressing himself, he is occupied with very many affairs at the time that naturally exhaust his body and result into the symptoms being much worse," He responded, "his duties need to be made light and he requires enough bed rest and sleep, proper feeding and a great deal of leisure if he is to live long otherwise, His Majesty may lose his life in a year or roughly more than that if it persists." The physician added.
"Can't you cure this disease?" Empress Yang asked.
"I can give him medicine but what I have recommended will make the medication more effective Your Highness, I only wish that there was a better way of handling this situation but this is all that we can do for now." The Imperial physician confessed.
"Very well then, you may leave." The Empress waved him away as the latter slowly withdrew from the room leaving her alone with Eunuch Deng, Beiyuan and the Emperor.
"How much longer will you keep living like this Your Majesty, all my life in the Palace I fought off many enemies and those that dared to challenge my hegemony in the hopes of keeping you safe but seeing you here like this makes those efforts worthless." She said.
"All will be well Your Highness." Beiyuan comforted her.
"I suppose every time he looked at me suspiciously he was merely afraid that I wouldn't notice he was not doing so well, all those times I argued with him it took a heavy toll on his health at the end of it all why does it feel like all this has happened because of me?" She asked herself.
"It's not your fault Your Highness." Eunuch Deng said, momentarily seeming interested in professing what he had seen but then being held back by something he seemed uncertain of.
"Gather all the others." The Empress suddenly mentioned.
"Yes Your Highness." Beiyuan responded as he stepped out of the room while Eunuch Deng quietly, he withdrew from it as well leaving the Empress alone with her husband.
Consort Cao's carriage arriving outside the manor that had been prepared for her, she stepped out of it with Linxiang's support as she studied the place.
It was deep within the woods, hidden from the sight of many, surrounded by a couple of hills it looked humble but noble at least as a large group of guards surrounded the facility.
"So this is it?" She mentioned.
"We must survive your Grace." Linxiang mentioned.
"All these men I heard were hand-picked by the Empress herself, "she intends to keep me a prisoner even beyond the walls of the magnificent Imperial Palace." She muttered as she smiled at herself before she set foot over the threshold and walked in while Bao Langya at a distance with a couple of his men contented they turned their horses around and rode away.
He returned to the Palace where he found the Empress pruning some flowers.
"Consort Cao arrived at her secret residence safely, it's distant from the city so it won't be easy for her to contact anyone." He reported to her.
"We can not be to certain because we have put the tiger in a cage, what if she breaks free what happens then?" Empress Yang inquired.
"We'll keep a close eye on her just in case Your Highness." Bao Langya assured her.
"We can not stop until we take the throne." Empress Yang pointed out.
"Yes Your Highness." Bao Langya responded as he bowed his head and withdrew from her presence while the Empress kept on pruning her flowers slowly and cautiously.
"Consort Cao is outside the Palace now and literally the Empress' prisoner, we tried to depose her and have her killed but we failed." Ye Shi said as he leaned on the table in front of him, "the Empress' power is finally complete." He said.
"Now that she dominates the Court, there's not much we can do, our opposition against her is weak and His Majesty is inclined to her, I never thought I would live to see this day." Qian Xiangzu said.
"What are we going to do?" Ye Shi asked.
"We should give up the strife." Qian Xiangzu responded.
"What happened to what you told me about fighting the Empress to the bitter end?" Ye Shi inquired.
"Thanks to her we have everything, now any continued strife without rhyme or reason we are only risking to lose the little we have left." Qian Xiangzu remarked.
"If you say so." Ye Shi muttered.
In the dead of night, the Courtiers gathered at the Lanling Court in a new audience Chamber they seemed surprised to see a silk screen ahead of them and a wooden throne behind it.
The Empress walking into the room she took her place behind it while they each stood up and bowed their heads to her before taking their seats again.
"You called for us Your Highness?" Shi Miyuan inquired.
"Yes." Empress Yang responded.
"Consort Cao is outside the Palace so most of our worries can be put to ease." Yang Cishan remarked.
"I thought so too, honestly, I was certain that we could finally take a breath with ease, but someone needs to run the nation, someone needs to govern the people's, even after throwing aside the corrupt monarchy and regime of Court Politics dominated by Consort Clans and power hungry self seeking advisors, we should return stability to our fledgling nation." She said.
"Yes Your Highness." Everyone said in unison.
"You'll forgive me if I have been too hard, forgive me if I have been too reckless, but trusting you all in this room as the companions I have made for life, trusting you as the greatest statesmen of our generation that this Country is blessed to receive, I couldn't bring myself to hide this from any of you." She said.
"Is something wrong Your Highness?" Peng Zishou asked.
"His Majesty is ill as we speak and unconscious, he will recover and it so happens that it isn't my earnest wish for you to pursue a regency which is why I called for this meeting." The Empress responded, "with effect immediately, even when His Majesty gains consciousness, I shall be briefed on all civil and Military affairs in detail and writing, we shall reserve one hour every night for discussion and resolutions and revised petitions alone shall be presented to His Majesty, this is the very best that we can do to aid him and ensure that he lives a very long life." She mentioned.
"But Your Highness, if he finds out in the near future, you won't be safe." Shi Miyuan said.
"I know that." She responded.
"Why then Your Highness?" Yang Cishan inquired.
"Because until now all he has ever really cared about are his people, because when we could hardly notice the pain he was going through he tried to become a strong monarch for us even if it was in defiance of his physical reserves, for His Majesty's sake, for the sake of our people, for the sake of our Great Heavenly Empire, history will not forgive us if we do not act." She responded, "I implore you all, amidst all the censure and pressure to stand strong with me, let us fail in the history books and unofficial records but let's fight for the generations to come and together build a Dynasty, a Magnificent Century for us all." Empress Yang mentioned.
"Your Highness is for the people and we are for you, for the sake of Our Great Heavenly Empire, we in this room shall stand with you." Shi Miyuan said.
"We shall stand with you Your Highness." All the others said in unison, their eyes teary but sincere as they bowed their heads while the Empress momentarily closed her eyes.
"I promised you Your Majesty, as your Empress I'll use everything in my power to protect you, to protect Your Glorious and Great Heavenly Empire, I'll let you see a beautiful world, a beautiful Mei'er." She thought to herself as she took a deep breath and then she sighed.
Bao Langya seated on the rooftop of the Lanling Court, he gazed at the stars quietly before his gaze eventually descended on what appeared to be a familiar face.
A woman secretly stepped out of the clothing store close by and her face barely illuminated by the light from the lanterns close by, despite her looking old, he was certain that he could pull the face clearly in his memories that he swiftly descended down and secretly followed her.
Holding a couple of clothes in her hands and approached a manor and knocked on its gates, after a short while, they were opened and a group of young men stepped forward.
"Who are you?" They asked her while she removed the veil that was hanging over her head.
"Madam Liang?" They inquired surprised.
"I was just getting a couple of clothes for Mrs. Xie." She mentioned in a tone that he realised immediately.
"I see." They said as they stepped aside while she went into the building.
"That must be Shaanxi, I am certain." He thought to himself as he recalled her being in the Palace especially in the service of the Deposed Crown Princess Cao.
"It must be her." He insisted on saying as his eyes travelled to the plaque that was hanging above the entrance that she had walked through and reading the words that had been inscribed within he identified the characters clearly.
"XIE MANOR." It read as he recalled some of the reports he had delivered to the Empress.
"Three bodies were missing at the Temple where the Deposed Crown Princess had been exiled, if Shaanxi survived does that mean....." He momentarily hesitated before coming to a conclusion.
Eunuch Deng in his own room he stared at the Edict that the Emperor had given him as he slowly recalled the instructions that had accompanied it before the ailing man had passed out, its contents still lingering at the back of his mind he couldn't bring himself to hold it in anymore that he ceased it in his hands.
A couple of lesser Eunuchs waiting outside his doors, he suddenly threw them open.
"Superintendent Deng?" They said bowing their heads.
"I need some time alone." He said before they could join him.
"Yes Sir." They responded as they stepped aside while he walked out into the direction of the Central Palace.
The Empress returning to the Palace she walked through the gates leading to her Chambers when she was suddenly intercepted by Eunuch Deng whom she found waiting outside.
"Superintendent Deng?" She called to him recognizing his physique immediately that the latter at the sound of his name he turned around and faced her.
"Your Highness." He said to her while bowing his head.
"You are supposed to be by His Majesty's side." She pointed out.
"Don't worry Your Highness as he is in safe hands." He responded.
"Is that so?" She asked perhaps seeking his clarity.
"Yes." He confirmed, "I am afraid that there is a more urgent issue that I wish to report to you in person and confidentially." He insisted while the Empress looking and Manyin and Xiaoyang, they kept their distance while the two moved into her personal Chambers.
The Empress sat down on a stool behind her table while Eunuch Deng bowed his head as he stood right in front of her.
"What is it that you wanted to tell me?" She asked him as the latter stretching his hand into his sleeve he pulled out the scroll.
"What is that?" She asked as he slowly delivered it into her hands and she firmly held it pulling it closer to herself.
"Before His Majesty passed out he was holding this Edict in his hands, he asked me to burn it in the brazier in front of him but before I could do it, my curiosity had that best of me that I just decided to check out what was hidden within." He reported, "I was curious what the scroll contained that His Majesty dreaded so much." He mentioned as the Empress unfolding it her eyes immediately perused through its contents.
With every word, her curiosity seemed not only satisfied but equally substituted with another feeling, surprise, disbelief and perhaps the least significant having been fear as her eyes feasted on the words.
"COURT LADY YANG IS ENTERPRISING AND SMART, SHE IS INTELLIGENT AND QUICK-WITTED AND HAS WHATEVER IT TAKES TO BECOME THE EMPRESS OF OUR HEAVENLY EMPIRE, BUT THIS HERE IS MY AUGUST AND SOVEREIGN WILL, WHOEVER SEES THIS IS BLAMELESS AND MUST KILL HER FOR THE WELFARE OF THE KINGDOM, LEST THE LAND WILL BE BAPTISED WITH BLOOD WHEN THE CALAMITY OF THE EMPRESS WU DESCENDS UPON US ALL." She read, "His Late Majesty the Xiaozong Emperor's Posthumous Edict." She said.
"Yes." He responded.
"How long did His Majesty have it?" She asked.
"Since the one person I trust who had the Imperial Edict must have been the Grand Empress Dowager, I am suggesting it must be on the day she died, she had asked for His Majesty's presence at her Palace and her having perished in his arms is no coincidence." He added.
"So the Late Emperor wanted my head after all?" She mentioned.
"We are lucky that it didn't land in Consort Cao's hands and I of all people happened to be there in time." Eunuch Deng remarked.
"But it's been long enough, His Majesty kept it hidden for all that time when he could have destroyed it to protect me." She mentioned.
"Seeing that he tried so hard today, he must have felt sorry, probably after what transpired he must have realised the danger that would arise from its very own existence....." Eunuch Deng still speaking in his defense the Empress interrupted.
"But what if he failed?" She asked him while the former became speechless momentarily.
"You have it now Your Highness, what matters is what you do with it." He said to her.
"Very well then, thank you." The Empress said.
"It's my pleasure." Eunuch Deng responded as he kowtowed to her.
"I wish to be alone." She muttered which induced him to withdraw from the room almost immediately leaving the Empress alone staring at the scroll in her possession.
"The Female Ruler Wu?" She questioned herself rhetorically as she sighed.
Manyin and Xiaoyang anxiously waiting outside with Beiyuan, Eunuch Deng stepped into their sight that Beiyuan being the swiftest rushed towards him.
"What happened inside there, did anything go wrong?" He inquired.
"No." He responded, "Her Highness was merely worried about His Majesty, it's hard talking to her about his condition perhaps I don't want her to allow herself to publicly appear weak, not even once." He lied.
"It can't be easy, we thought that with Consort Cao's departure from the Palace, everything would finally come to a wholesome State." Beiyuan remarked.
"I suppose we were all wrong, after all, as long as Her Highness still lives, never will she enjoy a single moment that is without any respite from anxiety." He said before he continued his way.
Slowly the Empress putting the scroll into another chest that was hers in particular, she buried it underneath a couple of other things, slowly, she stood up and walking towards her cupboard, she hid it into a secret compartment.
"All is forgotten, you can never see the light of day, you can never leave this room or these walls, until the day, until the moment, until the hour that this Sovereign Star shall meet its keeper." She whispered before she finally sealed off the compartment herself.
Bao Langya walking through the gates of the Martial Academy, he was greeted by his subordinates as they entered into a small room that was part of the detached section next to the Eastern garden.
"What's the problem Your Excellency, you seem troubled." Yang Gu asked.
"We might have a bit of a problem." He responded.
"What could it be?" Yang Shi, his brother inquired.
"The Deposed Crown Princess of the Cao clan and Consort of the Late Crown Prince Zhao Jun might still be alive." Bao Langya responded.
"How is that possible, all this time....." Another Sima Yin inquired.
"I don't know how I can say this but three bodies were missing when the coven was set on fire, since then our searches led us to nothing it is possible that when they realized that their very existence was compromised, naturally they had to change their identities and blend in with the commons." Bao Langya responded.
"But it's been a very long time since, you wouldn't have come to such a conclusion unless something happened." Yang Gu pointed out.
"I just saw Shaanxi, the Head Court Lady of the Deposed Crown Princess entering the Xie Manor this night." Bao Langya responded.
"Hence you suspect that the Xie family could know something about this?" Sima Yin asked.
"Perhaps they could even be affiliated with the Deposed Crown Princess as well." Bao Langya remarked.
"Why not tell the Empress?" Yang Shi mentioned.
"Her Highness has probably been through a lot and she couldn't be at ease now that the Emperor is unconscious, besides, not only are we just speculative, we don't have concrete proof as we aren't certain." Yang Gu responded.
"That's why I decided to see you here." Bao Langya said, "there's no telling what will happen if we don't deal with this soon enough but whatever it is I wanted you to look through all the records that you can possibly find concerning the family of Xie Xinfu and without leaving out any details you shall report all your findings to me." He ordered.
"Yes Your Excellency." They all replied in unison as they kowtowed to him.
The sun rising in the early morning, the Emperor Ningzong lying in his bed he felt the bright rays of the infant sun on his face as they penetrated through the windows.
He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling before slowly sitting upright in his bed and studying his surroundings.
Confused, he tried to recall everything that had last happened before he fell unconscious and at that opportune moment the scroll came to mind.
He quickly stood out of his bed barefooted and rushed up to the brazier that had burnt the previous day halting right in front of it.
He studied the ashes to see the small recognizable remnants of a scroll which put his heart at ease that he took a deep sigh, at that moment the doors of the room being opened the Empress walked through while being accompanied by Eunuch Deng.
She stopped in her footsteps when her eyes met her husband's.
"Your Majesty!" She exclaimed in disbelief as she immediately handed the tray in her hands over to Eunuch Deng as she quickly approached his side and held his hands feeling their warmth.
"Are you alright?" She asked him.
"I have never felt better." He responded as she embraced him into a very tight hug.
"I was so worried Your Majesty." She asserted, "I could hardly put myself at ease worrying that you might never get up again." She claimed.
"I am sorry my Empress, it's my fault Mei'er." He confessed as she finally pulled herself together and set him free, slowly moving him back to the bed while she sat down right beside him.
"It's s pleasure to see you well again Your Majesty." Eunuch Deng remarked.
"I am also pleased that you took very good care of me." Emperor Ningzong said.
"The Imperial physician said you have been stressing out lately that it had a heavy toll on your health, he recommended that you take enough bed rest and some time off State affairs." She reported.
"Is that so?" The Emperor inquired.
"Yes." Eunuch Deng affirmed.
"I am so sorry that I had to put you through that pain." Emperor Ningzong apologized.
"I know that it is very selfish of me and that I can't possibly ask you to stop being the Emperor of your people, I only ask that you allow me to look after you, that you also look after yourself, because I dread that one day when I open my eyes you shall be closing yours, and I don't want that day to dawn, not even once, never will I be ready to painfully commit myself to that reality." She said as she slowly moved her head and rested it on his chest as he embraced her.
"Life is worthless, out of everything that I have ever valued that I gained and lost as well, you are the most beautiful and the most precious." Emperor Ningzong assured her.
"I am glad Your Majesty, I am very happy to know that even when the hair on my head turns grey, you'll be there with me and I with you." She mentioned.
Bao Langya looking through the census records he suddenly stumbled across the family record that recognized the members of the Xie Family.
Perusing through its contents he noticed a strange name.
"Miss Yun?" He read it when suddenly Sima Yin walked in.
"Your Excellency?" He called to him as the latter turned around to see what it was about.
"Have you found anything?" He inquired.
"Yang Gu and Yang Shi have found something." He responded and without wasting time, Bao Langya immediately strode out of the room while Sima Yin followed him.
Barging into the room where they had met the previous night he found Yang Gu and Yang Shi anxiously waiting for him.
"I was told that you found out something." He said.
"This is very urgent." Yang Gu said as Bao Langya settled down in front of them.
"What is it?" Bao Langya inquired.
"We did what you asked and looked into all the information that we could find concerning Xie Xinfu, his first son Xie Qubo married a woman from an ambiguous background and she went by the name Yun Feiyan, recently there was a rumour spreading about that this miss Yun became pregnant and the Xie household is preparing adequately as she will soon go into labour, her husband fond of her and being the one person that loved her the most even adopted a child, a son from her previous marriage and ordered one of the most renowned artists in the city to paint her, when we tracked him down to get a sketch of how the fair Mrs. Xie looks like, this was what he gave us." Yang Shi reported as he handed over a folded piece of paper to Bao Langya who took it into his hands.
Momentarily hesitant to take the next step to find out who the mystery woman was he gathered all the courage in the world that he could possibly find.
Silence followed, when his gaze met the bright dark eyes in the painting staring at him, "the years might have passed but he could still recall the deposed Crown Princess Cao's brilliant and innocent looking eyes, her cherry lips and small pointy nose slightly protruding from her face, her chiseled chin all the same had hardly evolved, it was her he was certain, it was her he knew.
"No." He first muttered in disbelief.
"We searched for all the information we could find and according to your sources she was held in a Temple not so far from here, at around that time Xie Qubo had travelled to visit a relative in the same area where the Temple was located and Miss Yun his wife got famous in the public eye not so long after that he even insisted to marry her against his father's wish." Yang Gu supplemented.
"If Miss Yun is the Deposed Crown Princess Cao then it is without a doubt that the woman that I saw was Shaanxi, in any way they are alive." Bao Langya said as he smacked the table with his fists.
"What are you going to do Your Excellency now that you know the truth." Sima Yin inquired.
"The Empress should be informed and she should know." Yang Shi suggested.
"No." Bao Langya said, "seeing that Her Highness seems to be settling down after the departure of Consort Cao from the Palace and she's worried about His Majesty's health we can't tell her this as it would only worsen the situation " he added.
"But to keep quiet about something as crucial as this I fear that Her Highness will be furious." Yang Gu pointed out.
"Then we'd have to only finish what we started, we must fulfil the task that we failed to accomplish all those years back." Bao Langya said, "we have to kill the deposed Crown Princess Cao along with her son." He added as he tightly clenched his fists while Yang Shi more cautious than the rest found it hard to sell his allegiance.
Dispersing from the room, the Empress had returned to her residence and was reviewing some memorials when Manyin walked in.
"Your Highness, Yang Shi is here requesting to have an audience with you." She said.
"I am a bit preoccupied at the moment you can tell him to come back later." Empress Yang replied.
"I told him so but he claimed that it was urgent, he called it a life and death matter and he went ahead and said that this was something that required your maximum attention." Manyin insisted.
"Is that so?" Empress Yang inquired.
"He seemed desperate, he was sincerely telling the truth at least I could tell." Manyin reported while the Empress seemed reluctant.
"Yang Shi is someone that rarely visits me but if it must be the case then I guess it wouldn't hurt for me to hear him out." She professed, "let him in." She said and Manyin withdrawing from her presence a short while later Yang Shi made his entrance into the hall.
"Your Highness." He said bowing his head to her while she lowered the memorial in her hands and closing it, she put it aside while smiling at him.
"I am told that there is something urgent that you wish to say to me." She mentioned.
"Yes Your Highness." He responded hesitantly.
"What is it that has you worried this much?" She asked.
"Forgive me Your Highness for having delayed to report back to you but the truth is that we have found out the whereabouts of the Deposed Crown Princess Cao." He reported.
"What?" The Empress inquired
"Bao Langya asked us to carry out an investigation on the family of Xie Xinfu and we learnt that his eldest son Xie Qubo married a woman from an ambiguous background called Yun Feiyan, we happened to learn that she is the deposed Crown Princess Cao and as I speak she's expecting soon." He reported.
"Where is the deposed Crown Princess?" Empress Yang asked seemingly calm but looking fierce that the young man had to keep his head low to break eye contact with her.
"In the Xie Manor Your Highness, as I am speaking Bao Langya is mobilising all the necessary forces he can find, he is determined to fulfill the task that was left half undone." Yang Shi said.
"Very well then, you may leave." The Empress ordered and the young man withdrawing from the room immediately she remained quietly seated momentarily as Beiyuan made his entrance.
"Your Highness." He said bowing his head.
"Prepare my secret Palanquin and some of our best men you can find tonight." She said.
"Where shall you be going Your Highness?" Beiyuan inquired.
"Xie Xinfu's Manor." The Empress responded as she furiously clenched her fists.
The Imperial astronomers studying the sky one of them noticed the North Star brightly shining during the day.
"Something isn't right." The Chief Astronomer Zhu Yiwen mentioned.
"Is anything wrong master?" One of his subordinates inquired.
"Something ominous is about to happen." Zhu Yiwen responded.
"Is it good or bad?" The young man asked him.
"It's too early to tell," Zhu Yiwen mentioned, "the fates of two people perhaps even more are soon to be bound by one single, disruptive chord." He added.