Shanguan Zu Jin's POV
Wu Jinmai smiled and nodded. We let her out first and followed her after. We are now sitting on the gazebo outside.
We heard what happened to Concubine Wang. I went to Li Jin and Pei Qin's chambers to ask them if we should check her ourselves.
We didn't expect that the empress was already here and had even summoned an imperial physician. She also carries her without any hesitation.
"What are you planning to do?" I ask.
Wu Jinmai looks at me with such calm eyes. No, it's not calm. Her wrath was like calm water in the ocean. It's destructive and deep.
"I will manage my late father's harem and start investigating what is happening. I know they're mad at my mother after she poisoned most of them, and I make sure that my father won't impregnate any of them. I'll atone for her sin as well," she simply replies.
I give her a suspicious glance. I was about to ask when Li Jin would speak.
"Like what? They're still your seniors and your father's concubines. They have their own unwritten authority."
My wife looks at her third husband. She scoffs and smirks after.
"But it doesn't mean that they can disobey their empress? That's why an investigation was invented, my dear. Bringing justice is what I can do. Unruly ladies who use seniority to bully the weaker and low-status individuals are a big no for me," Wu Jinmai replied.
Her tone was firm and strong. She even looks into Li Jin's eyes while stating his sentiment.
"You shouldn't point your swords at too many people because you can't handle them when their blades start to aim at you, your highness. There are things in this world that you shouldn't touch. Don't be too greedy," Pei Qin commented.
She stretches her hands and bends backward. I thought she would fall down, but I saw how she clasped her foot underneath the table to balance her weight.
"I am greedy. I have to be greedy if I want to survive," she replied. She sits straight and looks into Pei Qin's eyes. Her gaze was full of meaning.
"You've been telling me that. You're just proving that you're still the same," Li Jin whispers.
I didn't expect him to say those words. Our wife chuckles and looks at him.
"You've got a problem with me, right? Is it because of what I did to your aunt and her family?" she bluntly asks.
She's trying to provoke us. She did that to me last night after Pei Qin had an outburst. She's using the same technique as Li Jin. I kick her feet underneath the table.
She ignored me. This woman! She's too insensitive! How can she ask Li Jin such a question? I can't believe how cowardly she can get.
"What did you expect? If I didn't use my head, my aunt must have been wandering in nothingness. She can't rest in peace because of what you did to her and her family," Li Jin asserts.
I tried to glare at him, but he ignored me either way. "Your request to ask them back to have a proper burial for her won't erase the fact that you killed her!" Li Jin roars.
Our wife looks at him with such cold eyes. How can she be this stupid? She pins her elbow on the table and leans her chin on her knuckles.
"Li Jin, how sure are you about your claim? Did I really kill Song Yue?" Wu Jinmai asks.
I look at her. "Can you stop provoking us? If you keep doing that, you'll never get anything from us. Can you learn how to read the atmosphere? Your tongue and insensitivity are the reasons why the world hates you."
Wu Jinmai looks at me after I express my thoughts. "If you killed Song Yue, then you did. If not, what are you doing then? What are you trying to hide, your highness?" I ask firmly, giving her threatening glances.
Her right brow furrows and she smirks. "I am not trying to hide anything. I'm already labeled as the killer before an investigation happens. I just accept it because that's what everyone wants. I'm the empress, and I justify my safety that way."
Her statement was true. She's not lying, either. It only happens that she's been known for being called a murderer, heartless, and ruthless. She became unbothered even if someone framed her.
"Song Yue was a gentle and virtuous woman. Her health suddenly weakened for the past few months before her death. I wonder why?" she whispers. She stood up and looked around.
Wu Jinmai grabs a flower and places it on the table. "Tell me, Li Jin. Does the heart stop beating? How monstrous can you become because of love?" she asks.
We are surprised because of the question she asks. The empress grabs the flower again and crushes it in her palm.
"Love is the twisted curse of all, my dearest. Love can bring out your darkest side. No one can escape from the wrath of a woman who wants to be loved," she added. Eunuch Liu's arrival interrupted our conversation.
"Your Highness, can I speak with you?" he murmurs. He looks serious.
"You may speak, Eunuch Liu," she says.
Eunuch Liu looks at us. We can sense that he's uncomfortable speaking because we are here. We stood up. Wu Jinmai raises her hand.
"Take your seats," she says. She looks at Eunuch Liu and smiles.
"I apologize for being rude. Your Highness, the three concubines of the late emperor had been waiting in front of the imperial physician's office and apothecary buildings," he says.
Our wife suddenly laughs, brushing her lips while smirking. "I was right. Women are really simpletons. Women are scary," she remarks.
Eunuch Liu was puzzled because of what she said. "I told you to follow him and watch the physician as he grabs the herbs needed for consort Wang's medicine." Wu Jinmai sighed deeply.
"I am expecting the three consorts to wait for the physician to arrive. I think there's a reason why they want her to keep silent forever," she added.
We understand what the empress wants to say. The flower that she crushed a while ago—what is she trying to tell us? Is she claiming that Madam Song was poisoned?
'Li Susu still had Wu Jinmai's memories. If she said that she didn't kill Madam Song, she didn't. I think the late madam of Song manor was poisoned. But who did it?'
Eunuch Liu handed the medicine that the physician prescribed to consort Wang. She laughs and shakes her head.
"Eunuch Liu, do you have someone that we can trust? I think we need someone to enter that department. Who knows? We might be the next target," she says. Li Jin stood up.
"Are you telling me that aunt was poisoned too? Who would dare to do such a thing?!" Li Jin roars.