140. Falling into the Trap (3)

Jialin, who had been looking up at Jiang Xuan, turned her head at the sound of a stern reprimand. She immediately collapsed to the ground, trembling. "Your maidservant pays respects to the Emperor."

Behind the Emperor and Empress stood Jiang Yun. I saw Jiang Yun attempting to say something to the Empress with a look of confusion, only to be silenced by a sharp glare from her.

"Your son pays respects to Imperial Father and Mother," Jiang Xuan said, maintaining his composure as he knelt.

The Empress spoke, "Ninth Prince, you are here, and with a maidservant, no less. There is an empty wine flask on the ground. You had best explain to your Imperial Father what you are doing here."

"Imperial Father—"

Before Jiang Xuan could finish, a panicked Jialin interjected, "Your Majesty, Empress, please forgive me! I have done nothing wrong; I only... I only drank a little wine in secret."

"You base creature! You must have been here seducing the Ninth Prince," the Empress accused.

The Emperor, however, asked, "Yun’er, did you not tell me that the person in the palace was not a maid, but a eunuch?"

Jiang Yun hurriedly replied, "Imperial Father, the Ninth Brother had lunch with me today. On a whim, he shared some wine with me. But I certainly did not let him drink too much. When he finished, he wanted to return to his quarters. I was worried, so I offered to send someone with him, but the Ninth Brother refused. Still uneasy, I had Xiao Dezi follow him from a distance. To my surprise, Xiao Dezi returned to report that the Ninth Brother had not returned to his own palace, but had come here to the Cold Palace. Shortly after the Ninth Brother entered, I saw Xiao Xiaozi enter as well, and from a distance, one could hear... filthy, unsightly sounds. I could hardly imagine such a thing, so I had to report it to you and the Empress. I do not know why it has turned out to be this maid instead." As he finished, Jiang Yun’s voice grew quieter.

Hearing this, I realized that this must have been a plot orchestrated by Jiang Yun. However, they could not have anticipated my presence here at the Lingbo Palace. Even if Xiao Dezi had reported to Jiang Yun, that would have been after Jiang Xuan went to the Eastern Palace to drink. If Jiang Xuan had merely been caught with a maid, it would have been a minor offense at most, hardly a scandal. Jiang Yun likely never expected Jialin to be the one found here.

In these circumstances, even among the nobility, young masters often kept concubines before marriage, let alone in the Imperial Palace. Yet, there were still elements here that I could not explain.

"Could it be that Xiao Dezi did not see clearly and was spouting nonsense?" the Emperor asked with some dissatisfaction. If it were merely a maid, the Emperor would not need to be so furious.

"Imperial Father, I was skeptical at first as well. But many signs pointed to the Ninth Brother being far too intimate with that eunuch, Xiao Xiaozi. If such a scandal were to be true, the reputation of the Imperial family would be utterly ruined."

The Emperor replied, "Do not speak with such certainty. A servant serving his master closely is common practice. Does that necessarily imply a special relationship?"

Jiang Yun said, "Imperial Father, I have a witness."

"Who?"

Jiang Yun raised his hand. "Bring her forward!"

Soon, a maid stepped forward. I recognized her; she was from Jiang Xuan’s palace, the very same one who had caught me leaving his room that day. Had she been bribed by Jiang Yun?

"This maidservant pays respects to the Emperor."

The Emperor said impatiently, "Speak the truth about what you know."

"Yes," the maid stammered. "I serve the Ninth Prince. That day, I woke up early to prepare his breakfast. To my surprise, I first saw the Ninth Prince emerge wearing only his undergarments, covered in sweat. I thought nothing of it, but soon after, I saw Xiao Xiaozi emerge from the room in a great hurry. When he saw me, he lied, claiming he had been sent by Consort Tong to discuss matters with the Ninth Prince and was leaving because the Prince was not there. But the Ninth Prince had been inside just moments before. Furthermore, when I went to tidy the room, I found bloodstains on the Ninth Prince’s bed. It is certain that the two of them were in the same room, and—"

"And what?" the Emperor roared.

"Your Majesty, how can a young girl speak of such things?" the Empress added from the side.

Jiang Xuan looked at the maid with disappointment. He asked calmly, "The day you speak of—was it six days ago?"

The maid nodded. "Exactly."

Jiang Yun laughed. "Ninth Brother, what is the meaning of this question? How many people can remember exactly what happened six days ago?"

Jiang Xuan replied, "Others might not remember, but Third Brother certainly should. For it was on that very night that Lian Qi and Lian Fei were demoted, and one was sent to the front lines."

I secretly admired Jiang Xuan’s wit. Few people knew of that incident, and it had not spread through the palace. But Jiang Yun knew, and the Emperor knew it even better. By not spelling it out, Jiang Xuan allowed the Emperor to understand his meaning.

That night, Jiang Xuan was injured. Aside from me, the Emperor, Qiu Ronghai, and the physician, no one knew. When Jiang Yun had questioned Jiang Xuan, the physician arrived, and Jiang Yun had never asked about the situation. Thus, he did not know. As long as the timing matched, the bloodstains could be explained. As long as the timing matched, my presence in Jiang Xuan’s room was justifiable—he had been injured and needed care that could not be made public.

The Emperor quickly caught on. He kicked the maid in the chest and roared, "You dog of a servant, daring to spread rumors and spout nonsense! Is the reputation of a prince something you can tarnish?"

"Your Majesty, have mercy! Every word I said is true!"

"If you dare say 'true' one more time, I will have your head right now."

The maid turned deathly pale, too terrified to speak further. Jiang Yun was confused but did not dare to press the issue.

The Emperor turned to Jiang Xuan. "What happened today, I saw with my own eyes. Xuan’er, your conduct is inexcusable. I had intended to grant you an official post soon to gain experience, yet you choose to behave like this."

The Empress said, "Your Majesty, how shall this be handled? This base maid, born of humble origins, intentionally seduced the Ninth Prince. She deserves to die."

I was startled. The Empress wanted to have Jialin executed?

"As for the Ninth Prince," the Empress continued, "perhaps it is due to your indulgence, Your Majesty, and Consort Tong’s failure to discipline him, that he has committed an act damaging the dignity of the Imperial family. You should punish him to serve as a warning."

That, surely, was the Empress's true objective.

"Your Majesty, Empress, I truly had nothing to do with the Ninth Prince. I was with Xiao—"

Jialin, in her panic, was about to reveal the truth. I realized she was about to say my name. My heart raced, but fortunately, Jiang Xuan interrupted her. "Imperial Father, Mother, I am willing to accept punishment. But this maid is truly innocent. I beg you to spare her life; it is all my fault."

Jiang Yun said, "Daring to seduce you—she must have had ulterior motives. How can she be spared?"

Jiang Xuan glared at Jiang Yun, who seemed to lose his nerve and fell silent.

The Emperor decreed, "The Empress and Yun’er are correct. If such a precedent is set in the palace, the inner courts will fall into chaos. This woman cannot remain, and this matter must not be spoken of outside."

"Imperial Father, I am willing to marry this maid," Jiang Xuan said, pausing before continuing with difficulty. "I have long harbored feelings for her. Today’s event was a moment of weakness and folly on my part. You once allowed my mother to select a consort for me, but I never agreed. Today, I beg you to allow me to marry this maid."

No one had expected Jiang Xuan to say this—not even I.

I stood there in shock, my heart aching with a growing, undeniable pain.

Lost in my thoughts, I accidentally stepped on a twig, causing it to snap. I cursed my luck as I heard Jiang Xuan say, "Who is there?"

He exchanged a look with the Empress, likely guessing that I was nearby. Jiang Yun immediately said, "Imperial Father, there is someone else here. Allow me to investigate."

"Very well."

I panicked and ran toward the back courtyard. But it was wide and empty, with nowhere to hide. I saw a small kitchen and dashed inside. Seeing the stove, I didn't think twice; I moved the discarded pot aside and jumped in. As I landed, I realized someone else was already inside. The person was about to cry out, but I clamped my hand over their mouth. It was dark, so I shushed them and quickly replaced the pot.

Hearing footsteps shuffling outside, I hunched over, curled up, and dared not move. As someone approached, my heart nearly beat out of my chest.

Fortunately, the footsteps eventually faded away.

It seemed they had found nothing and left. I still dared not emerge, waiting until the commotion had died down and the area was empty.

After a long time, sensing no further movement, I prepared to leave. The person beside me suddenly pushed me, then jumped out. I followed, only to see that the person was a woman in tattered clothes, her face so covered in grime that her features were indistinguishable.

"Who are you?" Her presence perhaps proved why Yunqing had come here. She must have known about the commotion and hidden here. No wonder Long Zhan and I hadn't found her last time. He must not have expected anyone to be hiding inside the stove. In truth, I hadn't expected it either—the stove was surprisingly deep, enough to fit both of us.

"Ah-haha, little black cat, so fun, little black cat." She spoke in a crazed, incoherent manner.

"Who are you?" I tried to grab her to ask, but she just bit down on a blade of grass and ran off. By the time I chased after her, she had vanished.

She must have been hiding here for a long time, knowing the Lingbo Palace far better than I. There were likely other hiding spots I could never find.

Let it be; her business was irrelevant. I walked to the front courtyard. It was deserted, and I had not heard the final outcome of the incident.

I left the Lingbo Palace, wanting to return to the Huayang Palace as quickly as possible. Along the way, I heard two young eunuchs whispering and laughing.

One said, "Have you heard? The Ninth Prince is about to take a concubine—a mere maidservant. The Ninth Prince, well, he is a man after all; he couldn't keep his urges in check."

The other replied, "That maid is the lucky one, flying up to the branches to become a phoenix."

"Hardly," the first retorted. "Marrying the Ninth Prince isn't necessarily a blessing. If the Emperor truly favored him, would he force him to take a maid with no status or power?"

"True enough."

"Also, they say the Emperor isn't even holding a wedding; she’s just moving into the Ninth Prince's palace. That shows how little they value her. It is said she seduced him, got him drunk, and then..."

The two of them burst into laughter.

I stopped listening to the rest. My mind was filled with only one thought: Jiang Xuan was taking a concubine.