“Outrageous!” The Emperor scolded Tang Qi, yet his protective affection was evident. “No more nonsense.”
Tang Qi was unflustered, explaining calmly, “Imperial Father, the item is indeed in my bedchamber; it is simply that the Imperial Guards couldn’t find it.” She seemed to be walking right into a trap. “But since I dare to present it, I can also prove this item is not mine.”
Her gaze fell upon the Imperial Guard who had found the box. “This Palace would like to ask, there are thousands of such wooden boxes in the palace; how did you know this one contained witchcraft materials?”
The Imperial Guard fell to his knees at once, his eyes bloodshot with terror. “R-Replying to the Princess, This General saw the box was locked, and besides… besides…”
Tang Qi then turned to the noblewomen who had spoken earlier. “This Palace’s hairpin was only delivered to the Temporary Palace today. I had never seen this box before either. How, then, did you see Luoluo holding this item?”
Her tone hardened, laced with a trace of killing intent. “Can This Palace conclude you were bearing false witness? Do you know what a grave crime involvement in witchcraft is? Do you wish for your families to be purged and exiled?”
The noblewomen fell silent as winter cicadas, their bodies trembling. Before Tang Qi finished speaking, they collapsed to the floor one by one, paralyzed with fear.
The astute Zhao Yi naturally understood everything. His gaze swept across the officials who had spoken earlier. “He’er, rest assured, Imperial Father will certainly help you obtain justice.”
Having said that, he glanced at Luo Xu, recalling the male concubines he’d sent that were returned, and spoke with heartfelt pain. “And I will seek justice for Luo Xu as well.”
Luo Xu immediately made to bow in thanks, but Tang Qi helped her up. Zhao Yi, watching Tang Qi’s protective display, felt a pang of displeasure.
“Imperial Father, do you still recall the person I borrowed from you a few days ago?” Tang Qi didn’t give Zhao Yi much time to dwell on his displeasure. Zhao Yi nodded. “The Shadow Guard by my side.”
“I instructed him to stand watch in the bedchamber. No matter who came to place an item in the room, he was to ignore them, and after they left, he was to swap the item out.” As she spoke, she looked at Luo Xu with a touch of helplessness. “I just didn’t expect he would use the hairpin I hid away as the substitute.”
Luo Xu reached up to touch the hairpin on her head, a feeling in her heart that was neither sweet nor bitter.
As soon as Tang Qi finished speaking, someone in the crowd wobbled unsteadily.
Zhao Yi hadn’t expected the Shadow Guard to be here. He summoned the guard stationed in the room. “What happened?”
The Shadow Guard knelt on one knee before Zhao Yi and produced a roll of cotton cloth.
When the cloth was unrolled, even though everyone was mentally prepared, they were still so frightened they stumbled backward. The voodoo doll was modeled after Zhao Yi’s face, yet sewn together from several pieces of cotton cloth, as if a person had been chopped into segments and stitched back together with needle and thread.
Such malicious intent was worthy of the death penalty!
Long silver needles were plunged into the doll’s head and body, and on its back, Zhao Yi’s Eight Characters of Birth were written in blood.
The moment she saw the doll, Consort Liu was completely stupefied. She had never imagined Tang Qi would have made preparations, much less that the one standing guard here was the Emperor’s personal Shadow Guard.
These were guards trained from childhood, utterly loyal to the Emperor. If the Emperor doubted anyone, he would never doubt the Shadow Guard’s word.
It’s over. Everything is over!
Zhao Yi stared at the doll with a cold smile. “Good! Very good! This person not only seeks to frame Hele but also dares to curse me. They covet my very throne!”
The assembled ministers fell to their knees in a wave. Many court officials broke out in cold sweat, sensing disaster.
“Under orders from the Princess, I stood guard here,” the Shadow Guard said in a low voice. “I witnessed someone enter and hide the box beneath the Princess’s bed.”
Zhao Yi’s face was ashen. “You witnessed someone come with your own eyes? Who delivered it?”
Everyone held their breath, wondering whose name the Shadow Guard would utter.
To their shock, the Shadow Guard named someone no one could believe. “Luo Ping, daughter of the Minister of Works, Luo Huaimin!”
In the crowd, Luo Ping’s legs gave way and she collapsed to her knees. Mother Luo and Luo Huaimin were both stunned by this sudden turn of events, staring at Luo Ping in disbelief. Even Luo Xu was dumbfounded.
No one had suspected it would be the perpetually innocent and naive Luo Ping! Luo Xu’s gaze, filled with struggle and conflict, fell upon Luo Ping. “It… it was you?”
Luo Ping often visited Luo Xu, coming and going freely, and naturally wouldn’t attract the palace maids’ attention.
“Th-There must be some misunderstanding.” Mother Luo fell to her knees, frantically pleading. “Your Majesty, see clearly, someone is… someone is framing her…”
“Are you saying Imperial Father’s Shadow Guard is framing Luo Ping?” Tang Qi sneered. Luo Ping’s body trembled like a leaf in the wind. She had panicked from the start, and now she was so frightened she could barely speak, merely kowtowing endlessly. “It was Consort Liu… it was Her Ladyship… Ladyship…”
She looked up at Zhao Chengfeng, her gaze finally settling on Consort Liu. With great difficulty, she managed to form coherent words. “Her Ladyship gave it to me. She said the Prince of Leisure… the Prince of Leisure still pined for Elder Sister. She said this was a gift from him for Elder Sister, and asked me to help deliver it.”
“Thinking of them as childhood sweethearts… childhood sweethearts with deep feelings, I agreed to help just this once. The box was locked. I… I didn’t know what was inside. I only saw the box was exquisite and assumed… assumed it was some kind of trinket.” Luo Ping kowtowed forcefully to Zhao Yi.
“Ridiculous. If you didn’t know what it was, then earlier when someone was slandering Luo Xu, why didn’t you come forward to explain?” The one who spoke was Zhao Zhen.
Luo Xu was soon to be adopted under her name, so naturally, she spoke in Luo Xu’s defense.
“I was… paralyzed with fear.” Luo Ping’s lips were blueish-purple, and her forehead was already bruised and bleeding from kowtowing.
“Then why not give it directly to Luo Xu? Why hide it under Hele’s bed?” Zhao Zhen pressed relentlessly, showing no mercy. Luo Ping could only explain. “It was Her Ladyship’s request. She said not to give it to Elder Sister directly, but to hide it!”
All evidence pointed back to Consort Liu. The moment Tang Qi produced the hairpin, Consort Liu knew things were going badly. She had deliberately used her own palace maid to throw mud on herself, attempting a reverse psychology tactic, but in the end, she had only tripped herself up.
Zhao Yi had no desire to listen further. “Confine Consort Liu to the Cold Palace. Hand Luo Ping over to the Dali Temple for investigation.”
Mother Luo collapsed to the floor. She wanted to plead for mercy, but Luo Huaimin held her back firmly. Luo Ping, never imagining it would come to this, wept and begged, but was still mercilessly dragged away by the Imperial Guards.
“As for those who just now colluded with Consort Liu…” Zhao Yi looked over the crowd. “I will investigate thoroughly in due time.”
The grand banquet ended in discord. No one knew how many would lie awake through that sleepless night.
After the crowd dispersed, Tang Qi pulled Luo Xu back to her bedchamber. Looking at the hairpin on Luo Xu’s head, she said helplessly, “I’ll give you a different gift.”
Luo Xu removed the hairpin and placed it on the dressing table, staring at her reflection in the mirror.
During those four months in exile, she had feared anything that could reflect her own face. It was Tang Qi who had given her the courage and hope to live again, and Tang Qi who stood behind her through thick and thin, protecting and comforting her.
But…
“Are you unhappy?” Tang Qi embraced Luo Xu from behind, planting a gentle kiss on the back of her neck. She reached up to loosen Luo Xu’s hair, gently ruffling the strands.
Luo Xu took Tang Qi’s hands and pulled her down to sit opposite her. “Little Seven, I need to talk to you.”
Tang Qi, puzzled, obediently sat down across from Luo Xu. Luo Xu considered her words carefully before speaking. “Little Seven, I know everything you do is for my good, to protect me. But…”
She sighed. “In the future, could you discuss things with me? At least let me know beforehand?”
She had truly been worried sick today. Even knowing later that Tang Qi had a plan, the anxiety in her heart was unavoidable. Besides the worry, there was also a furious helplessness at being kept in the dark.
Luo Xu knew she wanted a lot. From the very beginning, trembling with fear, terrified Tang Qi would send her away, to later throwing her weight around by Tang Qi’s side, enjoying everything Tang Qi gave her.
“I don’t know if my request is too much, but we are one entity, aren’t we? I don’t want you to be the one always charging into battle while I just sit back and reap the rewards.” Luo Xu’s voice grew softer as she spoke, even beginning to doubt if she was asking for too much.
Suddenly, Tang Qi took both her hands. Luo Xu looked up to meet Tang Qi’s sincere gaze. “I’m sorry, Luoluo.” After thinking for a moment, Tang Qi still offered a defense. “Before, you always believed people are only loved and noticed if they are ‘useful.’ So I kept trying to show you that even if you are ‘useless,’ I will still be by your side. I overcorrected.”
She had sometimes thought of telling Luo Xu her plans, but aside from fearing Luo Xu’s worry, she also wanted Luo Xu to experience a life of being “useless.” She wanted Luo Xu to just be able to enjoy things.
But she had been wrong. Luo Xu wasn’t a clinging vine. Her journey all the way from the Capital to the Barren Mountain proved her resilience.
“In the future, I promise I will discuss everything with you.” Tang Qi wasn’t the kind of person who refused to admit fault. She knew she wasn’t perfect. “I will definitely correct my mistakes.”
Having faults wasn’t the problem; what mattered was being unwilling to change. And Tang Qi was exactly the kind of person who could change.
Luo Xu bit her lip. “I was asking for too much.”
“No. It’s that I gave you too little trust.” Tang Qi’s expression was solemn. She pulled Luo Xu’s face closer and kissed her tenderly. “Our Luoluo is so capable; she’s bound to shine with her own light.”
In a relationship, no one is an accessory, and one person shouldn’t eclipse all of the other’s brilliance.
Early the next morning, news came from the Cold Palace: Consort Liu had taken her own life. Before dying, she had written a final letter, clearly detailing how she had deceived Luo Ping and threatened the officials’ female relatives.
She shouldered all the blame herself, clearing everyone else completely.
Tang Qi knew Consort Liu realized her time was up and chose to sacrifice herself to preserve her family’s honor. Yet the incident still dealt the Liu Family a devastating blow.
After returning to the Capital, Zhao Yi found several excuses to punish the Liu Family. Knowing they were in the wrong, the Liu Family dared not resist. Even Zhao Chengfeng was demoted from Prince of the First Rank to Commandery Prince.
Luo Ping was released. In the Dali Temple, she hadn’t been subjected to torture but the ordeal was agonizing nonetheless. In just a few days, she had wasted away to a gaunt shadow of herself and was taken home by Mother Luo.
Luo Xu wanted to visit Luo Ping, but hesitated several times, never setting out.
She didn’t dare to believe that her little sister, whom she had always thought of as purely cute and even simple-minded, would try to frame her. Past events grew increasingly clear in Luo Xu’s mind, leaving her unable to find any excuse to exonerate Luo Ping.
After their conversation at the Temporary Palace, Tang Qi gradually handed over some of her affairs to Luo Xu. The most important among them was establishing schools in the Capital. Luo Xu was so busy she barely had a moment to spare.
And in the midst of this flurry, Luo Xu received news: Nalan Xue, who had been in a coma, had awakened.
