Chapter Sixteen: Reaping What One Has Sown

Xuexue’s words rang out with unwavering authority, shattering their scheme with each syllable.

Consort Jin and Consort Yan were struck dumb, their faces blank with shock—how had they failed to anticipate this turn?

“Eunuch Miao Jian, please send someone to Lotus Pavilion to look for the wasp’s nest, so that justice may be seen to be done,” Xuexue instructed coolly, her words sending cold sweat trickling down the cheeks of the two consorts.

Miao Jian accepted the command and hurried away with his men to investigate.

“Your Majesty, do you not think this course of action is somewhat ill-advised? If word of this spreads, people outside may say that Your Highness set this trap in advance. Would that not harm your reputation?” Consort Yan was the first to recover her wits. Her words carried a double edge: on the surface, she appeared concerned for Xuexue, but beneath, she was slyly insinuating that Xuexue was protecting the princess.

“Are you questioning me, Consort Yan?” Xuexue responded with calm indifference, unperturbed by the veiled accusation. She replied with poised ease, “If you truly believe I possess such supernatural foresight, then perhaps you can explain why Consort Jin’s jade pendant was found at the scene?”

Consort Jin’s eyes widened in disbelief, terror etched across her face. She looked anxiously to her waist, only to discover that the jade pendant she had been granted upon entering the palace was indeed missing.

Consort Yan’s eyes, too, grew wide with surprise, but unlike Jin, she showed no sign of panic. In fact, she seemed far more composed. She turned her gaze to Langhua, kneeling nearby. “Langhua, what is the meaning of this? Did you lie to me?”

Her voice was stricken with pain, her hand covering her mouth as if stifling a sob, devastated beyond words.

“Madam…” Langhua, already frightened out of her wits, looked up at her mistress in disbelief, her face ashen and devoid of life.

Had she been abandoned by her mistress?

“Langhua, explain yourself! This isn’t the truth, is it? You didn’t lie to me, did you? Langhua?” Consort Yan stared at her in confusion, retreating several steps, clearly shaken by the blow.

“My lady, it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have been blinded by greed. I deserve to die!” Langhua bowed her head in resignation, tears streaming down her face and falling to the cold floor.

She had brought this upon herself—who could she blame? Her mistress, her young lady, was no longer the celestial being she had once idolized. Why had she refused to believe it? She had thought her lady’s ruthlessness was merely a means to survive in the palace. After all, they had grown up together, and despite their difference in rank, had been as close as sisters. But… she should have admitted it long ago: her lady aspired to rise above all others.

“You wretched servant! What are you implying? When have I ever bribed you? Do not slander me!” At last, Consort Jin grasped the meaning behind their words and, furious, lashed out.

From beginning to end, Ji Wuqing had watched the farce with languid amusement, silent and detached.

Now, his gaze swept over the assembled faces, suddenly breaking the silence. “Can anyone explain to me what is truly happening here?” Though his eyes smiled, his lips curled with dangerous intent, a chilling aura emanating from him.

“Your Majesty, although my account may differ in some respects, the injuries to my face are real and cannot be faked. I admit my heart is narrow; enraged by the princess marring my face, I concocted this lie to punish her. I lost my head for a moment, and I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness! But as for the servant girl’s crime, I knew nothing of it. I am innocent!” Consort Jin explained in panic. Gone was her earlier confidence; she was utterly unprepared for how things had spun out of control.

“Your Majesty, please forgive me! I failed to supervise my maid properly. It is my fault—please spare Langhua.” Consort Yan abruptly fell to her knees, pleading for her maid’s life. Yet in her words, she had already pronounced Langhua’s guilt for deceiving the sovereign.

“Women are nothing but trouble.” Ji Wuqing rubbed his brow with one hand; his handsome, gentle face showed a glint of anger. “Will either of you explain?”

His gaze merely swept over the two kneeling women, but there was peril in his voice.

“Your Majesty, I truly know nothing of this matter…” Consort Yan protested, her expression aggrieved and sorrowful.

“This is hardly worthy of note, Your Majesty,” Xuexue interjected, her tone serene. “The injury to Consort Jin’s face was indeed caused by Xier, and I do not intend to conceal it. That is one reason I punished her by having her copy ‘On Womanhood.’ The second reason is that Xier skipped her lessons and went to Lotus Pavilion with Consort Jin. I thought to let her play before punishing her. Who could have predicted that such an incident would occur? I considered sending gifts to Consort Jin’s palace as an apology, but reconsidered, thinking Consort Jin a magnanimous person who dotes on Xier. Perhaps my actions would be inappropriate, so I set the matter aside. In hindsight, I should have thought it through more carefully.”

With those words, she had clarified the sequence of events, demonstrating both her impartiality and Consort Jin’s pettiness and cunning.

Anyone could fabricate a story, but facts were on her side.

Consort Jin was left speechless by this account. She could not claim it was false—it was, after all, the truth. What she had not anticipated was that the blind woman would confess everything so calmly.

Clenching her fists in secret, Consort Jin’s tear-filled eyes burned with reluctant fury.

“Xue’er, how do you wish to punish them?” Ji Wuqing asked, his gaze soft but his expression unreadable.

“I have already said, Your Majesty, I defer to your judgment,” Xuexue replied tranquilly, her composure drawing murmurs of admiration from those present.

“In that case… Deceiving your sovereign, disobeying your queen, and plotting harm against the princess. Tomorrow, the Ministry of Rites will issue a decree: Consort Jin is to be demoted five ranks; from tomorrow she shall be Lady Jin. Consort Yan, for failing to discipline her maid and for believing slander that led to false charges against the queen, is to be demoted one rank and shall be Lady Yan as a warning. As for the maid Langhua—” Ji Wuqing’s tone shifted as he turned to look at Xuexue. “Xue’er, as this is a matter of the inner palace, I leave her fate to you.”

Was he asking her to assert authority in the harem? Xuexue was slightly puzzled but answered unhurriedly, “Langhua, you plotted to harm the princess, a crime punishable by death. However, I am willing to give you a chance to redeem yourself. From this day forth, you will serve at my side. Do not fail in your duties.”

At these words, the whole assembly was thrown into confusion, and even Langhua, who had resigned herself to certain death, was startled by Xuexue’s unexpected decree.

“And why is that?” Ji Wuqing looked at her with interest, curiosity gleaming in his eyes.