Draken City, Imperial Palace
"The Crown Prince still refuses to eat?" In Shou'an Hall, Cao Wan'er asked with a heavy expression.
Kneeling below, Gavin Wang trembled as he reported, "Yes, Your Majesty, the Crown Prince... the Crown Prince is in no mood to eat!"
"Fool!" Cao Wan'er slammed her hand on the table in anger, scaring Gavin Wang so badly he flung himself to the floor, looking utterly terrified.
"All this just for a woman? What does he think he's doing?" Cao Wan'er was furious at Song Zhi Jue's current state.
Seeing this, Luna hurried over to Cao Wan'er's side, fanning her and soothing, "Please calm down, Your Majesty, you just recovered!" As she spoke, she cast a worried glance at Gavin Wang kneeling on the ground. That man was hers—even though the two got together by accident after drinking too much on New Year's Eve, she was willing. After all, she was in her thirties; wanting a man isn't wrong, right?
"Enough. Leave." Cao Wan'er waved her hand impatiently.
Grateful, Gavin Wang nodded at Luna, then quickly fled this landmine of a place.
"Please don't be angry, Your Majesty, your health is what matters." With that, Luna hurriedly brought her a cup of tea.
"How can I not be angry? It's obvious he's been bewitched by that witch! And Jue-er still doesn't realize it—he's still hung up on her!" Cao Wan'er took the tea, sipped it, then set it aside. When she first heard the news that the woman had been kidnapped and was to be killed, she was thrilled—finally, someone was going to get rid of that witch for her.
But what she didn't expect was that the woman wasn't killed—she just vanished, leaving Jue-er pining for her even more.
Looking at her son's lovesick state, and recalling everything that happened before, she quickly realized this had to be a scheme. But what exactly was this person after? She had no idea.
Power, status, money—if that's really it, then why leave right when the Crown Prince started to fancy her?
Could it be she just wanted Jue-er to be lovesick and miserable?!
No, that can't be it. She was sure things weren't that simple!
If that's the case, then what exactly was she missing here?
Just then, a palace maid rushed in and bowed. "Your Majesty the Empress, Aunt Silver requests an audience."
"Huh? She's back? Let her in." Cao Wan'er had just been about to go looking for her, but here she was already.
A few seconds later, Silver Consort hurried in, dust still on her clothes, and knelt before the throne. "Silver Consort greets Your Majesty the Empress."
"Enough, you may rise."
Hearing this, Silver Consort quickly stood up and anxiously asked, "Your Majesty the Empress, I heard there was a fire in the Eastern Palace from outside Draken City. I'm so worried about the Crown Princess..." She trailed off, not daring to say more.
"She's dead," Cao Wan'er said flatly, with zero sympathy.
"What? Dead... she's dead?" She'd heard the rumors outside, but couldn't believe it. Was it really true? Wasn't she fine just the other day?!
Seeing this, Cao Wan'er said coldly, "I know you liked that daughter-in-law—so obedient and sensible, right? Honestly, I thought she was pretty good too. These past few years, she never caused me any trouble. Too bad she's dead. Do you know why? Because good people never live long!" Cao Wan'er sneered. Her point: only the truly wicked live to a ripe old age, because if you're bad enough, even the gods don't dare come for you!
"How could this happen? She was fine just the other day." Silver Consort couldn't accept it. After all these years in the palace, she'd seen countless women serve her son, but the only one she ever approved of was Yvonne Song—the gentle, polite Crown Princess. But now...
"No buts. Imperial Doctor Fu already examined the bodies—it's definitely her, her maid, and some palace girls." Cao Wan'er said. Honestly, she hadn't believed it at first. How could there suddenly be a fire in the palace, and in the Crown Princess's quarters, no less? But Imperial Doctor Fu is the only one who can confirm identities, and his skills are famous throughout the palace.
Faced with several charred, unrecognizable corpses, Imperial Doctor Fu examined them for a long time before confirming one was the Crown Princess.
Though she still had doubts, she thought about it—Yvonne Song had been in Soaring Phoenix for years and barely interacted with anyone except her maid. She shouldn't have known many people. But Luna once mentioned the Crown Princess's maid, Ruby, had a heated argument with that witch.
So, thinking it all over, she understood: that witch must have had more than one helper in the palace. The only way to escape was to burn down a key person's quarters. With fifteen thousand people in the Crown Prince's palace, she couldn't pull it off there, nor here. The only weak spot was Yvonne Song's residence.
The chaos from burning the Crown Princess's quarters was unimaginable. That witch was ruthless—she actually had someone set fire to the Crown Princess's palace just to get her way!
Such nerve!
But what no one expected was that the move which convinced Cao Wan'er so thoroughly wasn't made by Ivy Shen—it was by someone else: Lucian Vane.
On that day, Ivy Shen asked for the Crown Princess's palace to be set on fire and had a few maids killed to serve as decoys. But Lucian Vane knew Cao Wan'er was suspicious by nature and would do everything possible to confirm whether the body was really the Crown Princess. The only person who could help was Imperial Doctor Fu, since everyone in Draken City knows he's the one who can identify corpses.
So Lucian found Imperial Doctor Fu in the palace and asked for his help. Imperial Doctor Fu was an honest man, always repaying kindness. Over the years, the Crown Princess had left a wonderful impression on him—polite, kind, never arrogant despite her status, always humble.
Plus, all these years he'd seen Ruby come for medicine with strange prescriptions—treating internal bleeding, and she often asked for trauma salves. It was odd. Sometimes he'd see the Crown Princess walking around the palace, pale as a ghost. He wanted to check her pulse, but she always said she was fine. He'd always felt something was wrong.
Now, when his benefactor told him they were taking the Crown Princess out of the palace, even if he was slow, he realized that's why Lucian Vane had come to the palace!
So that was it—Lucian Vane had come for the Crown Princess. They must've been childhood sweethearts!
How could he possibly refuse?!
"Enough with that face. It's sweltering out—I've already had the Crown Princess buried with full honors. That's generous enough, isn't it?" Cao Wan'er said lightly.
"How will we explain this to Chu Kingdom?" Silver Consort asked worriedly. After all, the deceased wasn't just anyone!
"What else can we say? Just tell them she died in the fire. Even if Chu Kingdom suspects something, do you think they'd dare attack us?" Cao Wan'er sneered. Even if they had doubts, they'd have to swallow them—what, are they planning a rebellion?!
Hearing this, Silver Consort, though grieving inside, showed nothing. She knew as a cold-blooded assassin she shouldn't have so many feelings, but she couldn't help it. She was still a person—a mother. She'd watched her son get married, seen her daughter-in-law's kindness, and hoped to see them have children. But now... none of it would ever come true.
"By the way, how did your investigation in Ruiland City go?" Cao Wan'er asked, eager for news. She wanted to know who was trying to kill her!
"Silver Consort rushed to Ruiland City and investigated openly and in secret. She did hear the townsfolk mention a mysterious stranger—a figure dressed in black, wearing a bamboo hat, carrying a fortune-teller's banner, and chanting... chanting..." Silver Consort suddenly stopped, uncertain if she should go on.
"What was it?" Seeing Silver Consort hesitate, Cao Wan'er frowned and pressed her.
"Every debt has its master, every grievance its source. Summon the souls, plead injustice. Eastern Palace ascendant, let no ghosts pass!"
"Outrageous!" On hearing this, Cao Wan'er flew into a rage, slamming her long nails on the chair so hard they snapped in two.
Seeing this, Luna hurriedly knelt, and Silver Consort knelt in fright as well. "Please calm your anger, Your Majesty... please, Your Majesty..."
At this moment, Cao Wan'er's eyes were sharp as daggers, her fingers digging into the bench until it creaked. Others couldn't understand the curse's meaning, but she heard it clearly: 'Eastern Palace ascendant, let no ghosts pass.' Wasn't that saying only she, the Empress, ruled the Eastern Palace? And 'let no ghosts pass'—wasn't that cursing her to be dragged to hell by a hundred ghosts?!
*****
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