At this hour, the Emperor should have been in the Diligent Governance Hall, granting audiences to his officials and reviewing memorials. His deliberate visit meant he had obviously heard about the prince falling into the water.
Ordinarily, they all should have moved to the main hall to discuss the matter.
But it was clear to everyone that the Emperor, sitting in the seat of honor, was in a terrible mood. No one dared suggest they move.
The Empress Dowager sat beside the Emperor.
Her face was etched with worry. "How could Yuan Heng have simply fallen into the water? Is someone trying to assassinate the imperial heir? This must be investigated with the utmost care!"
"Mother is right. It must be investigated thoroughly," Emperor Wu Su said, his tone flat.
But the iciness in his eyes looked as if it could pierce through everyone present.
"Li Yuzong, bring in the palace attendants who were watching the prince."
A moment later, more than a dozen palace maids, eunuchs, and senior serving women were brought to the hall's entrance.
Chief Li bowed his head and walked to a spot just below the Emperor. "Your Majesty," he said respectfully, "they have all been brought here."
Emperor Wu Su, Zhao Mingyan, swept his gaze over the kneeling figures.
"The prince fell into the water with no one by his side."
His tone wasn't harsh, nor his expression severe, but his words were inexplicably terrifying.
The Holy Emperor had only spoken a single sentence, but one of the more faint-hearted eunuchs was already trembling so hard he'd wet his trousers.
Li Yuzong shot his subordinates a look, signaling for them to quickly drag the man away before the sight could offend the Emperor's eyes.
It was no wonder the man couldn't handle the pressure. The new Emperor had conquered his way to the throne from the battlefield; his path was paved with a mountain of bones.
In recent years, his image as a diligent and benevolent ruler had become deeply entrenched in the public's mind. Coupled with his divinely handsome and peerless face, most had forgotten he was capable of such an expression.
He hadn't revealed this terrifying side of himself in a long, long time.
An aura of pure killing intent instantly filled the entire hall.
Behind the screen, Ji Qingwu shivered and wrapped her arms tightly around herself.
She couldn't see the Beili Emperor's expression, but she could feel the murderous atmosphere in the room. That, combined with her still-damp underclothes, made goosebumps break out all over her skin.
'Attending to a ruler is like living with a tiger.' The old saying was no exaggeration.
The Empress Dowager remained outwardly composed. "Your Majesty, these palace attendants have failed in their duty and must be punished. However, Yuan Heng is being raised under Princess Consort Wei's care. With the prince in such peril, why has his own mother not yet appeared?"
Princess Consort Wei had received the news late and was on her way.
Seeing the Emperor showed no sign of blaming Princess Consort Wei, the Empress Dowager frowned and continued, "When Yuan Heng was carried back to Cining Palace, he was covered in filth and shivering in the wind. His little face was deathly pale. My heart ached just looking at him."
Yuan Heng sat quietly to one side.
The Emperor looked at him, his voice devoid of comfort, instead carrying a tone of interrogation.
"Yuan Heng, why did you fall in the water?"
In the three years since Emperor Wu Su's ascension, none of the concubines in the harem had borne children. He had only this single prince.
The Emperor, however, did not spoil him and was never lenient when it came to punishment. As a result, Yuan Heng had not grown up to be arrogant or willful.
The four-year-old child spoke with perfect clarity. "Reporting to you, Father Emperor. After my lessons, I was passing Taiye Pool when I heard a puppy whimpering in the bushes. I sent Xiao Quanzi to have a look, and then I accidentally fell into the water from the bank."
Emperor Wu Su nodded, his gaze turning cold. "Where is this Xiao Quanzi?"
Before anyone could answer, a woman's melodious voice drifted in from the doorway.
"Your Majesty, I have found Xiao Quanzi's body."
Princess Consort Wei entered, flanked by two maids. She wore a palace gown of misty blue gauze adorned with scattered flowers and a golden hairpin in her hair.
"I greet Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager."
Princess Consort Wei curtsied. With her bright eyes and pearly teeth, her captivating glances as she spoke marked her as a rare and dazzling beauty. She was truly worthy of her title as the Emperor's favored concubine.
After receiving the Emperor's permission, she walked over to the little prince.
"Yuan Heng," she said softly, "Mother is late."
The Empress Dowager's temper flared at the sight. "Princess Consort Wei," she snapped, "so you've kept this Dowager and the Emperor waiting all this time because you were off playing Judge and investigating the case?"
It wasn't only men who vied for authority; the women of the harem fought tooth and nail for control of the Six Palaces.
The Empress Dowager had never been an Empress herself; she owed her current esteemed position to her stepson. Having tasted power, she was unwilling to relinquish it. Watching Wei Liru rise from a Noble Lady to a high-ranking concubine, with the Empress's throne seemingly within reach, how could she not be wary?
The discord between Princess Consort Wei and the Empress Dowager was an open secret in the palace.
Wei Liru feigned surprise. "Empress Dowager, you jest. I was overcome with worry for the Young Master's safety. As I was passing Taiye Pool on my way here, I simply had my people search the area."
'Simply?'
The Empress Dowager sneered inwardly. 'More like she went to find a way to get herself out of this mess.'
With an incident befalling the Emperor's only son, she, his mother, would be the first to be blamed.
Emperor Wu Su's expression didn't change; he paid no heed to the women's sparring.
"Speak. What did you find?"
"Besides Xiao Quanzi's body, I made an even greater discovery." Princess Consort Wei looked at the Emperor, feigning hesitation. "Your Majesty, the steps by the pool are covered in moss."
Prince Yong thought she was making a mountain out of a molehill and sneered, "We've had a great deal of rain this year. It's perfectly normal for some moss and algae to grow by the pool. Don't tell me Princess Consort Wei has never seen moss before?"
Princess Consort Wei ignored Prince Yong's derisive comment, her glistening eyes fixed on Emperor Wu Su.
"However, my maid, Bita, happens to be from Chaonan, and she recognized this species of moss. It only grows in her hometown. For moss from Chaonan to suddenly appear in the Imperial Palace right when Yuan Heng 'accidentally' slips into the pool... it forces one to think."
The implication was clear: the moss was the key, and the prince had been deliberately harmed.
For Princess Consort Wei to dare reveal this in public, she was surely not the mastermind. Now that the clue had been presented, any failure to find the culprit would fall on the Imperial Household.
Chief Eunuch Li Yuzong immediately bowed, backed out of the hall, and set about the investigation.
The Empress Dowager's gaze darkened. 'That clever Princess Consort Wei,' she thought. 'Investigating the cause of the prince's fall first can be seen as a way to atone for her negligence.'
But the Empress Dowager wasn't about to let the matter drop. "Your Majesty, no matter the cause, Yuan Heng almost died. The Beili Royal Family has only this single heir. This affair cannot be treated leniently. Anyone involved must be punished severely."
Emperor Wu Su asked, "And what punishment does Mother think is appropriate?"
"The palace attendants who served the prince should have their salaries suspended for a year and receive twenty strokes of the cane. As for Princess Consort Wei, she is in charge of the prince's upbringing. Given that he almost met with disaster, her care has clearly not been attentive enough. She should be placed in confinement for three months. Also, perhaps we should consider moving Yuan Heng to a more suitable residence?"
As the one in charge of the harem's affairs, proposing such punishments was well within the Empress Dowager's authority.
But a smile touched the corners of the Emperor's lips.
"Mother, which palace did you have in mind as being more suitable for Yuan Heng?"
The Empress Dowager's eyes darted about. She couldn't just outright demand that the prince be moved to her care.
She took a more roundabout approach. "That is a matter for careful deliberation. But he certainly cannot remain in Guanju Palace. I heard someone rescued Yuan Heng. Who was it? I must reward them handsomely."
Shixi stepped forward with delicate steps. "It was the Ji Mansion's Fifth Missy, who came to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager today. She disregarded her own safety and jumped into the pool to pull the Young Master out."
Zhao Yuanheng's ears perked up. 'So the woman who saved me is from the Ji Family, just like the Empress Dowager.'
He didn't care which concubine's palace he would be moved to. What he cared about more was finding out that woman's name.
The Emperor said with a faint, unreadable smile, "The Empress Dowager's own niece. Such a coincidence."
The Empress Dowager feigned surprise, as if hearing this for the first time. "So Fifth Missy is such a kind and courageous child. Where is Qingwu?"
Ji Qingwu, from behind the screen: ...
'I'm right here.'