Chapter 132: Old Acquaintance
No weapons were allowed in the grand hall. Even Prince Wei had no suitable weapon at hand to deal with Pan Xi.
But he had strength.
He strode forward, seized Pan Xi’s hair, and forced her head to tilt upward. Before she could react, he was about to slam her heavily onto the ground.
Yet, in the midst of his swift movement, he suddenly froze, feeling a chill against his neck. Instinctively, he halted his action.
The surrounding crowd was also startled by this sudden turn of events, shrinking back in alarm.
Prince Wei held Pan Xi’s hair with one hand, but a sharp sword now pressed against his neck. Behind him stood an imperial guard who had entered the hall unnoticed, arriving silently and restraining Prince Wei’s actions before anyone could clearly see what had happened.
Chu Mingheng’s voice was cold, his gaze sharp as icy arrows directed at Prince Wei.
He said, “Prince Wei, you intended to assassinate in the Imperial Presence.”
His tone was not one of questioning but a statement of fact.
A chill ran down Prince Wei’s spine, and he quickly released his grip.
Even though he let go, the blade at his neck did not move away from his skin. It remained cold against his throat, as if the slightest movement would cut through it.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please forgive me—I would never dare harbor such rebellious intentions!” Prince Wei anxiously defended himself, not daring to raise his voice for fear that the slightest movement of his throat would pierce his skin. He dared not look at Chu Mingheng. “It’s just—just that I heard her nonsense… I was momentarily enraged. She was spouting lies! She must be deliberately slandering me, Your Majesty!”
In the hall, the charcoal fire burned, occasionally emitting soft crackling sounds.
No one dared to speak at this moment.
If Your Majesty determined that Prince Wei’s actions constituted an assassination attempt, no one’s words would matter. Everyone understood this well.
“Nonsense, slander,” Chu Mingheng asked him. “Since you already know that what she mentioned is an old matter from years ago, how is it that you remember it so clearly?”
“The Late Emperor once said that you, Fifth Brother, were not cut out for scholarly pursuits and had a poor memory.”
“It seems the Late Emperor misjudged. You, Fifth Brother, do not have a poor memory—you are the best at holding grudges.” Chu Mingheng curled his lips and signaled for the sword to be withdrawn.
Once released, Pan Xi hurriedly moved to kneel on the other side, far from Prince Wei, though her eyes still burned with resentment.
“Your Majesty, please see the truth! I have absolutely no rebellious intentions—!”
“It’s the Lin family, Your Majesty!” Prince Wei knelt forward two steps, his voice urgent. “It was the Lin family who intended to assassinate Your Majesty. Although I married a woman from the Lin family, I—I have no disloyal intentions—Your Majesty, please see the truth!”
At these words, Princess Consort Wei, Lady Lin, was the first to burst into tears. Trembling, she knelt and repeatedly kowtowed to the throne, weakly refuting, “…Your Majesty, please forgive us. The Lin family… the Lin family is not the true culprit behind the assassination attempt… It was… it was…”
Prince Wei turned his head and stared at Lady Lin from a few steps away, silencing her from saying anything more.
The imperial concubines dared not look up to observe the scene closely, while the other members of the imperial family remained silent. By now, they all understood—this was not a family banquet but a feast set with hidden dangers.
Earlier, the Lin family had been imprisoned, but Your Majesty had not yet dealt with them. Today, the dancer’s plea for justice had implicated Prince Wei.
What major secret had Prince Wei concealed that could make him so panicked, even to the point of losing his composure, resorting to murder in Taiqing Palace, right before the Emperor?
“Speaking of the Lin family, earlier I found an old servant of the Lin family. Perhaps Princess Consort Wei might even recognize them.”
As Chu Mingheng spoke, the sound of chains echoed from outside the hall.
Immediately after, a woman covered in blood, yet deliberately tidied up, was escorted into the hall.
When Zhu Qing was brought into the hall, Princess Yizhen beside Lan Wu visibly stiffened. She then took several sips of wine to forcibly suppress the panic in her heart—so Zhu Qing was Fifth Brother’s person. Fortunately, she was innocent; she knew nothing.
Prince Wei looked at Zhu Qing, his expression as if he truly did not recognize her.
Chen Kangan, standing beside Chu Mingheng, spoke up, asking slowly, “Princess Consort Wei, take a look. Have you ever seen this person?”
Princess Consort Wei wiped her tears and raised her head. Seeing Zhu Qing with her mouth gagged, she shook her head in confusion and said, “I have never seen her.”
Chen Kangan continued, “Please look more carefully. If you do not recognize her, perhaps the maidservant by your side… has seen her before.”
Princess Consort Wei abruptly turned her head to look at her maidservant.
The maidservant trembled as she lifted her head, glanced at Zhu Qing’s appearance, and seemed frightened, stammering as she spoke, “R-replying to the… the eunuch’s words… this servant once accompanied the Princess Consort to Huguang Temple to burn incense and saw… saw her speaking with a maidservant from the Prince’s residence.”
“That maidservant was… was His Highness’s personal attendant. But this servant did not hear what they were discussing—”
As she spoke, she hurriedly kowtowed to show she was not speaking nonsense.
Chen Kangan understood and looked at Prince Wei, whose face was ashen yet deliberately composed, continuing, “Does Your Highness know that this servant is named Zi Ming? She originally served two Empress Dowagers in the palace but was later punished and sent to Wanshu Pavilion. After leaving the palace, she changed her name to Zhu Qing.”
“Before entering the palace, she was Consort Hui’s personal maidservant.”
“What does the eunuch mean by this? Am I supposed to know every maidservant who served my mother?” Prince Wei sneered coldly, looking at Zhu Qing. “I heard that Princess Yizhen’s residence had a servant skilled in making incense, so I specifically sent my personal attendant to inquire, all to prepare a birthday gift for the Princess Consort.”
Chen Kangan bowed and replied, “If Your Highness says so, this servant cannot deny it.”
“However, this palace maid named Zhu Qing has already confessed that she administered a stupefying incense on the day of the Kunning Palace fire, causing the two Empress Dowagers to perish in the flames. Afterward, she hid in Wanshu Pavilion until one day, Zhu Qing sought you out.”
“She said that you are not Consort Hui’s biological son.”
“You are the son of the deceased Wen Shi.”
The hall fell into a deathly silence, with even breaths deliberately controlled, afraid of drawing attention or disturbing something.
Lan Wu saw Prince Wei’s face contort fiercely for a moment. His anger was completely unrestrained as he furiously interrupted, “You vile eunuch! How dare you pin such baseless accusations on me, placing me in a position of filial impiety and moral disgrace—”
“Your Majesty! No matter how much you dislike me, I am still the Late Emperor’s son! I am of Father Emperor’s bloodline!”
“How can you allow these people to slander me like this—Wen Shi was nothing but a lowly woman! I have absolutely no connection to her!”
Beside them, Zhu Qing appeared particularly agitated, not only stirred by Chen Kangan’s words but also by Prince Wei’s statements and rebuttals. However, held down and gagged, she could not utter a single word. She could only glare furiously, struggling as muffled roars escaped her lips, a mix of shock and rage.
Upon hearing this, Pan Xi suddenly burst into tears. Though she had long known her sister’s death was due to accidentally overhearing something, the truth had remained unclear. What she had said earlier in the hall was merely a desperate gamble to make Prince Wei reveal his guilt. If Prince Wei killed her, Your Majesty would surely uncover the hidden truth behind the matter. By then, even if she died, Prince Wei would not escape unscathed.
Both she and her sister could finally rest in peace.