Chapter 349

Chapter 349 Fang Yuan'er's overly dark gaze fixed on Xie Run as her words rang out with force. "With your intelligence, when you saw her repeatedly causing trouble for me back then, didn't you ever harbor a shred of suspicion?" Having known each other for so long, this was the first time Xie Run had received a compliment from Fang Yuan'er. However, she was in no mood to smile right now. Fang Yuan'er didn't actually care about Xie Run's reaction. She continued on her own: "I suspected she was Wan Linlang, who had died, changed her face, and come back to keep opposing me." "Wan Linlang is allergic to peanuts and never ate them in the past. So I had peanut powder ground into dust and put into her meals, but she still discovered it." "That time you saw us arguing in the Imperial Garden and I was punished to kneel—it was because I deliberately bumped into her and scattered the peanut powder on her clothes, wanting to test whether she was allergic to it." Xie Run said nothing. She thought of how Fang Yuan'er and Consort Li had later walked together by the Imperial Lake, gotten into an argument, and then someone shouted about a snake, after which both of them fell into the water. The peanut powder test must have failed, which was why Fang Yuan'er had staged that later incident. Fang Yuan'er looked quietly at Xie Run: "You've guessed it too? When you warned me with those words during the third fall into the water, I knew you also had your suspicions." Xie Run remained silent, simply listening as Fang Yuan'er spoke. Fang Yuan'er: "It was during that fall into the water that I confirmed she was Wan Linlang!" When she said this, Fang Yuan'er was very calm, without a trace of the smugness or hatred one might expect upon discovering an enemy's true identity. "Do you know what I found out?!" "Consort Li actually knows how to swim!" Fang Yuan'er curled her lips in mockery. "The Luosha Kingdom sits at the edge of the desert. How could a princess who lived deep in the palace possibly know how to swim?!" "A person's instincts when facing death cannot be faked!" Fang Yuan'er having someone release snakes to frighten people was nothing more than a smokescreen. What she truly wanted to test was whether Consort Li could swim. A princess raised in the Luosha Kingdom could never have learned to swim. Just as a fisherwoman living by the sea could never know how to survive in the desert. Fang Yuan'er's voice grew heavier. "Consort Li couldn't possibly know how to swim, but Wan Linlang could!" So from that moment on, Fang Yuan'er confirmed that Consort Li was Wan Linlang. Xie Run sorted through her thoughts before asking, "So the poison at the banquet—was it you who administered it?" If Fang Yuan'er had confirmed Consort Li's identity, with old grudges and new grievances piling up together, it wasn't impossible that she would seize the opportunity for revenge. The smile on Fang Yuan'er's face stiffened, and her gaze at Xie Run was extremely complicated. Guards still stood watch in the Imperial Prison. Fang Yuan'er knew that everything she said to Xie Run today would reach the Emperor's ears. She let out a silent, bitter laugh. "Yes, it was me." Xie Run frowned, feeling that Fang Yuan'er's state of mind was off. Saying this now had the air of someone who had given up all hope. Fang Yuan'er: "I do want Wan Linlang dead, but I'm not stupid enough to leave such an obvious trail as Qiu Wu." "Someone wants me dead." Fang Yuan'er stared at Xie Run, asking word by word: "Consort Zhaode, who do you think wants me dead?" For a single moment, Xie Run almost forgot how to breathe. Her mind seemed frozen, yet it remained perfectly rational and clear. Who wanted Fang Yuan'er dead? Naturally, it was the one who, without a second word, had condemned Fang Yuan'er with a single sentence and sent her to the Imperial Prison! Xie Run's voice was exceptionally gentle compared to the gloom of the Imperial Prison. "You want me to save you, but I don't have that ability." "You poisoned an imperial consort in public. Even during the Retired Emperor's era, when consorts competed fiercely for favor, no one dared such a brazen act." "Never mind me—even the Emperor and Empress cannot protect you." Fang Yuan'er's dark gaze rested on her. She spoke no words of pleading, only said: "With me here, Wan Linlang's reach is confined to Chonghua Palace." "Without me, which of you could possibly be her match?" "Do you truly think you can hide in Zhaohua Palace and live out your days in triumph?" Fang Yuan'er got carried away and let something slip. "The Emperor holds another beloved in his heart. When she appears, even the Empress's position would be yielded to her." "By then, you'll hold the highest rank with a healthy prince—how could your fate possibly be good?!" "The path you walk now is merely the same road we've already traveled." The more Fang Yuan'er spoke, the heavier her heart sank. She suddenly let out a soft laugh: "When the cunning hare dies, the hunting dogs are boiled. The Emperor is truly cold-hearted." Xie Run said slowly, "Imperial Concubine Gong, what are you saying?" "Speaking so recklessly... do you truly have no regard for your life?!" Xie Run seemed frightened by Fang Yuan'er's words, her eyes widening as she stared at her for a moment before turning and lifting her skirts to leave. Cursing the Emperor in the Imperial Prison—Fang Yuan'er truly didn't want to live. Xie Run left in haste. Once she exited the Imperial Prison, she instinctively looked up, and the daylight overhead forced her to shut her eyes. She raised a hand to wipe her face and was surprised to find a tear at the corner of her eye. Xie Run smiled, casually wiped it away, and returned to Zhaohua Palace with Xiaoshu. Arriving at Zhaohua Palace, Xie Run sent someone out to inquire about news from the front lines. Chunjuan was the first to return with news. "Your Highness, I heard that one of General Hua's capable men developed a fire weapon, and when used in battle, it was invincible—unconquerable and undefeatable." "Our Yu Dynasty has already won several consecutive battles and seized three cities from the Xia Dynasty!" Chunjuan was a palace attendant of the Yu Dynasty, and upon receiving this news, her blood boiled with excitement. Xie Run, however, smiled with some difficulty. A fire weapon?! The moment she heard that term, Xie Run thought of gunpowder. Upon further inquiry, Xie Run confirmed she was right. Fang Yuan'er had actually given the Emperor a gunpowder formula! When exactly did this happen? Xie Run tried to recall, and suddenly remembered when Fang Yuan'er and Hua Yu were competing over palaces. The Emperor had granted Fang Yuan'er's wish, allowing her to reside in Chonghua Palace and manage it alone. Xie Run had been puzzled at the time, thinking Fang Yuan'er had secretly secured some benefit for the Emperor again. Who knew she had actually presented the gunpowder formula! Xie Run's heart raced, as if it might leap out of her chest. She then thought of Fang Yuan'er's words: "When the cunning hare is dead, the running hound is boiled." When something as devastatingly powerful as gunpowder appeared, Fang Yuan'er was actually not far from death. Xie Run slowly closed her eyes, digesting the news she had received one after another today. Imperial Prison— No sooner had Xie Run left than the Emperor arrived with his men. Fang Yuan'er heard the footsteps and thought Xie Run had changed her mind and come back to see her. Turning her head to see that bright yellow dragon robe, a thousand thoughts flashed through her mind like lightning, ultimately condensing into a single cold, contemptuous smile. "Has the Emperor come to grant me a whole corpse?" Having likely prepared herself for death, Fang Yuan'er spoke with unusual audacity. The Emperor: "I will not kill you." Fang Yuan'er suddenly burst into laughter—wild, almost manic laughter, tears abruptly welling in her eyes. In a daze, countless images flashed through her mind. It seemed that in this very dungeon, there had once been a woman who looked exactly like her, laughing maniacally with helplessness and despair. In the end, she was finished off by a cup of poisoned wine. Fang Yuan'er laughed and laughed, but suddenly she couldn't laugh anymore. Her face was filled only with stunned bewilderment and terror. That person was the Fang Yuan'er of her previous life. Having lived two lifetimes, even her soul had been replaced, yet she still ended up with the same fate. Fang Yuan'er was so shocked she momentarily lost her voice. The Emperor did not know what she was thinking. He merely stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his brows low and expression restrained. After who knew how long, Fang Yuan'er finally raised her eyes to look at the Emperor with complexity. "The Emperor is truly cold and heartless to the extreme." "I never told Qiu Wu to administer poison, but she did it anyway, and used her own death to seal my guilt." "Qiu Wu was sent from Chuxiu Palace, personally handled by Her Majesty the Empress. I'm curious—whose person is she really?" At the Empress's birthday banquet, the Emperor had sent Fang Yuan'er to the Imperial Prison with a single sentence. In that instant, she had guessed that Qiu Wu was the Emperor's person—bought by him to ensure her death! Fang Yuan'er had indeed planned to scheme against Consort Li, but she intended to do it through other means—poisoning her food in a way that would leave no obvious trace. Nor was she vicious enough to use Cinnabar-top Red to directly take Consort Li's life. But Qiu Wu betrayed her, directly saddling her with the crime of poisoning a harem consort, leaving her with only one path—death. Fang Yuan'er's eyes as she looked at the Emperor held resentment, disgust, and unwillingness—but not a trace of love. The Emperor could see it clearly: from beginning to end, all Fang Yuan'er wanted was power. Even her bids for favor were merely schemes for higher rank and greater power. How could he keep such a woman by his side to serve him? The Emperor looked down at Fang Yuan'er from above. "I have given you many chances. It was your insatiable greed and endless misdeeds that led you step by step into a dead end." "My harem has no place for you." Fang Yuan'er: "Those are nothing but excuses. Once you've used someone up, you silence them. Spouting all that high-sounding nonsense—aren't you disgusted with yourself?" The Emperor's gaze was deep. "Do you truly think I know nothing of what you've done all these years?" Fang Yuan'er's expression did not waver in the slightest. Instead, she laughed. "What have I done that wasn't indulged by Your Majesty?" "Everyone knows very well why Your Majesty indulged me, don't they?" If the Emperor hadn't seen her as useful, why would he have given her a high rank and his favor? How dare he lecture her on her faults?! The Emperor's expression darkened slightly, and he let out a cold scoff. He said calmly, "You have indeed done much for the Great Yu Dynasty. But you have recklessly stirred up storms in my harem, repeatedly attempting to harm Xie and my offspring—whether by poison or by falling tiles, I have noted every single one." With her past deeds laid bare, Fang Yuan'er showed no urgency to explain. Instead, she mocked, "The Emperor is truly hypocritical!" "You doted on Xie Run with all your heart, making her a target for everyone—you knew she would invite jealousy." "If you truly doted on her, why didn't you speak up when I was scheming against her? Why wait until today to settle accounts, as if to show how much you value her?" Fang Yuan'er sneered. "She was plotted against time and again, placed in danger, yet never once spoke of revenge. I suppose Your Majesty must have coaxed her with plenty of sweet words, haven't you?" "Stupid women are just that simple—a few words from you and they forget who was trying to harm them, remaining utterly devoted to you." The more Fang Yuan'er spoke, the more she wanted to laugh. The two of them were like lovers who had torn off all pretense, each doing their utmost to blame the other's faults, trying to strike the other's most painful spot. The Emperor's face was dark as water, his sharp gaze resting silently on Fang Yuan'er. Only when Fang Yuan'er's laughter faded into numbness and gradually quieted did he speak softly: "You blame me for being cold-hearted, but that is only because you are too vicious." "Other matters, perhaps, could be forgiven for your merits." "But as for the incident with the dragon-and-phoenix twins suffocating from charcoal fumes—I cannot keep you alive." Fang Yuan'er suddenly raised her head, eyes wide, staring at the Emperor. Like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, it struck directly above Fang Yuan'er's head. The Emperor only gave Fang Yuan'er one deep look before turning and leaving with his attendants. Fang Yuan'er lay sprawled on the ground, utterly bewildered. How... how did the Emperor know about that?! At the time, Concubine An's courtyard had been in complete chaos. She had covered her tracks thoroughly—almost no one knew. Later, of the twins, one died and one was injured. Such severe consequences, yet no one had proposed a deeper investigation, merely assuming the maidservants had been negligent in their care. If the Emperor hadn't spoken of it, even Fang Yuan'er herself had nearly forgotten the matter. So it turned out the Emperor had known all along. He had simply endured silently, nailing her into a death cell one crime at a time. Fang Yuan'er lay on the ground, suddenly recalling the Fang Yuan'er from the original script. Until her death, the script's Fang Yuan'er had believed she had merely lost to the Emperor's White Moonlight—one failed move leading to total defeat. Now that she thought of it, perhaps it was because she had committed many evils along the way in her climb to power, trampling the Emperor's bottom line, that he had settled the accounts all at once. The so-called White Moonlight was merely an excuse for the loser to refuse acknowledging her own defeat. No matter how many women circled within the harem, the one who ultimately decided their life and death was always the Emperor alone. Fang Yuan'er lay on the ground, laughing bitterly, as if mocking her own pitiful and tragic state. And to think she had believed she still had a chance at survival—secretly seeking Consort Li's cooperation before the poisoning, staging that performance at the birthday banquet. It seemed they had underestimated the Emperor after all. She wondered what the Emperor would send her shortly—poisoned wine, a dagger, or a white silk cord? ... Within Chonghua Palace, Consort Li had taken her medicine and refused to see the concubines who came to visit. She dismissed the palace maids, keeping only her trusted aide Miaomiao by her side. Miaomiao helped Consort Li lie down. After barely any movement, a layer of pallor spread across Consort Li's lips. Miaomiao spoke softly: "Your Ladyship, His Majesty only asked you to put on an act—why did you have to drink that poison?" Consort Li let out a light laugh. Because a mask was affixed to her face, the smile was very faint, carrying a hint of incongruity. "If Ben Gong hadn't truly been poisoned, how could the Emperor have severely punished Fang Yuan'er?" Consort Li paused for a moment before continuing: "Besides, that Cinnabar-top Red was colorless and odorless—I truly didn't detect it. By the time it entered my mouth and I wanted to spit it out, it was already too late." Miaomiao tucked the blanket around Consort Li, gently reassuring her: "Your Ladyship is utterly loyal to His Majesty—he will certainly not disappoint your expectations." Consort Li said: "Ben Gong dares not hope for too much. As long as I can stay by the Emperor's side forever, even as a servant or slave, I would do so willingly." After dismissing Miaomiao, the smile on Consort Li's face slowly faded. She got out of bed, sat before the dressing table, and raised a hand to gently caress her own cheek. Feeling a slight protrusion, she wanted to tear off this unfamiliar face with force, but ultimately restrained herself. Only a surge of terror rose within her heart.