Free Web NovelChapter 207: Chapter 207: A Drastic Measure, a Plea for Your Majesty’s Mercy
’Going to Anle Hall at a time like this...’
Li Yuzong asked, "Does the Holy Emperor wish to see Princess Yong?"
Emperor Wu Su said, "Bring them both over."
’Both of them?’ Li Yuzong didn’t have time to dwell on it. He instructed Little Dongzi to serve the Emperor attentively, then led his men to Anle Hall.
*
Ji Qingwu was about to change her clothes in the side room when she heard a commotion at the entrance.
The disgraced palace maids stopped their work and lined up in several rows. A few old women greeted the person entering at the front with fawning smiles.
Granny Cao smiled so widely her triangular eyes narrowed into slits.
"What lucky wind blew Eunuch Li over? You could have just sent one of your men. Why come in person?"
Li Yuzong rarely entered a place like Anle Hall. He wrinkled his nose the moment he stepped inside, finding the smell unpleasant.
"What have you been doing in this courtyard? The stench is so strong."
The smell from when Yin Xiang had spilled the chamber pot on the ground still lingered. An old woman dragged her out.
"Reporting to you, Eunuch. This new little slut doesn’t know the rules. She tried to splash someone with the night soil."
She added, "If Eunuch Li finds her an eyesore, we can just dispose of her. It’s not worth troubling you over."
Yin Xiang’s legs trembled as she begged for mercy, "Eunuch Li, I didn’t mean it!"
Li Yuzong didn’t even spare her a glance, instead surveying the surrounding rooms.
"Whether you meant it or not, handle it yourselves. Do I need to teach you the rules of the palace?"
The old woman holding Yin Xiang slapped her across the face. "When the Eunuch is speaking, what right do you have to talk!" Having never been hit while serving Tao Wanxin, the slap left Yin Xiang dizzy.
Li Yuzong walked to the steps and announced, "I have come on imperial orders. Where is Princess Yong?"
The entire Tao family was sentenced to execution. Everyone understood why someone would come for Princess Yong at a time like this. The Princess Consort would not live to see another day.
Nanny Cao followed behind him, bowing as she said, "The Princess Consort is not required to work. She’s in her room by herself."
Li Yuzong’s expression soured. "Is Princess Yong the only one there? No one else?"
Nanny Cao didn’t dare reveal she had taken a bribe to let someone in, so she said, "How could there be anyone else? Everyone from Anle Hall is right here before you, Eunuch. The Princess Consort is the only one in the room."
Just then, Yin Xiang shouted, "There’s someone else who snuck in! Eunuch Li, I saw them! I beg you, Eunuch, please spare me!"
"Let her go." Li Yuzong took a closer look and recognized her as Princess Yong’s maid.
He asked, "You’re Yin Xiang, from Princess Yong’s side?"
Seeing that Li Yuzong recognized her, Yin Xiang struggled free, lunged forward, and kowtowed on the ground.
"This servant had no choice before but to follow that criminal woman. I am clear-headed now and have no connection to her anymore."
Li Yuzong ignored her words of surrender and asked, "Who did you see come in?"
Yin Xiang said, "I saw someone sneakily follow Granny Cao into the courtyard. I don’t know what important matter they were plotting with the criminal woman in the room. I never saw them leave. Please be merciful, Eunuch, and spare my life."
Li Yuzong glanced at Nanny Cao. The old woman’s legs could barely hold her up.
"Eunuch... This servant just... just..."
Relief washed over Li Yuzong. "Well, hurry up. Invite the person out."
Nanny Cao complied. "This old servant will go right away."
The old woman knocked loudly on the door a few times.
Li Yuzong hissed angrily, "Why are you knocking so loud?"
Then, he went to the door, knocked gently a few times, and the tense expression he’d worn since entering Anle Hall melted into a smile.
"Miss Ji, are you there?"
Ji Qingwu had wanted to keep listening, hoping perhaps they weren’t there for her.
But when she heard Eunuch Li call her name, she knew the Emperor was already aware of her presence here.
’Prince Yong and Wei Ting are still kneeling out front, and now I’m mixed up in the Tao family’s affairs. If I go, I’ll definitely get a scolding.’
Ji Qingwu gently pushed the door open. The moment Li Yuzong saw her dressed in coarse, gray clothes, her hair coiled up and wrapped in a rough cloth at the back of her head, he let out a cry of dismay.
"Miss Ji, how can you wear such clothes? Please, go change into something else."
Ji Qingwu asked in a low voice, "Are Prince Yong and the others still kneeling?"
Li Yuzong nodded. "The Holy Emperor has not yet calmed down. He sent this old servant to ask you and the Princess Consort to come over."
After a moment of thought, Ji Qingwu decided it was better not to change. "We should go at once."
They walked to the entrance of the Diligent Governance Hall.
A quick glance revealed the two figures before them, both in starkly different postures.
Prince Yong was hardly kneeling anymore. He was slumped sideways, leaning against a little eunuch, a soft cushion placed under his knees.
Wei Ting, in contrast, knelt with great presence, as steady as an old monk in deep meditation.
Ji Qingwu took one look, then pressed her lips together and turned her head away.
Disregarding etiquette, she moved to the side of Li Yuzong and the other eunuchs, trying to use their bodies to hide herself.
Ji Qingwu didn’t want anyone to know she had contact with Princess Yong, and even more, she didn’t want Wei Ting to have the slightest suspicion about her relationship with the Emperor.
Tao Wanxin had already seen Prince Yong. She subconsciously turned her head away, pretending not to have noticed him.
The little eunuch had sharp eyes and spotted Tao Wanxin first. He said to Prince Yong, "Your Highness, look quickly, the Princess Consort is here!"
Zhao Minghong said, "What are you shouting about? This Prince hasn’t knelt to the point of delirium yet. It’s not time for the strong medicine."
Earlier, the two had agreed on a secret signal: when Prince Yong was about to collapse, the eunuch would shout that line. It was guaranteed to be more effective than any miracle drug.
Although Zhao Minghong’s legs were weak, his spirit was stubborn. He glanced at Wei Ting, who was kneeling beside him like a steadfast pine tree.
Words squeezed from his lips: "As long as General Wei can hold on, this Prince can keep him company."
If it weren’t for the deal he had made with Ji Qingwu to ensure the safety of his wife and child, Zhao Minghong would never have endured for so long.
The little eunuch pointed at the figure who had already walked past them, shaking Prince Yong to get his attention.
"Your Highness, look! The Princess Consort is right there!"
Hearing the little eunuch’s words, Tao Wanxin missed a step and stumbled.
Immediately after, she felt a gaze on her back, more intense than the midday sun, boring straight into her. It felt as if her very spine ached from the force of it.
Zhao Minghong instantly straightened up. Suddenly, his legs no longer ached and his feet no longer felt weak. He could kneel for another three hundred rounds.
Ji Qingwu quickly lowered her head and hurried into the hall after Eunuch Li.
Wei Ting, who had opened his eyes at some unknown moment, watched her back as she entered the hall.
After entering the hall, Ji Qingwu let out a long sigh of relief.
Li Yuzong announced, "Holy Emperor, the two from Anle Hall have been brought." With that, he retreated to wait by a Dragon Pillar.
Tao Wanxin and Ji Qingwu curtsied in unison.
Emperor Wu Su looked down at the two women in the hall. His gaze shifted to one of them, and he frowned almost imperceptibly.
Ji Qingwu kept her head down, not daring to meet the eyes of the man on the throne.
Tao Wanxin knelt again, her voice trembling violently. "I beg Your Majesty to show mercy."
On the way here, she had prepared a thousand things to say, but now, before the Emperor, she could only manage those few words.
Ji Qingwu quietly lifted her gaze.
