Chapter 6 — The Day Chiêu Nhi Wore the Dragon Robe

When you built your joy upon my agony, when you used me as the sacrificial fowl to terrify the monkeys, the love between us perished long ago during those three harrowing, pitch-black days. I am no longer your empress, nor am I Xie Thanh Hoan. I am merely a wandering spirit who will never forgive you for eternity. News of my tragic demise ultimately leaked beyond the palace walls. I became the first empress in the entire century since the founding of the Great Chu dynasty to be tortured to death within the squalor of a hidden underground brothel. When the news reached the imperial capital, the entire realm reeled in profound shock. The military generals across the court vehemently opposed him. Though they did not raise the banners of rebellion, they unanimously stripped off their heavy armor and hung them high upon the Meridian Gate.

The Son of Heaven lacks virtue and has humiliated the descendants of his loyal subjects! We lowly ministers disdain to serve as his vassals a moment longer!

The border defenses of the entire Great Chu plunged into paralysis overnight. Meanwhile, Pei Jing had completely lost his sanity. He sealed the lifeless body of Xie Thanh Hoan within an icy coffin, placing it prominently in the central hall of the Kunning Palace. Every single day, he refused to hold court or attend to affairs of state, instead spending his sleepless nights keeping vigil by the side of the glacial coffin, clasping Xie Thanh Hoan’s frozen hand as he muttered endlessly to himself.

Qing Huan, look here, these are your most beloved peach blossoms. I had them transported from the hot spring mountain villa; how breathtakingly they bloom.

Qing Huan, Zhaoxi is weeping again today. The child called me a wicked man. Won’t you wake up and spank her in my stead?

Qing Huan… say just a single word to me…

Imperial Father.

Zhaoxi interrupted his desolate murmuring.

This child has a question she wishes to ask you.

Pei Jing froze in place. Zhaoxi stared directly into his eyes, articulating each word with chilling precision:

Three years ago, when the empress was violated by those seven eunuchs, did you truly merely instruct them to discipline her, without ever implicitly allowing them to actually lay their hands upon her?

Pei Jing’s complexion turned deathly pale in an instant.

Naturally! How could I possibly…

He abruptly sprang to his feet, sending his heavy chair crashing backward onto the stone floor with a resounding clatter.

I merely told Liu An to lead men to frighten her! I instructed Liu An that a mere pretense would suffice! How could I possibly permit others to truly defile her!

Zhaoxi refused to look at him, turning her head instead toward an aged eunuch bound tightly in the far corner. That wretched figure was none other than Liu An, the chief eunuch of the Department of Punishments. When Pei Jing laid eyes on Liu An, his pupils constricted violently.

Liu An? Were you not already imprisoned within the deepest dungeon?

Spare my life, Your Majesty! Have mercy, Your Majesty!

Liu An trembled violently from head to toe, his face stained with dried blood.

This lowly slave was merely following orders! It was the Noble Consort who issued the command! She declared that mere fright would be ineffective, that the empress would never truly feel terror, and insisted that my men and I must go all the way… She even promised to purchase a manor outside the palace walls for us once the deed was done…

Pei Jing felt as though a basin of freezing icy water had been poured directly over his head. He stood rooted to the spot, his lips trembling violently.

What did you say?

It was the Noble Consort!

Liu An wept until mucus and tears streamed uncontrollably across his face.

She claimed that once the empress was thoroughly defiled, Your Majesty would no longer favor her. Those seven eunuchs… they were personally selected by the Noble Consort herself, with orders to find the most vicious brutes available… This lowly slave deserves death; I should never have heeded her words, but she assured me she had Your Majesty backing her every step…

Pei Jing’s entire frame began to convulse violently. He suddenly seized the edge of the heavy table, bulging veins protruding fiercely across the back of his hands.

Jiang… Ying… Xue…

Those three syllables seemed to have been forced straight up from the depths of hell. Zhaoxi remained standing where she was, her countenance entirely devoid of expression.

And what of the atrocities within the brothel today.

The young princess’s voice was disturbingly calm.

Does Imperial Father truly believe those five scoundrels ceased their brutality merely because of your edict? Are you aware that after your decree was issued, the Noble Consort secretly dispatched an emissary to meet with Second Brother Wu?

Pei Jing abruptly raised his head. Zhaoxi withdrew an envelope from within her sleeve and cast it forcefully onto the table.

This was discovered upon the person of Second Brother Wu. The Noble Consort instructed him to relay a message to those five men, commanding them to torment her unto death, promising rich rewards should they succeed in murdering her.

Pei Jing trembling unfurled the letter. He could not possibly be more familiar with the handwriting scrawled across the paper; it belonged unquestionably to Jiang Ying Xue’s messy, slanted script.

Do not fear the consequences, I shall bear the blame for whatever transpires. Pei Jing is merely a weak-willed fool easily swayed; a couple of tears from me and his anger vanishes entirely. Remember, I desire Xie Thanh Hoan to die as wretchedly as possible, preferably letting the entire world know precisely how she perished within a brothel.

Tears fell in heavy, unceasing droplets from Pei Jing’s eyes onto the parchment. He was seized by a violent fit of coughing, doubling over so severely that his frame shook, until he finally heaved and vomited a mouthful of dark, black blood.

What… what have I done…

Zhaoxi gazed down at him, devoid of all sympathy, her eyes holding only a bone-chilling frost.

Imperial Father, now you know the truth. All the bitter torment the empress endured over these long years was brought entirely upon her by that vicious woman.

And you were the one who handed her the blade.

Pei Jing collapsed heavily onto the floor, resembling a corpse stripped entirely of its soul. Suddenly recalling something, he scrambled frantically back to his feet and stumbled unsteadily toward the exit.

I am going to murder her! I shall slaughter that vicious wretch with my own two hands!