Chapter 9 — The Secret the Empress Dowager Concealed

I spoke with absolute seriousness, "My surname is Xie, I am a woman, and I have just dragged my life back from the execution grounds. I do not even know who I truly am."

"Which throne am I supposedly attempting to usurp?"

If Xie Wencheng were here, he could surely compose three separate essays condemning how absurd these accusations were. The assassin gritted his teeth in silence.

"The former Empress’s old guard will support you," he rasped.

I pressed him further, "Why would the former Empress’s old guard support someone like me?"

The assassin suddenly fell mute. I shuffled half a step forward on my knees. "Is it because I resemble her?"

The assassin’s eyelids twitched violently. Every person in the grand hall turned their gaze toward me. Xiao Zhi watched me, too. I locked my eyes onto the assassin. "The assassin in the Celestial Prison said before he died that I look exactly like her. All of you keep saying I look like her. Tell me, who is she?"

The assassin’s lips parted, trembling. "The for—"

Before the word could escape, a faint, piercing whistle cut through the air. Xiao Zhi whipped around, a short blade launching from his sleeve.

"Clink."

A silver needle fell to the floor, having been struck mid-flight. But it was a fraction of a second too late. A bead of black blood bloomed at the assassin's throat. His eyes widened, a wet, choked gurgle rising from his chest. I was the closest to him; I watched clearly as his gaze shifted past me, fixing firmly on the figure behind the Empress Dowager—resting squarely on the Head Attendant. The next moment, he collapsed with a heavy thud. He was dead. Chaos erupted within the hall. The imperial physician scrambled forward to check for a pulse.

"Your Majesty, he is gone."

Xiao Zhi crouched down and picked up the silver needle from the floor. It was incredibly thin, with a strand of pale purple silk tied to the end. I looked up. The ceremonial robes the Empress Dowager wore today were exactly that deep shade of purple, and the cuffs of the Head Attendant standing behind her bore the same embroidered pattern. The Empress Dowager’s expression finally fractured, shifting for a heartbeat before she pulled a mask of cold fury back over her face.

"Insolence!" she hissed. "Do you dare cast suspicion upon my person?"

No one dared to speak. I dared not, either. But I dared to look. The Head Attendant remained with her head bowed, hands tucked deep into her sleeves. She was too calm—calm enough to suggest the man who had just died meant nothing to her. I spoke up suddenly.

"Your Majesty, this commoner still has one question."

The Emperor Yuan Sheng looked at me from his bed. "Ask whom?"

I raised a hand and pointed directly at the Head Attendant behind the Empress Dowager. "Ask her."

The Head Attendant finally lifted her eyes. Her gaze was cold and utterly stagnant, devoid of any connection to the dead man. I stared right into them. "Mistress, what are you hiding in your sleeves?"

The Head Attendant looked at me without a trace of panic, showing only a flicker of contempt, as if I were not questioning her but rather inviting my own humiliation. The Empress Dowager spoke coldly, "Xie Ming Duong, you are the daughter of a condemned official. How dare you slander those in my service?"

I lowered my head. "I dare not slander anyone. I am merely afraid that she might still be hiding a poisoned needle in those sleeves."

The palace maids and eunuchs in the hall collectively took a step back. The words were effective; no one wanted the next needle to find its mark in their own flesh. Xiao Zhi raised a hand. "Search her."

The Head Attendant finally broke her silence. "Prince," she said, her voice perfectly level, "I have served the Empress Dowager for thirty years. To search me is to trample upon the Empress Dowager’s dignity."

Xiao Zhi replied, "I search only for the assassin’s accomplices. If you are innocent, your dignity remains intact."

The Empress Dowager’s face turned an ashen grey. "Xiao Zhi!"

Xiao Zhi looked at her steadily. "If the Empress Mother is concerned, you may have His Majesty inspect her himself."

The Emperor Yuan Sheng leaned against his bed, his complexion wan, but his eyes were chillingly clear. "Search."

The Empress Dowager tightened her grip on her prayer beads. The Head Attendant slowly raised her hands. As two maids approached, trembling, she suddenly shoved them aside and turned to retreat behind the folding screen. Xiao Zhi was faster. His scabbard swept horizontally, catching her legs. The Head Attendant’s knees buckled, and she collapsed heavily to the floor. From her sleeve tumbled a small, exquisite silver tube, along with half of a black medallion. On the back of the piece, the image of a dancing phoenix was engraved.

The entire hall erupted. Eunuch Chang fell to his knees. "Your Majesty, this piece is identical to the one found on the assassin in the Celestial Prison!"

The Empress Dowager shouted, "Head Attendant Chu!" The Head Attendant looked up, and for the first time, she smiled.

"Your Imperial Highness, there is no need to call for me," she said quietly. "I confess."

The Empress Dowager’s expression flickered. I stared intently at the broken shard of the medallion and spoke up suddenly. "Wait." Everyone’s eyes shifted to me. I moved forward on my knees. "This medallion—it is not correct."

Xiao Zhi looked at me. "In what way?"

I pointed at the front of the medallion. "The piece held by the assassin in the prison had the character for 'Inner' engraved on the front. This one does not."

Xiao Zhi picked it up to inspect it. The front was indeed blank. The Head Attendant’s expression finally shifted—a subtle change, but I caught it. I continued, "If she truly belongs to the same group, why would their tokens be different?"