Capítulo 39: O Destino da Concubina Shu

Ah? A woman behind the rockery?

Zhou Wanqing had been adept at reading expressions since childhood. Noticing Song Ci'an’s gaze fixed upward, she naturally followed suit, glancing toward the concubine before remarking with feigned indifference:

"Consort Ying is truly the Emperor’s favorite; she looks as stunning as ever today."

Song Ci’an withdrew her gaze and looked at Zhou Wanqing, thinking to herself that this was indeed a woman raised with the refined, calculating methods of the inner chambers.

However, Consort Ying?

She searched her memory, but found no impression of her.

"What Consort Ying?" Ruan Tengluo asked curiously.

Zhou Wanqing felt a flash of annoyance inwardly; this Miss Ruan was truly... naive. Nevertheless, noting Song Ci’an’s apparent interest, she lowered her voice to explain:

"Consort Ying is a new favorite of the Emperor, highly favored." After a brief pause, she leaned in closer, whispering, "It is said she was merely a palace maid the Emperor encountered by chance."

Song Ci’an sneered inwardly.

There were no such things as coincidences. Combined with what she knew regarding the Fifth Prince, she had her suspicions. The Fifth Prince’s strategy for seizing the throne relied on women; remembering that he had previously performed the imperial sacrifices on behalf of the Emperor, she became even more certain that this Consort Ying was an arrangement of his.

"Oh~" Ruan Tengluo intoned, her habit of dragging out the ending of her words making the sound carry an ambiguous meaning.

A flicker of anxiety crossed Zhou Wanqing’s eyes. Had she said too much?

Then, she heard Ruan Tengluo add:

"Love at first sight, then." Ruan Tengluo’s eyes lit up. To think the Emperor could still experience love at first sight at his age!

Zhou Wanqing, whose composure was usually impeccable, found herself speechless.

*Pfft!*

Song Ci’an couldn’t help but laugh.

While their group was chatting in good spirits, Qin Zirou’s situation was a stark disappointment. Originally, the others had been willing to converse with Grandmother Song and treated her with a modicum of warmth, but upon learning of her status, they had grown cold and distant. At that moment, she gripped her handkerchief tightly beneath her sleeves, her heart filled with bitter hatred.

Especially when she saw Song Ci’an laughing with other young ladies without offering to introduce her, she directed all her resentment toward Song Ci’an.

"By the way, Ci’an, is that young woman by your grandmother’s side your sister?" Ruan Tengluo had noticed Qin Zirou and assumed it was Song Jin’an. She knew Song Ci’an’s stepmother had a daughter of her own, so the assumption came naturally.

Song Ci’an smiled. "No, she is the granddaughter of my maternal great-aunt."

Zhou Wanqing frowned slightly. This... how did she come to be at the banquet?

"What is that young lady’s background?" she couldn’t help but ask. Realizing how that sounded, she looked at Song Ci’an’s expression and quickly added, "Forgive me, Miss Song, I spoke out of turn."

Song Ci’an smiled indifferently. "Miss Qin is not from the capital, which is why you do not recognize her. Her family is in trade."

A merchant’s daughter?

A flicker of disdain crossed Zhou Wanqing’s eyes. She hadn’t expected to see such people at an imperial banquet.

"Superintendent Pei is here—"

Suddenly, the voice of a eunuch rang out, and the crowd froze, turning toward the entrance of the grand hall.

Pei Min was not wearing his crimson python robe today, and his demeanor seemed far gentler than usual, yet the officials trembled, instinctively shrinking back.

"Greetings, Superintendent Pei!"

Pei Min’s expression was cold and stern. He walked in with an unhurried gait until he reached the front of the hall, where he cast a chilling gaze over the seated concubines.

Consort Ying, caught in his stare, felt her heart race, her palms slick with cold sweat. She feared that the Superintendent had seen right through her. *Impossible,* she thought. No one was nearby at the time, and the Fifth Prince must have arranged for his men to be positioned there; the Eastern Depot could not possibly know!

"Consort Shu." Pei Min looked up at the Consort, his voice chilling. "Evidence of General Fan’s treason is conclusive, and the matter involves the inner palace. I must trouble you to pay a visit to the Eastern Depot."

With that, the Imperial Guards stepped forward to stand before Consort Shu.

The hall fell into a deathly silence, nobody daring to breathe.

"Insolence! I am a consort of the imperial rank, who dares?" Consort Shu suppressed her panic, gritting her teeth to hold her ground. She was terrified. She did not believe her father would commit treason, but Pei Min’s declaration meant the matter was sealed; whether her father was truly guilty or not, history would record him as such. She wondered if her father had already been killed, and her entire clan...

At this thought, she looked up, staring directly at Pei Min. "You claim my family committed treason. Do you have proof?"

Pei Min chuckled softly and produced an imperial decree from his sleeve.

Once the young eunuch finished reading the decree, her strength vanished, and she collapsed to the floor.

It was over. She was finished, and the Fan family was finished!

But what pained her even more was the Emperor. She had been his side-consort back when he was merely a prince. In those days, the Fan family held the military power, and the Emperor was not their preferred candidate, yet she had insisted on marrying him. The Fan family had exhausted their resources to help him ascend the throne. She could understand why he sent the Fan family to guard the borders after his coronation, and she did not resent him for taking new lovers while forgetting the old.

Yet, he had been laughing and chatting with her just moments ago, and now, he was ordering the execution of her entire clan!

"Hahahaha!" Consort Shu burst into hysterical laughter, her demeanor turning wild and losing all its former grace. "Oh, Emperor, truly, the heart of a monarch!"

Seeing her like this, Pei Min’s eyes flashed with disgust.

Ying Xing gestured, and the guards beside Consort Shu hauled her up. Consort Shu did not resist, merely staring at Pei Min with a deranged look.

"Pei Min, you treacherous sycophant! You manipulate the court and frame loyal officials at will! You will meet a miserable end!" She knew the Emperor harbored suspicion toward the Fan family, but to strike so swiftly on this very day—it must be Pei Min’s doing!

She turned her gaze toward Song Ci’an. "A filthy eunuch! And you, a noble lady of the capital, not only feel no shame but embrace this villain! You shameless thing! You should have struck your head against a wall and died to prove your virtue!"

As she grew increasingly unhinged, Ying Xing stepped forward, dislocated her jaw, and signaled for the guards to drag her away.

Once Consort Shu was removed, the hall grew even quieter. The officials lowered their heads further; they shouldn’t be here, and they shouldn’t have heard any of this.

Pei Min had remained unmoved by Consort Shu’s curses against him, but when she spoke of Song Ci’an, he was gripped by a sudden, violent surge of fear. His entire being seemed to freeze; he barely heard the rest of her words, his mind filled only with Song Ci’an.

Consort Shu had spoken of Jiahe like that in front of so many people. Would she, would she reject him now?

He couldn’t help but turn to look at Song Ci’an.

When Consort Shu had been cursing, Song Ci’an had looked straight at her with calm, steady eyes. Noticing Pei Min’s movement in her peripheral vision, she looked up at him, and her heart ached in an instant.

The look of unease and vulnerability in Pei Min’s eyes broke her heart.

She offered him a gentle smile, wanting him to know that she did not care for such words at all.