After Becoming a Concubine, I Took Down the Princess - Chapter 18

Almost the instant the words left her mouth, Yan Heng disappeared with the book, so fast that Hua Zi, standing at the door, didn’t even catch a glimpse of a shadow.

Liang Xiao was sitting in the study copying poems when she saw a dark figure rush in quickly and “slap” the book down in front of her.

Yan Heng gasped for breath: “Your Highness, it’s done!”

Liang Xiao put down her brush and said across the desk: “Really?”

“Really!” Yan Heng picked up the book again, “However, this spell has one drawback.”

Liang Xiao asked: “What?”

Yan Heng looked a bit worried: “The process of recovering memories might cause a splitting headache. Can Your Highness endure it?”

Liang Xiao waved her hand indifferently: “No matter.”

Yan Heng: “Shall we start now?”

As she spoke, Yan Heng closed the door and walked with Liang Xiao to the small couch.

Yan Heng frowned slightly: “Your Highness must be prepared.”

Liang Xiao did not speak, gently closed her eyes, but was probably still a little afraid, her eyelashes fluttering a few times.

Yan Heng placed the book on the small table beside them, and according to the instructions in the book, she made a few hand gestures. Immediately, a faint glow appeared, heading straight for Liang Xiao’s forehead.

The light had no feeling when it touched the skin, but Liang Xiao’s breathing still hitched, followed by a tearing pain that assailed her. She bit her teeth tightly, and fragments of memories flashed intermittently in her mind.

At that time, she was only six or seven years old, following her consort mother all day. Her imperial father also came to see them frequently, and the three of them were happy and harmonious, just like the most ordinary family.

Sometimes when there was no one in the hall, her consort mother would hold her in her arms and conjure a small flower from her fingertips to pin in her hair.

A faint voice came from a very, very distant place: “Will Mother stay with Xiao Xiao forever?”

The gentle-faced woman raised her hand and tapped her on the nose: “Of course.”

The scene shifted, still her consort mother’s luxurious palace, but everything around seemed somewhat desolate, and palace servants passed through, not daring to breathe loudly.

She saw her consort mother reclining on the couch, dressed in an extremely plain garment, her face haggard.

“Mother, will you accompany me to the Imperial Garden to play with snow?” She tugged at her consort mother’s sleeve, pleading.

Her consort mother refused her and called the palace maid Chang Zhi, saying she would take her to catch birds.

She joyfully jumped off the small couch and bumped into a eunuch in black clothes as she exited the palace gate. The eunuch’s voice was sharp: “Your Highness, be careful not to damage the painting His Majesty has gifted the Empress.”

Chang Zhi coldly said to the eunuch: “Eunuch Lin, just deliver the painting. You do not need to instruct Her Highness to be careful.”

She was used to running rampant in the palace, who dared to be so presumptuous? She widened her eyes, wanting to take a closer look at the eunuch, but she was too short and could only see the bottom of the dark brown tray even when looking up.

Chang Zhi knelt down and gently coaxed her, telling her to put her unhappiness aside, and rushed to the Imperial Garden with the birdcage.

When she returned, her imperial father stood outside the palace, his face full of sorrow. The imperious emperor, with tears in his eyes, hugged his young daughter: “Xiao Xiao, your consort mother is gone…”

Large drops of cold sweat rolled down Liang Xiao’s forehead, and Yan Heng wiped them away with a handkerchief.

After a long time, Liang Xiao slowly opened her eyes. Her dark pupils were clouded with a watery sheen, and her eyelashes fluttered slightly, gathering water droplets that trailed down her cheeks.

“Your Highness?” Yan Heng cautiously pulled out another clean handkerchief and handed it to Liang Xiao.

Liang Xiao remained silent, not taking the handkerchief, her gaze hollowly fixed on the floor.

Yan Heng was afraid of some accident, so she reached out and shook Liang Xiao’s shoulder: “Your Highness, are you alright?”

Upon hearing this, Liang Xiao slowly raised her head to look at her: “My consort mother is gone…”

The person who had always been calm and self-possessed was now deeply trapped in her memories, intense sadness surging into her heart in waves.

Yan Heng boldly wiped away Liang Xiao’s tears: “Your Highness, many years have passed.”

Liang Xiao painfully closed her eyes again. Although she was still young when her consort mother passed away, recalling it now, the heartbreak still suffocated her.

She took a long time to recover, even ignoring Yan Heng’s presumptuous action. When she spoke, her voice still trembled slightly: “Since my consort mother is already dead, why did I only forget those things after she left?”

Yan Heng put away the handkerchief: “The book says that this method can take effect either while the caster is alive or be specially set to take effect after their death.”

Liang Xiao nodded, took a deep breath, and said: “Please help me call Aunt Yue Hua.”

Yan Heng nimbly ran out and led Yue Hua in.

Liang Xiao poured herself a cup of tea and slowly said: “My consort mother was indeed a demon.”

She then recounted the things she had recalled to the two of them.

Yan Heng mused: “If the Empress could conjure flowers, she must be a plant-type demon. Does Your Highness remember anything special about the Empress’s body?”

Liang Xiao: “Yes, my consort mother had a lotus birthmark on her left collarbone, which is why she was given the title ‘Lian’ (Lotus).”

Yan Heng: “Then the Empress is a half-demon born of a lotus demon and a human and inherited her mother’s bloodline.”

Liang Xiao understood and thought of something else: “This Eunuch Lin is definitely suspicious. My consort mother was poisoned immediately after he entered. He must be connected to this. I suspect he used the ‘Thousand Poisons Box’ to kill my consort mother under the pretext of delivering a painting.”

Yue Hua had been frowning silently. Liang Xiao noticed her abnormality: “Aunt, have you remembered anything?”

Yue Hua said: “That day, the Empress sent me to the Laundry Department to collect washed clothes, so I did not see the Eunuch Lin Your Highness mentioned. By the time I returned, the Empress was already…”

Yan Heng stood aside, her eyes darting around. She clapped her hands and said: “Wasn’t everyone who served near the Empress on the day of the incident executed?”

Yue Hua replied: “Exactly.”

“Does the Palace Archives Department have records? Such as the life histories of these palace maids and eunuchs. If we find the eunuchs who died that day and cross-reference, we should be able to find Eunuch Lin?”

The other two looked enlightened upon hearing this.

“There’s no time to lose, I will now—” Liang Xiao was about to get up when Yue Hua held her down.

Yue Hua said: “Your Highness must not go personally. If the Empress was indeed harmed by a villain, that person might still be in the palace. If Your Highness rashly investigates archives from eleven years ago, it might arouse suspicion.”

Yan Heng didn’t understand the intrigue in the palace and just looked puzzled: “Then what should we do?”

Yue Hua looked at Yan Heng: “I hope we can rely on you for this, honored lady.”

Yan Heng pointed to herself: “Me?”

Half an hour later, Yan Heng led Hua Zi and stood at the entrance of the Archives Department.

The eunuch on duty for the archives saw someone arrive and hurriedly came forward: “What does the honored lady need to do at the Archives Department?”

Yan Heng tried to make her tone sound a bit arrogant. She pointed to Hua Zi beside her: “Hua Zi from my palace says her sister entered the palace fifteen years ago but hasn’t left the palace to return home. She doesn’t know if her sister is still in the palace, so I accompanied her to look.”

“Why did the honored lady come in person for such a trivial matter?” A master accompanying a servant to find a relative was a first. The little eunuch looked curiously at Hua Zi.

Yan Heng glanced at him sideways: “Hua Zi was my attendant before I entered the palace. Now, considering the deep bond between master and servant, why not?”

The little eunuch quickly said: “Of course. Does the honored lady want to check the archives from fifteen years ago?”

Yan Heng was currently favored, being summoned to attend the Emperor every few days. Previously, Liang Xiao had replaced the attendants in her palace, making people think her backer was Princess Yong’an.

Even Noble Consort Yu dared not easily offend her, so these small fries certainly wouldn’t dare to disobey.

The little eunuch led the way, taking Yan Heng and Hua Zi into the Archives Department.

“The archives from fifteen years ago are stored inside; it’s dusty. Honored lady, why don’t you wait here, and this servant will go fetch them,” the little eunuch said solicitously.

Yan Heng casually waved her hand, then stood still, saying to “Hua Zi”: “To find your sister, you go with him.”

“Hua Zi” nodded, bowed, and followed the little eunuch toward the inner room.

This “Hua Zi” was none other than Yue Hua.

After Yue Hua faked her death back then, she learned the art of disguise outside the palace and returned to the palace using this skill. Now, impersonating Hua Zi, she looked almost identical, except for a slight difference in height.

“My elder sister entered the palace fifteen years ago; it must be troublesome to look for her. I truly trouble you, Eunuch.” While speaking, Yue Hua slipped a jade bracelet into his hand.

The little eunuch smiled: “How can you say that? This is what we do, isn’t it?”

As they spoke, the two reached the innermost cabinet. The eunuch added: “Auntie, you came at a lucky time. These archives from fifteen years ago are about to be destroyed.”

Yue Hua was startled: “Destroyed?”

The little eunuch looked up as he searched: “Indeed. A batch is destroyed every fifteen years; otherwise, the Archives Department wouldn’t have enough space.”

Yue Hua thought to herself that it was fortunate to have Lady Yan’s help, otherwise, by the time she and the Princess tracked down Eunuch Lin, the clue might have already been lost.

“Found it.” The little eunuch said, pulling down a large volume of books. “Here, the archives from fifteen years ago are here. Do you remember your sister’s name?”

Yue Hua took the archive book and said: “Zhang Zhi.”

This surname was fabricated. Her original intention was to find Chang Zhi, who had served the Empress with her back then, and then use that as an entry point to find the records of their execution.

The little eunuch looked through the archives with her: “Auntie, are you sure the name is correct?”

“My sister is much older than me. I was still young when she entered the palace, so it’s possible I remember it wrongly, but there is definitely this character ‘Zhi’.”

“Zhi…” The little eunuch muttered, “After entering the palace, only the given name is kept. If it has ‘Zhi,’ it will be easier to find.”

They had been inside for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Yan Heng found a chair to sit on and stared blankly, bored.

“Here, there are three in total.” The little eunuch pulled out three pages of paper. “One is Lin Zhi, who served Consort Wu Zhaoyi; one is Luo Zhi, who followed Consort Zheng Pin; and the other is—”

When the little eunuch saw who the palace maid named “Chang Zhi” served, he involuntarily swallowed.

“Who is it?” Yue Hua took the two pages and leaned over, asking knowingly.

“It is Chang Zhi, who was next to Empress Lian Fei,” the little eunuch said, handing the page to Yue Hua.

Yue Hua pretended to examine the life histories of the palace maids on the three papers in her hand carefully, pointing to Chang Zhi’s page: “It is indeed this Chang Zhi.”

The little eunuch’s face slightly changed: “Auntie Chang Zhi has already…”

Yue Hua feigned sadness: “No wonder my sister did not return home after her time to leave the palace. It turns out she was in the palace…”

She omitted the rest of the sentence, looking at the little eunuch with tears: “Eunuch, do you know why my sister died?”

The little eunuch swallowed: “This…”

“Hua Zi asks for nothing else but to at least know the cause of my sister’s death. When I leave the palace in the future, I can erect a memorial tablet for her clearly.” Yue Hua spoke with such emotion that tears fell, softening the little eunuch’s heart.

He gritted his teeth and said: “Then this servant will get the archives, but Auntie, please don’t expose me.”

Yue Hua nodded profusely, then saw the little eunuch take down another thick book from the shelf behind him and carefully open it.

“Many people were executed the day Auntie Chang Zhi died.”

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