After Becoming a Concubine, I Took Down the Princess - Chapter 37

Yan Heng couldn’t sit still and listen to the opera. The last time, during the Mid-Autumn Festival when she sneaked out of the palace, listening to the performance in the teahouse was only for Liang Xiao’s sake. This opera was one she hadn’t heard before, so after only a few lines, she started to drift off.

Liang Xiao sat upright in her seat, listening to the opera while worrying about the investigation.

The past half month, the lack of clues had stalled the matter, and now, whenever she had a moment of leisure, she began to ponder it. Although she had promised Yan Heng to stop worrying about it lately, she still couldn’t help but investigate in her heart.

She didn’t know who had chosen the opera for the day; it turned out to be “The Wild Cat for the Crown Prince” (Li Mao Huan Tai Zi). It just happened to reach the part of the script where the concubine who gave birth to the wild cat was relegated to the Cold Palace. The Empress frowned slightly, beckoned, and called Xue Yin forward.

Yesterday, when the topic of taking the imperial concubines to the opera came up, the Empress had sent a memorial listing the opera names to all the palaces. When they were collected, she hadn’t looked at them closely before handing them over to the palace attendants to manage.

“Who requested this opera?” the Empress asked Xue Yin in a lowered voice, turning her head.

“Replying to your Ladyship, this opera was requested by Noble Consort Yu.”

The Empress waved her hand again, signaling the opera on stage to stop: “The New Year is approaching, let’s perform something more festive.”

Noble Consort Yu chuckled softly: “Your Ladyship may not enjoy it, but we do.”

Liang Xiao interjected from the side: “If Noble Consort wishes to see it, tell Father Emperor to bring the opera troupe to your palace tomorrow, and they can perform for you personally. I think everyone prefers to watch something more cheerful.”

Noble Consort Yu turned her head to look at Liang Xiao: “I’d love to see His Majesty, but the Emperor has recently been bewitched by temptresses, and none of us can see him.”

Before Yan Heng faked her death, her favor was the greatest in the inner court. After she faked her death, the inner court was empty for a while, but soon after, Liang Shu had conferred titles on two more beauties, whose rising favor was quickly overshadowing Noble Consort Yu’s.

“When Consort Yan was around, the Emperor’s heart was as if it had been hooked away by someone. Now these two, who knows where they learned their seductive tricks, are even more potent than the one who’s already dead,” Noble Consort Yu covered her mouth with a handkerchief, her face full of disdain.

Yan Heng knew that the Noble Consort couldn’t provoke the two current favorites, so she turned her anger onto her, a “dead person.” She was immediately enraged but could do nothing about Noble Consort Yu.

Just as she was preparing to pretend not to hear, Liang Xiao suddenly spoke: “Although I am not a concubine, I know that keeping Father Emperor’s favor requires skill. Noble Consort Yu has no one to blame but herself.”

As she spoke, she glanced at Noble Consort Yu indifferently, her actions conveying undisguised ridicule.

Noble Consort Yu knew she couldn’t offend Liang Xiao, but a fire was burning in her chest, and she was about to lash out, only to be suppressed by the Empress: “Enough, you all serve the Emperor together. Squabbling over favors, how does that look like a concubine?”

Noble Consort Yu turned her head and glared at Yan Heng hatefully. A new opera started on the stage, but after the disturbance, no one was in the mood to listen.

Noble Consort Yu, unable to vent her anger and wearing heavy clothes, now had fine beads of sweat on her forehead, making her even more irritable from the heat.

She summoned Ji Xing, who was waiting behind her, to bring out her fan and fan her.

The fan was the same Gold-Flecked Fan she had used during the autumn hunt, which was said to have been presented to the palace by her maternal family years ago.

Liang Xiao, having just won the verbal battle, was in a good mood. She leisurely took a sip of tea and glanced at Noble Consort Yu, spotting the Gold-Flecked Fan at a single look.

Her heart pounded violently. She put down her teacup with a clank, the noise loud enough to startle the people around her.

Noble Consort Yu’s Gold-Flecked Fan was exactly the same as Liang Xuan’s.

Noble Consort Yu looked at Liang Xiao with a hint of surprise: “What’s wrong, Your Highness? Can’t even hold a teacup steady?”

The Empress turned her head and looked at her with concern: “Xiao’er, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

“It’s nothing, the teacup was hot,” she said, looking at Noble Consort Yu: “Your Ladyship’s fan is exquisite, could you lend it to me for a look?”

Noble Consort Yu sounded quite pleased: “This fan is indeed unique. Only two were presented to the palace in the past ten-odd years.” As she spoke, she folded the fan and handed it to Liang Xiao: “Your Highness, be careful, don’t break it for me.”

Liang Xiao took the fan and carefully examined it in her hands.

It was exactly the same as Liang Xuan’s.

Finally, she returned the fan: “Your Ladyship’s fan is truly excellent.”

The commotion at the front caused the concubines in the back to lose interest in the opera, one by one craning their necks, wanting to see what they were discussing.

Yan Heng stood beside them, having heard every word of their conversation.

She had heard Liang Xiao mention the matter of the fan before, and now she was somewhat secretly pleased, having finally grasped a handle against Noble Consort Yu.

Her mood instantly improved, and she even became slightly more interested in the opera.

Upon returning to the palace, Yan Heng pulled Liang Xiao into the room. After closing the door, she rushed to Liang Xiao: “Your Highness, what exactly happened today?”

Liang Xiao was about to tell her about it, but she was surprised that Yan Heng brought it up first.

“Is there a clue regarding Noble Consort Yu’s fan?” Yan Heng poured her a cup of tea.

“There is, but I still have some doubts,” Liang Xiao accepted the tea. “That fan was presented by Noble Consort Yu’s maternal family. One was given to Noble Consort Yu, and the Emperor rewarded the other to the Imperial Uncle. This is reasonable.”

She took a sip of tea to wet her throat, and continued: “Furthermore, the two fans are identical, so I can’t directly accuse Noble Consort Yu based on this.”

Yan Heng instantly drooped: “Then this clue is completely useless, isn’t it…”

She slumped over the small table, swinging her legs idly.

Liang Xiao patted her head reassuringly: “Since we currently suspect Noble Consort Yu, starting the investigation with her will not be wrong.”

Yan Heng nodded, but her mood had not improved much.

The recent investigation has met with increasing obstacles. I have to guard against Liang Shu while also keeping an eye on Noble Consort Yu.

Suddenly, Yan Heng straightened up: “You know, given the Emperor’s suspicious nature back then, would he really believe the State Preceptor’s verbal accusation that the Empress was a demon?”

Then, she added: “Does Your Highness remember Eunuch Xia?”

Liang Xiao would certainly never forget this person. If Yan Heng hadn’t accidentally encountered the raving Eunuch Xia, they would have spent much more time searching for clues.

However, Liang Xiao still didn’t quite understand what mystery Yan Heng was hinting at, so she just looked at her suspiciously and nodded.

“Then you must remember the things Eunuch Xia said when he saw us,” Yan Heng recalled, “This suggests that Eunuch Xia must have seen the Box of a Thousand Poisons opened?”

Liang Xiao followed her line of thought: “Then the Box of a Thousand Poisons did serve a purpose, it’s just that we don’t know what it was yet.”

Yan Heng: “Exactly. And Eunuch Xia said the Empress was a demon. Does that mean he witnessed such a scene?”

As they discussed it further, their thoughts gradually became clearer.

If this was the case, first finding out who Eunuch Xia was and when he saw the Box of a Thousand Poisons might lead to other clues.

Thinking of this, both of them finally felt a little relieved.

“Your Highness has been so worried about this lately, you look thin,” Yan Heng said softly to Liang Xiao, their fingers intertwined on the table.

“I keep dreaming of my Mother Consort lately. Perhaps it’s because I know the truth. I always feel that if I had been born a few years earlier, maybe I could have protected her.” Liang Xiao raised her other hand and rubbed her forehead.

Verbal comfort was too pale and powerless. Yan Heng was momentarily speechless and could only squeeze Liang Xiao’s hand tightly.

This time, when investigating Eunuch Xia’s background, Liang Xiao did not handle it personally but entrusted Moon Shadow and Moon Heng to investigate. She did this for fear that too much activity would arouse suspicion from her father and Yuande again.

The pair were efficient, bringing back the information they had gathered in just three days.

“It turns out that Eunuch Xia originally served by the Emperor’s side, though not constantly like Eunuch Zhao, but only occasionally attending him,” Moon Shadow said.

“Besides that, anything else?” Liang Xiao asked them.

“Of course,” Moon Shadow said, looking all mysterious, “We also heard about a palace maid named Cui Xing.”

The name sounded like someone from Noble Consort Yu’s palace. Yan Heng curiously asked, “What’s special about this person?”

“She was executed for attempting to harm a princess, and the day she was caught was also the day Eunuch Xia suddenly went mad.”

Upon hearing this, both Liang Xiao and Yan Heng were startled. Liang Xiao pointed to herself: “Attempted to harm me?”

Moon Shadow scratched his head: “Does Your Highness not remember?”

Moon Heng continued: “We only found out that she attempted to murder Your Highness, but we don’t know anything else.”

Liang Xiao suppressed the doubts in her heart: “I will investigate this in detail later. You two did well.”

Moon Shadow said proudly: “Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness. I am the one with great power, capable of ascending to heaven and entering the earth, all-powerful. Moon Heng only helped a little.”

Liang Xiao gave him a side-eye.

Moon Shadow: “Did Her Highness just roll her eyes at me?”

Moon Heng: “Yes, you didn’t see wrong.” With that, he put an arm around Moon Shadow’s neck and dragged and embraced him away.

Yan Heng burst out laughing: “Your secret guards are really interesting.”

Liang Xiao shook her head helplessly: “Moon Shadow is flighty, and Moon Heng is steady. Working together, they are efficient.”

“Their skills are truly considerable,” Yan Heng said with feeling.

After a brief moment of relaxation, the two began to contemplate the matter of “Cui Xing attempting to murder the princess.”

Yan Heng: “Does Your Highness have absolutely no recollection of this matter?”

Liang Xiao hesitated, ready to nod, but then abruptly shook her head: “Could it be that I have some memories that haven’t resurfaced? After all, if Eunuch Xia went crazy on the same day, both of them should be connected to me.”

“It’s not impossible,” Yan Heng pondered for a moment, “My magic is probably not refined enough yet. Your Highness, wait for me to study for a few more days.”

“No rush,” Liang Xiao said, “Noble Consort Yu isn’t going anywhere. In due time, I will definitely root out the mastermind behind all of this.”

The weather was nice that day, and Noble Consort Yu was playing in the snow in the courtyard with Liang Mu.

“Mother Consort, look at your son’s puppy,” Liang Mu drew something barely recognizable with a branch on the ground.

Noble Consort Yu hugged him and praised: “Mu’er is so clever.”

“Your Ladyship,” Ji Xing quickly walked towards her and whispered a few words in her ear.

“Her family still has living members?” Noble Consort Yu frowned, “Handle it using the previous method.”

“Yes,” Ji Xing bowed and quickly disappeared again.

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