The Fearless Empress - Chapter 16

Cheng Sangyi had never felt so helpless before, wishing she could toss the person in her arms out of the bedchamber.

Taking a deep breath, she suppressed her frustration and slowly laid the person down. Without needing to look closely, a scene of alluring spring beauty unfolded before her.

Gu Yunchu’s frame was slender, yet beneath her clothes, her body was soft and full, exuding a radiant glow.

A single inadvertent glance was enough to send the usually composed and reserved empress fleeing in panic.

After retrieving a change of clothes and returning, she closed her eyes and fumbled around. Her first attempt was unsuccessful, the moment she reached out, her hand brushed against something soft, startling her so much that her heart raced and her eyelids trembled violently.

Cheng Sangyi decided to open her eyes and grope blindly, unsure of what she was touching.

By the time she finally managed to change Gu Yunchu into clean clothes, Cheng Sangyi was drenched in sweat. She sat at the foot of the bed, unmoving for a long while.

The unconscious person was unusually docile, her small face soft and her skin glowing with health.

After just one glance, Cheng Sangyi averted her eyes, let out a cold snort, and pretended as if nothing had happened.

A palace maid brought in the medicinal broth, giving her the perfect excuse to leave.

The empress had been poisoned without cause, and the blame fell on Cheng Sangyi. Before Gu Yunchu awoke, she hurried off to investigate the matter.

The empress’s meals were meticulously prepared and checked multiple times, making it impossible for anyone to poison them.

In her previous life, it had been the Empress Dowager herself who handed her the wine.

The thought that her food was being monitored sent a chill down Cheng Sangyi’s spine. Suppressing her shock, she summoned the female official in charge of the investigation.

“Your Majesty, all those involved have been detained. I carefully cross-examined their testimonies, and there were no discrepancies. The strange thing is that everything was seamless, too normal. As you know, your meals undergo multiple layers of scrutiny. They recounted every detail of the process flawlessly, as if they had rehearsed their statements beforehand,” the official reported.

“Then stop the investigation. Execute them all. Set up a private kitchen in the Pepper Chamber Palace. I will be staying there for the time being,” Cheng Sangyi said with a faint smile. She didn’t need an investigation to know who was behind it. Even if she found evidence, what good would it do? Killing the Empress Dowager would solve nothing.

After all, the Empress Dowager still commanded fifty thousand troops.

The female official was horrified. “Execute all of them?”

“Execute them. Also, conduct a thorough investigation of everyone in the palace,” Cheng Sangyi replied calmly, her expression icy. The Empress Dowager’s desire to kill her was no recent development. Her sudden urgency to act was likely due to the Guangling Prince’s injuries.

A cold, mocking smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

No need to rush. She would take her time, slowly crushing the Empress Dowager’s hopes, one by one.

Cheng Sangyi rose and led her attendants toward the Purple Palace.

That evening, when she returned, she was greeted by the sound of sneezing.

The female official frowned slightly. “Her Highness has caught a chill.”

“Her health is so fragile, and she hasn’t even left the palace.” Cheng Sangyi paused, a flicker of realization in her eyes. Could it be that she caught a cold while changing clothes?

This…

A wave of guilt washed over Cheng Sangyi. She halted her steps toward the inner chamber and turned to leave.

But after only a few steps, she heard a voice from inside, “You’re back!”

There was no escaping now!

Startled, Cheng Sangyi turned to see Gu Yunchu standing barefoot on the carpet. Whether from the cold or something else, her face was flushed, her nose red, but her eyes shone brightly.

“Why are you walking around without shoes?” Cheng Sangyi asked, her gaze fixed on the pair of pale, delicate feet.

A red string was tied around one ankle.

The red rope against fair skin made her resemble red plum blossoms against white snow, the red vibrant and alluring, the white pure and noble.

Cheng Sangyi rubbed her forehead gently. Gu Yunchu shot her a sidelong glance, “Did you change my clothes for me?”

“Mm.”

Cheng Sangyi’s voice was as faint as a mosquito’s hum.

The Empress remarked with a strange tone, “Truly useless in both practical and intellectual matters you even put the clothes on inside out.”

Cheng Sangyi’s face flushed bright red, the usual indifference in her expression dissipating, replaced by a hint of embarrassment.

Fortunately, the Empress was not one to make a fuss. After saying her piece, she trotted back to the bed, adding, “I’ve already eaten. You can have yours by yourself.”

Cheng Sangyi: “…” Everything always comes back to food.

Minor matters passed without incident. Cheng Sangyi yielded the imperial bed to the Empress and settled herself in a side chamber.

Though most of the poison had been cleared from the Empress’s system, her cold had worsened. She lay listlessly in bed, a cloth draped over her forehead, utterly drained of energy.

While she recuperated, a storm of turmoil raged outside.

The case of the Jiangnan rice and grain corruption was investigated to its roots, and all those involved were arrested. Embezzlement was treated differently from other crimes punishable by fines, flogging, or exile, without implicating family members. Yet, in this way, entire households crumbled.

Such was the fate of the second branch of the Gu family. The second master of the Gu household was arrested, flogged, and exiled. Only through the Marquis Gu’s extensive efforts was his life spared.

The wife of the second master wept and wailed before Marquis Gu, her discontent barely concealed.

“You once said that having our niece appointed as Empress would benefit the entire Gu family. Now that her second uncle faces such a calamity, she hasn’t even shown her face or spoken a single word of support. Back then, my husband went to great lengths, spending both effort and money to lobby for her is this how she repays her uncle?”

“Marquis, it’s not that I resent our niece, but one should not forget those who dug the well when drinking water. She’s only been Empress for a few days and already acts as if she has no kin.”

“If she forgets us, so be it. But who doesn’t face hardships someday? As an Empress without an heir, how secure is her position really?”

“My husband contributed so much, and now look at him covered in wounds, exiled at such an age, his entire life ruined.”

Marquis Gu felt his eyelids twitch with agitation and could only reply, “Matters concerning our niece and nephew will be left to me from now on. As their elder uncle, I will surely assist.”

After sending away the second wife, Marquis Gu could not sit still for a moment. He immediately sent a petition to the palace, requesting an audience with Her Majesty the Empress.

Unlike others, Marquis Gu was the Empress’s father, so his petition reached the Empress herself.

Cheng Sangyi glanced at it and said, “Let him see her. However, the Empress has caught a chill, be cautious.”

The palace maids, having risen through the ranks themselves, understood the implied meaning behind the word “cautious.”

The next day, after the morning court session, Marquis Gu was escorted by a palace maid into the Emperor’s bedchamber.

Gazing at the Emperor’s quarters, Marquis Gu’s expression darkened. His own daughter was now sleeping in the Emperor’s bedchamber, yet she couldn’t even spare a visit for her own uncle.

How heartless!

The young Empress had been waiting for some time. Upon seeing Marquis Gu, a smile spread across her delicate face, and she waved away all the palace attendants.

“Father,” the young Empress greeted him cheerfully, “Please, have a seat. Tea has been prepared.”

“When did the Empress move into the Emperor’s bedchamber?” Marquis Gu sat directly below the Empress, a trace of impatience in his tone. “Did you receive the letter I sent you?”

The young Empress was startled was this an accusation?

She had forgotten. She had forgotten to reply to Marquis Gu’s letter.

For a moment, the young Empress was utterly flustered. “I forgot to reply to you. Next time.”

“Next time? There’s going to be a next time? Is Your Highness cursing me with those words?” Marquis Gu couldn’t hold back his temper. “That’s your Second Uncle, the one who watched you grow up and worked the hardest to secure your position as Empress. Yet you won’t even lift a finger to help him. How could our Gu family have raised such a cold and heartless daughter?”

The young Empress blinked, her dark, bright eyes instantly glistening with unshed tears.

Save Second Uncle Gu?

He wasn’t even Little Miss Gu’s father, why should she save him?

She didn’t dare speak, hanging her head in silence.

“Your Highness may be noble now, but do not forget that the blood of the Gu family flows in your veins.”

“Your Second Uncle is your own flesh and blood. You spend every day with His Majesty, why can’t you say a single word on his behalf? Even if it’s just to keep him in the capital. Now he’s being exiled are you going to stand by and watch him grow old and die in a foreign land?”

“You may be heartless, but I cannot bear to see my only younger brother die far from home.”

The more Marquis Gu spoke, the angrier he became. Seeing Gu Yun Chu hanging her head in silence, so unlike her usual filial self, his fury boiled over. “Your Highness, are you even looking at me now?”

“Ah?” The young Empress was dazed. “I see you! I see you!”

Perhaps she had been scolded too much she was starting to lose track of who her real father was.

Marquis Gu was furious. Seeing his daughter’s indifferent expression, he slammed the table and said, “The Gu family sent you into the palace for the glory of the entire clan. And you? You only care about your own happiness. Do you think you could hold onto your position as Empress without the Gu family’s support?”

“I know exactly what you’re thinking now. But I must remind Your Highness: when one prospers, all prosper; when one falls, all fall. If the Gu family is ruined, your position as Empress will not last long either.”

The young Empress felt dizzy from his words and hurriedly nodded. “I understand. I’ll speak to His Majesty.”

Marquis Gu, having vented his anger and received some reassurance, suddenly realized they were in the Emperor’s bedchamber. He could say no more and stormed off in a rage.

As soon as he left, the young Empress felt a wave of dizziness and collapsed to the floor.

Deadly poison couldn’t kill her, but a mere cold and fever had nearly taken her life.

The palace servants panicked, lifting her up, calling for the imperial physician, and notifying the Emperor.

Chief Physician Lu was hastily summoned. He took her pulse and felt her forehead, it was burning with fever.

“Poison couldn’t kill her, but a cold might take her life.” Chief Physician Lu was equally puzzled such a constitution was truly strange.

After forcing a fever-reducing medicine down her throat, Cheng Sang Yi arrived. Seeing her flushed, feverish face, he frowned in confusion. “How did she get so sick?”

Chief Physician Lu glanced around the room. “How could she catch a cold without even stepping outside?”

Cheng Sang Yi fell silent, turning his face away indifferently to look elsewhere.

Noticing the Emperor’s unusual reaction, Chief Physician Lu couldn’t help but ask, “Your Majesty, how long did it take you to change Her Highness’s clothes?”

“I don’t remember. It was quick, very quick.”

As he spoke, Cheng Sang Yi’s ears subtly reddened.

Chief Physician Lu frowned and advised the Emperor, “Your Majesty, please keep your distance from the Empress. I believe Her Highness will live a long and healthy life.”

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