Eastern Palace

Chapter 37

Li Cheng Yin summoned an official, who revealed the accusations against me one after another, such as being disrespectful and not following the palace rules. I am not virtuous at all, so these accusations were correct. There were only two serious accusations: the witchcraft and causing the death of Xu Bao Lin.

I was confined in the Kang Xue Palace, the most remote part of the Eastern Palace, where no one has ever lived here before. This must be what people refer to as the cold palace.

When the Empress was deposed, I realized that if Li Cheng Yin ever wanted to depose me from the position of Crown Princess, then it would be a very complicated process. It would require his Majesty to hand over the imperial edict to the ministers for approval. But those old ministers with white beards are not easy to persuade. Last time when the Empress was deposed, one minister had opposed the idea, arguing that he would kill himself by knocking himself on the stairs of the Cheng Tian gate. Someone really did knock himself, but fortunately didn't die. His Majesty was very angry, and the Empress was still deposed.

Actually I thought that maybe the guards here would slack off, then it would be easier for A'Du and I to escape.

When Yue Niang came to see me, I was growing flowers in the courtyard.

Both of my hands were covered with mud. Yue Niang smiled first and then showed a worried expression: "His Majesty sent me here to see you, how did this happen?"

It was only then I realized that his Majesty's new imperial concubine, referred to as "Niang Zi[1]," was actually Yue Niang.

I looked at Yue Niang, who was wearing new palace clothes of yellow silk garment, looking very magnificent. I faintly smiled and said: "Luckily Li Cheng Yin doesn't want me, otherwise I will have to call you Mother, that would be too unfortunate!"

However Yue Niang wrinkled her brows: "You can still smile?" She looked at me, then said: "Look at yourself, you still have the mood to grow flowers?"

Yue Niang told me about things I didn't know of.

Apparently Zhao Liang Di's family have great influence in the imperial court. Now she wants to place these accusations onto me and put me to death. His Majesty was in a very difficult position. It was said that he had privately summoned Li Cheng Yin to discuss but because there was no one else there, no one knows what was said. Afterwards his Majesty was in an angry mood and Li Cheng Yin furiously left. Now even the royal father and son have fallen apart, Yue Niang was pleading on the side, but she couldn't do anything.

Yue Niang said: "I know these are false accusations, but right now the situation is pressing. I begged his Majesty to allow me to see you. Do you have anything you want to say or anyone you want to meet?"

I find this baffling: "I don't want to see anyone!"

Knowing that I didn't understand, Yue Niang patiently explained. Apparently she meant that she wanted me to go see Li Cheng Yin and say some soft words to him. As long as Li Chengyin was willing to suppress the matter, even if Zhao Liang Di wanted to cause trouble, there were still ways of turning this situation into an insignificant matter. After all, the dead Xu Bao Lin does not have any sort of background. Also the witchcraft could either be a significant or insignificant matter.

Yue Niang said: "I heard that in the past, witchcraft has occurred in the palace. It involved the most favored imperial consort. At that time, Emperor Zhongzong[2] killed the palace maid by beating her with a stick without further investigation. Other people would gossip about it, but what can they do?"

Acknowledging that it was my fault to Li Cheng Yin would be much harder than just killing me.

I coldly said: "I didn't do those things. Since they have wrongly accused me, they can kill or cut me into pieces, whatever they want. But to beg him for mercy, never."