Chapter 810: Chapter 810: Poisoned Wine and Preserved Corpse
Qing Ya smiled tragically, as if she heard Changzai Zhou telling her, "Don’t think of harming her again, or you’ll die without a burial place." Now, she finally understood the meaning of those words; His Majesty had gone to such extremes for Beauty Lian.
For her master, she died with no regrets. If she were to choose again, she would still make the same decision, albeit she would choose a more cautious method and not underestimate her enemy...
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she desperately gazed towards Consort Liu, silently thinking: Master, I can’t accompany you anymore, the servant will go ahead...
She looked at the people being escorted away in the distance, feeling no regret; the Emperor had eyes filled with murderous intent.
Want to become a loyal servant who dies without regrets?
It’s not that easy!
A filthy life like a maggot, how dare?
Consort Liu’s heart skipped a beat, her mind went blank, her ears buzzed, and she wore a look of disbelief.
Why was Qing Ya put to death by dismemberment?
The one most deserving of dismemberment in this world should have been Xue Wanjun!
With terror, she stared wide-eyed, blankly watching the person outside the pavilion dragged away, gradually being pulled toward the darkness without palace lanterns, where it seemed a ferocious beast awaited to devour.
Suddenly, she reacted, sharply yelling, "No!"
She attempted to crawl up to stop it, but her body was too weak. After taking a few steps, her legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground, unable to rise. She watched Qing Ya being dragged away, never feeling such hatred for her own useless body nor for those who put her in this situation.
She raved madly, harshly questioning, "Your Majesty, what crime did Qing Ya commit to deserve such treatment? The palace rules were set by you personally, why treat her like this? It’s dismemberment! Why, why treat me this way, why! Cough..."
She spoke with such force that a tickle surged in her throat, triggering a violent cough as if to spit out her heart and lungs.
Her face was now smeared with tears and snot, filled with terror and helplessness. Her heart was at the peak of fear, carrying endless madness, as if to ignite her life and vent all these years of resentment; at this moment, the true her emerged.
The Emperor sneered, his expression utterly mocking, as though his Little Concubine had done no wrong, yet due to their repeatedly filthy tricks, her life and death were now uncertain.
He repeatedly issued warnings, even using the affair of Lady Cui today to admonish the entire harem not to have vain thoughts regarding his Little Concubine. Did they heed it?
Thus, let them taste the torment of purgatory as they are eaten heart and soul; the Emperor raised his hand to stop, "Hold on."
These two words sounded like a heavenly voice, bringing a trace of hope to Consort Liu’s frantic expression. She bit her tongue to suppress the itch, disregarded her weakening body, and forced herself to crawl and kneel at the Emperor’s feet, clutching his garment:
"Your Majesty, I beg you to retract the order, I dare not anymore. Everything was for my sake, it was all my fault, my unwillingness stirred up these troubles, I am guilty. If punishment is due, punish me; I beg you to retract the order, please..."
She implored pitifully, truly frightened, resolved from now on not to covet Beauty Lian, and wouldn’t seek vengeance for Xue Wanjun any longer, just spare Qing Ya from dismemberment, who, besides her father, was the one she cared most about under the sky!
The Emperor coldly pulled his garment away, teaching all today, whoever dares to strike at his Little Concubine and the child in the belly should be prepared to pay the ultimate price.
He ignored Consort Liu’s behavior, speaking with emotionless finality: "Lady Liu, regarding the serpent incident at Canglan Court, you are the mastermind behind."
The words were like a clap of thunder in Consort Liu’s mind, leaving her frozen, frightened, looking up at the person before her without any further actions.
These were certain words, without a shred of doubt...
The serpent case of Canglan Court, the Emperor had never ceased his investigation.
Changzai Zhou had already been under surveillance by his people, never relaxing; when Qing Ya went to meet someone, she might have concealed it from others but not from the Shadow Guards hidden in the dark watching her. It wasn’t until Liu Fei asked for an audience with the Emperor that the Shadow Guard seized the chance to report.
Coupled with the means of those two Palace Maids, this familiar and exquisite method of using others’ knives to kill, akin to the serpent incident, immediately confirmed the mastermind behind the serpent event for the Emperor.
Like adding fuel to the fire, it elevated the Emperor’s thunderous rage to the extreme.
Malicious intent, filthy means, meticulously plotted, repeatedly striking, all inciting the Emperor to the utmost anger.
Consort Liu’s reaction at this moment further confirmed his judgment.
Consort Liu regained her senses, trembling all over, hugging her arms as if curling up into herself, weakly and helplessly shaking her head: "Your, Your Majesty, what are you saying, I... I don’t understand." She lowered her head, not daring to meet the Emperor’s murderous eyes.
These words likewise fell into Qing Ya’s ears; she shook her head desperately, struggling fiercely.
No, it’s not like that; it has nothing to do with her master, it’s all her doing, the dismemberment she’ll endure, she’ll endure, it’s just unrelated to her master...
The Emperor looked at Qing Ya in the distance, his gaze as if looking at an ant.
He withdrew his gaze, ignoring Liu Fei’s pale words, spoke with even colder cruelty: "Someone come, Liu Lingyi poisoned serpents aiming to plot against me; I, considering your years in the palace and your father Liu Xianzhang’s merits in the Imperial Court, enshrined you with favor, strip the concubine rank, gift you a pot of Poisoned Wine to preserve the corpse. Choose a date to send the body to her father, completing the allegiance between lord and subject."
Consort Liu felt a shock through her liver and gall, exclaiming, "No! Your Majesty, how dare I harm you, I was only..."
At this point, she suddenly realized, admitting or not didn’t make a difference, nor did pointing out her intention was solely to frame the Noble Consort; would that change the outcome?
It was no use; His Majesty was deliberate; the serpents had indeed been cast into Canglan Court, the Sacred Path’s regular ground, let alone wanting to harm the former Great Empress Dowager’s Managerial Nanny.
Thinking of this, she felt crushed like winter’s dried grass, comprehending that Qing Ya’s dismemberment wasn’t solely due to this incident; past matters had long accumulated in the Emperor’s heart, only exploding thoroughly today.
She cried out in grief, laying on the ground weeping with covered face: "I can die, but my father is innocent, don’t, don’t let him see my corpse, that’ll make my father suffer more than death itself. For the sake of my father voluntarily resigning from the Libationer role back then to facilitate your reforms at the Imperial Academy, do not be this cruel."
She admitted fault in not getting Qing Ya ensnared in the boundless abyss, ready to die with her shattered body, unwilling to let her father endure further heartache.
"Innocent?" The Emperor as if hearing a joke, spoke icily: "It’s heard your father has been in the capital for some time. Without someone outside assisting, how could a deeply secluded palace woman like you have sourced so many serpents? Moreover, back then, your father resigned as Libationer was for you, not the Imperial Court, certainly not for me."