Chapter 35: The Past

When Consort Shu regained consciousness, she found herself back on the grand bed in the main hall of the Ban Yue Palace.

This place, built for the Empress, was majestic and resplendent with gold and glory.

In the past, no matter how she looked at it, she found it beautiful and delightful. But now... every glance chilled her heart.

She lay on the luxurious bed, enjoying a life of wealth, while the man she loved suffered excruciating torment in the torture chamber.

Jiang Qionglin’s heart was full of her!

He endured all the suffering for her, while she lived comfortably?

The echoes of Jiang Qionglin’s screams and his defense of her reverberated in Consort Shu’s mind, causing turmoil, regret, and guilt to consume her completely.

No matter what, I must save Qionglin.

Overwhelmed by guilt, Consort Shu immediately set off for the Qinzheng Hall.

Outside the Qinzheng Hall, An Suyun barred Consort Shu from entering: “Your Majesty said not to see you, Her Highness should return.”

“Then this palace shall kneel until His Majesty agrees to see me!” With determination, Consort Shu dropped to her knees with a thud. At this moment, she ignored the pain and her unborn child. Her sole thought was to rescue Jiang Qionglin.

Consort Shu knelt from sunrise to sunset. During each agonizing minute, whenever she thought of the tortures Jiang Qionglin endured in the torture chamber, she writhed in pain.

Meanwhile, Chen Zhao remained calm, focusing on discussions with her ministers. After concluding the affairs of state, she began reviewing a mountain of memorials.

The kneeling Consort Shu outside was like an invisible person to her; no matter how much Consort Shu cried or pleaded, she paid no heed.

Until evening, when an eunuch reported: “Your Majesty, Lord Jiang is near death! Should we summon the imperial physician?”

Upon hearing this, Consort Shu’s vision darkened, nearly fainting again. However, concerned for Jiang Qionglin’s safety, she gathered her strength and desperately begged: “Your Majesty! Please save Qionglin! We truly love each other! Please give him a chance to live!”

Chen Zhao, increasingly annoyed, rubbed her forehead, pondered carefully, and said sternly: “Summon him, of course. I have not yet vented my anger, and he cannot die just yet.”

“Yes.”

The conversation between the Empress and the eunuch echoed through the hall. Upon hearing this, Consort Shu felt as if struck by lightning.

“Your Majesty! Why are you treating him like this!” Consort Shu was agitated. At this moment, forgetting all etiquette, she rushed into the hall and angrily shouted: “You once liked him too! How can you bear to see him suffer so?”

“But now he loves you, and your illicit relationship has disgraced me. What face do I have left?” Chen Zhao finished speaking, waved her hand, signaling An Suyun and others to leave.

The palace maids nodded and respectfully retreated. In an instant, only Chen Zhao and Consort Shu remained in the great hall.

“Your Majesty, I beg you, spare Qionglin! If you agree to release him...”

“To me, Jiang Qionglin is merely a male favorite,” Chen Zhao interrupted her, “His disrespect and immoral acts in the palace are unforgivable crimes. I originally intended to kill him swiftly, but seeing how much you suffer for him, I changed my mind.”

“What?” Consort Shu was confused.

“If torturing him can prolong your suffering indefinitely, I don’t mind letting him stay in the torture chamber for life.” Chen Zhao smiled faintly and sipped her tea.

“Why!” Consort Shu’s eyes brimmed with sorrow: “What have I done to make you hate me so much!”

“I don’t hate you. I simply dislike my men being taken away by you repeatedly. Even if they are playthings I don’t care for, they shouldn’t fall into your hands,” Chen Zhao glanced at her and continued reviewing memorials. After a long pause, she added: “If he can make you suffer, naturally, I find joy in it.”

“So that’s how it is… So that’s how it is!” Consort Shu trembled all over, finally enlightened. She exclaimed: “You’ve always thought I stole your men? You’ve always believed that I harmed the third prince years ago? That bowl of abortion medicine was given by Your Majesty! It had nothing to do with me!”

“For all these years, you’ve hated the wrong person!” Consort Shu roared in anger.

“Even if it was medicine granted by the Emperor, wasn’t it because you whispered in his ear countless times? Didn’t you repeatedly say that my third prince, brought from the eastern capital’s dungeon, had impure bloodlines, didn’t you?” Chen Zhao closed her eyes, recalling the dark times of the past.

At that time, separated from Wu Yan for two years, news of her pregnancy spread quickly after their reunion. As her belly grew larger than usual, rumors began circulating in the palace that the child wasn’t Wu Yan’s. Gradually, the rumors spread to the court and streets. Subsequently, Wu Yan distanced himself from her and even gave her a bowl of abortion medicine.

But how could it not be Wu Yan’s!

It was a pair of twins!

By then, she was seven months pregnant. Due to that bowl of abortion medicine, the third prince was born prematurely, weak and plagued by illness. His twin brother in Chen Zhao’s womb was stillborn.

Later, as the third prince grew up, resembling Wu Yan greatly, she proved her innocence. However, her relationship with Wu Yan never returned to what it once was.

Wu Yan, too ashamed to face her, spent his days doting on his concubines.

Chen Zhao harbored resentment. Believing that avoiding him was best, she devoted herself entirely to state affairs.

Gradually, she took control of the government and monopolized military power. Eventually, she became ruthless, massacring the Wu royal family and executing everyone who had persecuted her.

Under the advice of veteran officials, Wu Yan attempted to reclaim imperial power, but it was already too late.

With military power in her grasp and the court under her command, Wu Yan became a puppet.

No one knows what happened between them on the night Wu Yan died. All that’s known is that after that, Chen Zhao never laughed openly again.

But at least no one could make her cry anymore.

Comparatively, she felt she came out ahead.

If given another chance to relive the past, she would still do the same. Only that bowl of abortion medicine—she would never drink it again.

Empress Chen descended from her throne and approached Consort Shu, looking down at her prostrate form, her face ashen, and said indifferently: “Do you know why I was once Empress, and you could only be a consort?”

Consort Shu raised her head, looking at her helplessly.

“Only the peony possesses true national beauty. Peonies and farewell flowers may resemble it, but they’re still just peonies. Regardless of dignity, appearance, or status, the gap remains evident. Though you resemble me greatly, you are only similar,” Chen Zhao smiled enigmatically: “A substitute, ultimately just my shadow, can achieve what greatness? You failed to see reality, blinded by futile love.”

Chen Zhao’s words did not provoke Consort Shu’s anger. Instead, she smirked, saying: “Heh, do you think Qionglin really loves you?”

Empress Chen paused, then burst into loud laughter: “Hahahaha—”

“Why are you laughing?” Consort Shu frowned.

“I laugh because you still fail to understand my words.” After Chen Zhao finished laughing, she sobered and spoke gravely: “The person I cherished most was never Jiang Qionglin.”

“Not Qionglin?” Consort Shu froze, astonished: “Not Qionglin?”

“My husband has always been one person only.”

Chen Zhao looked down coldly, mocking: “Jiang Qionglin is just a dog by my side. Only you regard him as a treasure.”

“So that’s how it is…” Consort Shu’s eyes widened in shock, horrified: “So that’s how it is! The person you loved was Wu Yan, whom you personally killed!”

“Correct.”

“So… you’ve hated me for so many years!” Consort Shu’s eyes widened, visibly shocked.

“Yes! It was you who took everything from me! Forcing me to take drastic measures… to personally kill the one I loved most!” Chen Zhao’s deepest pain was exposed, and she wished to carve the person before her into pieces.

However, due to Wu Yan’s edict, despite her desire to torture Consort Shu cruelly, she couldn’t.

“Ho ho, ho ho ho… Ha ha ha ha—! It was because of this!” Consort Shu collapsed on the ground, laughing grotesquely.

“Are you done laughing?” Chen Zhao’s face turned cold.

“No.” Consort Shu suddenly lost her fear, laughing uncontrollably until tears streamed down her face.

Gradually calming her laughter, she said: “Initially, the clan leader sent you into the palace, making you the principal wife. Later, when Wu Yan rebelled, you were detained in the eastern capital, your fate uncertain. To consolidate imperial power, the clan leader ordered my father to send me to Wu Yan. But even if he loved me, what difference did it make? You always oppressed me. You also drove my child to death!”

“The late emperor favored me solely because everything you did broke his heart!” Consort Shu’s face filled with sorrow and rage: “After your abortion, you buried yourself in state affairs, ignoring him. He was an emperor! How could he lower his head to you repeatedly as you grew colder day by day? Can you honestly say your behavior didn’t contribute to the eventual outcome? You are ruthless and unscrupulous. How dare you blame everything on me!”

“...”

Consort Shu’s barrage of questions left Chen Zhao speechless. She admitted that she had wronged Wu Yan in many ways, but without Consort Shu’s interference, she and Wu Yan wouldn’t have ended up in armed conflict.

“Nothing to say? Am I right?” Consort Shu bitterly asked: “Since you don’t love Qionglin, why won’t you return him to me? I never wanted to compete with you!”

“Never?” Chen Zhao narrowed her eyes: “If not, why did you conceive with Jiang Qionglin? If I recall correctly, Qionglin belongs to me. Are you denying you coveted him first?”

“I… I initially just wanted to tease him, but unexpectedly, I fell deeply… In this world, only he truly loves me! I beg you, release him!” Consort Shu’s large tears flowed as she saw Chen Zhao’s expression soften slightly. Kneeling, she begged: “Please, return him to me!”

Chen Zhao sighed, smiled coldly, shook her head, and said: “The late emperor’s edict forbids harming you, so let’s focus on the person you love.”

“What…” Consort Shu’s eyes widened.

“The more you love him, the more I will torture him. There are thousands of torture methods in the torture chamber, one per day, enough for three years.”

“You…” Consort Shu collapsed in despair, envisioning Jiang Qionglin enduring endless torture, begging for death.

Yet, until his last breath, he protected her, unwilling to implicate her.

At this moment, she, like him, only wanted to protect the one she loved.

“What must I do to spare Qionglin?” Consort Shu despaired but refused to give up.

“This is my affair, not yours to meddle in,” Chen Zhao coldly smiled: “The only thing I’m certain of is that if you die, my anger will subside by seventy to eighty percent.”

“Truly?”

“The sovereign speaks no jest.”

“Fine! I’m willing! I’ll willingly die in Qionglin’s stead!” Consort Shu urgently replied.

“Heh, if you die, someone will surely submit a memorial accusing me. I don’t fear criticism, only trouble.” Chen Zhao finished speaking and exhaled deeply.

Supporting her forehead, she thought for a moment and added: “If you want to die, do it far away, so no one thinks I dirtied my hands.”

“I will die cleanly, leaving no trace!” Consort Shu declared firmly, her expression resolute, devoid of any hint of jest.

“If you understand, that’s good.” Chen Zhao seemed satisfied. This was the result she desired most.

“Before my death, I only ask one favor: after I die, stop torturing Qionglin...” Consort Shu paused briefly, then suddenly seized Chen Zhao’s sleeve, imploring: “Find a peaceful place for him to live out his days, or grant him a swift death. Just stop torturing him! He has suffered enough in this life!”

“That depends on whether your death pleases me.” Chen Zhao kicked her away, snorted coldly, and departed.

Consort Shu watched Chen Zhao’s retreating figure, noticing it resembled her appearance twenty years ago when they first met.

Though she now wore the dragon robe, her aura had never changed.

That innate coldness was unforgettable.

At that time, Chen Zhao, holding the eldest prince, who was still a child, appeared emaciated before her. The eyes staring at her were filled with confusion.

Yes, from that moment, she hated her.

In the year Wu Yan rebelled, Chen Zhao was trapped in the eastern capital, enduring two years alone with her children in the dungeon. When she returned to the palace, the position closest to Wu Yan’s heart had already been occupied by her.

Consort Shu now clearly understood that Chen Zhao’s fury wasn’t because she conceived with Jiang Qionglin—it stemmed from hatred buried in her heart twenty years ago.

Even if she belatedly realized this was all part of Chen Zhao’s scheme, using Jiang Qionglin’s body to force her own demise, what difference did it make?

She couldn’t let go of Qionglin.

He was a man who protected her even amidst immense suffering…

Though just a male favorite, he was far more sincere than the hypocritical King Xian, who feigned affection for her years ago. When she was nine months pregnant, due to the Chen family’s coup, King Xian forced her to give birth prematurely to a stillborn. After that, she never conceived again.

The daily doses of contraceptive medicine were bitter. King Xian sat beside her, urging her to drink each bowl, offering a honey date as consolation.

Oh right, not just honey dates, but silk robes and countless treasures.

Don’t mention how unworthy he was of being a king—he didn’t even qualify as a decent husband.

She understood she was merely a pawn in the political struggle of her family. Despite her former glory, no one truly loved her.

Only now did she realize that Jiang Qionglin was the most upright man in her life.

He remembered to protect her until his last breath.

“It’s fine. From now on, I won’t have to endure the pain of separation and loneliness in this deep palace. I won’t need to watch the lonely lamp through the night. Once I die, Qionglin will be free, and my death will be worthwhile…”

Consort Shu smiled tragically. Her only regret was not seeing Qionglin one last time to tell him: “If our child could have been born, he would have been the most beautiful child in the world…”

That night, Consort Shu locked herself in a small courtyard behind the Ban Yue Palace. Outside, lay her golden books, seals, and a letter to Jiang Qionglin. Additionally, there was a complete set of noble consort attire.

She doused the room with alcohol, knocked over the candlestick, and with a loud crash, flames engulfed the entire room…