The commotion from the inner room was so loud that the confidant standing outside sensed something was wrong. Quickly stepping past the screen, he was greeted by the sight of the Cheng Prince sitting pale-faced on the ground.
Not far in front of him lay the Dowager Consort, her eyes wide open, lifeless. Her body was sprawled on the floor, blood oozing from a gash on her forehead. The crimson stain had spread across her face and the ground beneath her, creating a horrifying tableau in the stormy night, illuminated by flashes of lightning.
“Dowager Consort!” the confidant exclaimed in shock. “Your Highness, the Dowager Consort, she…”
“Silence!” The Cheng Prince barked, snapping his head up with a fierce glare.
Outside, a deafening clap of thunder roared, the torrential rain pounding on the roof with an intensity that seemed to mirror the chaos within.
The Cheng Prince trembled as he rose to his feet. Wiping the blood from his hands hurriedly, his face pale, he said, “Bring Nanny Jiang here. Send someone to the princess’s chambers and tell her that the Dowager Consort woke up, quarreled with Nanny Jiang for some unknown reason, and ask her to come here.”
“But the princess is still unconscious…”
“Then summon Xiao Yan’s people! I don’t care how—just get someone from the main courtyard here!”
He hadn’t meant to harm his mother, let alone kill her. It was an accident… She had been gravely ill, but she had woken up. If it hadn’t been for Rong Yue’s sudden return, his mother wouldn’t have argued with him, and he wouldn’t have accidentally caused her death.
It was Rong Yue’s fault!
The Cheng Prince’s initial panic and helplessness twisted into grim determination. His breathing steadied as his expression turned cold and vicious. Convincing himself of the blame, he muttered under his breath, “It’s Rong Yue who killed her.”
His voice no longer wavered, and his face was now hardened with malice. “Tell them it was the heir who quarreled with the princess. I came to console her and never attended to the Dowager Consort.”
“Physician Sun discovered anomalies in the princess’s pregnancy, indicating foul play. Nanny Jiang, in her attempts to cover for the princess, accidentally caused the Dowager Consort’s death. Understand?”
The confidant’s heart trembled. “What about Physician Sun?”
“Kill him.”
Initially, the Cheng Prince had detained Physician Sun as a contingency plan. If anything happened to Rong Yue, he intended to bribe the physician into “testifying” against her.
He had planned to claim that the child in her womb wasn’t his, discrediting her and implicating Gu Helian. But now, with the sudden death of the Dowager Consort, he couldn’t risk leaving any loose ends.
The Cheng Prince’s mind raced, rationalizing his actions. If he could frame Rong Yue for the Dowager Consort’s death, not only would she and Gu Helian be doomed, but even Xiao Yan and Song Tang Ning—those meddling outsiders—would be implicated.
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became of his plan. Any remaining hesitation evaporated. His gaze hardened as he addressed his confidant.
“Make it clean. Leave no traces.”
The confidant lowered his head. “Understood.”
Boom!
The Cheng Princess sat in her room, her heart heavy with unease. The storm outside grew fiercer, the rain hammering against the roof with unrelenting force. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
She flinched, instinctively looking at Ling Yin.
“They’re here,” Ling Yin said softly.
Her words were both an answer to the knock and a signal to the princess that the moment they had been waiting for had arrived.
The princess clenched her hands tightly, struggling to calm herself. With Ling Yin’s assistance, she straightened her posture and nodded for her to open the door.
An undercover guard outside whispered urgently, “It’s someone from the Dowager Consort’s courtyard.”
The princess’s lips moved slightly, her voice barely audible against the rain, but Ling Yin heard her clearly.
“Nanny Jiang was taken to the Dowager Consort’s quarters by the Cheng Prince’s people. She hasn’t come out since. They’ve been guarding the area tightly, so we couldn’t get close enough to hear anything. Physician Sun was also taken. Fu Ye followed him.”
Ling Yin acknowledged this with a faint hum before turning to the approaching servant from the Dowager Consort’s quarters. “What is it?”
The servant bowed deeply. “You must be Ling Yin. The Dowager Consort has awoken but quarreled with Nanny Jiang for some reason…”
“If the Dowager Consort argued with someone, you should inform the prince,” Ling Yin replied coldly.
The servant’s expression grew anxious. “The prince is nowhere to be found, and no one in the residence dares to intervene. Nanny Jiang is the princess’s servant, so we thought it best to ask you to come.”
Ling Yin smirked inwardly at the transparent ruse. She could already guess that the Cheng Prince had set a trap in the Dowager Consort’s quarters, waiting for them to step into it.
Just as she was about to respond, the princess’s voice interrupted her.
“I’ll go.”
“Your Highness, you’re awake!” The servant feigned surprise, then relief. “Thank goodness! The Dowager Consort has been asking for you since she woke up. Nanny Jiang and the Dowager Consort were arguing fiercely, and we couldn’t stop them.”
“The Dowager Consort’s health is fragile. If this continues and something happens…”
“I’ll go now,” the princess said calmly.
“Your Highness!” Ling Yin’s expression turned disapproving as she looked at the princess. She couldn’t understand why the princess would willingly walk into such an obvious trap. But the princess met her gaze and asked softly, “If there’s danger, can you protect me?”
Ling Yin hesitated, then nodded. “I can.”
The princess’s lips curved into a faint, weary smile. “Then come with me.”
Ling Yin hesitated briefly but eventually relented. “Very well. I’ll go with you.”
The princess steadied herself and gently touched her slightly rounded belly. She turned to the servant and said, “Lead the way.”
The walk from the main courtyard to the Dowager Consort’s quarters wasn’t far, but the torrential rain seemed to tear the world apart.
By the time they reached the brightly lit quarters, there were no servants in sight. The Cheng Prince’s servant appeared increasingly flustered, hurrying them along. “Why is it so quiet? Could something have happened to the Dowager Consort?”
The princess remained silent as she stepped into the room. She walked straight to the inner chamber, where a figure could be faintly seen slumped over the bed through the screen. The shape resembled Nanny Jiang.
“Nanny Jiang?” the princess called softly.
There was no response. She approached with Ling Yin by her side.
“Nanny Jiang?” Ling Yin reached out to touch the woman’s shoulder, but the figure suddenly collapsed to the floor with a heavy thud.
In front of them, the Dowager Consort lay slumped over the bed, her forehead resting against the bloodied golden hook that held the bed’s curtains. Blood pooled on the floor, and the exposed back of her neck bore deep, finger-shaped bruises.
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You can read ahead to chapterr 234 (100+ extra chapters) here
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