Madam Zhao was "smuggled" out of the Zhao residence by Yuejian. When they arrived hastily at Jiyun Alley, Tang Ning saw her in a rather disheveled state.
Yuejian whispered about Madam Zhao's situation.
"Miss, as you suspected, Madam Zhao was kept in the dark about today's events."
"She caught a chill last night and stayed home today, but in reality, she was drugged. When I arrived, there were guards in her courtyard. Not daring to delay, I knocked them out and helped Madam Zhao over the wall."
She had acted within the Zhao family. Fortunately, the Zhao family hadn't anticipated anyone would "rescue" Madam Zhao, so the guards weren't very vigilant. They managed to get her out without alarming others.
Tang Ning looked at Madam Zhao, whose hair was slightly disheveled, pale, and red-eyed.
"Princess Xiangning, your people say, Xiangxuan is dead?"
Tang Ning, seeing Madam Zhao's concern for the Fourth Prince's consort, spoke:
"Madam Zhao, the Fourth Prince's consort is indeed dead. She died this morning in the Privy Council prison, strangled to death and staged as a suicide to frame the Privy Council and my brother."
Seeing Madam Zhao about to speak, Tang Ning raised her hand.
"I don't have time to explain everything now. You just need to know that the Fourth Prince's consort was used as a pawn."
"The Lu family intended to frame my brother, using the consort's death. Zhao Laofu and others in your household must have received some benefit, sacrificing the consort's life to protect the family's reputation, colluding with the Lu family to harm her."
"Now, the Zhao family is causing a scene in the palace, claiming my brother and Privy Council officials killed the consort to silence her and cover up the Lingyun Temple incident."
"I know you loved the consort. If you want to avenge her, are you willing to join forces with me?"
Madam Zhao was stunned by Tang Ning's words. Her daughter was truly dead? Tears welled up in her eyes, and she looked at Tang Ning with fury.
"Join forces? My daughter was killed, and you're not innocent..."
"I'm indeed not innocent. But if she hadn't schemed against me first, she wouldn't have been caught in the Lingyun Temple incident."
Seeing Madam Zhao's expression freeze, then turn to anger, Tang Ning spoke calmly:
"I had conflicts with the consort, but after her imprisonment, I didn't pursue the matter further or try to harm her. Otherwise, do you think she would have been so peaceful in prison?"
"She schemed against me to ruin me. My retaliation was for self-preservation. The Second Prince and others took advantage of the situation to ruin her reputation; that was her own fault."
"But I never intended for her death. She has been sufficiently punished, and our enmity was resolved. Yet now she has died unjustly in prison, becoming a pawn in someone else's scheme. Madam Zhao, can you accept this?"
Tears streamed down Madam Zhao's face.
She had carried her daughter for ten months, cherished her as a treasure. How could she accept this?
Tang Ning softened her tone and spoke to the grieving woman:
"She could have left prison, even with a tarnished name. But she was used by others. If we investigated this matter, with the Zhao family's status, we could have pressure the Fourth Prince to divorce her, sent her out of the capital. She might have had a chance to start anew."
"She could have survived. Things change daily in the capital. After ten or eight years, no one would remember the Lingyun Temple incident. She could live peacefully elsewhere."
"But the Zhao family, to protect their reputation and for the benefits from the Lu family, unhesitatingly sacrificed her."
Tang Ning looked at Madam Zhao, who was clutching her sleeve and crying bitterly.
"The Fourth Prince's consort was strangled to death, her neck broken and hung on the prison door. Even in death, she was used thoroughly."
"Her grandmother, father, and siblings treated her as a stepping stone to climb higher, with no regard for her untimely death."
"If even you, Madam Zhao, don't pity her and seek justice, she might never find peace, even in death."
Madam Zhao's tears fell incessantly: "My daughter... my Xiang'er..."
Standing nearby, Rong Yue's expression was complex. She approached Madam Zhao and said:
"Madam Zhao, I know you resent Tang Ning for exposing the Lingyun Temple incident. But in the end, the Fourth Prince's consort secretly harmed Tang Ning first."
"Their enmity was long settled, and the consort was deceived by the Empress and her son. After Tang Ning learned of this, she didn't intend to pursue it further."
"Recently, I've heard that you're the only one in the Zhao family advocating for the consort. Tang Ning once told me about your motherly love. The consort was misled and used. She said that once the Lingyun Temple matter is cleared up, she wouldn't pursue the consort anymore."
"But who knew..."
Rong Yue took Madam Zhao's hand. Seeing she didn't resist, her mind relaxed slightly.
"I don't know why the Zhao family is so heartless. But if someone harmed my child like this, I would risk everything to make them pay."
"My child is my life. Who has the right to decide her life or death? Why?"
Madam Zhao thought of Rong Yue's past, of her child who was swapped and whose whereabouts and fate were unknown. Grief overwhelmed her.
Tang Ning spoke softly: "I know you also despise me, but now only I can help you."
"The Zhao family drugged you to keep you in the residence, not wanting you to know they killed your daughter. They hid from you, sacrificing your flesh and blood."
"You were the Zhao family's second wife. The only one connected by blood in the entire Zhao family was the Fourth Prince's consort. After today, if the Zhao family's plans succeed, the consort will bear the infamy for life. Death won't erase it. And to ensure everything is covered up, they might not hesitate to harm you."
"But if you're willing to help me, I can promise to clear the consort's name. Though she can't be completely innocent, at least in the eyes of future generations, she won't be seen as a malicious woman who ruined others' reputations. She'll be viewed as a pitiful woman deceived and harmed by others."
"Afterwards, if you wish to leave the Zhao family, my brother and I can assist you, letting you live under the protection of the Gu family in Zuozhou, ensuring you a life of wealth."
"If you wish to stay in the Zhao family, we can support you, making sure no one dares to harm you, allowing your daughter to leave the royal family and be buried in the Zhao family's ancestral tomb as the legitimate daughter, receiving ancestral worship."
Madam Zhao's expression changed as she listened to Tang Ning's words. She hated Tang Ning but hated the Empress and her son and the Zhao family even more.
She knew Tang Ning wouldn't approach her without reason. And she had been here for so long, with only Tang Ning appearing, not a trace of Xiao Yan. They must have difficulties.
But even if that's the case, she can help her daughter.
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