After Ling Jingshu finished speaking, she fell silent.
The Emperor had not asked her any questions, and she knew better than to speak out of turn.
Tonight, the Emperor had personally caught the Empress in the act of betrayal — this was the moment of his deepest humiliation and greatest rage. When a person was at the peak of their fury, nothing they did would be surprising.
If the Emperor, in a single burst of wrath, ordered everyone in Jiaofang Palace put to death, she would not escape either.
The Emperor’s eyes remained overcast with dark clouds, his voice carrying a terrifying, oppressive weight: “You have only been in the palace for half a year, yet you already know of Yu Chun and the others who were favored. Rui Lian and her companions have served at the Empress’s side for years — how could they not know? And yet just now, right before Us, they dared to stand there and lie through their teeth.”
“What loyal servants indeed!”
The words ground out through clenched teeth, saturated with a killing intent that chilled the blood.
Ling Jingshu’s palms were damp with cold sweat. For the first time in her life, death felt this close: “Your Majesty, please calm your fury! This servant has told you everything she knows, without a single concealment.”
The Emperor regarded Ling Jingshu with cold eyes: “You truly hid nothing from Us?”
In a moment like this, there could not be even the slightest hesitation: “Yes. This servant swears to Heaven — if there is even half a word of falsehood, this servant is willing to die by a thousand cuts.”
Such a ruthless oath, once spoken, finally eased the Emperor’s oppressive expression by a fraction: “Since you speak with such certainty, We will believe you this once. Someone come — escort Ling Jingshu to the palace prison and hold her there to await Our judgment.”
He paused, then added: “See that she is held separately from Rui Lian and the others, and that she is treated without negligence.”
Ling Jingshu kowtowed deeply in gratitude: “This servant thanks Your Majesty for sparing her life.”
After Ling Jingshu rose and departed, whatever small softening had appeared on the Emperor’s face hardened again into cold ice: “Someone come — bring every eunuch that the female official just named. We will personally interrogate each of them today!”
When a consort, palace maid, or eunuch of the inner palace committed a grave offense, they would be imprisoned in the palace’s inner prison to await judgment.
The inner prison sat at the far northern corner of the entire palace complex, guarded in rotating shifts by several hundred Imperial Guards — it was so heavily secured that no one could approach without permission.
Once inside the inner prison, leaving again was no easy matter. Without the Emperor’s own word, one could only remain there indefinitely.
Ling Jingshu was escorted to the inner prison by several Imperial Guards.
Compared to the opulent splendor of the palace, this place felt like another world entirely.
Descending a narrow staircase, her gaze fell upon row after row of cramped cells. The women imprisoned inside wore expressions of hollow numbness and gloom. The dim, murky light only deepened the cold and shadowy atmosphere of the inner prison.
Rui Lian, Qiu Shuang, and the others were all locked inside. When they saw Ling Jingshu being brought in as well, their faces showed the silent understanding of those sharing the same misfortune — yet none of them dared to make a sound.
The eunuch handed Ling Jingshu over to the head guard of the inner prison: “This is Female Official Ling from Her Majesty the Empress’s side. The Emperor has specifically instructed that she is not to be treated with negligence.”
A man who had risen to the rank of head guard was naturally no fool — he immediately grasped the implication beneath the eunuch’s words.
Something enormous had happened in Jiaofang Palace tonight. Rui Lian and the others had been brought to the inner prison one after another. Yet the only one the Emperor had specifically ordered to be given special consideration was this Female Official Ling.
In the dim amber light, the female official’s slightly pale face was startlingly beautiful.
A woman like this — even if she had been implicated in Empress Xu’s fall and locked in the inner prison — would certainly not remain here long.
The head guard understood the situation at once and immediately called out: “Someone come — escort the female official down to the cells on the lower level.”
The first level of the inner prison housed the most common palace maids and eunuchs, in simple and sparse conditions.
The second level was reserved for consorts of the inner palace who had committed offenses. The cells there were considerably more spacious, each kept rather clean, with a bed, chairs, a chamber pot, and other necessities. The guards on the second level were all palace women — no men entered or exited.
To have Ling Jingshu, a female official, placed in the second level was already a special consideration.
The second level of the inner prison was not entirely empty — two consorts had been held there prior.
Ling Jingshu was escorted to the innermost cell.
A sturdy-built, plain-faced palace woman of about thirty years locked the cell with an expressionless face: “Three meals will be brought at their proper times. Stay inside and behave yourself — no screaming and shouting all day.”
Ling Jingshu nodded in silence.
She was exhausted in body and mind, her thoughts churning in confusion — she had no heart for conversation.
Seeing that she was quite compliant and unassuming, the palace woman felt rather satisfied, and in a rare moment of kindness spoke a few extra words: “Everyone brought into this prison has committed a grave offense. Unless the Emperor shows mercy, there is no hope of ever leaving. And no one is permitted to visit.”
“My advice to you — stay here quietly and behave, and perhaps there will come a day you walk out. If you dare to cause trouble, there will be no good outcome. Going without food for two days would be the lightest punishment.”
Ling Jingshu rallied her spirits: “Thank you for the warning. I will certainly stay quiet and behave — I will not shout or cry out.”
She had been startled awake from sleep and had left in such haste that there had been no time to dress her hair or adorn herself. She had only a single gold hairpin on her head and the jade bracelet she wore every day on her wrist.
Ling Jingshu pulled off both the gold hairpin and the jade bracelet, and pressed them into the palace woman’s hands: “I hope Elder Sister will look after me going forward.”
The gold hairpin was simple and elegant in design, crafted with fine workmanship. The jade bracelet was of excellent quality — one glance told anyone it was no ordinary piece.
The palace woman knew her valuables well. She weighed them in her palm, then quickly tucked them into her front, her face breaking into a smile: “It’s already past midnight — get some sleep. I’ll bring water in the morning for you to wash up.”
Ling Jingshu offered her thanks.
The palace woman departed soon after.
Ling Jingshu let out a long breath, swept her gaze around the cell, and a faint, bitter smile rose to her lips. She had not expected that after entering the palace, she would still face the misfortune of imprisonment.
The cell was reasonably clean — there was a bed, a table, chairs, a chest, and even a small bronze mirror.
Even the quarters of the lowest-ranking palace maids were somewhat better than this. She was in no position to be picky now.
Ling Jingshu walked to the bed and lay down fully clothed. So much had happened — she had no desire for sleep at all. She lay there with eyes open, her thoughts tumbling over one another.
Empress Xu’s downfall was now a foregone conclusion.
No matter how broad the Emperor’s heart might be, he would never tolerate a woman who had betrayed her marriage vows sitting on the Empress’s throne.
However, a scandal of this nature — involving the inner palace — was also something the Emperor would never wish to have spread abroad. That was why he had immediately sealed off Jiaofang Palace and was conducting private interrogations of everyone inside. Whatever punishment he dealt to Empress Xu, he would certainly use a different pretense for it.
Once Empress Xu fell, Prince Yan — whose wings had not yet fully grown — would lose his greatest support. He would be no match for the Crown Prince and the Crown Grandson. And as for Princess Changping, without Empress Xu as her backing, she would never again be as arrogant and domineering as she had been in Ling Jingshu’s previous life.
Everything she had known from her previous life had at last been turned in an entirely different direction.
And Wei Yan, too, could shed the heavy burden he had carried, and breathe quietly once again.
Though she was locked inside the prison, Ling Jingshu felt, strangely, no particular panic.
Wei Yan knew she had been locked in the inner prison — he would certainly find a way to get her out.
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