Chapter 161

The candlelight in the palace hall was dim and yellow, which made Consort Shu's beautiful complexion appear indistinct.

Her face was expressionless as she lightly asked, "Did you find out what she has confessed to?"

Xiao Fuzi told her one by one, "She admitted that Consort Shu had given The Emperor an aphrodisiac in order to compete for his favor;

She harmed the former Consort Yi by pushing her off a rockery to make it look like an accident;

Also...just as we suspected before, Consort Shu's child could not have been sustained anyway. On that day, the sachet containing bulrush purple grass that was placed in the Empress's palace was also arranged by Consort Shu in order to frame the Empress.

In addition, regarding the snake disaster in the plum garden last winter, it was also meticulously arranged by Consort Shu with the intention of harming Consort Chen. There are many more..."

"I see. No matter which of these matters, they would completely deprive her of any chance of turning the situation around. Her play should also come to an end." Song Zhao waved her hand to signal Xiao Fuzi to stop continuing.

Xiao Fuzi responded: "She did a lot of evil deeds, so it's her own fault that she ended up in this situation today. She has no one else to blame."

Song Zhao nodded silently, but there were no big ripples in her heart.

Strangely, overthrowing Consort Shu should have been an extremely gratifying matter, but Song Zhao did not feel the joy she had imagined.

On the contrary, she felt a little tired.

If it was an ordinary wealthy family, the pregnant woman would only need to lie down and recuperate, living a moisturized life without lifting a finger.

But once she entered the palace, entered this place of supreme nobility throughout the world, even to safely give birth to a child required racking her brains and going through great pains.

It was really absurd.

Later Xiao Fuzi added: "The Empress used a scheme to restrain the Queen, and also pulled down Consort Shu in one fell swoop. The Empress did this all because she was thinking of the crown prince being born safely in the future. However, Consort Chen has now gained great power because of this. With her vicious nature, and the Empress being so close to her, I'm worried..."

"She won't." Song Zhao said firmly: "Even if she wanted to move against me, it would only happen after I've safely given birth. She is ruthless, but she won't harm the crown prince. If she wanted to make a move, I'm afraid the Empress would have already had an accident." She raised her brows and looked at the puzzled Xiao Fuzi, slowly saying:

"Haven't you noticed? Ever since the Empress got pregnant, the scent of Consort Yun's powder has changed.

I guessed that the scent of the powder she used before would be detrimental to the Empress's heart condition.

Consort Chen had always believed that her child was killed by the Empress, so she secretly collaborated with Consort Yun and had Consort Yun apply that kind of powder every day and flaunt it in front of the Empress, causing the Empress's heart condition to remain unhealed for a long time.

But now, the scent has changed, which also means that Consort Chen and Consort Yun have temporarily stayed their hands."

Song Zhao lowered her brows and gently caressed her slightly bulging belly, murmuring:

"She couldn't even bear to kill the Empress's child, let alone me, with whom she has never harbored a deep hatred."

Xiao Fuzi lamented: "She has softened her heart after all."

"When has she ever had a soft heart?" Song Zhao shook her head with a cold laugh, mocking and lamenting:

"She just loves The Emperor too much."

*

At the same time, in the Chao Yang Palace.

The atmosphere in the grand hall was oppressive.

Xiao Jingheng sat upright at the head, his brows and eyes full of natural majesty and prestige.

Below the hall,

Consort Shu, dressed in plain clothes with her hairpin removed and wearing the garb of a criminal, quietly knelt.

Placed in front of her was Qing Yue's confession written in blood,

The confession was detailed, leaving Consort Shu no room to refute even a little.

With things having reached this point, she simply resigned herself to her fate and no longer feared anything.

Of course, she still had to personally admit to each of these evil deeds before it was considered finished. So Xiao Jingheng suppressed his anger and asked her, "When you were still a consort in the past, you were as close as sisters with Consort Yi. Why did you kill her?"

Consort Shu spoke indifferently: "It was because she discovered that I had put an aphrodisiac in The Emperor's wine. So she had to die."

Xiao Jingheng frowned.

He had never imagined that the person in the harem who looked the most gentle and tranquil would be able to speak of murder so lightly.

"I have not mistreated you! When I first ascended the throne, you and Consort Chen were the ones I favored most. Why did you still need to use such despicable means to compete for favor?"

Consort Shu laughed coldly a few times, raised her brows and looked straight at the Emperor,

"Was The Emperor really favoring me back then? The Emperor only felt that he couldn't restrain himself when he was with me, and selfishly enjoyed the pleasure beneath my hips! I know that I'm ordinary looking and have no talents, but my admiration for The Emperor was genuine."

The smile on her face gradually froze, and when she recalled the past, her eyes also became empty,

"I still remember when I first met The Emperor. At that time, The Emperor was still the Prince, and I was only thirteen years old. The Emperor taught me how to practice writing characters with his hand. At that time, I felt that The Emperor's hands were so strong and warm, as if by holding my hands, he could grab hold of my heart.

I had liked The Emperor ever since then. Later, when I learned that The Emperor had chosen me to enter the palace as a consort, I was overjoyed and couldn't sleep for nights. But what happened after I entered the palace?

After entering the palace, The Emperor courteously treated the Empress, doted on Consort Chen exclusively, and even Consort Yao, whose status was not as high as mine, gained The Emperor's favor because of her graceful figure. Did The Emperor even remember me? If it wasn't for me using those aphrodisiacs, I'm afraid The Emperor would not even look at me properly until now!"

Her words were full of grief, but did not earn a moment of sympathy from Xiao Jingheng.

On the contrary, it made Xiao Jingheng feel that what she said was a huge joke.

"So you think that because I neglected you, you could drug Me. Is that right?"

"What else could I do? Why does The Emperor still blame me now?" Consort Shu had completely smashed the vase. She didn't even try to cover up, and shamelessly retorted Xiao Jingheng,

"When The Emperor lay on top of me, writhing in pleasure at the climax, were you not extremely ecstatic and said that I was the woman you loved most in this life?"

"Insolent!"

Having the veil stripped away, Xiao Jingheng was extraordinarily angry. He angrily stopped Consort Shu from continuing to speak,

"You used despicable means to obtain this favor. Are you satisfied with this?" And Consort Shu could only smile bitterly and shake her head,

"But in the end, what did I get?"

Xiao Jingheng's eyes grew colder as he continued to question: "So you wanted to kill her just because of this?"

"That's right! I wanted her dead! Heaven knows and earth sees, she will not have a good ending." At that time, it was winter. I searched everywhere and finally found two short-tailed pit vipers. But on that day, a sharp-nosed viper, which is even more toxic than the short-tailed pit viper, unexpectedly appeared! Haha! Who would have known that it was not because Consort Chen herself did too many evil things that even the Old Man in Heaven couldn't bear to see her anymore and was eager to take her wicked life!"