It was already dusk when Lady Zhou awoke.
Gazing at the empty room around her, the thought of her personal Palace Maid being taken to the Punishment Department felt like knives carving at her heart.
Struggling to her feet, she ran to the entrance of Noble Concubine Shih’s main hall and knelt.
Weeping, she kowtowed repeatedly.
"Noble Consort, I swear I did not harm Xia Jieyu! I did not even leave my room!"
"Noble Consort, please, save me!"
If Lan Xiang were to be coerced into a false confession in the Punishment Department, she herself would not be spared either.
When a Palace Maid makes a mistake, who’s to say it wasn’t at her mistress’s command?
By then, the accusation of plotting against the emperor’s heir would be pinned on her!
This was truly... a complete and utter disaster!
The more Lady Zhou thought about it, the more frightened she became.
BANG, BANG, BANG! Her head hit the ground louder and louder. Soon, her forehead was bruised and purple.
Just then, a rumble of thunder rolled, followed by large drops of rain beginning to fall.
July marked the transition between summer and autumn; the rain came without warning.
Noble Concubine Shih was reclining by the window on a large welcoming pillow.
While drinking tea, she took pleasure in watching Lady Zhou’s drenched-dog appearance.
After half a Shi Chen, Lady Zhou, soaked by the rain and drained from kowtowing, had no strength left and collapsed in the puddles like a lump of mud.
The heavy rain stopped, but a drizzle persisted.
Noble Concubine Shih came out, holding an umbrella.
Her clothes and jewelry were still as magnificent as ever. She remained stunningly beautiful, still looking down on others from her lofty position in the rain.
Regrettably, the person in this position had changed from the Lady Xia of the past to the Lady Zhou of the present.
Xia Ruqing had luck on her side. Previously, she had almost caught a cold from kneeling in the rain and had nearly ended up holding a grudge against Noble Concubine Shih.
But fortunately, all that was in the past.
Now, Lady Zhou was not so lucky.
Noble Concubine Shih coldly observed her, a trace of scorn curling at the corner of her mouth.
"What’s the matter? Weren’t you diligently running to the Empress not too long ago?"
"This time, I want to see if you still dare to go!"
Lady Zhou lay collapsed on the ground, her face a picture of despair.
Disbelief filled her heart.
Could it be that she had done something wrong? It wasn’t just her who was trying to win the Empress’s favor.
Aren’t all the new Honored Ladies in the palace trying to please the Empress?
Noble Concubine Shih has fallen out of favor and lost her power. Even in her anger, she couldn’t possibly want my life, could she?
With this thought, Lady Zhou felt a surge of indignation and grievance.
"So, is Noble Consort accusing me falsely and blaming me for harming Xia Jieyu?"
Noble Concubine Shih’s fine eyebrows arched.
"Oh my, Lady Zhou, are you questioning me?"
"Aren’t you aware of what you’ve done yourself? I certainly haven’t wronged anyone!"
Lady Zhou’s eyes were filled with despair.
"But I didn’t do it!"
Noble Concubine Shih laughed heartily.
"With both witnesses and physical evidence present, who would believe you if you say you didn’t do it?"
With that, she turned and walked away, laughing heartily.
Lady Zhou felt as if her spirit had been drained, her body collapsing limply to the ground.
Is this... the end? Am I going to die?
She didn’t want to die! She didn’t want to die at all!
Before she could react, Noble Concubine Shih gave another order.
"Ying Yue, have someone watch her. Make sure she doesn’t commit suicide out of fear of punishment, or... harm anyone else!"
Ying Yue quickly nodded in acknowledgment.
「...」
「Inside the Punishment Department.」
Palace Maiden Lan Xiang, Lady Zhou’s personal attendant, was tied to an iron post.
A vicious Little Eunuch was lashing her repeatedly with a blood-stained whip.
Lan Xiang’s body was already covered in blood.
"Such a tough one for a Little Palace Maid! Speak up! Was it your mistress who ordered you to harm Xia Jieyu?"
Lan Xiang weakly shook her head.
"No... it wasn’t!"
The Little Eunuch whipped her furiously again.
"No? Then tell me, how did you get that injury on your leg?"
Lan Xiang had almost passed out and muttered dazedly.
"Someone... someone beat me!"
The Little Eunuch sneered.
"Hmph! If you hadn’t been sneaking around playing tricks, would anyone have beaten you?!"
"Men! Keep beating her! Let’s see if she confesses!"
After saying so, he whipped her a few more times.
Just then, Xiao Xizi suddenly arrived.
The Little Eunuch quickly put down the whip, his face instantly breaking into a fawning smile as he hurried to greet him.
"Eunuch Xi, you’ve taken the trouble to come all this way! I am truly grateful!"
"The reason I troubled you to come today was to ask you to identify if this Palace Maid was the female ghost from that night!"
Saying so, he pointed at the Palace Maid bound to the iron pillar, who was covered in blood.
When Xiao Xizi saw the gory scene, goosebumps rose all over his skin.
"This..."
She’s beaten like this, what is there to see?
Calling me over to identify her now, are they genuinely trying to catch the female ghost?
Xiao Xizi sneered inwardly.
But since he was here, he had to take a look, didn’t he?
He scrutinized her carefully but still couldn’t recognize her.
"It doesn’t quite look like her."
"That female ghost—I don’t know if she was wearing a mask or had caked her face with white powder—but her face was very white!"