"If I had known it would turn out like this, why would I have gone through such a long detour!"
To seek revenge.
What kind of days have I lived through in the past six months, and what kind of days has Qingqing lived through?
Feeling infinitely relaxed and heartache, Zhao Junyao’s expression was quite complex.
Xia Ruqing smiled faintly.
"Indeed!"
"If only you had solved it directly from the beginning, it would have been much better!"
She sat beside him, personally poured a cup of fragrant tea and handed it to him.
"So, you must compensate me well in the future!"
Zhao Junyao turned to look at her, their eyes meeting.
He pulled her into his arms and listened to her steady heartbeat, suddenly feeling everything had become real and warm.
After a long while, he finally spoke.
"Alright!"
"In the future, I will spend my entire life compensating you!"
...
The Seventeenth Year of Jiayuan, April.
Empress Dowager Shih was stripped of her title for betraying the late Emperor, confusing the Royal Family’s lineage, poisoning the Emperor, and causing chaos in the harem, was demoted to commoner and sentenced to death, with the Shih family and nine of their clans eradicated.
Noble Consort Luo was likewise stripped of her rank and sentenced to death for conspiring to harm the Emperor.
Countless palace attendants and eunuchs were implicated, and for days Ningshou Palace and Xifu Palace became places of turmoil, with blood flowing on the grounds, and cries and screams for mercy lasting for three days and nights before quieting.
All palace attendants linked to the Empress Dowager survived none, all clubbed to death.
Even those residing in Xifu Palace, namely Honored Lady Bai and Honored Lady Yang, were drawn into the affair.
After this event, the once bustling Xifu Palace and Ningshou Palace became deserted, echoing with the stench of blood.
The palace attendants deemed these places ominous, avoiding them entirely in their paths.
Fear and anxiety haunted the palace.
Hopes ignited by Noble Consort Luo were dashed, leaving palace consorts retreating into their chambers.
The harem became tranquil, devoid of disturbance, sparing Xia Ruqing many woes.
Before the execution.
Zhao Junyao visited the Imperial Prison.
In three premium cells were Empress Dowager Shih, Shih Wanxin, and Luo Manman.
All three appeared disheveled, their once recognizable features turned gaunt and skeletal, their voices hoarse beyond recognition.
Catching sight of Zhao Junyao.
Shih Wanxin and Luo Manman rushed forward, crying out from behind the bars.
"Emperor!"
"Emperor, you’ve come to see me? Emperor!"
Their voices nearly synchronized.
Zhao Junyao twitched his lips, halted half a yard from them, and surveyed them with a sardonic laugh.
"You’ve reached this point and still don’t repent?"
Luo Manman desperately reached out, her face soaked in tears.
"Emperor!"
"It’s so dark here, I’m terrified. Please let me out!"
"Weren’t you the one who promised to always treat me well?"
"Emperor, Manman asks for nothing but to leave here quickly, afterward..."
"Afterward, I’ll no longer anger the Empress. Emperor, spare me and let me out!"
Luo Manman was on the verge of collapsing.
Shih Wanxin fared no better.
Yet, she uttered no honeyed words, only stood there, tears streaming.
"Cousin... I was wrong!"
Zhao Junyao surveyed them, chuckling coldly.
"It’s good you realize your mistakes!"
"As they say, ’to err and mend is the highest virtue!’"
The two, hearing this, thought hope was at hand, only to face his subsequent words.
"In the next life, correct yourself well, don’t act foolish thinking you’re clever!"
Suddenly, their flags were lowered.
The final spark of hope was doused without leaving any ember.
Face ashen, they collapsed to the ground in silence.
At this moment, the Empress Dowager in another cell remained composed.
Sitting cross-legged on a worn straw mat, she was quietly resting, neither listening nor speaking.
Zhao Junyao went over, his voice cold as he questioned.
"All these years, there’s one thing I’ve never understood. I hope you... can give me an answer!"
Without referring to her as Empress Dowager, nor using the term ’Shih’, ’you’ was all he could muster.
The Empress Dowager snapped her eyes open.
"What is it?"
Zhao Junyao spoke.
"If you hated me so, why did you not kill me at first?"
"Killing me now gains you no advantage, does it? Amid chaos, how will you fare well?"
The Empress Dowager sneered coldly.
"I refrained from killing you then because your identity secured my rank!"
"Killing you now... it loses me nothing!"
"It’s simply that, facing death, I wish to drag along a scapegoat! That’s all!"