The palace maid who had served wine to the Eldest Prince at yesterday's banquet had confessed.
The entire affair had indeed been orchestrated by the Empress.
The drugging agent added to the wine—there was even some left in her chambers.
Moreover, the Empress's palace had yielded a number of other incriminating details upon search.
The evidence was irrefutable. With the truth laid bare, the Empress could no longer deny her involvement. Any further protest was pointless.
Emperor Xuanwu did not grant her even the smallest chance to plead for mercy. The moment the facts were confirmed, He immediately pronounced the judgment He had long since prepared.
"Your Majesty!"
Even when the evidence had first been presented, the Empress had not looked so utterly terrified.
Had Yun Shu not come out of it completely unscathed? In the end, wasn't it the Eldest Prince of Bei Xiang and herself who had suffered the consequences?
How could His Majesty be this biased?
The Empress's eyes were red with rage. But Emperor Xuanwu had truly steeled Himself this time. He gave orders to escort the Empress back to Fengyi Palace immediately. At first light the next morning, she was to be sent to Longhua Temple.
He would not even allow her to remain until after New Year's Eve.
Seeing how mercilessly Emperor Xuanwu dealt with the Empress, the heir of Prince Lian suddenly lost much of his earlier bravado.
Before His Majesty could speak any further judgment, the prince quickly tried to defend himself.
"Our Eldest Prince never had any intention of harming your country's Fi—Her Highness Princess Sheng An.
He was merely too fond of Her Highness and, in a moment of confusion, committed a grave mistake.
But now Princess Sheng An has not suffered so much as a scratch, while our Eldest Prince has been poisoned twice and utterly humiliated. He has already paid dearly for his actions. If Your Majesty remains unsatisfied and insists on severe punishment, it may jeopardize the peace between our two nations!"
"Does affection justify drugging someone?"
Emperor Xuanwu's voice rang out like thunder.
"What do you take the princesses of Tian Sheng for?"
He had been an emperor for many years. When He truly revealed His fury, the pressure He exuded was suffocating.
The heir of Prince Lian trembled under that gaze, his voice growing weak.
"Our… our Eldest Prince truly acted out of momentary folly. There will absolutely not be a next time."
"You still dare to speak of a next time?"
Emperor Xuanwu's tone rose sharply. The heir of Prince Lian was so panicked he nearly shook his head off.
"No, certainly not! Never again!"
"We do not believe you would dare." With a cold snort, Emperor Xuanwu seemed to rein in His anger for a moment, but His next words came laced with a dangerous calm.
"Our Xiao Wu is kind and innocent. Until now, she has never encountered such chilling malice. What you have done has surely planted a thorn in her heart. Even if We were to have you all executed, that wound may never fully heal."
"Your Majesty speaks truly!" The heir of Prince Lian dropped to the floor, forehead pressed to the cold stone, all traces of arrogance gone.
If Emperor Xuanwu had begun in this killing mood, one might have thought He was merely acting in anger, and that His wrath would subside after time.
But this was different.
This killing intent had emerged only after careful thought—after He had calmed down.
Which meant: Emperor Xuanwu had considered every angle and still judged them worthy of death.
The heir of Prince Lian was so terrified he began to stammer.
"I… but… Your Majesty, does not Tian Sheng have a saying? 'Let the one who tied the bell untie it.'
Perhaps we… perhaps we can help Her Highness untie the knot in her heart."
"You?"
Emperor Xuanwu gave him a slow, scornful look, scrutinizing him from head to toe as if evaluating whether such a thing were even possible.
After a long pause, He seemed to concede, if only reluctantly, and with visible concern for His daughter.
"Very well. We shall give you this opportunity. If you can earn Shu'er's forgiveness and remove the shadow from her heart before your departure, then We will let the matter rest.
But if you fail…
Then do not blame Us for showing no mercy."
"Rest assured, Your Majesty. We shall do all we can to win the Princess's forgiveness!"
The tension in the heir of Prince Lian finally eased.
It felt as though he had survived a brush with death. Even the air around him seemed easier to breathe.
The following day, by the time Yun Shu finally made it to lunch after spending the entire morning in the Hall of Scholarly Instruction, news had already reached her.
The Bei Xiang envoy had delivered a mountain of gifts in apology.
"Just gifts? Nothing else?"
Yun Shu had returned late the night before and had risen early for her studies. She still hadn't heard how Emperor Xuanwu had handled the Empress and the Eldest Prince.
Surely Imperial Father had not settled everything… with just some gifts?
"They sent a message as well," Ting Xue replied without hiding anything.
"They admitted that the Eldest Prince was in the wrong for drugging Your Highness, but he has yet to recover from the poison and remains unconscious.
As a gesture of remorse, they have sent these gifts in the hope that Your Highness will accept them—and forgive their transgression.
If Your Highness does not accept, they will continue trying to demonstrate their sincerity until you do."
"Again with this 'sincerity' nonsense?"
Yesterday, the Eldest Prince had also claimed he wanted to prove his sincerity. But in truth, it had all been a pretense to drug her.
Now today, the Bei Xiang delegation had come bearing gifts and another promise to demonstrate sincerity.
What were they plotting this time?
"Fifth Sister, why aren't you coming in?"
Just as Yun Shu's thoughts began to darken with suspicion, Yun Chuhuan—who had run ahead into the dining hall after class due to hunger—finally remembered his Fifth Sister.
He turned his head and called out loudly.
"There's radish today!"
Yun Shu: "…"
He was a prince, wasn't he? Could he stop treating a single radish like treasure?
Granted, without refrigeration, fresh vegetables were hard to come by year-round. The palace had to store long-lasting vegetables like cabbage and radish in underground cellars.
But still…
Whenever she saw Yun Chuhuan, who could throw around silver notes like scrap paper without blinking, getting this excited over a radish, she couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed.
Shaking her head, Yun Shu took a seat across from Yun Chuhuan and picked up her chopsticks.
"I'll have to visit the Imperial Study this afternoon," she said casually. "So I won't be playing cards with you all today."
"No way!"
The radish in Yun Chuhuan's mouth immediately lost its flavor.
Ever since the autumn hunt, he had grown fond of playing cards. Whenever he had nothing better to do, he would gather Yun Shu, Liu Ziming, and Cen Yiyi for a few rounds.