Chapter 607: Chapter 607: The Pawn Crosses the River Unstoppably

Inside Star Palace.

Consort Zhen knelt weakly in the grand hall, her complexion pale, trembling all over, tears streaming down her face, filled with self-blame and remorse, yet coupled with fear and unease. She hurriedly confessed, revealing the details of the plot against the Imperial Heir as she knew them.

Finally, Consort Zhen slowly bowed her head, trembling as she said, “Your Majesty, your servant knows her sins are grave. But whenever I think about how my cowardice and incompetence, fearing others’ power and not daring to identify the real culprit, caused Sister Lian to suffer and allowed Consort De to be wrongly accused without the chance for her name to be cleared, I find myself unable to eat or sleep. But your servant is truly afraid of that person…”

Compared to before, she had lost much weight, dark circles under her eyes, her face haggard, looking as if she hadn’t slept well for days.

She sobbed as if recalling something terrifying, and only after a long while did she calm down and raise her head to gently wipe away her tears. “When your servant was still waiting in her maiden chambers, my late father taught me to live righteously and sit upright, without shame, true to one’s conscience. Your servant has failed to uphold my father’s teachings and Your Majesty’s imperial grace. My crimes deserve death a thousand times over…”

As she spoke, she slowly prostrated herself.

The hall fell silent, only her sobbing could be heard.

The Emperor on his throne, his expression unreadable, looked down at the woman below and said authoritatively, “Consort Zhen, your actions are no different from those of an accomplice. Do you realize what you are saying?”

Consort Zhen timidly lifted her head as if overcoming some of her inner fear, and said firmly, “Your servant knows, and it is precisely because I know that I come to confess to Your Majesty. Though it is late, your servant does not wish that person to remain above the law nor for Consort De to be punished in his stead. I only ask to punish the real culprit and give Sister Lian and the child in her womb justice.”

The Emperor signaled Zhang Qing.

Zhang Qing bent forward understandingly, took a few steps closer, and said sternly, “Consort Zhen, if it is found that you falsely accused the Noble Consort, committing a crime against superiors, such acts of deceiving the sovereign should, by rights, result in execution. Can you bear the consequences?”

Consort Zhen’s body shuddered, yet she still said resolutely, “Your servant is willing to stake her life to guarantee, every word your servant speaks is true. Those people, they are all accomplices. Verifying them will prove the truth of your servant’s words. I beg Your Majesty for a thorough investigation.”

“Very well, let it be as you say.” The Emperor instructed below, “Zhang Qing, go yourself, convey my imperial decree, let the Punishment Bureau immediately thoroughly investigate the veracity of what Consort Zhen has claimed, find out the real culprits behind the attempts on Beauty Lian and the Imperial Heir. Make no errors.”

Zhang Qing bowed respectfully and replied, “Yes, your servant obeys the decree.”

“As for you,” the Emperor looked at Consort Zhen, “I will give you a chance to reform yourself, first enter the Imperial Prison, state this matter to the Punishment Bureau in detail, and if there’s anything left hidden, even though you have come forth today, I will still punish you severely.”

Consort Zhen, with gratitude, said, “Yes, thank you for Your Majesty’s mercy.”

After Zhang Qing escorted Consort Zhen away, the Emperor tapped his finger on the imperial desk, his eyes on a dark marking on the map before him, deep in thought.

“There are countless numbers of ‘giant rats’, more details need to be verified. Living among the people, it’s hard to discern them, eliminating them all could prevent future troubles.”

He murmured this line to himself, sighed deeply, “Eradicating them all, how easy is it to speak of such things, not to mention this course of action is no different from that of a tyrant, and if it were to leak out, it would surely also lead to widespread unrest among the people.”

Where the populace is unstable, so too is the nation.

Xue Ping really did present him with a great dilemma.

He contemplated quietly for a moment, then ordered, “Summon someone, bring the maps of the Directly Governed Northern Territories, Eastern Liaoning, Northern Liaoning…”

He read off a series of map names, and requested their corresponding military and guard locations and records so he could examine them personally.

…

Inside Canglan Court.

Lian Hua, with a bulging belly, sat in the small hall, one hand propping up her head and the other touching her chin, resembling an old man as her eyes fixated on the chessboard on the table, muttering:

“The horse moves in an L-shape, the elephant crosses blocks, the chariot travels straight, the cannon leaps over mountains, the adviser moves diagonally protecting the king’s side, but a pawn once gone never returns. The chariot travels straight, the horse treads diagonally, the elephant flies in the field-pattern, the cannon strikes through, a pawn crossing the river is formidable. It’s clearly the right move, yet why do my little pawns never manage to cross the river only to get captured by His Majesty…”

The chess game on the board was from her match with His Majesty yesterday. As it was time to sleep, she had thought long and hard, unable to decide on a move, feeling that every step was disadvantageous, and unable to play any further, she had Xiao Linzi note it down. She wanted to think of a solution to break through before playing with His Majesty again.

Xiao Linzi and Xiao Qing also crowded over to look.

Nanny Qi, with a needle between her fingers, squinted as she embroidered a pair of small socks, occasionally glancing at Lian Hua.

These socks were for the unborn child in Lian Hua’s belly, the freshest and most delicate. She was dissatisfied with the less attentive work of the Weaving Bureau and was also idle, so she decided to personally make some intimate clothing for the child.

Lian Hua had eagerly wanted to do it herself but was severely criticized by Nanny Qi, who worried her stitching might ruin the clothes for the child, so she had to reluctantly stop.

In front of the little baby in her belly, Lian Hua had to stand aside, and even in front of her, His Majesty had to stand aside. In Nanny Qi’s eyes, the smaller one was the treasure, and Lian Hua understood this clearly.

Lian Hua knew the boasts she had made earlier to Nanny Qi about making a forehead wipe might never be fulfilled in this lifetime. Her needlework compared to Nanny Qi’s was heaven and earth apart, so she decided to let it go and not fret over it anymore.

The gifts for His Majesty were all prepared by Lian Hua and thoroughly checked once, originally intending to have someone tell Concubine Fang Pin no longer to draw decorations for backing, but she currently couldn’t let others know her condition, so she had to let it be.

However, she heard that Concubine Fang Pin’s people also came over but were turned away. Lian Hua thought it over and could only wait to explain and apologize to Concubine Fang Pin later.

By this time, in the Side Hall, the charcoal fire had been lit, close to Nanny Qi.

Lian Hua picked up the chess pieces on the table, then set them down, picked them up and set them down again, talking to herself, “If my cannon moves here, I could capture His Majesty’s piece, but then my cannon would be captured by his chariot. It’s not going to work.”

Xiao Linzi listened and nodded in agreement, exactly.

He pointed to a spot and suggested, “Mistress, what if the horse moves here first? If His Majesty dares to take your cannon with his chariot, your horse can capture his chariot.”

Lian Hua’s eyes lit up, “A cannon for a chariot, that would work.” This trade was worthwhile.

She picked up the horse piece intending to place it there but realized it wouldn’t work, then set down the chess piece, despairingly saying, “Oh, it’s no good. His Majesty may just move here, then wouldn’t all these little pawns be in danger? He would sweep them all away easily, it’s no good.”

It’s not what she said, but for some reason, His Majesty always liked capturing her little pawns. Every time her little pawns just thought of crossing the river, His Majesty would sweep them away conveniently.

Keeping her precious little pawns was too difficult, alas…

Putting down the horse, she continued to prop her head, idly touching the rattan stick beside her made by her third brother, again lost in deep thought.

Ever since she got that rattan stick, Lian Hua would touch it occasionally, swing it a few times, take it wherever she went, truly inseparable from the rattan, and the rattan never out of sight.