Chapter 4

Chapter 4

At the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet, I planned to present a dance before everyone.

Before the banquet began, I was in my chambers, preparing to change.

A young palace maid from the Shangyi Bureau came in and dropped to her knees before me with a thud, her voice already thick with tears.

“This servant deserves death. We damaged Niangniang’s dance dress while ironing it. By the time we discovered it and tried to fix it, it was already too late.”

As she spoke, her shoulders trembled uncontrollably. Her head was bowed so low that I could not see her face.

She held out the wooden box in her hands before me.

“Niangniang, in the entire palace, this is the only dance dress we could find that suits you.”

I had no desire to treat human lives like weeds, killing servants at will just to vent my anger.

I merely rubbed my temple and waved a hand at her.

“Bengong understands.”

This small interruption delayed me for some time.

By the time I arrived, everyone was already seated at the banquet.

In an instant, the great hall fell so silent one could hear a pin drop.

I was dressed in a long emerald gown, its hem adorned with peacock feathers and golden thread. Under the bright lamps and candlelight of the hall, it shone with dazzling brilliance, every step casting a living glow.

And then, at that very moment, disaster struck.

Jiang Ruowei’s face filled with shock.

“This… heavens…”

She swiftly knelt to plead for forgiveness. “Your Majesty, Sister Consort Ling surely did not mean to offend. Please spare her!”

The Empress Dowager stared, utterly stunned. “Qingyun, is that you?”

Pei Jing’s expression darkened inch by inch, black as ink.

The person they spoke of was Pei Jing’s birth mother, the Late Emperor’s noble consort, Wei Qingyun.

And this dance dress was called the Peacock Gold Dress.

It had been Noble Consort Wei’s favorite garment during her lifetime.

Noble Consort Wei had once been a favored consort at the height of her glory.

The deepest memory of Pei Jing’s childhood was of his mother wearing the Peacock Gold Dress beneath the moonlight, dancing the Peacock Feather Dance while his imperial father accompanied her on the strings. Emperor and consort, zither and harmony, had become a tale praised by all.

Later, Noble Consort Wei was framed for practicing Gu Sorcery. The Late Emperor cast her into the Cold Palace, where her beauty withered away.

Even Pei Jing, noble as he was as Crown Prince, was despised and neglected, nearly losing his position.

Before she died with her name still stained, she put on the Peacock Gold Dress and murmured the Late Emperor’s name again and again, begging to see him one final time.

But the Late Emperor was unwilling to grant her even a single glance.

With Noble Consort Wei’s death, the Peacock Feather Dance she had personally choreographed was buried as well, known to no one thereafter.

It was not until many years later that her injustice was finally redressed. After Pei Jing ascended the throne, he posthumously honored her with the title of Empress Dowager.

That past was the darkest memory in Pei Jing’s heart, a forbidden wound that no one else would ever dare touch.

And now, I had appeared at this palace banquet wearing Noble Consort Wei’s beloved Peacock Gold Dress.

Even ten thousand deaths would not be enough to atone for such a crime.

The Empress stood beside Pei Jing, quietly watching his expression.

When she saw that he said nothing, his face terrifyingly grim, a flash of delight crossed her eyes.

Then she pointed at me and shouted in rebuke, “Audacious Wicked Concubine! On ordinary days, it is bad enough that you use your charms to bewitch and mislead His Majesty. Today, you actually dare to offend the Late Empress Dowager before the entire court. Your crime is unforgivable!”

“Guards! Why are you still standing there? Strip her of those clothes and seize this Wicked Concubine at once!”