Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Gao Rang died at dawn the next day.

When he was found, he was kneeling in the corridor of the Imperial Presence, holding an empty tray in both hands. There were no wounds on his face, but a faint pink powder seeped from his seven orifices. The powder had a cloying, sweet scent-it was Drunken Beauty Red.

Upon hearing the news, the Emperor spoke only two words: “Generous burial.”

A eunuch had died in such a peculiar manner, yet there was no need for even an investigation.

This was not mercy; it was a gag order.

I was ordered to inventory Gao Rang’s belongings, and in his room, I found a book of private accounts. There was no mention of silver or coin, only dates and names of items.

Winter, the sixteenth year of Yanping: Snow Fat.

Spring, the seventeenth year of Yanping: Heart-Protecting Incense.

Summer, the eighteenth year of Yanping: Jade Child Hairpin.

Autumn, the nineteenth year of Yanping: Drunken Beauty Red.

Behind each item was the name of a consort or concubine, and beside each name was a crimson dot. The dots represented the dead.

I read it from beginning to end, my fingers gradually turning cold.

Ten years.

Since the year I entered the palace, every year a consort or concubine had died of “illness,” “madness,” “accidental falls,” or “suicide.” Before their deaths, they had all used items that the Treasure Inspection Office had verified as safe.

It wasn’t that I hadn’t been suspicious. But every re-examination failed to detect any poison. The imperial physicians provided names for the illnesses, the Emperor provided his grace, and once the palace gates were closed, the deceased became nothing more than a memory.

Now, the ledger told me they did not die of illness, nor did they die by accident.

They died of Thought Poison.

And I had inspected every single item, personally declaring them non-toxic.

I suddenly remembered the look Aunt Qin gave me as she was dragged away. She wasn’t begging me to save her; she was looking at someone who was about to become her.

Wen Suyi stood at the door, not entering.

She said, “Do you understand now? You are not the poisoner, but you are the blade that everyone borrows.”

I gripped the ledger until my knuckles turned white, yet I still did not cry.

My chest felt like an empty room where the wind whistled through, making only a faint sound.

I hid the ledger beneath the floorboards of the Treasure Inspection Office.

That afternoon, the Empress summoned me to Kunning Palace.

Cold incense burned in her chambers, and a white jade Guanyin was enshrined beneath the window. The Empress had changed into plain clothes and wore no makeup, looking much paler than usual.

She asked me, “Shen Shanggong, do the deaths of Consort Hua, Concubine Li, and Consort De truly have anything to do with this Palace?”

I replied, “Your Majesty knows the answer better than this servant.”

The Empress gave a thin smile. “Everyone in the palace hates this Palace. Consort Hua hated me, Concubine Li hated me, and Consort De hated me too. But when they were in favor, the Emperor bestowed items upon them; when they hated me, those items killed them. Tell me, whose hand is it, truly?”

She spoke too bluntly.

I lowered my eyes. “Your Majesty, please speak with caution.”

“With caution?” The Empress approached me and whispered, “Ten years ago, is that what you said to Aunt Qin as well?”

I snapped my head up.

The Empress looked at me, her eyes devoid of pity, filled only with exhaustion.

“Years ago, Aunt Qin discovered something was wrong with the imperial gifts and wanted to take you out of the palace. Before she could leave, Consort Chen died, and then she died too. Shen Zhaoli, do you truly think you were born without a heart?”

I asked, “What does Your Majesty know?”

The Empress did not answer, but instead took a rouge box from her sleeve.

The gold box was old, its surface engraved with half a withered lotus.

“This is the birthday gift this Palace intends to present to the Empress Dowager,” she said. “Inspect it for me.”

I did not take it.

The Empress smiled slightly. “Are you afraid?”

I said, “Does Your Majesty wish to kill the Empress Dowager?”

“There are too many people this Palace wishes to kill,” she said indifferently. “But if Thought Poison only kills those with hatred in their hearts, then in this entire palace, who could possibly be clean?”

I took the rouge.

As the lid opened, a wave of cold fragrance hit me. The rouge was not red, but a nearly transparent white, like a drop of blood mixed into snow.

Just as I was about to test it, Wen Suyi suddenly stepped out from behind a screen.

She looked at the Empress and said softly, “Your Majesty, this is not the rouge you intend to present to the Empress Dowager.”

The Empress’s expression shifted.

Wen Suyi turned to me and held out another identical gold box.

“This is what the Empress is sending to the Empress Dowager,” she said. “Guess who it is that the Empress hates in her heart?”