Chapter 15

Chapter 15

She was not much of a talker. She was slender, with exceedingly pale skin and eyes that were dark and bright.

Those eyes always made me uneasy.

So I warned her, courted her favor, and tried to do what I had once done with Cairen Zheng.

Cairen Zheng understood my intentions perfectly and chimed in, “Her Majesty the Empress is kindhearted. She is a good person. Consort Qiao Shuyuan may not know this, but there was once a Cairen Wang in the palace. That was back when that dog Zhao Cui was still alive. Later, after the dog died, Sister Wang said she missed her family and wanted to leave the palace, so Her Majesty the Empress let her die too.”

I shot her a glare. “Do you know how to speak or not?”

Cairen Zheng laughed heartily. “That’s the gist of it. As long as Consort Qiao Shuyuan understands.”

I looked at Qiao Jingxian and smiled gently, hoping she would say something.

She looked back at me in silence. Our eyes met, and her voice was soft and frail. “Her Majesty the Empress is, of course, a good person. Otherwise, how could I have remained by His Majesty’s side? I have no difficulties and no troubles weighing on my heart. I am grateful for Your Majesty’s great kindness.”

Later, she left.

I watched her retreating figure and did not speak for a long time.

Cairen Zheng said, “Is Your Majesty perhaps overthinking it? Consort Qiao Shuyuan seems quite honest.”

“After experiencing something like that, how can she be described as honest?”

Cairen Zheng did not understand. Of course she would not know that after Qiao Jingxian entered the palace, I had someone investigate her.

After Prince Liang died, Cui He, in order to protect himself, had shown me the utmost loyalty.

The eunuch was very clever. He knew how to leave himself a way out in everything he did, and he was adept at dealing with all sides. I found him very useful.

According to Cui He, after Qiao Jingxian was sold into the pleasure quarters, she suffered every manner of humiliation and torment. In the end, she chose to throw herself into the river.

Then she was saved by Xu Xun’s pleasure boat.

Xu Xun acknowledged her as his adopted daughter and kept her in his residence. Speaking of which, that had already been two years ago.

Prince Liang sent her into a brothel, and then Prince Liang’s foremost strategist rescued her from it.

In the end, this strategist, dressed all in white, even helped her take revenge and brought about Prince Liang’s death.

I had to admit, this uncle of mine was not only skilled in power plays, but even more skilled at reading hearts and manipulating human nature.

I said to Cui He, “Back then, Consort Qiao Shuyuan fell to such a state. I fear she may even hate me for it. Be sure to keep a close eye on her. Do not allow anything to go wrong.”

Cui He acknowledged the order, then said, “Since Your Majesty knows she is a hidden danger, why not pull her out by the roots?”

“I cannot kill her.”

“Your Majesty cannot bear to?”

“If she keeps to herself and behaves, I will not touch her.”

Cui He said, “In truth, Your Majesty need not blame yourself. The road was one Consort Qiao Shuyuan chose herself.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“As this servant understands it, His Majesty knew back then that Luoyang was dangerous, and that the Empress would certainly be a daughter of the Hu Family. Because of that, he arranged another place for her to go. But she was unwilling. She insisted on following him to Luoyang.”

“Their feelings ran deep. Naturally, she did not want to be parted from him.”

“This servant is a eunuch and has seen too many filthy things, so I always tend to think the worst of people. In my humble opinion, His Majesty back then simply failed to see the situation clearly and mistakenly believed he could protect her. As for Consort Qiao Shuyuan, she clearly had somewhere else she could go, yet she insisted on following him to Luoyang. Who is to say it was not because she was unwilling to go to a farmstead and live a hard life?”

“And I also heard that the one she liked at first was the second young master of Prince Yi’s Residence. After the second young master died, she then insisted on following His Majesty. At that time, Prince Qing was already dead. Although His Majesty was under Prince Liang’s control, his position on the throne was secure in the end. It is not impossible that Consort Qiao Shuyuan wanted to follow him for a better life and gamble on winning a noble rank for herself.”