Chapter 1
Prince Xiang’s heir was dead. The unexpected calamity threw the banquet into chaos.
Women cried out all around me.
These pampered wives and daughters had never seen anything like this.
I could hardly laugh at them. My own mother was the first to roll her eyes back and faint.
“Yunniang!”
Father came striding toward us.
He caught Mother in his arms. “Yunniang, are you all right? Don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you!”
I was about to faint too.
Father! Couldn’t you see the other ministers shouting “Protect His Majesty!” as they rushed toward the emperor?
You were the foremost military official in the realm. Why were you ignoring the emperor’s safety to embrace your wife and pledge your devotion?
Fortunately, His Majesty had no time to take Father to task.
His face was livid, fury written across his eyes and brows.
To commit murder in the Son of Heaven’s presence was to defy imperial authority itself.
“Silence!”
The moment His Majesty spoke, the noisy hall fell still.
“Your Majesty! You must see justice done for my son!”
The only people who still dared make a sound were Prince Xiang and his consort, who had just lost their beloved son.
“Rest assured. I will give you an answer!”
Having comforted the couple, His Majesty turned. “Where is the vice minister of justice?”
“Here, Your Majesty.”
“Investigate this immediately. Until the true culprit is found, no one may leave the palace!”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The vice minister received his orders and hurried off.
Imperial guards kept watch over the ministers and their families. No one was allowed to move a single step from their seat.
Luckily, the vice minister was an experienced investigator and soon identified the suspects.
Otherwise, heaven knew how many people would have wet themselves right there in the hall!
Unluckily, I was one of those suspects.
“Commandery Princess Roujia of Prince Xiang’s household; Liu Qingchen, daughter of Grand Secretary Liu An; Qin Ruyu, daughter of Chief Censor Qin Huai; and Luo Jindan and Luo Yinping, the legitimate and concubine-born daughters of Luo Qinghe, Marquis of Wu’an. Bring these five young ladies forward.”
The hall erupted at the list.
These were some of the most celebrated young ladies in the capital! How could they be connected to the death of Prince Xiang’s heir?
The vice minister reported to His Majesty that this had been a planned murder.
The heir had a weak stomach, so at every banquet His Majesty bestowed on him a bowl of easily digested peach-blossom and brown-rice soup.
It was a mark of favor reserved for him alone.
And the poison that had sent him to the underworld had been put into that very bowl.
The reason the five of us became suspects was quite simple.
At imperial banquets, the dishes, tea, and refreshments were prepared in advance.
Once everyone was seated, kitchen servants delivered the filled food boxes to the rear hall.
There, designated attendants tested every dish and drink for poison with silver needles. After His Majesty announced the start of the banquet, palace maids carried the dishes to the main hall.
The vice minister’s investigation established that between the testing and the serving, only the five of us had left the banquet hall.
His Majesty looked at us, his gaze heavy with the authority of a ruler.
“Have you anything to say?”
My sister Luo Yinping and Liu Qingchen had always been famous for their beauty. Qin Ruyu and Commandery Princess Roujia were also lovely young women.
Standing among them with my little belly sticking out, short and plump, I looked like a chicken among cranes.
But my back was straighter than anyone else’s.
Innocence gave me confidence!
“Your Majesty, I swear on my father’s life that I really didn’t kill him!”