Chapter 160: Is It You?
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After completing the Rebirth Chant, Yu Zhi Yi sent the spirits of those women to reincarnation. She then returned to the Chancellor’s Mansion to perform her morning rituals.
Taking advantage of the lingering night, she unusually donned her official attire and entered the Imperial Palace. By the time she emerged, the sky had begun to brighten. Yu Zhi Yi gathered her belongings and prepared to leave the capital.
She still remembered the look on the Emperor’s face when he was stopped outside the Golden Throne Hall. His expression was as if he’d seen a ghost—as though encountering her in the palace so early in the morning was an extraordinarily bizarre event.
Well, to be fair, it was quite unusual.
Ignoring the Emperor’s reaction, Yu Zhi Yi explained the situation in Cao Nan Village. Although the Emperor’s expression grew serious, a trace of skepticism lingered.
“Is it truly so dangerous? Why haven’t we heard of any trouble from Cao Nan Village in the past thirty years?” he asked.
Yu Zhi Yi replied, “The malevolent spirit in Cao Nan Village remained dormant due to the efforts of a renowned monk who sealed it within the river at the village entrance. However, this monk could not destroy it entirely, only suppress it into slumber.”
“Recently, a descendant of someone involved in the events thirty years ago returned to the village, awakening the spirit. Furthermore, the seal placed by the monk has weakened.”
“Though the spirit has been dormant for thirty years, its malicious energy hasn’t dissipated but has instead intensified, growing in power equivalent to a hundred years of cultivation.”
She sighed. “If this matter isn’t resolved quickly, it will undoubtedly lead to massive casualties.”
Hearing this, the Emperor stopped questioning her and, after issuing her a token to leave the capital, allowed her to go.
Normally, she would have stayed to enjoy breakfast and waited for the gates to fully open before setting out. However, she couldn’t afford to wait.
Her urgency stemmed from two reasons. First, the situation in Cao Nan Village was critical. Second, she wanted to avoid being roped into the palace as manual labor.
From the evil cultivator’s face, Yu Zhi Yi had discerned what he had done to Consort Yu. Yet, she had no intention of intervening. That was a matter of karma between Consort Yu and the evil cultivator, and she had no desire to involve herself.
After all, Consort Yu’s current predicament was her own doing.
Throughout history, how many have emerged unscathed after seeking alliances with the tiger?
Even if she were summoned to the palace, Yu Zhi Yi could argue that the issue was beyond her capabilities. Nevertheless, it would waste her energy and breath. She wasn’t inclined to squander her precious time on unrelated matters.
Unfortunately, in her eagerness to avoid Consort Yu, she overlooked another individual bedridden within the capital.
When a team of riders on Sweat-Blood Horses emerged to intercept her, led by someone declaring an Empress Dowager’s Edict, Yu Zhi Yi felt a pang of frustration.
No wonder the divination she performed before leaving predicted trouble today. She had assumed it would concern Consort Yu and thus had deliberately risen early to slip away unnoticed.
Unexpectedly, the real problem came from the Carefree Prince.
Before the eunuch could unfurl the edict, Yu Zhi Yi attempted to negotiate. “Sir Eunuch, I am under orders from His Majesty to carry out an urgent mission. Can you make an exception and let me through?”
The eunuch responded with a pained laugh, “Master Yu, please don’t make things difficult for me. I’m just a humble eunuch without such authority. You’d better accept the decree.”
Seeing her hesitation, the eunuch smiled knowingly and added, “This edict from Her Majesty the Empress Dowager has already been approved by His Majesty.”
Understood.
The Emperor couldn’t defy his mother.
By the time Yu Zhi Yi arrived at the palace, the sun was already high in the sky. She couldn’t help but laugh at herself, realizing that even if she managed to leave the capital today, it wouldn’t be early.
For the first time, she truly understood the saying: “Got up early, only to miss the mark.”
The Empress Dowager’s words echoed in the chamber, carrying an air of urgency: “Yu Zhi Yi, I summoned you here again for the matter concerning the prince.”
Lowering her gaze respectfully, Yu Zhi Yi replied with a sigh, “Your Majesty, it is not that this humble subject shirks responsibility, but given the current state of the Carefree Prince, it would be unsuitable for me to intervene further.”
The Empress Dowager’s brows knitted tightly. “Are you implying you do not wish for the prince to recover? Or could it be that the events of that day were indeed your doing?”
Yu Zhi Yi raised her eyes calmly. “Your Majesty must have met the Chief Disciple of Dragon-Tiger Mountain who accompanies Lady You Bing Yue.”
Her certainty silenced the Empress Dowager.
Indeed, she had met him.
When the incident with the Carefree Prince occurred, the Empress Dowager had immediately ordered an investigation into the sedan chair in question, only to find no apparent issues. But the absence of evidence itself became the most glaring anomaly because she had known even before the investigation that the ill-fated sedan chair had previously carried Yu Zhi Yi.
Moreover, she was aware of the prince’s machinations. On that day, not only had the prince sent assassins, but he had also tampered with the sedan chair. His plan was for it to collapse in a crowded area, causing Yu Zhi Yi to fall from it. Given poor fortune, injuries from splintered wood would have been highly plausible.
However, contrary to expectations, Yu Zhi Yi emerged unscathed, while the prince, who later sat in the same chair by chance, met with calamity.
Even though the palace servants repeatedly assured her that the chair had been properly repaired after Yu Zhi Yi’s return and should not have failed again, the accident still occurred—and it was hard to dismiss suspicions.
Subsequent investigations revealed that the chair broke in a manner consistent with natural decay, as if the aged wood had simply failed under the weight of an adult male. But such decay was impossible. Every item in the palace underwent meticulous inspections to ensure the safety of its occupants. There was no room for such negligence.
Unable to find human error, the Empress Dowager turned to the esoteric. By fortunate coincidence, You Bing Yue had brought back the Chief Disciple of Dragon-Tiger Mountain, Ou Yang Shuo, and the Empress Dowager had invited him to examine the chair for any signs of mystical tampering.
Regrettably, his inspection yielded no results. Ou Yang Shuo confirmed there were no traces of spiritual energy on the chair.
Despite her lingering doubts, the Empress Dowager had to classify the incident as a mere accident. Yet now, observing Yu Zhi Yi’s evasiveness, her suspicions resurfaced.
Yu Zhi Yi said, “If this incident were truly my doing, Your Majesty, would I not already be on my knees before you under guard instead of standing here freely?”
The Empress Dowager took a deep breath, suppressing her anger. “Fine, let us say it was not you.”
Yu Zhi Yi did not correct her, for in truth, the incident had been her work.
However, her method had not involved tampering with the chair itself but manipulating a person. On the day the summons arrived, a stranger among the eunuchs delivering the message was ensnared by her Puppet Curse. Under her control, he swapped the chair’s solid framework for a brittle one, masking the change with an outer layer identical to the original.
The rotting wood could not support the weight of a grown man like the prince and naturally gave way.
The only surprise to Yu Zhi Yi was the severity of the prince’s injuries. Her initial aim had been merely to confine him to bed for a decade or so.
Snapping back to the present, she heard the Empress Dowager’s question: “Not long ago, you successfully treated the prince. Why can you not do so now?”