Chapter 233: She Is the Traitor
This novel is translated and hosted on BCatranslation
The king peered suspiciously at little Lu Chao Chao, noting the shift in her expression from a small frown to an eager smile, her eyes bright with anticipation.
An unsettling chill ran down the king’s spine, accompanied by a nagging sense of unease.
“How ’bout we visit aunties by takin’ a secwet path?” Chao Chao suggested, her voice bubbling with excitement.
After a moment’s hesitation, the king nodded in agreement.
“I know a shortcut used by the maidservants for errands,” Eunuch Wang chimed in helpfully.
The king’s palace, Yongning Palace, boasted a vast garden, through which the servants had forged a discreet path for efficiency.
“Lead the way,” the king commanded firmly.
Eunuch Wang promptly guided them down the secluded pathway.
“Consort Qin will surely be delighted by Your Majesty’s unexpected visit,” Eunuch Wang remarked with a smile as they made their way discreetly.
Holding Chao Chao, the king felt a bead of sweat form on his temple, the weight of the situation pressing on him.
“Consort Qin’s chambers are just ahead,” Eunuch Wang pointed out.
“Where are all the servants?” the king mused aloud, puzzled by the unusual silence surrounding Consort Qin’s quarters.
“Could they be neglecting her due to her lack of favor?” The king’s brow furrowed in concern and displeasure.
It was common in the palace for servants to gravitate towards the favored, leaving others in comparative neglect—a fate sometimes considered worse than that of the most favored eunuchs.
His frown deepened as they approached the tightly shut doors of the chambers, conspicuously absent of any announcing maid.
Just as the king reached out to open the door, a faint murmur stopped him. Eunuch Wang opened his mouth to speak, but the king silenced him with a raised hand.
Inside, they heard Consort Qin’s plaintive voice: “Do you love me the most? Have you fallen for her? It hurts to see you shower her with attention…”
“Consort Qin! She dares to entertain a lover within these walls!” the king thought, clenching his fists in anger.
Suddenly, a maid burst forth, a basin clattering to the ground as water spilled everywhere.
“Your Majesty!” the maid exclaimed in panic, dropping to her knees. “Forgive me, Your Majesty. Consort Qin has been severely ill with a fever, and I was merely bringing water to wash her.”
With a stern face, the king kicked the door open and surveyed the room.
Consort Qin scrambled from her bed, her cheeks flushed and her clothes hastily donned. “Your Majesty, to what do I owe this visit?” she asked, her voice trembling as she knelt.
Without responding, the king set Chao Chao down and began a furious search, flinging open cupboards and lifting linens.
“Where is the traitor?” he demanded, his voice laced with fury. His gaze flickered to the open window, noting nothing but the tranquil garden outside.
However, a broken white flowerpot and shards stained with fresh blood caught his eye outside the window.
Eunuch Wang picked up a bloody shard, reporting, “Your Majesty, there is fresh blood here.”
Consort Qin’s face drained of color. “Your Majesty, I swear, I am alone. Please believe me,” she pleaded, shivering on the cold floor.
In his rage, the king delivered a harsh kick to her chest. “Still denying? Insolent!” he roared, his breath coming in heated bursts.
His intent to surprise had turned into a shock of betrayal!
“Search every corner of Yongning Palace! Seal it off! No one leaves!” he commanded, his voice booming through the halls.
Eunuch Wang hurriedly complied, the gravity of the situation weighing heavily on him.
“You wretched liar!” the king spat out in fury.
Shortly after, the dowager arrived, her expression alarmed at the sight of Consort Qin on the ground.
“Dowager, just in time. Investigate this deceit! She dares to keep a lover in the palace! Her entire family will pay!” The king’s wrath was palpable as he smashed a cup to the floor, prompting everyone to kneel in fear.
Eunuch Wang reentered, his expression somber. “The palace is sealed, Your Majesty. We’ve found no sign of an intruder, though someone certainly fled injured,” he reported, kneeling.
The king, his anger simmering, commanded, “Bring anyone with injuries before me.”
Consort Qin bit her lip in silence, blood trickling down her chin. “Who is the traitor? Confess, and your life will be spared!” the king bellowed, recalling the recent quarrel over a ginseng soup.
“There is no traitor,” Consort Qin maintained defiantly.
“Stubborn to the end!” the king thundered, ordering a thorough search.
He sat imposingly at the head of the hall, his presence dominating and terrifying.
The dowager, clutching her handkerchief, eyed Consort Qin with concern.
“Your Majesty, we found many love poems in Consort Qin’s room,” Eunuch Wang revealed, his voice trembling.
“Excellent,” the king muttered darkly, hurling the poems at Consort Qin.
The tension in the room was suffocating, silence reigning as all awaited the king’s next move.
Meanwhile, Chao Chao sat nonchalantly on a chair, cracking sunflower seeds and sipping milk, seemingly oblivious to the chaos.
The king’s eye twitched in irritation, but he dared not scold her.
“Continue with your duties. Don’t mind me,” Chao Chao said, waving her hand dismissively, her demeanor unexpectedly mature.
The king felt a surge of frustration at her nonchalance.
This novel is translated and hosted on BCatranslation
“Your Majesty, we’ve brought all the injured from Yongning Palace,” Eunuch Wang interrupted. “Concubine Hui burned her hand this morning preparing a tonic for you. Should we bring her too?”
The king’s concern was evident as he stood. “Has the royal physician seen her? Is it severe?”
Before he could finish, Concubine Hui appeared, her hand neatly bandaged, her scent of bath salts indicating her hurried arrival.
“Your Majesty, I have lived alongside Consort Qin for years. She is upright and abides by the rules. It is unthinkable that she would betray you,” Concubine Hui pleaded, her eyes tearful as she knelt by Consort Qin.
“Would an intruder in my own palace not be a direct insult to me?” she questioned, her voice laden with emotion.
“Do you suspect me of such treachery?” she challenged.
[Of course, she wouldn’t have a lover… because she is the lover, haha…]