Chapter Five: Just Kidding

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As Chief Physician Zhang finally exhaled in relief, Jiang Daiyin lifted her eyes to fix him with a stare. "Chief Physician Zhang, what exactly did you diagnose?"

All eyes turned to him, and Zhang’s face flushed instantly.

"Your Majesty, forgive me, but I cannot determine the exact nature of the injuries suffered by the Seventh Prince."

"Then you’re just pretending!" Jiang Daiyin cut through him mercilessly.

Tired of watching the Consort’s ongoing performance, she rose and stood before Nurse Wang.

"You say you saw the Tenth Prince push the Seventh Prince? How exactly did he push him? With which hand?"

Nurse Wang was about to speak, but Jiang Daiyin raised her hand to silence her and then turned to the Emperor.

"Your Majesty, I believe Nurse Wang should be taken away for interrogation. Then, we should ask the same questions of the Seventh Prince. If their testimonies match, it proves the Tenth Prince’s guilt."

"But if they differ, then it must be that Nurse Wang’s negligence caused the Seventh Prince’s injury, and to avoid blame, she has shifted everything onto the Tenth Prince."

Feng Yu nodded and waved his hand.

Fulinhai understood quickly and called out loudly, "Take Nurse Wang away for questioning!"

Before being led away, Nurse Wang shouted, "The Tenth Prince pushed the Seventh Prince from behind, with his right hand! Your Majesty, please see clearly!"

Chunyu frowned. "Your Highness, if she says that with the Seventh Prince hearing, how can this interrogation be fair?"

As expected, Consort Wei’s lips curled into a visible smirk, her brow arching with clear delight.

Jiang Daiyin, however, smiled mysteriously and approached the Seventh Prince.

"Ye’er, your Imperial Mother asks—how did you climb the rockery?"

The Seventh Prince looked helplessly at his mother, while Feng Yu prompted him gently.

"Ye’er, you must tell the truth."

The natural authority in Feng Yu’s bloodline subdued the six-year-old Prince, who could only recount what actually happened.

"I climbed up like this," he said, miming stepping on stones.

His round, chubby face was serious.

"Ye’er is amazing—climbing so high!" Jiang Daiyin exclaimed, giving him a thumbs-up.

Proud from the praise, the young Prince lifted his chin, his cheeks flushed with excitement.

"That’s very dangerous! Don’t do it again, do you hear me?" Consort Wei scolded, her face stern.

The Prince’s smile faded.

Jiang Daiyin glanced at Wei Ranzhu but ignored her and continued questioning.

"Then tell me, how did you meet Wuchen? How did he push you?"

"He pushed me, and I couldn’t get down, so I made him kneel there while I stepped on his back to climb down."

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"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Tenth Prince has bruises on his back and knees," Chief Physician Zhang added.

Consort Wei’s eyes darkened; the physician was speaking too cautiously.

"You stepped on his back, so how did he push you?" Jiang Daiyin’s dark eyes fixed on him.

"He pushed me from behind, with his right hand."

The Seventh Prince grew uneasy, glancing repeatedly toward Consort Wei’s position, repeating only those words.

"That must mean after coming down, the Tenth Prince pushed Ye’er from behind!" Wei Ranzhu, noticing her son’s unease, answered for him.

"Is that so?"

The young Prince nodded hesitantly.

"Was it this hand that pushed you?" Jiang Daiyin lifted Feng Wuchen’s hand.

"Yes." The Seventh Prince nodded firmly.

Everyone present exchanged knowing looks.

"Nonsense, Ye’er doesn’t know his left from right!" Wei Ranzhu explained nervously.

Feng Yu’s gaze sharpened, icy and penetrating, causing Wei Ranzhu’s heart to tremble.

Obviously, her performance had angered the Emperor greatly.

"Your Majesty, may Nurse Wang be brought back?"

Feng Yu nodded.

Nurse Wang was escorted back in, and Jiang Daiyin stepped forward, slapping her across the face.

"How dare you twist the truth? The Seventh Prince lost his footing and fell on his own, yet you stubbornly deny it? The Seventh Prince has confessed!"

Hearing this, Nurse Wang panicked.

"Your Majesty, have mercy! I was blinded by evil and wrongfully accused the Tenth Prince. I beg for your pardon!"

She kowtowed repeatedly, begging desperately.

Everyone understood the situation.

"I lied—Seventh Prince never admitted anything," Jiang Daiyin said with a playful smile, winking mischievously.

"You!" Nurse Wang felt as if the sky was falling.

She raised her filthy face, eyes clouded with tears, bravely insisting, "Your Majesty, please see clearly—this is all a deliberate trap set by the Empress!"

"You are truly stubborn to the very end," Jiang Daiyin snorted coldly.

Consort Wei ground her steel teeth in anger, knowing the tide had turned against her. She needed to clear herself quickly.

She raised a finger stained with rouge and pointed fiercely at Nurse Wang’s face. "I trusted you so much, and this is how you care for Ye’er?"

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"If anything happens to Ye’er, not even ten lives of yours would be enough to atone!"

Nurse Wang hung her head in complete defeat.

She deeply regretted not telling the truth from the start.

"Guards, drag this vile servant away and administer fifty lashes!"

Fifty lashes—she was an old woman; this punishment could kill her!

"Consort, your temper is rash. You shall be punished with writing the Heart-Calming Sutra three hundred times in the Yikun Palace to temper your disposition."

"As for the Seventh Prince, having been spoiled into lies under your care, I fear he might go astray if he remains with you. He will be sent to the care of Consort Shu."

Feng Yu watched this farce conclude with cold eyes and mercilessly decreed each person’s fate.

Wei Ranzhu did not break down when told to write the sutra, but she collapsed when she heard her son would be taken from her.

"Your Majesty, I know my mistakes. Please do not take Ye’er away from me—"

Fulinhai signaled the nurses to carry the Seventh Prince away.

"Mother, mother—"

The young Prince cried out, no longer feeling pain, desperate not to be separated.

But it was all in vain.

Soon, the entire palace knew that Consort Wei was under house arrest.

This was the first time the Emperor had ever lost his temper so harshly with her; even the Seventh Prince was sent to Consort Shu’s care.

Moreover, the Empress had made a spectacular showing before the Emperor this time.

When the Seventh Prince was delivered to Zhongcui Palace, he had already cried himself to sleep.

Consort Shu only had the Third Princess under her care, so she dared not take in the Seventh Prince, but since it was the Emperor’s order, she had no choice but to accept him.

"Your Highness, it seems Consort Wei bears deep hatred for the Empress. Now that the Seventh Prince has been sent here, shall we seize the opportunity?"

Consort Shu touched her armor lightly and shook her head calmly.

"Consort Wei won’t fall so easily."

"However, since the Seventh Prince is here, I have my ways to make Consort Wei suffer unbearable pain."

A flash of murderous intent passed through Consort Shu’s eyes. She was grateful to the Empress for giving her a chance for revenge.

In Fengyi Palace, Feng Yu frowned as he looked at the emaciated Feng Wuchen, his expression dark and inscrutable.

Jiang Daiyin was taken aback; the Tenth Prince’s injuries were truly difficult to explain. Now the Emperor would surely reprimand her.