Chapter 95: No Mercy
Chen nu - what female subjects refer to themselves as when speaking to the Emperor or members of the Imperial family
Chen qie - lit. concubine subject, essentially a form of “I” that concubines and even the Empress use in presence of higher authority, ex. Empress Dowager > concubine, Emperor > Empress
One of Cao Cao’s most iconic quotes, adapted from Romance of the Three Kingdoms
This time, it was not the Imperial Garden but theEmpress Dowager’s palace. The Empress Dowager sat in the center of the hall,her facial expressions unreadable. Xian Fei seemed as if she was lookingforward to an interesting play, and De Fei niang niang was absolutely furious:“Someone thoroughly search her!”
Several palace maids flocked to her. Li Wei Yangcoldly interrupted: “De Fei niang niang, what is the meaning of this!”
Zhang De Fei harshly retorted: “Li Wei Yang, where isthe gold hairpin Bixia gave me; you were the only person to touch this hairpin,so now I want to search you!”
Although Li Wei Yang was a subject and daughter of thePrime Minister, she was still not married yet. If Zhang De Fei was to searchher body, whether or not anything was found, if this became known, herreputation would be destroyed! Wu Xian Fei had a simple, leisurely smile likethat of someone watching a play on stage.
The Empress Dowager said: “De Fei, a conclusion hasnot been reached yet, so do not blindly accuse anyone. If you search her, thiswill create trouble for this child in the future.”
Zhang De Fei eyed Li Wei Yang in disdain: “She couldhave stolen it despite claiming that she doesn’t need it. Once you are a thief,you no longer care for honor. Unless she can prove she is innocent, I will notforgive this act of thievery!”
Undeterred, Li Wei Yang indifferently began: “De Feiniang niang, you took the hairpin out and also put it back into the boxyourself. Chen nu has never laid hands on it. What makes you say chen nu stolethe gold hairpin?”
Zhang De Fei scoffed: “Whether or not you stole it, itwill be known once you have been searched!”
Li Wei Yang gave her a cold stare. An Imperial consortwould actually use such despicable means. Of course, this scheme seemedordinary, but it was could take a life. If she could prove the Li Wei Yang wasresponsible and even stole a hairpin the Emperor gifted to a consort, death wasunavoidable!
She firmly said: “Wei Yang would never steal, nomatter how poor or desperate. If niang niang wants to search, why not searchyour palace maids?! Or Xian Fei niang niang’s palace maids and eunuchs, whoknows if they stole it! By focusing on Wei Yang, did you somehow knowbeforehand that Wei Yang must be the thief?!”
Enraged, Zhang De Fei sneered: “Who in the palace doesnot know my attendants are innocent? I have never lost anything. The same goesfor Xian Fei jiejie. By saying this, you clearly want to make our relationshiptense, you are still young yet so malicious! Someone drag her outside and beather twenty times as punishment for saying such nonsense!” As soon Zhang De Feihad given the order, the eunuchs brought out sticks and announced “committed acrime” and proceeded to carry out her order.
The sticks used for punishment in the palace were twofinger-widths wide and barbed. If beaten twenty times, it would no differentfrom being skinned alive! Li Wei Yang smiled thinly and raised a hand, stoppingthe eunuchs as she cried out: “Wait!”
Zhang De Fei’s elegant eyebrows rose, she shouted:“You dare to object—”
Li Wei Yang neutrally responded: “How could niangniang say that? Wei Yang does not dare. Wei Yang is of low status, so niangniang can simply ignore Wei Yang, but the Empress Dowager niang niang is stillhere. Even if this is to be investigated, the Empress Dowager will investigateor the Empress will. Niang niang wants to personally investigate, oversteppingthese bounds is ill-advised!”
Based on her knowledge of the Empress Dowager, she wasbetting that the Empress Dowager did not want her to die! She was betting thatthe Empress Dowager somewhat liked her and that the she would not let anImperial consort dispose of her!
Zhang De Fei’s face changed. Realizing she was tooimpatient, she quickly amended: “Empress Dowager, forgive me. Chen qiemomentarily—”
The Empress Dowager meaningfully glanced at Zhang DeFei. Taken aback, De Fei was overwhelmed by cold sweat. How could she forgetthat the Empress Dowager could not easily fooled! The Empress Dowager coldlyeyed De Fei, who bowed her head, then looked over at Li Wei Yang, who remainedquiet, her thoughts unknown.
At that moment, someone outside abruptly announced:“Bixia arrives.”
Everyone was stunned, except Zhang De Fei who seemedto be waiting for this moment. She had someone invite the Emperor over. Don’tget your hopes up, Li Wei Yang. The Emperor awarded her once, now let himwitness it when she finds the gold hairpin on that Yatou!
De Fei and Xian Fei rushed over to greet him. TheEmperor saw the two of them and gave a small nod: “What happened? AnpingXianzhu came to the palace to keep Muhou company. How did this turn into a caseof theft?”
De Fei had soon sent someone to report back to theemperor. Her face seemed full of grievances: “At first, I did not want todisturb Your Imperial Majesties, but this has gotten serious. As consorts, wecannot decide, so Bixia and the Empress Dowager were invited here.”
The Emperor saw her pale face and pitied her: “Sincereturning from the hunt, your body has been particularly weak, what has angeredyou?”
Zhang De Fei’s eyes turned gla.s.sy with tears. Sheturned away and wiped away at the corners of her eyes, despairingly saying: “Itis always peaceful and harmonious in the palace, who would have expected amisfortunate thing like theft would occur. If Xianzhu stole anything else, chenqie would pity that she is young and naive, and even think of it as a gift toher, but what was stolen was the gold hairpin Bixia had just given me.”
The Emperor was rather surprised and looked to XianFei nearby: “Gold hairpin?”
Regret appeared on Xian Fei’s face: “Perhaps Xianzhuis young and easily charmed. She saw the extravagant, gold hairpin and hadthoughts she should not have had.”
Saying this was adding insult to injury! Li Wei Yangcoldly jerked a smile at the two women acting in this play. How fortunate ofher to offend two favored consorts at once! It was all because she was caughtup in the Huangzis’ power struggle! She could understand Xian Fei’s resentment,but De Fei must be bored out of her mind and had nothing to do! Unless refusingto marry her son was an unspeakable crime, why would she resort to such means!
Li Wei Yang was not aware that to De Fei, Tuoba Yu wasthe moon in the sky. If one day, her bright moon came running to her and told herhe treasured the small and insignificant Li Wei Yang… If Li Wei Yang obedientlyfollowed, De Fei could let her be Ce fei and accompany Tuoba Yu, but sherejected De Fei’s suggestion and even dared to object. Unforgivable! Not tomention, Tuoba Yu always said he would marry her as Zheng fei. How could De Feinot worry? In that case, all the prestigious, n.o.ble ladies she wanted Tuoba Yuto marry will never step foot through the doors, all for the sake of gainingsupport for her son. When faced with matters concerning their son, every motherwould eventually become unreasonable! Every time De Fei saw Li Wei Yang, thefeeling was like that of a thorn, how could she not want to get rid of it! Theway she saw it, she missed the opportunity last time, but this time she willnot fail!
De Fei’s eyes gleamed with tears: “At first, Xianzhuliked it, so chen qie considered giving it to her, but this is something Bixiapersonally gave chen qie, so I cannot part with it, no matter what…” She sadlycontinued: “Chen qie was furious and unable to bear it. This is somethingeveryone clearly saw, but Xianzhu would rather die than to admit it.”
She glanced at the palace maids by her side. One ofthem knelt down and said: “Bixia, the Nubi personally witnessed it. Among thosepresent, Xianzhu was closest to the gold hairpin. If the gold hairpin wa.s.stolen, Xianzhu must have stolen it!”
The Emperor looked at Li Wei Yang. He was not in themood to deal with these things, but De Fei seemed to be wronged, so he wentwith it. After all, he had wronged De Fei last time.
Li Wei Yang met the Emperor’s stare without any fear:“Bixia, chen nu is not well learned but will never resort to stealing a goldhairpin from niang niang. There must be another reason, Bixia, pleaseinvestigate!”
Xian Fei coldly interjected: “Seeing Xianzhu so gentleand weak, how could you have such complicated thoughts? Wrongs can be fixed forthe better. If you really did steal the gold hairpin, you should admit to itsooner than later. Bixia is a generous person and will not punish you harshly.But if you know you are wrong but do not admit it and would rather die than toadmit it, you will be severely punished.”
De Fei discreetly coughed, her eyes steeled and hervoice was sharp yet clear: “Jiejie is right. Xianzhu left earlier and couldhave hidden it somewhere.” She called out, “Lan er!”
Lan er came up and responded: “Nubi is here.”
De Fei asked: “Did you see Xianzhu hide anything awayearlier?”
Lan er bowed and replied: “Xianzhu did not take outthe gold hairpin along the way. If Xianzhu stole it, it must still be on hersomewhere.”
Li Wei Yang’s face changed. She grimaced, suppressingher anger and said: “Niang niang is always compa.s.sionate, is it necessary tosearch one’s body? If this spreads, how can Wei Yang live peacefully in thefuture?”
Zhang De Fei glanced over. Lan er hesitated beforereaching towards Li Wei Yang, about to open her sleeve: “Forgive me, Xianzhu.Since the gold hairpin is with you, Nubi must search.”
Li Wei Yang saw her hand come closer. Her hand flewout and slapped Lan er’s face, angrily saying: “Impudence! As if you could laya hand on me!”
Lan er was struck hard and immediately stiffened. Shewas De Fei’s most trusted palace maid and served her for many years. Shethought highly of herself, De Fei had yet to ever scold her, much less let herbe slapped like that? She had yet to recover from that slap. Zhang De Fei couldnot hold back anymore and furiously shouted: “Li Wei Yang, what are you doing!”Li Wei Yang was not hitting Lan er but De Fei’s self-respect!
Not just De Fei, even the Emperor and Empress Dowagerwere shocked!
Xian Fei’s voice was particularly stern: “AnpingXianzhu, you are too bold. This is the Imperial Palace and you dare to strikesomeone!”
Li Wei Yang was not afraid in the least. She slowlyglanced over at the Emperor: “Bixia is a wise ruler and would certainly notpunish an innocent person.” She coldly smiled and said: “Wei Yang is notwearing many layers. If the gold hairpin is with me, then it will simply fallout if my clothes are rustled. Niang niang does not need to search, Wei Yangwill take it off for niang niang to see!” She began to shed her outer robe, herhand trembling. Then her hands went up to the collar of her garments, leavingeveryone stunned. The Empress Dowager interrupted her: “Stop! This isinappropriate!”
Li Wei Yang despairingly said: “Empress Dowager niangniang, Wei Yang is doing exactly what niang niang said in order to prove myinnocence!”
This Yatou was clever and determined, not willing tolose the slightest. The Empress Dowager and Emperor exchanged a glance andconflicted smile. The Empress Dowager did not believe Li Wei Yang stole it,that child was not selfishly shortsighted.
De Fei’s eyes were cold as frost: “Acting recklesslyin the Palace, Li Wei Yang, you have lost your mind. You even dared to do suchimmoral things!”
Hostility flashed across Li Wei Yang’s face:“Responding to Bixia, Empress Dowager, chen nu would not dare to actrecklessly. Although chen nu is of humble origins, chen nu is also an innocentgirl and would not allow anyone to search my person. Chen nu would rather do itthan to let niang niang search to avoid trouble!” Her initiative to prove herinnocence and having others search her were completely different things.
Zhang De Fei’s face flushed and grew unpleasant. Shehad not expected Li Wei Yang to dare to resist, nor did she think nothing wouldfall out. Her beautiful eyes shot over to Lan er. Lan er panicked, feeling moreuneasy. She did not understand; she clearly put the gold hairpin in Li WeiYang’s sleeve when she wasn’t paying attention. Li Wei Yang had shed her outerrobe, but why didn’t anything fall out?”
The Empress Dowager noticed and said: “Anping isright. If the intent is to search, then everyone else must also be searched,not just her.”
A nu guan stepped forward and called all the palacemaids by Xian Fei and De Fei’s side and had them stand in two lines. TheEmpress Dowager sternly said: “If it is found on them, they must be severelypunished!”
The palace maids looked at one another, not daring torefuse.
Li Wei Yang looked on from afar but did not speak up.Although her concubine-born status was looked down on, she still had the bloodof the Li family running through her veins and the t.i.tle of Xianzhu bestowed bythe Emperor. If the Emperor did not give the order, others could not searchher, so she dared to lay a hand on Lan er. In the end, her status could not beconsidered equal to that of the Nubi!
Every person was searched, but nothing was found. DeFei arched an eyebrow: “See, those by my side are clean!”
The Empress Dowager frowned. If nothing was found,then the crime remained with Li Wei Yang. The child had just shed her outerrobe, must they check her inner garments as well?
Li Wei Yang’s lips curled back in a smile as shesuddenly pointed at someone: “There’s still one person who has not beensearched.”
Everyone’s eyes fell on Lan er. She stared at Li WeiYang, dumbfounded. The nu guan looked to the Empress Dowager, who nodded. Thenu guan immediately went over to Lan er and began to carefully search. A momentlater, a clattering sound rang out. Something fell to the ground.
Everyone saw that it was indeed the gold hairpin theEmperor gave De Fei. A sudden uproar ensued.
The Emperor looked at Zhang De Fei who fearfullystared back: “You were discourteous, raising a thief by your side and wronglyaccusing Xianzhu. It is only right that you let her be punished.”
De Fei looked as if she were choking, speechless. EvenXian Fei seemed to be stunned by this.
Zhang De Fei looked over in Lan er’s direction.Terrified, Lan er fell to her knees and knelt on the ground, trembling. Shealways helped De Fei niang niang with these things and never failed. Shethought it would be a small task this time, who would have thought she would beunexpectedly caught!
De Fei clenched her teeth: “Lan er followed me formany years and would never do such a thing.”
The Emperor’s voice was as gentle as the wind inApril: “Alright. The evidence is all here, no need to repeat yourself.”
De Fei was still reluctant to accept this conclusion:“Bixia, this…”
The Emperor’s voice was warm but firm: “To put thisbluntly, it is a trivial matter.”
De Fei still had hope: “Aside from theft, Xianzhu alsoacted inappropriately today. This is a great crime, how could Bixia let thisgo? She has acting impudently…”
The Emperor frowned. The Empress Dowager smiled andsaid: “You insisted on beating and killing, intimidating the child. No need topursue what has been lost. In my opinion, the Emperor must settle this byrewarding and punishing accordingly.” Then, she idly said: “Drag that palacemaid down and beat her to death.”
Lan er fearfully trembled and cried out: “EmpressDowager niang niang, have mercy, please have mercy!”
The head eunuch responded: “Yes.” Then, he nodded atseveral other eunuchs, who understood and began to drag Lan er out. Lan er wasterrified to the point where she could no longer beg for mercy, her body limpas she was dragged out like a torn bag.
Everyone heard the series of screams outside graduallygrowing quieter. The eunuchs returned to report: “Empress Dowager, she isdead.”
De Fei involuntarily shivered. A cruel smile ghostedacross Li Wei Yang’s lips, disappearing in an instant.
The Emperor agreed with the Emperor’s methods andnodded: “Behead her and hang her head at the palace gates, so the palace maidsand eunuchs in the palace will see what awaits them if they steal from theirZhuzi!”
Zhang De Fei turned to glare at her, but met theEmperor’s contemplative gaze. Her heart constricted. Terrified, sheinvoluntarily trembled. The Emperor said: “Your servant has done somethingwrong, you must manage them more strictly in the future.”
Zhang De Fei was not dumb. She quickly reacted,reluctantly smiling: “Yes. A Nubi that steals cannot be kept. If the Emperordid not punish her, chen qie would have wanted to kill her as an example too.”
The Empress Dowager solemnly eyed everyone around her,her voice stern: “This is a lesson those in the inner palace must remember.Before you do anything, think carefully about what you should do and should notdo, do not follow that despicable servant’s example!”
The palace maids’ souls had flown away in fear. Theyimmediately knelt down: “Yes, Empress Dowager, please do not be too angry.”
Li Wei Yang also knelt down: “Empress Dowager niangniang, please do not be too angry.”
The Empress Dowager glanced at Zhou nu guan, who wentover and helped Li Wei Yang up. The Empress Dowager softly said: “You have beenwronged. Deliver my decree, award Anping Xianzhu a hundred liang of gold and ahundred rolls of silk.”
Xian Fei looked at Li Wei Yang differently thanbefore. She thought that Yatou would die today and did not think she would beable to escape it. After all, the person who was furious now was De Fei.
Li Wei Yang thanked her for her grace then went to thecenter of the hall. She picked up the phoenix hairpin and examined it beforesaying: “Truly is a beautiful treasure.” She tightly held the hairpin, whichdisappeared under her sleeve. She walked over and said: “Such a beautifulhairpin, niang niang should wear it.” She smiled and pinned it on De Fei’shair.
De Fei resented not being able to toss that hairpinaway. Seeing the Emperor and Empress Dowager looking at her, she suppressed heranger and smiled: “Anping Xianzhu, I was discourteous and wrongly accused you.I hope you will not take this to heart.”
Li Wei Yang smiled politely and replied: “How couldniang niang say that, it was all because of an ignorant, despicable servant.Wei Yang will not mind it.”
When she said “despicable servant,” her cold stareswept over De Fei. De Fei shook with fury but had to endure it.
The Empress Dowager nodded: “Alright. Things will endhere, everyone should return.”
The Emperor left first, then Xian Fei and De Feifollowed. As they walked past Li Wei Yang, Xian Fei’s gaze slid over to herwithout the slightest warmth or emotion as if looking at a speck of dust,indifferent: “Xianzhu is truly clever and capable.”
Li Wei Yang responded: “Xian Fei niang niang gives toohigh of a praise.”
Xian Fei smiled but did not say anything else. De Feiglared at her, then left with Xian Fei. Li Wei Yang looked at the hairpin on DeFei’s head and vaguely smiled.
Outside of the hall, Li Wei Yang looked up at the bluesky, then looked off into the distance. Her gaze shifted from Tai Yong Palace,Zhong He Palace, then to the magnificent Jia Xing Palace of the court affairs.
A white pigeon on the eaves that suddenly spread itswings and flew away.
Li Wei Yang smiled. De Fei niang niang, there is aconsequence to everything. You have wrongly accused me, so I must return thefavor!
I would rather to have wronged every person in theworld than let anyone in this world wrong me. This was what you have started,do not blame me being merciless!
-------------------------------------------------
Translator: Chau
Editor: Pending
-------------------------------------------------