Rebirth of the Excellent Daughter of the Marquis Household (REDMH) - Chapter 164

That damned Yun Ke, he was truly cunning, shifting all the blame onto me! The Virtuous Consort thought this bitterly while maintaining her facade of fragile distress.

At that moment, the An Le Marquis had also arrived. The imperial court session had just finished and he had not yet exited the palace gates when someone intercepted him, saying the Virtuous Consort had summoned him.

He had been cheerful along the way. No matter what, his daughter married into the imperial prince’s mansion yesterday. During the morning court session, many officials congratulated him. One could only imagine the joy in his heart. His daughter was now the legitimate consort to a prince. The influence of the Xia family had once again surged in the court. After producing two empresses, they now had a princess consort. What noble family in the entire Qi dynasty could compare with the Xia family? As for that pitiful Ding Yuan Marquis, so what if he had once saved the Emperor’s life? His daughter was no more than a secondary consort. So what if she has a title? It was nothing more than a gesture of appeasement from the Emperor. A secondary consort was still a concubine, and his own daughter could crush her with a flick of the wrist!

As for that crippled son of his, the Xia family would not even need to marry off a concubine-born daughter now. It was time to bring up the matter of dissolving the engagement. Whether the old fox of the Ding Yuan Marquis would shamelessly refuse remained to be seen, but no matter, his eldest daughter was already firmly held in his daughter’s grasp. He would not dare to go against them.

Yet, the moment he entered the courtyard, he sensed something was amiss.

“This servant greets Your Majesty. Greetings to the Empress.” Before he could even complete his bows, the imperial physician stumbled out of the inner chamber, his face ashen, trembling from head to toe as he knelt in front of the Virtuous Consort and the Emperor.

“This servant is incompetent. She is already gone,” he stammered. Then after some thought, he added with a trembling voice, “She had already stopped breathing by the time I arrived. This servant was really powerless in this situation.” Heaven help me, he had already asked the eunuchs, this was the Virtuous Consort’s own niece, and the newly wedded wife of Imperial Prince An. How could he have such bad luck, why was it his turn to be on duty?

“What did you say? Ying’er is dead?” Emperor Jing was stunned. His voice turned sharp.

Ying’er? Only then did the An Le Marquis, Xia Yan, snap out of his daze. He could not be bothered with formalities anymore. He scrambled forward and seized the physician’s collar. “Say that again! Who’s gone? Was it Xia Ying?!” he asked through gritted teeth.

“Please accept my condolences, An Le Marquis,” the physician recognised Xia Yan and could only sigh. “By the time I arrived, she had already drawn her last breath.”

“Let me see Ying’er!” The An Le Marquis shoved the physician aside, stumbling forward a few steps before suddenly remembering that the Emperor was still present. He hastily turned around, dropped to his knees before the Emperor, and kowtowed with a loud thud, “Your Majesty, please have mercy! Let me see my daughter!” He burst into tears and even Emperor Jing found it difficult to bear and waved his hand.

The An Le Marquis staggered to his feet and rushed inside. As he stepped over the threshold, he tripped and banged his knee. A long moment later, a gut-wrenching wail echoed from within, “Ying’er!” Soon after, the An Le Marquis stumbled back out into the courtyard and collapsed to his knees before Emperor Jing. He pressed his forehead to the ground and began to cry loudly, “Your Majesty! My daughter is gone! She died such a terrible death! I beg Your Majesty to bring justice for her! Please punish the murderer severely.”

Emperor Jing let out a long sigh and gestured to those beside him to help the An Le Marquis up. Then he looked at the Virtuous Consort and said, “Speak. What exactly happened? How did Ying’er die in your quarters?”

The Virtuous Consort sobbed and knelt beside the An Le Marquis. “Your Majesty, today was supposed to be a joyful day where Ke’er brought the two consorts into the palace to express their gratitude to you. This concubine thought to get up early to share in Ke’er’s joy. But who would have known, when Ke’er brought Ying’er and Concubine Gu, this concubine saw that there was something off with Ying’er. She was not wearing the ceremonial dress of a new bride. Her face was also terribly pale. This concubine simply assumed Ke’er had favoured the secondary consort and neglected her, and she had become upset and thrown a bit of a tantrum. So I said a few words to Ke’er, then drove both him and Yi’er out, leaving Ying’er behind alone, wanting to ask her what had actually happened.”

At this point, the Virtuous Consort paused for a moment, glancing back to observe Zhang Wan Yi and Gu Yu Qi’s expressions. What she had said so far was basically the truth. Seeing that the two were listening intently, she let out a breath of relief.

Lying required skill. It had to be a blend of truth and falsehood, of illusion and reality, so that it would not be easily exposed.

“Go on,” Emperor Jing said with a frown.

“Yes,” the Virtuous Consort sobbed again, sniffled, and said, “Who knew that once Ying’er saw everyone had left, she would suddenly kneel before this concubine and just start crying. This concubine’s heart ached, after all, she was this concubine’s own niece. When she was little, this concubine had carried her in my own arms. So I told her, no matter how Ke’er bullied her, this concubine would speak up for her. I told her whatever it was, she could tell this concubine anything, but Ying’er only kept kowtowing to me several times. This concubine was so frightened and could only quickly help her up, asking her what exactly had happened. Only then did she slowly begin to speak the truth.”

At this, the Virtuous Consort suddenly let out a loud wail and started crying.

The place she had stopped was far too clever, it hooked everyone’s curiosity to the peak. The entire courtyard, except Yun Ke and Yun Yi, was holding their breath, listening closely to her account, only to be interrupted by her sudden halt, as if a breath had caught in the throat, leaving everyone unbearably stifled.

“Oh dear consort, don’t cry!” Emperor Jing urged anxiously, slapping his own thigh.

Even the Empress was tormented by the suspense, and urged repeatedly, “Yes, Younger Sister, now isn’t the time to cry. Tell His Majesty what happened.” She was just eager to hear the rest of the story and to find out what kind of trick the Virtuous Consort was up to this time. As for Xia Ying, she truly could not care less.

“Your Majesty, this concubine truly…” The Virtuous Consort pressed her silk handkerchief to the corners of her eyes, looking at Emperor Jing with an expression of grief and indignation.

Yun Ke stood quietly to the side, head lowered but with cold laughter curling in his chest.

“Speak. Sooner or later, you’ll have to say it!” Emperor Jing was already starting to lose patience and pressed again, “Did Ke’er bully her? Is that why she did tried to commit suicide like this?” With those words, everyone’s gaze shifted to Yun Ke. He still stood there with a calm, indifferent air, as if this had nothing to do with him at all.

Gu Yu Qi could only secretly shake her head. This person had truly reached a realm of coldness. Such a huge incident had occurred, and he remained utterly unmoved.

Then again, he had never had a heart to begin with. Had she not always known that?

“That’s not the case,” said the Virtuous Consort. Everyone’s gaze returned to her, waiting for her to continue.

“This concubine truly cannot bring herself to speak it aloud!” The Virtuous Consort once again began to bait their curiosity.

Damn it! Even Emperor Jing could not help but curse inwardly. “All outsiders, leave!” After a moment of thought, he ordered. The entire courtyard of guards, palace maids, and eunuchs could only obey and retreat. The imperial physician also rose to leave. Heaven help him, the imperial family’s secrets were not to be heard. The more one knew, the less safe one’s head was.

“You stay!” Emperor Jing saw the physician trying to slip away and called out.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the imperial physician inwardly cursed his misfortune. He had no interest in any secrets. He only wished to keep his head.

“Alright, speak,” Emperor Jing said to the Virtuous Consort.

“Yes.” Seeing that she had dragged the suspense long enough, the Virtuous Consort finally began, crying as she spoke. “Ying’er had already lost her chastity before marriage.”

“You speak nonsense!” The An Le Marquis, who had been lying prostrate on the ground all this time, suddenly sprang up and cried out. “Your Majesty! My daughter was pure and innocent, please investigate!” His guilt made him overreact, and as soon as the words left his mouth, he realised it was inappropriate. His daughter truly had lost her virginity, and if this matter were to be investigated thoroughly, there was sure to be trouble. The grief he had felt at her death was completely blown away by the Virtuous Consort’s words, and he was now flustered and at a loss.

But to the others, his reaction seemed normal. After all, he had just lost his daughter, what father would not tremble in anguish? Apart from Yun Ke, no one else could know that the An Le Marquis was shaking out of fear.

Emperor Jing suddenly had the urge to cover his face. A daughter’s chastity being left to him, an emperor, to investigate. How utterly absurd…

“Continue,” Emperor Jing said. “An Le Marquis, calm yourself and let the Virtuous Consort finish.”

“Does Your Majesty still remember the Gengzi Rebellion?” the Virtuous Consort asked.

Emperor Jing’s brows furrowed. The Gengzi Rebellion was a thorn in his heart! How could he possibly forget? “Just speak,” he replied, his tone somewhat curt.

“Yes,” the Virtuous Consort said. “At that time, bandits ran rampant, pillaging, burning, murdering, and abducting. It was then that Ying’er was violated by those vile bandits. She was just a young girl and frightened, so she kept silent all this time. Only upon her wedding night did she realise how grave the matter was, and so she confessed it to Ke’er. Ke’er said nothing of it, but today brought her into the palace to let her explain to this concubine. It was a disaster that sprouted from her fear, and even the An Le Marquis’ household was kept in the dark. When this concubine heard it, it was as though the sky had collapsed. I told her to rest in the side chamber while I gathered my thoughts to report it to Your Majesty. Who would have known that the child had poison hidden on her. While no one was around, she took it and ended her life. She entered the palace intending to die. Your Majesty, I beg of you, take pity on the poor child and forgive her. She is already gone, what good would punishing her serve now? It would only bring pain to the living. The An Le Marquis’ household truly knew nothing of this. Ying’er said it was all her own fault.”

Yun Ke’s gaze flickered slightly, and a faint mocking smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

Emperor Jing was utterly stunned by what he had heard. Even the An Le Marquis collapsed trembling onto the ground again.

The Empress, however, smiled coldly. “What a fine An Le Marquis’ household. Is this not deceiving the Emperor and concealing the truth?” She then turned her gaze toward the Virtuous Consort, and their eyes met in mid-air. The Virtuous Consort immediately lowered her lids.

“Your Majesty, the An Le Marquis’ household has deceived the Emperor. This concubine* believes they should be punished!” the Empress quickly said to Emperor Jing.

“Your Majesty, the An Le Marquis’ household truly knew nothing of this matter. Ying’er explained it clearly to this concubine, it was she alone who concealed it. The one who deceived the throne was only her. Now that she has taken her own life, it can also be considered as preserving the imperial family’s dignity. I beg Your Majesty to be lenient, and show compassion for the pain the marquis’ family now suffers in losing their daughter. Besides, Ying’er did not willingly lose her chastity, she was forced. Your Majesty, can you not forgive Ying’er?” the Virtuous Consort quickly replied.

*TLN: The Empress refers to herself in the same way that the Virtuous Consort does, out of respect to the Emperor. It’s the same characters Gu Yu Qi uses when referring to herself when she speaks to Yun Ke.