The Rebirth of an Ill-Fated Consort (Chapters 1- 203)

Chapter 156 : The Imperial Trial

Translated by : Shl

Edited by : Anks & Ely

**********

Three days later.

The sun was shining brightly. Even though it was already late autumn, the weather was uncommonly good. The sunlight lazily illuminated the lovely petals of the garden cosmos which had yet to wither, causing them to look even more charming. In Shu Fang Palace, an alluringly beautiful woman, gorgeously attired, was standing, aloof and detached. Her usual exotic bearing seemed to have been swept away in the twinkling of an eye, leaving only an unconcealed murderous aura behind.

A palace maid offered her tea, saying, "Imperial Consort, after drinking tea, it will be time to attend the imperial trial in the palace."

Imperial Consort Shu slowly received the tea and took a sip. She had dressed herself with special care today, such that she looked as beautiful as if she had stepped out of a painting. Correspondingly, she also appeared forceful and imposing, a manner which was undoubtedly accentuated by her crimson clothes. For Imperial Consort Shu, the death of Princess He Yi had indeed been a huge blow.

After all these years in the palace, Imperial Consort Shu had never given birth to sons, only Princess He Yi, thus she had never thought about trying to seize the throne. Moreover, everything depended on the Emperor's favour. From the beginning, even though the Emperor had never loved her as much as Imperial Consort Chen, because she had given birth to a daughter who would be no threat to imperial power, the Emperor had not been wary of her.

Princess He Yi had been bossy and domineering, but, when all was said and done, she was her flesh and blood, born of her own womb. For so many years, Imperial Consort Shu had raised her in the lap of luxury, but such a tragic end had somehow befallen her. Deep in her bones, Imperial Consort Shu was an arrogant and impulsive person. At the time when Xuan Lang confirmed that Jiang Ruan had killed Princess He Yi, she was dying to rush out and tear Jiang Ruan into little shreds. However, Jiang Ruan had already been taken away by the Ministry of Justice, and taking action prematurely would not be a good idea.

However, there was no one in this world whom she could not beat. She had carved out a place for herself among the four palace consorts with her scheming and beauty, and was naturally no soft persimmon. Even Imperial Consort Chen, with whom she had battled all her life, was now in a disadvantageous position. Who was Jiang Ruan? No one but the daughter of a minor palace official. Killing Princess He Yi was a sin she would never be able to seek forgiveness for. After Imperial Consort Shu had calmed down, she was no longer in a hurry to take action.

This case had wide-ranging implications. She had wailed before the Emperor, who had promised her that he would himself preside over Princess He Yi's murder trial. After so many years of marriage, Imperial Consort Shu was able to ascertain his moods and emotions with some degree of certainty, and could naturally see that the Emperor did not like Jiang Ruan. Moreover, there were witnesses as well as material evidence, so Imperial Consort Shu could let Jiang Ruan die without a proper burial[1] without even having to manage the situation herself.

[1] 死无葬僧地 (si wu zang seng di) – to die without being buried; to suffer a tragic death or severe punishment. In ancient times, it was important to be buried in the earth upon death. If one had committed a heinous crime, one's corpse would be cremated or pulverised etc and not buried; this was considered to be a cruel punishment befitting those who had committed wicked crimes.

Because all the people involved in this case were members of the royal family, and because Empress Dowager Yi De had also intervened, the Emperor agreed to an imperial trial. Since the founding of the nation, an imperial trial had only taken place once or twice, and those trials had involved major events linked to senior figures in the imperial court. Therefore, this was the first time that an imperial trial had been called for due to a dispute in the royal family. Imperial Consort Shu knew that, among those who pleaded on behalf of Jiang Ruan, apart from Zhao Guang's family and Empress Dowager Yi De, there was also Jinying Wang, Xiao Shao, Imperial Grand Tutor Liu Min, and the younger son of the Commander-in-chief fu, Gu Yi. Every time Imperial Consort Shu thought of this, she gritted her teeth in resentment.