"Hahaha!" Consort Rong heard Zhong Li's words and burst into unrestrained laughter. "It's just killing a few lowly maids, what is there to fear? Don't tell me Director Zhong plans to make me pay with my life? But if I die, and Shu Rong knows, do you know what kind of predicament the Southern Yue kingdom will face?"
Zhong Li frowned, looking at Consort Rong. She truly couldn't imagine how such a beautiful woman could possess such a venomous heart.
"Consort Rong, why have you become this way? Is it only because of Nada's death?"
Upon hearing Nada's name, Consort Rong's laughter abruptly stopped. Her fierce eyes stared intently at Zhong Li and she said, "How do you know about Nada? You..."
"Twenty years ago, when you were still a princess of the Shu Rong kingdom, you secretly had an affair with a servant and conceived a child. However, the Emperor of Shu Rong planned to marry you off to the Southern Yue kingdom. You resisted fiercely, even contemplating elopement, but the result was that Nada was killed, and you were forced to marry into the Southern Yue kingdom, losing your child.
Afterward, you became disheartened and thought of letting go, of living a good life from then on. But fate dealt you another heavy blow. You discovered that after several years in the Southern Yue kingdom, you had never conceived. Upon examination, you found that you could no longer bear children. Thus, you publicly declared that you did not want children, when in reality, you were merely concealing the fact that you had lost a child and could no longer conceive.
But as time passed, the current Emperor grew old, and it was unknown when he would pass. Seeing other concubines with children, you became jealous. Gradually, you decided to take revenge on the current Emperor, which is why you did these things, isn't it?" Zhong Li slowly revealed the deepest secret buried in Consort Rong's heart.
Consort Rong simply stared at Zhong Li. After a long while, she let out a scoff, "I thought these old matters would never be remembered by anyone. I never expected you to unearth them."
Zhong Li lowered her gaze, waiting for her further words.
"Indeed, you investigated very meticulously. You didn't even get his name wrong." Consort Rong took a deep breath, her gaze shifting past Zhong Li to the old locust tree behind her.
"Nada and I were truly in love. Unfortunately, my father would not allow us to be together. At the time, I was rebellious, so I planned to create a fait accompli by conceiving Nada's child, thereby forcing my father to agree.
But despite all my calculations, I never anticipated that the Southern Yue kingdom would come to Shu Rong to propose a marriage alliance. At that time, the Southern Yue kingdom was in turmoil, and no concubines in the harem wanted to marry off their daughters. I, however, whose mother had died early and had no one to protect me, became the sole candidate for this marriage alliance.
I resisted with all my might, caused a scene, and cried, but it was all in vain. When my father, accompanied by the high priest, came to my tent, I knew I had no choice but to go, even if I had to be carried to the Southern Yue kingdom as a corpse.
My father poured medicine down my throat while speaking of the virtues of the Southern Yue kingdom, its vast territory, and its advanced agricultural techniques. He promised that if I married there, he would send troops to support the Southern Yue kingdom. Upon success, I would be second only to the Empress in nobility in the Southern Yue kingdom. At that time, the Shu Rong kingdom could seek agricultural technology from the Southern Yue kingdom, and I would be a hero of the Shu Rong kingdom."
Consort Rong suddenly laughed at this point, her eyes filled with mockery, which was particularly piercing in the dust-laden room.
"But it was precisely that bowl of miscarriage-inducing soup that deprived me of the possibility of ever having my own offspring. Zhong Li, do you know how painful it is for a woman to be stripped of her right to be a woman?
I didn't want anything for my country; I simply wanted to be a woman and live an ordinary, happy life. Was such a small wish so difficult to fulfill?
But who is to blame for all this? It's all the current Emperor's fault. If he hadn't proposed marriage to Shu Rong twenty years ago, Nada wouldn't have died, and I might have had children long ago!" Consort Rong's voice grew more agitated, and her beautiful peach blossom eyes were already brimming with tears.
"Since I cannot have children, how could I let Lu Jing'an have children for the entire Lu family? Thus, I began to scheme. At that time, Nada's sister, Nan Man, served by my side. She knew of my intentions and, along with wet nurse Dou, assisted me.
Coincidentally, just as I was wondering where to start, Consort Xian approached me."
"She sought you out for help with having a child?" Zhong Li asked.
"Yes. You wouldn't have expected her to ask me for help with this, would you? The reason is quite simple. She heard from somewhere that Shu Rong had a secret remedy for bearing children. During a visit to the palace, she casually came to my palace to seek this remedy.
When I heard that the child she was carrying would bear the Lu surname, how could I let her succeed? Thus, Nan Man and I discussed and devised the 'evil god' murder plan." Consort Rong said.
"What about Consort Shu? She wasn't favored by the Emperor before; how did she get involved?" Zhong Li asked.
"Consort Shu? That idiot." Consort Rong rolled her eyes. "She heard from somewhere that the Emperor was old and that if he died, he would take concubines without heirs with him as escorts. In her haste, she sought me out for help.
Having been in the palace for twenty years, I have always been favored. Although my favor has waned in recent years compared to Nan Gong Xiao Die, I still stand out amongst others. Consort Shu looked to me to speak well of her to the Emperor and begged for my assistance.
I saw the opportune moment; since she so desperately wanted an imperial heir, of course, I would fulfill her wish."
"No!" Zhong Li shook her head upon hearing Consort Rong's words. "You have been by the Emperor's side for so many years, you must know how the Emperor feels about Consort Shu. Therefore, you cannot possibly not know that the Emperor has no intention of leaving her any children."
"Yes!" Consort Rong nodded. "Zhong Li, your investigation in the Imperial Academy is not wrong; the Emperor was secretly giving her abortifacients. However, as a physician, you should also know that this method is not always successful."
"Are you implying that Consort Shu is pregnant with an imperial heir?" Zhong Li understood.
"Otherwise?" Consort Rong scoffed. "Do you know why I call her foolish? She got pregnant, and it would have been fine to give birth secretly, wouldn't it? But she had to come to my chambers to show off. Do you think I would give her a chance to bear the Lu family's heir?"
Upon hearing this, Zhong Li gasped, "Consort Rong, you are like a vengeful spirit crawling out of hell. For the injustices you perceived, you have taken the lives of three innocent people."
"A vengeful spirit?" Consort Rong smiled, her fingertips lightly tracing her cheek. "Everyone in the harem says my beauty is ageless, immortal. Zhong Li, have you ever seen such a beautiful vengeful spirit?"
Zhong Li furrowed her brows, her gaze sweeping over Consort Rong's face.
"How is it?" Consort Rong's smile deepened. "Do you want to know the reason for my agelessness? If you let me go..."
"I have heard that in the Shu Rong kingdom, there is a secret technique where women who wish to maintain their youthful appearance can bathe and wash with the blood of virgins. Consort Rong, you have also used this method, haven't you?" Zhong Li interrupted her.
Consort Rong was stunned and looked at Zhong Li in surprise. "As expected of someone from the Dali Temple, you can even find this out."
Zhong Li sneered and, with a flick of her wrist, retrieved the bronze basin filled with clear water from behind her, placing it before Consort Rong.
"Your Highness, you need to wake up. Look closely. Is the person in this water a beauty or a vengeful spirit?"
Consort Rong, filled with doubt, obediently lowered her head to look. When she saw that there was no beauty in the water, but a monstrous figure with a face full of wrinkles and a contorted expression, she screamed in terror.
"A ghost! A ghost!"
Zhong Li released her grip on Consort Rong, letting her overturn the basin on the ground and fall into hysterical shrieking in the dust-laden hall.
"Consort Rong, this is your retribution for the countless innocent women you have killed over the past twenty years!" she said with a cold sneer and turned to leave the desolate palace.
Consort Rong's screams still echoed behind her. Just as Zhong Li stepped out of the hall and was closing the door, Consort Rong looked up at the woman slowly disappearing from her sight, a sinister smile curving her lips. She said, "Zhong Li, all the plans have just begun!"