The Empress Dowager had already anticipated Old Madam Ji’s point.
But Prince Yong was her own son, and she was perfectly clear on who she needed to protect.
The Empress Dowager’s fingers tapped lightly on the armrest of her throne. Her gaze, seen through the beaded curtain, grew even more detached.
"Old Madam, you are mistaken. What does this have to do with my son?"
Hearing the change in her form of address, the old madam’s face fell.
Her tone was sorrowful. "Xu Wen died young, leaving behind only his two children and their widowed mother. I will protect Chang Yan’s life even if it costs my own. If Your Highness wishes to wash your hands of this, then I shall trouble the Empress Dowager no more."
Mrs. Qiao, who had been watching from the side, gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head.
’Her mother-in-law is speaking rashly out of desperation,’ she thought. ’Implicating Prince Yong is not a wise move. Whether or not Ji Changyan acted on the Prince’s orders, the evidence of his cris is irrefutable.’
Old Madam Ji slowly rose, the disappointnt in her eyes unconcealed. Her own grandson’s life hung in the balance, yet his aunt—the Empress Dowager—was being so cold-blooded.
Trembling, she perford a deep, formal bow to the Empress Dowager. Ordinarily, the Empress Dowager would have already rushed over to help her up.
But this ti, the Empress Dowager had no choice but to harden her heart.
’I know,’ the Empress Dowager thought. ’My second brother, Ji Xuwen, died young from illness, so the family has always shown his branch extra care. Mother, in particular, doted on Ji Changyan, which is how he developed such a reckless, impulsive nature.’
’Regardless of the truth, we are all one family. The Ji Family should take the fall for Prince Yong this ti.’
The Empress Dowager fingered her Buddha Beads, closed her eyes, and sighed softly. "Shixi, see Old Madam and the others out."
The words had barely left her lips when Miao Guangcai, the Chief Eunuch of Cining Palace, burst into the hall. His expression was panicked, and his voice was rushed.
"Empress Dowager, this is terrible!"
Shixi quickly cut him off. "Mr. Mou, do not be impudent before the Empress Dowager."
Miao Guangcai dropped to his knees, his voice trembling. "Your Highness, a quarter of an hour ago, the Emperor issued a decree. Prince Yong has been summoned to the Imperial Prison of the Imperial City Departnt."
The Buddha Beads fell from the Empress Dowager’s hand, and her wide, deep-purple sleeves trembled uncontrollably.
"I must go to the Imperial Prison."
Her Chief Palace Maid, Shixi, calmly tried to reason with her. "Empress Dowager, this is against protocol. The won of the inner palace must not ddle in politics. If the Emperor and the court officials learn that you have gone to the Imperial Prison, you will undoubtedly face censure. I implore Your Highness to reconsider."
Worry clouds one’s judgnt. When it ca to Prince Yong, even the venerable Empress Dowager almost lost her composure.
The Empress Dowager descended the steps with a frantic gait and grasped Old Madam Ji’s hand. Her earlier detachnt had vanished, replaced by pure anxiety. "Mother, Ming Hong has been taken to the Imperial Prison. Is he going to be punished?"
Old Madam Ji was just as shocked.
Prince Yong was a Prince of the blood. There was no precedent for a Prince to be sent to the Imperial Prison. They were typically held in the Ministry of Justice Prison first, and a conviction required a Three Departnts Joint Examination.
The Emperor’s actions had thrown them all into a panic.
Mrs. Qiao, who had remained silent until now, furrowed her brow and asked, "Eunuch, did the decree say why Prince Yong was summoned?"
Miao Guangcai replied, "The decree didn’t specify. It only said to summon the Prince."
Mrs. Qiao breathed a sigh of relief. "If it was a summons and not an arrest, then perhaps the situation is not yet critical. Empress Dowager, the Ji Family must stay united. We need to figure out a plan together."
Ms. Wu scrambled up from the floor and said hastily, "Yesterday, Chang Yan went out with Qingwu. She must know what happened! Empress Dowager, please summon her for questioning!"
Old Madam Ji agreed. "Yes, my second daughter-in-law is right. We must first find out exactly what happened last night before we can decide on our next move."
Mrs. Qiao’s expression changed at the ntion of bringing Xiao Wu over.
Yesterday, Ji Changyan had said Xiao Wu wanted to visit Yucui Building. The establishnt was one of Prince Yong’s businesses, specializing in won’s clothing and jewelry, so Mrs. Qiao hadn’t thought anything of it at the ti.
But as night fell and Ji Qingwu still hadn’t returned, Mrs. Qiao had sent soone to inquire. Ji Changyan’s page returned with a ssage: the Fifth Missy had been in high spirits, had a little too much to drink, and was resting in one of Yucui Building’s private rooms.
Mrs. Qiao still didn’t know what exactly had transpired last night, but the two imperial decrees this morning made it clear that the events were anything but simple.
’It’s best not to drag Xiao Wu into this right now.’
She feigned a sigh. "Xiao Wu is under house arrest for offending the Emperor. She can’t leave her courtyard. There are even guards posted at the gate."
The Empress Dowager said dejectedly, "The Emperor has sealed off all information so thoroughly. He is determined to make the Ji Family suffer."
Before the group in Cining Palace could devise a plan, only a short while later, a little eunuch in blue robes appeared at the entrance.
Shixi recognized him as Hu Guizi, one of Prince Yong’s attendants, and quickly let him in.
All eyes turned anxiously to the little eunuch.
Hu Guizi was gasping for breath, his face ashen. "Empress Dowager, Prince Yong..."
Seeing his expression and knowing it concerned Prince Yong, the Empress Dowager snapped, "Speak! Don’t just stand there stamring! What happened to Ming Hong?!"
Hu Guizi wailed, "Prince Yong... he fainted in the Imperial Prison."
So sothing had happened to Prince Yong, too.
’The Emperor is truly this ruthless.’ The Empress Dowager collapsed back onto her throne.
Old Madam Ji asked, "Was Prince Yong tortured? Who would dare?"
Hu Guizi replied, "Your Highness, Old Madam, no. He wasn’t tortured. The Emperor summoned the Prince to witness a punishnt."
Witness a punishnt?
The Empress Dowager let out a small sigh of relief. She pointed a finger, its nail painted vermilion, at the little eunuch. "Then who was being punished?"
"The Ji family’s Third Young Master."
Ms. Wu’s eyes were bloodshot. "It’s Chang Yan..."
"The scene of the punishnt was so brutal that Prince Yong couldn’t bear it and fainted," Hu Guizi explained.
That short sentence sent Ms. Wu and Old Madam Ji into a state of absolute terror. What kind of horrifying punishnt could have been so ghastly that Prince Yong, who was rely a spectator, had been frightened into unconsciousness?
Old Madam Ji pressed him, "What torture did they use?"
"It was... it was... the Golden Juice Torture."
No one present had ever heard of such a punishnt.
Ms. Wu asked frantically, "What is the Golden Juice Torture?"
Hu Guizi hadn’t seen the punishnt being carried out himself. He was only able to get inside after Lord Duan Mingfeng of the Imperial City Departnt ordered n to carry the unconscious Prince Yong out.
He had managed to slip into the underground level of the Imperial Prison and steal a glance at the scene within.
The man being punished was disfigured beyond recognition, his human shape barely discernible. His brocade robes were covered in filth, and his agonizing, shrill screams echoed through the prison.
As he dragged Prince Yong away, those demonic screams continued, a clear sign that the man was in unending, maximal agony.
It was only at the prison gate, when Hu Guizi overheard a guard ntion it offhandedly, that he learned what thod could, in an instant, torture a man into sothing that was neither human nor ghost.
"It’s an extre asure used for defending city walls in battle."
He took a sharp breath. "It’s... urine and fecal water mixed with boiling oil, poured over a person."
Urine. Fecal water. Boiling oil.
No ordinary person could withstand any one of those things, let alone a young master who had grown up coddled in wealth and luxury.
Just hearing the description was too much for Ms. Wu, who let out a series of piercing shrieks.
Shixi stepped forward and covered her mouth, frowning. "Second Madam, forgive my impertinence, but shouting is forbidden within the palace."
Any thought the Empress Dowager had of going to the Imperial Prison to see Prince Yong instantly vanished. She had no desire to witness such a cruel and filthy scene herself.
The image of her grandson, no longer resembling a human and covered in filth, made Old Madam Ji retch with grief.
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