Volume 1, Chapter 63: Has She Lost Her Mind?

"Hey, hey, hey, Lord Zhou, don't leave!"

Seeing everyone walking away, Princess Jiahui hurried to catch up, but someone stepped into her path to block her way.

"Princess, the Empress Dowager will be arriving shortly. Wouldn't it be better to take your seat first?" Ning Russheng kindly reminded her. If he could win Princess Jiahui's favor, wouldn't he be able to shake off Xie Shu?

This thought flashed through Ning Russheng's mind in an instant.

The Emperor favored Princess Jiahui above all others. As long as he could force Xie Shu to request a demotion or a divorce, why would he need to fear being implicated by the Marquis of Chengen's estate?

Princess Jiahui looked at the person before her with utter disgust. If he hadn't ruined her good opportunity just now, she would already be resting in the arms of the man she desired! "Mind your own business! What do you think you are?"

Scolded in this manner, Ning Russheng's expression turned awkward, but he did not dare show his anger in front of Princess Jiahui. He could only force an indifferent look and apologize to her, "The Princess misunderstands, I was merely concerned for you."

"Get lost!" Princess Jiahui detested such obsequious flatterers. Countless people in the capital sought to curry favor with her, but none caught her eye; she cared only for Zhou Xunli. Only Zhou Xunli did not care whether she was a princess, and only Zhou Xunli dared to treat her with a cold face.

Compared to these vulgar mortals, her Zhou Xunli was a peerless existence, soaring above the heavens and standing alone in the world!

No matter how thick-skinned Ning Russheng was, he could no longer hold his composure. He could only offer a sheepish smile, step aside, and sullenly return to his own seat.

"Later on, you are not to speak nonsense," Ning Russheng said to Xie Shu, who was sitting beside him, suppressing the hatred burning in his heart.

Xie Shu lowered her gaze, a mocking curl playing at the corner of her lips. "Lord Heir, you would do well not to show your cowardice."

A pang of shock pierced through Ning Russheng, and he suddenly grew somewhat panicked, terrified that Xie Shu would expose his shortcomings in public.

Once this thought arose, it left Ning Russheng sitting on pins and needles. If he could, he truly wished to kill Xie Shu on the spot to silence her.

Alas, the guards of the Town-Far-General's estate were no ordinary men.

Yet... it was not entirely without opportunity.

Xie Shu's gaze followed the path ahead; Princess Jiahui was already seated in her chair with a furious expression, while the Second Prince, Xuanche Yu, sat diagonally to her front left.

Sensing a gaze from behind, the Second Prince turned his head and cast a glance over, his lips curving into a gentle smile toward Xie Shu.

The First Prince is not here?

Xie Shu ignored the Second Prince. Yet, after looking around left and right, she truly failed to see the First Prince.

"The Empress Dowager has arrived!"

A sharp voice pierced the air, and everyone stood up in unison, lowering their heads in greeting and respectfully awaiting the Empress Dowager's seating.

On the stone steps of Taiqing Pool, a woman of dignified and regal bearing was surrounded and escorted by a retinue of eunuchs and palace maids. Though she was already past fifty with a few strands of white hair at her temples, her posture remained lithe and her complexion ruddy. Even though the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were becoming apparent, they could hardly conceal the grace and elegance of her youth.

A single glance was enough to tell that she must have been an absolute beauty in her prime.

"My lords and ladies, dispense with the formalities and be seated." The Empress Dowager raised a hand slightly, and everyone bowed in compliance.

Once seated, palace attendants hovered close by to serve. Xie Shu looked at the various delicacies laid out before her, picked up a pair of chopsticks, and brought the food close to her nose for a gentle sniff. Presumably, it was free of poison.

"Let the music play and the dancing begin!"

Moments later, dancers filed in one after another, possessing slender waists and clad in thin, translucent multi-colored silk garments that possessed a unique and captivating charm.

Xie Shu disliked the cold, and Taiqing Pool featured a deep body of water that naturally carried a biting chill.

The sun was gradually setting as dusk approached, and a gentle breeze swept across the lake, stirring ripples upon the surface.

Xie Shu drew her sleeves closer around herself, and Green Willow immediately retrieved a thick shawl from her basket, draping it over Xie Shu's shoulders. "My Lady, would you care for some hot tea?"

"No, bring me wine instead." Xie Shu shook her head. While tea was warm, it could only fend off the cold for a brief moment; two cups of clear wine would warm her entire body through.

A small stove was placed on every table. A young eunuch nearby, hearing her request, raised his hand to warm the wine for her, but Green Willow was faster, intercepting the wine flagon from his grasp. "Your services are not needed here. Just stand to the side."

Before entering the palace, Xie Shu had explicitly instructed that food and drink must never pass through the hands of strangers.

After several dance numbers, Xie Shu had already downed several cups. The imperial banquet only served mild, clear wine to prevent anyone from getting drunk and causing trouble. Consequently, Xie Shu only felt a pleasant warmth in her stomach without a trace of intoxication.

"This dance is truly uninteresting." Xie Shu looked up and glanced briefly at the performers. The palace dancers were no different from the usual; the choreography was tedious and uninspired. However, the lead dancer possessed a top-tier figure that compelled one to steal a few extra glances.

"Has that Xie girl arrived yet?"

Just as Xie Shu was about to pour herself another cup, the Empress Dowager suddenly spoke from the high platform.

What must come, would come eventually.

Xie Shu put down her cup, raised her right hand to steady herself on Green Willow's arm, and stood up. Then, crossing her hands before her waist, she took measured steps to the area below the steps, lowered her head, knelt, and reported, "This humble subject's daughter, Xie Shu, pays her respects to the Empress Dowager."

"Xie Shu? Where is your elder sister, Xie Ying? Why has she not come? Does your Xie family hold the Emperor's urgent imperial decree in such disregard?" The Empress Dowager interrogated her repeatedly, each question louder than the last.

The paving stones of Taiqing Pool were bitterly cold. No sooner had Xie Shu knelt than she felt a creeping chill seeping into her knees. Ah, she should have worn three layers of knee pads.

Wearing only two layers—a miscalculation.

"In reply to the Empress Dowager, the military situation on the northern frontier is critical. It is feared my elder sister could not return to the capital in time, but upon receiving the urgent summons, she will surely gallop back without rest. Both the Empress Dowager and His Majesty are enlightened rulers who hold the frontier people in their hearts, so you will surely understand the hardships faced by our frontier soldiers." Xie Shu spoke flawlessly, expressing unwavering loyalty while elevating the Empress Dowager with the title of an "enlightened ruler," making it difficult for anyone to refute her words.

"In this Mourning One's eyes, it is clearly your Xie family acting with unbridled audacity! If the frontier war had not been intentionally prolonged by your actions, how could our forces have retreated again and again?" The Empress Dowager let out a cold snort, glaring at the woman beneath the steps. Disregarding Xie Shu's entire preamble, she launched straight into accusations of treason against the Xie family.

"Empress Dowager, as the saying goes, 'If one is determined to condemn someone, pretexts are never lacking.' Since you have already made up your mind to find fault with the Xie family, then no matter what I say, the Xie family remains guilty." Xie Shu raised her head high from her prostrate position, straightened her back, and took a reckless, defiant stance toward the Empress Dowager. "Since Your Ladyship has already determined that the Xie family harbors rebellious intent, then please issue a decree and, in accordance with the law, execute the nine familial exterminations of my clan."

Everyone present was struck dumb with astonishment! This... did Xie Shu even know what she was saying?

The Marquis of Chengen was the first to react. He leaped across his table with a stride, dropped to his knees before the Empress Dowager, and kowtoweed repeatedly. "I beg the Empress Dowager to forgive her! Xie Shu has drunk too much wine and is merely speaking foolishly in her intoxication. There must be other mysteries behind the Xie family's affairs. Why not... why not wait until the Town-Far General returns in triumph before deliberating this at length?!"

Throwing around threats of executing nine familial generations meant wiping out their entire Ning clan! The Marquis of Chengen shot a fierce, covert glare at Xie Shu. Xie Shu shrugged indifferently. Even if it came to wiping out the clan, all her Xie family members were far away on the frontier, whereas the entire Marquis of Chengen's estate was right here in the capital; if anyone was going to die, they would die first.

Yet, logically speaking... since the Ning family were relatives of the Empress Dowager, could she... could she be counted among them as well?

As Xie Shu pondered this, perhaps she ought to give His Majesty a little reminder?

"Reporting to His Majesty, this subject thinks it would be best to proceed with the execution of my nine generations directly. Although the Marquis of Chengen's estate has certain ties to the Empress Dowager, after all... she is the Empress Dowager, after all." Xie Shu bowed toward the Emperor and suddenly shouted out.

Pei Xuanqing had intended to sit back and watch the show, but upon hearing this, the tea he had just sipped sprayed directly out of his mouth.

She... she was even planning to drag the Empress Dowager into it!

Ruthless enough.

If the Ning family could be purged, it would effectively sever one of the Empress Dowager's arms. Although he knew Xie Shu's words made no logical sense, the Emperor actually felt a faint stir of temptation.

Zhou Xunli kept his lips tightly pressed together, his abyss-black eyes filled with utter incomprehension. Has she gone mad?