Not long after the current emperor ascended the throne, he allowed Consort Shu to bring Gu Zhizhuo into the palace to be raised for three years, living alongside the Fifth Princess, with the exact same allowance as the princess. The Emperor had once jokingly called her “delicate guest.” And now, on her first visit since Duke Zhenguo’s death in battle, she had ended up with a disfigured face.
This was practically an open admission that the royal family was killing the donkey once the grinding was done[mfn]卸磨杀驴 (xiè mò shā lǘ) → (idiom) “to kill the donkey once the grinding is done”—meaning to get rid of someone once they’ve served their purpose, often cruelly[/mfn].
The Empress’s temples throbbed wildly, cold sweat breaking out on her forehead. She repeatedly reassured her: “Zhuo jie’er[mfn]The word 姐儿 (jiě’er) is an affectionate or familiar way of saying older sister or young lady, depending on the context.
It can mean:
– older sister (especially when spoken by siblings or family)
– young lady/girl (in a gentle or intimate tone, sometimes by elders or among women)[/mfn] don’t worry, I will definitely make a decision for you.”
“Consort Shu, take Zhuo jie’er to find the imperial physician first. The injury on her face must not be taken lightly.”
She just wanted Consort Shu to take Gu Zhizhuo away as soon as possible. If she kept talking here, the memorials impeaching Jing’er would soon pile up in the imperial study.
The Prime Minister’s wife quietly admired this maneuver.
Eldest Young Lady Gu had completely seized the upper hand. She retreated unscathed at this point, which meant that from here on, she could attack or defend as needed. Step by step, even if it was just going with the flow, she had executed it beautifully.
If the Prime Minister’s wife could think of it, naturally Consort Shu could think of it as well.
With tears brimming in her beautiful eyes, she gave the Empress a slight curtsey, then pulled her niece into her arms while murmuring something like “let’s find the imperial physician first,” and pulled her daughter along as well. They left swiftly, leaving behind a chaotic and noisy scene that no one knew how to bring things to an end.
It wasn’t until they had entered the gate of Chonghua Palace that Gu Zhizhuo lowered the handkerchief from her face. Her eyes were perfectly dry, without any trace of tears.
Consort Shu sat down on the main seat in the main hall, and with a single lift of her hand, the palace attendants filed out one after another, leaving only the chief palace eunuch and two senior palace maids.
She beckoned Gu Zhizhuo to come closer and personally removed her veil.
She hadn’t gotten a good look earlier. Now, she held her face in both hands and examined her carefully from side to side.
Consort Shu gazed at her.
She, too, gazed back at Consort Shu, her eyes dazed.
In her previous life, after her older brother Gu Yican “fled in fear of punishment[mfn]Legal/political phrase implying running away to avoid punishment[/mfn],” his title as heir apparent was stripped by imperial decree.
A few months later, an urgent military report arrived from the border, stating that Gu Yican, disregarding national hatred[mfn]The hatred of the country being invaded and the hatred of the destruction of the homeland[/mfn], cruelly killed General Chen Cang and three hundred border soldiers, then took the border defense maps to surrender to the Liang Country.
Treason was the gravest crime punishable by extermination of nine generations.
In order to save her, her aunt had exhausted herself, not knowing how great a cost she paid to reduce the Gu family’s punishment from execution of the entire clan to exile in Minzhou.
And not long after the Gu family set out on the road to exile, her aunt suddenly died.
Very soon, her cousin Danling, who had been left unattended while in a coma, also passed away.
Consort Shu felt Gu Zhizhuo’s body trembling and assumed she was frightened, her heart surging with waves of pity.
“It’s all right now.” She tossed aside the veil and spoke gently, “Tell Aunt, what exactly happened?”
Gu Zhizhuo’s long eyelashes fluttered slightly as she softly called, “Aunt.”
Consort Shu held her hand, her beautiful eyes full of pity: “Just say it, don’t be afraid.”
Gu Zhizhuo pursed her lips and began recounting from the moment she noticed something was off with the ointment: “……When it was applied to my face, it hurt terribly, like my skin was being peeled off. Our Duke Zhenguo’s manor has all kinds of wound medicine—applying them should only soothe the wound; how could it possibly hurt more?”
She deliberately exaggerated a bit to explain why she noticed the ointment was poisonous.
“I felt something was wrong, so I quietly wiped it off. Aunt, you know as well—the imperial physician in the palace prescribed medicine only to stay safe and avoid blame. Imperial Physician Liu wouldn’t dare do this on his own. He said the Third Prince sent him to check on me, so it must have been under the Third Prince’s order.”
Gu Zhizhuo recounted everything in just a few sentences, then smiled proudly: “Aunt, I couldn’t stand this kind of grievance, so I threw the ointment back.”
Her phoenix eyes shone brilliantly, like a gemstone radiating dazzling light after being polished by the passage of time.
At the side, Xie Danling, eager to stir up more chaos, chimed in, “Mother, you should’ve seen it—it was so lively just now.”
“It was even more exciting than the excerpt from the opera!”
The two of them sat on the footstool, taking turns to recount the events from start to finish.
She gently stroked Gu Zhizhuo’s soft hair, her brows and eyes filled with tenderness: “Yaoyao, Aunt isn’t insisting that you break off the engagement, but have you thought about whether the Emperor has ever issued an imperial decree?”
Gu Zhizhuo gently shook her head.
This engagement, though said to be granted by the Emperor, from beginning to end, only consisted of a single promise made by the Emperor before the ancestral tablet.
There was no imperial decree, let alone three letters and six rites[mfn]三书六礼—the three letters and six rites (a traditional Chinese marriage custom that involves formal letters and rituals, such as the proposal letter, marriage contract, and wedding ceremonies)[/mfn].
Even among common folk, when setting an engagement for their children, they would at least exchange a token or something; yet even these were not given.
Consort Shu said softly, “If he truly intends to, would it be like this?”
“You must understand, the Emperor’s heart is hard to predict.”
“Without imperial decree, it means that if one day the Emperor no longer needs this engagement, he could easily dismiss it with a single word. At that time, what will you do then?”
“The royal family will never admit their fault; in the end, they will definitely make you bear all the disgrace just to preserve Xie Jing’s spotless, noble reputation.
Every word was heartfelt.
Every sentence was genuinely for Gu Zhizhuo’s sake.
Gu Zhizhuo buried her head in Consort Shu’s lap and spoke in a hoarse, low voice: “Aunt, I was wrong.”
In her previous life, in the end, all she got was a sentence: “Gu’s conduct was improper; it was my own rashness. Fortunately, I never issued an imperial decree, so this engagement is hereby annulled.”
It was exactly the same as what Aunt is now worrying about.
Xie Danling hugged Consort Shu’s arm, swaying it gently, and sweetly chimed in, “Mother, Yaoyao knows she was wrong now; don’t be angry at her.”
The two girls sat side by side, looking at her with their similar phoenix eyes, their eyes misty and pitiful.
Consort Shu’s heart softened, and she couldn’t help but smile.
As soon as she smiled, Xie Danling immediately dropped her pitiful act: “Yaoyao, Mother is not angry anymore; let’s go play!”
Consort Shu lightly patted the back of her daughter’s hand, putting on a stern face: “Still playing!”
Xie Danling whimpered softly, acting spoiled.
Consort Shu’s red lips were slightly lifted, and her glance was flowing with endless charm.
Her fingers, painted with red nail dye, gently stroked Gu Zhizhuo’s still slightly swollen cheek with heartache.
“Yaoyao, don’t worry. Even if you’ve offended Xie Jing, it doesn’t matter.”
Such a small matter, she could still handle it.
Besides…
She told them, “Today, the Cabinet[mfn]Government ministers[/mfn] submitted a memorial requesting the appointment of a crown prince.”
Just as the Cabinet submitted the memorial, the crown prince candidate they favored was already, for his own selfishness, trampling all over the orphaned daughter of the Gu family, even going so far as to poison and disfigure her face.
The matter of appointing a crown prince would inevitably be delayed.
Xie Jing would have to perform well in court from now on and wouldn’t dare trouble Yaoyao again anytime soon.
If it weren’t for the fact that Prime Minister Song had only entered the imperial study an hour ago to submit a memorial, she would have thought Yaoyao had gotten the news in advance and seized the chance to strike.
Consort Shu was in an excellent mood: “Prime Minister Song is someone who cannot tolerate even a grain of sand in his eyes[mfn]眼里容不得沙子—literally, ‘cannot tolerate sand in his eye,’ meaning he is strict, meticulous, intolerant of flaws or corruption, and unwilling to overlook any offense[/mfn].”
“Besides, Young Master Chen will be returning soon.”
Young Master Chen? Gu Zhizhuo’s pupil shrank slightly, and her back tensed up.
Xie Danling’s bright, black-and-white phoenix eyes sparkled, and she leaned on Consort Shu’s knee and casually said, “You mean Cousin Chen from the deposed Crown Prince’s family?”
Consort Shu nodded.
Young Master Chen’s full name was Xie Yingchen.
During the late emperor’s reign, the current emperor was the second son. Above him was the legitimate eldest son born of the Empress, who was then the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince possessed both civil and military talents, combined virtue and wisdom, had presided over the Eastern Palace[mfn]Crown Prince’s residence[/mfn] for twenty years, personally led campaigns on behalf of the Emperor, served as regent, conducted imperial rites… His position was unshakable.
But in the twenty-second year of Mingde[mfn]the reign title (era name), like a specific emperor’s era[/mfn], during the southern tour, the late emperor suddenly collapsed from poisoning. After a thorough investigation, it was found that the Crown Prince had conspired with the imperial physician.
The late emperor was enraged and issued an edict deposing the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince and Crown Princess took their own lives in the Eastern Palace out of fear of punishment. The late emperor, already bedridden by lingering poison, coughed up blood upon hearing the news and passed away.
Before his death, the late emperor summoned Prince Jin[mfn]晋亲王 (Jìn qīn wáng)—this typically means a prince who is promoted to the title of 亲王 (Prince of the First Rank—the highest rank of nobility under the emperor) from a lower rank, often based on merit or royal favor. So, 晋 here means promotion or advancement to the first rank of prince.[/mfn] and others, personally appointed the current emperor as his successor at his deathbed.
Xie Yingchen was the legitimate eldest son of the deposed Crown Prince, born of the Crown Princess.
Originally, with such an awkward identity, even if the current emperor confined him behind a high wall[mfn]Placing him under house arrest or imprisoning him[/mfn] after ascending the throne, the world would still have praised, “The emperor is merciful.”
However, Xie Yingchen had been personally appointed as the Crown Grandson[mfn]It refers to the eldest son of the crown prince, and next in line after the crown prince[/mfn] by the late emperor and had already offered rites at the Imperial Ancestral Temple and been formally announced to Heaven and Earth. Most importantly, when the late emperor deposed the Crown Prince, he didn’t issue an edict to depose the Crown Grandson.
Later, Xie Yingchen, who was only fourteen years old at the time, voluntarily offered to go to Liang Country as a hostage, and with the late emperor’s testament edict in hand, the current emperor was finally able to ascend the throne smoothly.
After the current emperor ascended the throne, he had repeatedly hinted—both openly and subtly—that the country needed to establish a crown prince. Yet every time, it stirred clashes between the monarch and his ministers, with endless debate in court.
There were always officials stubbornly insisting that since Xie Yingchen was the late emperor’s personally appointed Crown Grandson, even if the current emperor ascended the throne, Xie Yingchen should rightfully be the crown prince.
Consort Shu lightly stroked the blue luan bird[mfn]mythical bird related to phoenix[/mfn] pattern on her sleeve and sighed, “Yaoyao, three years ago, your father defeated Liang Country’s iron cavalry and seized several cities in Liang Country. Liang Country was frightened by the defeats and took the initiative to seek peace, so your father submitted a memorial, proposing that Young Master Chen be brought back to the capital.
“Your father wrote in the memorial: Only by avenging the nation’s humiliation and rectifying the nation’s prestige can the great country prosper.”
Consort Shu’s voice became colder: “Back then, our emperor readily agreed and personally wrote the state letter[mfn]Usually referring to diplomatic or official correspondence between sovereigns[/mfn]. Yet before that letter even reached the border, your father died on the battlefield, and the matter was delayed.”
“But in the end, the matter was inevitably brought to the open. After repeated urgings from the cabinet, at the end of the last year, the Emperor sent envoys to Liang Country to bring Young Master Chen back to the country.”
These things, Gu Zhizhuo hadn’t known.
In her previous life, she had been raised naïve and spoiled.
Having grown up surrounded by splendor and luxury, she didn’t understand that wealth and glory could fade away even more easily than the clouds on the horizon.
Not until her family was destroyed.
On the road to exile, her grandmother, aunts, and younger cousins one by one fell gravely ill with a terrifying plague, and even she wasn’t spared.
The escorting officers and soldiers repeatedly called them bad luck and locked them up in a public morgue to wait for death.
When she was on the brink of death, it was Xie Yingchen who appeared and saved her.
He pulled her out of that place filled with corpses and the stench of decay.
He helped her overturn the Gu family’s case, preserving their dignity and honor, so that her older brother no longer had to bear a lifetime of infamy and die with his name cleared.
He took her traveling across the Da Qi Country, taught her how to read people and command them, taught her maps and sand table strategies, taught her military tactics and stratagems, and taught her the intrigues of the court.
He told her that in life, one must be the player holding the chess piece, not the chess piece being played.
She trained in martial arts and archery; he hired the best master for her.
She asked about learning medicine; he gathered ancient texts and prescriptions for her.
In those years, he was like a mentor and an older brother to her.
Later, he died.
He died on a snowy winter night…
And from then on, all the people she cared about, all those important to her, were gone.
t/n. The title changed again <退下！恶女已经名满天下了>
