Chapter 1224: Her Presence Shakes the Court

Taishu Huan'er drew a deep breath. "I want to see His Majesty!"

The guard commander was slightly taken aback, then reminded her, "Princess, if you wish to see His Majesty, please wait until morning court has ended. The court is presently discussing affairs of state. It would be inappropriate to interrupt."

Taishu Huan'er said, "Go report my arrival."

Seeing how she had come through the rain, the guard commander hesitated. Then he beckoned to both sides, ordering his men to stop her while he hurried up the steps himself.

A short while later, a eunuch standing near the palace doors rushed down. He spoke with Taishu Huan'er face to face, then hurried back again.

Keeping close to the edge of the doorway, the eunuch slipped sideways into the court hall, careful not to disturb the ministers gathered inside. He moved along the wall and made his way around to the side of a pillar below the imperial throne. Using the great column as cover, he bowed toward the dais.

Emperor Taishu Xiong of Jin was seated on the throne listening to court business.

Tao Lue, Chief Steward of the Inner Palace, stood at one side with his hands folded. He glanced toward the pillar and understood that the eunuch would not have come to interrupt lightly unless something urgent had happened.

He slowly moved away from the throne and quietly descended the steps.

Reaching the pillar, he asked in a low voice, "What is it?"

The eunuch replied just as quietly, "The Seventh Princess has come. She is standing outside in the rain and demands to see His Majesty."

Tao Lue's voice sank. "Nonsense. The court hall is where affairs of state are handled. Go tell the Princess that morning court is in session. Ask her to return. Whatever matter she has can wait until court has dispersed."

The eunuch said, "This servant already tried to persuade her, but the Seventh Princess said she must see His Majesty now. If she is not allowed to see him, she will die outside and say that we drove her to her death!"

Tao Lue sucked in a breath.

Now he hesitated as well.

If she truly committed suicide because she was refused entry, that would be bad indeed. Given what had already happened, this princess genuinely might be capable of doing such a thing. And if she died, whether or not anyone here had actually forced her would no longer matter. Once word spread, everyone would believe the Emperor had driven his own daughter to death after treating her that way.

Tao Lue knew perfectly well that the Emperor had always regarded the Seventh Princess as the pearl in his palm and loved her deeply. What had happened to her was not something His Majesty had wanted to see.

But His Majesty was the ruler of a state. There were things he had no choice but to do.

After the incident, the Emperor had been heartbroken as well. He simply would not let anyone see it.

He had not even dared go visit his daughter.

After considering the matter briefly, Tao Lue pressed a hand downward to tell the eunuch to wait. Then he stepped out from behind the pillar, returned at an unhurried pace to the throne, bent down, and murmured beside Taishu Xiong's ear, "Your Majesty, the Seventh Princess has come. She is standing outside in the rain and demands to see you."

Taishu Xiong's eyes abruptly lifted toward the hall entrance.

He could not see his daughter standing below the high steps outside, but he knew rain was falling.

His cheeks tightened several times before he turned his head and said quietly, "Does she not know the rules? Have her go back. Tell her We will see her after morning court."

Tao Lue lowered his voice further. "Your Majesty, the Seventh Princess said that if she is not allowed to see you now, she will... she will die!"

Taishu Xiong's hands suddenly clenched the armrests on both sides of the throne, his knuckles taut, while he stared toward the gloomy sky beyond the court hall.

At some point, the resonant voices of ministers speaking in the hall had fallen silent.

None of the officials knew what had happened, but all of them could tell that something was wrong with His Majesty. One by one, they watched his reaction and secretly speculated.

After a long while, Taishu Xiong slowly said, "Let her come in."

Tao Lue immediately turned and gestured toward the eunuch hiding behind the pillar.

The eunuch quickly ran along the wall and out of the hall.

Once outside, he saw the Princess still standing in the rain and rushed down the steps. Waving for the soldiers blocking her path to move aside, he hurried so badly that his foot slipped on the wet stone.

"Aiya!"

He nearly tumbled down the high staircase.

Fortunately, one of the soldiers stationed beside him bent down and caught him by the arm in time. Otherwise, rolling from such a height would have left him battered and bleeding at the very least.

After regaining his feet, the eunuch ignored the danger and continued running down.

The soldiers posted along the staircase occasionally reached out cautiously as he passed, afraid he might fall again. A eunuch able to enter and leave the court hall, carry messages during morning court, and speak directly to Chief Steward Tao Lue was hardly low-ranking within the palace.

And precisely because his position was not low, he knew many things about the imperial household.

He knew how much guilt His Majesty carried toward this daughter.

When the Emperor cared about someone, how could a palace servant fail to show that he cared as well?

"Move aside! Move aside! All of you, move aside! His Majesty has issued an edict. The Seventh Princess is summoned into the hall!"

Reaching the foot of the steps, the eunuch waved his hands to clear away the guards blocking the path. Then he bowed repeatedly before Taishu Huan'er. "Seventh Princess, His Majesty summons you into the hall."

The soldiers withdrew to either side.

Taishu Huan'er drew another deep breath and stepped forward onto the jade staircase.

"Seventh Princess, please be careful. The steps are extremely slippery in the rain."

The eunuch spoke protectively as he supported one of her elbows with one hand. With the other, he raised his sleeve to shield her from the wind-driven rain.

Inside the court hall, there was not a sound.

The silence was so complete that a dropped needle could have been heard.

Seeing Taishu Xiong and Tao Lue both staring toward the entrance, the ministers also turned to look outside, guessing someone important must be coming.

A short while later, two figures gradually rose into view step by step.

Once they reached the top of the jade staircase and came beneath the eaves, Taishu Huan'er flicked her arm and shook off the eunuch supporting her.

The eunuch immediately retreated in alarm.

Tao Lue, standing within the hall, had seen how carefully the man had shielded and supported her from the rain. He nodded to himself, thinking the fellow had performed well in front of His Majesty. The little bastard was attentive and knew where to place his efforts. He was someone worth using.

At the moon gate on the far edge of the square, Noble Consort Lan watched from a distance.

The moment she saw her daughter enter the hall, she clutched the clothes over her chest in nervousness.

Taishu Huan'er crossed the threshold into the great hall.

Water dripped from her body, leaving one wet footprint after another across the floor.

Only then did the assembled ministers clearly see who this soaked woman was.

The Seventh Princess?

The officials glanced at one another, none daring to speak. Their gazes shifted back and forth between Taishu Xiong and Taishu Huan'er as she walked forward, leaving a trail of water behind her.

Many sighed inwardly.

Her appearance even made a good number of court officials feel ashamed.

In a certain sense, Taishu Huan'er's sacrifice had been made so these men could continue standing in this court—or stand here more securely.

High upon the throne, Taishu Xiong's face remained expressionless.

Yet even he did not understand why his sight seemed so extraordinarily clear at this moment.

He could make out the drops of water sliding down his daughter's cheeks and falling one by one from her chin.

She had grown much thinner.

Seeing his daughter approach alone, drenched like a bedraggled bird, her entire figure dim and desolate, made his hands tighten around the armrests once again.

His heart hurt.

It hurt so badly he could scarcely breathe.

He vaguely remembered when she had been little, clinging in his arms and tugging at his beard while telling him she had had a nightmare, that a wicked old nurse had scolded her.

He had laughed loudly and held her close, telling her not to be afraid.

So long as We are here, no one will ever harm Our Huan'er!

At this moment, he realized he had broken that promise.

And more than that...

Reaching the front of the hall, Taishu Huan'er stopped and dipped into a half-curtsy. "Your daughter greets Imperial Father!"

Taishu Xiong's Adam's apple moved.

He swallowed, moistening his dry throat, before finally saying in a dignified voice, "Dispense with ceremony."

Unexpectedly, the moment he excused the formalities, Taishu Huan'er dropped to her knees with a thud and performed an even deeper salute.

She raised her voice. "Your daughter has suffered an injustice. I beg Imperial Father to redress it!"

This was the first time she had ever barged into the imperial court.

Ever since childhood, she had been warned repeatedly that this was not a place women of the inner palace were permitted to enter.

Yet today, she had come.

When her mother had forced her to do this, she had been afraid.

When she climbed the steps outside, she had still been nervous and frightened.

But once she entered and saw the man seated high above them all, hatred suddenly surged up inside her.

The fear vanished.

She was not afraid at all.

Never in her life had her mind felt so clear.

Her voice rang out loud, crisp, and decisive.

An injustice?

Redress?

The assembled ministers exchanged looks.

Was she going to speak of what happened at Xiping Pass?

Everyone in court had deliberately avoided that matter. No one mentioned it.

Now the hall grew even quieter. Not one man dared make a sound.

Even Taishu Xiong, seated high above, felt fear.

For the first time in his life, he felt something close to fear before this daughter.

She had forced him into a position where he did not know how to respond.

Regret rose in him. He should not have softened his heart and allowed her to enter.

Yet in her present state, when she had threatened suicide, he feared it had not been an empty threat.

Tao Lue stood silently at the side as well, scarcely daring to breathe while he secretly observed Taishu Xiong's expression.

A hall full of men who ordinarily wielded tremendous power had been stunned into silence by a single sentence from this weak young woman.

Not one dared speak.

One minister even hid his hands inside his sleeves and repeatedly picked at his fingers.

Others smiled bitterly to themselves.

Your Majesty, why did you let the Princess come in?

Now everyone is embarrassed.

You should never have let her enter!

Taishu Huan'er suddenly raised her voice again. "Your daughter has suffered an injustice. I beg Imperial Father to redress it!"

Only then did Taishu Xiong seem to awaken.

He had been forced into a corner and had no choice but to answer. "Rise first, then speak."

Taishu Huan'er said loudly, "If Imperial Father will not hear your daughter's grievance, your daughter will not rise!"

Anger stirred faintly in Taishu Xiong's heart, but he restrained it as best he could. "Speak!"

Taishu Huan'er said, "Your daughter has heard rumors claiming that while at Xiping Pass, my chastity was violated by its former commander, Chen Changgong. These are slanderous rumors. Nothing of the kind ever happened. Your daughter remains pure and innocent. There was never any improper relationship between this daughter and Chen Changgong. Your daughter went there only to bolster the army's morale. I beg Imperial Father to judge clearly!"

As she spoke, one unbearable scene after another flashed through her mind.

Her fingernails dug deep into the flesh of her palms.

Her hatred toward the man seated above only grew stronger.

Taishu Xiong was instinctively stunned.

She had come merely to defend her own innocence?

The assembled ministers were equally astonished as they exchanged looks, yet at the same time many quietly relaxed.

They had thought she was going to accuse His Majesty of sacrificing his daughter and demand an accounting.

Had she truly done that, the situation would have become unbearably awkward.

But as their gazes crossed, every man in the hall began muttering inwardly again.

Anyone with even modest access to information knew perfectly well what had really happened.

Could a matter like this truly be washed clean merely by denying it?

Taishu Xiong had initially assumed the same thing as everyone else when his daughter first spoke.

Now he too relaxed.

The majesty of the Emperor returned to him.

He declared in a ringing voice, "Our daughter is pure and innocent. She went to the front to bolster the army's morale. Naturally, We know this perfectly well!"

He knew in his own heart whether she was truly innocent.

But what else could he say?

Could he possibly say she was not?

Taishu Huan'er climbed to her feet and stood straight.

She turned to face the assembled ministers and asked loudly, "This princess is innocent. Do the ministers believe it?"

"Naturally the Princess is innocent!"

"Rumors must never be believed!"

"The Princess went to the front to encourage the army. She is unquestionably pure and innocent!"

At last, the ministers began speaking.

One after another, they defended her.

Not a single one actually believed what he was saying, but every man spoke against his own heart.

Taishu Huan'er slowly swept her gaze across them.

She remembered what Jia Wuqun had told mother and daughter that day:

"When it comes to saying one thing while meaning another, nowhere beneath Heaven surpasses this place!"

So it truly was.

Today, she had finally seen it for herself.

Not one man here dared speak the truth.

High on the throne, Taishu Xiong stared at the rain-soaked back of his daughter.

Today's Huan'er felt like a stranger to him.

She seemed completely different from the daughter he remembered.

She had entered the imperial court and commanded its attention.

She had forced the assembled ministers to bow their heads before her words.

Then Taishu Huan'er turned abruptly.

Facing the throne, her eyes bright and unwavering, she said, "Imperial Father, if anyone dares slander your daughter's chastity again, what should be done?"

Taishu Xiong's voice sank. "If We find one, We will kill one. Anyone who wantonly slanders you will have his entire clan exterminated!"

[End of Chapter 1224]