Chapter 87- Rebirth: The Poisonous Concubine (28)
The eunuchs from Cining Palace, observing the Head Eunuch’s respectful attitude toward Yu Chenyi, silently rejoiced that they had not shown him any disrespect earlier. Using the excuse of needing to report back, they quickly departed to inform the senior maid of the situation.
Meanwhile, in Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager’s patience with Wei Yuyan had reached its breaking point. A mere concubine repeatedly avoiding an audience with her elders—such blatant disregard proved she was not of good character. If not for her being the Prime Minister’s daughter, the Empress Dowager would have already charged her with grave disrespect.
“Your Majesty, the Third Prince’s concubine, she…” The eunuch hesitated, struggling to articulate what he had witnessed.
Upon hearing the report, the Empress Dowager was so enraged that she nearly collapsed backward. Wretched woman!
The late Emperor had made a terrible mistake in arranging this marriage for the Third Prince. Fortunately, she had only been granted the status of a concubine—had she been the main consort, their family’s honor would have been completely ruined.
A sip of cold tea barely quelled her fury, allowing her to regain a semblance of composure.
Wei Yuyan’s disgraceful conduct warranted severe punishment—execution by a thousand cuts would not be excessive. However, the Empress Dowager saw an opportunity. If handled well, even if the Prime Minister had reservations, he would have no choice but to fully support the Third Prince.
Her mind spun with calculations, meticulously planning for Lan Gaoyi’s future. Yet, she was constantly hindered by incompetent allies. Just then, the senior maid returned, bringing along a properly dressed Wei Yuyan and another piece of troubling news—
The Third Prince had been severely reprimanded by the Emperor. He was placed under house arrest for three months, ordered to study in isolation, and forbidden from receiving any visitors without express permission.
This completely cut off the Empress Dowager’s means of seeing Lan Gaoyi. Her eyes flashed with fury as she turned to the maid. “What happened? How did the Emperor find out?”
In her mind, the Third Prince could do no wrong—he must have been dragged down by Wei Yuyan.
The maid could not say for certain. She only reported that the Emperor had unexpectedly decided to visit the Third Prince. The father and son had argued behind closed doors, and by the end of it, the Third Prince had been placed under house arrest. Even the maid herself was denied access to pay her respects.
According to her account, the Emperor had been unaware of Wei Yuyan’s scandalous behavior at first.
It was only after the argument, as he was preparing to leave, that he learned Wei Yuyan had been involved with multiple men on her wedding night. Yet, his reaction was perplexing—he said nothing about it and simply instructed for Wei Yuyan to be brought back to Cining Palace for the Empress Dowager to handle.
…
The Emperor was truly exhausted. He had over a dozen sons, yet not one of them was competent. Among this sorry lot, Lan Gaoyi was barely passable, but now, this scandal on his wedding night had created a complete mess. Though the Emperor never liked Wei Yuyan, since he had granted the marriage, at the very least, they should have maintained appearances. Instead, this incident gave the Prime Minister ample reason to stir up trouble.
Just as he issued the house arrest order, news of Wei Yuyan’s infidelity surfaced. The Emperor could not even bring himself to react—he was too weary. Let it be. None of them could ever be trouble-free.
He had always been aware of the Empress Dowager’s ambitions. Since this marriage had been her doing, he would simply leave the aftermath for her to handle.
Meanwhile, the Empress Dowager’s face turned ashen as she listened to the senior maid’s report. A mere argument between father and son was already concerning, but this was far worse—it was clear that the conflict was severe, yet she still had no idea what had triggered it. Worse still, even she was forbidden from sending anyone to visit the Third Prince, a testament to the Emperor’s fury. At this moment, she knew she could not barge into the Emperor’s presence and question him directly.
“Enough,” she finally declared. “Lock her in the dark chamber. Let her reflect properly.”
Too much had happened. The Empress Dowager needed time to sort her thoughts.
That afternoon, word arrived from the imperial court—Yu Chenyi had been appointed as an Imperial Envoy and was soon to depart from the capital.
At the same time, Wei Yuyan, unable to endure the torture inflicted by the senior maids—such as having needles driven into her fingertips—finally confessed. She admitted that she had acted out of hatred for the Third Prince, seeking revenge against him.
In this era, women were bound by arranged marriages dictated by their parents. Many never saw their spouses’ faces until their wedding night when the veil was lifted. Yet, they still fulfilled their duties, living as devoted wives and mothers.
The Empress Dowager only half-believed Wei Yuyan’s confession. There had to be a lover—otherwise, how had those men entered the palace in the first place?
Thanks to Yu Chenyi’s intervention, the men who had been involved with Wei Yuyan that night were all notorious criminals—men who had committed various misdeeds but had managed to keep their reputations clean, either through careful concealment or by using their family wealth to suppress the truth.
While the Empress Dowager still had some reservations about punishing Wei Yuyan too severely due to her background, these men were not so fortunate. With one order, they were all secretly executed.
Since they were regular visitors to brothels, their absence for a few nights raised no suspicion. When their families eventually realized they had vanished, they reported them as missing persons. Some of them, being solitary individuals, had no one to mourn them.
Wei Yuyan was repeatedly tortured as the Empress Dowager pressured her to reveal the name of her lover. Enduring cycle after cycle of brutal punishment, her heart was filled with hatred—hatred for the Third Prince’s cunning, which had destroyed her reputation; hatred for the Empress Dowager’s ruthlessness; and hatred for Yu Chenyi, who had stood by and let her suffer without lifting a finger to help.
“I… I’ll talk…” The woman lying on the ground, tortured beyond recognition, spoke in a voice as faint as a dying breath. Two consecutive days of brutal torment had finally broken her silence.
“Hurry up! Who is it?” The executioner matron viciously yanked Wei Yuyan’s hair, forcing her to lift her head. Her once-delicate features, now like a flower deprived of water, had withered rapidly.
“It’s… it’s…” Every word she uttered felt like a dull knife slicing through her throat. The image of Yu Chenyi closing the window reappeared in her mind. Hatred surged, overpowering the pain, and with the last of her strength, she spat out three syllables, one by one:
“Yu… Chen… Yi…”
The matron loosened her grip, and Wei Yuyan, no longer able to support herself, collapsed to the ground, motionless.
“Is… is she dead?” The palace maid assisting the matron with tea and water trembled in horror.
The matron frowned as she looked down at the crumpled figure on the floor. Reaching out, she placed a finger under Wei Yuyan’s nose.
“Not dead. Clean her up—I’ll go report to the Empress Dowager.” Wiping her fingers with a handkerchief, the matron left the dark chamber with a cold expression. She left the trembling maid behind, who carefully turned Wei Yuyan over, wiped her face, and changed her clothes…
Though concubines had no custom of returning to their maiden home three days after marriage, Wei Yuyan was the Prime Minister’s daughter. Given the circumstances, Lan Gaoyi had no choice but to show some respect by accompanying her back. However, the Emperor had conveniently issued a house arrest order for the Third Prince. By protocol, even if Wei Yuyan wished to return home, she was not permitted to take a single step outside the palace.
Yet, in a show of mercy, the Empress Dowager allowed the Prime Minister’s wife to enter the palace to visit Wei Yuyan, even though the concubine herself was not permitted to leave.
On the designated day, the Prime Minister’s wife, dressed in her finest attire, first went to Cining Palace to pay respects to the Empress Dowager. However, she was not even allowed past the entrance of the main hall. Instead, she was forced to kneel outside and listen as the Empress Dowager’s trusted matron made a few veiled and sarcastic remarks before she was led to the rear hall.
As she walked, the Prime Minister’s wife’s mind raced. Why was her daughter being held in the rear hall of Cining Palace? What was the true meaning behind the Empress Dowager’s indirect warnings? Why had the Third Prince been placed under house arrest? Her thoughts tangled like an intricate web, each question tightening the knot.
“Prime Minister’s wife, we’ve arrived.” The matron spoke with little respect. Servants gauged their behavior based on their master’s attitude, and this was enough to show that the Empress Dowager held no regard for Wei Yuyan.
…
The rear hall was sparsely furnished, and the cold draft that swept through the corridor made it clear that this was a place long abandoned. A growing sense of unease weighed on the Prime Minister’s wife as she walked further inside. Before long, they arrived at the side chamber where Wei Yuyan was being held.
As they stepped into the room, heavy curtains fell behind them, sealing off the space. The air was thick with the scent of medicine, and the tightly shut windows allowed no fresh air to enter. A persistent cough echoed within, as if the person inside were a frail old man on the brink of death, exuding an aura of decay and despair.
“Mammy, this…” The Prime Minister’s wife was perplexed. Hadn’t she been brought here to see her daughter? Why had they come to this place instead?
The matron smiled insincerely. “To tell the truth, the Third Prince has fallen gravely ill. His Majesty, fearing the potential consequences, chose to keep the matter quiet and placed him under house arrest. The imperial concubine, deeply devoted, stayed up all night caring for him and, unfortunately, contracted the illness herself. The Empress Dowager, in her kindness, had her brought to Cining Palace to recuperate, lest the Third Prince’s household become overwhelmed and neglect her care…”
According to the matron’s account, Wei Yuyan was not in any immediate danger. However, when the curtains were drawn back and the Prime Minister’s wife finally laid eyes on her daughter’s withered, emaciated face, her tears fell instantly, streaming down in a torrent.
“My daughter…” Her wailing was filled with sorrow. No matter how much she had once hoped to use Wei Yuyan to restore her lost prestige as the Prime Minister’s wife, at this moment, all schemes and ambitions crumbled before the pain of a mother’s heart.
Her daughter—her own flesh and blood—how had she ended up like this? Why had things come to this?
“Mammy, what illness does Yuyan have? What have the imperial physicians said?” The Prime Minister’s wife could no longer maintain her composure, gripping the matron’s hand as she pleaded for answers.
The matron looked disdainfully at the tear-streaked woman in front of her. Where was the grace and dignity of the Prime Minister’s wife now? Suppressing the urge to shake off the woman’s grasp, she recalled the Empress Dowager’s instructions and forced herself to remain composed. “Madam, there is no need to worry. The concubine’s illness is not serious; she only needs…”
…
Meanwhile, Bai Mo had been summoned to the palace by the Empress Dowager. Xiao Bobao, sensing trouble, immediately grew wary.
“Mo Mo, the protagonist has accused Yu Chenyi of being her secret lover. The Empress Dowager cannot interfere in political affairs, so she can’t directly act against Yu Chenyi. But she might come after you instead.”
Having seen too many palace intrigue dramas, Xiao Bobao knew that the Empress Dowager’s seemingly kind and benevolent appearance concealed deep ambition—fighting for the position of Empress in her youth, and for power in her old age.
“Even if I know it’s a trap, I have no choice. When the Empress Dowager summons someone, refusing to go is not an option.” Bai Mo remained silent for a moment before sighing helplessly. “Besides, the Empress Dowager holds great power. Even if I manage to avoid her summons, she will certainly go after my mother and Madam Yu instead.”
That was Bai Mo’s biggest concern. Both Madam Bai and Madam Yu had treated him with kindness—how could he abandon them and let them suffer in his place?
During their exchange, Xiao Bobao sighed. “I’m so foolish. I should have listened to the Main God and not come down here. Mo Mo is so capable, but he got stuck with an incompetent system like me… I’ve only dragged you down.”
If she ever got the chance to return, she would train properly. At the very least, she would gain the ability to take human form before worrying about anything else.
Bai Mo chuckled and used his spiritual power to stroke Xiao Bobao’s head. “Who said you’re useless? Without you, I wouldn’t have met Brother Chenyi. I wouldn’t have even made it past the first world…”
Their moment of sentimentality was brief.
While Madam Yu remained in the front hall, handling the eunuch who had come to deliver the Empress Dowager’s decree, Bai Mo changed into more formal attire and stepped out. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”
Madam Yu wanted to accompany him, but the eunuch insisted that the Empress Dowager had summoned only Bai Mo. If Madam Yu wished to see the Empress Dowager, she would have to submit a request and wait for approval.
As soon as Bai Mo left, Madam Yu immediately ordered the servants to prepare a carriage for the Bai residence. She had a bad feeling—this summons to the palace was not going to end well.