Early the next morning, the imperial consorts went to Jiaofang Hall to pay their respects to the empress as usual. The hour of the Rabbit had barely begun, and the hall was already full. Consort Xian, Noble Lady Ying, and Jiang Baolin were all there, along with several lower-ranking consorts who rarely ventured out. The palace servants served hot tea and silently withdrew to the corridor, leaving only the rustle of clothing and the occasional soft clink of a teacup against its saucer. The Second Prince's poisoning incident had caused too great an uproar. The entire Sun Family had been convicted, and Consort Jing had been stripped of her title and moved to the Cold Palace. The atmosphere in the inner palace had grown ever tighter, and everyone was quieter than usual.
When Xiao Luo emerged from the inner chamber, she wore a Phoenix Robe that conformed to the prescribed regulations, her Phoenix Crown sitting perfectly straight, her face devoid of any unnecessary expression. She sat on the Phoenix Throne and accepted the teacup a servant offered, but merely held it. Her gaze swept over every face in the hall.
"You all know about the Second Prince." She set her teacup on the table. The porcelain struck the red sandalwood surface with a sound that was not loud, yet every teacup in the hall stopped moving at once. No one dared respond. Xiao Luo did not wait for them to speak before continuing. She began with Consort Jing, saying that she had spent many years in the palace, held no low rank, and had enjoyed no small measure of imperial favor. That she had met such an end was not because she had fought for favor, nor because she had lost it, but because her son had reached where he