Investigation Results

After the empress dowager and her party left, Chunzhi immediately offered a handkerchief dampened with hot water.

"Your Highness."

"Have Qiuwen check whether there's anything wrong with these medicinal herbs." The faint smile vanished from Di Qingyu's face, which turned cold as she took the handkerchief and wiped the hand the empress dowager had patted.

"Your Highness, would the empress dowager use poison?"

"She wouldn't be stupid enough to do it so openly, but she wouldn't be so kindhearted either." Di Qingyu gave a cold snort and tossed the handkerchief she had used onto the table.

Qiuwen soon came in and picked up the herbs from the tray, examining them one by one.

Meanwhile, Chunzhi said to Di Qingyu, "Your Highness, the Du Family is so eager to sever ties with Du Yutao. Do you think they've sensed something?"

Di Qingyu leaned back on the cushioned couch and said calmly, "The Du Family is a desperate dog jumping over a wall. That night, Du Chengji even brought Du Yutao into the palace to beg forgiveness. Whether he was desperate to protect his son or wanted to strike first to safeguard the Du Family, Du Yutao was thrown into prison rather than executed on the spot, so there was still room to turn things around and plead for mercy."

"But now he's gone straight to the empress dowager, asking her to make a friendly gesture to appease me, and wants Du Yutao executed at once. That means Du Chengji has already realized the moat incident is aimed at him. Naturally, he doesn't want to draw more attention and incur Father Emperor's wrath at a critical moment like this."

After a pause, she closed her tired eyes. "The best thing now is to have Du Yutao executed amid the chaos over the moat. Once Father Emperor has time to send people to investigate Du Yutao's misconduct toward me thoroughly—no one knows a son better than his father. Du Chengji knows what sort of man Du Yutao is. If they uncover something else, coupled with that warning from the natural disaster, I'm afraid the Du Family will find itself at the crest of the storm."

Chunzhi frowned. "Then Du Yutao has to die."

His death would give the Du Family one more safeguard at this moment.

Di Qingyu said nothing. She held her breath in thought, while Qiuwen finished her examination.

"Your Highness, these herbs aren't poisonous, but your body is weak, and these are potent tonics with fierce medicinal properties. Taking them once in a while would be fine, but taking them over a long period would cause a backlash. Your internal organs would all deteriorate until you died suddenly."

An ordinary imperial physician might not have detected it, but Qiuwen had been sent to the Divine Physician Valley for training at Di Qingyu's considerable effort, so she naturally understood such things.

At this, Chunzhi instantly frowned, her gaze turning icy. "The empress dowager means to have Your Highness die without a sound."

"She's never been able to stand me. This time I hurt her interests, so naturally she'd strike ruthlessly."

Di Qingyu, however, was perfectly calm. "Doesn't she want Du Yutao executed? Then let her have her wish. Chunzhi."

Chunzhi immediately stepped forward to her side. "Your Highness."

"Have Shao Lan..." Sitting on the cushioned couch, Di Qingyu turned sideways and lowered her head, raising a hand to Chunzhi's ear as she murmured her instructions.

At her words, Chunzhi's eyes brightened slightly, and she immediately nodded. "Yes!"

She turned and went out to carry out the task.

"Qiuwen." Di Qingyu raised her eyes. "Put all these herbs away and leave them untouched. They'll come in handy someday."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Mother Empress, the matter of Du Yutao has yet to be fully investigated. Even if you can put righteousness above family, I still need evidence. Whatever else he may be, Du Yutao is the son of a court official. There must be grounds to execute him. I am still troubled by the affairs of the moat and the Wei Family, so let us set Du Yutao's case aside for now."

Outside Xuanzheng Hall, Di Yunqian was somewhat surprised to hear that the empress dowager had come not to plead for mercy, but to speak of her concern for Di Qingyu and the need to uphold the imperial family's majesty. After all, the empress dowager had given the Du Family considerable support.

But the empress dowager had received a letter from Du Chengji urging her to settle Du Yutao's case as soon as possible, which was why she had deigned to visit Di Qingyu and speak kindly to her. Now, seeing that the emperor disagreed, her expression stiffened somewhat.

"Your Majesty, I will speak to the Du Family. Du Yutao offended Di Qingyu so grievously that he nearly ruined Qingyu. I cannot shield him. The evidence is already there for all to see. Surely Qingyu would not lie? The longer this drags on, the worse it will be for Qingyu's reputation. She is a princess and represents the dignity of the imperial family. I would rather have Du Yutao executed to uphold the imperial family's majesty."

The empress dowager was clever. She used Di Qingyu as a shield, insisting at every turn that she was doing this for the imperial family and for her.

But the affairs of the moat and the Wei Family had kept the emperor awake all night. Now, with the empress dowager being so unreasonable, resentment inevitably rose in his heart, and he frowned.

"Mother Empress, I will decide this matter myself. Whether out of consideration for you or to seek evidence, I will not touch Du Yutao for the time being. Let him stay in prison for a few months first." After a pause, unwilling to hear the empress dowager press the matter any further, he looked directly at Li Peian beside him.

"Did you not just say the vice minister of the Court of Judicial Review had requested an audience? Summon him in." With that, he turned to the displeased empress dowager. "Mother Empress, I still have state affairs to attend to, so I will not see you out. It has been chilly and rainy lately. Please get plenty of rest."

"..."

The empress dowager opened her mouth, then stopped herself. But seeing the weary shadows beneath his eyes, and having heard about the moat, she could hardly say anything more. She could only sigh.

"Very well. Though state affairs are important, you must look after yourself too. You are the Son of Heaven of Xiling; you must take care of your imperial health."

"Your admonition is right, Mother Empress. I understand." Di Yunqian pressed his lips together respectfully. Whatever else might be said, the empress dowager was his birth mother.

No sooner had the empress dowager left than the vice minister of the Court of Judicial Review entered and knelt to pay his respects.

"Your humble servant pays his respects to Your Majesty. Long live the emperor, long live, long, long live."

"Rise. Tell me what progress you have made."

The vice minister lowered his head. "Your Majesty, I had a coroner examine the blood that flowed from the moat. It was human blood beyond doubt. I also had guards skilled in swimming dive deep to the riverbed, but they found nothing. The stones and silt on the bottom were clean, with no blood on them. I surmise that the blood appeared on the surface. As for the blood on the river-calming stele, it disappeared after being wiped and washed away. I had men watch it for a day, and they found nothing else amiss. It is highly likely that the blood was splashed onto it."

"As for the shattered bridge, the fractures in the stones show varying degrees of force, which could not have been produced by human tools. Moreover, according to the people's recollections, when the bridge broke and the water split, they felt the ground shake violently. To date, I have seen such phenomena only where the earth has split."

Di Yunqian's brow furrowed tightly. "Have you found anyone suspicious?"

"Forgive my incompetence. The situation was chaotic, with too many people and prying eyes, and the people could recall no clues." The vice minister shook his head. "So far, the only clue is the stele that floated up from beneath the water: 'Du clan.'"

"Then find every household in the royal city with the surname Du. Check the criminal records of their entire clans, high and low, and screen them one by one." Only then did Di Yunqian's expression ease somewhat as he gave the order sternly.

He felt awe in his heart toward such warnings sent down from heaven, but this one was far too targeted. To a ruler, it was a plot carried out in heaven's name.

After all, did the emperor himself not win the people's hearts in the name of the "Son of Heaven"?

"Yes."