All she saw was that the wet nurse that was carrying the Imperial Grandson became impatient and placed him back in the cradle. “Cry cry cry, all you know how to do is cry. Aren’t you annoying? You are already so old yet you don’t know how to call your parents. I think you were born a fool.”
The other wet nurse spoke, “Oi, you better be careful. Don’t let the Crown Princess hear you or she will tear your skin off.”
“The Crown Princess is mourning. She can’t hear me. Sigh, I think this foolish child is her retribution. She is always shouting about this and asking about that in the Eastern Palace. Previously, because of the investigation of some spy, I got beaten up for no reason.”
“With her as the master, who hasn’t been beaten in the Eastern Palace? Her suspicions are massive. Everyone seems like a spy to her.”
“Cry then cry. This place is so secluded, no one will hear. Let’s go out to drink some tea and save ourselves from this annoyance.”
The two wet nurses left just like that. They left the child to cry alone in the cradle.
Fu Rou saw that there was no one around and could not take it. She walked into the room and shook the cradle, attempting to humour the Imperial Grandson. The Imperial Grandson slowly quietened down.
At this moment, there were footsteps outside the door. Fu Rou thought that the two wet nurses were back. They would definitely not be happy to see her and she hid behind a screen. Unexpectedly, two internal attendants came in instead of the two wet nurses.
One of them said, “Hurry. Do it while there is no one else around.”
The other replied, “How do we do it?”
Fu Rou was startled by this.
“Haven’t I taught you earlier? Use a pillow to cover him.”
The other was clearly more cowardly and his voice trembled, “I can’t do it.”
“Fool. This is the chance of a lifetime. If we kill this child, the Crown Prince has no descendants and with his disability he will definitely be abdicated. When the new Crown Prince is elected, you will be awarded for having huge contributions. Didn’t you say that you want to be higher than Chief Cao? This is an extremely rare chance.” This person only knew how to talk and push things to others.
“But...but I am extremely terrified. Why don’t you do it?”
“It is too late to back down! You are already here. If you don’t kill him, when you return, they won’t let you live. Do it quickly. This child is just a small thing. Cover his mouth and nose until he has no more air. Then cover him with a blanket. There are many children who get strangled in their sleep because the people taking care of them were not careful. With the wet nurses as scapegoats, what are you afraid of? Hurry!”
Fu Rou could not bear to listen anymore. She dashed out of the screen and pushed down the two internal attendants. She carried the Imperial Grandson and ran out.
As she ran, she shouted, “Help! Guards!” However, her cries for help were like a stone that is thrown into the ocean. There was not a single person around.
Eventually, Fu Rou managed to run out of Qingzui Palace and saw two imperial guards standing in front of her. She sighed in relief. “Come and help! Someone is trying to kill the Imperial Grandson! They are chasing after me!”
The internal attendants running after her shouted at the imperial guards. “The plot has been exposed. Hurry! Help me catch that woman! If anyone else hears about this, we will all die!”
The imperial guards turned to chase after her aggressively. Fu Rou quickly made the decision and ran into another corridor with the Imperial Grandson. She hid in a side room. Her heart was pounding as she could not fathom what had just happened. Empress Zhangsun’s corpse had yet to turn cold and there was already someone targeting the Eastern Palace. They were not even willing to let an innocent child live.
Han Mansion? In her frenzy, the possibility floated through her mind. However, she immediately rejected it. It was not possible!
All of a sudden, the child in her arms started crying and attracted the group to the door.
“Open up! If you are smart, you better hand the child over and we will let you live.”
She did not know who they were and did not care to know. They were all as bad as each other.
Fu Rou pressed her back against the door. “Killing the Imperial Grandson is an extremely unforgivable crime and will cause your entire family to be killed. If you all are willing to turn back to the right path, hurry up and turn yourselves in. Maybe your family will be spared.”
“What nonsense is she saying? Kick down the door and kill the both of them.”
Fu Rou used false words to try and intimidate them. “Don’t try anything. I have a knife with me.”
“Don’t talk about a knife, even if you have a long and sharp sword, killing you would be easy.”
Fu Rou chuckled coldly, “Killing me is easy. But before I die, not only will I cut myself I might even cut the Imperial Grandson. Didn’t you all want to kill him without leaving behind any trace? Didn’t you want to strangle him with a pillow and blame it on the wet nurses? If the Imperial Grandson was known to be murdered and even have a few scars on him, the case will be blown up. The Emperor will definitely pursue the matter. As the saying goes, you cannot run away from the arm of law. I want to see how capable all of you are to escape from the law.”
There was silence on the other side. A person with a sharp voice asked, “I wonder which sister is inside? There is no palace maid as knowledgeable as you in Qingzui Palace.”
“I wouldn’t dare to be the sister of someone that commits such a crime. My name is Fu Rou.”
“Fu Rou? Are you the Fu Siyan that once served the late Empress?”
“Yes.” At this point, there was no point in hiding her identity.
“Aiya, so it is Fu Siyan. This is all just a misunderstanding.”
“When did murder become a misunderstanding?” Her eyes swept around the room, attempting to find another escape.
“Palace Maid Fu, in order to help Consort Han, you went against the Empress and was punished. We are all helping Prince Han and are on the same boat.”
Chapter 74.2: Test
“Liars! Prince Han is not insane!” She did not believe him and was thinking clearly. “If it was really Prince Han that sent you all, then he would have lost all reason. What you all should be doing is to persuade him, not help him commit such audacities.”
“Consort Han was killed by Eastern Palace. It is only normal that Prince Han wants to take revenge. Ultimately, we are just standing up for justice. The people at Eastern Palace are not good either. Didn’t they harm you as well? If we bring down the Eastern Palace, Prince Han will definitely become the new Crown Prince and you will also have achievements at that time. Not to mention becoming a Siyan again, it would also be possible for you to become a court lady. Qingzui Palace is desolated and this opportunity was given by heaven. You just need to end that child’s life and you will gain all the riches in the world.”
“Sacrificing the lives of innocents just to achieve your goal, what justice…”
Fu Rou had yet to finish her sentence when the door was pushed open. She fell to the ground from the force. However, she still put herself in front of the Imperial Grandson and protected him. She closed her eyes and shouted, “You bunch of scoundrels! You will die a horrible death!”
She clearly heard footsteps but no one spoke. Fu Rou found it strange and turned out carefully to look. She saw Wei Song smile.
“Wei Song? Are you...even you…” Even you could not withstand the lure of power?
Wei Song took out a silk scroll from his sleeve and spoke. “Phoenix decree for Fu Rou.”
Fu Rou hurried to kneel.
Wei Song unrolled the phoenix decree. “Fu Rou shall be granted the title of Court Lady of the Six Offices. She shall manage the six offices and twenty-four departments.”