Chapter 121: Borrowing Force to Strike, Only to Hit Granite

Xia Jiujiang posed another question: "If it is normal for Princess Anya to have traces of 'Concubine's Smile' on her hands given her presence in this room, then why does Yan Wan also have pale blue stains on her hands?"

Princess Anya argued stubbornly, "What is strange about that? Yan Wan is one of your people. It is perfectly normal for you to have taken the 'Concubine's Smile' and given it to her to place in the room."

Xia Jiujiang shook her head. "No, the pale blue marks on Yan Wan's hands are faint. This suggests someone touched the 'Concubine's Smile' and then had secondary contact with Yan Wan, which is why she bears these light traces."

Xia Jiujiang gave Ye Sha a look. Ye Sha immediately understood and walked over to Yan Wan. Yan Wan was startled. "You... what are you doing?"

Ye Sha snatched the sleeve of Yan Wan's dress and pulled out a small sachet.

Yan Wan cried out in alarm, "What are you doing? That is just an ordinary sachet!"

Nanny Chun turned pale at the sight of the sachet; it was the one she had used to bribe Yan Wan with silver.

Xia Jiujiang took the sachet and sprinkled ink over it. Several pale blue marks appeared on the light pink fabric, looking quite conspicuous. Xia Jiujiang then opened the sachet and poured out the contents: a few pieces of silver, amounting to less than one hundred taels.

Princess Anya said furiously, "What does this prove?"

Xia Jiujiang looked at her as if she were incredibly foolish. "It proves quite a lot."

Princess Anya stared at her in disbelief, refusing to accept that Xia Jiujiang could prove her own innocence.

Xia Jiujiang explained, "The blue marks on the sachet indicate that someone touched the 'Concubine's Smile' before handing the sachet to Yan Wan. This sachet contains silver. If Yan Wan was truly bribed by me, this money should have come from my own coffers."

Princess Anya laughed, "And isn't this money? You’ve just produced the evidence of your own bribery, essentially confessing."

Xia Jiujiang sneered. "This is my first time at the Moon Sparrow Palace, and Yan Wan works here. She is certainly easy to bribe! For less than a hundred taels, she was willing to commit such a capital crime for someone she had never even met? I wonder how many other treacherous acts she has committed in the past."

The bribe for Yan Wan was naturally more than a hundred taels, but Nanny Chun had only given her a small portion upfront, promising her a promotion to the Yongan Palace once the task was complete. With Princess Anya as her backing, Yan Wan had readily agreed, never expecting that Xia Jiujiang would expose the very silver used as evidence.

Xia Jiujiang capitalized on the amount of money, arguing that no palace maid would risk a death sentence for a mere hundred taels. Emperor Zongkang clearly did not believe it, and Yan Wan began to tremble with guilt.

Xia Jiujiang’s gaze fixed on Nanny Chun. "And why, Nanny Chun, do you have traces of 'Concubine's Smile' on your hands?"

Princess Anya clenched her fists. "Nanny Chun is my personal attendant. It is normal for her to check the room before I go in to rest."

Xia Jiujiang retorted, "Princess, that is incorrect. You decided to rest here on a whim after arriving at the Moon Sparrow Palace. Even if Nanny Chun had inspected the room earlier, her arrival would have coincided with your entry."

Princess Anya’s face darkened, her previous claims being systematically dismantled by Xia Jiujiang.

Xia Jiujiang continued, "If Nanny Chun had been in the room before you, she would be the one found in a compromising position with Xia Mingxuan. If she entered with you, then she and the Princess would both be involved with him. Why would it only be the Princess?"

Xia Jiujiang’s bluntness turned Xia Mingxuan’s face green.

She chuckled, "I recall Nanny Chun saying the door was locked the moment the Princess went inside to rest, and that she came to report to the Emperor that the room could not be opened. If she never entered the room, why are there blue marks on her hands? Unless, of course, the Princess's own nanny is one of my people?"

Princess Anya was left speechless. The blue marks on their hands mocked the absurdity of their previous accusations.

The room fell into a heavy silence. Those who had been so eager to accuse Xia Jiujiang were now mute. Emperor Zongkang’s presence felt suffocating as he stared at the group, nodding slowly. "Good. Very good. Shamelessly framing the Princess Consort of Jin—I have truly witnessed a fine performance today."

"Your Majesty..." Tang Dehai stammered, attempting to argue.

Xia Jiujiang suddenly looked stern. "Do you still think you can argue? The depth of the blue marks proves it: Tang Dehai took the 'Concubine's Smile' and gave it to Princess Anya, who gave it to Nanny Chun to place in the room. Nanny Chun then used a bag of silver to bribe Yan Wan. Yan Wan’s true target was not Xia Mingxuan, but the Prince of Jin."

Jun Buwen, who rarely spoke, provided the final, damning evidence. "Yan Wan approached me near the Council Hall, claiming the Princess Consort was unwell in the side hall of the Moon Sparrow Palace, attempting to lure me here. Many ministers in the Council Hall witnessed this."

Yan Wan turned pale. She had known the risk of exposing herself to manipulate Jun Buwen, but she had assumed that if the plot succeeded, the Prince would have no defense and the Princess would protect her. Now that the scheme had failed, her actions were indefensible.

Xia Jiujiang sneered, "Princess Anya intended to frame the Prince of Jin with the 'Concubine's Smile,' not Xia Mingxuan. Somehow, Xia Mingxuan ended up unconscious in the room instead. When the plan backfired on the Princess, she tried to frame me. A clever move to use force against force, but unfortunately, it hit a wall of solid granite."

Tang Dehai looked at Xia Jiujiang in shock. "How do you know that 'Concubine's Smile' contains Haichuan Fern? How do you know that Haichuan Fern turns blue when it touches ink?"

Even Tang Dehai, the imperial physician, was unaware of this. Xia Jiujiang spoke of it as if it were common knowledge.

Xia Jiujiang ignored his question and flashed a grin. "Whether I know it or not is irrelevant. What matters is that your own words have confirmed that everything I have laid out is true."

Because Xia Jiujiang had an interest in medicine, Jun Buwen had sourced many medical texts from the Imperial Academy for her, and she had happened to read about the 'Concubine's Smile.'

Tang Dehai’s face cycled through colors—red, white, green, and black.

Emperor Zongkang, livid, roared, "Guards! Seize Tang Dehai! As an imperial physician, he stole the 'Concubine's Smile' and conspired to frame the Princess Consort of Jin. Drag him away and punish him with the removal of his tongue as a warning to others!"

Tang Dehai shrieked, "No! Your Majesty, have mercy! Princess... Princess Anya, save me!"

But at the Emperor's order, the guards dragged him away without hesitation.

Yan Wan began to panic, trembling as she stared at Nanny Chun. "Nanny, save me!"

Nanny Chun hissed, "Shut your mouth!"

Beside herself with fear, Yan Wan cried, "Nanny, I don't want to climb the ranks anymore! I don't want to go to the Yongan Palace! Please help me! You told me that with Princess Anya behind us, nothing would go wrong!"

Princess Anya kicked Yan Wan in the stomach. "You wretched slave, I told you to shut up!"

In that moment, all traces of the Princess's previous arrogance vanished. Her face was twisted into a distorted, terrifying mask that made her look like a stranger.