Chapter 689 - 467: Sentenced to Death

Chapter 689: Chapter 467: Sentenced to Death

An Fangyi never did anything truly heinous, but she always had a hand in things. Song Yunzhao didn’t want to target her, but the woman was simply insufferable.

"Meng Jiuchang has already had her interrogated. An Fangyi truly did not know of Qin Xiyue’s plan; she was only forced to help this time because Qin Xiyue had something to hold over her. However, since she played a part, she must be punished. She cannot be considered innocent."

Song Yunzhao breathed a small sigh of relief at Feng Yi’s words. "To be honest, I have no personal grudge against An Fangyi, but every time she acted for Qin Xiyue, I was the one being targeted. Even Han Jinyi was dragged into it and plotted against by her that one time."

Yun Zhao’s words reminded Feng Yi of that incident as well, and his expression soured. "How do you want to deal with her?"

’That was what made it all the more frustrating. You could say she was guilty, but her crime wasn’t punishable by death. But you couldn’t say she was innocent either, as she was always popping up to cause trouble. It was an infuriating dilemma.

Besides, while An Fangyi was loathsome, her father, Duke Dingguo, was a clever man. He never went against the Emperor in court and was considered one of his supporters.

If An Fangyi were punished too severely, it would inevitably alienate Duke Dingguo. But if she wasn’t punished at all, I wouldn’t be able to stomach it.’

Song Yunzhao simply looked at Feng Yi. "What is Your Majesty’s opinion?"

Feng Yi saw Yun Zhao’s frustrated expression. ’She won’t say what’s on her mind because she’s worried about Duke Dingguo,’ he thought. ’She’s being considerate of me.’

Feng Yi patted Yun Zhao’s hand. "Demote her to a concubine. Since she erred, she must be punished."

Song Yunzhao was stunned. ’That was a demotion of two full ranks.’

’It was incredibly difficult to rise in rank within the palace. Just look at Feng Yunjin; to appease her, Feng Yi had to indirectly promote Father Feng’s official position. That alone showed how hard it was.

You either relied on imperial favor, an heir, or your family’s power.

An Fangyi had no hope on the first two fronts. And now that she was demoted, she could no longer rely on her family to raise her rank in the future. The punishment was severe, to say the least.

Even when Duke Dingguo found out, he wouldn’t plead for his daughter. In the future, even if An Fangyi never had another chance for promotion, the Duke wouldn’t dare to voice any objection.

After all, An Fangyi was implicated in Qin Xiyue’s witchcraft case, and that was no light crime.

Feng Yi was essentially using An Fangyi’s crime to keep Duke Dingguo completely in check.’

Song Yunzhao was more or less satisfied with this result. After all, An Fangyi had only helped Qin Xiyue get into the garden; she didn’t know about the curse.

As for how Qin Xiyue would be handled, Yun Zhao didn’t ask a single question.

’The dream from the other day had left me with a lingering fear. I don’t want to ask about anything concerning the story’s female lead; let the male lead handle her punishment.

They are both major characters in the book. The backlash from dealing with Qin Xiyue probably wouldn’t affect the male lead, but the same couldn’t be said for a supporting female character like myself.

And now that I’m with child, I have to be even more careful.’

Less than two days later, Feng Yi’s imperial edict spread throughout the court and beyond. Witchcraft was a heinous crime, and with Yun Zhao being pregnant, it carried the additional charge of attempting to murder an imperial heir. Feng Yi’s thorough investigation rooted out everyone connected to the matter, totaling over a hundred people.

When Song Yunzhao heard, she was stunned for a long while. ’So many people were involved.’

Of course, not all one hundred people had participated directly. The purge also involved court factions, such as the courtiers who had once been attached to the Qin Family. After Grand Tutor Qin returned to his hometown, these people had simply laid low.

Take the Marquis Wuxin Mansion, for example, which was implicated because of the daughter. The Marquis Wuxin was stripped of his title and dismissed from office. Xu Mingying’s crime of poisoning an Imperial Concubine and an heir was unpardonable. Both she and Qin Xiyue were sentenced to death by the Emperor.

The court was in an uproar over the affair. Some came forth to plead for mercy, while others appeared only to kick those who were already down. Feng Yi seized the opportunity to deal with numerous corrupt officials.

The entire affair took a full half-month to finally die down. Now, Jincui Garden was exceptionally quiet and peaceful.

First, Qin Wan Yi and Xu Ji were sentenced to death. This was immediately followed by the news that Ming Fei was pregnant. With bad news and good news arriving simultaneously, everyone’s feelings were naturally quite complicated.

Song Yunzhao quietly rested in Qingyao Palace, focusing on her pregnancy. Lu Zhixue and a few others came to see her every couple of days, but Consort Shu had been so busy she hadn’t had a moment to spare. It wasn’t until the matter was completely settled that she finally found the time to come to Qingyao Palace.

The moment she entered, she noticed Song Yunzhao’s poor complexion and couldn’t help but say, "Why do you look so pale?"

Song Yunzhao invited Consort Shu to sit down before replying, "It’s the heat. I don’t have much of an appetite, and I can’t use ice to cool down like I used to, now that I’m pregnant. It’s quite unbearable."

Consort Shu realized it was true. Yunzhao couldn’t have a single bite of the chilled fruit bowls they usually had to ward off the summer heat. A look of pity crossed her face.

Song Yunzhao had someone bring tea and asked, "Are you finally done with your work, Sister Shu?"

Consort Shu nodded. "Yes. I came to see you the moment I was free. Everything has finally been dealt with."

Song Yunzhao gave a slight nod, not intending to pry for details, but Consort Shu began to speak of her own accord. "I truly never imagined Qin Xiyue could do something so vicious. A witchcraft disaster occurred in a previous dynasty, and hundreds of people died. I can’t believe she still dared to meddle with such things."

Consort Shu shuddered, a cold chill running down her spine as she remembered the small effigy with Yun Zhao’s birth characters written on it in red cinnabar ink.

She didn’t mention these details in front of Yun Zhao, lest it frighten her. Instead, she spoke circuitously. "You’ll never guess, but that Daoist priestess Qin Xiyue hired? She’s actually known her for a very long time."

"A very long time? How long?" Song Yunzhao asked.

"Since before she even entered the palace. Surprising, isn’t it?"

Song Yunzhao frowned. "But back then she was an unmarried lady living in her family’s estate. How would she have met someone like that?"

Consort Shu cleared her throat and lowered her voice. "Back when Grand Tutor Qin was still in the Capital City, do you remember how many children he had?"

Song Yunzhao thought for a moment. "It was said that he and his wife were deeply devoted to each other. I believe he only had one or two children born to concubines."

Consort Shu held up four fingers. "Originally, there were four. But only one survived. During the priestess’s interrogation, it was revealed that Mrs. Qin had hired her to... dispose of the other ones."

Song Yunzhao was speechless.

’The book never mentioned this at all. In fact, this whole witchcraft incident never even happened in the original story.

Thinking about it, Qin Xiyue’s situation in the book was much better than it is now. She was successfully contending with the three concubines and had the Emperor’s full support. Why would she have needed to resort to such a vicious tactic?

But now, I’ve suppressed her to the point where she has no chance of making a comeback, so of course she’d turn to such wicked methods to get rid of me.’

Song Yunzhao was at a loss for words. ’So, this whole disaster never happened in the book because I changed things... and my changes are what caused this incident in the first place.’

Seeing Yun Zhao’s pale face, Consort Shu offered a few words of comfort before adding, "The Marquis Wuxin Mansion has completely fallen. Fortunately, you pleaded with the Emperor, and Xu Anchen’s post was saved. It’s only because you’re so kind-hearted. If it were anyone else in your position, his family would be lucky to have escaped with their lives."