Chapter 356: Unveiling the Truth

Ning Daying was covered in wounds, wearing only a blood‑stained white robe.

Clearly, Ning Daying had just regained consciousness.

Ning Daying's sobbing was heart‑breaking; she knelt on the ground, clutching the coffin tightly with both hands.

"Sister, sob… sister… I'm the one who harmed you!"

Hearing Ning Daying's cries, the loyal servant kneeling beside her wore a grim expression.

Wan Tang stood nearby, coldness the only thing in her eyes.

Ning Daying wept for a while, then suddenly laughed aloud, pressing her face against the coffin and murmuring, "Sister, you kept urging me, yet I persisted stubbornly."

"Now I finally understand: what you said, it isn't only a malicious heart that harms others; stupidity can also doom those around you forever."

"You said people may lack intelligence, but they must obey."

Ning Daying's tears fell onto the coffin.

Even now, she still does not consider herself clever.

Just heart‑broken, she managed a bitter smile: "Sister, if you're gone, I would become a knife in the hands of others in the Imperial harem."

"Perhaps I should ask Sister to take me away together…"

Having said that, she gave a forlorn smile, suddenly stood, and charged straight at the coffin.

"Ning Daying, no!"

The Guanren beside her panicked, rushed forward and blocked her.

Ning Daying wailed and shouted, determined to die here.

Wan Tang, overly indifferent, showed disgust in her eyes: "Let her go."

The voice was too faint, as if not coming from a living mouth: "I only feel sorry for you, Sister; after finally getting rid of that fool, even when I go to Huangquan Lu, I'm still dragged down by you."

Ning Daying's body suddenly went rigid.

"I have repeatedly warned you, yet you turned a deaf ear; now that you've harmed Sister, how can you have the face to die?"

Wan Tang continued the cold rebuke: "Whether you live or die, you're disgusting; get out of the way."

"Do not disturb Sister's scene."

Jingren Palace was so startled that the sound of a falling needle could be heard.

After all, Ning Daying was just a little tail that followed the two of them all day; who could have imagined Wan Tang could utter such cruel words?

The Guanren exchanged bewildered glances.

Ning Daying stood dumb as a wooden chicken.

Wan Tang, as if nothing had happened, continued to offer incense and added spirit money to the basin.

After a long while, Ning Daying finally found her voice: "Do you want me to live and suffer?"

"I just don't want any murderer to have it easy!"

Wan Tang's tone was overly cold: "Stop pestering me; if you provoke me, I'll kill even you and me."

Wan Tang tossed the last gold ingot into the basin.

Ning Daying's face had lost all color.

From outside came a eunuch's thin voice: "The Duke of Ning is coming to pay his respects!"

The footsteps were light; after half a month, the old man seemed even older.

He was completely white‑haired, his steps unsteady, no trace of heroic lady‑like bearing; looking at the spirit tablet, all he had were cloudy tear‑filled eyes.

One step, one step…

Especially heavy.

Wan Tang didn't even raise an eyelid, standing beside him, speaking coldly: "You always think you owe Bai Li, but my Sister Hui always wants to ride a horse at full gallop; don't you also owe her?"

The Duke of Ning's body swayed slightly.

The frail, candle‑like old man was so vulnerable at this moment.

Wan Tang still wouldn't let go: "You couldn't bring yourself to strike the Bai family, always leaving room, yet they have acted!"

The Duke of Ning lowered his head, tears welling up in his eyes.

Wan Tang clenched her fists; while saying this, she also bore immense sorrow: "I once promised that if you helped me, I could make Sister become Empress Dowager and assist the enlightened ruler."

"Now…" Wan Tang stared at the spirit tablet: "I no longer need your help."

"Sister's child, I will watch him grow!"

Wan Tang looked at the overcast sky, at the ash drifting with the wind, and whispered: "Sister respects her father; no matter how you choose, I will not strike you."

"Storms are coming, Duke of Ning, take care!"

Wan Tang stood up; she didn't even want to glance again at the people of Jingren Palace.

Foolish little sister.

Affectionate father.

Those who never receive favoritism seem always to strive to please, only to meet an ill‑fated end.

Sister… you have met Xiao Chuan; do you resent this incompetent sister of mine…

Wan Tang turned and walked out of Jingren Palace.

"Ah!" a roar, the Duke of Ning let out a mournful, angry bellow.

Immediately came a thud; he actually knelt before his daughter's spirit tablet.

He had many children, but his heart truly wasn't big; it could never hold much.

Imperial City.

The sky was shrouded by a dense, black cloud layer.

Wan Tang returned to Kunning Palace, dressed in the most elaborate royal consort attire, standing magnificently within Kunning Palace.

The Ministry of Justice officials and the Shenxing Si officials were all present in the Grand Hall of Kunning Palace.

Bai Li was tightly bound, with a person on each side pressing her down.

The old matriarch was forced onto the ground, her clothes torn all over, blood gushing out, and her breath weak.

Bai Li was not being punished, but her almond eyes glared at Wan Tang.

A bitter, cold laugh: "Do you think coming back alive can prove anything?"

"I haven't done anything; what can you do to me?"

Bai Li remained arrogant.

Wan Tang's lips curled up, and she clapped her hands.

The sound of footsteps rose; the junior official followed nearby, with three people at his side.

Qiu Niang, Minghui, and a cloaked person.

Qiu Niang stepped forward, bowed, and then led Minghui to the rear courtyard.

The person wearing a conical hat stepped forward, knelt, and shouted loudly: "Sinful slave Nanzhu, I have seen the Empress."

Having said that, he lifted the cloak, revealing a face scarred all over.

The Shenxing Si and the Ministry of Justice Vice Minister were both startled: "Isn't this the aunt who was by the Pear Princess?"

The Imperial harem had many women, but this aunt was a legendary figure; at least among officials of all ranks, her name was especially familiar.

In the court, the Emperor lavishly praised, saying all the ideas originated from the Pear Princess.

After some investigation, the aunt beside the Pear Princess proved even more formidable; this aunt named Nanzhu was Bai Li's confidante!

"You… you actually dared to return?" Bai Li's voice changed.

Nanzhu knelt on the ground, looked up, and fearlessly stared at Bai Li: "Your Highness, didn't you say to let me go see whether the Empress is dead?"

"But why didn't you tell me that the Imperial Guard raised by the Bai family was also stationed there?"

"You didn't need someone to verify; you wanted Nubi to go and die personally, right?"

Bai Li's complexion changed sharply: "Shut up!"

"Nonsense, this palace doesn't know what you're talking about?"

Bai Li snorted coldly, staring at the Ministry of Justice Vice Minister Zhao Hai: "Minister Zhao, just because she is the Empress and I am only a Consort, you think you can take people at will?"

"Did you ask the Emperor before doing this?"

Zhao Hai gave a slight bow: "Your Highness, do not blame me; murdering the Empress, shaking the nation's foundation, I am merely handling the case according to the law."

"Moreover, this case is not merely a harem dispute."

"It even involves the Former Dynasty."

Bai Li laughed: "It's just women fighting over jealousy; the Empress wants to give me a fabricated charge to vent her anger."

"Just like that, they can link it to the Former Dynasty; Minister Zhao, you're making a mountain out of a molehill."

Wan Tang chuckled lightly: "Nanzhu, now recount the whole story in full."

"Speak, say whatever you like." Bai Li, confident, said: "The old man and child from the Nanjiao Xiaoyuanzi know quite a bit; shall we bring them in to talk?"

She was fearless, after all Bai Li could grasp human nature too well.

These people all have a soft spot.

As long as they have so‑called familial bonds, they can be silenced and willingly become scapegoats.

Nanzhu suddenly smiled.

She planted both hands on the ground and kowtowed fiercely.

"I, the servant, will speak honestly; if there is a single false word, may heaven strike with thunder and lightning, and my whole family shall not meet a good death."

Wan Tang's lips held a faint, almost imperceptible cold smile.

The master beside her quickly recorded every word.

Zhao Hai's eyes were icy.

"I, the servant, am guilty; I should not have protected the Pear Princess."

"In fact, when the Pear Princess was pregnant, the imperial physician had already diagnosed that the child had issues; it would either be a miscarriage or a malformed baby."

"Shut up!" Bai Li's voice was sharp: "Think clearly about what you're saying!"

"I, the servant, advised the Empress to nurture the fetus properly. She said, after using so many fragrances, what else is there to nurture?"

"She would never gamble with the future."

"Therefore, she intends to use this child to plan a great undertaking."

"The Empress went out of the palace to pray for blessings, and the Pear Princess actually ordered someone to assassinate the Empress, saying that if the Empress died, who in the harem could oppose her?"

"I, the servant, know that the Pear Princess is insane; to prevent matters from worsening, I wanted to go to Kunning Palace to report."

"Unfortunately, only upon reaching the gate, I was knocked unconscious by the Pear Princess's people."

"She didn't kill me, but only let me test whether the Empress had any incident."

"I originally thought she was genuinely kind to release me, but I didn't expect Baoguo Temple already had assassins waiting; my going there was a death sentence."

Nanzhu said it all in one breath.

Zhao Hai, being able to sit in this position, is also sharp‑witted, instantly grasping the key point.

He instructed Shenxing Si: "Send people quickly to Changchun Palace to bring the so‑called fragrances."

"Also bring the imperial physician who examined the Pear Princess's pulse."

"Nonsense, not allowed!" Bai Li, emotionally collapsing, turned pale: "I am the Emperor's favored consort; you know what I mean to the Emperor. Who dares to treat me like this? The Emperor will not spare him!"

"Nanzhu, you scoundrel, tell me, are you wronging me!"

Bai Li was emotionally agitated.

Wan Tang sneered, then said slowly: "Pear Princess, how could she have wronged you?"

Could it be because Bai Zijun is doing something right now? That gives you confidence that Nanzhu will definitely hide the truth?

Bai Li's face darkened: "You… what do you mean?"

Nanzhu knelt before Zhao Hai once more, pounding his forehead heavily: "Lord, Lady Bai Li once gave I (serving woman) a finger, a member of my family."

If I (serving woman) speak the truth now, I fear my family's lives will be in jeopardy.

I beg you, Lord, go to the small courtyard on the outskirts of The City and protect my family.