The Imperial College's

Eps. 36: The trap

Concubine Di's funeral was held two days after her death. The entire royal family attended the ceremony. The members of Liu's family came dressed in white, while the person who had no blood relation to them wore colored clothes as usual. The Liu family's countenance was filled with deep sadness. From some of those faces, in addition to sadness, there was also a vengeful look. Yes, Liu Yang, has both of those expressions.

Concubine coffin delivery motorcade In through crowded urban areas. People used to move to the side of the road, forming a fence to take the concubine's departure to her final resting place. No one was sad because they did not know Consort Di, only ever heard his name. This reaction became a natural reaction because not everyone cared about the affairs of the royal family.

Upon arrival at the royal tomb, the entourage of delivering the bodies stopped. The horse-drawn carriages lined up, while the passengers were already disembarking. They walked towards the gate. Concubine Di's coffin was carried by several royal soldiers, brought into the area that became the bedding of imperial blood corpses hundreds of years ago.

Prayers and cries accompanied the funeral procession. The emperor, other concubines, and several princes looked down and watched as the coffin was put into a room that was then closed for good. Now, Concubine Di's body was actually already considered lost.

The royal family's entourage returned to the palace by the time it was almost afternoon. The Inner Palace that became Consort Di's residence was filled with diverse talk. See, even after death, Consort Di remains the talk of people. Most regretted his death being too easy.

Huang Yunxi, the Princess of Xiyue, did not take part in the funeral. He preferred to settle in the Liuli Palace alone. His heart still hurts. His unrequited vengeance slowly gnawed at his heart.

When the maid from the Inner Palace asked for news and told that Consort Di would be buried, Huang Yunxi immediately drove the servant out of his palace. They expect him to be present at the funeral of the man who killed his birth mother? Just be right! Even if the Emperor himself were to come begging, he still would not leave.

Huang Yunxi laughed insipidly. Tomorrow, Liu Yang will definitely make a fuss in the royal court. The wicked man will certainly start looking for trouble. The case of the death of Consort Di, his beloved sister, is certainly the object of debate and the right topic to bring him down. Liu Yang had not managed to kill Huang Yunxi that day, so he must have used this opportunity to kill her again.

Fortunately, Huang Yunxi had already prepared everything thoroughly. He had already devised a plan to confront Liu Yang, without anyone's help. This was his personal grudge, he would not involve anyone else. In fact, Yuwen Yue alone did not he tell.

Yesterday when she was angry, Yuwen Yue was expelled immediately. To this day, the man has not come again. Perhaps the man was busy reading books in the library of the Royal Academy.

Snow fell on top of Dong Hua sky. The leaves of flowers of all seasons are whitened. The ice sometimes flies in the wind. Huang Yunxi tightened her robe. As in the Royal Academy Dormitory, here he also enjoyed daydreaming by the window. Staring at the fine grains it descended slowly, enjoying the sensation that was seeping into his heart.

...***...

In the morning when the sun was still covered in snow clouds, Yuwen Yue had already arrived in front of the palace gate complete with his service clothes. The road he walked on was covered in snow. Some palace officials seemed to clean it up, removing the ice-ice to the side so that the land there could be stepped back.

At the crossing, he met with several other officials who were also due to appear in the palace court this morning. The air is still cold, it will probably last until noon. After greeting and chatting lightly, Yuwen Yue and the officials rushed into the palace.

They stand in rows, forming a line extending from front to back. One camp is on the left, another on the right. The area between the two camps was left empty as a means for entry. Their long robes occasionally flashed as the wind gushed in through the front door of the hall.

A short while later, Emperor Huang Yun Yi arrived. The Emperor immediately sat himself on a high throne, staring one by one at his officials.

“Greetings Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live a long life,” said the officials simultaneously.

“Build.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

Emperor Huang Yun Yi looked at the stack of documents stored on his desk. The documents slowly gave him a headache. This half, he should have read it all?

The Emperor took the top document. After reading for a while, the look on his face immediately changed completely. His emotions suddenly rose. Without considering anything else, he immediately threw the document on the floor until the sheet opened. Ancient letters lined up forming an elongated vertical pattern.

How not, the contents of the document is a report of the murder charge of Consort Di that was addressed directly to Princess Xiyue. The document says that Princess Xiyue had a grudge against Consort Di to the point of harming her. The document comes from the Ministry of Forestry who joined several other ministries.

“Do you accuse my daughter of being a murderer?” the Emperor asked angrily.

An official, the Minister of Personnel is out of line.

“Kony!” yuwen Yue.

“Mr Vice-Advisor, you don't say that. Didn't you know that that day Princess Xiyue looked stunning? However, didn't it after that night, Consort Di went crazy? If not Princess Xiyue, then who has dared to make Consort Di lose her mind?”

“Personnel Minister, your accusations are unreasonable. What does Princess Xiyue's appearance have to do with Consort Di's madness?”

Several other ministers came out of line. The variety of talks that opposed and defended Princess Xiyue came in turn. They repeatedly talk about the good, the bad and the various possibilities that might happen. Over time, the situation became chaotic. The ministers continued to argue in front of Emperor Huang Yun Yi whose status was the Emperor, the leader of them all.

“Your Majesty, my servant sister died unjustly. He was the pride of the Liu family who had been loyal to His Majesty. If Your Majesty cannot give us clarity, how could the Liu family and our ancestors be calm?”

Yuwen Yue stared intently at Liu Yang. This must be the bad guy's idea. Liu Yang had indeed actually used Consort Di's death as an opportunity to take down Huang Yunxi. He has managed to gather strength from his supporters to participate in justifying the allegations.

“Supply! My brother is so noble, how could he be a murderer?”

The Crown Prince, Huang Yunji, did not accept the charges against his brother. As a sister, she was certainly very familiar with the nature and behavior of her brother. No matter how bad Huang Yunxi is, she will not kill people. Moreover, all this time Huang Yunxi had always distanced herself from political affairs and kept herself at the Royal Academy. He doesn't have that ability.

“Master of Forestry, why are you speaking as if everything is the fault of Princess Xiyue? Wasn't it very clear that Consort Di was always hostile to her? Didn't the Minister ever see how Princess Xiyue had patiently faced Concubine Di's temperament that had always tried to bring her down?” asked Yuwen Yue.

“Mr Vice-Advisor, you defended Princess Xiyue because she is your future wife. But my brother died unjustly. How could I just shut up? Not only has the Liu family lost, even His Majesty has also lost a woman who has accompanied him for so many years!”

“Do the Minister have proof?”

“Proof? Sure was! Servant Concubine Di said that that day, Princess Xiyue came secretly to the Inner Palace.”

“She is a princess. Where does he want to go, do people dare ban him?”

“Really! My brother couldn't have killed Concubine Di! It was precisely Consort Di himself who committed suicide. Isn't everything clear? He's gone mad and died, why still drag my brother?”

Emperor Huang Yun Yi massaged his head. His emotions have reached the crown. He swore he would protect his daughter. Today, his loyal ministers instead accused his daughter of cruelty, isn't it outrageous? Which one should he choose?

“Crown Prince may not know. People sometimes hide their real faces well. A few days ago, I was informed that Princess Xiyue had secretly released some Mongolians. Isn't this a rebellion?”

Where did Liu Yang know that? Didn't Pavilion Yindai act covertly? I don't know, but what is certain is that Liu Yang's words managed to make everyone in the court of the palace shocked. They did not expect that Princess Xiyue would go this far.

Yuwen Yue wanted to defend, but his hand was held back by Huang Yunji. This is a serious matter.

If that was true, then Princess Xiyue aka Huang Yunxi would not be able to dodge the punishment. Even if he was not found guilty of the death of Consort Di, he would still be punished for having freed the enemy of the kingdom without informing the Emperor first. The punishment could be even heavier!

“Then does the Minister know who has hired them?”

Everyone looked back. A beautiful, luxurious-clothed woman walked in gracefully. His face was ice-cold, his arrogance so felt up to the bones and joints. The woman wore a silver crown on her head, equipped with some beautiful ornaments.

“I asked, does Mr Minister know who has hired them?”

...***...