Chapter 243: Epilogue (3)
Helian Xuan was in the outer courtyard of the Duke of Chen’s residence.
Apart from him, several other guests who had come to pay their respects were making small talk with Zhou Yuanshen and the Second Master—offering words of comfort to the family and discussing a few inconsequential matters.
Helian Xuan remained calm and composed throughout, without the slightest sign of unease.
That was until the young servant Nanfeng entered and whispered a few words to Zhou Yuanshen.
Zhou Yuanshen looked at Helian Xuan. “Your Highness, why have the women from your household entered the inner residence and attempted to murder the Duchess?”
There was a prince consort present, along with two heads of prominent families and their neighbor, Prince Rong.
Everyone froze.
Helian Xuan himself appeared somewhat stunned. It was only after a long moment that he said, “Duke of Chen, isn’t that a little too serious? The women from the Prince’s residence merely came to offer their condolences.”
“They used weapons. After your secondary consort failed, she even attempted to take her own life, but was stopped. They have all been bound,” Zhou Yuanshen said.
His expression was impassive, and his voice was not loud.
He was not merely speaking for Helian Xuan’s benefit, but for the ears of every guest present.
Prince Rong was astonished. He glanced at the others but did not rashly intervene. He was Helian Xuan’s uncle. If he did not speak, the others had even less standing to do so.
The Second Master remained silent as well.
For a moment, no one said anything.
The atmosphere was strange and unnaturally quiet, save for the weeping from the mourning shed outside.
“...This truly comes as a shock to me. I have no idea how such a thing happened,” Helian Xuan said.
“Then send them to the Court of Judicial Review,” Zhou Yuanshen replied. “That will give the Duchess justice, and it will also clear Your Highness’s name.”
Prince Rong spoke up at this point. “Sending them to the Court of Judicial Review would indeed be best and most impartial. I refuse to believe Xuan could commit such a foolish act as attempting murder in the Duke of Chen’s residence.
“If he were to bear such a reputation, not only would it tarnish the posthumous honor of Prince An, but Xuan himself would suffer—and His Majesty would be angered as well. Xuan is His Majesty’s nephew and enjoys His Majesty’s favor.”
Those words praised Helian Xuan highly, leaving him no room to refuse being sent to the authorities. At the same time, Prince Rong was reminding Zhou Yuanshen to be wary of the emperor covering for Helian Xuan.
In Prince Rong’s eyes, the Dowager Madame had already passed away, and the Zhou family’s imperial favor would gradually fade. Zhou Yuanshen might not be able to contend with Helian Xuan.
While warning Zhou Yuanshen to be careful, he was also hinting that Zhou Yuanshen should think twice about whether it was worth opposing Helian Xuan.
The reason Prince Rong was willing to take a side was that he intended to form a marriage alliance with the Cheng family by marrying his youngest daughter to Cheng Chao.
Marriage ties were deeply intertwined. The Prince Rong’s residence and the Duke of Chen’s residence were neighbors, and from now on, they would be “family” who stood together.
“Yuanshen, perhaps you should ask a few more questions?” the Second Master said.
He had no idea what had happened in the inner residence, but he had understood every implication in Prince Rong’s words.
The prince was warning Zhou Yuanshen.
“Father, someone entering the inner residence to murder another person is utterly deranged! Without justice, everyone in the capital will live in fear,” Zhou Yuanshen said.
The Second Master replied, “Then send them to the Court of Judicial Review.”
He turned to Helian Xuan. “Your Highness, do you have some other opinion?”
Helian Xuan still looked somewhat dazed.
He seemed to have completely lost his footing, as though he had no idea what had happened. In confusion, he nodded. “Send them to the Court of Judicial Review. I would also like to know who was so vicious as to frame me with such a scheme.”
“I’ll make the arrangements myself,” Zhou Yuanshen said. “Father, I’ll leave things here to you. Prince Rong, and gentlemen, forgive my lack of hospitality.”
He turned and left.
Prince Rong looked at Helian Xuan again.
Helian Xuan appeared both innocent and uneasy. “Uncle Prince Rong, what should I do now?”
“You might want to visit the Court of Judicial Review and smooth things over, lest there be something being kept from you. It’s best to make preparations early,” Prince Rong said.
The words sounded as though he were showing great concern for Helian Xuan, but in truth, they were useless platitudes.
Who did not know that one ought to pull strings with the authorities?
What he was really telling Helian Xuan was that he could find an excuse to leave.
Whatever had happened in the Zhou family’s inner residence, there was no point in Helian Xuan staying there. Whether he was truly innocent or merely pretending, he could withdraw for now.
Helian Xuan rose to his feet.
Once he left the Duke of Chen’s residence, his expression darkened.
He asked his attendant, “What happened to Jin Shu?”
Jin Shu was his secret guard, the woman disguised as his secondary consort.
His trusted attendant replied, “Whether she succeeded or failed, she was supposed to send a signal. But no signal ever came.”
“She was discovered?” Helian Xuan asked, his expression turning sinister.
“She is cautious and has received training since childhood. She has considerable experience. She should not have been discovered so easily. This subordinate does not know what went wrong.”
Helian Xuan clenched his teeth and forced down his anger.
After a while, he asked, “What about the Fan family? Has anyone come to report?”
Seeing his master’s grim expression, the attendant hesitated. “Master...”
“Speak plainly!”
“The Fan family used the excuse that it was merely a remarriage and arranged all the banquet guests in the reception hall in the rear gardens, isolating them there.
“When the bridal sedan entered the residence, a large group of armed soldiers from the Prince of Pingxi’s estate rushed into the Fan family residence. They had just been about to act when they were subdued.”
Helian Xuan abruptly turned his head, his expression vicious. “They failed?”
After years of planning, it had actually failed so easily?
“...Yes,” the attendant said.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“This subordinate was about to enter and report it, but Your Highness had already come out. I had only just received the news as well,” the attendant explained.
Helian Xuan leaned against the carriage wall. His chest heaved, and he could not suppress his emotions for a long while. His breathing grew rapid, and both hands clenched into fists, the veins standing out on the backs of them.
The attendant remained silent.
Only after a long time did Helian Xuan say, “What are you waiting for? Return to the residence.”
He needed to prepare himself to persuade the emperor and make His Majesty continue to trust him.
Lately, Zhou Yuanshen had done far better than Helian Xuan when it came to earning trust.
There were palace consorts who belonged to Helian Xuan’s faction, but their favor was limited.
By contrast, Consort Wu, whom Zhou Yuanshen had placed in the palace, did not appear to possess any especially remarkable beauty. She was certainly beautiful, but which palace consort was not?
The emperor’s temperament and habits were familiar to Helian Xuan as well. The beauties he had sent into the palace had likewise studied the emperor’s preferences, yet none of them had done so nearly as well as Consort Wu.
Why was Zhou Yuanshen so fortunate?
But this was not the time to dwell on that. Helian Xuan had to find a way to clear his name.
At the Duke of Chen’s residence, guests continued to arrive in an endless stream to offer their condolences.
Even though snow was still falling outside.
As a result, everyone saw the seven women being escorted away by constables from the Court of Judicial Review. Each of them was shackled.
“Who are they?”
“Why has this alarmed the Court of Judicial Review?”
The news that the women of the Prince of Andong’s residence had “killed someone” inside the Duke of Chen’s residence spread like wildfire, even faster than news of the Duke of Chen’s funeral.
It was simply too absurd.
Everyone who heard it instinctively asked, “What happened?”
They were all eager to learn the truth and uncover the details. The news spread at astonishing speed, reaching every prominent family in the capital within half a day.
“The Zhou family is finished. There have been far too many rumors about them lately.”
In the eyes of the capital’s noble and meritorious families, the foundation of a clan’s enduring wealth and influence was its good reputation.
The Cheng family was a perfect example.
The Wu Commandery Cheng clan had never been associated with any scandalous rumors, much less news that shook the entire realm. When a particular noble house was constantly linked to words such as “assassination,” “a widowed sister-in-law plotting against her cousin,” and “an old matriarch dying a tragic death,” that family lost the halo of respect surrounding a distinguished lineage.
Building that halo was extraordinarily difficult. Destroying it, however, took only an instant.
The Zhou family’s Dowager Madame had spent her entire life pursuing the words “a pure and honorable household.” She had never attained them—not even by the time she died.
Families with discerning eyes judged the Duke of Chen’s residence by these events and reached their own conclusions about its future.
When it came to reputation, the Zhou family had suffered a complete defeat.