Chapter 5: Presumptuous

Gu Zhenzhen had fallen into the lotus pond—pushed in by someone.

In her panic just before falling, she had managed to tear a sachet from the person who pushed her.

By the time Yun Ying arrived at Tingyu Tower in Qiulan Palace, Gu Zhenzhen’s lips were pale and she was still unconscious. However, her fingers were tightly gripping a sachet, refusing to let go.

Yun Ying took one glance and immediately recognized it as something belonging to Biliu.

First, Biliu lost her sachet. Then, Gu Zhenzhen fell into the water. Following that, the Consort Xian had someone summon her to Tingyu Tower. With the ups and downs she had experienced in her past life within the palace, Yun Ying needed no time to figure it out—it was all aimed at her. She had already guessed what was coming before arriving.

To Yun Ying, this scheme wasn’t even particularly clever.

But if she truly were the kind of person who would compete with Gu Zhenzhen to show off imperial rewards, then this would’ve been enough to trap her.

The mastermind behind this must have known that a sachet alone couldn’t serve as damning evidence. The Emperor wouldn’t punish someone he had just promoted—doing so would imply poor judgment, favoring a consort with a vicious heart.

No, the true purpose of this trap wasn’t to bring her down, but to test her—and to warn her.

They wanted to see if she was truly as foolish as she had pretended to be. And to remind her that the inner palace was far more treacherous than she might imagine. Perhaps it was even meant to deepen Gu Zhenzhen’s resentment toward her, turning them into enemies so they’d weaken each other in conflict.

Yun Ying was perfectly clear whether she had done such a thing.

If she acted flustered and tried too hard to clear her name before the Emperor, she could easily lose her composure, argue with Gu Zhenzhen, and end up embarrassing herself.

And the one behind it all clearly wasn’t afraid of being found out.

They likely had a palace maid carry out the act. And just like how the sachet wasn’t solid evidence, even if the maid who pushed Gu Zhenzhen into the pond were found, no one would convict a consort based on the word of a low-ranking maid.

On her way to Tingyu Tower, Yun Ying had already pieced it all together effortlessly.

Thinking further, it was likely the Emperor wouldn’t punish her. At most, she’d be mildly reprimanded—it wouldn’t hurt her in the least.

Besides, in cases like this, if the Emperor wanted to protect her, even if she had done it, she’d remain safe. And if he wanted to make an example of her, even if she were innocent, she’d still suffer. So, defending herself wouldn’t change that fact.

That meant she had many choices in how to respond.

She could act arrogant and presumptuous, flaunting the Emperor’s favor.

Or she could cry a little before him—shed a few tears and the matter might be dropped.

But all those options required playing a role.

Tiring, pointless, and a free show for others.

Yun Ying had no interest in that.

She hadn’t come back from death to compete for favor, but if someone tried to drag her into their schemes, she wouldn’t make it easy for them.

Quite a few consorts had gathered to express concern for Gu Zhenzhen.

Consort Xian, Consort De, Zhaoyuan Jiang, Noble Consort Jiang, and Jieyu Cui were all present.

Hiding her true thoughts, Yun Ying greeted each of them formally. Just then, the sharp voice of a eunuch echoed from outside: “His Majesty has arrived—”

Consort Xian immediately led everyone out to greet him.

“You may all rise.” Descending from the imperial carriage, Zhao Chong waved them off and walked straight toward Consort Xian. His gaze swept over the consorts, lingering briefly on Yun Ying before turning back to Consort Xian. “What happened?”

Consort Xian, who now oversaw matters of the six palaces, was naturally present when something occurred. She was also the one who had summoned the Emperor.

“Your Majesty, Imperial Beauty Gu fell into the lotus pond in the imperial garden while admiring the flowers today. Though she was rescued, she remains unconscious. I had no choice but to send someone to inform Your Majesty,” she replied properly. She didn’t mention that Gu Zhenzhen was likely pushed, nor that Yun Ying was a suspect.

“What did the imperial physician say?”

Zhao Chong stepped into Tingyu Tower, asking as he walked.

“The physician said she passed out from swallowing too much water. Normally, she should recover soon. As for any other illnesses, they will need to wait until she wakes for a more complete diagnosis.”

Zhao Chong gave the slightest nod and entered the inner room, approaching the bed.

Though the woman lying there hadn’t opened her eyes, her inner thoughts already echoed in Zhao Chong’s ears:

The Emperor is here!

Hmph! Yun Ying, you caused this. Just wait and see how the Emperor punishes you!

A moment later, Gu Zhenzhen stirred.

She slowly opened her eyes. Her lashes fluttered, her gaze landed on Zhao Chong’s face, and immediately tears shimmered in her eyes.

She had actually woken up long ago, but upon overhearing that the sachet came from Yun Ying’s maid, and that Consort Xian had summoned the Emperor, she decided to keep her eyes shut and wait. Now that he was here, she could begin reciting the lines she had rehearsed while pretending to sleep.

“Your Majesty… I… I…”

Unaware that Zhao Chong could hear her thoughts, Gu Zhenzhen continued with her act.

She looked pale, her voice hoarse, tears brimming—utterly fragile and pitiful.

After stammering for a moment, she lowered her gaze and said slowly, “Your Majesty… I didn’t fall by accident. Someone pushed me. I was admiring the lotus flowers when I was suddenly shoved hard from behind. That’s how I fell in… I’ve always behaved with propriety and caution. I never imagined someone would try to harm me like this…”

As she spoke, she held out the wet sachet she had been clutching all along.

She looked up at Zhao Chong again, tears rolling down her cheeks, unable to suppress her outrage. “This sachet is what I tore from that malicious person!”

“Isn’t this the sachet of Yun Jieyu’s head maid?” someone cried out. Everyone turned to see one of the palace maids drop to her knees and beg for forgiveness. “I misspoke. Please forgive me, Your Majesty, Your Highness.”

The speaker was Cuimei, Gu Zhenzhen’s personal maid.

“The head maid of Yun Jieyu?” Before Zhao Chong or Consort Xian could speak, Consort De laughed lightly and said, “You’d better be careful before accusing someone important. Watch your tongue.”

Cuimei quickly kowtowed again. “I accompanied Lady Gu to Qingzhu Pavilion the other day to congratulate Yun Jieyu. That’s when I saw this sachet hanging from her head maid Biliu’s waist.”

Gu Zhenzhen tightened her grip on the sachet, crying as she looked at Yun Ying. “Yun Jieyu, although we’ve had disagreements, I’ve never tried to harm you. I never thought you’d be so vicious to plot against me!”

She sobbed and flung back the quilt, climbing off the bed. Facing Zhao Chong, she bowed deeply. “Your Majesty, please grant me justice!”

At that moment, Consort Xian stepped in. “Imperial Beauty Gu, calm down. This matter will be investigated thoroughly. But one sachet alone isn’t enough to prove it was Yun Jieyu.”

“If not her, then who?!”

Gu Zhenzhen saw Consort Xian as siding with Yun Ying and turned back to Zhao Chong. “Your Majesty, please help me!”

Zhao Chong had yet to speak. His expression was cold, and the inner voices of everyone present buzzed incessantly in his ears.

Aside from Gu Zhenzhen accusing Yun Ying, most of them were clearly enjoying the show or gloating.

One person even seemed to be composing poetry—absurd.

Zhao Chong paused. He suddenly realized—he hadn’t heard a single thought from Yun Ying.

Even though this whole matter seemed to point toward her, she had no reaction?

Zhao Chong turned subtly and noticed that Yun Ying stood furthest from the bed. Even though she had been promoted yesterday, she still held the lowest rank among those present, so she had to stand at the end.

Then he suddenly heard:

This orchid is blooming quite nicely.

The thought came from Yun Ying.

Zhao Chong paused and noticed a blooming butterfly orchid near Yun Ying. Its flowers were delicate and vibrant.

Yet she was the only one with the leisure to admire it—when she should’ve been the most anxious.

“Have Imperial Beauty Gu return to the bed. Let the physician in to take her pulse.”

After a long silence, Zhao Chong spoke. No one dared disobey. Gu Zhenzhen obediently lay back down.

She had thought the Emperor would now grant her justice.

But Zhao Chong said nothing more. He simply turned and walked away.

Gu Zhenzhen froze. The consorts were all stunned.

Consort Xian recovered first, said a few words to comfort Gu Zhenzhen, and then followed after Zhao Chong.

The others quickly followed.

Yun Ying didn’t care about their theatrics, nor Zhao Chong’s reaction.

She leisurely trailed at the end of the group.

By the time she exited the room, Zhao Chong was already seated at the head.

He looked at her and asked plainly, “Yun Jieyu, do you have anything to say?”

Yun Ying slowly stepped forward, bowed deeply, and answered calmly, “Replying to Your Majesty: I have nothing to say.” Not nothing to say, but no words to offer.

That simple reply sparked another round of inner noise around Zhao Chong.

But still, not a single thought came from Yun Ying.

He frowned slightly. “What do you mean by that, Yun Jieyu?”

“Your Majesty, I leave this matter to Your Majesty’s judgment,” Yun Ying replied with her head bowed, voice emotionless. “If you believe I had no part in Imperial Beauty Gu’s fall, I have nothing to say. If you believe I am guilty, I also have nothing to say—I am willing to accept punishment.”

In other words, whatever he decided, she accepted it.

Zhao Chong remembered her criticizing him silently in Qingzhu Pavilion the other day. Even if she truly had no thoughts now, her words sounded passive-aggressive.

It felt like she was saying—

If he couldn’t prove her innocence, he was a useless fool, and she’d just admit her bad luck.

He knew she hadn’t pushed Gu Zhenzhen. If she had wanted to, she had plenty of opportunity to plot something in the last few days.

But this attitude…

Though he still couldn’t hear her thoughts, Zhao Chong had the nagging feeling she was mocking him.

Consort De, catching his expression, scolded Yun Ying sharply: “Yun Jieyu, how dare you! If you refuse to explain yourself, then just accept the punishment. Don’t be so presumptuous before His Majesty!”

Yun Ying’s face remained calm, though she sneered inside.

This counts as presumptuous?

Yes, yes, I’m bold, I’m presumptuous. So what? Come bite me if you dare.

“I don’t dare. I submit to Your Majesty’s judgment.”

Yun Ying couldn’t be bothered to come up with new lines and simply repeated what she’d said before.

Zhao Chong, now finally hearing her thoughts again: “……”