Dressed As a Consort in Ancient Times - Chapter 30
Amidst the astonished stares of the onlookers, Yun Yan slowly retrieved a jade pendant from her bosom.
The pendant was smooth and light green, with a rare silver bellflower carved into its surface—a flower seldom seen in Yu Kingdom.
“This is the token of love the Seventh Princess’s consort gave me when we pledged ourselves to each other,” Yun Yan said as she handed the pendant over.
Gu Yun raised her eyes and found the pendant somewhat familiar.
Jiang Libai also looked at it suspiciously. After examining it closely, she leaned toward Gu Yun and whispered, “Is this truly yours?”
Gu Yun, from the original body’s buried memories, already knew the pendant’s origin.
In Jin Kingdom, every prince received a unique jade pendant at birth, with their name engraved on it to signify their identity. This particular pendant was given to the original body at birth.
When the original body left Jin Kingdom for Yu Kingdom, she brought many items with her, including this pendant. Initially, she often held it to remember her homeland. But after losing hope in Emperor Jin and her mother consort, she packed everything away, including the pendant.
Neither the original body nor Gu Yun had ever misplaced the pendant. Yet now, it appeared in the hands of this woman, who claimed it was a token of love.
Gu Yun replied in a low voice, “It is my pendant.”
“But I distinctly remember putting it away.”
Jiang Libai furrowed her brows. “Did someone secretly take it?”
“Likely.” Gu Yun immediately recalled the workers who had renovated her residence before her marriage to the Seventh Princess. At the time, she assumed the original body’s lowly status meant there was no need to be vigilant. Moreover, the workers were assigned by the Yu royal family, so she let them freely remodel her quarters.
Aside from them, no one else had entered her room.
“I think… those who renovated my residence must have taken it.”
Jiang Libai hadn’t expected this scheme to have been set in motion so long ago. “It’s been months now. It’ll be difficult to trace who took it.”
“Anyang Earl Residence began plotting so early—it’s no simple matter,” Gu Yun reflected. She didn’t think she had any value that warranted such intricate schemes—except for one thing:
She was the Seventh Princess’s consort.
“Princess, these people likely aren’t targeting me personally.”
In the past, the nobility’s children ridiculed her openly, never resorting to such roundabout plots. But ever since she became the Seventh Princess’s consort, their resentment seemed to have deepened.
From the events outside the city to the current situation, all aimed to frame her and drag her into ruin.
Jiang Libai bit her lip and replied, “There must be someone backing the Anyang Earl Residence.” Otherwise, with just their influence, they couldn’t have infiltrated the royal workers tasked with renovating Gu Yun’s quarters.
While the two conversed quietly, Minister of Justice Li Zhongxian was examining the jade pendant.
“This pendant belongs to the consort?” He held it up and handed it to Gu Yun.
Gu Yun responded calmly, “Yes.” Denying it now would be futile since all the items the original body brought upon arriving in the Yu capital were meticulously documented. A simple search would confirm that the pendant belonged to her.
“If it is the consort’s pendant, and this woman claims it was given to her as a token of love, do you acknowledge this?”
Gu Yun chuckled softly. “Of course not. I have never met this woman, so how could I have given her the pendant?”
“This pendant went missing a few days ago. I searched for it but couldn’t find it. It seems someone with ill intent took it to create a story…”
Li Zhongxian found himself at an impasse. The woman claimed the pendant was a love token, while the consort insisted it was stolen. Both sides had their own reasoning, and it was impossible to determine the truth.
As he hesitated, a commotion erupted outside.
A woman’s desperate cries grew louder, and moments later, a figure barged into the hall.
Li Zhongxian’s eyes widened as he scolded the intruder. “Who are you?! How dare you storm into the Ministry of Justice?!”
Turning to the guards who failed to stop her, he demanded, “What is going on?! How could you let someone intrude?!”
As the guards stammered, the woman had already knelt on the ground. “Please forgive me, my lord! I have grievances to report! I am Yan Shi, a concubine of the Seventh Princess’s consort. I witnessed the consort practicing sorcery, but I didn’t dare reveal it. I had to feign madness to escape his clutches…”
Both Jiang Libai and Gu Yun turned to the woman. Upon seeing her face, Jiang Libai clenched her fists.
It was Yan Qiao’er!
As expected, Yan Qiao’er’s feigned madness had a follow-up. She, too, was targeting Gu Yun!
Jiang Libai felt a sense of foreboding and quickly turned to look at Gu Yun.
Gu Yun shook her head gently and whispered, “Don’t worry.”
Minister Li took note of everyone’s reactions. “Princess, is this Yan Shi truly the consort’s concubine?”
Jiang Libai remained silent for a long time before nodding. She realized her negligence in allowing such a malicious person into her residence.
Now that Yan Shi was targeting Gu Yun, Minister Li decided to interrogate both matters together.
“State everything you know in full detail.”
Yan Qiao’er lowered her head and began to speak, her tone laced with grievance. “As a lowly woman, I was fortunate to be chosen by the Seventh Princess to serve as a concubine to the consort…”
Jiang Libai’s anger flared. She abruptly stood up, her gaze toward Yan Qiao’er devoid of any trace of mercy. “If you dare slander the consort, I will make you regret it!”
Startled by the sudden ferocity, Yan Qiao’er opened her mouth but couldn’t utter a word.
Gu Yun grasped Jiang Libai’s hand and gently pulled her back to sit down, whispering soothingly, “Don’t be angry. It’s not worth it.”
The hall fell into an eerie silence.
—
Under the stern questioning of the Minister of Justice, Li Zhongxian, Yan Qiao’er recounted the entire sequence of events. She even accused Gu Yun of using witchcraft to harm the young master of the Anyang Earl Residence, claiming the evidence was in the residence of Prince Jinping.
The two incidents were connected, and Li Zhongxian, exercising caution, sought the consent of the Seventh Princess and Gu Yun before conducting a search of Prince Jinping’s residence.
Before long, the guards returned with a doll inscribed with the Anyang Earl young master’s birthdate. “This was found in a highly concealed corner of the consort’s study…” they reported.
Li Zhongxian’s face darkened as he observed the dense silver needles embedded in the doll.
“Witchcraft?!”
The onlookers gasped and instinctively stepped back, too frightened even to continue watching the spectacle.
With the matter involving witchcraft, Li Zhongxian grew increasingly cautious and reported the findings directly to the Emperor of Yu. The Emperor’s decree arrived swiftly, stating that since Gu Yun was a prime suspect and the case involved witchcraft, he would be temporarily detained until the matter was fully investigated.
Soon, the rumor that the Seventh Princess’s consort practiced witchcraft and had harmed the young master of the Anyang Earl Residence—who had discovered his illicit relationship with another—spread rapidly among the noble families of the capital.
While many found it difficult to believe, as Gu Yun had always struck them as someone incapable of such malicious acts, the presence of both witnesses and physical evidence left them with no choice but to follow the developments with curiosity, waiting to see if the case would take a surprising turn.
—
A day passed just like that.
Fortunately, as the consort of the Seventh Princess, Gu Yun was not treated too harshly and was confined in a relatively clean and comfortable cell.
Inside the tidy cell, Gu Yun sat on a wooden stool, her eyes closed as she pondered the day’s events.
Soon, hurried footsteps echoed from outside.
She opened her eyes to see the worried face of the Seventh Princess appearing at the cell door.
“Princess, why are you here?”
Jiang Libai signaled the maid Chunxi to bring in a wooden bucket. “You skipped your evening meal today, so I brought you some food.”
After the guard opened the cell door, Jiang Libai entered, placing the dishes on the simple wooden table. She dismissed Chunxi and the guard, then turned her gaze to Gu Yun without looking away.
“I never expected them to use such crude methods,” Jiang Libai said softly, her voice laced with frustration. “The testimonies of Yun Yan and that little scoundrel aren’t of much concern, and the jade pendant can easily be explained as having been lost. But… witchcraft is no small matter. Throughout history, it’s been treated with great fear. Once someone is implicated in such a case, even if falsely accused, the response is often to err on the side of execution rather than risk letting them go.”
“It seems… they are after your life.”
Gu Yun watched as Jiang Libai carefully unpacked the small dishes, arranging them neatly on the table and setting out the bowls and chopsticks for her.
“Princess,” Gu Yun said, her voice clear and calm, with a trace of tenderness that was almost imperceptible, “you don’t need to worry about me. I’ll be fine.” She thought to herself: *I must stay with you through this difficult pregnancy, witness the birth of our child, and raise them together with you.*
Her gaze softened further at the thought.
“Now that I’ve been imprisoned as they planned, the person behind this will likely lower their guard. Princess, you just need to follow the plan we discussed yesterday—keep a close watch on the Anyang Earl Residence in secret and investigate who’s orchestrating all this.”
Jiang Libai wasn’t sure if Gu Yun truly wasn’t worried about her life or if she was simply confident that Jiang Libai could clear her name. Regardless, Jiang Libai herself was deeply anxious.
At first, she hadn’t taken the slander seriously. But with the witchcraft accusation, she feared her father, the Emperor, might act like past rulers and execute Gu Yun without definitive proof.
Of course, Gu Yun was still a prince of Jin Kingdom. Even if her father harbored suspicions, he might not go so far as to take her life.
Still… Jiang Libai feared that Gu Yun might be permanently imprisoned or even sent back to Jin Kingdom. If that happened, she might never see her again.
“Yes, I am worried about you,” Jiang Libai admitted, her tone unusually earnest. She looked at Gu Yun’s elegant features and forced a smile. “I’m worried that if you’re forced to divorce me, I’ll have to endure the ordeal of choosing a new consort again.”
Her tone lacked its usual sharpness, replaced by a hint of reluctant vulnerability. “To be honest, after spending these days with you, I think you’re quite good. So, to avoid divorcing you, I’ll do my best to uncover the truth.”
A phrase perfectly described the Seventh Princess at this moment: *Soft everywhere, except for her sharp tongue.*
Gu Yun didn’t call out the obvious worry and fear in Jiang Libai’s eyes. Instead, she chuckled softly and, following her heart, held Jiang Libai’s small hand.
“Yes, to spare the Princess from worrying about future consort candidates, I’ll make sure to take good care of myself.”
The warmth of Gu Yun’s hand was almost scorching. Jiang Libai stared at it for a long moment, her chest tightening with heat. She awkwardly turned her head away and, with a slightly coquettish tone, said, “It’s good that you understand.”
dadin
Aahhh ! So good !!!