Female Consort Chapter 90: Exposed

“Don’t listen to her nonsense!” the Crown Prince roared, pulling a jade seal from his sleeve.

“This is the real Imperial Seal! Kill them! I am the true heir to the throne!”

“The Emperor’s Tiger Tally is currently in the hands of Lord Cui Wenshen,” Li Qingwu said calmly. “I’ve already sent word to him. By now, the palace should be surrounded by the Imperial Guards, and he’ll be arriving shortly with reinforcements… If you surrender now, I may be able to persuade Her Majesty to spare your lives.”

“This…”

The Crown Prince’s personal guards hesitated, frozen in place, unsure of what to do.

“Whose side are you on!” the Crown Prince shouted. “Where are the Embroidered Guards? Where is Cui Wenshen? Show yourselves and kill them! Kill them now!!”

“Is Your Highness referring to us?”

Wu Yiqi strolled in from outside the hall, letting out a casual whistle.

Behind him stood a group of silent, composed Embroidered Guards.

The Crown Prince’s face darkened instantly.

“Y-You? Why are you here?!”

Wu Yiqi gave Li Qingwu a reassuring glance.

She finally allowed herself a small breath of relief.

She knew full well the Crown Prince would never believe her so easily, that a few words could convince him the Empress Dowager was now the new ruler.

And she never expected to truly intimidate them.

All she needed was to buy time.

Time, so the reinforcements could arrive.

Thankfully, despite how dire things were, Wu Yiqi had acted quickly and brought help just in time.

With a smile, he drew the long blade at his waist. It clanged sharply as it hit the floor.

As he walked, the scraping of the blade against the ground made a grating hiss, prompting the Crown Prince to instinctively step back, hiding behind his guards.

The tense standoff lasted only a moment before the clash of blades erupted once again.

Wu Yiqi shouted over the chaos, “The Crown Prince is staging a coup and plotting treason! Protect Her Majesty and the Princess Royal!”

With that, he slashed down a charging guard and swiftly moved to Li Qingwu’s side.

“Your Highness, are you all right?”

She shook her head. The group then moved into the hall, using its doors as a barrier to prevent anyone from charging in.

Li Qingwu stood at the entrance, peering through the crack in the doors.

Outside, the Crown Prince was stumbling and dodging through the whirlwind of flashing swords, shouting in desperation at Yu Zheng, “Do something! Didn’t you say Cui Wenshen was on our side? Where is he?! Why are the Embroidered Guards suddenly working for my fourth sister?!”

Yu Zheng looked just as lost, but tried to remain calm. “Your Highness, please don’t panic…”

Before he could finish, Li Qingwu saw a dart streak through the air, glinting coldly as it hurtled straight toward the Crown Prince.

He cried out in fear, but death never came.

A carving knife whistled through the air, knocking the dart aside with a sharp clang, then returned to its master’s hand.

“Hyah, !”

A sharp, rhythmic galloping of hooves echoed outside the hall. The sound of swords abruptly ceased.

Qiu Che rode a dark brown horse to the front of the crowd, behind her a formation of armed women and Imperial Guards, black as a tidal wave.

A’yue followed closely behind, dragging Cui Wenshen along.

A long scab ran down Qiu Che’s cheek from the wound Cui Wenshen had given her, mingled with dried blood. Her expression was grim and cold.

“Third Prince,” she said, casting a cold glance at the panicked Crown Prince, then sweeping her gaze across the battlefield. “Are you trying to silence everyone here with murder?”

A strange silence fell over the court.

Then, Third Prince Li Hengyu appeared with a few personal guards and more than ten high-ranking officials, all trembling, clearly shaken by the show of force they’d witnessed along the way.

Unlike the terrified ministers, Li Hengyu no longer looked weak or sleazy. In fact, he almost looked… dignified.

“I don’t understand what Lord Qiu is saying,” Li Hengyu said with a faint smile. “Father summoned the court for a matter of state, so I simply escorted them in. But the moment we entered, chaos broke out. Lord Qiu, what on earth has happened?”

Qiu Che stared at him, then let out a cold laugh.

She didn’t answer. Instead, she raised the Tiger Tally high and called out clearly to all, “The Tiger Tally is here! Traitors, lay down your arms and surrender immediately!”

Indeed, after fetching the Empress Dowager, Yu Yan had gone to find Qiu Che, carrying the Tiger Tally bestowed upon Li Qingwu by Consort Xian.

After a moment of silence, the Crown Prince’s guards began lowering their weapons one by one.

It was clear to all: with the Imperial Guard and Embroidered Guards surrounding them, there was no hope of victory.

This farcical coup finally ended when the Crown Prince’s last remaining guard dropped his sword and the Embroidered Guards stepped forward to arrest them all.

Only now did Li Qingwu finally exhale in relief.

Inside the hall, the group exchanged glances before pushing the doors open and stepping out.

Qiu Che spotted Li Qingwu immediately, dismounted, and rushed over. “Are you hurt?”

She was the only one who noticed the wound on Li Qingwu’s arm.

Li Qingwu’s eyes softened, but she shook her head and said quietly, “It’s been treated. Nothing serious.”

Qiu Che glanced disapprovingly at the blood seeping through the bandage.

But before she could speak, Li Qingwu gently touched the scab on her cheek and asked, “I should be asking you, how did this happen?”

Now was clearly not the time to discuss it. Despite their worry for each other, they both let it go for now.

Just then, the Crown Prince suddenly snapped out of his daze. He turned to the Third Prince, eyes wide with disbelief.

“...You’re the one who tried to kill me… Why? Wasn’t I always good to you? Why?! Say something!”

Li Hengyu lowered his gaze and gave a small bow. “Your Highness, you are now a criminal. Please conduct yourself with dignity.”

“You’re full of shit! Who says I’m a criminal?! No, no, you were never good at anything! That dart just now, was that you?! You’ve been hiding your martial skills this whole time?! You, you bastard, you’ve been lying to me?!”

“Your Highness!” Yu Zheng suddenly cut in. “We’ve lost.”

Without waiting for the Crown Prince’s reaction, he dropped to his knees and bowed deeply toward Qiu Che and the others.

His words, though, were still meant for the Crown Prince: “Your Highness, in defeat we must yield. If you surrender now, there may still be a chance to live.”

But the Crown Prince wasn’t listening. His eyes glazed over before he suddenly lunged at Li Hengyu, madness in his gaze.

“It was you! You planned all of this! It was you!”

Before he could reach him, several guards intercepted and restrained him.

The once-proud Crown Prince now looked completely unhinged, his feathered crown askew, ranting incoherently at Li Hengyu:

“You ungrateful traitor!”

“You tricked me…”

“I knew no one liked me… Even you couldn’t stand me!”

“I treated you like my own brother, how could you do this to me…”

He sobbed and laughed in turn, like a man who had lost his mind.

Li Hengyu took a step back, his expression calm. “Elder Brother, though we were once close, I had no knowledge of your coup attempt. Please don’t speak nonsense.”

“Oh? Is it nonsense?”

Qiu Che interjected.

She turned slowly, her eyes locking with Li Hengyu’s.

Meanwhile, Yu Yan stepped forward to detain both the Crown Prince and Yu Zheng.

For a moment, Li Hengyu said nothing. Then he gave a low chuckle.

“I truly don’t know what Lord Qiu is referring to. Perhaps you could enlighten us all, what exactly has happened?”

“The Emperor has passed,” Li Qingwu said. “He issued a decree, appointing Grand Empress Dowager to ascend the throne.”

At that moment, the Empress Dowager emerged from within the hall, stepping calmly behind them.

She gave a slight nod to the crowd. “That’s correct. Everyone in the hall heard it clearly. Both the edict and the Imperial Seal were entrusted to me by His Majesty.”

Li Qingwu stepped forward and presented the box containing the Imperial Seal.

“This… this can’t be!”

One of the ministers finally found his voice, trembling as he stared. “His Majesty still has two sons. Why would he suddenly pass the throne to the Empress Dowager…?”

“It wasn’t sudden,” Qiu Che said, raising the Tiger Tally once more. “His Majesty made the decision over four months ago…”

“Lord Cui,” Qiu Che drew out the end of his sentence slightly, “you acted under the orders of the Third Prince to deceive the Crown Prince and plot against His Majesty, didn’t you?”

Cui Wenshen was silent for a moment. When he finally spoke, his voice was drained of color.
“…It was all my doing. He had nothing to do with it.”

Qiu Che chuckled softly and clapped his hands. “Such touching loyalty between master and servant.”

But the atmosphere in the hall was deathly still. Not a single person could bring themselves to laugh.

It was clear to everyone, Cui Wenshen was trying to take the fall for Li Hengyu.

Lifting his head, Cui Wenshen looked at Qiu Che and said slowly, “You promised me you’d spare his life.”

Back to some time before Li Qingwu entered the palace, outside the capital, 

Qiu Che strolled a few steps in front of Cui Wenshen and said lazily, “You never thought about what would happen if he failed?”

“He won’t fail.” Cui Wenshen clenched his fists, but couldn’t find any other words. All he could do was repeat it to himself, as if in a trance:

“He won’t fail.”

“You can bet on that,” Qiu Che shrugged, his tone casual. “Let’s just see which of us can afford to lose more.”

Back when Cui Wenshen still firmly believed that Li Hengyu was the Emperor’s son, perhaps he could ignore the boy’s success or failure, it would have been nothing more than a political gamble.

But now… the possibility that the boy might be his own flesh and blood, 

Qiu Che didn’t believe Cui Wenshen could stay indifferent to his life or death.

The two locked eyes for a long moment.

Finally, Cui Wenshen lowered his gaze and said hoarsely, “If I take you into the city, can you guarantee the new ruler will spare him?”

“I can consider it.”

“And why should I believe you?”

After all, Qiu Che had already tricked him once before.

Not to mention, even if Li Hengyu failed, it wasn’t certain yet who the new ruler would be. How could she guarantee his safety?

But Qiu Che simply blinked, her smile cold. “Because right now, you have no other choice.”

“Oh.” She seemed to remember something, and curled her lips slightly. “Let me reintroduce myself, Qiu Che, current Lord of Yeming City.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Lord Cui.”

Yeming City, over the past year, has risen to prominence. In both court and the martial world, it was second only to the Red Sleeve in terms of intelligence networks.

Cui Wenshen fell silent.

As it turned out, he’d made the right choice.

Qiu Che and her allies were clearly well-prepared, with strong support and careful planning, no one was dragging their feet.

They turned what was supposed to be an infallible ‘final act’ into a stage entirely of their own making.

Even without Cui Wenshen’s defection, Qiu Che could have entered the capital using the Tiger Tally, mobilized the Imperial Guards and the Embroidered Guards, and rallied her own women warriors who already followed her orders, 

No matter how clever Li Hengyu was, without enough power to back him up, it would have all been for nothing.

In this battle, he was doomed to lose.

Qiu Che shrugged. “Yes, I did promise you, but I never said I’d preserve his dignity in front of a crowd, did I?”

Cui Wenshen parted his lips, about to speak, 

“You shut your mouth!!” Li Hengyu suddenly snapped. But he quickly calmed down, looking toward Qiu Che with a cold expression. “Lord Qiu, I hardly even know this Lord Cui. If you’re going to point fingers at me with no real proof, don’t you think that’s a little insulting?”

Cui Wenshen let out a low sigh and said nothing.

Qiu Che sounded amused. “One person’s not enough for you? How about two?”

“Lord Wu,” she called out, looking toward the Gold Guard troops, “come out.”

Li Hengyu’s face paled slightly.

A moment later, Wu Xiang, pale-faced and dragged out from the crowd, stood in full view.

Qiu Che curled her lips.

“The Third Prince claimed that you were instructed by His Majesty to summon the officials into the palace. But let’s ignore the fact that all the eunuchs and palace maids attending His Majesty are now dead, so no one can verify your claim. Let’s just ask: if you were truly inviting officials into the palace, why didn’t you invite Lord Wu?”

Li Hengyu frowned. “Naturally because… His Majesty didn’t trust Prime Minister Wu. Do I need to explain that?”

As if.

In truth, he had never trusted Wu Xiang. He’d always planned to use him and then get rid of him to tie up loose ends.

Earlier, he’d even had Yu Zheng imply to the Crown Prince that Yu Zheng was one of Wu Xiang’s people, hoping to plant suspicion and get the Crown Prince to eliminate Wu Xiang preemptively.

After all, Yu Zheng had once worked under Wu Xiang, and defected to the Crown Prince while posing as one of Wu’s guests.

But the Crown Prince had been slow to act, so Li Hengyu kept putting it off, while preparing for the coup, he was also planning to have Cui Wenshen’s men assassinate Wu Xiang. Burn the bridge after crossing it.

But Qiu Che had seen through it all and foiled his plans.

Now, with Wu Xiang personally confirming it, the entire hall erupted in shock.

A few officials even scrambled over to hide behind Qiu Che and her allies, wanting nothing more to do with Li Hengyu.

Qiu Che smiled. “See? No explanation needed.”

Because at this moment, it didn’t matter how solid the evidence was. What mattered was that the people in this hall believed it.

Power was the foundation of survival in this world, and the sharpest blade for killing.

Qiu Che held the Tiger Tally. The Empress Dowager and others stood behind her.

Even if Li Hengyu were completely innocent, he now had no choice but to appear guilty.

And Li Hengyu was finally starting to realize that.

In a flash, he saw Qiu Che’s cold expression and was suddenly reminded of when he had used that woman, Lian Yin, to frame her. She must have felt the same back then.

Utterly alone. With no way to defend herself.

Because the truth no longer mattered.

Now, the evil he had sown was turning back on him.

Was this… retribution?

Only a handful of loyal guards remained at his side. Compared to the sea of people behind Qiu Che, he looked utterly forsaken.

Taking a deep breath, he turned to Wu Xiang. He didn’t bother denying anything.

“Prime Minister Wu… you remember what we did together, don’t you? Do you really think exposing me now is enough to redeem yourself?”

Wu Xiang hesitated.

He trembled, lips twitching, avoiding the gaze of his son, Wu Yiqi.

“…I have harbored wild ambitions,” he said quietly, “but I have never betrayed my country.”

“Third Prince, you once told me those Southern Yi’ poisons were acquired unintentionally, through your subordinates’ trade dealings with the South, ” he rasped, nearly breathless, “but you never said you’d trade half of Great Xia’s lands in exchange for their help to seize the throne!”

“You know what you’re doing, don’t you?”

“You’re a son of Great Xia!”

Gasps filled the hall.

Treason.

Now that Wu Xiang himself had said it, Li Hengyu’s guilt was sealed. There would be no chance for a comeback.

Yet Li Hengyu suddenly burst into laughter, casting a scornful glance at Qiu Che.

“To think you even found that out… I really underestimated you.”

“‘A son of Great Xia,’ huh?” he repeated the phrase mockingly. “Don’t talk to me about Great Xia. Since the day I was born, my royal father, my mother, my elder brother… and even you, Cui Wenshen, tell me, have any of you ever treated me as a real person?”

“I was my father’s least favored child. My mother’s unwanted burden. My brother’s tag-along who wasn’t allowed to speak too much. And you, Lord Cui, you only helped me for the sake of my mother. You never cared if I lived or died.”

Cui Wenshen opened his mouth, but had nothing to say.

Because it was true.

Yu Yan, standing nearby, had had enough. She raised a fist, ready to punch him and drag him away.

But Li Qingwu reached out and stopped her.

Qiu Che said softly, “Let it go.”

“Every villain gets a monologue before their downfall. Just go with it.”

Yu Yan, a devoted reader of fiction, fell silent: “…Fair.”

Couldn’t argue with that.

“Besides,” Qiu Che added with a small smile, “I’m kind of curious what he has to say.”

“I hated it so much sometimes.” Watching them whisper among themselves, Li Hengyu let out a laugh, his eyes glinting with unshed tears.

“Why… why is it that you and I were born from the same lowborn mother, and yet you, my fourth sister, became the noble, radiant Princess? Why did you get to marry someone my royal father actually valued? Why do you have power, prestige, and people who love you?”

He said it all… and then asked quietly:

“Why not me?”

He had plotted and schemed every step of the way, only to see it all crumble from one misstep, from insufficient preparation.

It was like he had been a joke all along.

A joke doomed to fail.

But he had tried.

As a child, he’d tried so hard to win his parents’ favor, only to be ignored and mocked.

When he grew older, he tried to win the Crown Prince’s favor, only to be used and discarded.

Eventually, he had nothing left to give anyone.

Qiu Che’s voice cut through the sudden heaviness in the air…