Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 456 "Forced Confession"

“Miss Ruixue, do you remember where you went, what you did, and who you met in the first few days of June?”

The soft sound of pages turning was particularly clear in the quiet courtyard.

Tong Bo tossed the file in his hand onto the table and glanced sideways at Ruixue.

The journey to the Yeting Bureau helped Ruixue calm down. After kneeling on the ground, she lowered her head and said after a short while, "Your Excellency, I have been accompanying Her Highness in Chunxi Palace these days and have rarely gone out. I only went to the Imperial Kitchen twice in early June and also went to the Imperial Hospital twice to get medicine for Her Highness."

That was a vague response.

Tong Bo frowned slightly, but his face showed no anger. He simply followed her words and asked, "What illness does Your Highness suffer from? Since you need medicine, why didn't you send an imperial physician to Chunxi Palace for a consultation? According to the rules, medicine should be obtained from the Imperial Pharmacy of the Imperial Food Bureau. Why did you go directly to the Imperial Hospital?"

"It's hot in summer, and Her Majesty has only caught a heatstroke and is feeling a little unwell. It's not yet time for the imperial physician to take her pulse. Her Majesty originally asked me to go to the pharmacy to get some common heat-relieving pills, but I was worried and thought it would be better to go to the Imperial Hospital to ask if there was a more suitable prescription, so I took the liberty of going there instead."

After listening, Tong Bo didn't ask any further questions, but instead looked up at the eunuch beside him. The eunuch understood and immediately bowed and withdrew.

Upon hearing this, Ruixue seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and a slight glimmer of life returned to her eyes.

She added, "I remember going to the Imperial Kitchen on the fifth day of the sixth month and getting two cups of refreshing drinks."

"Oh? Why do you remember this day so clearly?" Tong Bo leaned forward and asked.

Ruixue seemed somewhat embarrassed, hesitating to speak, before finally whispering, "...because I met Eunuch Chen on the road that day and spoke to him, so I remember it clearly."

"Chen Fu from the Seals Department? What did you two talk about?"

Ruixue lowered her head even further, and after a long while she said, "Eunuch Chen and I are from the same hometown. When we met that day, we chatted about everyday things. He said that he had been feeling unwell lately and had offended Lu Dianzhen at the Shanggong Bureau. He asked if I had any connections and wanted to find a more stable place to go."

Tong Bo glanced at the few lines of text on the file. "Continue. What did you say?"

"This servant...this servant thought that since we are from the same hometown, it wouldn't be good to refuse directly, so I casually mentioned that when I went to the Bureau of Clothing and Apparel to collect materials before the New Year, I seemed to have heard Manager Chen mention that she was short of two clever eunuchs. That's all I said."

After she finished speaking, she lay down on the ground and said nothing more.

"That's it?" Tong Bo's voice suddenly turned cold. "This doesn't match Chen Fulu's testimony. Should we remind you so you can remember everything?"

Ruixue turned pale upon hearing this. Before she could speak again, the eunuchs on either side dragged her to a torture device.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a suppressed cry of pain was heard.

When Ruixue was looked at again, she had been dragged back to the original spot, her hair disheveled, her clothes covered in dust, her face drained of all color, and her body lying on the ground as if she had been run over by a wheel.

After a long silence, she finally said haltingly, "This servant...this servant knows she was wrong. This servant only reminded him...that Manager Chen and Aunt Zhou are not on good terms, and that if he really went to the embroidery room, he should be careful not to choose the wrong side. That's all."

"Snapped!"

Granny Gui, who had been waiting nearby, stepped forward and slapped Ruixue across the face. The slap was so forceful that Ruixue's head was turned to the side, and blood immediately trickled from the corner of her mouth.

"How dare you!" Granny Gui scolded sternly, "You still dare to lie at a time like this! Speak up! Did you tell Chen Fu that as long as you tamper with the wet nurse's summer clothes and make Aunt Zhou make a mistake, you could curry favor with Manager Chen and get him a job?!"

"Speak! Did you personally hand the perfume powder to Chen Fu, and have him...?"

Ruixue was stunned for a moment after being beaten, her ears ringing. She suddenly opened her eyes wide, letting out a hoarse, bellows-like scream: "Injustice! I didn't! How could Granny Gui torture me into a confession—"

She struggled to lift her head, but the eunuch held her down firmly. She could only watch helplessly as Granny Gui pulled a bamboo whip from a pile of torture instruments. The fear in her eyes finally overwhelmed all her composure.

Granny Gui raised her whip, knowing perfectly well that at this point, regardless of the truth, the blame would naturally fall on Ruixue, and then, following her lead, they would firmly entangle Qu Jieyu behind her.

Although this truth may be questionable, Qu Jieyu was of low rank and always kept a low profile. It is hard to imagine that she would have such audacity as to tamper with the Crown Prince's full moon banquet.

But the Empress had to take charge of the aftermath and give Consort Jin an explanation, and the Emperor wanted a result that could quell the storm... With so many thoughts weighing on him, someone of importance had to take responsibility for this disaster.

Ruixue's shrill screams rang out again in the quiet courtyard. The dull thuds of the bamboo whip striking flesh hit the wall and bounced back, tightening the tension in one's heart.

Tong Bo stood far away under the corridor, hands behind his back, observing coldly.

The sun was high overhead, making the brick floor scorching hot, but he couldn't feel any heat at all.

Having spent a long time in the palace, I've seen many cases of forced confessions. This one is hardly surprising.

Moreover, although Chen Fu could not withstand the torture and reluctantly "confessed," how could a mere eunuch bear the charge of "indirectly plotting to murder a prince"? A powerful master must be found to take the blame so that the case can be resolved legitimately.

As for who this master is, it was not up to Tong Bo to decide.

He only needs to add or subtract a few lines in the case file to please his superiors, and give them a gentle push.

He watched as Ruixue curled up on the ground, her cries of pain gradually fading into a hoarse whisper, like a cat whose bones had been removed. The wind blew in from outside the courtyard gate, carrying the stench of blood that brushed past his nose. Tong Bo turned his head slightly, his gaze falling on the open dossier.

A moment later, he turned and re-entered the quiet room, standing before the desk. Under the watchful eyes of Granny Gui and Zhixue, his fingertips twitched slightly.

She picked up her pen and wrote down the four characters "Jieyu Qu Shi".

......

Logically, at this stage, the case should have been solved, and the case file could be prepared and reported to the Emperor.

But no one expected that when the officials from the Imperial Household Department arrived at Chunxi Palace with the Empress's warrant to detain Consort Qu, an unexpected turn of events occurred—

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

(I got off work early today, and I'm still writing another chapter. It might be published after midnight.)