Chapter: 135.2 out of 171
(T/N: You might want to skip the following paragraph about Wei Zheng.)
By the time that someone pulled her down, Wei Zheng had already stopped breathing. Wei Zheng didn’t kill herself because of Prince Ru Yang’s matter. It was because her heart had turned to ashes. She didn’t have the will to continue living. This matter was just the last straw that broke the camel’s back. From the time that she married Li Song, she didn't have a single day that wasn't uneasy. Li Song never touched her, but he would force her to serve multiple men at a time. After the gang of scoundrels from their wedding night, there were the guards in the residence. The pack of scoundrels never appeared again. Perhaps, Li Song had dealt with them. Instead, it was the guards. They were all rough and large men. They didn't have any tender feelings towards the fairer sex and were always heavy-handed and vicious. There didn't seem to be a single spot on Wei Zheng's body that wasn't bruised. In addition, they treated her as if she wasn't officially wed to Li Song. Her mother-in-law and sister-in-law looked down on her. Li Xiang constantly ridiculed her.
She hadn't been treated as a human during this time in Prince Ru Yang's residence. She finally realized how naïve she had been in believing that she could gain control of the situation and the internal household. She now realized that this belief was utterly laughable.
Li Song stood outside the doorway to the main room and looked at the woman lying motionless on the ground. He furrowed his eyebrows and said, "What happened?"
Wei Zheng's dowry servant girl, Yin Lou, endlessly and broken-heartedly cried, "Miss... Miss has already stopped breathing..."
Wei Zheng still had to cause trouble at this critical moment. So what if she died? Was she hoping that someone would feel pity her? Li Xiang didn't feel anything. Instead, she felt even more annoyed. "As her servant girl, why didn't you watch over her more carefully? Our family already has an unsettled problem. My daddy's survival is uncertain. Is she hoping that we'll bury her?" Then, she spat and left.
Li Song was even colder. After only glancing at her, he said, "Have someone make a coffin and bury her."
Right now, House Li was powerless. Whether or not his family could be saved was already a problem. Even if Wei Zheng died, it wasn't a big deal. Other people would only think that Wei Zheng died because she couldn't handle the shock of House Li's decline.
For the time being, no one mentioned Wei Zheng. On the next day, Elder Princess Gao Yang and Li Xiang pleaded to see Empress Chen. They waited outside Qing Xi Palace for an hour before Empress Chen ordered people to bring them inside.
Today was different from the past. Even though Elder Princess Gao Yang was angry, it wouldn't be good for her to do as she pleased. She properly saluted Empress Chen, then she pulled Li Xiang down to kneel with her. She begged, "Elder sister-in-law, please ask imperial brother to show mercy. Let off his younger brother-in-law this one time!"
Elder sister-in-law. Younger brother-in-law. At this time, she was sucking up by using familial relations. Empress Chen was sitting on an ironwood chair that was carved with a pattern of grapes. She didn't tell them to rise and only said, "Elder Princess, why are you doing this? Other people will laugh if they see this."
Elder Princess Gao Yang stayed kneeling and shed tears as she said, "Although Prince Ru Yang had delusionally committed a huge mistake, he's still His Majesty's younger brother-in-law. Moreover, he has two children. If he's gone, how can I continue living if I become a widow?"
Seeing that Empress Chen didn't show any response, her heart sunk. She was afraid that Empress Chen wasn't swayed by her words and actions. She hurriedly said, "I beg Your Majesty to ask His Majesty to show leniency. As long as Prince Ru Yang isn't killed, I'll be willing to be a witness. When Liuli had been poisoned back then..."
"Elder Princess." Empress Chen's gaze became frigid and she interrupted her words. "The inner palace can't be involved in politics. You should understand these words clearly. There's no use in begging me. Chang Sheng is the one that's handling this matter. Other people can't change his decisions."