Chapter 158

Her reputation preceded her, hailed as the first beauty of the capital.

However, Consort Liang had seen Pei Wu at a palace banquet two years ago. The beauty was indeed a rare sight, but she was cold as ice, showing no kindness to anyone, as if everyone owed her money.

Although reluctant to admit it, Consort Liang had to acknowledge that Jiang Xinyue's beauty surpassed even that of Pei Wu.

Because her beauty was more lively, with a myriad of charms that evoked tenderness. She possessed all the qualities that men adored.

Wasn't this type of woman more endearing than a cold, aloof one?

But, it was hard to say.

What if the Emperor grew tired of sweet and charming women, and wanted to find something exciting and challenging?

Consort De watched Jiang Xinyue's retreating figure: "Can't you see it clearly?"

Consort Liang frowned: "What are you muttering about?"

Consort De's eyes flashed with a cunning light, looking in the direction Jiang Xinyue had gone, as if sensing a kindred spirit. She exclaimed excitedly, "She has already declared war on us. Just wait! Once she gives birth to this child, she'll have time to deal with you."

"Me?" Consort Liang's eyes widened. "I... what did I do? Why would she deal with me?"

She wasn't favored, nor was she the Empress. What benefit would dealing with her bring to Concubine Zhen?

Consort De's slightly sharp phoenix eyes looked at her knowingly, her tone mocking: "When you slapped her palace's eunuch Jiang Chuan back then, you put something else on his clothes, didn't you? So why do you think nothing happened to her?"

Of course, it was because they had discovered it.

If Jiang Xinyue knew someone wanted to harm her, wouldn't she investigate?

Hearing such a secret thing that only she knew coming from Consort De's mouth, Consort Liang's eyes grew even wider: "You mean..."

"Shh!" Consort De gave a light laugh. "I didn't say anything. You figured it all out yourself."

So whatever you do next has nothing to do with me.

Consort Liang bit her lip, her mind in chaos.

Jiang Xinyue felt as if a thick fog obscured her path ahead, making it impossible to see clearly.

She nodded to show she understood, then asked another question: "Did she reply about whether there's a way to remove the writing from the fabric?"

"In response to Your Highness, Chief Clothing Officer Fang said that Floating Light Brocade has special properties. No matter what stains fall on the fabric, they can be completely removed by soaking in heated water with vinegar and salt, making it as good as new. This was one of the reasons why Floating Light Brocade was used for dragon robes back then."

After hearing this, Jiang Xinyue's lips curved into a smile: "Since we can't find the person who cursed the Emperor and Empress, let's have the Emperor look for them."

What she didn't know, the Emperor surely would.

For instance, who would be most likely to secretly keep Floating Light Brocade?

Shuang Jiang was excellent at needlework, having studied for a few days in the Clothing Bureau with Fang Rumeng. She could tell at a glance that the stitching on the dolls was very crude, likely done by someone unskilled in needlework.

There were no palace maids unskilled in needlework. In the palaces of the consorts, the easy task of mending clothes was always fought over.

Those not good at this weren't destined to serve others, unless they were the masters of the palace themselves.

A beautiful face immediately popped into Jiang Xinyue's mind.

As for whether it was true or not, she only needed to guide the Emperor a little and let him seek confirmation.

Late at night, while Nanny Li and Nanny Xiang were asleep, Shuang Jiang and Xi Que took action separately.

One took out the "sinister" little box, removed the doll representing the Empress, altered its clothes to resemble those of an ordinary consort, took off the phoenix crown on its head, and replaced it with two silk flowers, making it look much plainer.

Xi Que prepared salt and vinegar mixed with hot water, removed the strip of cloth with the Empress's birth date and time written on it, and soaked it in the water. In less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, the water in the basin turned black.

After soaking it in another basin of fresh water, the white cloth strip, shimmering with flowing light, was left clean without a single character.

Jiang Chuan had been practicing imitating the writing on the cloth strip for a day and a night without eating or drinking, and had achieved about 70-80% similarity. Jiang Xinyue felt it was sufficient.

After wringing out the water from the cloth strip, Jiang Chuan imitated the original handwriting, replacing the Empress's birth date and time with Jiang Xinyue's.

When the two dolls pierced with steel needles were placed together again, they looked completely different.

The Emperor's doll now had many more small embroidery needles all over it, leaving no space untouched. Surely when the Emperor saw this, he would think the person who made the voodoo dolls harbored an intense hatred for him.

The doll that originally wore the phoenix robe and crown, representing Empress Zhu, had now been transformed into Jiang Xinyue.