Chapter XCV - Consort Xus Confession
Rain fell steadily across the capital.
Gray skies.
Gray walls.
Gray silence.
The entire city seemed to be holding its breath.
Because news traveled quickly.
Prince Rui had returned.
Consort Xu had been found.
And something long buried was finally beginning to surface.
-
The abandoned Liang estate stood on the eastern edge of the capital.
Forgotten.
Decaying.
Empty for years.
At least officially.
Yet the moment Prince Rui arrived with Shen Li and the Crown Prince-
he immediately sensed something wrong.
The estate wasn't abandoned.
It was waiting.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
-
Consort Xu sat alone inside the main hall.
No servants.
No attendants.
No guards.
Only a single lantern burning beside her.
The once-powerful imperial consort looked different.
Older.
Tired.
Defeated.
For the first time since Shen Li met her-
Consort Xu appeared afraid.
Genuinely afraid.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Then her eyes lifted.
Directly toward Prince Rui.
And immediately filled with complicated emotion.
Not hatred.
Not anger.
Something worse.
Regret.
-
The Crown Prince stepped forward first.
"Consort Xu."
She ignored him.
The Emperor's son.
Ignored completely.
Instead-
her gaze remained fixed on Prince Rui.
Then softly:
"You're alive."
Silence.
The statement felt strange.
Wrong.
Prince Rui's expression never changed.
"You sound surprised."
Consort Xu laughed weakly.
The sound carried no amusement.
Only exhaustion.
Then:
"Sometimes I still am."
The room became very quiet.
Because suddenly-
everyone felt it.
She knew something.
Something terrible.
-
Then Prince Rui spoke.
Directly.
As always.
"Why did you ask for this prince?"
Consort Xu looked down briefly.
Then toward Shen Li.
And unexpectedly smiled.
Faintly.
Almost sadly.
"Because she survived."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Because somehow-
that answer frightened everyone.
Then Consort Xu continued.
"You were never supposed to find each other."
The room froze.
Shen Li's heartbeat slowed.
Dangerously.
Then softly:
"Explain."
Consort Xu looked at her.
Really looked at her.
Then:
"Seven years ago..."
"Project Northern Wolf wasn't only about Prince Rui."
Silence crashed through the hall.
Because suddenly-
Shen Li became part of the story.
Again.
-
The lantern flickered.
Rain tapped softly against broken windows.
Then Consort Xu quietly admitted:
"The project had two objectives."
The Crown Prince stepped closer.
"What objectives?"
Her eyes shifted toward Prince Rui.
Then:
"Remove him."
Silence.
Then toward Shen Li.
"And isolate her."
The room stopped breathing.
Because suddenly-
everything changed.
The broken engagement.
The marriage decree.
The years apart.
The timing.
All of it.
Then Shen Li softly asked:
"Why?"
Consort Xu closed her eyes briefly.
As though gathering courage.
Then:
"Because Grand Tutor Liang believed one prophecy."
The atmosphere sharpened instantly.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Then Prince Rui's voice lowered.
Dangerously.
"What prophecy?"
Consort Xu laughed.
Once.
Bitterly.
Then:
"Not magic."
"Politics."
The answer surprised everyone.
Then:
"Grand Tutor Liang believed that if Prince Rui gained both military loyalty..."
"...and a political partner capable of matching him..."
"...the imperial succession would become uncontrollable."
Silence.
Because suddenly-
the villain's fear became visible.
Not rebellion.
Not treason.
Influence.
Too much influence.
Then Consort Xu looked directly at Shen Li.
And quietly said:
"He identified you years before your marriage."
The words hit like thunder.
Because Shen Li had never been random.
Never incidental.
Someone had been watching.
For years.
-
Prince Rui's expression darkened instantly.
The dangerous calm returned.
Then:
"Liang Wenxuan."
Consort Xu nodded.
Once.
Slowly.
"His engagement to Shen Li wasn't entirely personal."
The room chilled.
Because suddenly-
one of the oldest wounds in the story looked different.
Very different.
Then Consort Xu continued:
"Grand Tutor Liang wanted Shen Li tied to his family."
Absolute silence.
Because everyone understood immediately.
Control.
Containment.
Observation.
Then:
"When the engagement collapsed..."
"Everything changed."
And suddenly-
Prince Rui's imperial marriage decree years later felt far less accidental.
-
The Crown Prince stared.
Shen Li stared.
Even Prince Rui looked surprised.
Only slightly.
Enough.
Then quietly he asked:
"Who continued the project after Grand Tutor Liang died?"
Silence.
The longest silence yet.
Because this was the real question.
The important question.
The dangerous question.
Consort Xu's hands trembled faintly.
The first visible fear anyone had seen from her.
Then she whispered:
"I don't know."
The room erupted immediately.
The Crown Prince stepped forward.
"Impossible."
Consort Xu shook her head violently.
"It's the truth."
Then:
"Grand Tutor Liang died."
"But the orders continued."
The temperature dropped instantly.
Because that was worse.
Much worse.
Then softly-
almost fearfully-
she added:
"Someone inherited the conspiracy."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Because suddenly-
the true villain remained alive.
Still hidden.
Still operating.
Still watching.
-
Then Consort Xu looked toward Prince Rui one final time.
And her next words changed everything.
"The person you're looking for..."
"Has access to the palace."
The room froze.
Then:
"The imperial archives."
Another pause.
Then:
"And the Emperor's private seal."
Silence crashed down.
Because the list of possible suspects had just become terrifyingly small.
And for the first time-
Prince Rui realized the enemy might be much closer than anyone imagined.