The night the secret memorial reached Yangxin Hall—
The Emperor did not read it immediately.
He merely glanced at the signature.
Director Qing.
His fingers paused—just slightly.
For the past three months, that name had appeared far too often.
From unrest in the Imperial Kitchen…
To servants' complaints…
To the audit of the Buddhist Halls.
Every time, she stepped precisely into matters that could not be ignored—
Yet were the most troublesome to handle.
"Gao Dequan," the Emperor said at last.
"What is Consort Shen doing tonight?"
Gao Dequan bowed.
"Your Majesty… Zhaohua Palace has invited a scripture master."
"They claim… it is to accumulate blessings for the palace."
A cold laugh escaped the Emperor.
"Accumulating blessings?"
"She certainly chooses her timing well."
Before his words faded, an attendant hurried in.
"Your Majesty—Zhaohua Palace requests an audience."
So fast.
Consort Shen entered the hall dressed in plain white.
No heavy makeup.
Her features soft and restrained, as if she had just risen from prayer before the Buddha.
She knelt, forehead touching the floor.
"This concubine dares to speak. I have heard of the audit of the Buddhist Halls and cannot rest easy."
"Oh?"
The Emperor's tone was neutral.
"And what troubles you?"
She lifted her face, eyes slightly reddened.
"I fear someone may use the name of the shrine to settle private grievances."
One sentence.
And she had pointed directly at Qing Tian.
"Director Qing rose swiftly from humble origins and now holds great authority. She may not yet distinguish compassion from calculation."
"If, because of rigid accounting, the devotion within the palace grows cold—would that not diminish Your Majesty's virtue?"
It was a ruthless move.
She did not defend herself.
She placed the Emperor upon a moral pedestal.
Gao Dequan's heart tightened.
This was forcing the Emperor to choose a stance.
The Emperor said nothing.
His knuckles tapped lightly against the desk.
"You are saying her investigation is wrong?"
"I would not dare."
Consort Shen lowered her gaze.
"I only mean… accounts are lifeless. But hearts are alive."
"The grain of the shrine has always allowed for flexible allocation."
"If temporary transfers for charity are mistaken for corruption due to rigid books… then who will dare to do good in the future?"
The silence in the hall grew suffocating.
At this moment, Consort Shen was not merely defending herself.
She was redefining greed as charity.
The Emperor finally lifted his eyes.
"Then how should this be handled?"
She knew.
This was the moment that would determine victory or defeat.
She bowed again.
"I ask Your Majesty to suspend the shrine audit."
"Let the Internal Administrative Office take over and conduct a separate review."
Suspend. Take over. Reinvestigate.
In other words—
Remove Qing Tian from the board entirely.
And then—
A voice sounded outside.
"Consort Xian requests audience."
Consort Shen's fingers twitched.
Consort Xian entered without preamble.
She presented a single document.
An old ledger.
"This is the original account from three years ago, when the shrine was first expanded. I kept it."
The Emperor flipped to the final page.
His brows tightened instantly.
There, in small script:
"Excess incense oil and grain to be temporarily managed by Zhaohua Palace."
Stamped with the seal of the Internal Administrative Office.
Beside it—
Consort Shen's private seal.
The color drained from her face.
"What do you have to say now?"
The Emperor's voice turned cold.
Consort Shen bowed low again.
Yet her tone remained composed.
"This concubine merely acted under orders."
She did not say whose orders.
But everyone in the room understood.
The Emperor closed the ledger.
Rose.
"The audit of the Buddhist Halls will continue."
"Director Qing remains in her post."
"As for Consort Shen—"
He paused.
"Remain confined to Zhaohua Palace. Without Our decree, you will not step outside."
It was not a conviction.
But it froze every fragment of her remaining power.
Consort Shen bowed deeply.
Her lips curved into the faintest smile.
Because she knew—
The Emperor had not pursued the true master behind the Internal Administrative Office.
And that person—
Was watching quietly from the shadows.
That night—
Qing Tian received a secret note.
It contained only one sentence:
"You have touched the shrine. But you have not yet seen what lies beneath the granary."
The seal was unfamiliar.
But it sent a chill down her spine.