The impeachment memorials fell like snowflakes.
They flooded the Transmission Office, then piled high upon the Emperor's desk—layer after layer, cold and relentless.
At the head of the charge stood Liu Chenghan, Vice Minister of Revenue and elder brother to Noble Consort Liu. Rallying more than a dozen officials—some tied to the Liu faction, some rigidly conservative, others simply disgusted by the rise of a former kitchen servant—he orchestrated a joint memorial that struck with surgical precision.
The document was long. Impeccably structured. Each line steeped in classical precedent, every word sharpened to kill.
It laid out Qing Tian's "crimes" with chilling clarity.
First Charge: Usurping Authority, Violating Ancestral Law
"Women of the Inner Court are bound by virtue and restraint, tasked solely with serving His Majesty and preserving harmony among the harem. Yet Qing Tian, formerly a mere kitchen maid, has exploited imperial favor to overstep her station. Under the pretense of 'assisting kitchen affairs,' she has openly interfered in duties belonging to the Internal Affairs Bureau. She has unilaterally implemented so-called 'Request Slips,' 'Rotational Meals,' and even a 'Culinary Academy,' overturning established precedent and disrupting palace order.This is nothing short of a hen crowing at dawn—the first sign of Inner Court interference in governance. It gravely violates ancestral law and undermines the foundations of the palace!"
Second Charge: Buying Loyalty, Forming Cliques
"With trifling benefits—hot soup, coarse bread—Qing Tian has deliberately won over kitchen staff and low-ranking servants throughout the palace. Worse still, under the guise of instruction, she has taught skills to eunuchs and maids, cultivating allegiance and expanding her influence.Her intentions are deeply suspect. Such actions reek of faction-building and pose hidden danger. The Inner Court must never permit such private networks to take root!"
Third Charge: Bewitching the Emperor, Distorting Right and Wrong
"Through petty tricks of cuisine and so-called 'nourishing' foods, Qing Tian has beguiled His Majesty and clouded imperial judgment. His Majesty, in benevolence, granted her modest favor—but she failed to restrain herself, growing ever more audacious.She even leveraged imperial trust to overturn the conviction of the disgraced chef Zhang, openly challenging Noble Consort Liu's authority and disrupting harem harmony. Such conduct—seducing the ruler and twisting truth—is the very seed of palace catastrophe!"
The memorial concluded with blood-ink severity:
"For the sake of purifying the Inner Court and restoring proper governance, we beseech His Majesty to act decisively:Strip Qing Tian of her 'Food Consort' title at once. Confine her to the Cold Palace as a warning to all.Further, conduct a thorough investigation of the Imperial Kitchen and punish those who enabled her—Steward Li Dehai and the disgraced chef Zhang included—to restore clarity and law."
This was no longer an attack on one woman.
It was an attempt to erase everything she had built—and everyone who stood with her.
The news spread instantly.
This was no rumor whispered in shadows.This was a formal impeachment, delivered openly by court officials.
In Changchun Palace, Noble Consort Liu reclined against silk cushions, listening as her brother's messenger relayed the details. A slow, satisfied smile curved her lips.
She idly stroked the priceless jade bracelet at her wrist."Did you hear that?" she said coolly to Lin Fu. "This is what legitimacy looks like. Let's see how His Majesty 'takes another look' this time."
Her eyes sharpened."That wretch—and every fool who followed her—will fall together."
In the Outer Court, Liu-aligned officials quietly coordinated, preparing to press the issue during morning assembly. Even neutral officials—some who had privately approved of Qing Tian's efficiency—fell silent beneath the crushing weight of ancestral law and Inner Court taboo.
Within the harem, fear spread like frost.
Low-ranking consorts who once spoke kindly of Qing Tian now sealed their lips.Consort De shut her gates.Consort Xian curtailed her movements.
And in the Imperial Kitchen, the atmosphere froze solid.
Wang Youcai and Matron Liu made no open celebration—but the gleam in their eyes returned, sharp and smug. They waited only for the decree.
The pressure was suffocating.
Black clouds pressed down over Tingyu Pavilion—and over everyone tied to Qing Tian's fate.
Qing Tian sat in the main hall, autumn desolation stretching beyond the window.
Gao Dexuan had already sent word—enough for her to understand. The charges were harsher than expected, elevated straight to governing, faction-building, seduction. They meant to nail her to the wall, leaving no room to rise again.
Spring Peach and Summer He wept silently at her side.Little Li stood in the doorway, head bowed, crushed by fear.
Qing Tian, however, was unnervingly calm.
"Spring Peach," she said softly, "bring my oldest coarse clothes. Pack only essentials."
Spring Peach broke down. "My lady—don't say such things…"
"Preparation," Qing Tian replied evenly. "If I'm sent to the Cold Palace, I'll need them. If it's worse…"She didn't finish.
She turned to the desk, picked up the reform proposal she had written through sleepless nights, and walked to the brazier.
"Don't!" Little Li cried, rushing forward.
She shook her head.
With a flick of her wrist, she cast the papers into the fire.
Flames devoured ink and parchment. Words twisted, blackened, vanished into ash.
"Keeping it only creates more 'evidence,'" she said quietly. "What matters—I remember."
She was ready for the worst.
She only prayed her fall wouldn't crush the innocent—the frail master just freed from prison, Steward Li, the servants who had only just begun to hope.
What she did not yet know—
Was that she had underestimated the weight of human hearts.
And she had no idea what decision the young Emperor, seated alone in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, was about to make.
As the court debate reached its fiercest pitch—As Liu Chenghan and his allies pressed relentlessly for immediate punishment—
That very morning—
Everything was about to change.