However, for Empress Zhu, being the empress was her lifelong pursuit.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
As the saying goes, one man''s meat is another man''s poison.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
People have different aspirations.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The empress sat back in her seat, her tense body rxing: "You came to Yikun Pce today just to tell me these things?"<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Jiang Xinyue shook her head, her expression forlorn: "Your Majesty, I have some things to say, but I don''t know who to tell. After much thought, I realized only you could listen to my ramblings."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
She bit her lip: "The Emperor... He showed me Xu Ying''er''s testimony, but I don''t believe her words. So I investigated privately and found that it was clearly Consort Rong who sprinkled something on Wet Nurse Cheng''s clothes."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"Consort Rong?"<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The empress couldn''t help but think of the Empress Dowager, after all, it wasn''t news that the Empress Dowager disliked her as the empress and harbored a deep hatred for Jiang Xinyue.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"Yes, it was her!"<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Jiang Xinyue''s expression turned resentful: "The Emperor had already uncovered the true culprit, yet he didn''t tell me. Instead, he let you, Your Majesty, take the me. Fortunately, an official from the Imperial Wardrobe informed me that the head seamstress Xie had ced something in Wet Nurse Cheng''s clothes. That''s how I found out. Your Majesty, if I could uncover this, I don''t believe the Investigative Bureau couldn''t. They must have discovered it but chose not to tell me. Don''t you think we might have been wrong all along? Perhaps the one the Emperor favored in his youth wasn''t Consort Shu, but Consort Rong?"<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The empress''s mind was reeling from Jiang Xinyue''s words, almost unable to think.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
If this was true, then the Emperor had hidden his true feelings far too deeply.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"Consort Rong once told me a secret to provoke me against Consort Shu," she whispered into the empress''s ear. "The one who killed the child in her womb was Consort Shu."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
So it followed logically that when the Emperor executed Consort Shu, was he actually avenging Consort Rong?<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"Concubine Zhenxian went to Yikun Pce?" Consort De caressed the golden book she had just received, a glint of malice shing in her eyes. "Is she so eager to poison Your Majesty against me? Is she afraid that once I receive the imperial seal, Your Majesty will move against her?"<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Luyin twisted the handkerchief in her hands: "What should we do? Should we go exin things to Her Majesty?"<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The Emperor had said earlier that he would entrust the golden book to their mistress, letting her help Concubine Zhenxian manage the inner pce. But in the past two days when their mistress went to Yikun Pce, she kept silent about this matter.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Allowing the empress to misunderstand that both the imperial seal and the golden book were under Concubine Zhenxian''s control.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"Exin what? The Emperor entrusted the golden book to me for safekeeping. Should I refuse and hand over both the imperial seal and the golden book to Jiang Xinyue?" Consort De had lost the position of Chief Consortst time, and she felt some regret, wondering if she had appeared too easygoing, making the Emperor doubt her ability to handle the role.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
So this time, she wanted to show the Emperor her capability in managing the six pces.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
As for the empress, at this point, she no longer wanted to curry favor with anyone.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
As Jiang Xinyue left the empress''s inner chamber, her gaze fell on the young pce maid who had blocked the door earlier. She slipped a high-quality ice-green jade bracelet off her wrist: "You''re loyal to your mistress. You deserve a reward."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
However, the threatening look in her eyes scared the young maid so much that she trembled, not daring to refuse. Every hair on her body stood on end.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Concubine Zhenxian was warning her to keep her mouth shut, to know what should be said and what shouldn''t.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Otherwise...<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Once out of Yikun Pce, Jiang Xinyue''s expression turned cold, her eyes filled with a murderous intent.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Jiang Chuan shook his hand, a circle of red teeth marks visible at the base of his thumb, already bleeding.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Jiang Xinyue nced at it and said, "Go to the Imperial Hospitalter and have Yan the Imperial Physician take a look. Human teeth can be poisonous too."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Jiang Chuan nodded: "My Lady, that young pce maid..."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Jiang Xinyue smiled: "Go inform the Investigative Bureau that I lost a priceless bracelet given to me by the Emperor while visiting the empress."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Jiang Chuan knew his mistress never made unprofitable moves.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Yesterday, after the Emperor had a big argument with the empress, he had dismissed most of the pce staff, which conveniently facilitated his mistress''s surprise visit today.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Choosing toe during the busy lunchtime, when there were few people in the empress''s pce as most were busy with their duties, the vast Yikun Pce had only one maid guarding the outside.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
When Jiang Xinyue reached the main gate, she had Jiang Chuan cover the maid''s mouth while she and Xique approached the empress''s chambers.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Jiang Chuan didn''t know what his mistress had heard, but it must have been something significant, otherwise her face wouldn''t look so grim now.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
In Chengqian Pce, the Emperor was quickly scanning through letters from Chang''an. As he read on, the anger on his face grew with each line.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"Bang!"<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
His fist mmed hard on the peach wood table, leaving a bloody mark on the Xuanwu Emperor''s hand. All the pce servants in Chengqian Pce immediately fell to their knees.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Seeing this, Wang Dequan quickly asked Tang Shiliang to fetch some medicine for wounds: "Your Majesty, please don''t harm yourself. If Concubine Zhenxian sees this, she''ll be heartbroken."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Hearing the mention of Concubine Zhenxian, the Xuanwu Emperor''s anger subsided a bit. Feeling guilty about the matter with Consort Rong and how it affected Jiang Xinyue, he said, "Wang Dequan, prepare the ink and brush. I want to appoint Jiang Yanxi as an imperial envoy to investigate the case of corrupt officials in Guangdong on my behalf."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
It was one thing for the Zhu family to act like emperors in Chang''an, but they dared to extend their reach into his inner pce. Seeing that he had punished the empress, they even tried to threaten him using the father of Consort Yu, the Governor-General of Liangguang.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
They should know that if the empress hadn''t been willing to hand over the imperial seal and insist that she was the one who ced the phosphorus powder, the Emperor would have already ordered the execution of the entire Zhu family.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Very well!<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Let''s see who''s the tougher one in this confrontation.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The Emperor didn''t believe it was pure luck that allowed Jiang Yanxi to obtain evidence of the officials'' corruption and safely escape assassination attempts.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Appointing him as the imperial envoy was most fitting.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Xinyue was an intelligent woman, a fact the Xuanwu Emperor had deeply realized when she captured the emperor''s heart.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
She would investigate and find out who the true culprit was behind the attempted murder of the Sixth Prince. He hoped that when the time came, she would understand... everything he had done was paving the way for her.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The empress was not a concern; the challengey in toppling the Zhu family behind her.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Consort Rong wasn''t the main point either; the key was how to silence the Empress Dowager without being used of filial impiety by the court officials.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
He wanted to y the long game and catch the big fish.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"Your Majesty, Miss Pei from the Empress Dowager''s pce requests an audience."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"Miss Pei?" The Emperor thought for a moment, a face both demonic and celestial appearing in his mind. "What does she want?"<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"This servant doesn''t know."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The Xuanwu Emperor hid his injured hand behind his back: "Let her in."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
What would happen when a beautiful young woman in thin clothing entered Chengqian Pce?<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The Empress Dowager smiled satisfactorily, then sighed to Consort Rong: "I made Consort Shu your scapegoat, pretending to be at odds with you, yet you still failed to gain the Emperor''s sympathy. I had no choice but to do this."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0