网络助手

Jiang Xinyue touched the butterfly-shaped hairpin on her elaborate hairstyle: "Whether she believes it or not doesn\'t matter. I\'ve provided her with a target for investigation. Regardless of what she uncovers or fails to uncover, a scapegoat is now in place."

Not to mention, the one who had placed voodoo dolls in her palace was indeed Consort Ye, who had been playing the fool in the harem all along.

Jiang Xinyue believed that with the Empress\'s extensive influence over the harem for many years, if she could uncover this, it certainly wouldn\'t be difficult for the Empress to investigate as well.

What followed would be the Emperor and Empress\'s reckoning with Consort Ye.

Hah!

Using witchcraft to curse the Emperor and his consorts was a crime punishable by the extermination of nine clans. Even if General Ye had immense military achievements, it wouldn\'t be enough to offset this.

In Shunan Palace—

Consort Ye bit her thumb nervously. After much consideration, she still wrote a letter and handed it to her confidant: "Deliver this letter personally to my father. You must watch him open and read it. Yan\'er has been captured, and what I\'ve done won\'t remain hidden for long. We must hurry!"

At this moment, where was the impulsive, quick-tempered, and loose-lipped fool that Consort Ye had once been?

Her eyes flickered with a shrewd light, full of worry.

Jiang Xinyue...

Had she been replaced by someone else?

They had entered the palace as palace maids in the same batch and were initially assigned to the same room in Chuxiu Palace.

They lived and ate together for three months before being given different titles and assigned to different palaces.

She couldn\'t claim to have thoroughly understood a person in those brief three months.

But... that fool had clearly been manipulated by her and should have met a miserable end.

How did she end up regaining the Emperor\'s favor and even becoming his favorite?

Since Jiang Xinyue became pregnant, the Emperor had rarely favored other consorts. He either slept alone in Chengqian Palace or occasionally visited the Empress or Noble Consort De. More often, he would go to Hexi Palace to accompany Jiang Xinyue.

Even though she was pregnant and unable to serve him in bed, and as far as she knew, there were no bed-warming maids prepared in Hexi Palace, the Emperor would just chat with Jiang Xinyue under the covers every time he visited Hexi Palace.

She didn\'t know when the Emperor had become such a chaste man.

After Jiang Xinyue threw a tantrum and closed her palace doors, the Emperor became even more outrageous. He stopped visiting even the Empress\'s Yikun Palace and spent every day thinking about how to please Jiang Xinyue.

That\'s why she deliberately went to curse in front of Hexi Palace that time, wanting to find out exactly how many guards the Emperor had stationed outside to protect Jiang Xinyue.

However, she never expected Jiang Xinyue to... to douse her with such filthy things.

This was so unlike the Jiang Xinyue she remembered.

After forgiving the Emperor, she had firmly grasped his heart, her methods so sophisticated it left one in awe.

But was she really Jiang Xinyue?

Consort Ye shook her head: "If she\'s not Jiang Xinyue, who else could she be? I must be going crazy."

That face was clearly Jiang Xinyue\'s, even down to the mole on her arm, which was the same as the Jiang Xinyue she knew.

How could it possibly be someone else in disguise?

There couldn\'t be two people in this world with exactly the same face and body.

She hadn\'t taken the former Jiang Xinyue seriously.

But now, Jiang Xinyue made her feel like she was sitting on pins and needles.

She had become too clever, clever to the point where Consort Ye didn\'t dare to imagine what would happen if the Emperor found out... That...

She couldn\'t bear to think further, only hoping her father would come quickly.

"Clop, clop, clop, clop..."

An inconspicuous carriage arrived at the palace gate. As usual, a young eunuch handed a money pouch to the guard at the gate: "Gentlemen, please take this for tea. It\'s a small token from our lady."

The lead guard weighed the cloth bag, confirming the amount wasn\'t small, and hung it on his waist: "What\'s this? Little Qu, is your lady homesick again?"

Little Qu smiled sheepishly: "Yes... The lady asked me to take a family letter back. Please inspect it, gentlemen."

General Ye\'s daughter, a Consort in the palace - counting up, she was the daughter of their superior\'s superior\'s superior\'s superior. How could they dare to examine it closely? They merely glanced at it and were about to let him pass.

"Stop right there!"

Fenxun, who had been ordered to guard the palace gate, had indeed caught one of Consort Ye\'s palace maids from Shunan Palace.

She produced the Empress\'s decree and directly took the person away, warning the two guards at the inner gate: "If you dare to report this to Consort Ye or General Ye, your acceptance of bribes will be exposed to the Emperor. If you\'re smart, keep your mouths shut."

Outside the palace, a fierce wind blew, and dark clouds gathered, as if a great storm was brewing.

In the evening, the Emperor came to Hexi Palace with a grave expression. Following him was not Wang Dequan, but dozens of guards in black armor, lined up in two rows, exuding a murderous aura.

"Your Majesty, what is..."

"Don\'t ask anything!"

The Xuanwu Emperor embraced her, planting a deep kiss on the top of her head. With a solemn face, he said: "Xinyue, from now on, listen carefully to every word I say. After nightfall, keep the palace doors tightly shut. Don\'t open them for anyone who knocks, and don\'t let any palace maids open the doors to investigate any sounds. After I leave, these Black Armor Army soldiers, each capable of fighting a hundred men, will stay behind to protect you. Remember, don\'t be afraid. I won\'t come to harm, and I won\'t let any harm come to you either."

Such a serious instruction didn\'t sound like nothing was wrong.

Jiang Xinyue\'s lips moved, but she finally swallowed her words and hesitantly nodded: "I understand, Your Majesty..."

Her fingers tightly gripped the Xuanwu Emperor\'s clothes: "Ye Lang, no matter what happens, remember that the child and I are waiting for you here. If... if anything were to happen to you, I... I would take the child and follow you."

So you absolutely must not die!

If you die, the child and I will have to live under the Empress\'s thumb for the rest of our lives.

Winning over the Empress would be a thousand times harder than winning over the Emperor. Just thinking about it is terrifying.

The Emperor was moved to tears. He nodded vigorously: "I will handle this quickly and return to see you and the child."

After saying this, he beckoned, and a small child stepped forward. He looked about three or four years old, skinny to the bone, like a frightened little rabbit, his eyes not daring to meet Jiang Xinyue\'s gaze.

"This is..."

The Xuanwu Emperor raised his chin slightly, and an old eunuch, dressed in worn clothes and as thin as a bamboo pole, led the child forward: "This slave Qian Sheng brings the Fourth Prince to greet Noble Consort Zhen."

So this was the rumored Fourth Prince, unloved by his father, motherless, growing like a wild grass?

Jiang Xinyue looked closely. Though thin, his features were delicate, and his skin was fair, only slightly yellow due to malnutrition. Apart from this, he looked exactly like the Xuanwu Emperor did as a child in her dreams.