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Everything was so well-crafted, it all seemed so convincing.
If Minister Xing didn"t know he was being set up, he might have believed it himself.
These letters were all from Empress Dowager Zhuang and didn"t contain any replies from Minister Xing, which also made sense.
Minister Xing"s replies must be in Empress Dowager Zhuang"s possession. Even if they couldn"t be found there, it could be explained as well——given Empress Dowager Zhuang"s cunning, she wouldn"t leave behind any evidence and would likely burn them after reading.
"Why would I keep evidence then? Am I not afraid of being caught?" Minister Xing questioned a.s.sistant Minister Li.
a.s.sistant Minister Li, holding his swollen face from being punched, calmly replied, "That"s because, my Lord, you understand that being Empress Dowager Zhuang"s puppet is like asking for the skin of a tiger. If one day Empress Dowager Zhuang turns on you, you"ll at least have something to threaten her with for your own protection!"
This reasoning was impeccable.
Minister Xing should have been angry, but his initial reaction was to silently give a.s.sistant Minister Li a thumbs-up in his heart——that was perfect!
……
Empress Dowager Zhuang was once the most powerful woman in the State of Zhao. Before the death of the late Emperor, he entrusted her with regency.
It was the late Emperor who legitimately pa.s.sed the power into her hands, so what if she governed from behind the curtains?
As long as she didn"t rebel, no one could touch her.
But now, with the accusation of regicide hanging over her head, everything had changed.
Empress Xiao had always been wary and afraid of Empress Dowager Zhuang, but even a rabbit would bite when cornered.
If Empress Dowager Zhuang dared to commit regicide and treason, was Empress Xiao supposed to continue to endure silently?
"At worst, it"s just death. If I die, my elder brother will come back to avenge me!"
The commander of the imperial guards was a trusted aide of Marquis Xuanping. Empress Xiao took the token left by Marquis Xuanping and ordered the commander to detain Empress Dowager Zhuang in the Renshou Palace.
Empress Xiao didn"t have the authority to dispose of Empress Dowager Zhuang. She could only wait for the Emperor to wake up to make a decision. Therefore, after secretly detaining Empress Dowager Zhuang, Empress Xiao returned to the Kunning Palace to handle some state affairs.
After the attempted a.s.sa.s.sination on the Emperor, the people within the palace were filled with anxiety and tension. In contrast to the usual bustling atmosphere at meal times, today it was unusually solemn.
The palace servants carried food boxes out from the imperial kitchen. They no longer greeted each other with joyous laughter when they met; instead, they silently exchanged nods and gestures, acknowledging each other only when necessary.
Inside the Huaqing Palace, a young eunuch also delivered the Emperor"s meals.
"You all may leave. I"ll handle it." Eunuch Wei instructed the palace servants.
"Yes."
The palace servants filed out one by one.
After ensuring that there was no one else in the bedchamber, Eunuch Wei approached the dragon bed and called out softly, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"
The Emperor didn"t respond.
"Your Majesty, pardon this servant’s actions." Eunuch Wei took out a piece of raw fish bladder from his pocket, which he had soaked in medicinal water to remove the fishy smell.
He cut out a small hole in the fish bladder, opened the Emperor"s mouth, and forcefully inserted the fish bladder with his finger.
Just as he finished, a bland voice sounded behind him, "Eunuch Wei, what are you doing?"
Eunuch Wei trembled, almost choking the Emperor with the fish bladder!
Forcing himself to calm down, he turned around and sighed in relief, "That scared me. This servant thought it was the Empress."
Princess Ning"an stepped forward, eyeing him suspiciously, "Why would you be nervous if it was the Empress?"
With a subtle movement while arranging the Emperor"s bedding, Eunuch Wei discreetly slipped the cut portion of the fish bladder into the Emperor"s pants.
He glanced around, then replied sheepishly, "Now that this servant is in your service, Princess, this servant can"t help but feel a bit uneasy if the Empress were to discover anything."
Princess Ning"an smirked, "That"s understandable. If the Empress finds out you"ve betrayed the Emperor, even this princess won"t be able to save you. So, be careful. If this princess doesn"t take your life, the Empress will."
Eunuch Wei obediently agreed, "Yes, yes."
"How is His Majesty?" Princess Ning"an asked arrogantly.
Eunuch Wei thought to himself, truly, it"s come to a point where we"ve torn off all pretenses, aren’t we? There’s not even a hint of sibling affection in your tone. Even Princess Xinyang treats His Majesty better than you!
"He"s still unconscious." Eunuch Wei replied.
Princess Ning"an took out a bottle of medicine from her sleeve.
"Let this servant do it!" Eunuch Wei offered eagerly.
"You?" Princess Ning"an looked at him skeptically.
Eunuch Wei explained, "His Majesty hasn"t washed for two days and looks a bit disheveled. Princess is of honorable and n.o.ble birth. Let this servant do it in your stead. Princess can just watch and remind this servant if this servant is doing it wrong."
Princess Ning"an looked at the unkempt Emperor and scoffed, handing the bottle to Eunuch Wei, "Fine, you do it then."
Taking the bottle, Eunuch Wei removed the stopper and carefully reached for the Emperor"s chin.
His hands were trembling slightly; it was evident he was nervous.
But this nervousness didn"t raise any suspicions. After all, it was his first time offending the Emperor’s dragon body in such a manner; anyone would be afraid.
Princess Ning"an watched as Eunuch Wei meticulously poured the medicine into the Emperor"s mouth. She smiled faintly, saying, "You did better than I expected. Not even a drop spilled."
Eunuch Wei smiled but remained silent, looking fearful and servile.
Princess Ning"an was pleased and couldn"t help but chuckle, "Come now, your head is still securely attached to your neck, isn’t it? Even if you spill it, I won"t kill you. And even if Empress Xiao wants to kill you, I"ll protect you. Do you know why?"
Eunuch Wei certainly wouldn"t say, "Because you are kind and virtuous, Princess."
That was simply overdoing the flattery, wasn’t it?
Eunuch Wei awkwardly replied with a smile, "Because this servant is in charge of His Majesty. Some of His Majesty’s words must be conveyed by this servant. This servant is still useful to you, Princess."
Princess Ning"an sneered, "You"re quite clever."
Eunuch Wei added, "By the way, Princess, shouldn’t you try to avoid coming to the Huaqing Palace as much as possible in the future? If the Empress finds out——"
Princess Ning"an casually interrupted, "If she finds out, I"ll say I came to visit my imperial brother. We share a deep sibling bond. Why would the Empress suspect anything?"
Eunuch Wei spoke with emphasis, "If Princess comes openly, the Empress won"t suspect anything. But if Princess keeps sneaking around like this and gets caught by the Empress... The Empress is not stupid."
Why did Princess Ning"an come secretly? Wasn’t it to avoid the crowd when drugging the Emperor? After all, there were fewer people around at this hour.
It was only when she thought of this that Princess Ning"an realized that all the palace servants were not around tonight.
"Where did they all go?" She asked in confusion.
Eunuch Wei: I sent them away so I could do something bad.Raz P."s Thoughts
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