"You said that the Prime Minister's mansion has been surrounded. Yong'an King and the Prime Minister conspired to rebel, now they have been imprisoned and are waiting for trial." Su Jing woke up early in the morning, as soon as he heard this news, he was already half awake. The whole story

  Dai Man also learned the news from her fellow villager early in the morning, and after asking for the reason, she hurried back to Guan Yu Palace to report, panting, "Yes, master, except for the empress and Yu Xuan's servant, all others were locked up in the big prison. The people sent by the emperor searched out letters of conspiracy with Yong'an Wang from Yu's secret chamber as well as other evidence."

  "How could it be caught suddenly? Wasn't yesterday a social day?" Su Jing thought that it wasn't so simple, how could the Prime Minister's mansion be searched suddenly.

  Dai Man shook his head, "This slave doesn't know."

  "What about the queen? How did the queen react?"

  "The empress has been kneeling at the gate of Zichen Hall since early morning, and it's been a while now. She says she wants to abdicate," Dai Man said, carefully observing her expression.

  Su Jing glared at her, "Do you think Ben Pei will be very happy or very sad?"

  "I don't dare," Dai Man hastily said.

  "What the Emperor does is his own business, and it's not for us to interfere. His orders are to be followed, and no one in the palace should gossip or speculate about this matter, nor should they use Consort Li's name to do anything. Everyone should just focus on doing their own job properly."

  "Yes, I understand."

  Zichen Hall

  "She's still outside," Zong Zhengjin rubbed his brow and asked.

  Su Shunan nodded, "To report to Your Majesty, the Empress has been kneeling for almost an hour. She says that if Your Majesty does not agree to depose her, she will not get up."

  "She's indeed a threat to me," Zong Zhengjin coldly snorted, "Let her kneel if she wants to, just tell her that my place won't tolerate any dead people coming to desecrate it."

  Su Shun's heart skipped a beat, "Yes, I'll go right away."

  As she walked outside, the empress was seen wearing casual clothes and had not dressed up. She simply tied her hair back and her face showed not only fatigue but also a worn-out look, as if she were truly a woman in her thirties.

  Su Shuangxiang vaguely remembered that ten years ago, when the emperor was still a prince, he accompanied the emperor to the Yu family to welcome the empress, wearing a bright red dress that dazzled everyone, with a gentle and elegant demeanor, just seeing her back figure made one know she was a beauty.

  Later, she entered the palace and was also affectionate with the emperor for some time. However, they gradually drifted apart, especially after Consort Shu entered the palace. The two of them often had nothing to say to each other, even when they gathered to discuss official matters.

  Later, at the grand ceremony of the empress's enthronement, he stood beside the emperor and participated in the entire process. The nine-dragon and nine-phoenix crown on the empress's head is still remembered by him to this day. The empress was a competent empress who diligently guarded the inner court, commanded the six palaces, and set an example for the world with her maternal virtues, all of which she did very well.

  However, the queen is just a queen, and with the emperor, things can never go back to how they were before.

  Perhaps it was because of this that she would do those things that made the emperor more and more displeased, harming the crown prince, suppressing the concubines, and even using such despicable means on the emperor. One wrong step after another, until now, it's all gone too far to be rectified.

  "Your Majesty, the Emperor has ordered you to return," Su Shun said with a bow.

  The queen slowly raised her head, her body was already uncomfortable, and her spirit was also weak. "Su Gonggong, the emperor..."

  "Your Majesty, listen to my humble advice and return quickly. Don't provoke the Emperor's displeasure again, or you won't only fail to achieve what you want, but also implicate those who are still alive," Su Shunyan sighed inwardly and advised with a hint of sincerity.

  The empress was taken aback, obviously having taken his words to heart. "I understand, thank you, Eunuch Su."

  The queen sincerely knocked her head three times before slowly walking out with the support of palace maidens.

  Cining Palace

  "Empress Dowager, the Emperor has not seen the Empress and sent her back," Liu Mu reported as she came in.

  The Empress Dowager let out a cold laugh, "If he were to see the Empress, then I would have reason to worry."

  "That Empress Dowager is now thinking of wanting" Liu Moumou made a neck-stretching motion.

  The empress dowager shook her head, "The queen is a clever person, she still has a daughter. If she wants her children to survive, she will not betray our family. Moreover, Yu Zhou that old thing, he has not died yet."

  Yu Zhou is Yu Chanzheng, who is the father of the empress.

  "The empress dowager is in the inner palace, even if something happens, just say she doesn't know and that's it," Liu comforted.

  The empress nodded, "What you said is right. I was in the inner palace and didn't know anything. Fortunately, when we cooperated with the Yu family in the past, it was all done by my brother, and there was no written evidence left behind."

  At first, she had specifically instructed that everything be done verbally and no written evidence was left behind. As long as the person died, there would be no evidence to prove anything.

  "But if the Yu family is to be executed, and Lord Yu wants to die together with his net, what then?" People are like this, when pushed to a certain extent, it's not impossible for them to jump over the wall in desperation.

  "The Empress Dowager couldn't help but wonder why the Emperor had suddenly sent people to arrest them with those letters early in the morning. She didn't believe it, and after they read them, they didn't burn them. Even if they wanted to keep evidence for a rebellion, how could they have found them so easily?" The Empress Dowager had been thinking about this problem since dawn and finally came up with several suspicious points.

  Liu Momo nodded upon hearing this, "The Empress Dowager's meaning is that the Emperor had long been prepared"

  "I never wanted Emperor Yong'an to ascend to the throne, otherwise how could I be at ease as Empress Dowager? The Emperor is after all raised by me, while Yong'an only has a blood relationship with the Yu family, what does he have to do with me?" It was precisely because of this reason that she did not reveal everything.

  The Empress Dowager's greatest wish was for Shangguan Wan'er to have a child of her own, so that her brother, the Yuan family, would wholeheartedly support that child in ascending to the throne, rather than some Prince Yong'an.

  "Even if Yu Zhou wants to die with the net broken, it depends on how he wants to die. Involving the affairs of the previous dynasty and involving that woman, I'm afraid he won't be willing either."

  "The Empress's Clear Mirror."

  The Yuan and Yu families were able to reach a consensus so quickly and cooperate happily, only because the two families had jointly participated in the previous imperial concubine Xi's case, grasped each other's handles, and could not escape responsibility, so they were forced to be tied together on one rope.

  "Let's just leave it at that, we don't need to do anything more. The Emperor will not let them off, why should we get our hands stained with so much blood for nothing?" The Empress Dowager sighed, somewhat tired, "Help me go to the Buddhist hall to recite sutras."

  "Yes," Liu Moumou hastily stepped forward.

  Chonghua Palace

  "Your Ladyship, Her Majesty the Empress has returned to Kun Ning Palace," said Green Jade as she walked in, "The Emperor did not see Her Majesty."

  Shu Gui Fei stood up and walked to the window. "The flowers have all bloomed, spring has arrived, I should also go visit old friends."

  "It's windy outside, mother, put on a cloak."

  "No, let's just blow some wind and people will be more awake."

  Kunning Palace

  "Your Ladyship, Imperial Noble Consort Shu has arrived," reported Huizhu as she walked in.

  The queen lay on the couch, rubbing her forehead, "What did she come for? Let her go, I won't see her."

  "The Empress, what's going on? Why can't I see my sister?" Consort Shu said loudly as she walked in.

  The queen stood up, "Who allowed you to enter?"

  "Your Majesty, please don't be angry. There are hardly any servants in the Kunning Palace. When I came in, no one stopped me. How did it come to this? Do you want my sister to help send some servants over?"

  The tree has fallen and the monkeys have scattered. The queen sees that she is no longer a queen, others will naturally find another way out. Although it's a cruel world, it's also human nature. Shu Guifei only said this now to mock her with a few words.

  "Hmph, I don't need your kindness," the queen said with some fatigue, coughing slightly twice. "Don't forget, I am still the queen."

  "Yes, you are still the empress, so I came over at this time," Consort Shu said as she walked to one side and sat down. "If you were no longer the empress, I wouldn't have bothered coming."

  The queen took a deep breath and spoke in a flat tone, "What is it that you've come for today?"

  Shu Gui Fei also didn't want to entangle with her, "This palace isn't watching the empress's days are numbered, specially came to comfort a few words don't know the empress is not here, is the eldest princess still the eldest princess or not."

  "You" Empress discerned the threat in her words, and with a sudden attack of anger, she took deep breaths one after another. "The palace had always thought that you were a decent person and would not stoop to doing such things."

  "These things," Empress Shu sneered, "you have done all these things to me, why can't I do them to you?"

  "The queen was somewhat dazed, struggling to prop herself up to speak with her."

  "You won't think that what you did was unknown to the gods and ghosts, will you?" Consort Shu sneered. "The palace has always known, knew how my two children were lost. The second child, I could even feel his presence, but he's still gone. So much blood, soaking through the entire bed sheet, I watched with my own eyes as he flowed out of my body."

  "Do you know how much I hate you?" Consort Shu glared at her, "I have never stopped hating you all these years, but it's still not enough. I knew you had won the Emperor's favor, so I found ways to make sure you wouldn't get his blessings, making him tired of you, just like now. Now that I know you're worried about the Crown Princess, tell me, what should I do with her?"

  Shu Gui Fei had been trying to please Su Jing since last year, and through subtle clues, she could always guess her true thoughts. As a mother, it was all for the sake of her children.

  Fortunately, she still has a little conscience, but she won't let her die that easily.

  "You can't" The queen stood up, wanting to catch her, but was easily dodged by her and instead fell to the ground herself, "You can't not"

  "Can't" Shu Gui Fei swept a glance at the people on the ground, "At that time did you ever think that you couldn't treat Ben Gong like that? You still did it, once and again. Why can't Ben Gong do the same to you now?"

  Palace Concubine (Yi)

  Gong Shu