"Isn't that exactly right? The Crown Prince is even siding with outsiders. Who is his real sister? He finally came back from the north, and all he does is make me angry... Waaah... Grandmother, you have to judge for your grandson!"
"Okay, okay, let's be the judge, let's be the judge."
Empress Dowager Yan hugged her beloved granddaughter and coaxed her gently for a few moments, but seeing that she couldn't soothe her, she asked sternly, "Did I bring her?"
"Reporting to the Empress Dowager, I have brought it."
As they were talking, a group of people escorted a woman into the Fushou Palace.
Yu Zhi's face was pale, and her palms were sweating profusely.
Kneel down!
Someone kicked her in the back of the knee.
Yu Zhi fell to the ground in pain, her delicate body trembling slightly, her beautiful willow-leaf eyes filled with panic.
She tried to calm herself down.
"Grandmother, it's her!"
Ji Qingyao held the Empress Dowager and wept bitterly.
Empress Dowager Yan stroked the back of her hand with one hand: "Raise your head and let me see you."
"Raise your head!" the fierce old woman beside her roared. Yu Zhi shrank back, her limbs turned cold, and she slowly raised her face.
Upon seeing her face clearly, the Empress Dowager smiled deeply: "Has it been you who offended my granddaughter?"
"I didn't offend her."
"How dare you! You dare to address me as 'I' in front of the Empress Dowager?"
Yu Zhi's heart was shattered by the old woman's loud voice, and she stammered, "This concubine...this concubine has not offended Her Highness the Princess..."
"You say you haven't offended me, so you haven't?" Ji Qingyao glared and pointed coldly. "What if I, this princess, insist that you have offended me? Look at your face, you're a natural vixen. You're an eyesore to me, and you still dare to say you haven't offended me? Slap yourself!"
"Wait a minute."
"Grandmother? You're going to help her?" She looked incredulous.
The Empress Dowager smiled and shook her head: "You're a bit too hasty. I still have something to say."
The grandmother and granddaughter chatted and laughed, deciding the life and death of others. Yu Zhi knelt there helplessly, her heart growing colder and colder.
"Come closer, let me see you again."
Yu Zhi dared not move.
After scrutinizing her face repeatedly, Empress Dowager Yan's eyes flashed with understanding. Princess Jiaorong asked curiously, "Grandmother, what are you looking at?"
"Look at the audacious old friend."
"Old friend?"
The Empress Dowager ignored her and asked Yu Zhi, "Who is Liu Zicheng to you? Where is your mother?"
A strange fear filled Yu Zhi's heart. She had only learned who Liu Zicheng was a few days ago, and today she was brought before the Empress Dowager. She dared not reveal her mother's whereabouts, for fear of causing her mother's death.
"Not going to talk?"
Yan Hui suppressed her smile: "You think I can't guess if you don't tell me? If I can't guess, do you think I can't see it? Your face is proof enough."
Liu Zicheng offended her badly back then. The Liu family was a prestigious clan, and so many people died in the past, but one of them was left out in the end.
Now that the fish has swum right in front of her, how could she let it go?
"There are no willows like those of the Jinghe River in this world, and none possess seven parts of her allure. Guards, smash her face to pieces!"
...
"Miss! Miss! You can't go!"
"Get out of the way!"
Jade was pushed away by her hand and knelt down to beg, "Miss, that's the Empress Dowager's palace, that's the Empress Dowager!"
They are beings that even His Majesty dares not easily offend.
Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager have been vying for power for many years, and their relationship is strained. The young lady has recklessly trespassed into Fushou Palace. When the Empress Dowager investigates, will Your Majesty be willing to break ties with her again for the sake of a nephew?
"Miss! You can't go! Your aunt might be back soon..."
Wei Pingxi kicked her away: "Do you even believe what you're saying?"
Agate and Goldstone had already gone to find the Empress when the Empress Dowager came to Zhehua Palace to arrest people, but little did they know that the Empress had left the palace an hour earlier!
Come to think of it, if the Empress Dowager wanted to take action against the concubine, she would have to do it while the Empress was not in the palace.
Emerald felt a chill in her heart, knowing that her aunt might never return.
"That's precisely why I'm stopping you, Miss. What good will it do if you act without Her Majesty's backing?"
"I'll go and bring her back!"
Wei Pingxi hurried toward Fushou Palace without stopping.
...
In the Imperial Study, His Majesty glanced at the fish in the fish tank and casually sprinkled a small amount of fish food: "She's gone?"
"They went there, looking very menacing."
"This child, who does she take after? Why can't she just be more patient?"
The chief eunuch Yang Ruo said with a fawning smile, "It's okay to endure for a while, but once a person is gone, they're truly gone. What's the use of enduring any longer?"
Ji Ying tilted her head to look at him.
Yang Ruo bowed low and dared not look directly at the emperor's face.
“You’re right. Once a person is gone, they’re truly gone. What’s the point of enduring it any longer? That’s why I killed my third brother.”
Yang Ruo dared not listen to the secrets of the imperial family and prostrated herself on the ground.
"On the day my mother was poisoned, I hid under the bed and swore that I would kill all the Yan family members and their children in this lifetime."
"Now I am alive, and Lady Yan is alive, but her son who was expected to inherit the throne is dead."
"My daughter was taken from me at birth and raised by her. She stole my daughter, killed my loyal ministers, and now she wants to kill someone else's concubine. Tell me, is this reasonable?"
"unreasonable……"
"I also think it's unreasonable."
He sighed deeply, raising his eyebrows: "If it's unreasonable, of course we should fight back. Let them make a scene, just have someone keep an eye on them and make sure they don't get really hurt."
"yes."
"Where is the Empress?"
When the Empress's face softened and became more beautiful, the head eunuch was relieved: "Her Majesty is catching up with friends outside the palace."
"Protect her."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
...
"Wei Pingxi requests an audience with the Empress Dowager!"
"Wei Pingxi requests an audience with the Empress Dowager!!"
"Fourth Miss, you should leave. The Empress Dowager will not see you."
The eunuch, with his hands clasped behind his back, advised her, "The gates of Fushou Palace have been closed for so many years that even His Majesty cannot enter without the Empress Dowager's permission."
"Wei Pingxi requests an audience with the Empress Dowager—"
She shouted until she was hoarse but no one answered. Furious, she laughed and said, "Is the Empress Dowager pretending to be deaf?"
The eunuch was so frightened by her outrageous words that his legs went weak: "This, this, do you want to die?!"
"Get out of my way!"
Wei Pingxi pushed him away with one hand.
"You dare to break into the Empress Dowager's palace?!"
The guards of Fushou Palace rushed forward.
"I'm just taking my people with me." She took a deep breath. "With this imperial pardon in hand, let's see who dares to stop me!"
...
At the palace gate, Wei Pingxi's deep shout, imbued with his inner strength, reached the Empress Dowager's ears as he wished. Yan Hui, looking at her newly done nails, said, "Look, she was willing to risk her life for you. Jing Heliu, and you still say she's not a femme fatale?"
Yu Zhi's face turned pale.
Ji Qingyao sneered: "Without the Empress Dowager, Wei Pingxi is nothing more than an ant that can be crushed at will in this deep palace. She can't even protect herself, let alone protect you."
"I really don't understand. You're all women, where does this love and affection come from? She's a scoundrel too, she's greedy for women's bodies."
The masters spoke slowly and deliberately, leaving the two matrons in a dilemma: should they strike or not?
Yu Zhi's eyes were brimming with tears, but she held them back from falling.
Don't cry.
She gritted her teeth, looking at the beautiful princess's haughty demeanor, and warned herself countless times in her heart: I must not cry.
She bit her lower lip until it bled.
Ji Qingyao was startled by the deep gaze she caught in a casual glance, and became angry and embarrassed: "What kind of look is that? Are you this seductive in bed? What does she like about you that she dared to break into your grandmother's palace for your sake?"
"I'll see then, without that pretty face, how will she still love you? Smash her! Smash her face to pieces!"
Yan Tai-hou picked up the teacup, seemingly reluctant to witness what was about to happen.
The two burly old women raised their large hands.
Yu Zhi closed her eyes, hoping that the fourth young lady would back down and not impulsively rush to save her.
She was prepared to endure humiliation, but to her surprise, Wei Pingxi still came.
Two gold coins pierced the air and struck the old woman's wrist. The raised hand did not fall; instead, the old woman cried out in pain.
A sneer.