Chu Ruoyan furrowed her brows, and Nanny Zhou scolded, “Stop spouting nonsense! Everyone knows how much the Emperor cherishes our Lady. How could he possibly say such things!”

“But these are two different matters! Nanny, have you forgotten? Emperor Jingwen of the Sheng Dynasty cherished Empress Duanshu so much that he dismissed his entire harem for her. But later, when Empress Duanshu’s brother won battles and his merits threatened the throne, didn’t Emperor Jingwen still wipe out Empress Duanshu’s entire family?” Yulu felt a chill seep into her very bones just talking about it.

The human heart is fickle, and imperial power is bone-chillingly ruthless. Who would dare to gamble on that small chance?

Nanny Zhou also fell silent, turning to look at Chu Ruoyan. The young woman could not help but smile. “You two underestimate Yan Zheng too much.”

The two servants grew anxious, thinking their Lady was blinded by love, but Chu Ruoyan continued, “With Yan Zheng’s methods, if he truly grew wary of the Chu family, he would have quietly eliminated my father and the others long ago. Why would he make such a big show of it? Wouldn’t that just be alerting the enemy?”

Nanny Zhou thought about it and realized it was true, while Yulu patted her chest in relief.

However, a trace of worry flashed through Chu Ruoyan’s eyes.

If even people like Yulu and Nanny Zhou, who had followed her all this way, could not help but harbor suspicions, let alone outsiders.

This tactic of sowing discord was, to some extent, effective.

At this moment, Yin Li entered and dropped straight to his knees. “Your Ladyship! This servant is guilty! By the time this servant hurried to the Internal Affairs Bureau, that old eunuch was already dead! The two men guarding him were also drowned in the lake. It is clear someone murdered them to silence them!”

Chu Ruoyan was not surprised in the least. Since they were framing someone, how could they possibly leave any evidence behind?

She picked up her hot tea and took a sip. “Let us go to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.”

Since the other party wanted to pin this on Meng Yang, she had to at least let the man himself know, didn’t she?

When they arrived at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, neither Meng Yang nor Yan Zheng had returned yet.

The eunuch serving before the Emperor bowed and scraped, leading her into the inner hall to sit down, and called for a few palace maids to come in and serve her.

Chu Ruoyan had originally wanted to dismiss them, but upon seeing one of them, she raised an eyebrow. “What is your name?”

The palace maid immediately knelt. “To answer Your Ladyship, this servant is named Xiaoyan…”

“Xiaoyan? Little Yan…” A thoughtful smile curled her lips, and she glanced sideways at the other maid. “And you?”

The other palace maid also curtsied and knelt, saying, “This servant is Aruo. Greetings, Your Ladyship!”

Nanny Zhou realized something was wrong upon hearing the names. She looked up to ask, but was stunned when she clearly saw the two women’s faces. “You…”

This Xiaoyan’s eyes and brows looked extremely similar to Her Ladyship’s; if one did not look closely, they could almost be mistaken for her. As for Aruo, her aura and spirit were remarkably alike, exuding a noble and elegant grace with every movement…

Such prime youth, such similar appearances, the intention behind sending them to the Emperor’s side went without saying.

Nanny Zhou’s face instantly darkened. “Where is the Emperor’s eunuch? Get in here!”

She was a highly respected senior servant by the Empress’s side. Her shout frightened the Emperor’s eunuch so much that he scurried in. “Nanny Zhou, what has happened? Did this servant not serve you well?”

“Not serve us well? I think you served us far too well!” Nanny Zhou pointed at the two palace maids and demanded, “What is the meaning of this?”

One look and the eunuch knew she was here to demand answers. He hastily knelt down. “Your Ladyship, please forgive me! The palace maids here were all carefully selected and sent in by the Palace Administration. This servant has no say in the matter!”

Nanny Zhou sneered and was about to scold him when Chu Ruoyan suddenly furrowed her brows, clutching her stomach in discomfort.

“Your Ladyship, what is wrong? Are you feeling unwell?” Nanny Zhou quickly supported her. “Yulu, hurry and summon the imperial physician!”

Yulu hurried off in a panic. Chu Ruoyan covered her mouth, fighting down the nausea rising in her throat, and said, “Let us return to the palace first…”

Nanny Zhou had no choice but to help her back, leaving the Emperor’s eunuch to heave a long sigh of relief.

Fortunately, the Empress had not pursued the matter to the end, otherwise, if they were truly punished, none of them would be able to keep their little lives.

After standing up, he shot a sideways glare at the two women. “You two had better be smart. You should know in your hearts what you should and shouldn’t do. Remember, the only one in this harem who can protect you is that person. Do you understand?”

The two women shuddered in unison. “Yes, this servant understands!”

It seemed they had to think of a way to hook the Emperor as soon as possible!

Two hours later, Yan Zheng returned.

Old ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‍Xu followed behind him, saying, “The Emperor treats worthy men with courtesy, and subjugated Guo Si without breaking a sweat. With him stepping forward as the Chancellor of the National Academy, those old ministers who were unwilling to come out of retirement will have a hard time declining.”

Meng Yang snorted. “Giving them face! If you ask me, just issue an imperial decree. Let’s see if they dare not come out!”

Old Xu shook his head, offering no comment on this martial man’s way of thinking.

Indeed, an imperial decree could force people back, but it could not force them to do their jobs properly. When the time came, one would claim to have a cold and headache, another would say they had family matters, showing up but not putting in any effort. Wouldn’t it still be useless?

At this time, the Emperor’s eunuch came to report that Her Ladyship the Empress had visited and then left.

Without a second word, Yan Zheng turned to walk out. Old Xu hurriedly said, “Emperor, please wait for this old minister!” He had been busy with government affairs lately and hadn’t seen Nanny Zhou for a long time…

However, just as they reached the entrance of the hall, a palace maid serving tea bumped straight toward Yan Zheng.

The Emperor was quick and dodged out of the way. As a result, the palace maid, along with the tea, crashed right into Old Xu!

“Ouch!! My old waist!!”

Old Xu fell flat on his bottom, clutching his lower back. Xiaoyan realized she had bumped into the wrong person and was so terrified she prostrated on the ground, kowtowing desperately. “Your Majesty, forgive me! Your Majesty, forgive me!”

“You didn’t bump into We, what is there for Us to forgive?” After Yan Zheng spoke, he cast an impatient glance at the Emperor’s eunuch. “What is going on? What kind of people are you letting into the Hall of Mental Cultivation? Do you no longer want this job?”

Anyone with eyes could see that the palace maid’s target was the Emperor!

The eunuch shuddered and dropped to his knees. “Your Majesty, forgive me, this servant knows his wrongs!” After speaking, he shouted coldly, “Why haven’t you taken her away yet, lest she annoy His Majesty?”

The other palace maid, Aruo, stepped forward in response to support Xiaoyan and withdraw.

She deliberately lowered her head, revealing half of her smooth, delicate nape. Yan Zheng’s expression hardened. “Halt!”

Aruo was overjoyed, thinking she had caught the Emperor’s attention, only to hear him order, “The one next to you, raise your head!”

Aruo froze. Xiaoyan, weeping pitifully, raised her head and called out with timid bashfulness, “Your Majesty!”

Meng Yang and Old Xu were both stunned when they saw her face. Yan Zheng’s gaze instantly turned ice-cold. “Drag her out and kill her!”

Xiaoyan trembled all over. The eunuch hastily said, “Your Majesty, do you mean…”

“You, and those two, are courting death.”

The icy tone held not a trace of emotion, terrifying the eunuch so much that he fell heavily to his knees. “Your Majesty! This servant knows his wrongs, this servant knows his wrongs! It was the Director of the Palace Administration! He gave this servant silver notes, which is why this servant placed these two before you! I beg Your Majesty for mercy!”

Xiaoyan and Aruo had never expected the Emperor to be so cold-blooded and ruthless. Their beautiful dreams of flying onto a branch and becoming a phoenix were entirely shattered as they continuously kowtowed and begged for mercy.

Yan Zheng did not even spare them a glance, only asking, “Did the Empress see them earlier?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep