Upon hearing that her tyrant father was going to investigate the imperial brother-in-law, Su Mianmian cheered happily.
"Goo, gaa."
[This tyrant is actually quite clever.]
Hearing this, the Emperor wore a smug expression. His baby girl was praising him—how rare!
[Perhaps it is just a man's natural instinct that allowed him to see at a glance that the imperial brother-in-law is no good. Bah, what a scumbag.]
The Emperor: "..."
There was no need to launch personal attacks like this.
The Emperor was so anxious he hopped about.
The imperial brother-in-law was a scumbag—what did that have to do with him, the Emperor?
But then he remembered this little stinker calling him father for the very first time.
Never mind. The Emperor brushed away his irritable mood and happily went to feed his baby daughter.
"Get lost!"
Inside Qixia Palace, Consort Shu wore a ferocious expression as she overturned the dishes in the maid's hands.
The maid knelt on the ground, her eyes blank as she said:
"Your Ladyship, please eat something. His Majesty has given orders that the Imperial Kitchen will not send any other dishes."
"Get out of my sight!"
Consort Shu kicked her hard. "A pack of bootlicking slaves!"
Thinking of the reason why she had ended up in such a state, Consort Shu's eyes were filled with fury.
"Back then, I should have had that wet nurse dash that wretched little hussy to death, breaking her neck! Let's see how she'd still be alive to win the Emperor's favor!"
"This little bitch, just like her bitch of a mother, knows how to make the Emperor's heart soften and protect her at such a tender age!"
Consort Shu was still raving madly when a stern voice suddenly came from the entrance.
"Consort Shu, you have some nerve!"
"Now that you dare to lay hands on my daughter, will you spare even me next?"
Hearing the voice, Consort Shu's ferocious expression froze on her face, and her eyes filled with terror.
"No, Your Majesty, this concubine wouldn't dare."
The Emperor wore a dragon robe outlined in golden thread and stepped into Consort Shu's bedchamber in cloud-patterned boots, a look of disgust on his face.
"I see you dare quite a lot."
"Just a moment ago, you said you wanted to snap the Princess's neck."
"My neck is right here. Would you like to try snapping it?"
Consort Shu wept tears as pear blossoms washed in rain. "No, no, no, Your Majesty, this concubine was just momentarily confused and spouting nonsense. Please do not misunderstand."
Hearing this, the Emperor grew even more enraged.
Wang Defa made a very thoughtful appearance, tossing the incriminating evidence right in front of Consort Shu.
"What else do you have to say for yourself?"
Consort Shu looked down, her heart nearly stopping. "I didn't! It wasn't me! It must have been Consort Chun—it was Consort Chun who framed me! Your Majesty, please examine the facts clearly!"
Seeing that she still wanted to drag her mother down even at this point, Su Mianmian was so furious she wanted to tear her face apart.
[Bad woman!]
[Viper-hearted!]
"I had people go out and find this." Holding Su Mianmian, the Emperor cast a disdainful glance at her.
"Are you trying to say that I framed you?"
Consort Shu shook her head frantically, the expensive hair ornaments on her head swaying precariously.
The Emperor had no mood to watch her performance. "I'll ask you only one thing: did someone instigate you?"
Consort Shu's expression suddenly shifted, her body freezing in place.
She even forgot to kneel and beg for mercy. "No. No one instigated this concubine."
Seeing her guilty demeanor, the Emperor couldn't help but grow suspicious.
Originally, he had only wanted to test this woman and hadn't suspected anything else, but looking at her reaction now, this matter was not simple.
Su Mianmian's expression also carried a bit of contemplation. Originally, she had thought Consort Shu was solely behind this.
However, her spiritual power had increased recently, allowing her to know many things that the original text had never explicitly stated.
[Don't ask her; even if you do, she won't tell. Her whole family works under the Noble Consort's father and brothers—how could she have the guts to expose anyone?]
The Noble Consort.
The Emperor's eyes turned sharp.
It was her.
Su Mianmian struggled to move her head, looking at the woman on the ground with pity in her eyes.
Why bother? Must you parley with a tiger for its skin? Now that you've been caught, see where it gets you.
With a wave of his sleeve, the Emperor dropped a single sentence—"Send her to the Cold Palace"—and left, holding Su Mianmian in his arms.
He paid not the slightest heed to how the woman behind him wailed and howled.
By the rules left by the ancestors of the Beixuan Dynasty, imperial concubines were not to be executed.
However, once sent to the Cold Palace, those in power had far too many ways to kill someone.
For instance, dying of an illness, or a sudden demise!
As soon as the Emperor's order was passed down, Noble Consort Wen received the news.
She leaned against her couch, glancing sideways at the palace maid who had come to report.
Her glamorous face was full of composure. "What is there to fear? She wouldn't dare bite back at me."
Besides, even if she did, who would believe her?
The maid gently pounded her legs from the side. "Your Ladyship, this servant feels that His Majesty seems to dote heavily on that little princess born to Consort Chun."
What if, for the sake of that little princess, he conducts a thorough investigation...
Noble Consort Wen smiled boldly, her slender fingernails tapping the maid's head.
"She's just a little girl. No matter how much His Majesty dotes on her, could he possibly hand over the empire to her?"
"She's merely a tool used to comfort that woman, Consort Chun." "Our eyes must still remain fixed on those imperial princes."
Her original intention had been to use Consort Shu's hands to eliminate Consort Chun and clear away an obstacle.
Who could have imagined that this woman was so utterly useless she couldn't even kill a toddler?
The maid nodded in agreement from the side; Your Ladyship made complete sense.
The Emperor, whom they mistakenly believed only pretended to dote on his daughter, was currently holding Su Mianmian to help her digest her meal.
He was burning with anxiety on the inside, desperately wanting Su Mianmian to spill more details about the Noble Consort.
Yet after saying just one sentence, Su Mianmian acted as if she had been struck by an immobilization spell, refusing to utter another word.
No matter how anxious the Emperor grew, there was nothing he could do. He couldn't just shake his baby girl like a rattle drum to rattle out everything she knew.
Su Mianmian was in the middle of deep thought; how could she possibly have the energy to entertain him?
Suddenly, her eyes were caught by the slender figure of a youth.
A few days ago, the Capital had experienced a sharp drop in temperature.
A thin layer of snow had fallen all night, lightly blanketing the ground.
The accumulated snow and mud on the ground had mixed together, looking somewhat dirty and disheveled.
The youth was kneeling on the ground, his knees stained with dirt.
Yet even while kneeling, the youth's proud bone structure remained undiminished; his spine was straight, and his expression carried little emotion.
At a single glance at his appearance and the faint halo surrounding him,
Su Mianmian guessed his identity.
[The male lead! It's the male lead!]
[The fierce, tragic emperor adored by thousands of maidens and the biggest crowd-pleaser in the entire book!]
[The eternal emperor who encouraged foreign trade, permitted women to participate in politics, and elevated the status of women!]
An eternal emperor!
The Emperor's expression shifted. Which monarch wouldn't desire such a reputation?
Yet his daughter said this "male lead" was the one.
This male lead could not be allowed to stay.
The Emperor instructed Wang Defa to summon the youth before him. He wanted to see this person's true face with his own eyes!
Lu Jingyi rose from the ground, approached the monarch with a detached expression, and knelt on one knee in obeisance.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
It was him!
The Emperor was somewhat surprised.
Lu Jingyi.
Lu Jingyi's identity was rather special; he was a hostage prince from the Western Chu, but he was also the son of Princess Qiyuan of the Beixuan State.
He was the son of the Emperor's little cousin.
Back then, for the sake of national stability, the Princess had proactively requested a marriage alliance. After she passed away from illness, the Western Chu sent her child back as a hostage.
Never in his wildest dreams had the Emperor imagined that this child would ultimately kill him in the future.
And that he would destroy the territory his mother had guarded with her entire life.