Chapter 445 Murderous Intent

Liu Shuyao's reminder lingered in Consort Li's ears.

She returned to the palace in a daze, locked herself in her chambers, and kept repeating those words to herself.

With her back against the wall... does she still have a way out?

The Emperor clearly already knew what she had done, but the reason he hadn't taken action against her was simply because he still thought she was somewhat useful.

Once she's used up her power, or once Jiang Huan has firmly secured her position as Empress, and the Emperor has the time to deal with her, she might be the first one to be eliminated.

At that time, it won't just be her who dies; her parents and brothers and sisters in the clan will also likely be implicated.

Waiting will only lead to certain death; confessing might offer a glimmer of hope.

The will to survive, like weeds, grows wildly under the nourishment of fear, eventually overwhelming all hesitation.

Consort Li dug her nails deep into her palms, leaving several bloody crescent-shaped marks, finally making up her mind.

Since we're going to die anyway, we might as well take a gamble!

On this day, she found an excuse and went straight to Weiyang Palace to request an audience.

Inside Weiyang Palace, Jiang Huan had just finished breakfast and was playing with her two awake children while holding a brightly colored little cloth doll.

Just then, a palace maid tiptoed in and whispered, "Your Highness, Consort Li is outside requesting an audience, saying she has important matters to report."

Jiang Huan paused, her heart skipping a beat.

Consort Li?

Recently, Consort Li has been avoiding her like the plague, and she hasn't been seen for a long time.

Perhaps the rumors about layoffs in the harem hadn't settled yet, and she couldn't sit still and wanted to come and find out the truth.

Jiang Huan hesitated for a moment, then said, "Please let her in."

Consort Li strode into the palace, her back ramrod straight despite her quick steps.

She approached Jiang Huan, took a deep breath, lifted her skirt, and knelt down straight.

The kneeling motion was forceful and produced a dull thud.

“Your Majesty,” she said, her voice hoarse yet strangely calm, “I have come today to settle an old matter and to fight for a way out for myself and my family.”

Jiang Huan was slightly taken aback by her unexpected opening remarks, but she didn't show it on her face. She just nodded slightly, signaling her to continue.

Consort Li met her gaze and continued, "Back then, Liu Shuyao was incredibly audacious and poisoned Your Highness. In fact, someone was behind it."

She paused for a moment, observing Jiang Huan's reaction. Seeing that the other woman's eyes were only slightly cold, she smiled bitterly and continued, "The Empress Dowager once instructed me to find an opportunity to harm Your Highness. Liu Shuyao was just a pawn that I found. I still have the Empress Dowager's secret letter here as proof."

As she spoke, she took out an envelope from her sleeve. "I know that I have committed grave sins and dare not ask for Your Majesty's forgiveness. I only wish to make a deal with Your Majesty."

Jiang Huan was shocked, but Consort Li's almost calm and frank manner of confession made her even more wary.

She remained calm: "A deal?"

"Yes." Consort Li raised her head, her eyes sharp with a determined look. "I am willing to hand over all the evidence and, if necessary, publicly identify the Empress Dowager. I only ask that if Your Majesty is ever exposed in the future, you will consider my honesty today and try to save the lives of my innocent family members."

After she finished speaking, she bent down and kowtowed heavily. When she looked up again, there was a red mark on her forehead.

"These are my bargaining chips and conditions. If Your Majesty agrees, the evidence is here, and I will do as you please. If Your Majesty does not agree, I will leave immediately, as if I had never set foot in Weiyang Palace. My life or death is up to fate."

Jiang Huan and she stared at each other for a moment, a silent contest filling the air.

Finally, Jiang Huan slowly spoke: "I heard what you said. I will accept the things for now. As for your conditions... I need to inform the Emperor before we can discuss them. Until then, I do not want to hear any unusual activity anywhere. Otherwise, everything you said today will be meaningless."

Upon hearing this, Consort Li's tense shoulders relaxed almost imperceptibly for a moment.

"I understand, thank you, Your Majesty." After saying that, she got up and left, but her back view revealed an indescribable determination.

As the palace doors closed, Jiang Huan's heart was in turmoil.

Consort Li has staked her entire life on this; that secret letter is the key.

If it's true, it would be a powerful tool to bring down the Empress Dowager; if it's false, it would be another trap aimed at her.

But judging from Consort Li's demeanor, it doesn't seem fake; she doesn't have that kind of acting skill.

Regardless, this is a breakthrough point, and we need to tell Huo Lin immediately.

That day, after Huo Lin returned from handling official business, Jiang Huan told him everything that Consort Li had said during the day.

Huo Lin's face showed little surprise upon hearing this, but the coldness in his eyes deepened.

He reached out and pulled Jiang Huan into his arms, gently patting her back.

[She really is a vicious woman, and the kind that carries deadly poison!]

However, this time, Consort Li chose a good time to step out.

[Those who are greedy for life and afraid of death, turning against their former masters, are despicable, but this is exactly what I want.]

"I understand." His voice was deep and reassuring. "The evidence she has is indeed very useful, but don't believe too much of it."

[We can use Consort Li to solidify the Empress Dowager's guilt.]

[At that time, let's see who dares to say that my deposition of the Empress Dowager is unfilial.]

Jiang Huan leaned against him, and her unease gradually subsided.

"Yeah, I'm not that stupid."

However, while they intended to remain inactive, some people could no longer contain themselves.

The atmosphere inside the Cining Palace was gloomy.

The Empress Dowager leaned against the phoenix couch, listening to the secret report from her trusted eunuch, her well-maintained face covered with frost.

"Oh? Consort Li went to Weiyang Palace today and stayed for quite a while?" The Empress Dowager tightened her fingers on the prayer beads, her knuckles turning white. "It seems that my good niece is planning to climb the social ladder and betray her master for personal gain."

She sneered, "You think you can protect her and her family by siding with that vixen? How naive!"

The trusted old nanny standing to the side observed her expression and whispered, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Noble Consort is about to be conferred the title. If she is truly made Empress, and with princes and princesses under her control, I'm afraid the harem will become an impenetrable wall in the future."

A fierce glint flashed in the Empress Dowager's eyes, and the feigned kindness she usually displayed vanished completely.

"She thinks she can rest easy now that she has princes and princesses? What a joke! She wants to be empress? She'll have to see if God will allow it."

She leaned forward slightly, lowered her voice, and instructed her confidante: "Go, make the arrangements. On the day of the investiture ceremony, prepare a grand gift for our future Empress. Remember, make it neat and tidy, as if it were the will of Heaven."

The old woman understood immediately, a glint of shrewdness flashing in her cloudy eyes.

"This old servant understands and will arrange everything perfectly without any mistakes."

Just as these undercurrents were surging, in another palace garden, He Ling, who was idly daydreaming, suddenly had a sharp alarm sound explode in her mind without warning.

"Warning! A high-risk plot node has been detected and is generating. Target locked: Jiang Huan. The malice index is rising sharply. Please take immediate action to assist the key figure in overcoming this deadly crisis. Repeat, please take immediate action!"