At night, Ci'an Palace.

Concubine Xue sat at the head of the table, her face expressionless, but her heart filled with confusion. She had never interacted with the princes before, and she didn't know why...

Xiao Conghui sat at the bottom. Tea had been served three or four times, but he just drank it leisurely without saying a word.

He wanted to see how long the concubine in front of him could hold on.

Concubine Xue was not in a hurry. This was her territory. What did she have to be afraid of? It was just drinking tea, as much as she wanted!

The two of them remained silent, with the concubine occasionally saying, "Add more tea for His Highness."

Concubine Xue was born out of wedlock. Because she looked like her biological mother, she disliked her stepmother and was sent to the Southern Liang Palace. She had been living a simple life for decades since she entered the palace. She was not afraid of silence.

Seeing that he could not waste time any longer, Xiao Conghui gave a wink to the secret guard beside him. The secret guard took out a box and handed it to the concubine. The concubine gestured to the palace maid beside her to take it, and then took it herself.

Concubine Xue opened it and took a look. Suddenly, her heart skipped a beat. Wasn't this her Gu worm? How did it end up in Xiao Conghui's hands?

She quickly adjusted her mood and looked at Xiao Conghui as if nothing had happened.

What do you mean?

Seeing that the other party was playing dumb, Xiao Conghui directly pointed it out, "This was found in the palace of the Concubine Dowager. Wouldn't the Concubine Dowager not recognize it?"

She is indeed an old fox. She is still so calm even at this time. Xiao Conghui is a little impressed by Concubine Xue at this moment.

Concubine Xue lowered her head, glanced at the Gu worm in the box, and shook her head. "Your Highness said it is, so what?"

Some time ago, she received a secret letter from the Prince of Beiliang, asking her to put a curse on Concubine Heng. She thought she could do it without anyone knowing, but she didn't know where the news leaked.

Xiao Conghui said, "It was you who poisoned Concubine Heng."

"If you have evidence, bring it out. If not, Your Highness, don't bother."

"Haha," Xiao Conghui sneered, making the atmosphere even more tense. "Evidence?"

He looked at Concubine Xue with sharp eyes. You have lived in the palace for so long and have been doing things there. What evidence do you want?

Concubine Xue understood this look and gradually felt guilty. Xiao Hanyi strictly forbade the use of witchcraft. If she used witchcraft to harm Concubine Heng and Xiao Hanyi knew about it, then...

She didn't dare to think further. Xiao Hanyi's reputation as a tyrant was definitely not undeserved. He might even torture her to death. Although she was not afraid of death, she was afraid that she would not die a good death.

Concubine Xue looked up outside and thought of someone, Ning Li, her childhood sweetheart.

After she was sent to the Southern Liang Palace, Ning Li soon followed her to the capital. He had a good business mind and established himself in the capital in just a few years. He also got in touch with her and now has more than a dozen shops in the capital. The best brothel in the capital, Lichunyuan, was a gift from Ning Li to her.

She knew that she would never have the chance to be with Ning Li again in this life, but she still had some fantasies. If there was a chance, they could go to a place where no one knew them...

Concubine Xue suddenly pulled herself back from her thoughts and asked coldly, "Your Highness, you didn't come here just to show me these bugs, did you?"

Xiao Conghui sighed, "Only you can save Concubine Heng."

He originally wanted to stand by and watch, but after the Second Prince's pleading, he didn't know what to do. He came here for some unknown reason and said these words.

"What?" Concubine Xue thought she had heard it wrong.

Save Concubine Heng?

Everyone knows about the fight for the throne now, and he actually came here to save Concubine Heng?

"I heard that Concubine Heng stabbed the Empress when she was ill?" asked Concubine Xue.

Xiao Conghui felt even more sad when he remembered that the queen was still unconscious. He swore in front of the Buddha that he would rather not have the position of crown prince as long as the queen could get through this.

"She accidentally hurt our mother because she was unconscious," Xiao Conghui said in a low voice.

He didn't know whether Concubine Heng was using this as an excuse or was truly unconscious...

Concubine Xue said coldly, "The consciousness of those who are poisoned is never blurred. They are more clear-headed than usual."

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly turned cold. Xiao Cong stood up with a fierce look in his eyes. "Really?"

"Are you going to save him or not?" Concubine Xue met Xiao Conghui's gaze directly.

She is the murderer of your mother.

Something colder than a thousand-year-old ice flashed through Xiao Conghui's mind, and one word popped out of his mouth, "Save!"

Wouldn't it be a relief for her if she died like this?

Didn’t she want the Second Princess to marry into Beiliang? Then let her watch the Second Princess get married with her own eyes.

Xiao Conghui never shows mercy to his enemies, just like his father Xiao Hanyi.

......

In the Pepper Room, Queen Wang opened her eyes with difficulty.

"The Empress is awake, the Empress is awake, Imperial Physician, Imperial Physician," Chunlan was surprised and happy.

She was scared to death these two days. If Queen Wang died, her wish to become a concubine in the eldest prince's mansion would be completely shattered.

Even though the Southern Liang Dynasty had long since stopped allowing slaves to be buried alive with their masters, there was no reason for a maid to get married after her master died.

Now that Queen Wang has woken up, her uneasy heart finally feels at ease.

The imperial physician hurried in upon hearing the cry, took Queen Wang's pulse, and asked the palace maid to feed her some medicine.

Queen Wang felt better and asked, "How is Concubine Heng?"

"Your Majesty, Concubine Heng is still sometimes conscious and sometimes unconscious. When she wakes up, she makes a fuss. The Emperor disliked her noise so much that he returned to Weiyang Palace and never went there again... But he came to see Your Majesty many times. In the Emperor's heart, Your Majesty is still the most important," Chunlan replied, flattering Queen Wang.

Queen Wang felt better, but she was also annoyed to see so many people in the room, so she sent them away and left Chunlan alone to serve.

"Where is His Highness?"

"Your Highness has been staying by your side the entire time... He couldn't stand it any longer, and after much persuasion from this servant, His Highness finally went back to rest... The same thing happened to the Princess..."

Chunlan only said what Queen Wang liked to hear.

Sure enough, after hearing these words, Queen Wang felt much better. She was stabbed by Concubine Heng for no reason and almost died. She could not rest in peace even after death.

Chunlan looked at Queen Wang's expression and said carefully and tactfully, "I heard that the Second Prince wants to bring good luck to Concubine Heng... Your Majesty, why don't you take this opportunity to let our Highness..."

Queen Wang pondered over it. Concubine Guo had once told her that the Emperor intended to make her son the Crown Prince. Although she didn't know whether it was true or not,...

She turned her head, glanced at Chunlan, and asked, "Do you also think it's a good idea for His Highness to get married soon?"

Chunlan chose her words carefully, "How dare this servant discuss your Highness's marriage... However, if the wedding can be held soon, the Emperor can rest assured that the Queen..."

Give the throne of crown prince to the eldest prince!

However, she didn't dare to say this explicitly, so she just mentioned it. The rest could only be understood.

Queen Wang nodded slightly and said, "Go and invite the emperor."

"yes"