Chapter 155 The Divide and Conquer Scheme

Looking at Emperor Yongming's blustering yet cowardly and paranoid appearance, Shen Qingci slowly curled a mocking smile at the corner of her lips.

She did not step forward immediately, but stopped in the hall and said in a cold voice, "Your Majesty, there is no need to panic. I have come here today not to do anything to you."

"Oh?" Emperor Yongming looked at her with suspicion, his eyes filled with wariness.

"Your Majesty, I have only come to inform you that Your Highness the Regent has been placed under house arrest and interrogated day and night on charges of 'framing loyal officials, plotting rebellion, and holding the Emperor hostage' by Prime Minister Liu and the officials."

"What?!" Upon hearing this, Emperor Yongming instantly jumped up from his dragon throne, his face filled with uncontrollable elation!

"Really? Prime Minister Liu... he's finally made his move?"

He paced back and forth in the hall excitedly, his eyes gleaming with a sickly light: "Excellent! Absolutely excellent! Prime Minister Liu is indeed my most trusted minister! He has finally come to my rescue! Can I... can I get out of here right now?"

Seeing his utterly foolish and ecstatic appearance, and recalling the hundreds of innocent souls who died unjustly in the Shen family, Shen Qingci finally couldn't help but let out a very soft but endlessly mocking laugh.

Emperor Yongming's laughter stopped abruptly. He turned his head sharply, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Shen Qingci: "What are you laughing at?"

"Your Majesty is utterly foolish." Shen Qingci slowly raised her eyes, her clear phoenix eyes now devoid of any reverence, only cold pity remained.

"You... what did you say?" Emperor Yongming trembled with rage, pointing at her nose and roaring, "Shen Qingci! Do you believe I'll kill you right now!"

Shen Qingci merely lifted his eyelids, his expression indifferent: "The Regent has been under house arrest for... a day now. Your Majesty, have you seen that Prime Minister Liu sent people to rescue you?"

Emperor Yongming's arrogance instantly diminished by half, but he still stubbornly insisted, "That...that's because those guarding me are all Chu Jichen's assassins!"

"Is that so?" Shen Qingci laughed again. "Since Prime Minister Liu was able to unite all the officials and put the powerful Regent under house arrest, would he be afraid of a few mere guards?"

"Your Majesty, it's not that he's afraid, it's just... that he doesn't want to."

As Shen Qingci watched Emperor Yongming's face gradually turn pale, he slowly dropped a bombshell that was enough to shatter Emperor Yongming's spirit.

“Just now,” she said, seemingly serious but actually feigning, “the Regent’s men have informed me that Liu Wenyuan… is secretly gathering troops.”

"Your Majesty might as well guess who he is gathering troops to deal with? If the Regent really gets into trouble, who will be the first person Liu Wenyuan will eliminate?"

Emperor Yongming's pupils contracted sharply, and he subconsciously looked at Shen Qingci: "And what about you? Aren't you afraid?"

"Of course I am afraid." Shen Qingci nodded, but her face showed no fear. "If I wasn't afraid, why would I risk entering the palace in the dead of night to say these things to Your Majesty?"

“But,” she changed the subject, “the person who should be most afraid is not me. I am just a woman, and I have only just married Chu Jichen. We don’t have much affection for each other.”

"If something really happens to him, the old subordinates left behind by my Shen family will be more than capable of protecting a weak woman like me and helping me escape from the capital and live in anonymity."

A chilling glint flashed in Emperor Yongming's eyes. He asked casually, "Former subordinates of the Shen family? What former subordinates?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Qingci simply smiled and did not reply: "This is none of Your Majesty's concern."

"I have come here today only because I think that although Your Majesty has done many absurd things, he is, after all, the Prince's nephew and a descendant of the late Emperor. That is why I have come here specifically to remind Your Majesty."

"As for Your Majesty, whether you listen or believe is beyond my control."

Emperor Yongming's face was extremely grim.

"I...I am now under the watchful eye of Chu Jichen's men! Even if they know, what can I do?!" He slumped onto the dragon throne, his voice filled with resentment and helplessness.

Shen Qingci shrugged, looking helpless: "Then this humble woman is powerless. Although I can enter, I cannot order them to release His Majesty."

“Moreover,” a meaningful sneer flashed in her eyes, “I think that having these guards watching over His Majesty is actually a good thing.”

"Perhaps, it can even... protect Your Majesty."

"As for the rest, I cannot concern myself with them."

After Shen Qingci finished speaking, she no longer looked at Emperor Yongming's fascinating face, gave him a distant bow, and then turned and left resolutely.

...

As soon as she stepped out of the Taiji Hall, the anxiety and concern on Shen Qingci's face vanished instantly, replaced by a chilling coldness and scheming.

She immediately summoned the gold ingot.

"Pass down the order: have the people in the palace keep a close eye on Emperor Yongming!"

“The prince and I had previously suspected that a large part of Emperor Yongming’s stupidity and absurdity was an act.”

"This is indeed an excellent opportunity."

One opportunity to lure Emperor Yongming into revealing the hidden forces he controls that even Chu Jichen was unaware of!

Yuanbao accepted the order and was about to leave when Shen Qingci called him back.

“By the way,” she turned around, lowering her voice even further, “how’s the other thing I asked you to do going?”

Upon hearing this, Yuanbao immediately revealed a smug smile and hurriedly reported, "Your Highness, everything went smoothly! The eunuch that Liu Wenyuan arranged to serve the Prince has been captured by our people. Our people have also disguised themselves and taken his place."

“Now,” a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes, “he is being interrogated under torture, forced to reveal the secret code between them.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Qingci frowned slightly.

“Interrogation doesn’t necessarily have to involve torture,” she said calmly. “Sometimes, finding a person’s weakness is more effective than any form of torture.”

"Send someone to investigate carefully. Does that eunuch have any relatives? Or... is there anything he particularly cares about? The best strategy is to strike at his weakness and make him talk willingly."

Yuanbao was taken aback upon hearing this, then his eyes lit up with sudden realization! He immediately clasped his hands in a deep fist salute, his voice filled with heartfelt admiration: "Yes! Your Highness is wise! I understand!"

Shen Qingci nodded. Seeing that Liu Wenyuan and Huo Yunzhan's group had already disappeared outside the Taiji Hall, she did not linger any longer and boarded the carriage back to the Prince's Mansion with Wanqing.

The night was deep and the palace road was silent.

The carriage slowly drove out of the palace gate and had just turned onto the main street leading to the Regent's Palace when it suddenly braked sharply and came to a stop!

Wanqing was jolted forward by the swaying, but quickly regained her balance and lifted the carriage curtain to scold him.

"What's going on...?"

Before she could finish speaking, she saw the figure blocking the carriage and her expression changed drastically!

"Huo... Huo Yun..."

Wan Qing was about to call out the name of the person in front of her, but quickly realized: "Marquis Yongning?"

Huo Yunzhan, dressed in black, stood like a ghost in the middle of the street. His face was sickly pale, and his eyes, under the cold moonlight, were frighteningly bright as he stared intently at their carriage.