After Eunuch Yuan finished his audience with the Empress Dowager and returned to the Imperial Study, he saw Consort Wang approaching from afar.

Without a doubt, they must have heard that the Emperor had been stabbed and came to visit him.

If the Emperor were truly stabbed, it would be good for a concubine to comfort him, but the Emperor is currently in a fit of anger and has no time or inclination to see Consort Wang.

Consort Chen betrayed the Emperor first, and now the Empress is having an affair with someone and is secretly pregnant.

Nobody knows how long the Empress has been having an affair, and it's not even certain whether Prince Jin and Princess Shouchun are the Emperor's biological children.

If he remembered correctly, the Prince of Jin was born a month premature...

Thinking about how Prince Jin and the eldest prince had been vying for the position of crown prince for so many years, and how the eldest prince had once been suffocated by the pressure, if the emperor were to actually make Prince Jin the crown prince, wouldn't the empire that their ancestors had built be easily taken away? Just thinking about it made Eunuch Yuan's back go numb.

As Eunuch Yuan had predicted, the Emperor did not see Consort Wang. Consort Wang was somewhat disappointed. Upon seeing Eunuch Yuan, she asked, "How is the Emperor?"

Eunuch Yuan said, "His Majesty is in a bad mood, Consort Shu, you should go back."

Consort Wang wanted Eunuch Yuan to persuade the Emperor to see her, but before she could even speak, Eunuch Yuan asked her to go back first.

Consort Wang glanced at the palace maid behind her, who handed her a silver note, which Consort Wang then gave to Eunuch Yuan.

Eunuch Yuan said, "It's not that this servant is unwilling to help, but His Majesty is afraid he won't see anyone these next few days, and he probably won't even attend the morning court tomorrow."

Consort Wang was shocked. "His Majesty is injured so badly?"

It's more than just serious. Physical injuries can heal in a few days, but the emotional wounds... Even after so many years since Consort Chen's incident, the Emperor hasn't been able to get over it, and now this has happened again...

Even Eunuch Yuan felt sorry for the Emperor.

Consort Wang looked towards the Imperial Study. Eunuch Yuan said again, "Consort Wang, please return. Now that the Empress has been banished to the Cold Palace and has no chance of ever coming out, many people are probably eyeing the Phoenix Seal..."

Consort Wang was a clever woman. Eunuch Yuan was reminding her that since she was in charge of the Phoenix Seal, she had to manage the inner palace well. As long as there was no trouble, the Emperor would not take back the Phoenix Seal.

While the emperor's favor is important, the power one holds in the harem is equally important.

Consort Wang stuffed the silver note into Eunuch Yuan's hand, saying, "Thank you for the reminder, Eunuch Yuan."

No longer insisting on going to the Imperial Study to see the Emperor, Consort Wang returned home with her maids.

Even though Consort Wang was in charge of the imperial seal, she couldn't get into the imperial study, so the other concubines didn't bother to come and make a fool of themselves.

After Consort Wang left, Eunuch Yuan entered the Imperial Study and saw the Emperor sitting on the dragon throne with a gloomy expression. His face was covered with dark clouds, more oppressive than the sky before a storm.

Eunuch Yuan stepped forward and said, "As Prince Ling predicted, the Empress Dowager does not believe that the Empress would stab the Emperor. This servant told the Empress Dowager the truth as Prince Ling instructed."

"The Empress Dowager was furious."

The Emperor did not speak. After Eunuch Yuan finished his report, he stood aside and, apart from serving the Emperor tea, remained silent.

The Emperor was furious this time. He didn't handle any state affairs all afternoon. When the Imperial Kitchen brought his dinner, he didn't eat a single bite. Fortunately, the Emperor had eaten quite a bit for lunch, otherwise Eunuch Yuan would have been really worried.

The young eunuch cleared away the imperial meal, and Xiao Xizi brought over the medicine. Eunuch Yuan called out, "Your Majesty, Chief Physician Zhao has brought you the medicine..."

The Emperor's face darkened. "I'm not sick, why do I need medicine?!"

Eunuch Yuan hurriedly said, "Prince Ling was afraid that Your Majesty would be upset and harm your health, so he specifically instructed Imperial Physician Zhao to prescribe some calming medicine for you..."

Eunuch Yuan dared not order the Imperial Hospital to prescribe medicine at will, even though he felt the Emperor needed it.

Eunuch Yuan placed the medicine on the imperial desk. The emperor looked at the bowl of dark medicine, when a dark shadow flashed into the imperial study, nearly scaring Eunuch Yuan to death.

Upon seeing the shadow guards, the Emperor asked, "Has the Empress confessed?"

The shadow guard shook his head. "No, just now when Granny Zhao went to the Cold Palace to see the Empress, the Empress Dowager gave the Empress a bottle of poison..."

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Yuan asked urgently, "Is the Empress dead?"

The shadow guard still shook his head. "The Empress refused to take the poison. Granny Zhao opened the medicine bottle and was about to feed it to the Empress when I had no choice but to appear and knock Granny Zhao unconscious."

The Shadow Guards were responsible for protecting the Emperor's safety; wherever the Emperor was, the Shadow Guards were there too.

This is also why the Empress Dowager did not believe that the Empress could harm the Emperor; others were unaware of the existence of the Shadow Guards, but the Empress Dowager knew everything.

Xie Jingyan instructed the guards to keep a close watch on the Empress and prevent her from being silenced. The shadow guards overheard this, and the Emperor sent them to the Cold Palace to prevent the Empress from being silenced.

But the shadow guard never expected that the person who wanted to kill the empress would be the empress dowager.

The Emperor was also surprised by the Empress Dowager's actions, and he looked at Eunuch Yuan.

Eunuch Yuan hurriedly said, "This servant has spoken with the Empress Dowager. Your Majesty will not kill the Empress until the identity of the adulterer is found out..."

At this point, a chill ran down Yuan Gonggong's spine, and the hairs on his body stood on end.

The Emperor didn't say that he wouldn't kill the Empress if the adulterer couldn't be found out; it was Prince Ling who instructed him to tell the Empress Dowager this.

After giving this instruction, she reminded the emperor to send someone to protect the empress and not to have her silenced.

They never expected the Empress Dowager to get involved, so even though Prince Ling spoke together, no one thought much of it.

Thinking about it carefully now, Prince Ling guessed that the Empress Dowager would kill the Empress, and the person he asked the Emperor to guard against was the Empress Dowager.

But why would the Empress Dowager do this?

Moreover, Prince Ling was certain that the Empress Dowager would do just that.

Thinking of how Empress Song's affair and pregnancy were exposed by Prince Ling, and how Prince Ling knew who the lover was...

It was normal for the Empress Dowager to send Zhao Mama to interrogate the Empress, but Zhao Mama's actions of not interrogating or asking questions and instead directly giving poison were too abnormal. It takes two to tango, and the Empress could not have conceived an illegitimate child on her own. The Empress Dowager knew that the Emperor wanted to find out the adulterer before executing the Empress, yet she was still in such a hurry to take the Empress's life.

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