The news of the palace maid surrendering herself by beating a drum spread throughout the capital at lightning speed. Not only were ordinary people discussing the matter, but even officials in the court had heard about it and were making all sorts of speculations in private.

The most shocked of them all was Xie Lianhong. He listened to the news his son brought back, looked up at the moonlight, and sighed, "The King of Qin has made his move."

Although many people had some doubts about the late emperor and empress's succession and the hasty ascension of Emperor Cheng'an, no one expected that this matter would actually be brought up again after so many years.

The most frightened Emperor Cheng'an fainted upon hearing that the drummer was the palace maid from years ago.

When he woke up again, it was already the next day.

Marquis Qi Zhong was by his bedside. When he saw him open his eyes, he was about to call the imperial physician to examine him, but Emperor Cheng'an grabbed his arm tightly.

Emperor Cheng'an's face was contorted with rage, his eyes bloodshot: "Go and kill her, quickly, don't let her say another word."

Qi Zhong was frightened by his ferocious expression. He hesitated for a moment before nodding hurriedly, "This servant understands, this servant will go right away."

Seeing him get up and leave, Emperor Cheng'an collapsed back as if he had collapsed from exhaustion.

He stared blankly at the roof beam above him, his eyes wide open, but before him was the image of his brother's face before his death.

Even though he had been ambushed and threatened, and was on the verge of death, his elder brother still looked confident and said, "Xue Jia, one day you will regret this."

What did he say at that time?

He said with a smile, "The victor is king, the loser is villain; only the loser will regret it."

Emperor Cheng'an struggled to sit up, his face contorted with rage as he repeated, "Only the losers regret it. I am the winner."

"Yes, I'm the winner."

He kept repeating this phrase, as if only in this way could he suppress the endless fear surging up from the bottom of his heart.

The imperial physician heard the commotion and came in to check on the situation. He saw that the man's face was pale and his lips were moving constantly, saying things that were unintelligible.

The imperial physician was so frightened that he knelt down and cried out, "Your Majesty!"

Emperor Cheng'an was interrupted and finally pulled himself out of that overwhelming fear.

He looked at the trembling imperial physician with a gloomy expression, trying to force a gentle look, but it only made him appear more ferocious due to the distortion of his face: "Come and take my pulse, I feel my heart is beating a little fast."

*

Following Emperor Cheng'an's instructions, Qi Zhong rushed to the prison to fetch the man, only to find him unexpectedly empty.

He stared at the empty cell, his voice growing increasingly shrill with subconscious fear: "Where is everyone?!"

The jailer, at a loss for words, replied, "Just a moment ago, His Highness the Prince of Qin came and took him away."

Upon hearing this, Qi Zhong felt his head explode and his vision went black.

It took him a long time to regain his senses, and he said incredulously, "The King of Qin came to demand the person, and you gave him the person?"

The jailer stammered, "His Highness the Prince of Qin brought four or five guards with him. If we... if we don't hand over the person, he'll forcibly take him..."

Qi Zhong's face paled slightly, and he thought to himself that something was wrong. He didn't have time to investigate the responsibility of the prison guards any further, and hurriedly returned to the palace to report to Emperor Cheng'an.

Emperor Cheng'an cherished his life, so he had the imperial physician examine his pulse and was taking medicine to recuperate as prescribed.

Seeing Qi Zhong enter the hall in a flustered state, he dismissed the others and asked, suppressing his displeasure, "Has it been cleaned up?"

Qi Zhong knelt down with a thud, his forehead hitting the ground heavily: "This servant is incompetent. When I arrived, the person had already been taken away by the King of Qin."

Emperor Cheng'an paused in his action of drinking the medicine, and said with an uncertain expression, "It's not that you're late, it's probably that he was prepared all along."

"Even if that palace maid had managed to escape this calamity, she should have long ago hidden away in some remote corner far from the emperor's reach, barely clinging to life, and would never have dared to appear in the capital again. But now she has not only appeared in the capital, but has also sounded the Dengwen Drum to confess her crimes. I do not believe that there is no one behind this."

Qi Zhong trembled and dared not reply.

He felt that Emperor Cheng'an's tone exuded a terrifying calmness.

Emperor Cheng'an continued, "Enough, I've had enough. This day was bound to come sooner or later, so let's just see who has the best skills. Since I was able to kill his father back then, I can certainly kill him now."

Qi Zhong listened to his self-talk, his trembling intensifying. He tentatively raised his head and called out, "Your Majesty?"

Emperor Cheng'an stopped speaking, lowered his eyes and looked at him expressionlessly: "Go find that kind of powder from back then. Princess Qin is about to give birth, and she probably can't withstand the toxicity of that powder."

Qi Zhong trembled and lowered his head: "Yes, this servant will take care of it right away."

*

Ever since that palace maid beat the drum, Emperor Cheng'an has been claiming illness and has not attended court.

Seeing this, the court officials became even more suspicious, secretly guessing that what the palace maid said was not unfounded.

Moreover, I heard that the King of Qin has already taken the person away, and I don't know what his plans are.

Just as everyone was filled with unease, the King of Qin suddenly stormed into the palace with his palace maids.

Upon learning the news, the Imperial Guards rushed over, donned their armor and weapons, and heavily surrounded the palace gates, preventing him from entering.

Xue Shen, alone on horseback, carrying the frail palace maid in his hand, said with a sinister expression: "Get out of the way, I want to see the Emperor."

The imperial guards looked at the sword in his hand, and none of them dared to let him in.

Xue Shen threw the palace maid in front of the palace gate: "The late Empress was the mother of the nation, yet she was murdered. Your Majesty is not only the ruler but also the late Emperor's younger brother. Now that you know there are suspicious circumstances surrounding the late Empress's death, that she was murdered, why do you avoid seeing her? Do you have a guilty conscience?"

This was the first time Xue Shen had revealed the pretense of peace between uncle and nephew in front of everyone.

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