Xue Shen watched this scene and laughed, finding it rather comical.

Empress Zhou snapped out of her dizziness and struggled frantically to fight back. Emperor Cheng'an pounced on her, gripping her neck tightly and pinning her down. His face was contorted with rage and his expression was crazed, like a mad dog.

Emperor Cheng'an stared at him with wide eyes, repeating once more, "Prince Qin! Why aren't you coming to my rescue!"

He thought that with so many people around, the King of Qin would have no choice but to come and rescue him, and then properly send him back to the palace, if he didn't want to bear the crime of regicide and treason.

Unfortunately, he misjudged Xue Shen's character. If Xue Shen were truly afraid of the charge of regicide and treason, he would not have risked public condemnation to expose all the despicable acts committed by Emperor Cheng'an.

So Xue Shen sat on his horse, looking at him calmly: "Has Your Majesty gone mad? The Empress is six months pregnant. If Your Majesty is holding her like this, the child will likely be lost."

He then ordered his men to separate Emperor Cheng'an and Empress Zhou.

Empress Zhou was rescued and finally had a chance to catch her breath. Her chest heaved as she glared at Emperor Cheng'an with hatred: "Haha, my Zhou family won't survive, but do you think you can survive in Prince Qin's hands?"

She said, almost as if cursing, "I'm waiting to see you ruined and suffer a fate worse than death."

Emperor Cheng'an looked at her with murderous eyes, but Empress Zhou ignored him and turned to Xue Shen, saying, "If you spare my life, I will tell you and the world everything that Emperor Cheng'an has done."

She shook her head and changed her mind as soon as she finished speaking: "No, you don't have to spare my life. Just let me live longer than him and see his end."

Xue Shen watched the two of them bickering like dogs, a look of utter disinterest on his face. He then ordered, "The traitor Zhou Qing is to be killed on the spot. Your Majesty and the Empress are to return to the palace."

Empress Zhou was escorted onto a carriage by the Imperial Guards. Looking out the window, she saw Zhou Qing being shot through the chest by Consort Shen and killed on the spot.

She closed her eyes in pain, and tears slowly fell.

Emperor Cheng'an looked at her pained expression and laughed heartily: "The Zhou family had a good plan, but unfortunately, someone else intercepted it."

Empress Zhou opened her eyes, glared at him hatefully, and sneered, "Yes, my Zhou family has fallen and will not have a good end. But your end will be even more miserable than the Zhou family's. I'll wait and see."

Emperor Cheng'an's expression changed slightly. Thinking about the situation he might face next, he no longer had the mind or energy to mock her.

*

Xue Shen personally led a group of people to "escort" the two back to the palace.

They even placed the emperor and empress in the same palace under the pretext of facilitating their protection.

After he had settled the people, the ministers received the news that Emperor Cheng'an had been kidnapped by Zhou Qing, and hurriedly went to the palace to request an audience and inquire about the situation.

Xue Shen did not stop them, and calmly received them one by one, answering all their questions.

"How are His Majesty and the Empress? Are they injured?"

Xue Shen thought for a moment and said, "Zhou Qing didn't harm them. Since he intends to use the emperor to command the feudal lords, he's still being quite polite to His Majesty." But before everyone could relax, he continued, "However—"

"However, His Majesty got into a fight with the Empress, and both of them sustained minor injuries. But I have already arranged for the imperial physicians to treat His Majesty and the Empress. They are just superficial injuries and nothing serious."

The ministers who came to request the letter were stunned. They looked at each other, not knowing what to say for a moment.

After a long while, someone timidly asked, "Why...why did His Majesty and the Empress get into a fight?"

Xue Shen laughed without any attempt to hide his laughter and slowly said, "As far as I know, it's because the Empress's pregnancy was fake. More than a month ago, the Empress miscarried and lost her child, but she never told His Majesty."

He casually mentioned, as if it were an unintentional remark: "In his anger, His Majesty even said something like, 'It's better that the bastard is gone...'"

The amount of information in his words was so great that even the most knowledgeable ministers showed expressions of disbelief.

Xie Lianhong held back, repeatedly exclaiming "absurd!"

Although the others did not speak, their expressions clearly showed that they thought the same thing.

Xue Shen smiled and offered, “His Majesty is currently unwell and needs to rest, so I will take over many affairs of the court. However, I think you gentlemen may still have concerns, so it would be better if you could see for yourselves and verify that what I say is true.”

The court officials looked at each other in bewilderment, but soon a minister who supported Emperor Cheng'an spoke up with a glimmer of hope: "That would be best. The matter of the late emperor is still under investigation. Between Prince Qin and Your Majesty... it's better to clarify some things and clear up any suspicions."

Xue Shen glanced at the man who had spoken, nodded, and agreed, "That's what I think too. Gentlemen, please follow me. His Majesty is injured and needs to rest. You may take a quick look, but it's best not to go in and disturb him."

The ministers said it was good, but in their hearts they were all thinking about it. They wondered if the King of Qin had done something to the Emperor by letting them see the people but not letting them speak to him.

But their doubts were soon answered.

Xue Shen led about twenty ministers to the palace where Emperor Cheng'an and Empress Zhou were temporarily staying. He pointed to Emperor Cheng'an and Empress Zhou inside the palace and said, "We are not far from here. As you can see, His Majesty and Empress are indeed well."

Everyone craned their necks to look at the two people in the hall. Emperor Cheng'an and Empress Zhou both had injuries, but just as Xue Shen had said, they were minor injuries and had been properly treated.

Seeing this, the minister who supported Emperor Cheng'an pressed on, saying, "Since His Majesty and the Empress are both well, why won't the Prince allow us to go in and pay our respects?"

Xue Shen gave him a cryptic look. The minister was about to say something when a loud curse suddenly erupted from the hall.

Everyone was stunned and turned to look. They saw Empress Zhou suddenly smash the bronze mirror in her hand at Emperor Cheng'an, cursing in a voice filled with resentment that anyone could hear: "You think you'll have a good time if you don't let me have a good time?"

As she spoke, she suddenly lunged forward, trying to strangle Emperor Cheng'an by the neck.

Although Emperor Cheng'an was old and frail, Empress Zhou was, after all, just a woman who was used to a life of luxury. The two of them were now locked in a fierce struggle, and neither could gain the upper hand.

Emperor Cheng'an was feeling extremely weak. He had already calmed down and didn't want to argue with Empress Zhou anymore, since they were both Xue Shen's prisoners.

Xue Shen could lock them up together, but only to use them as caged fighting beasts for his amusement.

But to his surprise, Empress Zhou went mad and kept cursing him.

Emperor Cheng'an finally couldn't help but curse back, and the woman pounced on him like a madwoman.

It took him a lot of effort to push the person away, but he still had several deep scratches on his face and arms from fingernails.

Emperor Cheng'an winced in pain and cursed through gritted teeth, "You shameless wretch, you've gone mad! You've lost all sense of shame!"

There are guards outside; their fighting is just a spectacle for onlookers.