Pei Zhi could see her sister-in-law's predicament, but she didn't dwell on it too much.

Pei Zhi told her sister-in-law to go back and rest, and then obediently returned to her own courtyard.

Today, Shang Huai seemed preoccupied, and his complexion was not good.

Pei Zhi guessed that something had happened.

Pei Zhi asked a couple of questions, and Shang Huai said it was nothing serious and told Pei Zhi not to worry about it.

But because Shang Huai acted this way, Pei Zhi became even more suspicious.

Pei Zhi knew that no matter how important the matter was, Shang Huai would not hide it from her.

But if it were related to her, Shang Huai would keep it from her and not tell her, just to avoid worrying her.

Now, after returning to the manor, she is being detained and prevented from leaving.

Although my sister-in-law said that no one in the household could go out, for safety reasons.

Pei Zhi could still tell that she was all alone.

But why?

Pei Zhi didn't understand. Could it be that her life would be in danger if she went out?

Pei Zhi was an open-minded person. Since she wasn't allowed to know, she would just pretend she didn't know.

If you tell her to stay in the mansion and not run around, she will obediently listen to you.

Pei Zhi wasn't stubborn at all; even when others told her not to go out, she insisted on going.

She insists on finding out things that others don't tell her, which is unreasonable and pointless.

Shang Huai rushed to the royal villa, where the outer perimeter was already under martial law.

Originally, no one was allowed to enter, but Shang Huai was, after all, the emperor's cousin and a man with outstanding military achievements.

Although I dare not disobey His Majesty's orders, I can still pass on the message.

Finally, Pei Minxue came and took Shang Huai inside.

"I saw the letter from the Empress Dowager."

Shang Huai was bewildered: "What did she say? She told me to come back quickly so I could see her one last time. What does that mean?"

Shang Huai truly didn't understand what had happened.

Why did the Empress Dowager suddenly want to see him one last time?

"Didn't the imperial physicians collude with the Empress Dowager to lie before, saying that the Empress Dowager's health was not seriously affected?"

Pei Minxue slowed his pace and sighed, "Shang Huai, the Empress Dowager committed suicide."

Shang Huai exclaimed in shock, "What?"

How could that be?

Shang Huai didn't understand, "My aunt is the Empress Dowager, why would she still be so depressed?"

Xiao Chengci had no empress, so the Empress Dowager was arguably the most noble woman in the world.

Why would the Empress Dowager be so distraught as to attempt suicide? Shang Huai couldn't understand.

There was no one around at the moment, and Shang Huai would have to persuade the Empress Dowager later.

Pei Minxue stopped hiding things from Shang Huai.

"His Majesty and the Empress Dowager had a fierce argument."

"I don't know the specific reason, but afterwards His Majesty ordered that the Empress Dowager recuperate in the royal villa and that no one be allowed to visit her."

Shang Huai realized, "Isn't this just house arrest?"

Pei Minxue said helplessly, "Who knows what's going on between that mother and son?"

"The Minister of Personnel was originally the Empress Dowager's man. I don't know how the Empress Dowager found out about his dismissal."

"When the Empress Dowager learned of the news, she was probably so angry that she was overwhelmed with rage. She didn't really want to commit suicide; she probably just wanted to frighten His Majesty."

Shang Huai hurriedly asked, "Is the Empress Dowager alright now?"

"The Empress Dowager was trying to hang herself, but the palace servants who were attending to her discovered it."

"It's nothing serious, just a sore throat, so I can't speak a complete sentence for the time being."

Shang Huai roughly understood, "The Empress Dowager probably doesn't intend to commit suicide, but rather uses her own life to threaten His Majesty, right?"

Pei Minxue turned to look at Shang Huai, "You think so too?"

Shang Huai asked, puzzled, "What do you mean?"

"His Majesty and I both know what's going on, but neither of us can say it in front of the Empress Dowager, lest it really upset her and she commit suicide, which would be terrible."

Shang Huai suddenly stopped. "I just remembered I have some things to attend to at home, so I'll be leaving now."

Pei Minxue grabbed Shang Huai's arm. "You're already here, where else do you want to go?"

Shang Huai said with a bitter face, "Brother Minxue."

"I really don't want to get involved in what's going on between them, mother and son."

Shang Huai clasped his hands in a fist salute to Pei Minxue, "You said it yourself before, the Empress Dowager is very biased towards me. If I go and try to get close to her now, it probably won't bring any good results."

"What if I manage to make the Empress Dowager genuinely happy? That wouldn't be a good thing, would it?"

"Moreover, my aunt wasn't truly only trying to be good to me."

"She's using me to spite His Majesty."

This put Shang Huai in the middle, making things difficult for him from both sides.

Pei Minxue couldn't hold Shang Huai back; Shang Huai was very strong.

Seeing that Shang Huai was really going to leave, Pei Minxue had no choice but to resort to his trump card.

"Okay, you can leave now."

"Now that you're leaving, you won't be able to set foot in my Pei residence again."

One sentence brought Shang Huai to a halt.

Shang Huai pointed at Pei Minxue with his finger.

Pei Minxue led Shang Huai to the Empress Dowager's palace, where His Majesty was sitting in the outer room drinking tea.

Inside, the Empress Dowager lay on the couch, her face deathly pale.

After paying his respects to Xiao Chengci, Shang Huai went into the inner room to see the Empress Dowager.

"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."

When the Empress Dowager saw Shang Huai, she was extremely excited and reached out her hand to him.

Shang Huai quickly reached out and grasped the Empress Dowager's hand.

The Empress Dowager actually shed two clear tears, crying out, "Ah Huai, Ah Huai, save me."

Shang Huai sighed inwardly, thinking, "Aren't you just asking for trouble?"

It wasn't His Majesty who forced the Empress Dowager to commit suicide.

It seems as if His Majesty forced the Empress Dowager to commit suicide with a knife.

Regardless of what he was thinking, Shang Huai nodded on the surface.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, I will always stay by your side. Please be at ease."

After hearing Shang Huai's words, the Empress Dowager's emotions calmed down considerably, and the expression on her face improved a lot.

Shang Huai gently patted the Empress Dowager's hand and chatted with her for a while, talking to himself.

He then personally fed the Empress Dowager some running water. The Empress Dowager was tired after a long day and slowly fell asleep.

Shang Huai pulled the blanket up for the Empress Dowager and quietly left the inner room.

When Shang Huai left the courtyard, he discovered that His Majesty and Pei Minxue had not gone far; they were waiting in the courtyard.

Xiao Chengci had his hands behind his back, seemingly looking up at the sky.

Pei Minxue stood silently behind His Majesty, the two of them like living fossils.

"The Empress Dowager is asleep."

Xiao Chengci responded, "Thank you."

Shang Huai thought for a moment and then said, "I came today because the Empress Dowager sent me a message, asking me to come and see her one last time."

The meaning behind Shang Huai's words was quite clear.

The Empress Dowager deliberately put on this show.

Xiao Chengci lowered his head, somewhat self-deprecatingly.

"Tell me, am I a failure?"

"If I can't keep my mother, then so be it."

"The only woman I ever loved in my life didn't love me back."

Pei Minxue scratched his head, unsure how to comfort His Majesty, who looked truly pitiful.