The next day, Zhao Jing sent people to investigate the palace servant who delivered the message.

However, after much investigation, it was discovered that the palace servant had used his connections to get transferred here. He was originally a wicked person, and now he has committed suicide out of fear of punishment.

Not only did the clues go cold, but the existence of that palace servant was a slap in the face to Zhao Jing.

The fact that there were villains among the palace servants he assigned to Jiang Tian only shows that there are still loopholes in the palace.

Zhao Jing was furious and ordered the investigation to continue until the mastermind was found out.

At the same time, he also dispatched a large number of people to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the entire palace, so as not to miss any oversights, and to send all the most wicked and evil people to the Department of Cautious Punishment.

No one dared to disobey the emperor's orders, and the palace was in complete chaos. Many palace servants who had committed misdeeds in the previous dynasty were investigated and punished according to the law.

Soon, the truth came to light.

The person who secretly orchestrated this was Zheng Qingyuan, who had a verbal altercation with Jiang Tian.

She never expected that her seemingly flawless plan would be exposed in just a few days. Terrified, she knelt down and begged Zhao Jing for mercy.

Zhao Jing asked Jiang Tian what she wanted to do.

Jiang Tian retorted, "Do you have a conscience? For the sake of your grand ambitions, you've selected a group of young ladies in the prime of their lives, yet you don't give them any affection. Are you just going to watch them grow old and die?"

Zhao Jing's expression changed slightly: "They were sent in by their respective maternal clans, pawns deliberately sent in by those families so that I wouldn't abandon them."

"But isn't it a fact that you don't pamper them?"

Zhao Jing's expression was extremely ugly: "Are you pushing me towards other women?"

"Ancient emperors had three palaces, six courtyards, and seventy-two concubines, at least they enjoyed it openly. You have dozens of concubines on the surface, but you only do that kind of thing with me. Don't you think you're sick?"

Zhao Jing's face turned completely pale: "I doted on you so much, and this is the result?"

Jiang Tian smiled faintly: "Do I care?"

Zhao Jing was furious.

He wanted nothing more than to kill this woman!

But for this tough nut to crack, death is no longer a threat.

Zhao Jing was certain that if he couldn't find a way to control Jiang Tian, ​​she would leave him sooner or later!

He tried to calm himself down and looked at her coldly: "Whether you care or not, I won't touch anyone else. Just put up with it!"

Jiang Tian said, "I don't want to argue with you. You asked me how to deal with Zheng Qingyuan, so let's pretend to throw her into the cold palace and secretly let her go back to the mansion. Let's not give her any more opportunities to harm people."

Zhao Jing frowned deeply: "She harmed you, yet you remain so kind to her."

Jiang Tian said calmly, "Yes, I am sick."

After being cornered by her so many times, Zhao Jing was almost used to it.

But he still wanted to ask: "Why is that?"

"I don't want to compete with them for the emperor's favor. Even if I disrupt my menstrual cycle, I won't be beheaded. That palace maid deserves to die anyway, so why should I take her life?"

Zhao Jing's tone was somewhat unpleasant: "I think you want to be a living Buddha!"

"Yeah, aren't you annoyed by me being like this, tired of me?"

Zhao Jing didn't reply to her.

He did as Jiang Tian said, and the arrangements for sending Zheng Qingyuan out of the palace were made.

Since she had done a good deed, Zhao Jing naturally wouldn't let Zheng Qingyuan not even know who to thank, so he arranged for the two of them to meet.

Zheng Qingyuan's expression was very complicated when she saw Jiang Tian.

Jiang Tian, ​​however, looked utterly bored: "The Emperor insisted that I come, saying it was to let you recognize who your benefactor is. I'm not that powerful; I just whispered in your ear and got you out of the palace. If you're still so devoted to the Emperor, you'll probably hate me."

Zheng Qingyuan was stunned for a moment, then shook her head frantically, and then tears streamed down her face: "I...I'm grateful to you..."

"That's fine then. I saved your life because I saw that you still had a conscience. But after you leave the palace, you'll have to live in anonymity, and you'll lose your noble status as the Grand Tutor's granddaughter. Consider it your punishment. Take care of yourself out there. It's too cold. I'm going back now."

Jiang Tian said only a few words and then turned to leave.

Zhao Jing stood at a distance waiting for her. He hesitated for a long time, but finally couldn't help but walk up to her, put a cloak on her, tied the belt, and then took her hand and walked back with her.

After the two left together, Zheng Qingyuan remained silent for a long time. After a while, she wiped away her tears and then got into the carriage.

The years spent in the palace felt like a dream.

But Jiang Tian... she will always be grateful to her.

The example of Zheng Qingyuan being banished to the cold palace for framing Jiang Tian served as a warning to other concubines.

They never expected Zheng Qingyuan to be so bold, nor did they expect the Emperor to be so ruthless, banishing Zheng Qingyuan, who had the best chance of becoming Empress, to the Cold Palace in one fell swoop.

For a time, everyone was on edge, and no one dared to oppose Jiang Tian.

But Jiang Tian's life was not easy.

In the morning, Zhao Jing was getting dressed. Jiang Tian, ​​who had just finished washing up, turned over and looked at his back as she turned away, exhausted. "I have something to tell you."

Zhao Jing turned around, his face showing a look of satisfaction.

He had asked for it in the morning and was feeling quite content.

"What is it?"

"The Jiang family sent someone to tell me to promote Jiang Huayan and help her gain favor. When I first entered the palace, what did you say to the Jiang family? Did you reveal my true identity?"

After hearing her finish speaking, Zhao Jing's expression turned quite cold.

Of course, he wouldn't dig a pit for himself. At the time, he only ordered the Jiang family to send her to the palace and didn't mention anything else.

Throughout the entire process, Jiang Tian's biological father only met her once and never spoke to her.

So what if the two look alike? Even if the Jiang family guessed the whole story, as long as Zhao Jing doesn't admit it, then Jiang Tian is Jiang Tian.

Unfortunately, he didn't expect these people to be so tactless as to pass on a message to Jiang Tian.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!