Yang Zhong immediately retorted, "The princess has the Empress Dowager and the Empress to take care of her. Moreover, the princess is about to come of age, and Prince Yong cannot take care of her. Furthermore, there are no private matters before the nation. If Your Majesty is really worried, I recommend a renowned physician who can send the princess to him for quiet recuperation."

Emperor Mingde was so angry that his liver ached, but most of his ministers agreed to let the crown prince serve as the military supervisor. He couldn't be too stubborn, as Dayong still needed these ministers to govern it. Reluctantly, he issued the decree.

Yi De was waiting for Emperor Ming De to finish court at Weiyang Palace so they could go to Prince Yong's residence together. But she heard this news. No, she should say that she woke up to two pieces of bad news. First, a fake Zhao Bi had appeared, and Hao Shumei and the Empress had joined forces. Second, Prince Yong was going to Beiding Prefecture to clear his name!

This is nothing like the trick I imagined!

When Emperor Mingde returned from court, he saw that Yide looked somewhat depressed, so he quickly went up to ask, "Aqing, what's troubling you?"

"It's nothing, it's just that thinking about the past makes me sad." She spoke tenderly and without any regret, which made Emperor Mingde feel even more sorry for her. He hugged her and said gently, "From now on, stay by my side and make up for the days we missed."

"Pfft... What are you saying, Zi Yi? You have three thousand beauties, how could you possibly stay with me?" She pretended to be jealous, with two blushes rising on her face, making her extremely cute.

Emperor Mingde was stunned; his Aqing was indeed very beautiful.

"I don't need to worry about them, I just love watching you."

Just then, a loud crash was heard not far away, the sound of something breaking. "I'm so sorry, it's all my fault, please punish me, Auntie."

"You clumsy thing, do you even know what you broke? That was a gift from Princess Jun to our Lady! You couldn't pay for it with your life!"

Emperor Mingde frowned. He was having a bad day at court, and now he couldn't even find peace in the inner palace. "What's going on?" he asked in a cold voice.

Before long, a senior palace maid led a junior palace maid over, knelt down with a thud, and held the brocade box high. "Your Majesty, Your Highness, this is a gift from Princess Jun to Your Highness. This clumsy maid broke it. It is my fault for not disciplining my servants properly."

Emperor Mingde was quite fond of Zhao Shu, and since it was a gift from her, he wanted to take a look. "Open it and see."

The head palace maid opened the brocade box, inside was a broken cup. Emperor Mingde didn't think much of it. "Since it's broken, just throw it away. Go to the storeroom and send that newly presented blue jade tea set to Ajun. She'll hold a grudge if you break her things."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The head palace maid bowed her head, a smile of satisfaction on her face as she withdrew, not daring to look at Yi De's gloomy face and the broken cup!

She gave Zhao Shu a fan, so she retaliated by giving herself a broken cup? Hmph, she'll see whose life this shattered is really!

He composed himself, revealing no emotion, and said, "Your Majesty, after you have finished your meal, let's go to Prince Yong's residence."

"Okay." Emperor Mingde was very gentle with her.

After their meal, Emperor Mingde and Consort Yide left the palace. The Empress, having received a message from Zhao Shu, smiled and remained exceptionally dignified and composed, saying, "Secretly seek out Consort De."

Soon, Consort De secretly arrived at Fengqi Palace, unknown to anyone. Upon seeing the Empress, she curtsied and said, "Greetings to my elder sister."

The Empress smiled dignifiedly and politely, and Lu Fushou was offered a seat and tea. "My dear sister, you rarely visit me today. I wonder if there's something interesting that has captivated you?"

Consort De naturally wouldn't say that she had intelligence that Zhao Bi and the Crown Prince were fighting, and that she and the First Prince were planning to reap the benefits. She smiled and replied, "Nothing has bewitched you, sister. It's just that it's too hot today. As the saying goes, it's good to sleep in the hot summer. You're just being lazy."

"Look at you, you've become so lazy. If I hadn't called you here, would you not have known that Consort Hao had come to see me?"

Consort De wanted to say that she knew, but how could she ask? However, now that the matter was out in the open, she couldn't help but wonder, "What does she want with my sister?"

"What else could it be? That arrogant woman from Weiyang Palace refuses to bow before me, so she sent me to negotiate. You know, the princes in Xiliang are not doing well. Now they want to bring them back and want to cooperate with me." The Emperor slowly examined the nail polish she had just made, thinking the color was a bit too light and should be a deep red, the color of fresh blood.

Consort De quickly realized how Zhao Bi had left Huguo Temple last time. He was injured and assassinated. So the self-inflicted injury ruse couldn't be used twice. With so many princes together, if a few died, would the Emperor not let them return?

She didn't think about it, but once she did, she felt terrible. She immediately said, "Sister didn't agree, otherwise she wouldn't have asked me." Although she said that, her eyes became wary, feeling that the Empress was setting a trap to make her fight with the Weiyang Palace.

It's true that the women in the palace aren't stupid. The Empress knew that she couldn't persuade her with just this, but she didn't expect to be easily swayed, otherwise she could easily be turned against her. She still smiled gently, very dignified and proper, "I did not agree. My Yi'er will soon go with his nineteenth uncle to clear his name. I used to worry that Yi'er wouldn't have any military merits, and I looked forward to it every day. Today, I've finally seen it come."

Consort De wasn't stupid; she just lacked complete information and only had a vague understanding. She quickly made a decision: Consort Yi and Consort Hao Shumei were the two most favored concubines in the palace, and Consort Ning was from her maternal family. She couldn't possibly defeat them. The Empress also seemed weak and isolated. It would be better to join forces with the Empress first, defeat the two favored concubines, kill Zhao Bi, and then fight the Empress. Hmph, the Empress was a pushover. She had lived such a pathetic life all these years; it was a piece of cake. Once the Empress Dowager died, it would be even easier.

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