"Disdained by your husband's family?" Concubine Xiao frowned and whispered, "How could that family disdain a woman as beautiful as you? Could that man be blind?"

Shang Ruoyi wrinkled her nose, her eyes slightly red, and said aggrievedly: "There are so many beautiful people in this world. The rich and powerful families are not short of beautiful women. What they value most is family background rather than appearance." She whispered: "Shang's family has fallen into decline, and all the children except me have either become official maids or been sold to those low-class places. My husband's family is a noble family, so they naturally look down on me."

"You haven't told me yet, who are your husband's family members?"

"This matter is not a secret. The emperor also knows about it, and that is the all-powerful Prince Ding of the Palace, He Jingheng."

Concubine Xiao pretended to be surprised, as if she really didn't know the truth: "You are the consort of Prince Ding?"

Shang Ruoyi nodded, then said somewhat dejectedly: "It's better not to mention it now. You were ordered to enter the palace, but you encountered a fire. They all thought you were buried in the sea of ​​fire. This is good. Just treat you as dead. From now on, I can live with a new identity."

Concubine Xiao paused her smile and said, "You mean that Prince Ding doesn't like you at all?"

Shang Ruoyi nodded, looking lonely.

"But, I heard that Prince Ding's personality changed drastically because of the death of the Crown Princess? He even went so far as to turn against Emperor Tianshun. If this is not love, then what is love?"

"My Lady, you have been in the palace for so many years, how come you still don't understand? People are the most unpredictable. He Jingheng is a man of deep thoughts, and he will never let anyone guess what he is thinking. If he really likes you, how could he let everyone in the world know? His weaknesses are never exposed to others. Even in the eyes of this servant, he is simply a cold-hearted person without any weaknesses."

Her words made Concubine Xiao feel moved. When she thought about it carefully, it was indeed the truth.

Concubine Xiao looked at her with some suspicion. Shang Ruoyi knew that she still didn't believe it, so she looked around and lifted her sleeves, and the dazzling red toad sand fell into her eyes.

"I have been married to him for a long time, and I am still a virgin." Shang Ruoyi bit her lip and said, "Your Majesty, please don't tell anyone."

The moment she saw the toad's blood, Concubine Xiao had no reason to disbelieve it anymore.

"I didn't expect that He Jingheng would be such a calm person!" Concubine Xiao's face darkened slightly, with a forced smile on her face: "Little Princess, there is no need to be sad. There are many good men in the world. Why bother hanging yourself on He Jingheng's body?"

Shang Ruoyi nodded and said with a smile: "It's all thanks to my elder sister."

"Sister?"

"Yes! It is Shangnian's eldest daughter, Shang Yufu. If they hadn't revealed that I am not Shangnian's biological daughter, I don't know where I would be now, and whether I would have been secretly dealt with by the Dingguo Palace."

"I heard that the Crown Prince's Consort was kind to the Dingguo Palace during her exile. I guess they wouldn't be so ungrateful!"

"When the cunning rabbit dies, the running dog is cooked; when the birds are gone, the good bow is put away. This is an eternal truth."

When Concubine Xiao heard this, she felt a little depressed.

Originally, they wanted to use Shang Ruoyi as a bargaining chip to negotiate with the Dingguo Palace, but now there is no other way.

For some reason, Shang Ruoyi felt a chill sweeping over her body. She looked around but didn't see anyone.

"Little Princess, don't be angry. Now you are the daughter of the City King, a royal relative. You can find any kind of husband. If the City King is willing to let you marry, I'm afraid the threshold of the City King's Mansion will be trampled by people proposing marriage."

Shang Ruoyi felt that the coldness around her was getting even colder, as if she was falling into an ice cellar.

"The emperor intends to send troops to Tianshun. If we can win a great victory, it can be regarded as revenge for you." As soon as Concubine Xiao finished speaking, she saw a maid hurried over with a pale face: "Your Majesty, something happened."

"What's wrong?"

The maid looked at Shang Ruoyi, who smiled with great tact and said, "I have been out for quite some time. If I don't go back, the Queen Mother will scold me."

Seeing her being so discerning, Concubine Xiao smiled and said, "Yes! Then I won't keep you here."

Shang Ruoyi nodded, turned and left.

Her figure disappeared around the corner, and the smile on Concubine Xiao's face disappeared in an instant: "What's wrong?"

"The emperor's private vault is empty."

"What?"

"Young Master wanted to leave through the secret passage today. When he sneaked into the private vault, the room was empty. Even the shelves were gone."

"How is this possible!" Concubine Xiao felt a chill in her heart.

She knew very well how many treasures were in the private vault, and it was impossible to move the things away silently.

"Is the news true?"

"Absolutely."

"Did someone from the sect take the things away from the secret passage?"

The maid shook her head: "I have asked, but no."

Upon hearing this answer, Concubine Xiao felt nervous. It must be a ghost. It really was a ghost. If it wasn't the work of ghosts, there was no way to explain it.

"Does the emperor know?"

“I don’t know yet.”

Concubine Xiao was terrified when she thought that the things in her private vault had also disappeared so quietly.

"It's a ghost, it must be haunted!" She staggered, looked around in horror, and said tremblingly: "There must be something dirty in this palace!"

"Madam." The maid hurriedly supported her and said with a very unpleasant expression, "Madam, why don't you ask for instructions?"

"Yes!" Concubine Xiao seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw: "For those dirty things, we must have a way." She looked around in horror, and even the emperor's true dragon yang energy could not be suppressed. This dirty thing must be very scary.

"My queen, let's go back to the palace!"

Just then, a breeze blew, and Concubine Xiao felt a cold wind sweeping across her neck, scaring her so much that the hairs all over her body stood up.

"Go to the emperor! Quickly!" The emperor is the most masculine person in the palace. Even if the evil spirit stole the gold, silver and jewelry, it would not dare to get close to the emperor!

Shang Ruoyi saw Concubine Xiao's panic from the corner.

He couldn't help but sneer, thinking that Concubine Xiao must have done something wrong, so she was so scared.

Watching Concubine Xiao leave in embarrassment, Shang Ruoyi turned around and was about to leave. At this moment, a familiar breath appeared beside her. Shang Ruoyi stopped abruptly, with a gleam of disbelief in her eyes.

He Jingheng!

She looked up and saw a black figure slowly appearing in her field of vision.

"Why are you here?" She looked around. The garden was empty at this moment, as if it had been deliberately cleared out.

"Is Suzaku here?"

He Jingheng didn't say anything, but walked towards her step by step. His steps were very light, but every step was on her tip.