In important matters, he was always decisive and efficient. Not only did he leave, but he also took Imperial Censor Wang and the head of the Cai family with him.

After Xie Qian and his companion entered the palace, the eunuch stopped Shi Wuxia again, saying, "Miss Shi, His Majesty wishes to summon Prince Xie alone. If you wish to see His Majesty, you may wait for his summons."

Their carriage drove directly into the inner palace, which was against the rules.

Shi Wuxia was unaware that the emperor was in trouble and that the empress was now in charge. She wondered what she would do to Xie Qian if she let him in.

No matter how powerful the Great Wei is, it cannot bully others by relying on its power. Besides, this is outside the Great Yuan Emperor's bedroom. Without a summons, it is really not possible to force one's way in. So she said, "Then find me a place to rest. This princess does not want to stand and wait."

She needed to ask the palace spies what was going on and also find out what was happening with the emperor.

Logically, since the emperor had already been reminded and the empress had few capable people, things shouldn't have gone so easily.

Shi Wuxia suppressed her doubts and said to Xie Qian, "Be careful when you walk, don't get hurt and then try to extort money from me. I'll take you out the same way I brought you in."

Xie Qian understood that she was telling him not to be afraid, that she would help him, and he smiled and said, "Okay."

Inside the palace, the Empress had already heard the commotion and said to those around her, "Please summon the Marquis of Loyalty and Valor to the palace and administer the poison."

Once news of His Majesty's critical illness spreads, high-ranking officials will surely come to the palace to request an audience. At that time, we will separate Censor Wang, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and the Cai family, along with other members of the Crown Prince's faction, from the rest.

Upon hearing this, the man said in a low voice, "If these people also have an accident in the palace, I'm afraid the whole world will become suspicious."

The Empress shook her head. "Keep it locked up for now."

Marquis Zhongyong is a loyal and devoted general who commands over 100,000 troops in the western suburbs camp. He cannot be spared, but the others are also the Crown Prince's confidants and will surely oppose Xie Qian's succession. They cannot be killed either. So, they can only be confined in the palace until Xie Qian successfully ascends the throne, and then dealt with one by one.

The man was still uneasy. "Your Majesty, is this really going to work?"

The Empress smiled strangely, "There's no other way."

The Crown Prince is coming back. When that happens, she and the Zheng family will join forces to bring the Prince of Yan to the capital, and her feigned illness will no longer be a secret.

The emperor despises scheming women, and she has deceived him; he will not forgive himself this time.

Faced with the choice between her own death and the death of someone else, she could only choose the latter, even if that person was her husband.

Fortunately, the emperor had favored her for many years, and in recent days she had worked hard to win the emperor's trust, so the empress's honor remained unchanged.

Therefore, after poisoning the emperor, they were able to quickly block the news and take control of the palace.

Now, all she needs is Xie Qian's cooperation, and she'll be halfway there. If he doesn't cooperate, she has plenty of ways to deal with it.

Xie Qian was helped into the emperor's bedchamber, where he saw a woman standing in the room, and the emperor lying on the bed behind her.

His heart sank, and he quickly lowered his head, trying his best to remain calm and bow.

The Empress waved away the palace servants who were supporting him and said slowly, "My son, raise your head and let your mother see you."

Xie Qian looked up as instructed, and as their eyes met, Shi Wuxia's words inappropriately came to mind.

You're lucky you weren't raised by the Empress!

The woman before him had gloomy eyes, a gaunt appearance, and a harsh face; there was not a trace of the kindness his mother showed him.

The Empress also saw the distance in Xie Qian's eyes, so she simply skipped the pleasantries and said, "I'll give you two choices. First, your father sees his own son, gets so excited that he falls ill, and leaves an edict before he dies to pass the throne to you."

Secondly, the Prince of Yan's household harbored rebellious intentions. You took advantage of His Majesty's summons to poison him, causing him to fall into a coma. The entire Prince of Yan's household, including his nine generations of relatives, will be executed.

She sat back down in front of the emperor's bed. "You only have a stick of incense to think it over. When you left the Prince of Yan's residence, I left people to arrest your mother."

Xie Qian wasn't so worried about the Princess Consort of Yan, who was sometimes too busy to write that sentence; instead, he looked at the Emperor on the dragon bed.

Is His Majesty still alive?

The empress said calmly, "Alive, but soon to die."

The reason she didn't give the emperor a lethal poison, but instead made him fall into a coma first, was because she needed the emperor to die after Xie Qian entered the palace.

Good coroners and doctors can determine the time of death, so she tries her best not to leave any evidence.

Although Xie Qian had his suspicions, he was shocked and furious to hear her so coldly decide the emperor's life and death.

"I know His Majesty treats you very well even in Yan, how can you be so heartless..."

The Empress interrupted him, "If he truly cared for me, he wouldn't have taken other women as concubines, nor would he have shown favoritism towards Ye Zhen and the Crown Prince by confining me to my quarters. A person can only rely on themselves. If he doesn't die, I will be the one who dies."

He was the one who took you away from me back then, and he caused us to be separated. He's not someone you should complain about.

"The incense stick's time is almost up; you should think carefully about what you should do."

Xie Qian stood up, his eyes showing disgust. "There's no need to wait for an incense stick to burn. I am the heir of the Prince of Yan. My ambition for the throne is illegitimate and unjustified."

The officials and the people are not fools. The affairs of state are not for you to handle recklessly. Besides, you are as cunning as a devil and as stupid as a pig; you are utterly repulsive, not even a fraction as good as my mother. I will never conspire with you.”

"presumptuous."

The Empress was furious. "How dare you insult me!"

"That's still not as daring as you, you even dared to commit regicide."

Before Xie Qian could answer, Xie Tingzhou's voice came from above the Empress's head.