Chapter 51 Instinct Cannot Be Acted

Say I'm stupid? Say I'm playing tricks?

Jiang Nan scoffed inwardly.

Today, I'll show you, the empress of feudal society, what behavioral psychology is all about in a live demonstration.

A mischievous smile played on her lips as she glanced at the two trembling maidens on the ground.

Finally, the order fell to Zhao Deyi, who gave the command in a clear, crisp voice.

"Zhao is triumphant."

"Your servant is here."

Zhao Deyi immediately bowed in response, but his heart skipped a beat, and he had a bad feeling.

Jiang Nan extended her slender finger and pointed to the shimmering artificial lake, her tone relaxed.

"Go, take these two little girls who are blaming each other and insisting on their own version of events, and throw them into that lake to feed the fish."

"ah?"

Zhao Deyi was stunned for a moment, thinking he had misheard.

Not only him, but everyone present, including the Empress and her old nanny, was stunned.

Throwing the imperial concubines into the lake to feed the fish?

Everyone was astonished. Had Consort Jin lost her mind?

Zhao Deyi's mind went blank, but his long-standing awe and blind obedience to Jiang Nan prevented him from questioning her.

He steeled himself and gave instructions to the eunuchs who had followed him from Yongshou Palace.

"What...what are you all standing there for? Didn't you hear Her Majesty's orders? Throw the person away."

"Your Majesty, spare my life!"

"Your Highness, I am innocent!"

Daijia and Wanyan were terrified, tears streaming down their faces, and desperately kowtowed, begging for mercy.

"Concubine Jin!"

Empress Hesheli suddenly stood up, trembling with anger, and pointed at Jiang Nan, shouting angrily.

"How dare you! It turns out you're even more foolish and stupid than I am. I thought you had some brilliant method, but this is clearly an abuse of power and a disregard for human life. I'm here, and it's not your place to act recklessly. I bet without my imperial decree, who would dare to lay a hand on me?"

She attempted to use her authority as empress to forcefully suppress Jiang Nan.

Jiang Nan didn't even look at her, and directly shouted at the hesitant Zhao Deyi.

"Zhao Deyi, why aren't you making your move? I have my reasons for doing this. If Your Majesty wishes to hold me accountable afterward, I will take full responsibility."

She paused, her sharp gaze sweeping over the two pale-faced young women on the ground.

"I want to see if you two, who keep saying you can't swim, can actually swim when you're thrown into this water. I know that one of you is lying. A person who really can't swim, when facing drowning, will have their survival instinct overwhelm them. They will struggle desperately and try to breathe at all costs. There's no way they can continue to pretend."

She leaned slightly forward, stared into their eyes, and spoke slowly and deliberately.

“Don’t admit it? No problem. I have plenty of patience. Wait until you’ve drunk your fill of water, until you’re unconscious, until you’re half-dead… then I’ll naturally believe you. I want to see who can hold their breath and who can resist the instinct to survive.”

These words struck like a thunderbolt, making everyone suddenly realize the truth.

I see.

Consort Jin wanted to use the most genuine reactions at this critical moment to test who was lying.

Zhao Deyi suddenly felt enlightened, and a sense of respect for his master arose spontaneously.

At the same time, I felt ashamed of my hesitation.

He immediately straightened his back, his face showing no more hesitation, and sternly addressed his eunuchs.

"Didn't you hear what Her Majesty said? Hurry up and do it, be careful, or they might really drown."

Empress Hesheli understood Jiang Nan's intention, and her face instantly turned extremely ugly, alternating between pale and flushed.

She never expected Jiang Nan to use such a... such a tricky and irrefutable method.

Although this method is crude, it gets straight to the heart of the matter.

She felt like a fool, being manipulated by Jiang Nan, and the frustration and anger almost suffocated her.

————————

At this moment, the eunuchs of Yongshou Palace no longer hesitated.

Two people at a time, they lifted up the crying and struggling Daijia and Wanyan, ignoring their pleas and the Empress's angry glare.

"Splash, splash!"

With two thuds, they were thrown back into the lake.

Water splashed everywhere.

All eyes were fixed on the two figures in the lake.

Jiang Nan, arms crossed, calmly gave Zhao Deyi instructions.

"Zhao Deyi, have your men keep a close watch. When they've been holding their breath in the water for a while and are about to die, go down and rescue them immediately. I only want the truth, not lives."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I understand."

Zhao Deyi quickly agreed and personally ran to the lakeside to watch intently.

Time passed second by second.

In the lake, the two young women were struggling desperately, splashing water everywhere, and they both looked extremely panicked.

However, upon closer inspection, the differences soon became apparent.

Dai Jia really can't swim.

After falling into the water, she struggled wildly and instinctively, frantically slapping the surface of the water with her arms.

Each time it sank down, it struggled to rise again, choking on water and coughing, its face quickly turning deathly pale.

His eyes were filled with genuine fear, the most authentic reaction of a drowning person.

As for that Wanyan woman... at first she also pretended to thrash around a few times.

But soon, her struggles seemed somewhat deliberate and reserved.

Especially during the pauses between breaths, she would subconsciously adjust her posture.

This makes it easier for your mouth and nose to surface for air.

Although she quickly resumed her panicked struggle, this was an instinctive survival skill.

Under the watchful eyes of Jiang Nan and many others, they had nowhere to hide.

Anyone on the shore who wasn't blind could see what was going on.

Even the nanny beside the Empress subconsciously frowned.

"Alright."

Jiang Nan felt the time was right and gave the order.

"Pull it out, this show is really ugly."

Zhao Deyi immediately waved his hand, and several eunuchs who knew how to swim jumped into the lake.

They quickly pulled up Daijia, who was almost exhausted, and Wanyan, who was still pretending to struggle.

The two lay sprawled on the shore, soaking wet and utterly disheveled.

Dai Jia was truly terrified, lying on the ground coughing violently, tears and snot mixed together.

Wanyan's eyes flickered as she secretly observed everyone's expressions, her face drained of color.

Jiang Nan slowly turned around, her gaze falling on Empress Hesheli, whose face was ashen and who wished she could disappear into the ground.

With an undisguised victor's smile on his face, his tone was light and provocative.

"Your Majesty, do you see? Is this result clear enough? Do you accept it? Do you admit that your judgment just now was... a little bit dumber than mine?"

She paused deliberately, then added in a consoling tone that was infuriatingly comforting.

"However, it doesn't matter if you're slow-witted. Your Majesty, you're still young. If you read more books and broaden your horizons, you might become smarter."

"you…"

The Empress was so enraged by Jiang Nan's repeated humiliations that her vision blurred and her chest heaved violently.

————————

She didn't want to stay in this place that had humiliated her any longer.

She stood up abruptly, almost gritting her teeth as she spoke.

"Since...since you're the one who caught them, then you, Consort Jin, can handle it. I'm not feeling well, so I'll go back and rest first."

After saying that, she turned to leave, her back view revealing endless dishevelment and panic.

That bitch, that nemesis, Hesheri never wants to see her again.

Jiang Nan wasn't about to let her go when she saw her trying to run away.

We've finally got a chance to thoroughly humiliate him, how can we let the fun end so soon?