All the families in the imperial city were celebrating the New Year happily, but the palace was unusually quiet.

When the emperor received the news from Bai Zhiyue, he immediately sent his shadow guards to the noble concubine's palace to keep an eye on it. If this matter was confirmed, a huge mountain pressing on him would be removed, or at least some of the forces in the palace could be eliminated.

The empress dowager passed away a few years ago. Apart from him, the most powerful person in the palace was the noble concubine, even the empress was inferior to her. She was the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo, and her son was the Prince of Chu who was favored by the late emperor. She had always held considerable power.

Even though he was the legitimate son, he was not favored by the late emperor and was suppressed by the imperial concubine's son and the Duke of Zhenguo, making it impossible for him to gain a foothold. If the late emperor had not suddenly come to his senses and his mother had not united several forces to fight against him, it would never have been his turn to sit on the throne.

But even though he ascended the throne legitimately, the King of Chu and the Noble Concubine were always waiting for an opportunity and never gave up the idea of ​​seizing the throne.

The noble concubine played an indispensable role in the chaos in his harem.

If we can get rid of her this time and remove most of the people sent into the palace by the King of Chu and the National Security Police, it will be a great victory.

There was no way he could rest, so after sending out the shadow guards, he picked up a book to read.

Gao Qi helped him light the oil lamp, but found that the emperor did not move at all and had not turned the pages of the open book at all.

He didn't make any unnecessary movements, but just quietly stepped aside, hiding in the darkness like an invisible man, without making any sound.

There were three knocks outside the room, and Qin Minghao stood up excitedly.

"Come in and answer the call. Gao Qi will go and guard outside."

"yes"

After Gao Qi left, Qin Minghao asked,

"how?"

"Gong Huaijin is currently in the Noble Concubine's Ruyi Palace. He's been inside for half an hour and hasn't come out yet. There are people guarding outside the Ruyi Palace. They are people from the Noble Concubine's palace."

"Oh, how bold! Whose family is this Gong Huaijin from?"

"Your Majesty, he is the nephew of Minister Wang of the Ministry of Rites. He has been living in Minister Wang's home for the past three years and is treated like a son. His biological son has been exiled to Mayingzi."

"Minister Wang? He's not the King of Chu's man!"

"No, we haven't found any significant connection between him and anyone."

"Gong Huaijin, huh! Bring the Feathered Guards and follow me to surround Ruyi Palace."

"yes!"

"We need to act quickly. The palace is full of your concubine's people. Don't let them get the news."

"clear"

The imperial guards surrounded the Ruyi Palace like an iron plate, and the eunuchs and servants guarding outside had their necks cut as soon as they saw them.

Guo Meng, the leader of the Yuwei team, sneaked in with two of his men. They killed all the palace servants they met with one strike, leaving them no chance to report the news.

In the palace, Gong Huaijin was helping the noble concubine take a bath.

"I heard that Bai beat Madam Cui, so you guys go help her get revenge!"

"Well, Master Cui asked us for help, and since we were all on the same side, I followed him."

"Humph, a group of men couldn't actually deal with a woman holding a child. Cui Kuo was also stupid. He didn't even pursue the matter and let her go for nothing.

The Emperor treated her differently. Not only was she one rank higher than the Earl, she was also given a gold medal. "After being so arrogant and slapping the Gao family in the face today, the Emperor must be even happier."

"The Emperor is using her, but she is so ignorant that she simply doesn't understand."

"It's just a small achievement, but the emperor is so kind to her. She really has no other ability. If that damned devil hadn't changed his mind at the last minute, my son and I would have been caught off guard by them. He would never have had a chance to rule the world."

"What's the point of sitting on it? Your Majesty's abilities are unmatched even by men. As long as you're here, he won't last long!"

"Haha, you really see things clearly. It won't be long before he hands over the throne to me."

"But that woman is indeed a little different. We can't even take her down with a group of people."

"Someone like Bai Shi will never survive in my hands. I'll let her experience my methods when I get the chance."

"I knew the Queen would have a way."

"Did you suffer a loss at the hands of that woman and want me to heal you?"

"Your Majesty is so wise. I just wanted you to help me vent my anger. Who told her to kick me into the water?"

"You are relying on my favor, I will definitely stand up for you."

"Otherwise, how could I be so willing to stay by your side? I can't live without you for the rest of my life. I just like your majestic and strategic appearance. It's really charming."

"You're such a talker! I can't live without you any more."

"I also want to be by your side all the time, so why not let me disguise myself as a eunuch and stay in Ruyi Palace?"

"I can't bear to see you lose your status and fame. Come on, don't waste this wonderful night, we should enjoy ourselves while we can."

"I'm coming right now. It's my honor to enjoy myself with you, my lady."

Soon, the sound of slapping and a woman's moans were heard from the pool.

The emperor's face darkened as he listened outside the door.

"Oh, you want me to give it up in no time? That's a good plan."

He waved to Guo Meng, and the guards attacked at the same time. Some passed through the window, and some broke open the palace door and entered.

When Gong Huaijin heard the noise, he immediately pulled himself out, jumped out of the pool, picked up the clothes beside him and was about to escape, not caring about the noble concubine under him at all.

"Stop it!"

"Your Majesty? How did you get in?"

"Humph! How would I have known about the shameful things you did if I hadn't come here?"

When Concubine Zhuang Gui saw that it was the Imperial Guards, she knew that things were going to get bad today. The Imperial Guards were only loyal to the Emperor. If the Imperial Guards were mobilized, she would have received the news early in the morning. She didn't know if her son could make it in time.

"Let him go. He was just sent to the palace by me to serve you. It's me you want to arrest."

At this time, Gong Huaijin had been caught and knocked to the ground.

"Empress"

"It's a love story between a man and a woman, ha! Your concubine was sentenced to three feet of white silk for committing adultery in the harem. Gong Huaijin was castrated and taken back to the guard camp for strict interrogation and immediate execution."

"Qin Minghao, how dare you!"

"Why not? If the late emperor knew about this, he would probably grind you to dust and scatter your bones to ashes, and even confiscate the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. Why don't you take action now?"

"yes"

Someone took the white silk and put it around the noble concubine's neck.

"Qin Minghao, you will not die a good death. My son will not let you go!"

"Hmph, he probably doesn't want a promiscuous mother like you. Believe it or not, if he finds out, he'll have to say I handled it well and even thank me for helping him!"

"You~my son won't!"

"Why do you still want him to use his power to save your life? Do you think he will do it?"

The noble concubine no longer has the confidence that everything is under control as usual. If the emperor uses this matter to threaten the prince, can he really give up part of his power to protect her?

And the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, can they really ignore their reputation and give up power just to save her life? It's impossible even if you think about it.

No wonder the emperor didn't even ask for his guilt and directly sentenced him to death. I think he knew that dragging it out would be useless for him and would only buy himself and the prince time and a way to escape.